WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less.   NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS Hardly a day goes by that I don't wonder about the current state of philanthropy in the United States. Why is it, in this era of unprecedented prosperity, that so many nonprofit organizations are struggling to survive? How can such a large segment of our population go to bed hungry and wake up without health coverage, when there's so much extra cash floating around? What are people doing with all this spare dough? Imagine my surprise and disgust to learn that one of the newest beneficiaries of these economic good times--dog owners--are willing to shell out a few hundred bucks to replace their pet's freshly snipped gonads with something called "neuticles." What's next? Strap-ons for Tabby? Hey, people are free to spend their money as they wish. It seems to me, though, that there's not much hope left for our society when we value fake nards for Fido over the needs of our fellow human beings. Bob Kingston Southwest 12th Drive HEROES & HIPSTERS Your article on the sad death of Jon Beckel ["What Happened to Jon Beckel?," July 12, 2000] was compelling by its near-deification of an abusive alcoholic into that American icon, the lovable rogue. This leer into the world of the hipster was a source of guilty pleasure for the tragically unhip. The central theme was struck when you wrote, "Montage's core base of indie-hipsters had deserted the restaurant...with all those urban tourists and a decline in service." The world of the hip is oppressive, with every act, pose and word of argot weighed against the court of hipster opinion. A true hipster would wade knee-deep through dog barf to be seen in a hangout. Such a trivial matter as running out of bread wouldn't deter her from making the scene. It's rather the dreaded "urban tourist" that ruined the country-club-of-the-pierced atmosphere. The irony is that Willamette Week, in glorifying this shallow world, revealed itself to be pimping hip culture to the unhip. This is why the urban tourists flock to places such as Montage, hoping for contact hipness. By turning Jon Beckel into an anti-hero, you have inadvertently revealed the soul of America: We march in lock step to our peer group, yet worship those who get away with breaking the rules. By its ogling of the youth subculture, your article was as satisfying as making a meal out of a single Montage oyster shooter. The real story is more than just "a few facts that make it possible to entertain tentative theories as to how Beckel died." Noel Blake Southwest 45th Avenue POLICE DISS UNION Portlanders have high expectations for their police officers, and it is crucial that our police are professionally educated and trained. There is a high degree of public scrutiny of police--more than with any other city bureau--and this is all the more reason to simply acknowledge when the occasional error in judgment is made, so it can be corrected. Tom Mack, one of the union's more experienced leaders, rightly addressed public criticism of how police commanders directed their patrolmen during Portland's May Day protest parade ["Cracks in the Thin Blue Line," WW, May 17, 2000]. Mack apparently recognized that an honest acknowledgement of this recent controversy offered an opportunity for his fellow officers to improve their job performance, and even their rapport with the public. The union's effectiveness as an organization needs to be examined in context. For example, the mayor acts as the police commissioner in Portland. The present mayor apparently has thought it wise to keep police wages depressed and hire the bureau's latest chief from out of state. Also, many new hires for patrolman jobs are being brought in from out of state--from a state that may have even lower wages than Portland. Local sons and daughters have long realized that Portland police department's depressed wage scale, higher risks and longer hours don't compare favorably with employment in the lower-stress suburbs. There are overall budgetary and management problems, over which the union currently has little control. Meanwhile, Portland has been making a headlong rush towards increasing its density and population. The costs of urban living are rising, and there are also stresses from the dislocation of communities and in-migration of non-English-speaking populations with special needs. All these stresses need to be understood and addressed for their impacts on public-safety officers. Police particularly need an improved, internal support system that will help them deal with the day-to-day frustrations and deadly risks of their work. The union can help its members to a degree--but not when union leaders hassle rather than encourage each other. Honest analysis by the participants in a controversial event can provide a valuable opportunity for constructive thinking. In light of continuing city management and budget shortcomings, Portland police need to realistically assess their image and decide what kinds of internal organizational support they will need which will help them better meet public expectations. Liz Callison Southwest Knightsbridge Drive KNOCKIN' ON MEADOWS' DOOR I read your article on the Portland Meadows ["The Meadows vs. The Man," June 21, 2000] and found it hard to feel for the promoters or the racetrack. I saw the Dylan/Lesh show there, and the lack of forethought and the attitude of the gatekeepers was criminal. The show started at 6 pm on a Friday night. After crawling through rush hour traffic, parking in a chaotic parking lot and standing on a huge line (for some reason they thought it best to have a gate where only two people could get through at once, after being rudely and thoroughly searched, mostly for food and water), we finally got in to see Dylan--and caught maybe four songs. Many people around me were also amazed that we had missed what we had come to see due to no opening band, a 6 pm start time and rude idiots at the gate, intent on searching baby strollers and making people dump their food and water (there could have at least been a sign warning of no food allowed before getting all the way to the gate on a 20-minute line). All that service for $40. Lesh was great, but next time I'm going to the Gorge. Screw you, Portland Meadows. Chris Dreger Southeast 9th Avenue BILLBOARD OF RIGHTS City Hall's fight against billboards is an infringement of our rights of political expression ["When Billboards Attack," WW, June 21, 2000]. Political groups that find radio and television ads too expensive can often find the funds to purchase a billboard or two to get their message out. This idea that billboards are a blight on the city is the view of a few noisy people who think nothing of telling others how to live. We do need a billboard on the city's edge that reads, "Welcome to Portland. Honoring some diversity." Michael Wilson Chair, Libertarian Party of Multnomah County Southeast Division Street UP AGAINST THE WALL Metro Murals is a nonprofit formed about two and a half years ago to assist Portland residents in creating outdoor, community-based murals. Little did we know that we would soon be spending most of our time and energy in a political debate over sign codes. The recent Willamette Week article "When Billboards Attack" [June 21, 2000] represented a highly charged and somewhat confusing controversy well, but Metro Murals would like to reinforce one thought. Because billboards and wall signs are highly visible, the public debate becomes centered on their existence. What is not seen, and what we have lost with the revised sign regulations, are new murals of any notable size created for the community by local artists and residents. Essentially, the new codes have all but eliminated a form of art and community involvement that has the power to teach and engage on many levels. All signs (including murals) that can be seen from the public right-of-way now have a 200-square-foot sign maximum (for reference, the mural at 36th and Northeast Beech, beyond the Nature's on Fremont, is approximately 500 square feet). However, once the zoning code, primary frontage size and existing signage are taken into account, the allowable size is usually much smaller. We know this restriction has seriously discouraged the would-be muralist because Metro Murals receives several calls each month from community or public organizations asking us how to create a mural. Once we explain the situation, they usually scrap their plans. While it is true larger murals may be created through the city's adjustment process, such appeals are expensive and time-consuming--not an alternative for service or youth organizations. Since murals have been sacrificed in the sign-code struggle, Metro Murals has put its energies into preserving those that currently exist and creating new, broadly defined mural programs. We are not blind to the complexities of the "content neutral" decision of the courts, and of course we support free speech. Still, we look forward to the day when the Oregon courts can distinguish between a business advertisement and community art. (P.S. You can view nearly 300 photos of more than 80 Portland community murals on our website, www.metromurals.org.) Maureen Newby, Laura Feldman, Denise Rhiner Metro Murals ANSWER IN THE FINE PRINT A solution to the billboard problem was proposed by a number of people back in 1998. According to the courts, any regulation of billboards has to apply equally to murals. Fine. Don't bother limiting the size of the billboards--limit the size of the lettering! Whether it's a piece of art or an advertisement being painted, what if the size of the text could be no bigger than one square foot per letter? Since lettering is what makes a billboard distracting to traffic, the problem is solved if the print's too small to read from the roadway. And if ad agencies choose to rent wall space just so they can paint colorful pictures, I'll have no complaint. S.W. Conser Southeast 12th Avenue EGG ON YR WINDOW I have to commend Willamette Week for coming up with a column aptly titled "Queer Window" for the Portland community at large. However, I find it interesting that for a fairly new column, WW columnist Byron Beck literally slams any small achievements or milestones made by gay and lesbian celebrities. Using Byron's assessment of Ellen Degeneres' coming-out episode being a "letdown," I'd have to say the same for his highly opinionated "Smash Yr Gay Idols" write-up featured in WW's June 28, 2000, issue. Considering that the gay and lesbian community have so few role models to look up to, I think Ellen was bold in risking any network ratings to bring her sexuality to light on a national network. I am also certain that she was working within her confines of ABC's contract. I think that it is very crucial for people to see all aspects of sexuality brought to surface, be it hetero or homo or what have you. For Byron to consider a marketing tactic used in Volkswagen's Beetle commercial to be more of a "cultural revelation" than Ellen's coming out--or any celebrity for that matter coming out--leaves much to be said. Similarly, claiming "thankfully we have Jodie Foster" because, well, she just doesn't talk about it...makes me think "we've come a long way, baby!" It is especially sad to read this denouncement of openly gay celebs by someone queer. I am not suggesting you need agree with everything accomplished by other queers in the ranks, but at least be happy that there are those risking their careers to pave the way for others to come. I hope we needn't be reminded that Ellen's show was canceled--maybe it was for lack of content, but I also suspect her sexuality may have thrust her show into the fire right alongside Joan of Arc. Jennifer Goode Southwest Melville Avenue REFLECTION IN YR WINDOW I read Byron Beck's piece in WW, "Smash Yr Gay Idols" [Queer Window, June 28, 2000], and wanted to share my appreciation both for its witty style and reflective substance--and I speak as an admittedly social/religious conservative. Much public expression and communication I see from the gay perspective is polemic and strident, so Beck's willingness to engage in introspection and cultural self-criticism is refreshing. I too watched Ellen Degeneres' "coming out" episode in 1997; prepared to be annoyed over another cultural inroad against traditional mores and values, I was struck by my own sense that Degeneres was simply making a last gasp at pumping up a hopelessly flat tire--i.e., a mediocre sitcom on its last legs--and that her sexual orientation was largely irrelevant per se. But to restate: I appreciate, much as I appreciate Camille Paglia's writing, Beck's willingness to engage in this form of reflectiveness. From my perspective, it achieves much more for "building bridges" of human commonality and peaceful co-existence (which is how I'd define "tolerance") than the often-shrill "in-your-face" rhetoric and defensiveness I've observed through most media formats. Harley Jamieson Northeast Skidmore Street HOUSE OF YUP I fail to see how taking low-income housing from nonprofit community development corporations and putting it into the hands of private realtors will help low-income residents stay in the gentrifying North/Northeast area of Portland ("Case Foreclosed," July 11, 2000). PCRI is needed not to curb blight, but to ensure that low and moderate-income people have a chance to live in the core of Portland, close to jobs, services and community. Otherwise the core of Portland will become like San Francisco. I have been acquainted with PCRI and its staff for more than two years. We need more housing in North and Northeast under the umbrella of responsible nonprofits like PCRI to combat gentrification, not less. Chip Shields Executive Director, Better People Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Hammer TK I feel I must comment on Chris Lydgate's article "Going to the Dogs" (WW, July 4, 2000). The article criticizes the amount of money that is being spent on our canine companions and concludes that pets are "takin over" simply because many people feel that their pets are worth spending their money on. Apparently Ms. Lydgate feels that when faced with a costly solution to a pet's problem, the pet's guardian should just put the pet to sleep because it is, after all, just an animal and doesn't deserve anything more. I find her attitude offensive. Ms Lydgate suggests that the idea of offering compassionate care for dogs in the form of health food, homeopathy, dermatology, and surgery is the realm of science fiction. Why does this seem so bizarre to her? If health food is good for us, why wouldn't a pet benefit from eating properly as well? If homeopathy (my personal specialty) can provide a gentle, powerful and often more cost-effective alternative to many conventional medical procedures for people, why wouldn't a pet benefit from the same? And if a pet is scratching all night from allergies, isn't it a good idea to go to a professional who is trained to treat skin diseases, or should the guardians of this pet just put up with the scratching because in Ms. Lydgate's opinion spending money on a professional is unwarranted because a pet is involved? And surgery on animals is hardly a new wave. Yes, many of these surgical procedures are by their nature expensive, but veterinarians have been providing these services for animals for nearly as long as human surgeons have provided them for people, and at a far lower cost for the exact same procedures. Ms. Lydgate points out that 16 Oregon counties have no MRI available for people and seems to suggest that it is somehow wrong to provide this service for pets until all humans are first provided with this service. I might point out that the number of MRI machines available for people throughout the state far outweighs the number now available for pets (one), but like any high-cost/low-volume service, these machines are going to be located where the population is. If one chooses to live in a county with a population too low to support an MRI machine at the local hospital, that doesn't mean that MRI is unavailable, just inconvenient. There are advantages and disadvantages to living in Harney County; one of the disadvantages is that for many services, including MRI, you have to do a bit of driving. People like to complain about how much money is spent on the military, or the space program, or on welfare, when in their opinion the money would be better spent on whatever they believe is important. Well, at least in those cases it's the taxpayer's money that is being spent. In the cases Ms. Lydgate talks about, the money being spent on the pets is the guardians' own money--don't they have a right to spend their own money as they see fit? Shall we appoint Ms. Lydgate as our guardian of spending? We can all show her our checkbook registers and she can tell us what is right and what is wrong to spend our money on. In spending money on our pets, at least we are spending it compassionately on beings who feel pain the same as we do. It seems to me that this is a good way to spend our money, not a bad way. But even if it's a way that doesn't meet Ms. Lydgate's approval, it's still our choice. Ghandi once said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progresses can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Buddha is attributed as saying, "When a man has pity on all living creatures, then only is he noble." Personally, I am proud to be living in a society where pets are valued and people will spend thousands of their hard-earned dollars on good, compassionate care for their pets. Dr. Bob Ulbrich Whole Pet Veterinary Clinic Southeast 23rd Avenue READER GROWLS TOO Dog lovers can help the rest of us out ["Gone to the Dogs, WW, July 4, 2000]. 1. Don't force your dog's presence on the allergic. 2. Quit breeding dogs to be mutants with short legs, bowed spines, heavy jowls, and manifold and manifest distortions of many other types. 3. Realize that not everyone thinks of a dog as a relative. 4. Sink your money into helping the human children who live in poverty, abuse, despair and ignorance in our country. Larry McKinney Southwest Cheltenham Street