Opinion: Page 410

Idle No More

Utmost appreciation, respect and solidarity to our First Nations brothers and sisters in Canada and the Idle No More movement (from a Native under U.S. occupation)

Viewpoint

It seemed to happen overnight. A new uprising for Indigenous rights and environmental justice has begun. Most of us heard about it through social media first. Flash mob Round Dance videos uploaded to YouTube of First Nations in Canada reclaiming public spaces to send their message of un-honored treaties have now reached all four corners of the globe. Solidarity rallies all over the U.S. have been held and have spread to as far as Egypt, New Zealand, Palestine, England and Norway. Continue reading →

Frustration and Fantasy

Let’s look at practical approaches to violence

Viewpoint

H. Rapp Brown once quipped that “violence is as American as apple pie.” It seems we’ve spent the last fifty years proving he was right. With each massacre of innocents we rekindle our resolve to do something, to change something to, somehow, prevent the next tragedy. Everyone of us has an idea, a plan, a cure; yet, it seems nothing changes. Some suggest we should disarm everyone; we should somehow remove those 300 million firearms from our midst. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 1-3-2013

Letters

MAKING IT BETTER Yet another mass shooting by a young person, and in a grade school at that! I am sad, but I am also angry at a culture that allows this to continue. And yes, I too am a part of all of this. Let us please have a serious conversation. Some will speak of gun control laws and that is a part of the equation; but this runs so much deeper, a societal problem, a dysfunctional way of thinking. Continue reading →

Slant 1-3-2013

Slant

• Former ACLU field director Claire Syrett took the Eugene Ward 7 city councilor position vacated by Andrea Ortiz, and we were delighted at the choice. We still have high hopes for Syrett as a much-needed addition to the progressive voices on the City Council, but we’re a bit puzzled by a couple of her votes so far. She voted to sell the 1.89 acre Courthouse Garden property, which donates about 6,000 pounds of food each year to feed Lane County’s homeless and hungry, without any public discussion or a plan in place for a new garden site. Continue reading →

A Plethora of Predictions

Shaggy dogs, claw-backs and suffering boehners

Viewpoint

1. Hurricane Cassandra (aka “Sandy”) will again send advance warning of her return to the East Coast but no one will believe her. 2. Ice skating in hell will create new converts to the seriousness of climate change. 3. PERS retirees will be forced to wear a scarlet P on their chests, and retiring members in the private sector will be arrested for showing inadequate envy. 4. Walmart executives will lobby for a change to the U.S. Constitution – the part calling for “a more perfect union.” Continue reading →

Slant 12-27-2012

Slant

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our local teachers who wore yellow and blue, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, on the Monday after the tragic Friday. America’s teachers have joined cops and firemen as first responders, and we need to better support them. Happy New Year to all those who seek knowledge through higher education and training, the hard work of learning and refining of skills, and to all who teach and mentor them. Our future depends on critical thinking and our ability to adapt and evolve. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 12-20-2012

Letters

BASIC RIGHTS ISSUE Eugene liberals, where art thou? As of this writing (Sunday, Dec. 16) the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, repeat, Free Speech Plaza, has been legally closed by the county for, so far, six days following totally unsubstantiated health charges against SLEEPS who were protesting local anti-homeless laws there. Continue reading →

Queering It Quandary

Opinion

My fitness class lets me tune out life’s chaos and tune in to my body. Like me, the other women here focus on the workout, all of us sweating and grunting to the beat. Our group ranges from new moms to long-time widows, and all ages in between. A lot of us, like me, are in our 60s. As far as I know, I’m the only homo. But you wouldn’t know that to look at us. Except for a few ponytails and pinned-back buns, everyone has pretty much the same short haircut. Dykey. I fit right in. Continue reading →