NORTH COAST TIMES E A G L E , AUGTEMBER 2001
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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
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