To the Editor:

The Astor Library Flag  Room has suddenly and without warning reduced its seating capacity from 100 to 61 persons, and will enforce the new regulation "strictly", effective immediately, February 17, 2005.  The fire marshal 'recalibrated' the room's dimensions, per recommendation of the librarian, who was concerned about the possible danger of holding public meetings there.  But what's the rush? Why is this occupancy rule being pushed with such haste? The Flag Room is the largest PUBLIC venue in Astoria, and has been used thousands of times for meetings large and small over the past thirty or so years(I don't know when it opened, but it was in use as a public meeting space when I moved here, almost 28 years ago). I have attended meetings where over 100 people were in the Flag Room, and in the hallway. This is the place where political forums, candidate's debates, various state-mandated classes, Rainy Day Films(held there for 15 years), have all taken place, and where many people have gathered and learned.  And now, Puuuf!! 2005 arrives, and suddenly, "safety" trumps liberty, and our right to free assembly flies out the window. Large meetings in the Flag Room used to be the source of civic pride, a sign of a vital community, with high citizen involvement. And now, in 2005, Puuuf!! Fear trumps citizen involvement. Gather only in small groups, or not at all(preferable), and keep tuned to your TV for further instructions, like the Department of Homeland Security website instructs you to.  Be very afraid. But Wait!! What about the LNG tankers and giant tanks, being planned all around the Columbia River? Are they safe? We are told that those who question the wisdom of planting these tax-supported bombs on the Columbia River are "fear-mongering" when they cite safety concerns, or, in Calpine hack's Peter Hansen's own prophetic words, "If we don't build this plant(s), the terrorists will have already won"(spoken at Warrenton Community Center, Calpine's first "informational" meeting, mid-November 2004, just days after the Port of Astoria secretly signed a 60-year, transferable lease with Calpine).  

So the Flag Room might catch on fire if there are more than 61 people in it for a public meeting, but the LNG industry is safe--always has been, and always will be.  And if you're concerned, you're a  tree-hugging wacko conspiracy theorist who's against "progress", like those hippies from Eureka.  Hmmm... I know, I know, "apples and oranges", "the authorities are only doing their jobs", "it's for your own safety", "we at the infirmary must do our jobs correctly", blah, blah, blah.  What Terror Color Code are we at now, anyway, or did they stop doing that one?

So as we stumble and bumble onward into the Brave New World of the Security State, and as another bite is taken out of the belly of our Cheyne-Stokeing democracy, let us remember the words of the late, great Phil Ochs: "But I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody, outside of a small circle of friends".  

Prediction: Calpine, Shell/Bechtel/Chenier, Spiro, Nygaard, name a pirate, will offer Astoria a community center as a bribe. Write that down. 
 
 
 
Sue Skinner
511 Jerome Ave
Astoria, Oregon
325 1935