We've got issues.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) can most accurately be summed up as a conglomerate of protests. This wasn’t simply a coming-together of Democratic delegates casting their pledged vote. This was a rallying point for many groups to come together and express their displeasure, and often rage, at a system they have grown frustrated with. Continue reading
NOT OVER Issues from differences between the 99 percent and the one percent could be reduced within a generation by limiting inheritance to the total amounts of wealth of a particular U.S. economic class, perhaps the middle-middle economic class, and granting inheritable amounts to be used for the most essential needs of the 99 percent. An alternative could be taxing it all to bring it down to some level. Impossible? What if Bill Moyers was in the running? It’s not over. Helen Woodford, Eugene Continue reading
• Two prominent political scientists who grew up in Eugene published an op-ed piece in the Sunday, July 31, edition of The New York Times arguing that states dominated by Democrats, blue states, are “generally better for your well-being.” Paul Pierson, political science professor at Berkeley, and Jacob Hacker, of Yale, use a powerful graph to illustrate their point. Continue reading
The Lane County Board of Commissioners, at the behest of Dennis Morgan, a local businessman and conservative political activist, is considering a proposal to grant themselves authority to review Lane County citizen initiatives, which have met all legal standards for placement on the ballot. The proposal would allow the board to declare that an initiative does not meet the board standard for “county concern” and, thereby, to bar it from the ballot. Continue reading
Big changes are shaping up that could turn a faltering Eugene City Hall process into a real win for downtown. Perhaps it will yet turn out to be a good thing that the old City Hall was torn down prematurely before there was a solid master plan for the city’s block or a true and reliable estimate for what a City Hall replacement was going to cost. Continue reading
ALL BLACK LIVES I read with great interest the recent cover story [“Black Lives Matter,” 7/14], particularly the article by Camilla Mortensen in which she described an unspoken but implied fourth word: “Black lives matter, too.” That is certainly the way I have always heard the slogan. Continue reading
• We’re proud to be a part of the political revolution led by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and millions of other Americans, many of them young and new to political action. And, as they passionately advise, this November we should do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and to elect Hillary Clinton. Clinton should handily win blue Oregon, but what can we do to help her outside our state? And what can we do to elect Democrats in the Senate? We especially feel the urgency when it comes to Supreme Court appointments. Continue reading
The Lane County Commission is considering a proposed ordinance that would give five elected officials a stranglehold over the people’s local initiative power. Let’s be clear: The initiative and referendum power belongs to the people free from government interference, as recognized by the Oregon Constitution. The people’s right to circulate petitions is core political speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The commissioners’ proposed meddling with the people’s initiative rights is patently unconstitutional. Continue reading
When I was in the Oregon Legislature 20 years ago, I wrote an “insider baseball” perspective for EW on how ideas become bills, and how bills become laws. Out of office now for 12 years and retired for a year, some bills still piss me off. Continue reading
BUTT SEX Lon, [Letters 6/30] when I was reading your response to the editor in the Weekly I opened up the Bible and opened it to Ezekiel Chapter 16. “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” Continue reading