too afraid to stay, so we went for a walk and looked at
some pretty Christmas lights, but then she got too cold. All
the donated coats had already been taken. We went back
inside but there she was nervous around so many people.
Another volunteer went to her own house and returned
with her own coat to give to this woman. Later she calmed
down enough to lie down on her mat and go to sleep. The
volunteers were all great, caring and patient, but a
vulnerable woman like her should not have to depend on
random kindness to help her.
This is insanity and this is one reason why I am
supporting Bernie Sanders. Our current government is
saturated in greed and fraud and it has to stop. There are
enough resources to take care of people and our needs if we
get rid of the corruption. Bernie is the one to do it; he is not
beholden to the rich and greedy, but only to us, the people.
Ellen Furstner, Marcola
Jan. 7
A small group of armed white Christian militiamen take
over a federal building in southeast Oregon. The sheriff
claims these men have intentions to overthrow the county
and federal governments. These men, some of whom
crossed state lines to get here, claim they have no intentions
of leaving, have stocked up food and have a generator.
This isn’t the first time. A similar scenario occurred at
the Nevada ranch of Cliven Bundy in 2014. Even though
the “protestors” ignored lawful orders given to them by
local and federal law enforcement officials and pointed
their weapons at federal law enforcement officials, the
government backed down and left them alone. As far as I
know, the government has yet to collect any of the grazing
fees (over $1 million) owed by the Bundy family for
grazing their cattle on our public lands.
If these “protesters” had been of some other religion,
race or foreign nationality, would they have been dealt
with the same way? Recent events would suggest
otherwise. This country is governed by the rule of law,
which does allow some latitude.
However, if the government were to correctly recognize
these people as terrorists, as their actions clearly indicate,
there would be no latitude given, and law enforcement
would meet the threat with overwhelming force.
If these people think they are protestors and not terrorists,
we should refer to them with appropriately less severe
names such as Yocal Haram, Ya’ll Quada or Vanilla ISIS.
Jay Schwartz, Eugene
Jan. 7
EASY TARGET
Capstone [see “Tax Exempt, Design Optional: A review
of MUPTE design requirements past and present” story
Jan. 7] got the scent of ignorant hillbillies and took full
advantage. Duh?
Marilyn Mantini, Eugene
Jan. 14
ILLUSTR AT ION BY JEFF DRE W
CHRISTIAN MILITIAMEN
DR. FRANKENSTEIN
When Montana State paleontologist Jack Horner recently spoke at the University of Oregon, it was
as though Dr. Frankenstein himself had arrived on campus.
Horner spoke of his efforts to “reverse engineer” a dinosaur. That is, to genetically manipulate a
chicken — an evolutionary descendant of dinosaurs — so that the resulting animal will, in some way,
physically resemble a dinosaur. This may involve attempting to add a long tail, altering the shape of
the skull, changing the skeletal structure of the limbs and on and on.
The guiding idea is that if evolution could trace a path from velociraptor to modern chicken, then
humanity should be able to chart a course in the reverse direction from chicken back to raptor.
Of course, the great sin of Dr. Frankenstein was hubris and an unexamined assumption that, for
him, nothing is off limits or could ever be prohibited. But Horner’s macabre endeavors transgress on
the sacred; they are an insult to the living world.
If nothing else, respect for animals must bar treating them as a mere assemblage of component
parts and desirable features to be rearranged and manipulated for one’s amusement or curiosity.
Ian Smith, Eugene
April 21
DECISION ALREADY MADE?
Raise your hand if, public input aside, you fear that the
city of Eugene has already decided to privatize Kesey
Square.
Walker T. Ryan, Eugene
Feb. 4
ART COMMUNITY OF EXILE
Through the symbolic fabric of local art and life, EW
Arts Editor Alex V. Cipolle’s writings about the closing of
the Jacobs Gallery Feb. 4 [“Art - It Could Happen Here:
With the Jacobs Gallery closure, the visual arts community
needs help, but who’s going to pay for it?”] describes an
art community of exile and vulnerability as one after
another local gallery closes.
I’ve presented two solo installations at the Jacobs, been
in 10 Mayor’s Art Shows, as well as serving twice on the
Mayor’s Art Show jury. The Mayor’s Art Show, as well at
New Zone’s version of the Salon des Refuses, were serious
endeavors, important to many local artists whose selected
or rejected artworks are showcased in these not-for-profit
organizations.
How important are these shows to artists? Most artists
in Lane County are less concerned about fame or making
it into the latest version of Janson’s History of Art than
they are about living here in relative comfort.
So what if the city has only a few commercial galleries,
no significant art market and a small group of critical
reviewers to help create a dialogue and build an informed
audience? If an artist is lucky, his or her work would be
accepted in the annual Mayor’s Show, and if rejected,
shown in the Salon.
And if an artist is really lucky, he or she will be invited
to show at Maude Kerns Art Center, LCC Art Department
Gallery, UO Adell McMillan Gallery or UO Jordan
Schnitzer Museum of Art. If an artist is really, really lucky,
his or her next exhibit might be reviewed or previewed in
EW or The Register-Guard.
There has to be more, a dialogue that creates an
informed audience that is buying art for more than
decorative elements to enhance a blank wall. We need a
community that views art as an investment fostering
further growth and an understanding of contemporary
visual art.
In many ways Eugene is sliding backwards with the
closing of the Jacobs Gallery and the Downtown Initiative
for the Visual Arts (DIVA) as well as the Gallery at the
Watershed.
We need, desperately, a stronger sense of our own
artistic history as a city. We need a sense that art made in
Lane County can emerge from the sphere of private lives
and take on a meaningfully public, historical dimension.
This means commitment to ongoing preservation and
re-examination of art exhibits, particularly those in the
nonprofit and commercial sectors, to mount analytical and
historical exhibits like, say, those presented at the Schnitzer
Museum and Karin Clark Gallery.
Finally, an excellent start toward preservation of local
art history would be informative catalogs of exhibitions
presented in our own community.
Mike E. Walsh, Eugene
Feb. 11
eugeneweekly.com • December 1, 2016
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