Opinion: Page 351

Cheering in Drag

The world’s smallest sports demographic

Viewpoint

Dick Vitale owes me a working eyeball. Vitale, if you are not familiar, is the loudest basketball announcer in the world, according to a poll of ESPN viewers, audio specialists and the recently deceased. When he gets going, according to SB Nation, the guy can hit 180 decibels, louder than a gunshot, and equal to the explosion of Krakatoa. This is not the type of person you should be listening to when you’re putting on your drag makeup.  Continue reading →

Shifting the Costs

City uses popular public services for leverage

Viewpoint

What might Bernie Sanders have to say about Eugene’s $2.7 million a year property tax increase for the public library? Well, it’s definitely “socialism,” which is defined as a redistribution of wealth. But, it’s the opposite of Bernie’s brand of socialism because it enables the redistribution of wealth up to the top of the economic ladder, instead of in the direction of average working people. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 10-15-2015

Letters

DON’T PUNISH LIBRARY Voting “no” on the library levy is no way to correct the problem of misguided tax policies and benefits to special interests. It would not convince our politicians to mend their ways nor would it improve the current funding mechanism. Instead, it would punish library users, including students, computer users and residents who need expanded access to a local branch. Clean up the bathwater, but don’t throw the baby out. Sara van Dyck, Eugene   Continue reading →

A Terrifying Reality

Reflections on the UCC shooting

Viewpoint

Before Oct. 1, I was in the habit of introducing my hometown with a bit of apologetic nonchalance. “I’m from Roseburg. It’s an hour and a half south of Eugene. Pretty small. You’ve probably passed through on I-5.” I now envision a future where I introduce my hometown, and a bell of recognition dings in people’s minds — Roseburg, a place where one mass shooting among far too many shootings has devastated a community. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 10-8-2015

Letters

DO NOTHING? Accusing someone of insensitivity by “having a political agenda” when they ask for better gun laws is an easy way out of contributing to real solutions, and is actually a case of having one’s own political agenda. Asking for better laws is a huge sign of being nothing but sensitive to the victims.  Continue reading →

Slant 10-8-2015

Slant

• We’re all looking for answers after yet another terrible tragic shooting in our country, again in our state. Are Americans so gripped with fear that they turn to guns to protect them from everything? Have we become a mean-spirited people, putting too many people in prison, offering meager social services and diminished public education, shrinking our mental health programs, including school counseling? Do we glorify violence all the way from endless wars, games and entertainment, to amped-up cheap crime coverage in the media? Are the arms merchants selling us out? Continue reading →