LET TERS
NOT SO LUCKY
Sixteen years ago, I retired from the
U.S. Navy. I had great comprehensive
health care. Now I have high quality
VA care and affordable retired military
medical and dental health insurance.
My same-sex partner is not so lucky. She
spends hours on the phone each month trying
to arrange for the limited care she needs. And
just when she has arranged and coordinated
with Cover Oregon, the provider’s office
and insurance reps, invariably some omitted
or misrepresented detail undermines the
whole plan, and she has to cancel or start all
over. So, we’re getting married this month
and she can enroll in my insurance plans at a
very reasonable rate and skip the frustrating
process.
The current “health care” system is set up
to make money by denying the “subscriber”
care; everybody knows it. Who helped write
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act? The big insurance companies. We must
put a stop to this insanity before it ruins
more people’s lives.
We work with a group that meets on the
first Tuesday of the month from 7 to 9 pm at
1376 Olive in Eugene. Our chapter of Health
Care for All Oregon is part of a powerful
statewide movement to make universal
health care a reality for Oregonians. If we
work together, we can do this!
Patricia Sue Hine
Eugene
LOCAL GERRYMANDERING
In view of the recent decision by a judge
to invalidate a Florida election (Leon County
Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ) because
of gerrymandering and a secret Republican
plan to defeat the state’s constitution,
I wonder if this paper would consider
doing an in-depth examination of whether
recent Lane County elections were tainted
by unconstitutional gerrymandering?
Looking at what happened in Florida, I
have to ask if the same thing is happening
here in Lane County.
Numerous people previously have
pointed out that Lane County voted
Democratic in the last presidential election
(60 percent Democrat), yet the board has
taken an odd turn to the right. Since a
federal court has said that gerrymandering
is a crime, not simply a political dirty trick,
I have to imagine that the principle applies
here in Oregon, even though Oregon isn’t
part of that court’s jurisdiction.
I, for one, would love to see a thorough
examination of the question. It could
be nothing is amiss, but I am having
problems finding the information exactly
on how districts are formed for voting.
Maybe this paper can shed some light on
the question.
Hugh Massengill
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: See our most recent story regarding
gerrymandering at wkly.ws/1so.
A CATEGORY OF ONE
As usual, I certainly agree with Sally
Sheklow {“Living Out” column 8/7], in
the present context. But I’d like to see it go
a big step further.
What’s the purpose in today’s world
of “marriage,” creating a category of just
one other person who we claim to love far
4
Giustina also hires helicopters to spray
poison on their clearcuts in the south hills.
Will their association with Whole Foods
inspire them to switch to non-toxic forestry,
or is it just another example of “sustain-a-
bullshit” greenwashing? Are their herbicide
bottles half full or half empty?
The council also recently passed a
Climate Recovery Ordinance that declares
city operations will be carbon neutral by
2020. The ordinance bypassed mention of
plans to widen Beltline to 11 lanes. Public
funds will be given to consultants who
market the sweet lie of “carbon credits”
that supposedly neutralize fossil fuel
pollution. A serious examination of this
fraud is at carbontradewatch.org and a
satirical view is at cheatneutral.com
Mark Robinowitz
SustainEugene.org
A CALL FOR DIPLOMACY
more than others? I tend to resist seeing
things and people in categories, except
as each of us, from our own perspective,
is a category of one. Suppose instead we
de-emphasize that kind of relationship,
so we can all love everyone according to
our inclinations. Of course anyone could
still register as a “partner,” of whatever
duration, for whatever purpose, with any
other agreeable person.
As to the fact that nearly half the people
in the country feel differently about gay
marriage, I think a lot of that, and much
more, is due to our “bi-polar” two-party
voting system that keeps us jumping back
and forth over the real consensuses.
Dan Robinson
Eugene
BLOCKED FROM VIEW
Out of sight: The ZZ Top concert was.
But seated in one of four ADA-designated
areas, where there was plenty of available
seating, access to viewing the show was
not. In order to comply with the American
Disability Act to equal sighting, a seating-
only buffer in front of the designated
areas, maybe 30 by 60 feet, would allow
the seated to enjoy the show while still
letting the stand-up dancers space to
dance their hearts away.
Vince Loving
Eugene
DAMN FINE BEER
I am surprised EW printed a one-
sentence putdown about the craft beer in
this town [Letters, “Beer Shortage,” 7/24].
Peter Tildesley is clearly a troll. By printing
it, you are trolling for this comment:
Eugene craft breweries are pumping out
amazing beer. For example the barrel-
aged sours of Oakshire, seasonally crafted
saisons of Agrarian, lagers of Ninkasi,
session-able inspirations of Falling Sky
and the citrus bliss of Hop Valley ales are
all outstanding examples of the talent in
this town — and only a portion of it. We
make damn fine beer. So enjoy!
Dana Robles
Eugene
A ugust 14, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com
SEETHING RAGE
Recently my husband and I were
enjoying a lively conversation and
leisurely stroll into Down to Earth when,
upon being followed closely by a woman
with her head down and arms stiffened,
we were rudely interrupted by her saying,
“excuse me” — implying that we should let
her squeeze through the tiny little section
of the store where we were standing rather
than simply going around us.
When my husband let her pass, we
were both a little taken aback, and he said,
audibly, “Couldn’t go around, huh?” She
came back to confront us and said that
she was merely being “assertive” and that
she was sorry that my husband couldn’t
handle assertive women.
It was not so much the content of this
interaction that bothers me, but the evident
rage seething just under the surface of
this young woman; I certainly hope that
she is not what passes for assertive in our
society. An assertive woman knows how
to ask for what she needs in a way that is
fair, not obtrusive and rude; an assertive
woman, in her shoes, would simply see
the alternate route and take it, rather than
barge through.
Amy Mills
Eugene
BEHIND WHOLE FOODS
The Eugene City Council’s recent hearing
about their sale of public land for a “Hole
Foods” store in Eugene drew only three
citizens to speak against it (I was one of them).
Two previous attempts to bring Whole Foods
were intensely controversial; one hearing
was the most crowded I’ve seen. EW had a
great cartoon about this on its cover, archived
at sustaineugene.org/hole-foods.html.
Whole Foods is “the Walmart of health
food.” CEO John Mackey is a union
buster who has said, “The union is like
having herpes. It doesn’t kill you, but it’s
unpleasant and inconvenient and it stops a
lot of people from becoming your lover.”
The local real estate company bringing
us Whole Foods is owned by the Giustina
family, a major donor to George W. Bush.
Civilians have paid a horrific price in
the ongoing violence in Gaza. I hope my
members of Congress will support and
work for a lasting ceasefire that includes
lifting the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The
U.S. has particular responsibility to help
end the killing since U.S. weapons are
fueling this conflict. The International
Committee of the Red Cross has called the
blockade collective punishment against a
civilian population.
U.S. policymakers must call for lifting
the blockade to ensure a durable ceasefire.
While it’s imperative to address the
immediate crisis, I also hope the U.S. will
support long-term stability by shifting from
a militarized approach in the Middle East to
one rooted in inclusive, diplomatic solutions.
The success of the ongoing nuclear talks
with Iran and the agreement to destroy
Syria’s chemical weapons demonstrate that
the world can be made a safer place through
diplomacy, not more bombing.
Trudy Maloney
Eugene
SHOWDOWN IN FLORENCE
Trouble is brewing on the coast as
Florence residents discover what is in
store. Florence received a grant from
ODOT [Oregon Dept. of Transportation]
to construct a wide, multi-use paved
pathway extending less than a mile. It calls
for bulldozing trees, native plants and
topsoil, including the wild rhododendrons
that Florence celebrates every spring.
Private land will be taken. Homeowners
will be paid as the state decides, then
left with a fenceless backyard open to
the highway. This grant does not repair
collateral damage to neighborhood homes
that also face a similar decline in value
due to the removal of vegetation. What
looked like an ODOT gift may end up
being costly, but to whom?
A petition against construction already
has 2,200 signatures and opponents have
picketed City Hall. At 7 pm Monday,
Aug. 18, a showdown is predicted in the
Florence Events Center during the final
City Council discussion of ODOT’s multi-
use path before a vote.
Many residents are shocked at the lack
of city concern about increased noise, less
safety, tree replacements or even a wild
rhododendron rescue. Most worry about