Wednesday, Aug. 5th
thru Sun., Aug. 9th
Sale starts at 10 a.m.
Bring in this coupon for
$5 off ....
any purchase
of $10 or
more.*
Valid August 2015
WEALTHY IN DENIAL
John Kenneth Galbraith writes in
his historical account Economics in
Perspective about France’s physiocrats
believing in the 1700s that the primary
economic engine of the world was
agriculture which, of course, has turned
out to be a primary driver of climate-
change extinction.
Physiocrats were proponents of
laissez faire economics and natural law
taking precedence over governmental
intervention, and Galbraith recounts how
their efforts to avert the French Revolution
through reforms was futile. In the chapter
“The Merchant and the State,” government
was there to do business’ bidding, not the
reverse (sound familiar?). Paradoxically,
a counter-revolutionary exiled to the
U.S. in 1800, Pierre Samuel du Pont
de Nemours, built a mill in Delaware
and went on to create one of the largest,
most toxic petro-chemical companies in the
world. A proponent of nature from a land
long sustained, and proudly, on organic
farming, should become the planet’s toxic
opponent.
It is in this context that Galbraith’s
words become so prophetic and prescient:
The rich and privileged, when also
corrupt and incompetent, do not accept
rescue reform. Lack of intelligence is an
undoubted bar; so are pride, righteous
indignation and wounded dignity. How
could anyone be led to believe that the
wealthy are other than the most worthy?
There is also the matter of time preference
and psychological denial. Why diminish
the joys, comforts and contentments of the
short run by contemplations of the horrors
and disasters of the even modestly longer
Amazing bargains and
summer close-outs with
some fall merchandise
already discounted!
run? The reforms ... were a slight puff of
wind countering a developing hurricane.
Sean S. Doyle
Corvallis
DELIGHTFUL FRIVOLITY
I also thought the knitted monster
feet were cute when I fi rst noticed them
[WTF?, 7/30]. But if you want to see
“delightful frivolity,” the feet are only
about a 10-minute walk away from the
Autzen footbridge across the Willamette.
Step out onto it and face west and you’ll
be treated to a half-dozen beautiful, non-
commercial specimens of rock-stacking
art that are spontaneous, playful, intricate,
impressive and downright beautiful. Some
are amazingly tall, some have several
branching pillars and some are tiny and
adorable. It’s art for art’s sake, it changes
from day to day and I love it. If you
haven’t checked it out, stop squandering
the opportunity.
Doyle Srader
Eugene
*This coupon must be presented to receive discount. Coupon applies to in-stock merchandise
only, including sale items. Cannot be used on special customer orders, consignment merchandise,
layaway pick-ups, gift certificates, or be applied retroactively for refunds on prior purchases. Limited
to one coupon per customer per day. One coupon only per transaction. Coupon expires 8/31/15.
CECIL IS A DISTRACTION
There is enough punishment in this
world. Animal extinction will not come
from those who pay $50,000 for a safari
and kill one lion. Extinction will come from
those businesses that keep dumping CO2
into the atmosphere. Selling fossil fuels
makes billions of dollars while threatening
every lion, penguin and human being with
extinction. Cecil is just a distraction from
that kind of real crime.
Justice will come when those who
commit crimes stop doing so. One
American “trophy hunter” will probably
never do that again.
18th & Willamette
Meridian Building
541-431-3411
Shop Space
Available
contact Eli Howell
541-600-0081
120 Cleveland St.
Unit 6
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • A UGUST 6, 2015
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