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NORTH COAST TIMES E A G L E , MAY/JUNE 2001
for married couples, vtfiich says indirectly that nowit will be
worth it to stay together no matter what kind of abuse is going
on in your homes. There is, oddly enough, also an initiative that
wants to allow prosecution for violence against fetuses — this
of course seems like an insidious way to the loss of a woman's
right to choose.
I lived through the uneasiness in the 60s and ‘70s, and
it's similar again to the one I feel today I recognize the rebellion
that later turned into apathy for so many is happening again
Does the old adage 1 step forward, 2 steps back always
have to be true?
GLORIA E. MYERS
(She is an historian, married to fellow historian David
Horowitz, and author of "A Municipal Mother: Portland's Lola
Greene Baldwin, America's First Policewoman.)
The arrogance of George Bush saying conservation is
not necessary.
. I don't like Bush's spokesman when he comes out and
says Americans are not going to have to give up their lifestyles
— the American Way of Life. They can drive their SUVs, they
can use all the electricity they want, build coal generating plants
in Mexico v^iere they have lax environmental laws — of course
Vice President Cheney, an oilman like Bush, is all for getting
that coal from his very own Wyoming
CATHERINE ORR
(She is 'Connections' director for Astoria schools,
creating after school and summer programs for children.)
I have quit reading newspapers and listening to
mainstream radio and television news because the first few
weeks after the election I read about or heard about keeping
arsenic in the water and the Alaska oil drilling and the whole
military issue — the billions more dollars for the Pentagon and
Star Wars — and it makes me feel powerless. It is really very
important that we don't feel powerless to make changes that
we must make.
It is discouraging to realize that our newly elected
President has chosen to increase military spending I see such
a critical need for child care — especially infants and toddlers.
Right now 60% of families with young children work, yet in
Clatsop County there aren't enough places for them to leave
those young children. We need to rethink the way we support
our child care. To offer infant toddler care takes more than
parent fees. We need to have support from infrastructure.
BUCK EVERETT ROBERTS
PAUL EVALT (9E2X)
(He is a writer and self-described 'gifted underachiever'.)
Everybody who voted for Ralph Nader screwed us.
While the Republican Party retains a lot more loyalty
than the Democrats, they make very poor choices in leaders, so
we are stuck with George Bush, and so we are going to have a
polluted country.
The Florida election was bad. Everything should have
been counted the first time.
NATALIE ORR
ROBERT STEVENS
(She is Catherine Orr's daughter. She is 13, a star of
'Shanghaied in Astoria' and plans to be President of the USA
as well as an international woman of mystery.)
I think that George Bush is full of crap. He is greedy
and doesn’t know how to be President He is not an environ­
mentalist at all. He wants to pollute the earth even more than it
is. When we run out of oil, what are we going to do with all of the
cars? We live on the coast — when the ocean runs up on the
beach because of global warming, we're all going to die.
If we are going to have cars we should have tiny little
ones ihstedd of SUVs. I mean, let's just kill the earth!
Bush is going to take away all of our benefits, wtiich we
never had much of anyway
(He is a musician and member of the famous homestyle
'Brownsmead Flats")
I don't see a lot of people interested in talking about the
2000 election. They think Bush is too much of a dingleberry to
cause too many problems. It's the people around him who might
be the problem.
With Bush deconstructing some of the issues we
thought we had gained ground on. I think the effect will be
impassioning the electorate who are concerned about the
environment and social issues.
Part of the problem might be the media. I don't feel it
is looking into Bush as deeply it did Clinton, who was a more
compelling person. Perhaps that is why he was selected instead
of voted for president — he's not sexy enough to sell to the
public. Doonesbury uses an asterisk to depict Bush — do you
suppose that means something?
The changes he is making will already be in effect by
the time we learn about them
I think he is a typical type of puppet which makes it
difficult to decipher the forces that are manipulating him.
(He is an artist and sells his paintings on sidewalks and
stores. His artwork was featured in Marpril 2001 NCTE.)
I thought the election last year was an example of an
argument between war and peace, and how people are divided
on how and where they want to go The vote was so close it was
a phenomenon, like an aurora borealis or rainbows or an earth­
quake. It was phenomenon in the human mind because it was
so close.
You could say the election was a marking point in the
division of people's thinking, and hopefully will lead to people
coming together instead of dividing apart.
BRIDGET KITSON
(She and Natalie Orr are lifelong friends. She is a 2001
graduate of 8th grade, a singer and inspired mimic.)
I can't even believe George Bush is President!
They're making better voting machines now so he won't
win the next election.
It's scary he's President. It would have been great if
Ralph Nader had won.
I think Bush is going to take away health care insurance,
which will basically kill people.
MAGGIE KITSON
(She is Bridget's mother, and is also a singer. She sings
with the great Bond Street Blues Band.)
The only dope worth shooting is George Bush
RECORD & TAPE SHOP
JONIK
LIKE NO TOMORROW
MUSIC NON-PROFIT TO THE
SPAY A NEUTER HUMANE ASSOCIATION
('Hippie Jim from Uppertown Station' has tried in various
ways and with all his heart to save and reconstruct an antique
Astoria boat barn built upon pilings above the Columbia River.)
The eve of the 2000 election I got the emotional roller
coaster ride of my life. I'm still dizzy, dry heaving, and I'll never
eat a comdog or cotton candy again. For a bnef moment that
night I gave credit to the power of prayer as they "took back
Florida." Today, I'm a devout believer that God has forsaken
this country for the sake of the meek that shall inherit the earth,
and that we deserve the representative that was appointed for
us.
Washington, D C. seems to consult Hollywood for
direction in composing 1/2 hour controversies that can lead
the feeble along to agreeing to the government's next pressing
agenda.
In terms of world powers, we are showing our age as
being a self-absorbed teenager convinced that the world and
all its inhabitants are ours to do our bidding. I'm embarrassed
to be a citizen of a country that still ascribes to a philosophy
of manifest destiny in the light of the worldwide suffering our
indulgent lifestyles perpetuate
BY NED HEAVENRICH
The energy crisis is real and in my mind is responsible
for the greater crisis that faces us all, that being global warming
The market economy also is right in there as the force
that is dnving the world's demand to bum more energy As the
world's leader in consuming and wasting energy, we are sending
the message to everyone else that living in excess is where it's
at What are the origins of this madness that we are pushing
everyone on earth to join us in, regardless of the consequences
for future generations?
In my mind, it can be laid at the feet of the former
President (recently elevated to the status of god in the press)
who encouraged the attitude and policies of benign neglect and
ignorance as far as the environment went — Ronald Reagan
We now have a President who seeks to imitate Reagan in far
too many ways and maintains the head-in-the-sand approach
to the environment that we experienced in the 1980s.
As if this renewal of policy from the Reagan era wasn't
bad enough, an ugly head is reared as the solution to all our
problems. The "clean energy" source of nuclear power will solve
the dilemma and allow us to keep consuming to our heart's
content. There is of course, no mention of meltdowns or waste
generated by these power plants that are highly dangerous and
remain so for thousands and thousands of years Not to mention
that there is no place to store the waste that may haunt future
generations forever.
Friends, we have been living like there is no tomorrow
as far as our energy consumption goes and the time has come
v\4ien we have to decide whether we continue to gorge ourselves
to death or go on a diet to improve our health I suggest we
beseech our government leaders to forge energy policies that
wll encourage conservation of all fossil fuels and put money
into developing solar and other renewable sources of energy
If we had invested the billions of dollars that went into
nuclear power into solar, we might have something to show for
it nowand would not have to deal with the toxic wastes that are
going to be costing us trillions in the future The nuclear power
pushers don’t make any reference to those costs either
The marketplace is not going to solve the problem of
global warming If that were the case, we wouldn't have SUVs
all over the place It is time that all of us (myself included) take
personal and concerted action in reducing our wasteful and
harmful attitudes towards energy consumption
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JIM HEDFORD
Ned Heavenrich lives in Brownsmead He is author of
the play Hit chin'
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