TO THE EDITOR
EDITOR’S NOTE: David Shellabarger tells us he is NOT
the author of the letter “This Paper Sucks,” so we are
editing out his name in this and other letters in response.
ABSURD SUGGESTION
I’d like to respond to the letter in last
week’s EW (9/29). Comparing EW to The
Portland Mercury is like comparing Time or
Newsweek to the National Enquirer (neither
are great periodicals of unbiased news, but
some are more real than others). The Mercury
being on the side with the Enquirer.
The Mercury has been littering the streets
of Portland for the past five years or so. It em-
anated from a rather excellent weekly in
Seattle called The Stranger. The Stranger
started in the early ’90’s as a hipper weekly
than the stodgy old Seattle Weekly. The edi-
tors were radical and aptly represented the
burgeoning youth scene happening in the
streets and clubs of Seattle during the waning
moments of the grunge scene. Their journal-
ism and critiques of film, food, and music
was usually cutting edge and generally accu-
rate (and had the effect of sharpening the gal-
ley’s at the Weekly).
The Mercury, on the other hand, has been
an embarrassment since it’s conception. They
make up half of the paper, and their film,
music, and food reviews generally suck! I
often read the letters to the editor as the only
truthful and intelligent part of the paper.
The EW may not be as fun a read as the
Mercury, but it is miles above in journalistic
integrity and intelligent readership involve-
ment. The usual letter to the editor in the
Mercury is someone complaining about their
band being less than gloriously reviewed, or
some sick born-again Christian denouncing
the whole of Portland’s alternative set to the
depths of hell. At EW the letters are mostly
from people who genuinely care about the
world, Eugene, and the issues concerning all
of us — in a rational, detailed, accurate, and
intelligently written manner.
I agree that the EW leaves much to be de-
sired. So perhaps it may grow up and seize the
opportunity to make itself a great weekly. But
to encourage it to be like the Mercury is absurd.
Jonathan Seraphim
Eugene
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ANOTHER TRAVESTY
Now that Bush has gotten John Roberts
through the confirmation process with little
more than a grunt from our new chief
Supreme Court justice, Bush is now promot-
ing another travesty on the American public
with his nomination of Harriet Miers.
Sounds to me like Bush is producing a re-
make of that old classic, The Bride of
Frankenstein.
L. Michael Adler
Creswell
EX\VHOOWUDGH
support EW, having to deal with every letter
written by some malcontent who’s angry
when things don’t go his way. Corrective crit-
icism is far more effective than chronic whin-
ing. Hey! The Portland Mercury is on the net.
Read it! But this guy states he still reads the
EW just to stay miserable.
I may not agree with all of Lois
Wadsworth’s film reviews but she is a very
nice person and doesn’t deserve to be at-
tacked for doing her job. I’d be interested in
seeing how good a job the writer would do
with Lois’s column. But then how many
times can you write about Hedwig and The
Angry Inch?
I remember when you were the Observer,
then What’s Happening. Things change.
There is a bicycle bridge, in Eugene, named
after a man who was scoffed at and ridiculed
in the 40s and 50s because he rode a bicycle
and he was an adult.
If the writer is angry because he didn’t see
his already well known local groups written
up in EW, why not check out the musicians he
complained about not knowing? Isn’t that
what a newspaper is supposed to do? Expose.
It’s called ... “an open mind.”
Colin Campbell
Eugene
A Neighborhood Market
With World-Class Variety!
WDNH WKH
FR W
RXW RI\RXU
FRVWXPH
MARCH ON D.C.
District Attorney Doug Harcleroad and
Sheriff Russ Burger want more money, so
they convened the Public Safety Task Force
meetings in which I was invited to partici-
pate. They couldn’t gather a super-majority,
let alone unanimous support regarding a
source of revenue.
Let me repeat my revenue-generating
suggestion I first made in August. To date,
Bush’s vanity war has cost the U.S. over $197
billion, and has cost Oregon almost $11.6 bil-
lion. The out of control power and money
grabbing happening in Washington, D.C.,
can’t be reined in by the Legislature or the ju-
diciary because they are in the pocket of the
military industrial complex.
It’s clear to me the only way to rein in the
out of control executive branch is by dissent-
ing actions by members of the executive
branch. So, I once again propose a “DA’s
March on Washington.” We should direct
Harcleroad to contact every DA in the coun-
try and coordinate them to march, en masse,
demanding the White house quit it’s expen-
sive war actions which are hobbling the DA’s
efforts to provide public safety.
Neil Friedman
Westfir
(WK$YH EHWZHHQ2DN 3HDUO %8))$/2(;&+$1*( &20
IT’S THE MUSIC
I look forward to the Bravo section of the
EW as a great way to inform Eugeneans of
the many cultural events available in this
town. Thanks and may there be more fre-
quent coverage.
OCTOBER 13, 2005 5