NOT A CITY IN CHINA
RE: Our ongoing coverage of the Portland Police Bureau, weekly in News and daily on blogtown.portlandmercury.com.
DEAR MERCURY—I keep hearing that the Portland police are doing better regarding officer-related incidents and crime rates. Well, why doesn’t someone look into the way Portland police have changed the way in which crime is reported, which discourages people from bothering to report any crime, and how much time are they really spending on property crimes, as an example? Then there is the case of misconduct. It is so rare that any officer is actually dealt with equal to the misconduct alleged, proven or not. I think people will continue to be frustrated [because] we have no power to actually break this cycle. What will be [the] tipping point?
-Richard
STARS AND BARS
RE: “Sobering Up” [News, May 17], regarding a myriad of setbacks in the effort to institute a ban on the sale of malt liquor and fortified wine in certain parts of downtown.
I am relieved to know that this ban won’t affect the purchase of my 6.4 percent Obsidian Stout in the downtown area. Nor will this ban affect my free-wheelin’ party-going as I cruise the various bars and clubs that serve liquor that is… what percentage, again? So, this ban is an attempt to do what? Scourge homeless people from the area for the sake of “tourists”? For, surely any and all monies spent supporting this stupid bill could have been better spent on, I don’t know, a new shelter? But, this is where the money goes. Because who cares about helping or curing the lost and the broken when business and money is on the line. Welcome to America, folks.
-posted by kalikill
NECK AND NECK
RE: “I’ll Cry if I Want To” [News, May 17], our election night coverage including the parties of all three major contenders for Portland mayor, now narrowed down to a runoff between Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith, with Eileen Brady out of the running.
The vote tally after the early returns shows the spread between Hales and Smith to have narrowed to only 4.55 percent, which is pretty much insignificant since there will be much higher participation in the November election.
-posted by Kathleen O’Brien
Oh, I see. The email chain went around to Smith supporters to go comment on the stories and point that out. Good coordinated effort, everyone. Seriously, can we just move the general up so we don’t have to put up with this anymore?
-posted by Drunk & Write
“As of press time, the writing was on the wall. But Brady was among a handful of candidates who proved that, in this town, in this state, raising the most money is rarely a sure path to victory.” I would take this to mean that the Merc has changed its tune on so-called ‘Voter-Owned Elections’ then? Example after example should have illustrated the lack of need for it by now.
-posted by frankieb
SPANK INTO FOCUS
RE: “Getting Canned” [Savage Love, May 17], regarding a letter writer worried that his office bathroom masturbation habit is on the wrong side of the law.
If spanking it in the confines of a water closet in an office building is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. Sometimes you just have to get it out of your system so you can focus on what you’re being paid to do.
-posted by nibbler83
HAPPENING NOW
RE: “Learning Curves and Rhyming Giants” [Music, May 17], previewing a performance by all-female band What Hearts.
Can the Merc ever do a feature on a band that ISN’T Doug Fir friendly or right-away hipster chic?
-posted by DamosA
The answer to your query, DamosA, is “no.” The Mercury simply isn’t capable of covering bands that don’t fit that description, because the Mercury is solidly a publication of the NOW, and of the HAPPENING. And things that are HAPPENING and NOW are things like precious-looking white girls. Personally, I don’t mind some decent indie-pop now and again, but I will be very glad when this fascination with anything and everything folk-inspired dies a gruesome fucking death.
-posted by Snagglepuss
YOU MIGHT HAVE a long wait ahead of you, Snagglepuss, so we’re giving you two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater, where you will have to make an educated guess as to which film’s soundtrack was least inspired by folk music—good luck with that!
So we might have a “long wait” ahead of us for this hipster-chic, folk flotsam to just die? Is that a threat???
Ha, “folk” — there’s a term even more absurdly vague than “hipster.” I’d say most music draws some inspiration from “folk” tradition(s), so yeah, a long wait indeed. If you don’t like what a band sounds like, why not just ignore it? This constant complaining about matters of taste isn’t exactly music to anyone’s ears. Oh no, there’s something on the internet that I don’t like — it must be on there just because it’s trendy!
I think Snagglepuss was being facetious. I hope so anyway. The word “trendy” is an even bigger joke than “folk”. Precisely who believes something is trendy, and why should anyone care really?
Would DamosA prefer that the Mercury give more coverage to European hate-metal, the stuff that is played by every white supremacist ethnic-nationalist immigrant-basher from Lisbon to Athens?
That DOES sound like DamosA’s groove, come to think of it.
Why is there not ONE good mariachi band here? Enough of these emo bearded hipster dorks from NY and their rehashed eighties music!
1. There are some good mariachi bands here.
2. What the fuck have YOU done?
3. You do raise a good point, which is HOW DARE THERE BE BANDS IN THIS CITY THAT I DON’T LIKE!!!ONE!!
“Would DamosA prefer that the Mercury give more coverage to European hate-metal, the stuff that is played by every white supremacist ethnic-nationalist immigrant-basher from Lisbon to Athens?
That DOES sound like DamosA’s groove, come to think of it.”
Well clearly you’ve got me FUCKED UP many times over and you soo obviously don’t know what you’re talking about, MORON! Could you mention said “European Hate-Metal” bands and confirm whether ANY such bands are playing at the music fest towhich the link was regarding? (waits patiently…)
Obviously, none are playing at the festival. But they are prominent all over Europe. A bass player for one of them just got elected to the Greek Parliament on the “Golden Dawn”(Greek Nazi) ticket:
http://www.pri.org/stories/arts-entertainm…
And really, DamosA, what are you complaining about? You hate poor people, POC, you’re not particularly sympathetic to LGBT people, I’d hate like hell to hear you talk about women for any great length…why shouldn’t we all consider you a hate-and-fear based right-wing extremist?
It’s seriously unlikely that you could like any music that was inclusive and positive.
I’m pretty sure you’ve got plenty of Rammstein on your mp3.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve got plenty of Rammstein on your mp3.”
Surely, you’re joking. I’m guessing you’re some random dork who knows NOTHING of the bands you claim to speak of! OBVIOUSLY, you don’t know jack shit about ME!
Oh and btw nerd, the little link above that you most likely found only after an entire night’s worth of google searching, is just regarding some band i personally know nothing about. So i’m not into ’em. In fact, i’m not into any Greek bands, in particular. So you sorry-ass attempt at trying to “prove a point” FAILED.