LETTERS

Dear Las Vegas Weekly,

While I think Josh Bell is the most cynical piece of sh** in Las Vegas and should never ever be allowed on any public medium to express his opinions about the arts, I do have to admire him from afar. Josh got a glimpse of Tom Cruise's courage (Pop Culture column, July 14 edition). That's admirable even for a cynic.

Tom is incredibly courageous in a cutthroat entertainment industry that prides itself on one-hit wonders and the Johnny-Be-Goode-Died-of-an-Overdose-of-Cocaine. Tom is the most successful actor of our time and the nicest, not afraid to be himself, an individual operating above the sorry state of Homo sapien in Hollywood. I am sure Tom Cruise fully anticipated the attacks he is getting because it happens every time you speak out against the status quo. (And those who fuel this Status Quo have a huge monetary investment at stake if Tom speaks out.)

Josh needs to pull his head out of his a** and really educate himself on the effects of these psychotropic drugs. If you actually saw the side effects and overall effects of these drugs you would be violently opposed to them. Case in point: Brook Shields. Trace back the time line of her career. In the beginning, a very successful actress, rising star. Has a problem. Sees a doctor, gets drugs and psychologist therapy. Acting career fades until she is a has-been. This is not help. This is covert hostility and it should be labeled publicly as such.

Psychology and psychiatry are pseudo-sciences, in truth. While other sciences like physics have exact axioms and physical world principles and stable datums they work on—i.e., gravity, speed of light, speed of sound—these pseudo-sciences have no stable, workable principles to operate off of. They are a shot-in-the-dark cure for a problem they don't understand, all in the name of cash flow. The effects and side effects of these drugs vary from person to person. There is no exact outcome except suicidal tendencies and that drugged, looking-at-the-world-through-a-fishbowl feeling. Case in point:

The Columbine High School shootings. These two boys were on Ritalin and anti-psychotic drugs for months before they killed their fellow students and then themselves. Trace the time track and you will see that when the drugs entered the scene these boys went truly psychotic and took the lives of so many. I have helped many people, like Tom, get off these drugs and after the withdrawal cravings fade, their lives spring back to vitality. Tom has the guts to actually stand up and say what he sees and do something about it. This is personal integrity, a trait very few in his industry or our modern society have. This is a call to get your ethics in, Josh, and educate yourself about the real scene or get off the communication lines of society because you do more harm than good in your present state.

Dear Stacy Willis,

The economy is in far worse shape than most politicians would dare to admit; for example, I would like to drive a newer car but I will NOT give in to the leeches by paying interest on a loan to buy the car I like most.

So this verse came to mind: "The Lord has mercy to the thousandth generation of those who love him."

And then this idea was delivered to me: To boost the economy to higher levels, for every triple any Major League Baseball player hits next year, everyone wins $1,000. For example, so far (as of July 17), the 30 MLB teams have hit 510 triples, thus so far this year, every person would have won $510,000

Thank you,

Dear Las Vegas Weekly

The article on Krystal Campagna (July 14 edition) truly inspired me. Not only because of her struggle but because I went to Valley (High School). I saw her every day. It's true people didn't give her the time of day. I heard people talk about her but knew it wasn't my business to intrude. Now I want to speak to her, to hug her, to tell her how much I admire her. Thanks.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am Eric Garcia. I was a friend of Krystal's through the time of her junior year. The story is incorrect based on that most of the facts placed in this story are false. I was present during the time she was having problems with her mother and so on. It was the months of January to August, 2003. I was very close to Krystal, and the story she is stating is outrageous and an insult to the actual homeless teens of not only Nevada but the country in general.

Yes, she is trying to start a new life and I agree that she should, but the facts of her life are not straight. Her mother's drug problem was present but her mom was there for her no matter how much Krystal says she wasn't! Krystal's life has been up and down, but her making herself out to be the victim is totally not true.

I attend Valley High School; I'm going to be a senior. She was attending and had hardly ever attended a full week of school, nor did she play the sports she says she has. Yes, she participated in them, but only her freshman and sophomore years at Valley. She did not graduate after failing twice, as she claims in other articles that she was going to graduate. The story holds tales of lies and needs to be confronted. A role-model status that she is encountering is false and her life should be told to both the homeless teens and the public. I want my voice to be heard due to people thinking my letter is written based upon revenge or jealousy.

Also, she was homeless, but never how she says she was; she always had somewhere to stay, she blew it out to make it seem as if she were the many homeless teens who suffer more than her.

Thank You,

Writer Joshua Longobardy responds:
I spent more than three weeks with Krystal before constructing her story. That is, I made various observations of her, talked to several people who know her (though concentrating on those who know her best: those who have lived with her or witnessed firsthand her mother's household; those at the Nevada Project for Homeless Youth who helped her because they saw her file and trust in her plight) and of course spoke to Krystal herself on over 15 occasions. And yes, there were several inconsistencies in her story. Yet, at those points she contradicted herself—all of which were minor enough in my judgment that I deemed them symptoms of an erratic, troubled teen, and not of a chronic liar—she was no different than any person I've ever spoken with for a story.

And so in regard to all of the material that was published, I didn't rely on Krystal's word alone: I checked every claim with as many people as I could. Of all the raw material I gathered in the weeks leading up to the construction of the story, I tossed out any and everything I felt could not be supported by more than just one account.