Destroying the Working Class
The prevailing attitude towards political engagement in Eugene seems to be, “No I won’t and you can’t make me.”
I can’t, I’ve tried, but what you’ve done is turn Eugene over to the professionals, who create the kind of city they feel comfortable with, run for the benefit of middle-class homeowners and business people. Working-class people are a distant thought. The homeless are treated as outcasts and constantly forced to move on. Our City Council has embraced evil.
If that’s the kind of city you want to live in, so be it, but at least understand what you’re doing.
Lynn Porter
Eugene
$45 For a Good Cause
Looks like Donald Trump, the huckster-in-chief who sells overpriced bibles manufactured in China to the Oklahoma school districts and flashy gold sneakers (of dubious origin) to his Proud Boys bros, isn’t the only one cashing in on his less-than-majority White House takeover.
As EW reported (Slant, 11/28), media giant Gannett has published a Trump picture book to wow his MAGA fans, just in time for holiday gift-giving — $39.95 plus shipping. So for about $45, the MAGA/Muskovite minions can add to Gannett’s profit coffers and pledge allegiance to their chosen one.
Rather not wish to take the Gannett papers offer? Instead, why not take your $45 and donate it to the Reality Kitchen or White Bird or CAHOOTS or FOOD For Lane County, or any of the local nonprofit programs that support neighbors in our community? Yes, there is a “profit” to be made in your donation, but it’s in human capital and kindness.
And let’s face it, if we don’t spread this kindness and grow these meaningful social programs over the next four years, the Musk/Trump/Putin axis of evil will drag us farther down the road to theocracy, oligarchy and dictatorship, with side trips into nepotism and Project 2025 dark alleys. Let your $45 donation shed some light in this darkness and together, we’ll sing: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
Karen Myers
Eugene
Astrology over Savage Love
Please put the stupid Savage Love article online and bring back the entire Free Will Astrology to the print paper.
Tricia Hedin
Eugene
Editor’s Note: We always welcome and note reader feedback on what you read and why you pick up the paper!
Sometimes we hold a column in order to fit in more ads (to print the paper) or in favor of local content.
The Egotistical Arrogance
I was forwarding an article titled: “Why you should talk to people you disagree with about politics.”
No earth-shattering new strategies here. It was just a humble contribution to the hope (or illusion) that building bridges remains possible, and it brought to memory a recent experience.
Bicycling on Willamette Street yesterday, I was rattled by a huge SUV elevated with 5-foot-plus tires which suddenly passed me, a bat speeding out of hell, roaring in a cloud of diesel fumes and swerving/fishtailing recklessly through rush hour traffic. WTF? A sense of extreme vulnerability is what I got from the blatant egotistical arrogance.
What possible civil conversation could one have, what common ground could be found with the person weaving a monster truck at 50 mph on a busy street? A bicyclist impacted from behind by such a high-off-the-ground speeding weapon of urban warfare, would likely send this green geezer’s head flying off my shoulders like a shattered pumpkin. Could civil conversations solve road rage issues? Tax paying residents might wonder if there remains any traffic law enforcement at all in our increasingly bike unfriendly Wild West city. Isn’t it about time for some tough love driver ed for the sake of safety and sanity in our community?
maRco Elliott
Eugene
Five Words are Enough
Jeffrey Fields, a veteran, wrote a letter to the Weekly (EW, 12/05) complaining that he didn’t receive a free cup of coffee from any of the Dutch Bros. Coffee establishments on Veterans Day.
Fields emphasized that he will no longer do any business with the Dutch Bros. because they didn’t honor veterans. I’m a Vietnam veteran and the son of a WWII veteran, and I don’t expect anything free from any business who desperately needs my business on Veterans Day or any other day. The day I especially honor is Memorial Day for those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price — their lives during time of war.
I volunteered to join the Navy Seabees, and I proudly held up my right hand when I was still a senior in high school and gave the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I’m honored to have served, and my heart is filled with pride. Veterans shouldn’t be the only ones recognized with a free meal or a free cup of coffee — may I suggest that we need to celebrate Fireman’s Day for the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to save our lives. How about school teachers, police officers, construction workers, etc. and even the Dutch Bros. baristas standing all day long making sure we get our coffee piping hot.
Therefore, Mr. Fields, thank you for your service. Those five words should be enough!
Frank Harper
Springfield
Supplant the Bureaucratic Class
The Center for Public Integrity in 2015 rated Oregon as 42 out of 50 states in state government integrity and accountability.
For eight years I have communicated with Oregon Department of Transportation personnel regarding a dozen public safety hazards on Interstate 5 and highways 58 and 101. However, instead of accepting my input to mitigate the hazards, ODOT refuses to initiate one single mitigation measure. It appears ODOT’s unspoken policy in regards to mitigating public safety hazards on Oregon highways is “after we see body bags we may fix.”
For over a decade Lane County Parks has been logging Howard Buford Park/Mount Pisgah Arboretum with hundreds of thousands of dollars of subsidies from Oregon agencies along with thousands of dollars from Lane County tax payers. In 2021-23, timber sold from “Buford Park” netted the park more than $400,000. However, Ed Alverson with Lane County Parks and Willamalane Park, continues to label logging, destructive skid roads and damaged trails as “restoration.” Lane County and Willamalane Parks seem to treat our parks as a cash cow.
For decades I have lobbied Lane Regional Air Protection Agency to clean up Springfield’s dirty air shed, but apparently LRAPA staff and board have to “go along to get along” with Oregon’s biggest polluters like International Paper to keep their fat salaries.
If this is the best 30-plus years of Democratic Party control of Oregon government can achieve then it’s time to supplant the bureaucratic class working for the wealthy with a government that truly works for all Oregonians.
Shannon Wilson
Eugene
A Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes
There are now four big wars in the world that we know about. Israel/Palestine/Lebanon, Sudan civil war, Ukraine/Russia and lastly the war in Congo since over four decades — for the coltan that is in every computer chip, in the whole world. Eighty percent of the coltan in the world comes from the Congo.
Wars are very centralized things and cost a lot of money and can not happen without the Starlink communication’s satellites from Elon Musk. He can stop all war immediately. He can say, all war must end now, or else these countries will have no internet communication.
In one week, there can be peace as Bob Dylan sang — “I dreamed that all men had agreed to put an end to war.” Elon Musk, please do this. We are all waiting for you.
Victor Odlivak
Eugene
Republicans Buy Elections
Republican supporters don’t steal elections, they buy them. By supporters I mean our country’s most wealthy, our country’s corporations and others. When they heard that they would have to pay more taxes, monopolies would be broken up, corporate price gouging would be stopped, they might face more safety and environmental regulation, and the lower and middle class would actually rise, they conspired to make that not happen.
Corporations control prices and consequently inflation and almost all the print, TV and radio media in our country. So, while Joe Biden actually brought back manufacturing, started to rebuild our infrastructure, brought broadband to areas that had never had it and raised worker’s wages and benefits, the media never wanted to report it. They preferred to distract our citizens with coverage of high costs rather than the cause of inflation. While candidate Donald Trump stumbled and mumbled down the campaign trail, there was no real coverage of his missteps.
Evangelical leaders preached that a serial adulterer and convicted felon was an honest to God Christian regardless of his actions and statements.
Super wealthy donors spent close to a billion on ads and social media with often inaccurate and outright false information.
And it worked.
Hal Huestis
Eugene
Democracy is not Capitalism
Hello fellow liberals, Democrats and all liberty and democracy loving people. It seems apparent that our great and wonderfully difficult democracy is again being challenged by those who say they want what we all have — faith and hope in our ability to live together according to a rather experimental process called democracy.
Just as true communism calls on higher thought processes and higher consciousness, we have the capacity to make true democracy work. If only we can think of what we really are and what we really can accomplish — if we don’t let those with lesser intelligence shout out that they know a better way, which is mostly power for all their selfish needs.
These appear to not include everyone, but rather only a few with far too much money. Democracy isn’t capitalism. It only allows capitalism to exist, not dominate, alongside other beliefs and ideas. At any rate, I have a question that needs immediate attention: How does one go from living in a freedom-loving nation, to living in an autocracy or dictatorship? History shows us that people don’t want to lose their freedom and rights. Let’s follow that course and not give up or give in.