2 ——‘O'L'JT‘-”ri~i-'TriE"'MouNT;{i'r§is: ~—:l:l°ll5Rlli ' i EDITORIAL Question Authority. Question Reality. Question Everything. the danger in buying into often illusory appearances. It is human nature to give extra weight to what we see in writing, words that are delivered impressively or stories that come from “a friend _ofa—friend,.” These truths" are why we desperately need to educate ourselves on a subject before making critical decisions or even passing the information along. For instance, in preparing for an interview with Senator Jeffords for this issue, I came across a series of attack ads run against him last year. Taking them at face value, you would learn that Senator Jeffords was the sole person on his committee who opposed funding treatment for hemophiliacs with HIV. On closer investigation, I discovered that the senator’s opposition was based upon the fact that the bill did not offer funding to non- hemophiliacs who also contract- ed "the virus through blood trans- fusions. In the movie My Cousin Vinny, an unorthodox but ulti- mately successful attorney describes how a litigator builds a case hoping it looks like it is made of three-dimensional brick_s. Those so-called bricks may be only playing cards,'but the perception of solidity is often what wins the case. - To get to the truth, we must look closely at the ‘bricks’ we are being shown. We must remember that there are people who make their livings — good ones — telling us what we want to hear and putting just the right spin on things. As a community and as individuals, we must be careful to discern between bricks and play- ing cards. There is dangerous opportunity for doing great harm under the guise of duty or good intentions. A Don’t take an ad’s word on a politician. Research backgrounds Iam constantly reminded of for yourself. The voting records are easy enough to access. Don’t just vote for a person because he ‘is gay; question his positions. Of course we’d love to have more members ofthe GLBT communi- are accessible. Call them. Email them. Ask questions. Educate yourself. Don’t be fooled by smoke and mirrors. Remember that putting the word ‘fact’ in capital letters Outside the media, in the ‘real’ world, faceless, nameless, and apparently spineless individuals spewing venomous — but often hollow — accusations against people in a community are usually not reliable sources of information. ty representing us in the govern- ment, but make sure you believe in the individual. Anyone worth your support will welcome your inquisition. More so here than in other places, our representatives before a sentence does not auto- matically make the words that follow true. Neither does it make the vague specific or the baseless credible. Know your sources — and dou- This photo, from last month’s front page, was incorrectl credited. Scot ble-check everything anyway. In journalism, integrity dictates that newspapers not print stories based’ upon unsubstantiated information or anonymous ‘tips.’ A real newspaper wOn’t even print a complimentary letter to the editor without a verifiable name, let alone assist in spread- ing rumors based on unidentified email messages. media, in the ‘real’ world, face- less, nameless, and apparently spineless individuals spewing venomous — but often hollow — accusations against people in a community are usually not reli- able sources of information. Taken at face value, at best they deliver embarrassing cases of foot-in-mouth disease. At worst, they destroy credibility and careers. In short, take an active role in informing yourself — or be pre- pared for the consequences for yourself and your community.V photo Scot Applegate Applegate, not Maxwell Stroud, was the photographer. ur profuse apologies for the error. Outside the. OUT IN TIIITMOUNTAINS3‘ Established in 19,86, - » — EDITOR;IN CHIEF — s 3 Barbara Dozetos L — ART DIRECTOR — ' Donald Eggert — EDITORIAL ASSISTANT - '|'ina Giangrande - PRODUCIION ASSISTANT - Mack Roark L — OFFICE MAr§IAGeR— ,. Jim Petrte — SOURCE /CALENDAR EDITOR- Gary Smith — CIRCULATIONlMAl\lIAGFlR —. I :_ Kevin Mcateer Columnists: Skeeter Sanders, A Crow Cohen, Rev. Christine Leslie, = Susan Murray, Beth Robinson, ‘ ‘ Esther Ftothblum, Miki Thomas, . Thomas Henning, Charles Emond, if Mack Roark < r ‘ Contributors: MarK Caner,'.Chris .7 Tebbetts, Joy,-Gritfith, Paul Harris, Tina Giangrande,“Tim Evans, Laura Miller A :1“ Q — . Photographers: Maxwell Stroud, Scot‘Applegate ” ‘I . Cartoonists: Alison Bechdel, I .- Robert Kirby, Eric Orner _ . ‘ I ‘I -MOUNTAIN PRIDE MEDIA- : “‘BO‘A"RD OF DIRECTORS Cheryl Carmi, GarrettKimberly, Bennett Law, Jim Petrie, Kevin , McAtee,r, Rekha Ftosha, Joseph Ryan .. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The purpose of Out in the Mountains is to serve as a voice for lesbians, gay men, bisex- uals, transgendered people. and our support- ers in Vermont. We wish the newspaper to be a source of information, insight, and attir- mation. We also see OITM as a vehicle for the celebration of the culture and diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered communities here in Vermont and elsewhere. EDITORIAL POLICY We will consider for publication_ any material which broadens our understanding of our lifestyles and of each other. Views and opin- ions appearing in the paper do not necessar- ily' represent those of Out in the Mountains’, This paper cannot and will not endorse any candidates or actions of public otficialson issues of importance ‘to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,‘ and transgendered persons. We reserve the right not to publish any mate- rial deemed to be overtly racist, sexist, anti- Semitic, agelst, classist,_ xenophobic, or homophobic. , - 1 g Writers’ guidelines are available on reqiuestq All materialssubmitted must ‘includea name and a contact number.‘ , However, within ‘the pages ofthe newspaper, articles rnayappear anonymously’ upon request,’ and strict coiiti-' denrraiiywiii be Observedfiz. ~ = > r. Articles, letters, and artwork shouldbe. sent to us by the deadlines indicated inf each month’s calendar. This isnormallyviny the mid- dleiof the monthiprior to publimlion (Le, mid~ February for the March issue).We encourage and implore our readers to dowhat they can to make OITM a paper which truly represents the many voices of 'o‘ur'co,mmunities.’ ‘i. - . Out in the Mountains (ISSN 1081-5562) is published on the last Tuesday of each month by Mountain Pride Media, lnc. It is printed at The News and Citizen in Morrisvil|e,VT. The newspapermaintains offices on Bridge Street in Richmond, Vermont ‘ The subscription rate is $20 per year within the United States of America ©1999, Out in lhelMounlains Out in the Mountains PO Box 1078 , Richmond VT 05477-1078 TEL (802) 434-OITM FAX (802) 434-7046 oitm @together.net