THE SHAME GAME
RE: One Day at a Time [July 26], in which author Ann Romano comments on the recent reaffirmation of the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to ban homosexuals from their organization.
I am an Eagle Scout and I wish to apologize for the Boy Scouts of America’s decision. The decision was made by a few officials and not the group as a whole. The BSA gave me some of the best memories of my life. For a boy who lost his father at a young age, the BSA provided me with male role models who taught and inspired me. I think everyone should be able to take part in experiences like that. Please do not judge the whole program based on this one decision made by a few people.
-Casey Wang
FEMALE PRISON PEN PALS: OREGON EDITION
RE: Maybe you didn’t know this, but the Portland Mercury enjoys a certain amount of popularity among incarcerated individuals. We don’t remember how it happened, but at some point they started asking us to print their requests for pen pals, and we do, because rehabilitation is a little easier when you have positive contact with other humans—like you!
DEAR PORTLAND MERCURY—I am currently serving a sentence at Coffee Creek Correctional in Wilsonville, the only women’s prison in all of Oregon, with 900 other women inmates that would love to have pen pals too. I receive the Mercury weekly and my only question is why are you guys running requests from other states?? Tabitha Wilson, Rexburg, ID? Really! How about supporting us? Here are a few female friends of mine. Please consider them to be a part of your “series.”
Tuesday Littleton #12154608: 41 years old, looking for friendships to have as visitors. Shelly Uptain #11310062: 38 years old, pen pals and possible visits. Trudy Hernandez #10896753: 38 years old, phone conversations, friendships. That’s all I have for now. Look forward to a response. CCCF, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR, 97070.
WINK, WINK
RE: Film Times [July 19], in which we purposely ran the wrong photo to represent a screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom after having been called out for carelessly doing the same thing with Raiders of the Lost Ark [“Indiana Fail,” Letters, July 12].
DEAR MERCURY—For shame, Mercury! Using a Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls still to promote Temple of Doom at the Burnside Brewing Co.?? I am shocked, horrified, and disgusted! If I represented Burnside Brewing I would sue for defamation!
-Nyssa
ENVIRONMENTAL STRUGGLE
RE: “The Lost Island” [Feature, July 26], regarding plans to transform West Hayden Island into an industrial port terminal.
Before the Bonneville Dam, Government Island was sandbars at low water levels and completely submerged at high. The dam is the primary reason for the collapse of wild salmon stocks on the Columbia and it needs to be removed. I know the environmentalists’ hearts are in the right place, and I do agree with them about preserving wild areas, but Hayden Island isn’t a truly wild place, it’s an island park recently created by accident.
-posted by Erasmus
Considering Bonneville supplies a huge amount of power to not just Oregon but many neighboring states, I wouldn’t expect Bonneville to go away any time soon. In the meantime, nature is nature, even if it’s manmade or “by accident.” That’s something worth protecting.
-posted by Ghassan
HE-UPWARDLY MOBILE-MAN
RE: A cover art illustration by Boris Vallejo [July 12], featuring an exaggeratedly muscular fantasy character.
DEAR MERCURY—So He-Man is holding a bottle of white wine whilst opening it with a corkscrew and wearing a very smug expression on his face. HE-MAN HAS BECOME A YUPPIE!
-Isaac Hudson
YES ISAAC, it does appear to be the case. In the end, most of us just become yuppies, though, wouldn’t you say? You can observe some of them with your two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater where you can enjoy your film along with a carafe of white wine, which is just lovely.
Though it’s not local, I am disappointed that I haven’t seen anything about Pussy Ride in your scurrilous rag. I have a theory about why they got up in church and slammed Putin. It’s because they wanted to inspire the whole World to print up and wear Free Pussy Ride t-shirts, there-by beautifying the planet. So fire up those silk-screens boys and girls. There’s a not to be missed opportunity here. The one I want to see is Putin’s face planted in a big hairy pussy.
You’re welcome.
@Slow Bump – I’m pretty sure their band name is Pussy Riot.
Offender Name: LITTLETON, TUESDAY MARIE
Age: 42
Gender: Female
DOB: 07/1970
Crimes:
IDENTITY THEFT 07/28/2009
IDENTITY THEFT 07/28/2009
IDENTITY THEFT 07/28/2009
FORGED INSTRUMENT-CRIM POSS I 07/28/2009
IDENTITY THEFT 10/01/2009
IDENTITY THEFT 10/01/2009
Earliest Release Date: 06/16/2014
__________
Offender Name: UPTAIN, SHELLEY MAE
Age: 37
Gender: Female
DOB: 11/1974
Crimes:
MANSLAUGHTER II 01/31/2008
Earliest Release Date: 11/12/2013
__________
Offender Name: HERNANDEZ, TRUDY ROSE
Age: 38
Gender: Female
DOB: 10/1973
Crimes:
FORGERY I 07/27/2010
THEFT I 07/27/2010
IDENTITY THEFT 07/27/2010
IDENTITY THEFT 07/27/2010
Earliest Release Date: 10/31/2013
Regarding Wink,Wink and Indiana Fail-
Hold on to your potato, Mercury,
Don’t be so quick to go tooting on your lobsters. We all know Shia LaBeouf was not in Temple of Doom, however, you ought to be aware, neither was Randal. You must have been distracted, given the concentration demanded for setting such a meticulously engineered nerd trap, to have a quote from Clerks to slip into your Shorts. Short Round’s line from the film, which I believe you attempted to recall, is, “Hey, Doctor Jones, no time for love!” I’d have let this error pass were it not for the smugness accompanying your intentional trap, as if you weren’t outmatched on the nerd front.
-Colton Hicks
Bokchoy give it a rest, will ya? Noone cares. You’re starting to look crazy.
Actually, BokChoy is doing a service alerting readers (and potential future victims) to the records of these incarcerated would-be pen-pals.
And the Portland Mercury is doing a disservice (and one with potentially serious, even fatal consequences) by treating as a continuing joke linking felons with unsuspecting suckers.
REALLY? Bokchoy is doing a “service”? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG you’re such a dummy!
OMFG!
You mean people in prison are there because they were convicted of a crime?
Weird. My penpal told me she was there as part of an AmWay job training program.
Just the facts. No commentary. No opinion.
Uhm actually, you’ve neither stated, shown, nor provided any “facts” here. A person’s so-called “record” doesn’t really mean anything. It is as irrelevant as one’s “credit” history.
The victims would tend to disagree. DamosA, your misguided ideals blind your sense of reason.
I think what DamosA is trying to say is, that grouping people according to their past is ineffective. Not everybody gets out of prison and goes right back doing what they were doing to get there, but some do. Is that a good reason to have so much contempt for everybody else?
“Inchoate” crimes make up a rather large percentage of offenders today, even though “inchoate” crimes have NO victim—in other words, they harmed nobody but themselves and got ‘caught’ doing it. Driving without the state’s permission is another ‘crime’ where the only harm was that the state didn’t get their money, and therefor hadn’t given us their consent to use OUR own roadways.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER—how long are we gonna fall for that tactic?
No one has expressed “contempt” for the inmates, just caution to their potential next victims.
You will note that not one of the listed offenses for which they were convicted is actually an “inchoate crime” (whatever that is): theft and identity theft are real crimes against real victims.
And I’ll bet that the manslaughter victim felt it was “choate” enough.
And exactly what “victims” are you referring to???
Damosa, you are so worried about “defending” what you perceive is a victim of “the system” that you ignore the actual victims of crime.
______________
A Gresham woman, who was withdrawing from methamphetamine when she crashed her car and killed a 21-year-old a year ago, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison.
Deputy District Attorney Steve Mygrant said Shelly May Uptain, 33, had been bingeing on meth when she missed a turn Jan. 5, 2007, smashing her vehicle head-on into a vehicle driven by Gary Allen Johnson of Sandy, who was killed instantly.
Blood tests confirmed that she had been using meth, Mygrant said, and a national expert testified during trial that driving during a meth withdrawal is more dangerous than driving high.
“Withdrawal-induced impairment is a very real and a very serious issue that could go unnoticed,” said Mygrant, who noted that users are nearly catatonic after staying awake for days on end.
Circuit Court Judge Thomas Rastetter on Tuesday found Uptain guilty of second-degree manslaughter, drug possession and recklessly endangering.
Mygrant said Uptain’s young son was in the vehicle when the accident occurred.
___________
Victims: Gary Allen Johnson of Sandy, aged 21. Gary’s mother, father, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and even Shelly Uptain’s son because he is without his mother.
Damosa, you are as ignorant and close-minded as the people and institutions you profess to hate.
Bokchoy, get a grip why don’t you. Dude, you’re starting to look like the real zealot around here… what’s this all about, huh? Did you get messed with as a kid? Someone do something to you? You wanna talk about it?