LETTERS

Kate Silver's July 8 cover story on the "housing-first" proposal to combat homelessness brought out the prescriptive moralist in this reader:

The "Homes for the Homeless" article is a beautiful article about beautiful folks who need more beauty in their lives. However, Kate Silver misses a fundamental truth. Being homeless isn't an individual's problem and will never be ended on an individual-by-individual level. Rather, the existence of even one homeless person (not home-free people who choose to live without a designated "home" or choose the entire Earth as their home) is an indicator of a society-wide problem.

We cannot throw money at homelessness by building centers that cater to every homeless need in a one-stop, rigid, drug- and alcohol-free, must-want-a-capital-based job environment and expect all these folks who live on our streets to shape up and conform. It's like militarily attacking another nation to end war ... the tool itself is the problem.

Since Las Vegas is the number one meanest city for homelessness (according to an August 2003 study conducted by the National Coalition for the Homeless), we need to listen to Rev. Lloyd Gary Rupp and provide "the simple things: showers, Porta Potties and making health care more available." We also need to provide food and remove vagrancy laws like panhandling and loitering. In the meantime, we'll focus on the root of homelessness: transnational capitalism, our current monetary caste system, greedy corporatists and our own comfort-based, exploitative, overly-oppressive and repressive, consuming, waste-filled lifestyles.

Meanwhile, the resemblence of the homeless guy on our cover to Abraham Lincoln didn't escape this reader:

I wonder if that guy on this week's cover might be able to make himself a house out of Lincoln logs.

David McKee's recent attack on the economic policies of the present administration—based on his experiences temp-jobbing with white-collar professionals displaced from their jobs—didn't sit well with one reader:

Just a few comments on As We See It by David McKee, July 1-7 weekly.

I don't know a lot about Dick Cheney other than he has experience in international business and has made a lot of money—a lot of people could do the same if they stopped whining and worked hard enough.

In reference to the temporary convention job attended by useless? nonessential? non-motivated? bunch consisting of arts importer, events coordinator, project administrator, national parks office manager and misc government employees—overqualified?

A definite maybe there.

In closing, it's not Dick Cheney's—Ronald Reagan's (past tense) or John Kerry's job to get David McKee and his cronies a job! It's their responsibility, take it or leave it.

Recommended—get a haircut and get a real job, or go bald like Dick Cheney trying.

Richard Abowitz received this response to his As We See It item on local rock webzine guy David Necro last week:

Good mourning. This is Christopher Lee of "The Only Band That Splatters," leaders of the "Grave-Wave" movement ... DBY!! I am building a coffin in YOUR undead honor as your article on the living/dying/rotund legend, the REAL motor city madman, my ex-partner in grime, David Necro, was quite a read. I have known Mr. Necro for the better or worse of about three years, when he spent his time in Ft. Lauderhell, FLA! Though the man can be quite difficult at times, he means HELL, I'm glad to see someone prove me right that once their soul departs the land of the damned (South Florida) they begin to achieve all their goals. I am thanking you on his behalf that in the four months since he left he has accomplished more than he did in three years in a place architecturally designed to deter "self-made outsiders" from anything!

Editor's note: DBY will perform in Las Vegas August 6, at the Boston.

"Among the Einsteins," Richard Abowitz's July 8 As We See It piece about Mensa's AG—"annual gathering"—in Las Vegas, caught the eye of this local Mensan:

Am just putting a clip of your article in the July 8-14 Weekly into an envelope for Jim Blackmore, the marketing director of American Mensa.

Thanks for being there/doing that. It wasn't a put-down of Mensa, and yet managed to show that there are all sorts of us in the group—some who, I think, joined just so they could have a card which says, "I am SO smart!" Most are the type that just like to meet, greet and have a good party. What I like about it is that it simply doesn't matter who you are, what you do or how much your estate is worth. I never met Isaac Asimov, but if I had—likely at an AG or someone's home—he'd have been Isaac and I'd have been George, and that would have been that.

A gang of four of us began Mensa/Nevada (now split into Vegas and Reno areas) in 1965, with a high-school teacher (me), a millionaire, a divorce lawyer, and a fellow who was only barely making it as night clerk at a motel because they gave him a room free.

Again, thanks for a good read. You're part of what I like about the LV Weekly.

The letters-page dispute between Simone Nalani and A Reader—a spin-off from the massive response to Sonja's rape story of June 24—prompted one exasperated reader to write in:

Neither one of these "ladies" has a clue. First off, the topic that started their petty arguing wasn't about either of them. If they had a clue, they would realize that rape does not discriminate. A rapist does NOT care about race, religion, age, sex (for you smart-asses out there, I'm referring to male or female), what job you hold, what clothes you wear OR whether you are ugly or beautiful! For A Reader to assume that Sonja was raped for anything but the perversion and control this man wanted is pure ignorance. As for Simone ... your reference towards A Reader was just as ignorant.

Sonja, I hope that you will continue to heal and remember that "you were not at fault!" Now, can we move on? I have enough petty arguing in my house with two teenagers. I don't want to read it also.