LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[August 18th, 2004] NO MAN-FLESH FOR ME

Thank you for the article "Cured" [July 28, 2004]. Taylor Clark did a good job representing Portland Fellowship and what the ministry is all about. As a participant at Portland Fellowship, I recognized a few terms that are not typically used around the ministry (cured, gayness, queer desires, etc.) but made the conceptual connection.

Toward the end of the article, Drew and Jason were quoted regarding their attraction to women: "I'm not attracted to women--just my wife." To put that in perspective: If you talked to most Christian men, whether or not they struggle with same-sex attraction, their desire would be for that statement to be true of them as well. Lust is a concept developed by humans, not an element of God's design. Part of the journey into a deeper relationship with God will inevitably involve submitting our human lust to His design and intent--love for our husband/wife.

During my first visit to Portland Fellowship, I demanded to know whether freedom from the struggle was possible or if it would be a lifelong battle. Jason simply said, "We have people from both perspectives--and we've seen both occur, so I can't give you a definitive answer." What I can say is that for me, personally, over the time I've been at Portland Fellowship, my same-sex desires have reduced dramatically and no longer control my life as they used to. In addition, my relationships with God and other people have improved greatly. I feel free to love God and other people.

Duan Walker
Albany

DON'T CONFUSE WATER WITH SEWER

To the Nose: I'm responding to your column in the July 21 WW. In part, it stated that "Portland...has the second highest water bills in the nation."

Portland customers commonly call their combined water and sewer bill "the water bill." The Water Bureau is the billing agent for both water and sewer services for the City of Portland, but the two utilities have separate, distinct rate structures. When you compare Portland's water rates with both local and some national water providers, Portland's rates are very competitive--in fact, Portland's high-quality drinking water costs a small fraction of a penny per gallon.

We know that Portland customers will probably continue to call their combined water and sewer charges "the water bill" for years to come, but we hope you'll look at how Portland's water rates compare to others locally and nationally.

Tricia Knoll
Senior Community Outreach & Information Representative, City of Portland Bureau of Water Works
Southwest 5th Avenue

The Nose responds: Ms. Knoll is correct--the proper term would be "combined water and sewer bill." She is also correct in asserting that sewer rather than water charges account for Portland's steep bills, although the two are ultimately part of the same system.

SLEAZEBAG POSSE

The day before I was to finalize plans for surgery at Oregon Health & Science University (to be paid with my own hard-earned money), I read in your paper [The Nose, July 14, 2004] that OHSU's president, Peter Kohler, has joined Neil Goldschmidt's posse of local sleazebags (as Goldschmidt's replacement) in their quest to bring the Texas Pacific/ Portland General Electric scam to fruition.

I hope that the board of directors of OHSU will restore my confidence in that institution by getting rid of Peter Kohler, and that the Portland City Council will put negotiations over the Willamette development on hold until they have someone with integrity to negotiate with. There is rampant conflict of interest here.

I also wish the city would just go ahead and take over PGE. I doubt that the members of the Public Utility Commission have the courage to alienate their friends by saying no to the scam in question. Knowing what is right and doing what is right are two different things.

Carlos Martin
Northeast Randall Street

GREEN FOR KERRY

Greg Kafoury's letter [Mailbox, WW, Aug. 11, 2004] on Ralph Nader's 2004 Oregon electoral efforts defends "public interest" or '70s values, which were criticized by the Nose in a prior issue. But does support for Nader, in 2004, enhance those "peace and justice" values, or help keep in power the right-wing Bush regime?

At Portland State, PSU Green Party has endorsed John Kerry for president. We don't think the "nuanced" position of supporting Green Party nominee David Cobb is sufficient, nor can we see supporting Nader. Some of us have been OSPIRG volunteers and thought our 2000 votes for Nader were the best choice.

Greg Kafoury and I, in the past two years, helped work on bringing the 2000 U.S. Senate Green Party candidate in California, Medea Benjamin, to speak, twice, at PSU. However, even Medea, this year, like Barbara Ehrenreich, Michael Moore, Daniel Ellsberg, Norman Solomon, Naomi Klein and many others on the Left, have stated that the cost in lives to people who live in Afghanistan and Iraq (and potentially, if there is an "October surprise" this year, Iran) is far too great to simply fall back on the cliché (however true) that "the two-party system is corrupt."

Moreover, John Kerry has recently said that he will "bring U.S. troops home, in significant numbers, from Iraq, within six months of taking office. Bush, from Texas to Washington, D.C., has always been about an eye for eye.

Lew Church
Member, PSU Green Party
Southwest 10th Avenue