We've got issues.
As Oregonians, we should all be alarmed at the numerous signs of a great calamity to come: the mass migration of Californians to our state. The climate-change-induced drought in that region has pushed California’s 38 million residents to the brink of social collapse, with millions on the verge of fleeing the devastation. Continue reading
Jump Sots From Israel “They didn’t just kill Rabin, they didn’t just shoot the messenger. They killed the concept of peace,” my friend proclaims over Shabbat dinner in Tel Aviv. “The sad part is that they succeeded — the right wing. They killed Rabin and got what they wanted. Look at Israel now.” Continue reading
The Klamath Agreements may to be on their final days. Rep. Greg Walden (R- Hood River) is rumored to attempt to slam through fraudulent legislation for the Klamath agreement this week. The bill as is no longer includes language for dam removal, a primary bargained for benefit to signatory tribes. Rate payers have been charged a fee on their monthly bill from PacifiCorp for a number of years for dam removal. But if legislators have no intention of removing the dams, where did fees rate payers have been charged go? Continue reading
As programmer of the summer film screenings and the All Hallows’ Eugene downtown Halloween event that attract “students, families, Eugeneans of all stripes” (“A Sense of Place” cover story, 11/19), I do not endorse or support any anti-development effort toward Kesey Square. Broadway Plaza is not a well-utilized public space. Instead, it is a remnant of failed urban planning whose greatest defenders lack the imagination and determination to champion a better-conceived common area for political and cultural activity. Continue reading
Thanksgiving is a time for reflection. Hopeful, bloviated thankfulness is in the air. As a Democrat, for example, I am incredibly grateful to the Republican Presidential Debate Club for designing that cute circular firing squad format. This nation of immigrants welcomes their wholehearted endorsement of Latino displacement and Syrian xenophobia. The math is so simple: We deport 11,000 illegal immigrants and we refuse entry to 2,000 immigrants fleeing genocide — 13,000 reasons to demonstrate America’s continued commitment to human rights. Continue reading
In response to the misguided Viewpoints Nov. 12 by Courtney Stubbert, “Guess What? There’s No Money. Seven Steps to Make the Jacobs Gallery Closing Not Matter at All” and by John O’Malley (“hater of negativity and apathy”), “Wake Up Eugene, and Push Your Art Scene Into the 21st Century”: Continue reading
Once again, at this time in the month of November In the mood of Thanksgiving I stop and remember To offer my thanks for the good things in life Like my health and my freedom, my cat and my wife I’m thankful of course for the freedom to marry Which we won back in June — by one vote (kinda scary) The judges supreme made it clear, five to four That we can’t deny people this right anymore There’s still some resistance, just look at Kim Davis Continue reading
Jump Shots From Israel Sokolov Avenue is bustling outside of my studio apartment in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, just north of Tel Aviv: pizza joints, tech vendors, hair salons and Western clothing boutiques. The towering McDonald’s logo above (sigh) competes with the palm trees; in the distance, the Tel Aviv skyline resembles an American city. The robust high-tech infrastructure boasts abundant free wifi, and texting via “WhatsApp” is the medium of communication — no matter your age! Continue reading
It’s not often you can, quite literally, don a hero’s cape for Planet Earth, and even less often that it would be plastic, and unheard of that this would land you in a global art festival, but here’s your invite: Thanksgiving weekend — on the eve of the most important meeting ever, when world leaders gather in Paris for climate talks — Eugene will mount a march and collaborative art event so creative and bold that we’re featured in the ArtCOP21 Global Climate Art Festival curated throug Continue reading
After the disaster in Paris there will be enormous pressure, especially from the Republican candidates, to do something. They will condemn the Obama/Clinton administration as ineffective and suggest simplistic solutions to this very complex problem — that will likely make everything much worse. Continue reading