LET TERS
DIG THAT HOLE
John Zerzan is pointing out that voting
for Clinton is a vote for “no change.” Yup,
we’ve got a world of problems that won’t
be addressed. “When you find yourself in a
hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.”
Trump will bring change, no doubt, like
setting off dynamite in that hole you dug
while fixing your leach field.
Gregg Ferry
Corvallis
WILEY GRIFFON
In an interesting Aug. 11 “History Hap-
penings” column discussing Wiley Grif-
fon, his home — first one owned by an
African-American in Eugene — was de-
scribed as being “in the vicinity of 3rd and
High.” In fact it was down the hill at 4th
and Mill next to the Millrace, in the area
now occupied by the EWEB employee
parking lot.
The 3rd and High location may have
been in reference to the Mims House,
the next home to be owned by a black
family some 40 years later. Beside this
first ownership, Griffon was also the first
African-American employee at the Uni-
versity of Oregon.
Thanks for publishing this column on
HOT AIR
one of the most remarkable persons in Eu-
gene history.
Doug Card
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: Card declined to have a discussion
with the Lane County Historical Society about the differ-
ence in address information, but column author Heather
Kliever of LCHS points to a newspaper notice placed by
Griffon's estate administrators after his death describing
the house as in the "vicinity" of 3rd and High. The de-
bate and conflicting information in historical documents
highlight how this area has failed to do justice to telling
the story of the African-American community, something
columns like “History Happenings” hope to help rectify.
with what havoc is being wreaked on the
wild environment and its web of life, I am
also concerned about the effect of people
having to deal with such tragedies.
We need to do what we can in our per-
sonal lives to absolutely minimize our own
negative impacts on the problem and also
make stopping climate change the priority
in our voting and political organizing.
Stephen Amy
Eugene
CHEMTRAILS
CLIMATE FLOODING
In the United States, mostly in southern
states, there have been eight “500-year”
precipitation events in the past 15 months!
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) confirms this —
that since May of last year, eight events
in the United States had the amount of
rainfall in an area in a specified window
of time exceed NOAA predictions for an
amount of precipitation that will occur
once every 500 years. The tragedy in the
area around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the
latest in a series.
Climate change is destroying the lives
of people right here in our country. Along
The Perseid meteor showers were great
this year, but if anyone was stargazing
last Saturday the 13th, they unfortunately
would not have seen any due to hazy skies
from aerial spraying. We had some strange
weather this past Saturday, with the help of
some jet liners. What started in the morn-
ing and lasted throughout the day and well
on into the evening, seemed to be strange
jet contrails (chemtrails?), lamentably lin-
ing the skies of lovely Lane County.
These chemtrails, I mean contrails, did
not dissipate from the back to front and
eventually disappear like normal. Rather,
they slowly and ominously expanded lat-
erally, subsequently blanketing the skies.
I was visiting with family and we’ve en-
joyed the great weather we’ve had for the
past three weeks, especially the clear blue
skies, but we were amazed and disappoint-
ed to see the constant aerial spraying last
Saturday.
Did anyone else notice? Does anyone
else care to know? There may be chemtrail
conspiracy theories (regarding government
geoengineering projects, or heavy metals
or the testing of biological weapons) but
no one can deny the fact that these chem-
trails/contrails, whatever they may in fact
be, now exist and were sprayed rampantly
over Lane County’s citizens.
Lane County commissioners, admin-
istrators, Health and Human Services and
Oregon government: What was aerially
sprayed on Saturday the 13th of August,
2016? We have the right to know what is in
the air we are breathing and what is even-
tually falling on the food we eat.
We look forward to hearing your reply.
Nicholas S. Anderson
Eugene
CROSSING TRAFFIC
As a professional driver in Eugene, I see
a lot of crazy things on the streets. Today
BY TON Y CORCOR A N
Welcome to the Silly Season
THE ELECTION IS DRAWING NEAR
“T
ruth is stranger than Fiction,
but it is because Fiction is
obliged to stick to possibili-
ties; Truth isn’t.” — Mark
Twain
This issue of EW comes out 10 days before Labor
Day and 10 weeks before Election Day.
This period marks the bell lap in a presidential race
that has been mindboggling. For example, some of the
elderly in our Hot Air Society appear seriously confused
about Donald Trump’s recent hiring of Paul Manafort
(who resigned Aug. 19), crackpot Stephen Bannon and
former Fox News creep Roger Ailes. They don’t know
whether to cheer or boo.
Ultimately, they all agreed that moves like this make
Vladimir Putin look statesmanlike — even atop a horse
without a shirt. Hopefully Hillbillary will keep a low
profile.
Here in Oregon, we can
only hope that Trump’s
patterned bumptiousness
will dampen Republican
and conservative turnout. We
can only hope that Republican
women, Latinos and Muslims
will reject his rhetoric. On the
other hand, the NRA and Chris-
tian conservatives hate Hillary
Clinton enough to motivate
their base. That the religious
right continues to abide with
Trump is baffling and comical.
Who woulda thunk these
sanctimonious self-righteous
4
A ugust 25, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com
types would support a guy who describes his biggest
success during the Vietnam era as not contracting ve-
nereal disease?
In Oregon, the outcomes of our so-called “down
ticket” races and ballot measures are going to set the ta-
ble for the next biennium. Putting aside the U.S. Senate
race between Ron Wyden and Faye Stewart as a fore-
gone conclusion, I truly believe the governor and secre-
tary of state races could turn based on turnout. The same
is true in state legislative races and the ballot measures.
Oregon faces serious financial challenges in the
2017-2019 biennium. To maintain state government
at its current level requires an additional $2.7 billion,
and projected revenue only will have grown by half
that amount. Oh, and did I mention that PERS (Pub-
lic Employees Retirement System) rates just increased
dramatically for the next biennium? The result: tuition
increases, cuts to K-12, social program cuts for seniors
and the disabled; you know the drill. Absent a 6 percent
supermajority in the House and Senate, there will be no
tax measures put forward to fill the gap.
How about Ballot Measure 97? Previously known as
Initiative Petition 28, it would charge certain C corpora-
tions a 2.5 percent tax on gross annual sales of $25 mil-
lion or more in Oregon. It’s a gross receipts tax. Instead
of relying on volatile personal income tax revenues to
fund schools, Oregon could follow Washington’s ex-
ample for more stable school funding.
There’s plenty of money being spent on this mea-
sure. The No on 97 campaign had raised $5.5 million
by the end of July. The Yes on 97, mostly public sector
unions, had raised less than half that. It’s anticipated
that $30 million will be spent by the time this is all over.
Welcome Koch brothers!
We all know moving a tax increase is an uphill climb
in Oregon. I spent 10 years in the Oregon Legislature
without a gross receipts tax proposal being given a vote.
So, you can either pass a ballot measure or elect a leg-
islature with 36 votes in the House and 18 in the Senate
to pass a gross receipts tax. And a governor who’d sign
it into law. Kate Brown has endorsed Measure 97; her
opponent opposes it.
The R-G recently asked: How can we fix Eugene?
Being your humble county mouse, I would offer a mod-
est proposal. Keep in mind, mice have no respect for
rules with which they disagree, and they abhor spine-
less politicians. I’m not sure if you human beings can
actually use my proposals because they may violate
some of your current laws.
You should recall or just fire the Lane County Com-
missioners and the Eugene City Council, or at least ask
them to resign. For two years these clowns have dem-
onstrated a level of incompetence that drives common-
sense voters up the wall … if one ever gets built to drive
up.
Both bodies lack the capacity to integrate their sepa-
rate schemes into one logical plan and move forward. I
don’t think you could construct a full spine out of the
entire bunch! Two years?
Meanwhile the price doubles on their bids! The
public is aghast. And this ain’t no Podunk East Jesus
backwater county in Mississippi … this is Lane County
— hub of the hip — a model of good public policy and
management and translucency and logic. Not so much.
This is the bullshit that drives white male geezer Demo-
crats up the wall to cynicism. Stay tuned.
Tony Corcoran is a former state senator and retired state employee.