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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2003)
novarofcaf 7 .2 0 0 3 » Continued from Page 5 queer person who has been hurt by PGE’s high rates, like so many citizens have. It hurts the queer community to stay with private power. The employees also claimed they were loyal to PGE and not Enron. While I’m sure this is a sincere sentiment, Enron owns 100 percent of PGE stock, so they are being loyal to President Bush’s dishonest criminal cronies whether they want to he or not— until we vote yes and they start working for the PUD instead, of course. About 14 percent of PGE income now goes to shareholders, so we’ll have another 14 percent savings right there when there aren’t any. 1 don’t know why these employees are being so loyal to a company that probably paid less than any of them in taxes for 2002. (PGE paid $ 10 .) Contrary to the ad’s claim, putting the utili ty in the hands of a locally elected hoard will not result in the loss of “ ‘family’ wage jobs.” In fact, who can deny that public employers treat their employees better than private employers these days? And there won’t he huge executive salaries (like Ken Lay’s) with public power, which will save us money. The propaganda- spewing Peggy Fowler had a salary of $979,000 last year. The public utility board will also sup port queer rights, hut for a lot less money. Unlike Fowler, they will also care about the rights of us queer people who don’t happen to have high incomes. PGE employee Suni Miani says, “We want our company back.” But power belongs to all of us, so the power source should belong to our community, including Miani, not Enron or any other huge, right-wing corporation. Rates were lower before Enron took over PGE with a false promise to lower rates, and I, like so many queer and nonqueer citizens of this region, want my utility back. T om S oppe Portland United we stand To the E ditor : ongratulations to Timothy Krause on the excellent coverage of “Beyond the Veil” (“Lifting the Veil,” Oct. 17]. The article, although succinct, stated the event in a concise, direct manner. As a white male 1 like to believe I would have fought for the right of all citizens to vote. 1 like to think 1 would have stood side by side with Dorothy Day in 1917 as the 40 women protested outside the White House demanding their basic civil right to vote. In 1963 I was in Washington, D.C., partic C Hawthorne 15 y ears In 'The Hawthorne i re M PPOftUCtS-- r H ^ T T T n ^ Sensory Perceptions wraps tip another i memorable queer film festival, what do you feel were the best and worst of this year's selections? Why? ipping the Velvet is definitely the best of the best, and it rocks in every way that it can! (W ink.) Too bad that there wasn’t any closed-captioning available for the film. Wouldn’t mind to rent this film on D V D if it T shelves fencine, mats S o *« « h \ß Ö \V 0 0 C je w e l rv I G ary J. S parks Metropolitan Community Church of Portland Believe it or not a completely screen company 5 0 3 .2 2 7 .7 5 2 1 3321 sc hA w thonnc T5T ** Portland To the E ditor : A s a skeptic, I read with interest your article on psychics Don Clarkson and Suzanne Deakins in the Oct. 17 issue of Just Out (“Color Me Read”]. Skeptics are by definition open to all sorts of ideas, provided they can move from the realm of what we want to be true to something that is true. Conversely, nonskeptics accept some things as true and others as false no matter what the evidence might show. Right now the U .S. economy is in a slump, and I’m sure like most of us Clarkson and Deakins could use a hit of spare change. Fortu nately for them, the James Randi Foundation is willing to give them $1 million if they can demonstrate, even once, their psychic powers (www.randi.org/research). Any and all paranor mal, spiritual or miraculous claims are candi dates for the prize. Every issue of Just Out has page after page of potential winners, from the orthodox to the alternative religions to the spir itual advisers to the natural healers to the psy chic consultants, etc. The applicants for the prize are the ones who define the test, so Randi won’t he able to pull a fast one at the end if the Hawthorne Hawthorne supernatural event occurs. One million dollars isn’t chicken feed. One could invest it, donate it to charity or throw a fine party. Surely if billions of people will spend trillions of dollars around the world on religion and superstition, there must he something to it. So I invite any believer in the miraculous or supernatural to benefit from this remarkable opportunity. T revor B lake Portland Step by step To the E ditor : I am writing in response to the Just Out article of Oct. 17 titled “The Monster Among Us” about meth use in “Portland’s gay community." As a queer, former longtime junkie and street prostitute, I have two issues to comment on. First is the cover picture o f someone’s hands holding a lighter under a spoon. When I first saw it I said, “Oh, an article about heroin,” because heroin and pills are the only drugs I Hawthorne Hawthorne “Shockingly affordable... Makes the point that fine dining is nothing if you don't get a good dinner out of the deal... A good dinner and a good deal - that's comfort.” - Willamette Week , May '03 “Yununmm!” - guy in the fir s t booth , September '03 Ken's Place 1852 SE Hawthorne 503.236.9520 Weds - Sat Dinner ¿ « ¡ S E lizabeth “B oots ” D avis r r r i y °u f e d d \e re c e n t violent attacks on queers W W * ■ L indicate the start of a violent backlash to our escalating fight for equality, or are these ju st examples of everyday prejudice? (Please see related item s on Page 1 9.) Respond at www.justout.com . (D on't forget to include your nam e, city and daytime telephone num ber.) funmtuRe j i> € C O R was closed-captioned! Maybe closed-caption ing for next year? liiTlft i m “Great taste, less frilly.” - The Oregonian , June ’03 / *Cot ACi ‘ B a m b o o is ‘E .q u aC 'W " flo o R in q T S BAmB° 0 ipating in the tremendously stirring address by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he insisted on equal, not separate, rights for the entire black community. I was moved, along with the 200,000 people attending, to truly believe we are indeed brothers and sisters in the inclusive unity o f G o d ’s people. Yes, this white male, by the chances o f birth, was called to a life of privilege. Nevertheless, I must believe, as a moral person, that 1 stand with my brothers and sisters and demand all civil justices on an equal basis tor all people whether or not I per sonally benefit. 1 continually grow in my admiration and pro found respect for pastor Glenna Shepherd of Metropolitan Community Church of Portland as she courageously voices the demand for civil rights in all marriages. Her excellent speaking ability, coupled with her native intelligence and seemingly inexhaustible energy, allows her lead ership to champion the demand for equal civil rights in marriage. Listening to the well-prepared message by the Rev. Tara Wilkins o f Ainsworth United Church of Christ on discrimination and the true calling of the church inspired all of us. Krause indeed caught the main messages of this symposium. Thank you for the accurate and fine coverage. Great Food. Good Prices. Cool Place. know of that are heated before injection. 1 have never heard of heating meth (or powder cocaine, which was my drug of choice), which should dissolve fully in the sptxm when mixed with cold water. The stuff that doesn’t dissolve is cut. Second is the strong emphasis throughout the article on 12-step treatment programs as the only possible solution to drug addiction. I sup port anyone’s right to be a part of 12-step and am happy for those who are helped, hut 1 do not agree that it is the only way. I used cocaine off and on for 20 years, includ ing many long periods of daily use. During that time I experienced police brutality and was jailed and court-ordered into 12-step treatment programs many times. It never worked. In fact, I was harmed. For example, one drug treatment counselor drove me to a lake and had sex with me, and another threatened to “take me over his knee” during a “support group.” There were many requirements I didn’t agree with in 12-step— for example, giving up my Continued on Page 9 Hawthorne Hawthorne SUBWAY* SE 36th A Hawthorne (S03) 233-9985 9000 N. Lombard A St. Louis (503) 289-9900 FREE 6 ” SU B with Purchase of any 6 * sub 1 and ¿loz drink at regular price. = Limit t pm perm Camel be combined «tfh «Heer affen. £ 7