Opinion: Page 390

Slant 8-7-2014

Slant

• Does anybody remember Rudy Crew? He was the nationally known education expert hired by Gov. John Kitzhaber to figure out how to finance and fix Oregon’s public education system. He was a bust. It was soon apparent that he wasn’t that interested in Oregon kids and he was off to the next bigger job. The governor then wisely persuaded Nancy Golden, recently retired and much loved superintendent of Springfield schools, to become his education czar. Nobody doubts her competence or her dedication to Oregon kids. So, this is a cautionary tale. Continue reading →

Making Government Work Again

Is it time to re-write our outdated Constitution

Viewpoint

The average constitution worldwide only lasts 19 years and Thomas Jefferson suggested we re-write our Constitution every 25 years. Perhaps it is time that we re-write ours. How would you change the Constitution if you could craft a new one? Article V of the Constitution outlines how to amend (modify) the document. It consists of two steps: proposal and ratification. It is just as hard to amend the Constitution as it is to convene a constitutional convention and re-write the entire document. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 7-31-2014

Letters

WHAT KIND OF FORCE? I know it’s tilting at windmills, but I want to express a quibble I have long had with a phrase that policymakers and journalists alike seem to love to employ: “use(s) of force.” The brief article about Eugene Police Department’s “‛sustained’ rate of misconduct,” [7-24] utilizes this phrase eight times. What does the speaker saying “use of force” intend to mean? The common assumption is violent force, i.e., coercive by employing pain and threat.  Continue reading →

Slant 7-31-2014

Slant

• A majority of five of the Eugene City Council, backed by strong support from Mayor Kitty Piercy, showed that rare quality of leadership this week in passing both the sick leave law and a tighter climate recovery ordinance. Six councilors favored climate action. The Register-Guard, conservative councilors, the idiotic and out-of-touch Lane County Commission and, of course, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce all asked for either delays or no such action as sick leave for workers in this city. Continue reading →

An Overdue Step

Viewpoint

While much ink has already been spilled over the City Council’s proposed paid sick time policy, it’s important that our community is debating actual facts and applying appropriate context to the matter. I would like to clarify some key points. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 7-24-2014

Letters

VAMPIRE PLANNING Regarding the proposed Seavey Loop industrial zone land grab: I can’t believe the four Tea Party commissioners and the Springfield City Council are trying to ram this atrocious proposal past the citizens of Lane County, but I guess the success of the Parvin Butte murder has convinced them that they can do anything they want, including destroying our most popular county park, a community of several thousand people and hundreds of acres of farmland. Continue reading →

Slant 7-24-2014

Slant

• Eugene’s proposed ordinance requiring paid sick leave time for employees who work in Eugene inspired a majority of Lane County commissioners to vote to prohibit such an ordinance in the county, but it’s not clear why these reactionary commissioners are so offended by an improvement in working conditions for their constituents (who vote, by the way). It’s a turf battle that may end up in the courts. Continue reading →

Slant 7-17-2014

Slant

• UO professor and research psychologist Jennifer Freyd (a nationally recognized scholar and a source for our series on campus rape) wrote a July 14 opinion piece for Al Jazeera America, “Official campus statistics for sexual violence mislead.” In it, she discusses the urgency for widespread administration of expert-created campus climate surveys (recommended by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault) — the same type of survey the UO rejected due to Freyd’s potential “bias.” The piece notes these surveys are Continue reading →

No Environmental Progressive

Wyden aligns with dirty biomass incineration

Viewpoint

Seen as a progressive and a civil libertarian, Sen. Ron Wyden has become the “Golden Boy” of the Democrats and risen to a position of great power within the Senate. As the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee — think taxes — Wyden is the most powerful Senate member outside of Majority Leader. To illustrate the importance, he has raised $1.7 million in campaign funds so far during this election cycle, a record for him, and did this during a non-campaign year. Continue reading →