We made fun of this a while back, but the amount of excess waste caused by bottled water is real. I am bad about drinking enough water in the first place, but I have changed my ways and only drink out of reusable water bottles. Check out this video and this Article about options to cut back on the bottled water waste.

My company just gave us all some nice aluminum bottles so we don’t waste bottles…Colbert has gone an alternate route!

BREWHAHA EXAMINES EQUAL RIGHTSby Ted Taylor, Editor of the Eugene Weekly

What’s it like to “come out” to family and friends as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual in modern times? The bigotry and ignorance of the last century have eased somewhat, but it’s still difficult for people who are LGBT to feel like they truly belong to a community. And people who come out sometimes find that their sexual preferences become the dominant factor in how they are perceived by others.

“Your sexuality is all people see,” says Matt Friday, one of the panelists in a two-hour Brewhaha political gathering at Davis’ restaurant March 19. The discussion was cosponsored by the Bus Project, Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) and Eugene Weekly.

Becky Flynn and Maceo Persson of BRO outlined the status of domestic partnerships since the Oregon Equality Act and Oregon Family Fairness Act survived legal challenges and went into effect Feb. 4. In the second half of the evening, three panelists, Matt Friday, Joe Cedar and Alison Cerezo, talked about their personal experiences negotiating the maze of heterosexist laws and a homophobic and transphobic society.

From L to R: Alison Cerezo, Joe Cedar, Matt Friday
Photo|Lynn Moracco

Domestic partnerships are now legal and binding for Oregon residents, and about 1,300 same-sex couples in the state have tied the knot since Feb. 4 when a legal challenge to the legislation failed. Anti-gay activists have filed two initiatives to repeal the laws, and petitioners have until July 3 to collect 83,000 signatures to get on the November ballot.

Meanwhile, domestic partnership is still approximately 1,000 rights and benefits shy of marriage, says Flynn — but the new laws are a big step in the right direction, providing couples with legal rights in the event of emergencies and outlawing discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. The details of the laws are available at on BRO’s website. In the panel discussion, the three panelists told their stories and talked about not being trusted because of their sexuality; chronic homelessness, unemployment and violence that can affect those who are transgendered; higher suicide rates among the teen LGBT community thanks to homophobia; difficulties trans youth face in negotiating the local school system; the need for “transinclusive” policies in local government and institutions; and the empowering effect of the new equality laws.

L to R| Lynn Moracco, Lane Co. Bus Project Director, and Maceo Persson, BRO Field Organizer, introduce the last segment of Brewhaha. Photo|Ted Taylor

The group also talked about terminology and its significance. “Queer,” for example, has been gaining popularity in the community because it recognizes the complexity of sexuality and includes more than two genders. — Ted Taylor

For more by Ted Taylor - Keep reading the Eugene Weekly, or check out his EW! Blog

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Brewhaha is a monthly event organized by the good work of many dedicated Bus Project volunteers as well as the Eugene Weekly. These nonpartisan educational forums often occur on the last Wed. of the month. Keep your eyes peeled on this very blog for updates on our next event.

If you haven’t seen this video yet and you care about the environment, take a 20 minute break and do it!

For more info check out the site…The Story of Stuff. There is a cleaner looking video there, but takes FOREVER to load. The corporations took all the bandwidth and we couldn’t afford that version!

Logging & Taxes: How are we affected?
Friday, Jan. 11, 11:50 a.m.
Downtown Athletic Club

Take an in-depth look at the structure of the timber tax with our speakers,
Tim Hermach and Bill Barton from the Native Forest Council. They’ll outline
their areas of concern.

This meeting will be broadcast on KLCC (89.7 FM) on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Past
City Club meetings are shown on Cable Channel 21 (OPAN) on Thursdays at 6
p.m.

City Club’s Friday meetings provide gallery seating and lunch service.
Gallery seating costs $3 (free to members). Lunch may be purchased.

Dan Savage Confirmed For Rebooting Democracy!!!
By Matt Davis on Mon, Jan 7 at 4:00 PM

Are you excited about Rebooting Democracy starting this Friday, yet?
I am. I’m pissing myself. Right here, right now. There it goes…a little trickle of pee, down my leg, showing how excited I am. ABOUT REBOOTING DEMOCRACY. Why? Because not only is The Bus Project’s conference a weekend-long opportunity to network your socks off, featuring workshops, trainings, issue panels, big name speakers and of course, did I already mention, the chance to network your socks off? It is ALSO going to be M.C’d by The Stranger’s very own sex-ually pol-it-ic-al

SAVAGE: Show up to hear him speak, or just to oggle his pecs. Either way he’s a winner…

I’m going to be there because Mr.Savage makes me feel just a teensy bit gay. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re political at all, whether you’re new to Oregon or looking to get re-elected, you should, frankly, be here for the sake of your career. And If the $95 3-day student pass sounds pricey to you, the organizers say they’ve got lots of scholarships available to get you in. In other words, if you’re broke, call ‘em. If not, call ‘em anyway, and try pretending! I don’t care how you get there, just get there if you can. Or, just come for the

POLITIPALOOZA: IT WILL GIVE YOU AN ELECTION!!!

Once again: It’s local.
It’s everybody who’s anybody in politics. It’s a chance to get off your lazy hipster ass and get involved in 2008, a pivotal fucking year in politics not just here, but everywhere. Why the hell wouldn’t you want to come on down? You don’t know, do you?! You’ve got nothing—am I right?

So: Come.

Davis’ Restaurant and Bar packed in as many as it could hold last Tuesday night for the inaugural Bus Project/Eugene Weekly Brewhaha. In retrospect, I couldn’t think of a better title for the event. It was lively, sometimes contentious, some beer was being imbibed by a few attendees and it has an all-around postive vibe.

Master of Ceremonies Brian Shaw moderated the event in fantastic style with the deep booming radio voice we’ve all come to love.

The Yes on 49 contingent was out in force, leaving quite a few “NO” voting paddles on the floor all night.

The downtown debate was a just about 50/50 down the line. I learned a lot more about this issue and even though I already had voted, I must say that I was heavily persuaded by the points of the other side (you’ll have to guess which way I voted!)

Let’s hope to see these events getting even bigger and better! For a very thorough recap from the Eugene Weekly, check out their BLOG POST HERE!

Don’t forget to Vote!
Ballots are due TOMORROW, Tuesday, at 8pm. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors! Get out the Vote.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAM!

It’s the Dudes birthday today! You know him as the creator of this badass beautiful blog. He’s dazzled us with his wise and witty words.

Cam, The bus hearts you! Thank you for creating this online space for us. You make politics crazy and fun for everyone.

Hello Real Estate Lovers!

The most amazing Halloween week event will be the “BREWHAHA” happening downtown next Tuesday. Get ready for a lively debate over the two land use measures on the ballot:

Measure 20-134: Downtown Urban Renewal Plan

Panelists: Mayor Kitty Piercy and City Council member Bonny Bettman

Measure 49: Land use measure to fix 37

Panelists: Ashley Miller from “Yes on 49 and The Bus Project” and Matthew Green-Hite from “Fix Measure 49″

Come on down, enjoy a nice refreshing beverage and hear both sides to make your own decisions. Feel free to come in costume, but if you come dressed as a downtown street urchin, you might not get in

Now that you’ve seen all of the commercials, heard all of the radio ads and hopefully seen some online advertising (hint, hint..49), it is time to choose what you believe. Let’s take a Straw Poll!

Measure 49: MODIFIES MEASURE 37; CLARIFIES RIGHT TO BUILD HOMES; LIMITS LARGE DEVELOPMENTS; PROTECTS FARMS, FORESTS, GROUNDWATER.

Measure 50: AMENDS CONSTITUTION: DEDICATES FUNDS TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN, FUND TOBACCO PREVENTION, THROUGH INCREASED TOBACCO TAX.

Stay tuned for the Eugene measures in an upcoming post!