Letters to the Editor

SIZE MATTERS

There are big lies and small lies [“BREAKING: Attorney General
Releases Findings on Adams Scandal,” Blogtown, June 22]. Sam was
accused of having sex with a minor, and he denied it. That would have
been a big lie, and maybe a recallable lie, if it had been true. But he
was telling the truth, as has now been shown. Yes, he went on to tell
small lies about having a relationship with Beau [Breedlove] later on.
But those aren’t the supposed lies that the recall was built on; it was
built on the accusation that he’d lied about sex with a minor. Anyone
still wanting a recall is doing so either because they oppose his
policies or because they’re a homophobe.

-Posted by Stu

LETTING IT LIE

Not to be a boner about this, but “declined to prosecute” isn’t the
same as “cleared of all criminal charges,” just as a not guilty verdict
at trial doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is factually innocent
[“BREAKING: Attorney General Releases Findings on Adams Scandal,”
Blogtown, June 22]. I never thought Adams should be prosecuted for
this, even if they had had a ton of pre-18 sex; my problem was (and
remains) the horrible judgment, the self-righteous and cynical lying,
and the coaching of others to lie, and the report doesn’t change a
thing in that respect.

-Posted by Commenty Colin

VACCINATED

DEAR HELEN HILL—[“Bad Medicine,” Letters, June 18] If there
were any justice in the world, the 253,500 women who die every year
from cervical cancer would rise up and eat your flesh. We all know
that Big Pharma is out to make money and I don’t like having to defend
them, but I will not let your anti-vaccine/Big Pharma conspiracy pass
unaddressed. Yes, we can avoid cervical cancer by not having sex, and
yes, there are “harmless” treatments for cervical cancer (I guess a
hysterectomy is sort of harmless), but even more harmless is a quick
shot in the arm! You might as well have written a letter that says,
“I’m so crazy I think Big Pharma is behind every evil in the world and
to prove it I want women to suffer and die.” You might as well
join sides with the wackjobs in the religious right who want every
woman who engages in sex to die from a preventable STD and who have
been fighting against this vaccine from day one. So, in conclusion,
shut your uneducated mouth up and remember that if it weren’t for
vaccines and modern medicine, in part funded by Big Pharma, you’d
probably be dead by now.

-Lauriel

GET MEAN

TO THE EDITOR—It has often been said that Portland is a
passive-aggressive city, and that may well be true. Passive-aggression
is characteristic of those people that cannot stick up for themselves
despite the sincere wish that they could. These people, simply
put, cannot take care of themselves. Are these the type of people we
want running loose in this splendid city? No, they are not. Bearing
that in mind, please stop printing the submissions of half-formed
milquetoast crybabies in your column entitled “I, Anonymous.” The
purpose of this column is to deliver a message that cannot and should
not be delivered in person, or ever spoken about (i.e., the
inappropriate use of a roommate’s toothbrush, workplace masturbation,
accidental pet murders, etc.) and is not simply a message-board for
those people who cannot speak up for themselves when that is what the
situation demands of them (i.e., annoyed indie-rock noodle-arms.) My
point is this: This city is filled with people who cannot, for whatever
reason, look after their own interests. If we continue to coddle this
gutless demographic, the future of Portland is a bleak
one. 

-Calvin B. Langdon

HEAR, HEAR, CALVIN. And as for the rest of you: I, Anonymous
submissions (send yours to anonymous@portlandmercury.com)
that contain actual confessions of wrongdoing, accidental or
intentional, will always be given preference. Calvin walks with two
tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater and lunch at No Fish! Go Fish! where
you can look the staff in the eye.