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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2017)
LET TERS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL Camilla Mortensen’s article “Endan- gered Wolves, Invasive Wolves?” [Aug. 10] brought to mind an invasive species that is rapacious in every environment it encounters and whose unchecked popula- tion growth will be the death of us all. The cattlepersons claim that cattle are not inva- sive because they are managed. Even using that self-serving definition, this species is an extreme danger to us all. Of course, I refer to homo sapiens. Why is there no discussion of human overpopu- lation? Actually, the answer is quite simple. There has yet to be conceived an economic model for a stable population, much less one that is shrinking. What would happen to the housing market if there were more houses than people? It defies physics that any population can grow indefinitely. We have to start creating a shrinking-to-stable population economic model to make the transition peacefully. The other option is to leave the earth a ra- dioactive cinder ball. Gregg Ferry Corvallis EVIL UNCLE PHIL Nike founder Phil Knight donated half a million dollars to Republican gubernato- rial candidate Knute Buehler. While the amount of the donation is larger than nor- mal, this should be no surprise to anybody who has been paying attention to Oregon politics. The sweatshop pioneer has been donat- ing to Republicans for many years. He also has consistently donated to campaigns to defeat desperately needed school funding tax measures. Knight feels that he has to pay too much in taxes and wants more tax cuts. And speaking of taxes, not long ago the Republican-friendly billionaire was identified as one of America’s most noto- rious tax-dodgers, stashing more than $10 billion in overseas tax havens avoiding contributing to Oregon’s schools and other essential services. In Phil’s mind, he can never be rich enough. Meanwhile Oregon’s public schools have some of the largest classes in the nation and also have one of the short- est school years. Art, P.E. and other vital programs have been slashed and burned. HOT AIR SOCIETY Many districts are cutting teaching posi- tions this year. What is surprising is how many people who identify as progressive, liberal, etc., continue to support Nike by buying their clothing and acting as Nike advertisers. Eugene's 4J school district actually signed a contract to use Nike gear, requiring stu- dents to be mandatory corporate advertis- ers for Nike. It’s generally a good idea not to fi- nancially support those who are working against you. Joshua Welch Eugene FIGHT HATE I appreciate your coverage of the Char- lottesville Solidarity March. The increasing confidence of white supremacists under the current administration poses a cataclysmic threat to our lives and those of our descen- dants. As a 70-year-old white woman, I am extremely grateful to have lived long enough to witness local people of color leading our community’s fight against rac- ism in all its forms. At the Aug. 14 rally, many spoke cou- rageously about their experiences living in Eugene. An African-American woman told of being verbally assaulted by a sandy- haired man driving by while she waited for a bus on Highway 126. A black man living in south Eugene had his house spray-paint- ed with a slur. A number of the speakers called out white people in the audience to do more than show up at a rally, saying, “Silence is violence.” White people need to educate ourselves on how structural racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia work to divide and ma- nipulate us. Then we need to move out of our comfort zone and initiate difficult con- versations with friends and relatives. We must find in ourselves the integrity to ad- dress racism wherever it occurs, including our workplaces, our local government and police. As a start, check out the Southern Poverty Law Center website “Ten Ways to Fight Hate.” To be free means to be safe, and injustice anywhere means injustice ev- erywhere, so do something today towards creating a safe, respectful environment for everyone in our community. Patricia Bryan Eugene BY TONY CORCOR AN The Race is On! DOES NIKE MAKE HORSESHOES? E veryone knows the difference between a horse race and a political race, right? In a horse race, the whole horse races! It’s been barely a month since the Oregon Legislature closed up shop. Now the 2018 campaigns are in full swing. RUFKM? The fil- ing deadline is still nine months away! The governor’s race will draw the most attention next year. I doubt Kate Brown will see any serious contenders in her Democratic primary. Maybe central Oregon’s Knute Buehler will be her Republican opponent in the general. Could it be a rerun of the 2012 Secretary of State (SOS) race? First Buehler will have to survive a Republican primary election next May. Two strong constituencies within the Republican Party, the gun lobby and the anti-abortion religious right, are lukewarm to him. Two Republican candidates have already registered campaign committees for the May 2018 primary, and an- other Trump trumpeter, conservative radio host and state Rep. Bill Post, is being urged to run. No one should be surprised by Phil Knight’s $500,000 contribution to Knute. This is the same guy who gave political unknown Chris Dudley $400,000 in the 2010 governor’s race. He even gave Knute the Unknown $50,000 to run against Kate in the 2012 SOS race. And he spent $330,000 on Republican state legislative races in 2016, including $25,000 to Rep. Julie Parrish, the right wingnut currently gathering signatures to defeat the recently signed bi-partisan medical provider tax passed last session to save Medicaid for 400,000 Oregonians. As a reminder, Medicaid pays for half of the births in Oregon. Measure 97 apparently threatened Uncle Phil’s place as the 28th richest per- son on the planet and moved him further to the right. He personally spent over $75,000 to defeat the measure. Besides its atrocious workers’ rights record, here’s another reason why I’ve boycotted Nike for 30 years. The only oddity about the billionaire’s contribution is its timing. Why so ear- ly? I’m guessing Uncle Phil’s doing it to keep those more conservative candidates out of the Republican primary next May. Buehler is a surgeon from Bend. Prior to 2012 he had never run for office. But there’s something about arrogant Republican physicians. Remember Dr. Monica Wehby’s run against Jeff Merkley for U.S. Senate in 2014? Remember Dr. Bud Pierce against Gov. Kate in 2016? What did they all have in common? They all filed directly for a statewide race without any prior experience running for public office. And all three lost their first race. Brown beat Buehler by 9 points in the 2012 SOS race. Buehler believed running for local office or the state Legislature was “be- neath” him in 2012. Unlike Wehby and Pierce, Knute took his political advisors’ advice after his loss to Kate and ran for the Oregon House successfully in 2014 and 2016. Once elected to the House, Knute cast some pretty atypical Republican votes. Knute tried to build his credentials as a moderate Republican; he supported an expansion of birth control access through pharmacists, and he voted for an anti- coal bill that was strongly opposed by most Republicans. He even took on the NRA and OFF, the Oregon Firearm Federation. (“Oregon’s Only No Compromise Gun Rights Organization,” according to their website). He co-sponsored a bill with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward that would have limited firearm access for people with mental disorders. Not a bad idea. He pissed the pro-gun lobby off, but his bill didn’t go anywhere. Knute is no moderate; he has a 91 percent approval rating with the NRA. Ap- parently he’s from the schizophrenic branch of the Tea Party. Sure, he voted for a bill to increase access to birth control by allowing pharmacists to expand their prescription authority. Then he voted against the reproductive rights expansion sponsored by Rep. Julie Fahey. Gov. Brown calls Buehler a “Trump-in-Waiting.” All last legislative session, Buehler colluded with his Republican leaders, House Minority Leader Mike McLane and Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, to obstruct the Democrats while offering nothing as an alternative. This guy is Paul Ryan; he’s Mitch Mc- Connell; he’s the Donald. Not a sincere bone in his surgeon’s body. In the coming months we’ll discuss the other races and ballot measures. The governor’s race and the Oregon labor commissioner race and important local leg- islative races are shaping up … nine months to the primary. A pregnant moment. I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to decide if these are horse races or political races. Stay tuned. Former state Sen. Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove is a retired state employee. 4 A ugust 24, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
