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About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2001)
NORTH COAST TIMES E A G L E , AUGTEMBER 2001 PAGE 3 not just politically. I would like to see changes in the electoral process, if nothing else I just don't know if those changes are possible. I have mixed feelings about the Ralph Nader situation. One way I can see that numerically he took a certain amount of votes away from Gore. I also have mixed feelings that there was no difference between the leaders of the two parties and that they were both corrupt But I don't have mixed feelings about his negative effect on the election I do believe in a lot of things Nader does, but he comes off so preachy • I think the 2000 election had a negative effect on the Supreme Court for the future LACY HOYER & JASPER DEVEREAUX (Lacy is a 2001 graduate from Astoria High School and soon to be a freshperson at the University of Oregon She is a special writer for the Daily Astorian. Jasper believes he will be a junior at the UofO.) JASPER: I felt the 2000 election and the following stream of stupidity was a truly low point in American greed and double-sided politics. LACY: I agree with Jasper on the election. Concern ing President Bush though, I cannot honestly believe that he was allowed to live past infanthood JESSI DUNKIN (She is 15 and soon to be a sophomore at Astoria High School. She is ‘Virginia Sweet' in the 2001 Shanghaied in Astoria She used to wish to be a third grade teacher and ari actress, and still might.) Basically, the only reason George Bush is in office is because Al Gore decided to stop prolonging the agony the country was going through Gore would have won, but he proved by stopping that he was the better man. It was like they were two little boys on a playground fighting, until Gore decided to let Bush have the Presidency. It's sort of the Bible story of King Solomon and the two women — like the woman who wanted to save the child instead of having half of a dead baby, Gore quit to save the Presidency. The nation is so corrupt the only way we could get any lower is if Bush gets us into a war. Gore would have repaired the economy I don't respect Bush as President. He's not President. CHARLOTTE BRUHN (She is an artist and co-partner in Astoria's Old Town Framing Company.) What election? What I have to say is don't take the blood money. Donate your tax refund to the Green Party, an environmental group or to Mother Jones LAURA DESSEN (She is an artist and actress.) I think the 2000 election was a crock of crap and that every vote should have been counted. I don't think that just because your brother is governor and he doesn't feel like counting votes that you should get to be President. It is an elected, not appointed position RICHARD THOMPSON LARRY JORDAN DINAH URELL (He lives in Astoria is all he thinks we need to know about him, which is of course true of us all) George Bush is the kind of guy who knows exactly what he wants but he's not quite sure I'm quite sure about one thing. I'm going to give my tax cut to the Gore/Lieberman 2000 Election Recount Fund. (She is a singer and co-publisher of 'Hipfish') First came the Nader/Gore controversy and the Republicrats against a rebel third party movement But what of women's health issues, environmental protections, gay and lesbian rights, a national defense budget under threat of being put to use, and the list goes on. Could we afford as a society to take a right-wing backlash beating by a corporate- presidential administration? Bless the radicals for decrying, 'We're not going to take it anymore!" But now that the "spoiler" dust has settled and we have unconstitutionally appointed the presidency, what now? Where are the citizens in the streets demanding justice? It’s easy to sit around in bars and yell at the TV and imagine a force of millions of Americans charging toward the Capitol Rotunda What seems to be more difficult is making time for actual citizen involvement. It's one thing in life that is actually free And the more people interested in devoting a few real hours of their time a month, the more to share the burden of social activism Whether you are a radical, a liberal, a conservative, politically inclined, a single mother with child care challenges, the butcher, the baker, whatever, we all have the capability and opportunity to fuel the anger of injustice. But damn it, sometimes it's hard to take yourself to a meeting after a hard day's work. It is a popular theory that Geedubya's presidency wll be a catalyst for social change. It just doesn't happen by itself though. Willingness, work, commitment, community. Volun teerism is an effective tool. The Columbia Pacific Alliance for Social Justice has recently organized locally. There's a meet ing on August 9, 7 p m. at the Grace Episcopal Church in Astoria. And there will be more. The North Coast Chapter of the Pacific Greens meets the third Tuesday of the month at the Astor Library Flag Room. Both organizations are a recent addition to the region. Aha! The theory of the collective catalyst is emerging, hopefully in time to wage peace with our warld's darker prophecies. ROGER HAYES (He is an artist of large, dark themes and an experi mental musician of fearless talent.) George Franju once said, "Anything said against the military and the church is well said." One could paraphrase this and say "Anything said against the current proto/fascist strivings of vainglorious puppeteers and cut-rate racketeers, is well said " My perception is that there is not a shred of anything, with my identity as a U.S. citizen, represented by our national values worth standing behind: there is no esprit de corps. , We are fed lukewarm pap by imperialistic henchmen to the gallows, who are trade barkers and trained seals intent on selling us a length of rope. I no longer perceive any semblance of coherency to the body politic, except gross complacency with our own flatulent and mundane greed. Greed responds to tyranny and extortion. One cannot stand proud and apathetic. SHANNON MEEKER (She is homeschooling her two daughters Alice, 8, and Opal, 5; and she farms as "a means of political activism." She came back to Astoria from California in March.) Election 2000 was educational. I got to hear a lot of arguments against the electoral college and a lot of amazing rationalizations for it. The outcome was surprising but not surprising, it was so blatant It served to disenfranchise me even farther from the political system. I had already chosen to not vote for either Bush or Gore I have lost faith in the U.S. government to take care of a single one of our needs. I hope the election helps expose the electoral process to be the farce and fraud it is. RAMEY N. HOLSMAN (She is co-publisher and art director of 'Hipfish'.) I don't recognize George W. Bush as the President of the United States. When I see his picture in a newspaper or on TV, I turn the page or channel. Perhaps I'm living in a state of denial — I just can't get my mind around the fact that we let him get away with this. I once watched a man scream wildly at a random woman minding her own business on a public bus in Portland. It was a hot, sticky, stinky weekday evening and most of us were on our way home from work, too tired to say anything at first Well, he kept screaming Then he got in her face Finally the bus driver stopped and told him to get off He kept screaming "You bleepin' bleep, I ain't no Russian spy!" Louder...finally he was flailing around, up. down, in the woman's face He was holding us hostage — no one sure what he would do next. I looked around the bus. "Okay," I thought to myself, "there's a big football lookin' dude stand ing there not saying a word I'm 5'4" and I want to pounce this little psycho, kick him off the bus and get home to my couch and off my feet!" Finally several of us screamed in unison. "Shut up! Get off the bus!" It was weird — like our boiling point hit at the same time "GET OFF THE BUS'" This gave the football dude enough courage to step up and physically carry the guy off and on to the street where he continued his tirade undaunted But we were free of him George W Bush is in office illegally and should not only be impeached, but imprisoned There are kids being thrown in the clink for life for selling a little grass and this idiot just took over our country I'm screaming, "Get off the bus!" And all the people said. . SHALLON o WINERY^ 1598 DUANE ST. ASTORIA. ORE 97103 POLK RILEY 9 PRINTING « ASTORIA 503 325 7775 1 800 732 7775 JULY 12 TO SEPT. 2. EVERY THURS, FRI & SAT NIGHTS UNDER THE BRIDGE ON MARINE DR., ASTORIA ★ 325-6104 R iver S ea GALLERY /I CONTEMPORARY WORKS OF ART STORIA OREOobf TWO ATTHEIR BEST HARRY BENNETT L NOEL THOMAS AUGUST 4 -- SEPTEMBER 12 A 503 / 3 2 5 1 270 1 1 60 COMMERCIAL ASTORIA MON SAT 1 O 3OAM-5: 3OPM SUN 1 2-4PM e*T1974 Ferodi Grocery 1389Viuw
