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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2017)
LET TERS SOUR GRAPES LESSONS OF HOUSTON Kendra Lady, in her Aug. 31 letter, made a very heartfelt and passionate point about the University of Oregon and its fans' “cult like” adoration of its Ducks sports pro- gram. It seems that the main point of her letter was not with the UO but with Eugene and our racist and bigoted past. Unfortunately, the entire country has a racist and bigoted past, present and, unfor- tunately, future as well. It also seems as if Lady is airing her “sour grapes” regarding her dance funding being suspended. I could argue that her letter would be moot had un- cle Phil built her a fancy dance studio and funded her program with donations. Indeed, hypocrisy, like racism, is noth- ing new. John Carlson Eugene President Trump avoided many mis- takes that G.W. Bush made, but that is mainly because President Obama rebuilt FEMA after Bush’s disaster. The emer- gency responders were wonderful. This is what the alt-right calls the “deep state” at work. Trump wanted to reduce FEMA by 25 percent. Hurricane Harvey disproved many Republican myths. Government is good and actually helps people in need. Climate Science is good and accurate and saved thousands of lives. The “liberal me- dia” is accurate and its dedicated reporters put themselves in harm’s way to warn ev- eryone of the danger. This may be the most expensive disaster we have experienced. How Houston recov- ers will illustrate the basic philosophical difference between the parties. Republi- cans deny climate science and think that tax cuts for the rich are more important than helping the common people. They think any emergency spending should be offset with spending cuts. Democrats know that disasters like these will become more extreme and com- mon. They think the rich should help pay for the recovery with higher taxes and that climate science should be used to plan for and avoid future climate disasters. Houston showed how great the com- mon people are who responded to this di- saster. Congress should not shut down the government. They should work in a bipar- tisan manner to help the common people, not the rich. They should enact disaster re- lief and rebuild infrastructure, they should save health care and they should tax the hedge fund managers so the rest of us can get a break. Jerry Brule Eugene $41.2 MILLION COMMA I have taught English for 22 years and teach writing for Stanford University on- line. I have never seen as reprehensible a manipulation of language as in the “Ballot: Bonds to Fix Streets, Fund Bicycle and Pe- destrian Projects” to meet Eugene voters in the special election of Nov. 7. In the title, the comma suggests paral- lelism. Items in a series suggest ascension. The colloquial “Fix Streets” is diminutive to the grandiloquent “Fund Projects.” Each of these misleads voters to believe that “Fund Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects” is equal or paramount to “Fix Streets.” Spoiler alert: It ain’t even close. In “Question,” we’re asked: Shall the city raise $51.2 million? Omitted is the un- equal disbursement of funds. Obfuscated is, who pays? In the “Summary,” the topic sentence reinforces the false equivalency of the title: “fix approximately 88 lane miles of roads and fund bicycle and pedestrian proj- ects” [my emphasis]. Halfway through that paragraph we learn: “$1 Million for bicycle and pedestrian projects” per year. “The re- mainder would be used to fix streets, as well as pay bond issuance costs.” The remainder? That “remainder” is $46.2 million, at plus or minus $41.2 Million. Criminally misleading and vague, no- where do you state the clear math. This ballot measure proposes $46.2 to “fix streets” and pay costs, $500,000 per mile for 88 miles. Bicycle and Pedestrian Proj- ects are thrown $5 million for a “Yes” vote. The ballot speciously garners votes from advocates of environmental infra- structure. I believe this ballot, should it pass, is actionable. Otis Haschemeyer Eugene SHORTSIGHTED EWEB Drawdown is the reduction of green- house gases (GHG) to achieve the goal of reversing global warming and is the name of the book by Paul Hawken that lists com- prehensive solutions to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Renewable onshore and offshore wind generation rank #2 and #22 respectively, and combined are the best means to naturally reduce carbon dioxide. Due to a glut of surplus energy, EWEB 4 is proposing to sell its ownership of two wind farms the utility says it doesn’t need (Register-Guard, Aug. 5). However, in Or- egon, when utilities install a megawatt of renewable energy, they also are granted a megawatt of credit they can save or sell. EWEB pays three times the normal megawatt-per-hour rate to Seneca biomass until 2025. Biomass is only 20 percent ef- ficient when it generates electricity and, as a result, is not considered renewable. EWEB also gets “dirty energy” until 2020 from the Boardman coal plant. With two major producers of GHG emissions supplying EWEB energy, EWEB should reconsider their future energy sources. The city of Eugene adopted the Climate Recovery Ordinance and is committed to 50 percent community-wide reduction of carbon dioxide below 2010 levels by 2030. This requires EWEB to be a large partner in this endeavor by sourcing energy from hydroelectric, wind and solar, and for its customers to shift to all electric and phase out natural gas usage. EWEB is aware of this upcoming tran- sition to reduce community-wide carbon emissions and the forecast of 30,000 more customers by 2030. Selling proprietary re- newable energy sources is shortsighted and headed in the wrong direction. Jim Neu 350.EUG TOTAL ECLIPSE As a recent attendee of the Oregon Eclipse Gathering that took place on Big Summit Prairie, I have an enraged mes- sage for the festival regarding its pervasive hypocrisy: You are a group of visionaries that creates wildly impressive events at the expense of the environment and oppressed humans while claiming to care deeply about both. At some level in your event planning, there is an awareness of this, and you choose to ignore it because you would rather feel the high that putting on such an event provides for you and the thousands of attendees. You are deeply entrenched in the September 7, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com very paradigm that your people so fervently claim to be evolving beyond, and until you make the difficult sacrifice that is required to end this hypocrisy (i.e. stop holding these events), you will remain there. I will give you one thing though: I’ve been to many, many festivals, and none has managed to present me with this level of clarity. None has put me in a place where I could no longer hide from my own con- tributions to the very things I claim to be opposed to. I thank you for providing me with a painfully honest view of the countercul- ture that I have identified myself with for so long now, and it is my sincere hope and intention that this letter returns the favor by providing you with a more authentic view of yourself. Shelda Lee Eugene OBF BLUNDER The abrupt firing of Matthews Halls as artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festi- val is a stunning blow to the musical com- munity in Eugene and to me personally This last summer I enjoyed rehearsals and performances of Bach's music under Halls' direction. Since no reason has been given to the public for the termination of Halls' contract, since the festival board of directors was not consulted, and since an unnamed representative of the University of Oregon has been said to have carried out the firing by telephone, I am left with the feeling that a great injustice has been done to a fine musician. OBF spokesperson Josh Gren tried to pass off the extraordinary action as a "stra- tegic decision" to keep the OBF relevant, while a badly written Aug. 27 press release proposed a murky plan to hire "guest cura- tors" of music for next year's season. Can the OBF survive? I fear that under the new leadership — whoever they are — the an- swer is "probably not." Dina Wills Eugene GOT A LIGHT? Listen up, Eugeneans: It’s time to close your goddamned cell phones, dig your heads out of your asses and clean up your addiction to cigarettes. Call up a hypnotist, schedule an appointment and find freedom from these dark spirits. These cigarettes, especially the filters on the ends of them, are full of the most vile, sickening, vicious, nasty, evil, dark spirits that will suck your soul — to death. You have been warned. Please pick up your filters, pick up your butts and live. Or die. It’s up to you. But if you drop your butts on the ground in a moment of pure self-aggrandizing selfish- ness, you will be condemned to death by the Lord. The dark spirit of Death will wrap its leathery wings around your face and con- sume your spirit entirely — on the spot. Because the lives of our children are at stake, and the Dark Goddess will call forth a terrible vengeance upon you for think- ing only of yourself. Your life is worthless compared to the needs of children. Pick up your butts or die. The choice is up to you. Do it. You narcissistic pieces of filth! Jason Benjamin Gamble Eugene
