Say it ain't so, Joe
Dear Editor:
Hi. I'd like to respond to what Joe Solmonese said about me [ in the Windy City Times piece "A talk with HRC's Joe Solmonese," which ran in the Aug. 26 issue ] .
I find it disgusting and desperate that Joe Solmonese would attack my reputation as a journalist, and use the word "lies" to describe my reporting on the actions of his organization. Everything that I reported is 100 percent true, and backed up by Senate sources with direct knowledge on this matter. Since my report came out, others have come forward with corroborating details. I've never had an axe to grind with Joe or the HRC ( Human Rights Campaign ) , and I would never risk my reputation as a journalist to "make a name for myself" on a single story, as Solmonese suggested in your article. What would be my motivation to make up "lies"? The people who know my work know just how careful, and devoted to accuracy I am.
We should expect more from our leaders than ad hominem attacks. I'm sorry if HRC's fundraising is suffering as a result of the reporting by myself and others. One of the jobs of the media is to let people know how their donations are being spent, and one of those ways, earlier this year, was in lobbying to discourage members of Congress from pursuing DADT ( Don't Ask, Don't Tell ) .
Any questions about the quality of my sources should have been cleared up by the news I've broken exclusively in The Daily Beast since that HRC report. I was the first to break the news that Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand was pushing, behind the scenes, an amendment to suspend DADT for 18 months, and then that the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee agreed to hold hearings on DADT in the fall.
I never intended for this to be about me, but I won't let words like those used by Joe Solomonese ( with whom I had a friendly relationship with before all this ) go unanswered. Joe, please knock off this hateful nonsense.
Sincerely,
Jason Bellini
Center of controversy?
I'm writing in response to the Aug. 19 article regarding Lakeview crime issues ( "Lakeview crime and meeting: A closer look" ) . Anyone, including volunteers/staff from the Center on Halsted, who deny that troubles on Halsted St. and in East Lakeview are not induced by Center on Halsted youth clients is either blind or in total denial. Ask any Lakeview resident for his or her opinion.
For years I've lived directly behind where the Center now stands, and honestly can say that these problems never existed to this extent before the Center's youth program opened. Almost daily we deal with these youth physically fighting with each other directly in front of the Center in the afternoons. On any given nightmostly Thursday through Sundaythe same youth that attend programs at the Center are also prostituting, dealing drugs and just being a general loud annoyance in the early morning hours. I watch this first-hand and because I also get services at the Center and see that these are indeed many of the same clients. I've overheard them talking about the previous night's "adventures" while sitting in the facility's lobby. Night after night, Lakeview residents call the police to stop the noise beneath their windows. Every weekend night the streets are full of transsexual prostitutes on the corners. I've watched the kids sell drugs right on Halsted. I watch them doing drugs in the alley behind my apartment. They're also verbally abusive, and have damaged property by standing on businesses' flower planters in order to knock them over and even urinating on storefronts. More than a few times, my neighbors have been verbally threatened while dog-walking.
Mr. McManus, a volunteer for the Center, was quoted as saying "there is a misunderstanding within the community." Believe me, there is no misunderstanding! He also states that these kids are getting a bad rap when they're "simply seeking safety and acceptance."
The police don't seem to be very present during the hours that these occurrences happen. These youth, with this behavior, are not welcome in Lakeview.
A concerned Lakeview resident
Center on Halsted Executive Director Modesto "Tico" Valle responds: Center on Halsted has been and will remain invested in the safety of this community. Our mission of providing services that respect and affirm our patrons requires that we commit totally to the security of our neighborhood. The accusation that the Center is somehow responsible for violence in Lakeview is unfair and certainly untrue. If this letter's author doubts our commitment to neighborhood security, I will gladly meet with her/him personally to review our security policies.
Marching on
On Oct. 11, LGBT people will march on Washington, D.C. The march was called for by Cleve Jones, a gay activist and founder of the NAMES Project. We believe this march to be about justice and fairness for gay family values. This is why the Rainbow Sash Movement is endorsing this march.
Our endorsement of the march is not based on who has not or hasn't given a stamp of approval. Our support is based on the biblical call for justice for all humankind. The detractors of the march have every right to voice their opposing opinion; however, what they do not have a right to do is engage in name-calling and innuendo.
We believe our movement is larger than the petty clash of egos that is taking place around the march. We call on all to listen to their better angels, and temper the mean-spirited attacks. Cleve Jones, like the rest of humanity, is far from perfectand, like the rest of us, is entitled to his good name. Whether we have enough time to organize for this march or not is no longer an issue, the march is going to take place.
Not unlike the original March on Washington in 1979, the air is alive with drama. But success or non-success of this march will depend more on our ability to find common ground, and listen and respect each other even in our differences. This will define the success of this march. We are a community of wonder and, at the same time, all too frail and human. Our divisions can make our family stronger, or they can tear us apart. Which will it be?
This march is not so much about numbers as it is about courage: the courage to stand up and be counted. For the March detractors if you cannot march with us for whatever reason at least remember us in your prayers. We may disagree on the march but I think you would agree that the Liberation Movement sparked by Stonewall is alive and well not only in our hearts, but in the hearts of those whose shoulders we stand on.
Finally, we are calling for support for this march and all its many organizers across the nation. We ask that if you cannot march with us, you pray for a safe march.
Board of Directors
Rainbow Sash Movement
WWW.RainbowSashMovement.Com