Skip to main contentYour fireworks article ["Fahrenheit 4th of July," WW, June 27, 2012] was biased in the extreme, taking only the perspective of a fanatical city employee and making fireworks users sound like gun-toting, militia-member rednecks.
This piece was pure propaganda. Let me assure you that there are plenty of "educated," elitist hipsters just like the author who enjoy fireworks as well, and don't spin it as part of a political agenda.
Would the author please explain to me why this non-issue is such a big deal now, when fireworks have been a part of traditional celebrations for hundreds of years? Additionally, if so many Portland residents light fireworks that they can't even be counted, yet only 40 fires occurred, a thinking person can only conclude that this is a safe and relatively low-risk activity.
Instead of spending $70,000 on a ridiculous anti-fireworks campaign, let's buy earplugs for the dogs and the few irascible neighbors who can't tolerate a little fun for a few hours once a year.
I have come to dread the Fourth of July in Portland. It's like living in a war zone and it goes on all night long. The last few years, it's been horrible.
-—"Tommy"
What is it about Washingtonians that makes them inherently smarter than Oregonians? Somehow these fireworks are dangerous when in Oregon, but drive a few miles north and you suddenly get smart enough to practice restraint. Like pumping your own gas, this is a nanny government out of control.
Look, if you torch something because you are stupid, you should pay for being stupid. But for the 99.9999 percent of us that can light a fuse without burning down a house, leave us alone.
-—"Gunther Snodgrass"
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND DRUGS
"Rosenblum is the first statewide official in Oregon whose election was fueled by drug money." ["Grass Ceiling," WW, June 27, 2012.] Drug money and money that comes from progressive drug policy reform groups are not one in the same.
This is one of the grossest misinterpretations of candidate funds received that I have ever read. Had Ellen [Rosenblum] been supported by Pfizer or violent Mexican cartels, it might make sense to call it "drug money," but clearly that was not the case.
It baffles me that this newspaper continues to slam Ellen for publicly stating she will uphold the will of Oregonian voters. If you want to run a story on what real drug money looks like, let me know and I will send you some info on the most recent beheadings in Mexico.
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