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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2017)
LET TERS HONORING ED COLEMAN public access television station to expose me as a bigoted idiot. Joe Tyndall Eugene The Black Student Union and the con- tingent that supported it during the recent process to consider renaming Deady Hall at the University of Oregon now has the opportunity to put its own stamp on history and the UO campus. The new Black Student Center will need a name. I propose that the person most deserving of that honor would be the late Dr. Edwin L. Coleman II. Coleman’s list of achievements is far too long to list here, so please research his lifetime contributions to our university, city, state and country. It would be difficult to find anyone who is more deserving than Edwin Coleman. Mary Lou Vignola Eugene FASCIST PIMP SINGLE PAYER OREGON After years of promising to do away with President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Republicans have their chance. Their attempts will create a different set of win- ners and losers as big insurance crafts a for-profit business plan that will have little to do with health and much to do with the corporate bottom line. Inevitably the model fails because of the large segments of the population that will be left to fend for themselves. Insur- ance corporations’ insistence to keep their hands in the health care money pot will be the downfall of the GOP attempt. You might be surprised to learn that the answer is waiting in the wings in Or- egon in 2020. A dedicated array of doctors, nurses, health professionals, business men and women, and thousands of citizens of all ages have been tirelessly organizing for a health care system that serves everyone in Oregon — that is equitable, affordable and able to provide high-quality universal health care, all while saving millions of dollars by employing a Medicare for All (single payer) system. Please get used to the concept of single payer and research the success of countries that have employed it for decades. Visit the Health Care for All Oregon website at hcao.org and get involved. When the time comes we will need ev- ery enlightened vote to overcome the vest- ed interests and misleading advertisements authorized by Big Insurance and their cor- porate and political allies like those that helped defeat a similar measure in Colo- rado this year. Stuart Henderson Florence PRINCIPAL APOLOGIZES I would like to take this opportunity to address the recent events that have been prevalent in our local media this past week. I know there is likely nothing I can say which will alleviate this situation; however, I would like to offer a full public apology for my recent behavior. People are completely justified to feel outraged, saddened and dismayed by my disrespectful and inappropriate conduct. While I never intended my words to be heard publicly, they should have never been said in the first place. I take full responsibility and make no excuse for my actions, other than to say I 4 am a human being, flawed and not infal- lible. I must become a better person mov- ing forward. I am deeply ashamed that I have hurt students and the people who trusted me to lead, and failed to serve in the capacity that was expected of me. I am deeply sorry to everyone who has been affected by what I’ve done. This has also been a valuable lesson for me, and I hope also for others, that nothing is really private, and all words and actions can have consequences, sometimes severe. Now, the healing process begins. Cre- swell and Pleasant Hill high schools each have a great team of adults whose strengths will be needed to bring students and fami- lies together to rise above this and move on. I must also work on rebuilding my life with my own family, as we are greatly af- fected by this situation as well. Thank you for allowing me to share these thoughts with you and for helping each other work through this difficult time. Andy Bracco Eugene SUPPORT WATER PROTECTORS We can all do one small thing to help stop the DAPL. We have until Feb. 20 to respond to the Army Corps of Engineers’ EIS Notice of Intent, which will establish the scope of the EIS. Send public comments to: Mr. Gib Owen at gib.a.owen.civ@mailmil, and on the subject line put “NOI Comments, Da- kota Access Pipeline Crossing.” Points to make: The “no-action” alter- native is not realistic; it should assume that the oil is not extracted. Federal agencies have been directed to evaluate the direct and indirect, the long- and the short-term climate change impacts through the EIS process. Please do so. Evaluate all oil spill effects, including the likelihood of those that will happen during the entire lifetime of the pipeline. Stopping the DAPL is a long shot, given Trump’s determination, but this is February 2, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com the least we can do to support the valiant water protectors. For more information, see ecowatch.com for 1.27.17 or Yesmaga- zine.org/people-power/Dont-let-Trump- Distract-you. Public comment on DAPL is now open. Jere C. Rosemeyer Eugene SJW WHINERS Amid fear mongering by the social jus- tice warrior (SJW) colonized media claim- ing Trump is Hitler, some good news has been largely overlooked. As promised, Trump has killed the Trans Pacific Partnership. TPP was a trade deal negotiated by President Obama that would destroy American jobs and transfer power to corporations by allowing them to sue governments to force changes in poli- cies that interfere with the extraction of profit. Like Trump, Bernie Sanders opposed TPP. In contrast, Hillary Clinton supported it. Given that TPP would have increased homelessness, could it be that Trump ac- tually did something good for working people? As I add it up, killing TPP more than compensates for all the other things Trump has done that I wish had gone otherwise. Stopping TPP makes Trump’s first week in office a net positive. In 2018, 23 Democratic Senators and two Independents are up for election, ver- sus only eight Republicans. If SJW behav- ior does not change, conservatives will achieve a filibuster-proof Senate. SJWs need to stop whining about imag- ined evils. Instead of shouting people down and trying to restrict the speech of folks who disagree, SJWs need to engage in open and respectful debate. If the SJW narrative cannot survive scrutiny in the marketplace of ideas, who cares how many people march in the streets? Let’s pick a topic, set a date, set the rules and see if you can kick my butt using evidence and logic. Here’s your chance to use Eugene’s It was with great interest (and relief) that I read the anti-fascist letter by Lola Bravo (EW, Jan. 12). I wholeheartedly agree with her that Trump is an unquali- fied bozo with alarmingly fascist warning signs. In these post-literate times not many citizens use books anymore, so that large- ly eclipses the use of dictionaries. Let an old retired English instructor define the F-word … Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines fascism as “a political philosophy, movement or regime that ex- alts nation and race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial lead- er…” Surely this nation does not need a pimp, but a brilliant, compassionate public ser- vant. My 1970s radical is reawakening. Is yours? Stanley Rosenzweig Eugene DUMBED DOWN AND TRUMPED As a veteran, I’ve taken “the oath,” which certifies my care for this country — the richest country in the world, the most powerful, the leader. Conservative views for education vs. business have produced second-rate edu- cation for the general population — em- barrassingly low-ranking in the world. As a result: Donald Trump. Philip Byron Renow U.S. Army Med. Corps 1967-70 Cheshire WHEN WOMEN MARCH Thousands of protesters were seen marching on Facebook this week, confused and angered that the women’s march had something to say about anything particular. “My friend told me there was going to be women there, so I was all, like, ‘Hell ya, I’m in!’” said Wayne Brewski. “But I just thought it was about workin’ out and staying fit.” Upon finding out the march was about more than an international physical fitness campaign, Wayne says, “I was so pissed, and all like, ‘Pfffft, this is ridiculous.’ I mean, damn, what a scandal.” Millions of people around the world, primarily male, are still recovering from the shock. A hotline has been set up by Trump Tower for emotional support to those still reeling from the awful decep- tion. Steven Coatsworth Eugene RESIST DOMINANT PARADIGM The peaceful way should be tried first when resolving conflicts. Non-violence should always be the default strategy. Former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass pointed out that “if there is no struggle, there is no progress ... power con- cedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will.”
