slant
WAR DEAD
• We hear from Oregon ACLU Executive Director Dave
Fidanque that contrary to what we printed in this column June
28, the ACLU offices in Eugene will not be closing in
September. Fidanque, who lives in Eugene, confirms he is losing
two staffers, Bonnie Souza and Claire Syrett, but the office
“will probably move to a smaller space in the fall.” Meanwhile,
he says, the Lane County Chapter is hosting a series of “Civil
Conversations” on the second Tuesdays of the month, and the
ACLU will have its usual entries in the Eugene Celebration
Parade and booth on the Community Parkway. To donate,
volunteer or get on the mailing list, visit www.aclu-or.org
• Legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana is likely to be
on the November ballot in both Oregon and Washington, but
will voters give it a thumbs up or a middle finger? Oregonians
voted down legalizing pot two years ago, but voters this time
around might better appreciate the economic issues that are
addressed in the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which includes
hemp production. Prohibition has not only overloaded our jails
and courts, but has also fed a huge, tax-evading underground
economy run in large part by organized crime. Restrictions on
hemp growing have also hurt Oregon farmers. Polls indicate
Washington voters are leaning toward approving their ballot
measure, while Oregon could go either way, depending on
voter turnout. If both states legalize pot, the DEA will be under
even more pressure to deal with the federal Controlled
Substances Act which still classifies marijuana as a dangerous
Schedule I controlled substance with no medicinal value. In
May, Connecticut became the 17th state to legalize medical
marijuana, adding to the pressure. Reclassifying pot as a
Schedule II drug could allow regulation and dispensaries, and
yes, big tax revenues for states on board with marijuana law
reform.
• President Obama signed a new federal transportation bill
on July 5, and in it were some good things for Oregonians.
Rep. Peter DeFazio fought for and got a one-year extension on
Secure Rural Schools, which gives Oregon counties, including
Lane, $100 million in county payments to divvy up. Lane
County Administrator Liane Richardson says there are no plans
to use Lane County’s share of the money to rehire deputies.
Logging public lands hasn’t been the answer to our long-term
county budget woes. What about looking to Commissioner Rob
Handy’s suggestion we lobby the Legislature to raise taxes on
private timberlands?
Some good news in the transportation bill for students —
holding the rates on Stafford loans for another year. Also
winning: The controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline
didn’t make it into the bill, nor did a coal ash amendment that
would have pushed coal industry costs on taxpayers and the
people who suffer from coal ash pollution. DeFazio says the bill
and the highway funds will put Oregonians to work. We’re
hoping some of the road money makes Oregon more walkable
and bikeable too.
• Eugene turns 150 this week. Woohoo.
• We often rip and poke The Register-Guard as part of our
media criticism mission, but we do find redeeming content in
the daily’s shrinking pages. One example: Sunday’s eyebrow-
raising piece by R-G arts reporter Bob Keefer (see the
Commentary section July 8) called eloquently for large tax
hikes to provide an economic boost for Lane County, the state
and the country. The R-G editors even ran this heresy above
the fold. That issue was worth the eight quarters.
• Patriarchy’s dark shadow. An astute Springfield reader sent
us a good quote from The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy,
Resistance & Democracy’s Future (2008) by Carol Gilligan and
David A.J. Richards: “When violence is acceptable and pleasure
is demonized, when newspapers print photographs of dead
bodies and ruined houses while censoring bare breasts and the
word ‘fucking,’ when Love Laws are enforced with
righteousness and fervor while torture is condoned and
Geneva Conventions violated, the shadow of patriarchy is
unmistakable. Like the Angel in the House, it falls between us
and our creativity, our democracy, our humanity.”
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes
compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-
0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
In Afghanistan
• 2,021 U.S. troops killed* (2,017)
• 16,687 U.S. troops wounded in
action (16,584)
• 1,173 U.S. contractors killed
(1,131)
• 12,793 civilians killed (12,793)
• $545.1 billion cost of war
($542.5 billion)
• $161.1 million cost to Eugene
taxpayers ($160.2 million)
In Iraq
The war officially ended
December 2011 with a total of
4,422 U.S. troops killed, 31,927
wounded in action and
undisclosed hundreds of U.S.
military suicides. But U.S.
contractors are assuming a larger
role, high levels of U.S. spending
continue, and the body count
from civil unrest grows.
• 1,569 U.S. contractors killed
(1,563)
• 117,311 to 1.2 million civilians
killed* (116,980)
• $805.1 billion cost of war
($804.8 billion)
• $237.7 million cost to Eugene
taxpayers ($237.6 million)
Through July 9, 2012; sources:
icasualties.org; defense.gov, U.S.
Dept. of Labor (contractor deaths
updated occasionally)
* highest estimate; source:
iraqbodycount.org; based on
confirmed media reports; other
groups calculate Iraqi civilian
deaths as high as 655,000
(Lancet survey, 2006) to 1.2
million (Opinion Research Business
survey, 2008). Afghan civilian
deaths from guardian.co.uk tallied
monthly.
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