The Shedd Institute
www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000
Shedd Theatricals 2018
Roberta
1933
By
Otto Harbach Jerome Kern
June 8-17
When Trump’s supporters are shown his
blatant treason and money laundering, will
they still buy into his Fox News branding of
the Republican white nationalist party?
Tell me again how the FBI skipped a
vetting process and allowed a tax-evading
gangster to become our “grate” President?
Sorry Marvel heroes — crime pays.
Glenn Jones
Eugene
if only someone would give them the
opportunity.
We are now standing on a cusp. The
president-who-would-be-king is taking the
stand that he is totally and absolutely above
the law, and we now must hope that some
Republican senators and congressmen find
a spine, some testicles and a conscience.
I hold little hope.
Jamie Selko
Eugene
The Mildred Baker
Fund for the Arts
sub-fund of the Western Oregon Arts Foundation
at the Oregon Community Foundation
REFLECTIONS
I’ve been ponderin’ the division of folks
these days and came to realize that we are
livin’ the days of ME vs. WE. (Duh!) The
sad thing is, if you put ME over WE, you
just get a reflection of ourselves. What are
we doing? Do we just think of ME, or,
should we think of All of US? Just asking.
Your choice.
Rick Blake
Springfield
NO EXCUSES FOR ICE
There are two reasons why ICE agents
rip crying kids away from their parents,
and “Orders are orders” is not one. The two
reasons are because it makes the Rippers
feel powerful and because they like it. If
they didn’t enjoy it, they could refuse or
quit.
“Following orders” is neither excuse
nor explanation. Nazi perpetrators said “If
we didn’t they would have sent us to the
front.” Well — you were “soldiers,” and
millions of your countrymen fought the
Russians while you stayed behind safe,
bullying, torturing and murdering. No one
in the German armed forces was ever pun-
ished for refusing to murder people. Sol-
diers who declined were given other duties
(while eager volunteers took their place).
No one is forcing these agents to behave
like monsters. If Nazis could decline, so
can they.
The really scary thing about the
Trumpists is that there are tens of thousands
who would love to take part in savagery,
love to watch parents and children cry,
love to be guards at camps set up to hold
“undesirables” where they could act like
gods.
And, just as certain but even scarier,
there are thousands who would willingly
perform state-sponsored mass murder,
DON'T DROP AUDITOR IDEA
On vacation while auditing votes were
counted, I have been bemused by post-
election comments. One side says Eugene
avoided an autocratic, over-priced elected
auditor promoted by a narrow neighborhood
cabal; the other side says the people’s prefer-
ence was defeated by a late insincere option
aimed at vote-splitting, resulting in continued
double-dealing by local government.
As someone who voted “no” on both,
I am not one of those opposed to hiring
an auditor (Letters, May 24). I found both
proposals too flawed to warrant support,
but hope an improved design, from an in-
clusive process, could garner a majority. I
don’t pretend to know its full details, but
even in our current weak council-strong
manager governance structure I suspect
most citizens agree the council is currently
far too weak. Auditor support — similar to
what Congress gets from the Congressional
Budget Office and Government Account-
ability Office — could help strengthen the
council. Yet making the auditor entirely
subject to, or independent of, the coun-
cil also seems unproductive. The auditor
needs some control of his or her agenda,
budget and personnel to be effective. But
complete autonomy may frustrate shared
responsibilities and shared powers among
branches of government, and contribute to
continuing toxic mutual suspicions.
Here's hoping that Eugene citizens will
see the late election not as an end, but rath-
er the start of an extended but ultimately
productive effort to make an auditor an
effective part of Eugene government, and
foster a shared spirit of cooperation and
accountability to Eugene residents by all
involved.
Branden Johnson
Eugene
Amy Adams, director
Th e Shedd Choral Society
Gabriel Fauré & Camill e Saint-Saens
Sunday, June 17 - 7:30 pm free
The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
Community Music School
Summer camps &
classes begin June 17th
Try The MusicBox! Sign up for private lessons any time!
Contact the registrar at 541.434.7015 / registrar@theshedd.net
eugeneweekly.com • June 7, 2018
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