' ’ N‘ovE‘MB'E‘R‘2oo6 I 1 end your letters to: |ynn@mountainpridemedia.org ' PO B0 1122, Burlington, VT 05402 HIV Complacency in L.A. Regarding the story that recently appeared in the Burlington Free Press on Oct. 1, 2006 about HIV targeting complacent gay men, only a portion of that story ap- peared in the Free Press. What the article did not say is that the story was based all on Los Ange- les statistics, not on the state of Vermont. Making such a broad statement without saying that where facts were taken from is not telling the whole story. It has been my experience as a gay man that is very involved in the Vermont-New Hampshire area, that gay men are very in- volved in helping stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. In the future, I hope that the Free Press would print about HIV stories herein Vermont, not in Los Angeles. What happens in Vermont is just as important as what happens in Los Angeles, considering that paper is based in Burlington, Vermont. A story like the 20th AIDS Walk that happened on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006 in City Park in Burl- ington would have been welcome. There were no photographers and not one story in the paper about this event. If they had been there, they would have seen lots of gay college students from the Uni- versity of Vermont, and others, raising money to help fund local AIDS service organizations such as Vermont CARES. They should have run this in the paper instead of the Los Angeles story. MAN LIVING WITH HIV FOR 18 YEARS Support for _ Jason Lorber It’s been only a couple of months - since I was executive director of R.U.1.2? Community Center and I have to say that it’s frm to come back to the Center as a partici- pant in activities like the Craft Clique and the Leather Club. It’s great to see the changes happen- ing with Kara DeLeonardis at the helm and so many amazing new (and old!) staff people and volun- teers. But one of the best perks WI1T'S E N D ~ BY» LEAH WHTENBERG - Nler‘ Eort Wants Yo U . S. A. I l To clean up your room ul.—r1e>>‘¢ekc..«ELoc of not being executive director is that I can feel free to speak my mind and not worry about mixing politics with R.U.1.2?’s nonprofit" status. I’m excited to write this let- ter in support of re—electing Rep. Jason P. Lorber to the district rep- resenting the Old North End and R.U.l.2? Community Center. Jason, as many of you know, has been an amazing, outspoken, and effective advocate for the LGBTQ community. Throughout his first term he worked tire— ‘ lessly for our communities and in support of the people access- ing services at the Community Center. He personally lobbied more than 100 legislators for the Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill. He performed at frmdraisers for R.U.1.2?, SafeSpace, Outright Vermont, and other nonprofits. He donates many hours of time to our community’s organizations. And he's become a fixture in our V community. I urge members of our com- munity to consider donating two hours of your time to help him get re-elected (and hopefully by a landslide). His contact informa- tion is at www.friendsofjason.org. Let's send a clear message that we 7 support those who support us. CHRISTOPHER KAUFMAN ILSTRUP Hinesburg The Governor Who Could Have. Governor Jim Douglas will be remembered as “the governor Who could have.” He could have locked in hydropower at 6 to 7 cents a kilowatt hour with the purchase of the Pacific Gen dams on the Connecticut. Instead, his attitude toward meeting Verrnont’s energy needs has been “wait and pray:” Wait until the present contracts nm out, and pray for beneficial terms under the new ones. He could have saved Vermont's oldest and sick- est people from spending tens of thousands of dollars, but instead stalled for two years on the pur- chase of medicines in Canada. He could have prevented Vermont from losing in this year alone $148 million, but instead 7 ' ignored_ the Bush Administration fiscal and monetary irresponsibil- ity that would cause it. He could have been known as the man who made health coverage affordable for all Vermonters, but instead haskept himself in bondage to the health insurance industry. He co11ld have seen how bio-gas generation would make farming more profitable, but instead chose to focus on the wedge issues sug- ' Put a Roof on gested by the Republican National Committee. ' Scudder Parker, on the other hand, worked to revive and pro- mote biogas generation on Ver- mont farms. He understands the value of and need for solar, wind power and hydropower genera- tion in the state. He has pledged to work for health insurance that does not depend on one’s employment. He recognizes the evil perpetrated by the pharmas in the Medicare Part D legislation. He has forthrightly condemned the Bush Administration policies that affect our ability to hire extra police, fund vocational—technical ' education and many other servic- es that provide for quality of life in Vermont. I hope that your read- ers will consider the difference .n. -v ~ when they go to the polls. CHUCK GREGORY Springfield OITM is Object of Tarrant Campaign Several dozen anti-Rep. Bernie Sanders pro-Rich Tarrant letters have arrived in our mailbox over the past six or eight months. These letters — none of them ad- dressing any LGBT-specific is- sues - appear to be the result of a letter-writing campaign from Sander’s Republican opponent. Though the letters don’t seem to have much of anything to do with our community, apparently the writers think we’re important enough to-send us their letters. So, below is a representative sample of three. Property Taxes I recently received one of the pamphlets that the Tarrant carn- paign has been handing out stat- ing “put a roof on property taxes.” I think it’s important that We con- sider the things that Tarrant pro- poses to do for Vermonters. This is a man who has proven to have a great work ethic. He also real- izes it is important to hear what Vermonters have to say, hence his traveling across the state hosting many spaghetti dinners. As long as Tarrant wants to take the issues that are significant in the eyes of the public, and combine those with his initiative to work hard, I think we have a great candidate for U.S. Senator. I am excited to hear what else Tarrant has to say along the carn- paign trail, and I encourage voters to take the time and listen to what he has to say. PAT O'CONNOR Jericho Bash for Cash . Except Bernie I recently attended the Bash for Cash affair at Higher Groundin South Burlington. It was a fund- raiser for Moss Point High School -,,. - in Alabama so they could hold a Senior Prom. This was a necessity because of Katrina. It was one of the most attended events at Higher Ground. Rich and Amy Tarrant donated $1,000 to the cause. It really helped make the fundraiser suc- cessful. Was Rep. Bernie Sanders a contributor to the fundraiser? The answer is simple. Bernie, who continually cries poverty, is now a millionaire. With his $160,000 paycheck and his wife’s salary as a college president, puts him in the top salary class. He is the person he always knocks for getting the big tax deduction that supposedly leaves the middle class broke and yet Bernie does not make contributions to worthy causes. If the government won’t pay the money, Bernie won’t give it. Bernie, please release your charitable contributions so we all know where your heart, and your mouth, really is. ' RICHARD GUEST V Winooski Keep Up the Good Work .~-—-—- By now, most of us have seen Rich Tarrant’s TV commercials. I think they are a great way to tell voters about Rich. These ads are to introduce Rich and his story so that they have anidea of where this man came from and what he has accomplished over the years. - At the same time, Rich is traveling around the state to meet voters personally — the ads are just one piece of the campaign. Through his entrepreneurship and philanthropy, Rich Tarrant has done morefor Vermont and ‘ the people of this great state than ‘°‘~' —" ‘ any other single person that has come along during my lifetime. Keep up the great work Rich and thank you for running! ' DENISE PERRAS Salisbury Corrections Craig Bailey took the photo of Thomas DeFrantz on page 20 (Oct. 01 TM). . Also, we somehow managed to misspell Liza Cowan’s name on page 21 of the same issue; and photographer Dok Wright’s name .. (7 — was misspelled on page 12. ‘