“Everybody’s doin’ somethin’ I heard it in a dream But when there’s too much of nothing It just makes a fella mean” –Bob Dylan Story by Pete Shaw September 10, 2019 Epigraphs, I suppose, should have some meaning regarding the text that follows them. And I also suppose that with an artist like Bob Dylan,…
by Pete Shaw The Denville Public Library, my father tells me, is the only one around. This is no surprise as Denville, a small town just off Interstate 80 in upstate New Jersey, had a population of 16,635 according to the 2010 census. Next to the library is the Denville Historical Society. There is a…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The French novelist Honoré de Balzac is often credited with having written that behind every great fortune there is a crime. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the ubiquitous company that seems able to sell everything to everyone, everywhere, has surely amassed a great fortune. He is the richest…
Story by Pete Shaw There is a keen slice of the anti-fascist community whose thirst for combating fascism and its attendant bigotries, particularly white supremacy, is not easily quenched. They require something else, another level of kicks. Their craving was slaked in the early afternoon on Saturday June 29 with a raucous dance party in…
Story by Pete Shaw Nine years ago, near the corner of NE 6th and Halsey, Keaton Otis was murdered in a hail of 23 bullets fired by a clutch of police officers of the Portland police’s Hot Spot Enforcement Team. In video capturing the event, it appears to be an execution. Otis had been profiled…
Story by Pete Shaw Power and control of narrative are deeply intertwined. The United States, the narrative goes, does not invade countries, but rather seeks to spread the blessings of freedom, liberty, and democracy. We know this to be true because the purveyors of our capitalist imperial violence have said so. Those who die and…
Story by Pete Shaw If there are guidelines for listening sessions on hot-button issues, clearly none were deployed during the February 21 event at NE Portland’s Maranatha Church that was hastily arranged by Police Chief Danielle Outlaw. The listening session was called due to reports in Portland Mercury and Willamette Week detailing a series of…
Story by Pete Shaw Thanks to Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty, Amanda Fritz, and Chloe Eudaly, the Portland City Council voted on Wednesday, February 13 to remove Portland from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The 3-2 decision marks the second time Portland has decided the risks of using its police in cooperation with the…
Story by Pete Shaw Portland has a multiple personality disorder when it comes to its relationship with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). It refuses to join, then it joins, then it leaves, then it partially rejoins, and then it again fully joins. And now it is once more considering leaving the task force.…
Story by Pete Shaw The corner of Northeast 6th and Halsey is hallowed ground. It is not the site of a mosque or a temple or a church or any other house of worship. There have been no reports of visits by the Blessed Virgin Mary or other religiously affiliated revelations, whether out of thin…
