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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2009)
OREGON $ GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE DECEMBER 4 2009 3 f W ____________ ______ ■ PAGE 3 by M a rt/ Davis December Sentiments A taxing matter, and a matter of gratitude n January 2010, Oregonians will receive ballots for a special election. Voters will be asked to weigh in on Measures 66 and 67. These are tax measures, which if passed, will increase revenues for individuals with higher income levels. Passage will also in crease the income tax rates for corporations doing business within the state. Failure to pass these measures could result in drastic cuts to critical social service pro grams across the state. Health care, education, mental health programs—all stand to be fur ther impacted if these measures aren’t passed. It’s no secret that Oregon has carried a heavy financial burden for months and months now. Unemployment remains high; jobs are few and far between, and funding for vital services is dwindling. That’s why I am encouraging you to vote “yes” on Ballot Measures 66 and 67. At the same time that I propose passage of these measures, I must also step up to the defense o f small business owners through out Oregon. I object strongly to the way we are being portrayed by the proponents of these measures. To hear the radio and TV ads, to read the written materials, one could get the impression that all corporations send off $10 a year to the State of Oregon and then fly off to the Bahamas for a vaca tion with all our untaxed profits. Consider, please, that the bulk of all corporations in Oregon employ 50 people or fewer. Many, including my own, employ under 15 people— not quite the smoke- belching, despotic evildoers that they’d have you think we are. Yet, my business, my tiny little newspaper, is a wretched, tax-avoid ing corporation according to the supporters of these measures. Nowhere is it mentioned that income taxes are only one component of the expenses and fees paid by every small business owner in Oregon. We pay payroll taxes. We pay property taxes. We pay social security and unemployment taxes. We pay license fees to the city, to the county. We pay fees to be inspected by the fire depart ment, the water department. Small business owners are a non-ending source of income to government entities. There’s a lot more to taxes than the mini mum income tax. Small business owners pay through the nose in taxes, and we are getting a lousy rap in this campaign. Small business owners are the heart and soul o f Oregon’s economy. Small business owners—yes, corporations—bore the brunt of the recession; and now we will take on the burden of increased taxes in order to pull the state out of the depths of fiscal gloom. We support our communities and our state. We will be part of the solution to the state’s funding problem, but for God’s sake, we were never the cause of them. I Vote “/es" on 66 and 67. Hug o small business owner after moiling in /our ballot. O n the same afternoon that I’m writing this column, while pay ing a few bills, I happened to look more closely than usual at the invoice from the company that receives the largest check I write twice each month. Theirs is a fairly standard invoice: rows of costs, billed out, itemized and neatly tabulated. Running along the bottom of the invoice, however, is a lengthy paragraph—finely honed by a legal department, I’m sure— that details, in many words, all the penalties, fees, interest charges, fines, collections, attorney’s fees, bodily dismemberment and/or civil and/or criminal proceedings that shall be foisted upon me, should I dare be late with my payment. Now I can appreciate a sense of detail as well as the next stressed-out small ments to distribute our paper. Hey, it is, after all, the holiday season, and the time when people get sentimental. Thanks for understanding. peaking of the holiday season, it’s time for me to again ask for food donations for Esther’s Pantry. I real ize that I risk becoming tedious by asking for your help once more. While I don’t want to become boorish or demanding, I also feel very strongly about this cause, so strongly that I am willing to take the risk of crossing the line and stepping over it into pushiness. I understand that most of us don’t have a lot of money to spare right now. What ever you have to give, somebody, some organization, some nonprofit is going to want it. Esther’s Pantry is not asking for $25, $50, $250 (not that it would be turned down). We are asking for a couple of cans just out V O L 27. NO. 3 D E C E M B E R 4. 2 0 0 9 IN SID E » » FEATURE 14 THE HOLlGAY ISSUE Ju st Out's guide on everything you need to make the yuletide, oh, you know... S » NEWS 5 NORTHWEST BRIEFS 8 THE NEW COUVE THING: EXPLORING EMERGING VANCOUVER. WASH. II WORLD AIDS DAY 09 IN PORTLAND 13 COME TOGETHER: Multnomah County Health Dept. Announces Initial Results of Speak Out 2009 Survey »> PERSONALITIES 32 OWNING IT: Indie Popster Kelly Moe is on the Rise » ARTS 6 CULTURE 23 OUT 8 ABOUT 30 HAIL MARY. FULL OF GIN. Confession Wednesdays Jinx Weekday Nightlife » COLUMNISTS 28 LIVING OUT LOUD: A CRY IN THE DARK Finding the Light— and an Alternative— to Suicide business owner. I also realize the need for timely payments. What is missing on this invoice, though, is any mention, notice or sense of “thanks.” Where’s the simple “thanks for your business”? Where’s the “thank you”? Feeling miffed at the brusqueness of this transaction, I want to take a moment and make sure that I am not guilty of the same— I want to say “thank you” to ev erybody. I want to thank my advertisers, many if not most of whom are struggling to pay their own invoices and bills. Thanks for trusting Just Out with your valued ad vertising dollars. Thank you to our readers who make it a point to spend their dollars with our advertisers. You amaze me with your steadfast loyalty, and for this, you are thanked and thanked again. Thank you to the bars and coffee shops and stores and cafes that allow us space in their establish of food, maybe a bag of cat or dog food, some toothpaste, shampoo. We are asking for everyday items that could bring great value to the lives of those without. On December 1, many of us joined in observance of World A ID S Day. We ac knowledged the depth of the disease; we mourned the loss of lives. Let’s take more than one day a year to remember the im pact of AIDS/HIV. Your memories, your tears are for those who’ve gone on. Your food donations help those still here. There are rewards for giving, beyond the feel-good sensation that comes from doing the right thing. I’m giving away theater tickets, dinners, and trips to OMSI, all sorts of stuff. Look for the weekly list of giveaways at www.justout.com. Bring your donations to 6234 N. Greeley. Re member to say “hi” when you’re here. I will thank you. 35 LADY ABOUT TOWN: JUDGE NOT. LEST WE BE JUDGED: A DANCE PARTY ESCAPE 36 SASSY GARDENER: DIGGIN' IT Plant These Gifts in Gardeners’ Stockings 39 REMEMBER TO BREATHE: THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE CERTAINTY OF DECEIT 44 MS. BEHAVIOR. LIKE A MOTH TO FLAME Is Loving a Drama Queen Worth It? » BACKPAGE 46 DARCELLE S 79TH BIRTHDAY PARTY 47 GAY SURVIVOR PORTLAND FINALE i&i D IN G , F R IC S A R C D O N C !
