Last week, with Democrats holding a majority in the House, Rep. Peter DeFazio voted to green light another $740 billion in “defense” spending, and in doing so he abandoned dozens of progressives who voted against it. DeFazio’s vote comes while the U.S. maintains some 800 bases overseas, making our military the greatest consumer of fossil fuels in the world, defying warnings to cut consumption immediately.
Could these “defense” funds be used differently? COVID-19 deaths in the US just surpassed all US combat deaths since WWII, illustrating that “defense” spending isn’t really meant to protect Americans.
Now Trump is using force against protesters in a desperate show meant to help his chances in an election he is predicted to lose. It’s easy to imagine him using force abroad for the same reasons. Just weeks ago he visited Southern Command and told reporters “something will happen with Venezuela.” In April he launched a military deployment targeting Venezuela.
The Afghanistan Papers revealed the unending occupation was fueled by lies and “defense” spending that mostly flowed to from your pocket to “defense” contractors whose profits rely on never-ending war. When Trump nearly started another war by assassinating an Iranian general on a diplomatic mission, “defense” contractor stocks soared.
Pseudo progressives like DeFazio will no doubt attempt to justify their vote with nonsensical excuses ignoring all the context above, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that “defense” donations to DeFazio have climbed, with Trump in office, to levels far beyond what he took before.
Colin Moran
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
Comments are closed.