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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2017)
LET TERS MEATY COMMENTARY It is clear that EW enjoys trolling “sensitive types” — it gets people talking about the newspaper. But I thought opening your article about a food truck with, “Butchering — cutting down an animal for food — is an art, a calling, a passion,” is creepy and demands comment. Everyone knows that raising animals for meat is a huge calamity for the environ- ment and leading to starvation because the land and water used could grow far more plant-based food. Most of the animals peo- ple eat come from factory farms, which are profoundly cruel. Yet people continue to eat animals for three main reasons — conformity, laziness, or selfishness. Conformity is unthinkingly continuing to do what others do. Laziness is continuing out of habit, no matter if it’s nec- essary or not. And selfishness is when you continue because you enjoy it though you are aware of deep ethical problems. Occa- sionally someone has a biological necessity to eat meat, but that’s an exception. Do some real research — biologically, human beings are herbivores. The cultur- al practice of eating flesh has made heart disease the most common cause of death. From start to finish, eating animals is an epic disaster. How can anyone continue in good conscience? David A. Caruso Eugene HOPE FOR THE FUTURE We are plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States. In 2015, 21 of us youth joined to sue the U.S. government for taking actions that cause and enhance the dangers of climate change. We know it’s not obvious that the U.S. government causes climate change, so let us explain. First, the government sets our national energy policy and what kind of fuels we use. When it sets standards for how inef- ficient the things that burn those fuels can be, like our cars, the government is taking actions. When it leases land to corpora- tions to dig up coal or drill for oil or gas, the government is taking actions. When it offers tax breaks and subsidies to fossil fuel companies, the government is taking actions. When it permits the pollution that comes out of the energy system it controls, the government is taking actions. HOT AIR SOCIETY When you add up all these actions, the U.S. government, more than anyone else, is responsible for the level of carbon di- oxide pollution that will determine the cli- mate in our lifetimes. As young people, we’re not worried about Trump’s opinions on climate change, but the U.S. government’s actions. Be- cause we know the actions it takes today to promote fossil fuels will cause emis- sions that will cause climate change. And that climate change will mean impacts that we will have to live with throughout our lifetimes. That’s why we take a comfort in know- ing that Trump can withdraw from the Par- is Agreement, but he can’t withdraw from our lawsuit. Kelsey Juliana, 21, Eugene Tia Hatton, 20, Bend Kiran Oommen, 20, Eugene Alex Loznak, 20, Roseburg Miko Vergun, 16, Beaverton Isaac Vergun, 15, Beaverton Zealand Bell, 13, Eugene Sahara Valentine, 12, Eugene Hazel Van Ummersen, 12, Eugene Avery McRae, 11, Eugene ON THE RIGHT TRACK Life lessons my grandson learned at the NCAA track and field meet: Whether you win or lose, you acknowl- edge your competitors. You congratulate those who came in ahead of you and also remember those who came in behind you. No matter how far behind you are, you always finish the race. You listen to your coach. Even after do- ing something great on the field, you go straight to your coach to see how you can get better. Because you can always get bet- ter. When you’re out of the running in a field event, you acknowledge the fans with grace — no matter how disappointed you are. Track fans are supportive of their own team but also of everyone’s efforts, no mat- ter what team. They appreciate effort and accomplishment no matter whose they are. Focus and strive. Do this and you will accomplish things in life. Judy Fleisig Springfield BY TONY CORCOR AN Truth Comes Out IT'S ROAD KILL IN THE LEGISLATURE H ow tense is it in Salem right now? The governor just hired a crack team of medical specialists called cranio-proctologists to inves- tigate the alleged legislative leadership. There’s ample evidence that the state Capitol is about to explode. And with less than a few weeks until the July 10 sine die date for adjournment, something needed to be done. First of all, there’s road kill everywhere. The voting margins are so thin that even majority Democrats are getting run over. In the House, Rep. Diego Hernan- dez's threatened “no” vote would have meant defeat for the $8.2 billion biennial budget for K-12 education. When Hernandez made it clear early that he would vote "no" on the education budget, Ways and Means co-chairwoman Nancy Na- thanson used her authority to remove Hernandez from the Education subcommit- tee. She then cast a "yes" vote on the budget, allowing the budget to progress to the full Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, is another example of road kill. The provider tax made it out of the House by the narrowest of margins: 36 votes. A super major- ity of 36 House votes is required for any tax measure. There are only 35 Demo- crats in the House, which is where tax measures must originate. In this case, one Republican voted for the bill. Way to go, Sal. Republicans put tremendous pressure on you, but you bucked them with your vote. And HB 2391 is huge, a health-provider tax that will gener- ate $550 million to pay for medical care for the state’s low-income residents and keep Junction City’s state hospital open. The bill increases taxes on hospitals and imposes a new levy on insurance premiums. HB2391 passed with a yes vote from Sal, a six-term House member who previ- ously announced he will not run for re-election in 2018. So before you cast him in the courageous category, remember that Sal has already announced his retirement. Therefore, he won’t be “tea-partied” by a right wing Republican in his next pri- mary — the fate of disloyal Republicans who do the right thing on budget matters. Another form of road kill. Which brings me to Ashland’s newest state senator, Republican Alan DeBoer. He’s quoted as saying he might support a gross receipts tax for education. Make 4 June 22, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com him vote! If he votes yes, great. If he votes no, then he can explain to all those fine constituents in Ashland why he can’t support adequate funding for public educa- tion or Southern Oregon University. This Ashland seat was Democratic before the legendary Doc (Alan) Bates passed away. DeBoer is facing his Alan Bates moment. DeBoer is under heavy political pressure from his party to vote no on the gross receipts tax for education. Like Bates, he has stated that the proposal is not what he himself would prefer, but it is the only proposal that is in front of the legislature to vote on. Make him vote! Saul Hubbard of the R-G recently reported on four other Republicans who could wind up as road kill on these tough tax votes. Besides DeBoer, senators Jackie Winters and Brian Boquist (who already crossed the NRA on a gun bill) will have tough choices. And representatives Cliff Bentz and Greg Smith could be tea-partied as well. The transportation package and the education funding component are still not in place at this late date. Democrats appear ready to capitulate by dropping the gross receipts tax and proposing temporary additional corporate taxes. Kicking the road kill down the road, to mix metaphors. So yeah, desperate times call for desperate acts. But I think it’s working. Who’da thunk you could sneak those tasty peanut butter cookies laden with Ex-Lax and a superb Jagoo hash into the House and Senate Republican caucus rooms? It was too easy. Turns out Jagoo is just what the cranio-proctologists recommended to cut things loose in Salem. Jagoo is a powerful combination of strong indica and sa- tiva strains. You get the best of both worlds — the strong couch-locking indica and the powerful thinking sativa. Smoke too much and you might get a headache; most people take this to fall asleep and to relieve themselves of pain. This is a powerful strain. We all know Republicans are suckers for sweets, right. Just look at their lead- ership, especially in the Senate. Anyway, Jagoo turned out to be the perfect strain. Throw in a little Ex-lax and voila! You’ll see movement! Stay tuned. Former state Sen. Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove is a retired state employee.
