• Veterans Day this week went by without the presence of a prominent local Vietnam vet, John “Mac” McFadden, who died Oct. 16 at the age of 66. “Mac McFadden was the veteran of a war no one much talks about anymore,” says local writer Hart Williams. “A war, that, had we remembered its lessons, would have prevented us from invading Iraq and Afghanistan, wars that Mac was against. That sounds political, because Mac was political.” McFadden was well-known in Democratic politics in Oregon, ran for office several times, including for county commissioner, and was a presidential elector in 1996. He was profiled in EW’s “Happening People” back in our May 18, 2000 issue. Find him in our archives at http://wkly.ws/1du
Surviving the violence of war changes and crystallizes young people in remarkable ways. Some vets come home as gung-ho, flag-waving hawks; some come home with a profound dedication to peace, life and justice. We have enough hawks. The world can use more Mac McFaddens.
• Is anyone else less than tickled pink about Victoria’s Secret’s presence at the UO? This fall, campus looks like someone sprayed a bottle of Pepto Bismol everywhere. The purveyor of candy-colored intimates (and a canard yellow UO hoodie) has been parking their polka-dotted trucks near the EMU, giving away loads of free stuff (EW heard they recently gave away hundreds of thongs to students) and conducting scavenger hunts. Because that’s where students should be focusing their attention, searching campus for push-up bras. And, the Alpha Kappa sorority recently won the “FLIRT” Bra Party contest. They even have a twitter handle, @OregonPINK, with close to 500 followers. Their slogan? “Real Ducks wear PINK!” No, Victoria’s Secret and UO, real ducks wear nothing at all.
• While our media fusses and frets over where David Petraeus might have poked his highly classified personal probe, another U.S. soldier was killed and 52 were wounded in action in Afghanistan last week, following seven American deaths and 53 injuries the week before. Bloody weeks turn to months and years of screaming death and destruction far from our eyes and ears. Some 800,000 vets are waiting up to a year for resolution of their lifetime disability claims. We spent (or rather went in debt) about $2 billion in Afghanistan last week. The war and occupation cost Eugene taxpayers about $500,000 each week. Feeling safer? We update our War Dead statistics weekly on our website.
• We see the Occupy Medical (OM) clinic had a very busy and hectic weekend down at the Park Blocks and had a mental health support worker on hand. “Through all this chaos, the head of Lane County Public Health showed up,” notes Sue Sierralupe on the OM Facebook page. “For some reason he was so impressed that he asked if we would be willing to run pertussis vaccines through our clinic. Oh, hell yes!” Find out how to help on the Facebook page or stop by the mobile clinic’s open house Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Park Blocks.
• Our Best of Eugene awards are highly prized and prominently displayed in many local businesses, but now some counterfeit Best of Eugene awards are being offered for sale for more than $150. Some fly-by-night New Jersey website is pushing these bogus awards in flagrant violation of everything we hold sacred — well, maybe not, but these Jersey gangsters are violating our copyrights and taking advantage of our good name. Please pass along any solicitations you might get, either by email or in person. Our cherished awards have always been free. And regarding those awards: We find ourselves constantly reminding people that the winners are chosen by a large poll of our readers, and not by our staff. You pick ’em, we print ’em.
• From our Nate Silver-ish pigskin prognosticator: Oregon’s Ducks are sitting pretty, undefeated and on track to play for the national championship. Unfortunately, Stanford is coming to town, bringing its power running game. To shut down Stanford’s runners, Oregon needs strong play from its defensive line, but Oregon’s defensive line has been shredded by injuries. Oregon’s defense will have trouble stopping Stanford, so the game might come down to Oregon’s offense trying to outscore Stanford. The good news is that Oregon’s record-setting offense looks like it could outscore almost any team in college football. Look for the Ducks to outscore the Cardinals by 14 in a game with lots of points at 5 pm Saturday at Autzen.
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