Corruption
It doesn’t surprise me, but it does disappoint me, that the “good ol’ gal” lumber heiress bought off folks who have local power and influence (county commissioners and would-be commissioner) to wipe her sins clean.
The proof of her sins is visible, obvious and measurable. She blatantly did what she wanted to do without regard to rules, regulations, permits, neighbors and the land.
The commissioners and Jake Pelroy took her money, not just to look the other way, but to give 100 percent approval to the “good ol’ gal’s” middle finger aimed at the rest of us in Lane County.
Who, exactly, do they think they are?
Michele Postal
Coburg
Missing the Media?
I’m pissed off. After looking through the current online news sources in Lane County, I found that all but one (Eugene Weekly) did not mention Eugene’s historic Saturday Market as a weekend place to go. They talked up all the other places to go to, but not one word about Saturday Market. The people’s market started in 1970.
Although we did have good attendance for our locally made crafts, locally prepared food booths and our locally presented staged musical performances, and our wonderful buskers that flit around livening up the whole place, not one blasted word in these other so-called Eugene newspapers about the market as a destination place.
Folks, you have a treasure downtown.
Don’t let out-of-town-financed newspapers influence you away from our local Saturday Market with handmade crafts, foods and music made here in Eugene with you in mind.
I’m not saying these other places that got the free advertising aren’t good places to attend, what I’m saying is that while listing such places to go to, Eugene’s Historic Saturday Market should not be left out.
Joe R. Blakely
Eugene
Editor’s Note: We are delighted to list Saturday Market each week in print and online in our What’s Happening Calendar!
Thanks, Lisa Levsen… But
Thank you for sharing your story about Lisa Levsen and Neighbors Feeding Neighbors with your readership. I cannot imagine a more noble undertaking for those in our community who are the neediest. While I am not a Christian, I know that if Jesus were to visit this earth, this is the first place that he would stop.
As I believe that RFK Jr.’s advice is not valid, I encourage you or a member of your organization to do some research about nutrition. I am not a nutritionist, but have made the study a hobby.
I personally rely on NutritionFacts.org. With all that the homeless are dealing with, they need to have as strong health and immunity as possible. There is considerable evidence that in this country, protein is being oversold and that, for example, a 150-pound person needs only 60 grams of protein.
With the exception of legumes and nuts, other sources of protein contain a great deal of saturated fat. Saturated fat is a contributor to countless health conditions. Anytime that you can reduce the saturated fat by substituting legumes, you are contributing to the health of those whom you are serving.
Thanks again for your service.
Ken Rosemarin
Eugene
A Viewpoint on a Viewpoint
Bob Emmons in Viewpoint (EW July 16) makes perfect sense in alerting us to the dangerous trend by Gov. Tina Kotek to direct the DLCD to “initiate rulemaking amendments” that would weaken urban growth boundaries and lead to the environmental catastrophe of out of control urban sprawl leading, among other consequences, to an increased dependence on fossil fuels due to longer commutes to work, school, shopping, hospitals etc… resulting in uglier landscapes, loss of ecological diversity, loss of small farms and local food sources, loss of communities. When Tom McCall said, as governor in the 1960s: “This is my community, and it’s my responsibility to make it better,” he probably didn’t anticipate a future governor’s different or opposite perspective on what “improving” community means. Was this before Joni Mitchell felt the need to sing “They paved Paradise and turned it into a parking lot” or a data center?
The attempt (it failed!) by the city of Springfield a few years back to expand the urban growth into the Seavey Loop farmed area around Mount Pisgah to facilitate industrial development appears to be a smaller version of what’s going on. It’s all about bulldozers and concrete in the name of growth.
maRco Elliott
Eugene
Tots Rule
Thanks, Debra E. McGee, for revealing the genders of the three county commissioners who voted to retroactively approve Kathy Jones-McCann’s building permit (July 16, EW letters).
After reading your letter, I was left wanting more. What are their religious affiliations, hobbies, favorite show tunes and which do they prefer, “fries or tots?”
Dan Dizney
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
Who are the Real Communists?
Trump is calling all Democrats Communists. It is true some Democratic Socialists admire the Scandinavian countries, because of their universal health care, the best education system, and great social benefits and they say, why can’t we, the wealthiest country in the world, have that?
But Trump fell in love with Kim Jong Un, admires Xi Jinping’s absolute control over China and does Vladimir Putin’s bidding, withdrawing support for Ukraine, attacking NATO and the UN, preferring Putin’s word over US intelligence, and accelerating climate change so Siberia can become the next breadbasket of the world.
There are two main aspects of Communism: the social aspect, which helps people, and the darker totalitarian aspect that persecutes and oppresses the people. Everyone but Donald Trump hates this aspect because it led to the murder of millions and the elimination of freedom and liberty. Like Putin, Trump attacks the press, controls the media, prosecutes his perceived enemies, replaces the competent with apparatchiks and rewards his cult followers. He is attacking fair voting, the essence of our democracy, and says that if Congress passes his voter suppression bill, his party will never lose an election again. His corruption is blatant, selling power and pardons just like the oligarchs in Russia, acquiring $2.2 billion mostly from his gullible followers.
Jerry Brule
Eugene
Joining a Political Party is Easy
When you register to vote, click a box. Why join? You get to vote in the party’s primaries. But the party chooses who runs in the primaries, and anyone can vote in any primary by joining the party temporarily four weeks before the primary election is held. So, for the average voter, joining a party is only of value if its values and positions represent and will benefit you.
However, for a long time, neither of the two main parties has cared about your interests. Both have been representing the large corporations and the rich who fund their campaigns. Voters have recognized this and have been leaving the dominant parties. At present in Oregon, 31 percent of voters are Democrats, 23 percent are Republicans, and 44 percent are independent. (IndependentVoterProject.org/voter-stats/or ). However, of the 3,386,962 voters in Oregon, less than 50,000 voters belong to any alternative party. Perhaps because joining most existing parties doesn’t seem to provide much value either.
Joining “We the People” has four specific benefits. It will help to keep us on the ballot. You will get to choose the candidates. You will get to choose the policies. And you will know that each candidate signs a pledge to vote as their constituents wish and will be dropped from the party if they do not. No other party had ever provided such guarantees. If enough people recognize this and join, we can be a third option across the country by next year.
Alan Cohen
Eugene
A Big Difference
Recent events have certainly shown a real difference between the Republican and Democratic parties in this country. The Democratic frontrunner in Maine trying to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins was accused of sexual misconduct, reportedly from an incident several years ago. Graham Platner immediately was told to withdraw from the race by important Democratic leaders even though he was ahead in recent polls. He then did withdraw in disgrace.
The Republican Party, when confronted with a candidate who had been accused several times of sexual misconduct and even found guilty of sexual misconduct, instead reelected him. His Evangelical followers even tried to suggest he was Christ-like. Christ, however, was a peacemaker, a welcomer of refugees and refused personal wealth. Those Christian ideals somehow got lost with this individual and the current Republican party.
Hal Huestis
Eugene
It’s an Oxymoron
Regarding Russ Desaulnier’s letter praising Democratic Socialism and slamming Republicans for opposing the idea (Online EW July 16), I submit that the term itself is an oxymoron. As history has borne out repeatedly during the past century, there is nothing “democratic” about socialism. Young folks hearing the siren song of free stuff were likely never taught that history. Do they really want us to become Venezuela North? Venezuela? What’s that?