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Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.
Support for Seton, First Satiric, Then Serious
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
Dear Editor,
Lactation services have been cut ["No Mother's Milk Here: Hospitals Cut Breast-Feeding Support," News, June 4]. The world will end, and Seton is to blame. For eons children have been breast-fed, but now Seton and Seton alone controls this information; no, this information will now be lost forever. As Mr. Kelly wisely points out ["Postmarks Online," June 10], Seton provides OB/GYN services because it is profitable. The Medicaid reimbursement is so lucrative as to explain why there are so many private-practice OB/GYN doctors that accept it in lieu of private insurance or cash.
Seton's mission of providing charitable services has been a lie. They and the city are in it for the "bottom line," as Mr. Kelly suggests. However, they, unlike private services, do not maximize profits to their full potential. They don't charge enough for expensive medical services, requiring their patients to be privately insured thus increasing revenues. Seeing how there are so many other hospitals and medical groups stampeding to treat Austin's working poor and uninsured, it is interesting to note that Seton has even bothered to compete in this cash-cow market. They actually spent money on these people, over $100 million in medical and community/social services. The insensitivity is as shameful as the ingratitude for services given by organizations that provide charity when no one else is willing or able to do so.
Lactation services have been cut ["No Mother's Milk Here: Hospitals Cut Breast-Feeding Support," News, June 4]. The world will end, and Seton is to blame. For eons children have been breast-fed, but now Seton and Seton alone controls this information; no, this information will now be lost forever. As Mr. Kelly wisely points out ["Postmarks Online," June 10], Seton provides OB/GYN services because it is profitable. The Medicaid reimbursement is so lucrative as to explain why there are so many private-practice OB/GYN doctors that accept it in lieu of private insurance or cash.
Seton's mission of providing charitable services has been a lie. They and the city are in it for the "bottom line," as Mr. Kelly suggests. However, they, unlike private services, do not maximize profits to their full potential. They don't charge enough for expensive medical services, requiring their patients to be privately insured thus increasing revenues. Seeing how there are so many other hospitals and medical groups stampeding to treat Austin's working poor and uninsured, it is interesting to note that Seton has even bothered to compete in this cash-cow market. They actually spent money on these people, over $100 million in medical and community/social services. The insensitivity is as shameful as the ingratitude for services given by organizations that provide charity when no one else is willing or able to do so.
Alex Aguirre
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Believes the Imperative of Spewing His Unethical Propaganda
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
To the editor,
Marc Savlov's review of the sci-fi flick The Chronicles of Riddick did its job admirably, up to the jarring point where Savlov decides to take a break – to announce his ideological proclivities to the Chronicle's readership ['Film Reviews," June 11].
My instant, explosive hoot sprang not from the fact that this guy actually appears proud of a residual, goose-stepping democrat-socialist pacifism, but that he believes the imperative of spewing his unethical propaganda outweighs the need to adhere to painfully obvious fact.
His sermon: "... perhaps the most daring bit of flimflammery in this bloated-but-enjoyable production [sounds like a self-appraisal of his own prose – psychological projection, anyone?] is the (perhaps unconscious) allegorical allusions to the United States' current imperialist mindset toward the globe. The Necromongers' cry of 'join or die' echoes President Bush's 'You're either with us or against us' foreign policy."
Errmm, Mr. Pavlov would do well to extract his head from his last political science professor's rump and sit down on his own – to peruse a little recent history. We'll skip the "imperialist" epithet as a comical identifier of this guy's intellectual pedigree (my guess would be: William Greider 101) and move on to his contemptible evasion.
Yes, there's a clear allusion to the contemporary geopolitical situation in Riddick – clear enough to make the task of spelling it out to Savlov immediately evocative of teaching a cat to fetch: The idiot will just stare at your finger.
"Hmmm, lemme see here ... the film's protagonist is pitted against a rampaging, fanatical cult of religious nihilists whose credo is 'believe or die.'
"Errrmm, contemporary politics ... Hmmm, think, think ...
"Oh, gotta be the imperialist Americans. Yeah, that's it."
The more I contemplate the semicoherent mental sputum of the residual and clueless American left, the more I'm drawn to archeology for descriptive imagery:
Feed a tar pit, nudge a dinosaur.
Here's wishing Mr. Pavlov a speedy(?) evolution.
Marc Savlov's review of the sci-fi flick The Chronicles of Riddick did its job admirably, up to the jarring point where Savlov decides to take a break – to announce his ideological proclivities to the Chronicle's readership ['Film Reviews," June 11].
My instant, explosive hoot sprang not from the fact that this guy actually appears proud of a residual, goose-stepping democrat-socialist pacifism, but that he believes the imperative of spewing his unethical propaganda outweighs the need to adhere to painfully obvious fact.
His sermon: "... perhaps the most daring bit of flimflammery in this bloated-but-enjoyable production [sounds like a self-appraisal of his own prose – psychological projection, anyone?] is the (perhaps unconscious) allegorical allusions to the United States' current imperialist mindset toward the globe. The Necromongers' cry of 'join or die' echoes President Bush's 'You're either with us or against us' foreign policy."
Errmm, Mr. Pavlov would do well to extract his head from his last political science professor's rump and sit down on his own – to peruse a little recent history. We'll skip the "imperialist" epithet as a comical identifier of this guy's intellectual pedigree (my guess would be: William Greider 101) and move on to his contemptible evasion.
Yes, there's a clear allusion to the contemporary geopolitical situation in Riddick – clear enough to make the task of spelling it out to Savlov immediately evocative of teaching a cat to fetch: The idiot will just stare at your finger.
"Hmmm, lemme see here ... the film's protagonist is pitted against a rampaging, fanatical cult of religious nihilists whose credo is 'believe or die.'
"Errrmm, contemporary politics ... Hmmm, think, think ...
"Oh, gotta be the imperialist Americans. Yeah, that's it."
The more I contemplate the semicoherent mental sputum of the residual and clueless American left, the more I'm drawn to archeology for descriptive imagery:
Feed a tar pit, nudge a dinosaur.
Here's wishing Mr. Pavlov a speedy(?) evolution.
Absolutely,
Greg Gerig
Greg Gerig
'Chronicle' Coverage of Hate Crime and Assault Lacking
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
Dear Editor,
Usually I commend the Chronicle for its coverage of Austin antics and news – thanks for a quality publication. However, I am deeply disappointed by the coverage of the "brawl" involving Jack Culverhouse and several hate-mongers that occurred outside of Emo's ["A Gay-Bashing in the East Sixth 'Dead Zone,'" News, June 11]. Of course it is important to expose and discuss the facts and failings of the Austin Police Department – that subject has been plumbed many times in the Chronicle. In this particular instance, though, the issue at hand is not really the police presence – what is shocking and sickening is the sexual assault and horrific hate crime that went down in our fair city. First, a woman is violated by a random stranger gloating on his cell phone. When her friend, who happens to be transgendered, is unwilling to stay silent about this unacceptable behavior, the perpetrator makes hateful comments and proceeds to physically assault this person on the basis of his gender presentation. Those were not just some guys "looking for a fight." This is not just one of many incidents involving neglectful police. This entire awful story illustrates the narrow-mindedness, misogyny, and hate that plagues towns even as enlightened as Austin purports to be. Those are the true issues at hand. We citizens of Austin should be saddened and disgusted that such a terrible hate crime could tarnish our own precious Sixth Street, and we should take this opportunity to raise awareness and speak out against sexual assault and hate crimes here and everywhere. If our city refuses to tolerate such despicable behavior, the police presence will follow.
Usually I commend the Chronicle for its coverage of Austin antics and news – thanks for a quality publication. However, I am deeply disappointed by the coverage of the "brawl" involving Jack Culverhouse and several hate-mongers that occurred outside of Emo's ["A Gay-Bashing in the East Sixth 'Dead Zone,'" News, June 11]. Of course it is important to expose and discuss the facts and failings of the Austin Police Department – that subject has been plumbed many times in the Chronicle. In this particular instance, though, the issue at hand is not really the police presence – what is shocking and sickening is the sexual assault and horrific hate crime that went down in our fair city. First, a woman is violated by a random stranger gloating on his cell phone. When her friend, who happens to be transgendered, is unwilling to stay silent about this unacceptable behavior, the perpetrator makes hateful comments and proceeds to physically assault this person on the basis of his gender presentation. Those were not just some guys "looking for a fight." This is not just one of many incidents involving neglectful police. This entire awful story illustrates the narrow-mindedness, misogyny, and hate that plagues towns even as enlightened as Austin purports to be. Those are the true issues at hand. We citizens of Austin should be saddened and disgusted that such a terrible hate crime could tarnish our own precious Sixth Street, and we should take this opportunity to raise awareness and speak out against sexual assault and hate crimes here and everywhere. If our city refuses to tolerate such despicable behavior, the police presence will follow.
Sincerely,
Katie O'Neil
Katie O'Neil
Typo Unacceptable
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
Hi,
I hate to sound like a hair-splitting, snobbish European, but in your short article on Serge Gainsbourg ("I've Come to Tell You I'm Going: Serge Gainsbourg and the French Pop Experience," Other Screenings, June 11) you spelled the title of the French national anthem as "La Marselleis." This will probably horrify French nationals and all francophones. The actual spelling of the anthem is "La Marseillaise." To those readers who think this is not really a big deal, try to imagine traveling or living in France, opening a magazine, and reading that the U.S. national anthem is something like "The Stark-Strangled Bummer."
I hate to sound like a hair-splitting, snobbish European, but in your short article on Serge Gainsbourg ("I've Come to Tell You I'm Going: Serge Gainsbourg and the French Pop Experience," Other Screenings, June 11) you spelled the title of the French national anthem as "La Marselleis." This will probably horrify French nationals and all francophones. The actual spelling of the anthem is "La Marseillaise." To those readers who think this is not really a big deal, try to imagine traveling or living in France, opening a magazine, and reading that the U.S. national anthem is something like "The Stark-Strangled Bummer."
Rino Pizzi
Sycophantic, Self-Serving, Counterproductive, Knavely, Inability-in-Perpetuity, Timid Clamor
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
To the Editor:
What a long, strange media spectacle America's myths and insecurities have produced these past few years.
The sycophantic, self-serving, and counterproductive pandering to the public by big commercial media especially beginning September 11, 2001.
The shallow, disingenuous blend of giddy adventure and solemn revenge emanating from blabbing talking heads eerily superimposed over maps of Central and Southwest Asia.
The knavely media subservience to Rove's and Rumsfeld's propaganda offensive prior to the Iraq invasion and occupation, with its blanket unwillingness to publicize known, credible sources that disproved government claims.
The continued inability-in-perpetuity to call an atrocity an atrocity unless perpetrated by someone the U.S. leadership has decided to target.
The embedded Stepford reporting by Mike Mannequins both in the field and in the studio, directly resulting in actual media war crimes complicity due to participation in the events themselves – way beyond Riefenstahl's sin of glorifying German Nazism.
The apologetic, timid clamor to show a touch of journalistic fortitude by showing only the tip of the torture iceberg, juxtaposed with the current industry-wide refusal to go after the full truth now that the lid's blown off the U.S. torture gulag and its ongoing atrocities.
The stark reality of reporters still cowering before Pentagon podium jockeys in Iraq during the daily Kafka-esque disinformation briefings.
Plus the trite deus culpa printed by The New York Times that named no names, especially not "Judas" Miller's. (By the way, where's the Oppel culpa?)
A long, strange, and spectacular trip, indeed. Are you traveling in the backseat of the armored SUV driving in circles around Bush's cocaine-fried, mad-cow-eaten mind? Are you there yet?
What a long, strange media spectacle America's myths and insecurities have produced these past few years.
The sycophantic, self-serving, and counterproductive pandering to the public by big commercial media especially beginning September 11, 2001.
The shallow, disingenuous blend of giddy adventure and solemn revenge emanating from blabbing talking heads eerily superimposed over maps of Central and Southwest Asia.
The knavely media subservience to Rove's and Rumsfeld's propaganda offensive prior to the Iraq invasion and occupation, with its blanket unwillingness to publicize known, credible sources that disproved government claims.
The continued inability-in-perpetuity to call an atrocity an atrocity unless perpetrated by someone the U.S. leadership has decided to target.
The embedded Stepford reporting by Mike Mannequins both in the field and in the studio, directly resulting in actual media war crimes complicity due to participation in the events themselves – way beyond Riefenstahl's sin of glorifying German Nazism.
The apologetic, timid clamor to show a touch of journalistic fortitude by showing only the tip of the torture iceberg, juxtaposed with the current industry-wide refusal to go after the full truth now that the lid's blown off the U.S. torture gulag and its ongoing atrocities.
The stark reality of reporters still cowering before Pentagon podium jockeys in Iraq during the daily Kafka-esque disinformation briefings.
Plus the trite deus culpa printed by The New York Times that named no names, especially not "Judas" Miller's. (By the way, where's the Oppel culpa?)
A long, strange, and spectacular trip, indeed. Are you traveling in the backseat of the armored SUV driving in circles around Bush's cocaine-fried, mad-cow-eaten mind? Are you there yet?
Larry Piltz
Hey, Now It's Time for My 15 Minutes
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
To the Editor,
OK Andy [Langer], we understand ["Get in the Ring," Music, June 11]. Now please let someone else have their 15 minutes.
OK Andy [Langer], we understand ["Get in the Ring," Music, June 11]. Now please let someone else have their 15 minutes.
Eric C. Hughes
Tag Your Dog
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
Dear Editor,
Do you have a dog? If so, my question to you is, do you love it? Would you be devastated to lose it or if anything happened to it? I used to have a dog and I loved her more than anything else in the world and she passed away on me two years ago. I was devastated beyond anything I could have ever have imagined. As can be sometimes inevitable with dogs, Cassidy got out a lot over the years while I was at work or at school or just while she was out in the yard. She loved gallivanting all over town, would run miles away to lick grease pans behind restaurants, but I always got her back safely. You know why? Because she always had an up-to-date dog tag on her with both our names, address, and phone number. I always see dogs running around Austin, loose, and I usually call them over, pet them and check their tags; not once has there been a tag with an owner's name or number on it. So what do you do? My heart breaks, and I let them keep on their journey and hope a car doesn't kill them. Just today a very sweet and obviously well-loved house dog was running around in my office parking lot over by Highland Mall. I checked, only an old worn-down rabies-vac tag, I had to go to work, the dog kept running toward the mall, not safe. My point is, if you love and care for your dog, then you will immediately put this paper down and go to the pet store – PETsMART has instant dog-tag makers – and get that dog a tag (and put your day and home number on it). No one wants their dog running around the mall parking lot while they are at work.
Do you have a dog? If so, my question to you is, do you love it? Would you be devastated to lose it or if anything happened to it? I used to have a dog and I loved her more than anything else in the world and she passed away on me two years ago. I was devastated beyond anything I could have ever have imagined. As can be sometimes inevitable with dogs, Cassidy got out a lot over the years while I was at work or at school or just while she was out in the yard. She loved gallivanting all over town, would run miles away to lick grease pans behind restaurants, but I always got her back safely. You know why? Because she always had an up-to-date dog tag on her with both our names, address, and phone number. I always see dogs running around Austin, loose, and I usually call them over, pet them and check their tags; not once has there been a tag with an owner's name or number on it. So what do you do? My heart breaks, and I let them keep on their journey and hope a car doesn't kill them. Just today a very sweet and obviously well-loved house dog was running around in my office parking lot over by Highland Mall. I checked, only an old worn-down rabies-vac tag, I had to go to work, the dog kept running toward the mall, not safe. My point is, if you love and care for your dog, then you will immediately put this paper down and go to the pet store – PETsMART has instant dog-tag makers – and get that dog a tag (and put your day and home number on it). No one wants their dog running around the mall parking lot while they are at work.
Thanks,
Amy Fowler
Amy Fowler
Guess I'll Buy Myself a Gun
RECEIVED Wed., June 16, 2004
Dear Editor,
"What do you want me to do, go over there and get my ass kicked?" seems to be the motto of APD ["A Gay-Bashing in the East Sixth 'Dead Zone,'" News, June 11].
I live in South Austin and requested assistance because a man was trying to climb over my fence. Luckily, my dog scared him away. I reported him, and I was told that an officer would be sent to my home. Nobody ever showed up.
I called again, and was again told that someone would come out to my house. Again, nobody showed up.
APD isn't going to protect me, nor my home. Guess I'll buy myself a gun.
"What do you want me to do, go over there and get my ass kicked?" seems to be the motto of APD ["A Gay-Bashing in the East Sixth 'Dead Zone,'" News, June 11].
I live in South Austin and requested assistance because a man was trying to climb over my fence. Luckily, my dog scared him away. I reported him, and I was told that an officer would be sent to my home. Nobody ever showed up.
I called again, and was again told that someone would come out to my house. Again, nobody showed up.
APD isn't going to protect me, nor my home. Guess I'll buy myself a gun.
Kealapono Young
[Editor's note: APD spokesman Kevin Buchman says in the article that Culverhouse's friends may have confused a security guard for a police officer and that "We have nothing, no indication, that any [APD officer] was there."]
We Come to Honor Ed Ward Not Bury Him
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Editor,
Every year I look forward to the Chron's Restaurant Poll because it gives me ideas on where I might dine next time I return for a visit. However, for the past decade, there's been a very disturbing entry in the critics' choices: the Ed Ward Memorial Sandwich.
While I don't dispute the excellence of this chicken-and-garlic marvel that Phoenicia makes, I'd like to point out that memorials are almost invariably to the dead, and, while my career may be almost dead due to the difficulty of selling stories from Europe to a U.S. media that's indifferent at best about the place, I, personally, am still alive, as some who attended SXSW this year no doubt noticed.
I'll spare you the gory details, but I'm trying to post them every day at www.berlinbites.com, in case anyone's interested.
Eat that chicken!
Every year I look forward to the Chron's Restaurant Poll because it gives me ideas on where I might dine next time I return for a visit. However, for the past decade, there's been a very disturbing entry in the critics' choices: the Ed Ward Memorial Sandwich.
While I don't dispute the excellence of this chicken-and-garlic marvel that Phoenicia makes, I'd like to point out that memorials are almost invariably to the dead, and, while my career may be almost dead due to the difficulty of selling stories from Europe to a U.S. media that's indifferent at best about the place, I, personally, am still alive, as some who attended SXSW this year no doubt noticed.
I'll spare you the gory details, but I'm trying to post them every day at www.berlinbites.com, in case anyone's interested.
Eat that chicken!
Ed Ward
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
[Virginia B. Wood responds: The intended "memorial" was not for Ward's death, but rather in honor of his tenure as the Food editor here many years ago. We've given the award regularly for years and years. Has he just noticed or did it just now begin to bother him? No harm intended.]
Why Is Pot Illegal?
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Editor,
OK ... so pot is illegal, someone just informed me. Apparently that slipped my mind. Oh well ... no biggie. The question I have is this, why is pot illegal again? It's nontoxic, nonnarcotic, and nonaddictive. It's classified as a euphoric drug, which means it makes you feel good. But the government has it scheduled class 1 on their bullshit list of "bad things to smoke, shoot, or eat," meaning they feel it's more dangerous than cocaine and heroin, which are classified as schedule II. Odd, huh. Specially considering pot is not directly responsible for a single death, while, say, tobacco is responsible for about 450,000 dead Americans a year. Odd, no?
OK ... so pot is illegal, someone just informed me. Apparently that slipped my mind. Oh well ... no biggie. The question I have is this, why is pot illegal again? It's nontoxic, nonnarcotic, and nonaddictive. It's classified as a euphoric drug, which means it makes you feel good. But the government has it scheduled class 1 on their bullshit list of "bad things to smoke, shoot, or eat," meaning they feel it's more dangerous than cocaine and heroin, which are classified as schedule II. Odd, huh. Specially considering pot is not directly responsible for a single death, while, say, tobacco is responsible for about 450,000 dead Americans a year. Odd, no?
Carl T. Swanson
Republican Concerns
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Editor,
Michael King describes some of the dramas and machinations that went into the drafting of this year's Texas Republican Party platform ["The Elephants at Play," News, June 11]. It's a pity the GOP didn't just look to their platform statement from 2000, which included the following gems:
"The Party demands the elimination of presidential authority to issue executive orders, presidential decision directives and other administrative mandates that do not have congressional approval. Further, we demand a repeal of all previous executive orders and administrative mandates.
"A perpetual state of national emergency allows unrestricted growth of government. The Party charges the president to cancel the state of national emergency and charges Congress to repeal the War Powers Act and to declare an end to the previously declared states of emergency.
"The Party believes the president of the United States and all members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the federal and state governments shall be held to the same standards of conduct as other law-abiding citizens. We call for the investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution of any and all members of the Clinton [insert your president here] administration that have committed crimes, up to and including possible treason against the United States of America, without respect to the office served."
[Source: www.rlctx.org/RLCTX/Texas%20Republican%20Party%20Platform%202000.htm]
Michael King describes some of the dramas and machinations that went into the drafting of this year's Texas Republican Party platform ["The Elephants at Play," News, June 11]. It's a pity the GOP didn't just look to their platform statement from 2000, which included the following gems:
"The Party demands the elimination of presidential authority to issue executive orders, presidential decision directives and other administrative mandates that do not have congressional approval. Further, we demand a repeal of all previous executive orders and administrative mandates.
"A perpetual state of national emergency allows unrestricted growth of government. The Party charges the president to cancel the state of national emergency and charges Congress to repeal the War Powers Act and to declare an end to the previously declared states of emergency.
"The Party believes the president of the United States and all members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the federal and state governments shall be held to the same standards of conduct as other law-abiding citizens. We call for the investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution of any and all members of the Clinton [insert your president here] administration that have committed crimes, up to and including possible treason against the United States of America, without respect to the office served."
[Source: www.rlctx.org/RLCTX/Texas%20Republican%20Party%20Platform%202000.htm]
Sarah Lyons
[Michael King responds: For the record, the planks on "executive orders" and "emergency war powers" remain in the 2004 state GOP platform. The plank on investigating the Clinton administration has been dropped – apparently the delegates believe "without respect to the office served" has a partisan exception.]
Stand by Us
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Editor,
With all this idolatry going on this week for a man (he was just a man, right?), one can be easily confused by the orgy of news coverage and blather about how "great" he was. At first I thought I was watching Stand By Me when I saw all those sheep lining up in D.C. and California to see a body. It's funny because I hear pundits and all the other idiots that are called "analysts" and "experts" spew about how strange North Korea and Russia are when they honor and preserve their dead leaders through song or public display. The obvious irony in this "event" (drug addict Limbaugh's words, probably OxyContin induced) is that the networks will devote news time to a lone flag-draped coffin for an entire week, when more than 800 flag-draped coffins, and counting, have come home over the last year, not one being televised "live." Thank God I have local news outlets like KEYE for giving me the pulse of Austin viewers about all this nonsense. I have never felt more nauseous than when I saw a report from the State of Texas Museum and the "journalist" was interviewing middle schoolers, yes, middle schoolers, about what they thought of Ronny. I am no journalist, and I don't claim to be one in any form, but I would think it's probably more newsworthy to interview someone who was alive when this guy was in office rather than someone who wasn't even conceived yet much less one who can't vote. In closing, I can only quote the truly great Bill Hicks by saying that Reagan has finally achieved his "self created myth" stature.
With all this idolatry going on this week for a man (he was just a man, right?), one can be easily confused by the orgy of news coverage and blather about how "great" he was. At first I thought I was watching Stand By Me when I saw all those sheep lining up in D.C. and California to see a body. It's funny because I hear pundits and all the other idiots that are called "analysts" and "experts" spew about how strange North Korea and Russia are when they honor and preserve their dead leaders through song or public display. The obvious irony in this "event" (drug addict Limbaugh's words, probably OxyContin induced) is that the networks will devote news time to a lone flag-draped coffin for an entire week, when more than 800 flag-draped coffins, and counting, have come home over the last year, not one being televised "live." Thank God I have local news outlets like KEYE for giving me the pulse of Austin viewers about all this nonsense. I have never felt more nauseous than when I saw a report from the State of Texas Museum and the "journalist" was interviewing middle schoolers, yes, middle schoolers, about what they thought of Ronny. I am no journalist, and I don't claim to be one in any form, but I would think it's probably more newsworthy to interview someone who was alive when this guy was in office rather than someone who wasn't even conceived yet much less one who can't vote. In closing, I can only quote the truly great Bill Hicks by saying that Reagan has finally achieved his "self created myth" stature.
James Chapman
Conservatives' Tax Figures Often Wrong
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Mr. Lucadello,
I work in a relatively conservative environment and I got so tired of hearing stupid statements such as "the upper 1% pay 70% of the taxes in this country." So many right wing and conservatives get these idiotic figures by listening to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and other opportunists and liars motivated by personal profit. I'd like to know what mindless boob could possibly listen to Rush or anyone else for three hours every day. One thing that I have deduced is that they are some of the least informed people on political issues around. They get the vast majority of their info (frequently lies) from these sources or Fox News (the self-appointed White House public relations department). I suspect Mr. Lucadello ["Postmarks Online," June 10] that you may be one of these followers from the tone of your letter. I personally got tired of these bullshit tax debates one day so I did something unthinkable. I went to www.irs.org and lo and behold right there in simple print are the tax breakdowns for the year 2000. This was six months ago and completed figures only went through 2000 at that time. Stats are as follows: Of all federal taxes collected by the IRS, corporate pays 8%. Out of the remainder of individual returns: The wealthiest 1% pay 33% of the total of all individual returns. This was also verified by John Stoessel (a conservative) on the TV show Dateline in January of this year. It's a very far cry from the 70% so I was more than happy to share this info with certain co-workers. Also, one thing to keep in mind Robert is the fact that due to that dumbo president we have now, the upper 1% has had two huge tax breaks since those figures were published. I guarantee that the 33% of their tax burden is a thing of the past and I guarantee you that corporate is not taking up the slack either. We'll find out when the figures for 2001 and 2002 come out. So lay off of Hightower, get your info from published government figures, which they have to do by law. It's right there in plain black and white and very easy to find. These are the reasons that I never listen to talk radio with the exception of NPR. It's just too easy to find the truth out on your own without being lied to.
I work in a relatively conservative environment and I got so tired of hearing stupid statements such as "the upper 1% pay 70% of the taxes in this country." So many right wing and conservatives get these idiotic figures by listening to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and other opportunists and liars motivated by personal profit. I'd like to know what mindless boob could possibly listen to Rush or anyone else for three hours every day. One thing that I have deduced is that they are some of the least informed people on political issues around. They get the vast majority of their info (frequently lies) from these sources or Fox News (the self-appointed White House public relations department). I suspect Mr. Lucadello ["Postmarks Online," June 10] that you may be one of these followers from the tone of your letter. I personally got tired of these bullshit tax debates one day so I did something unthinkable. I went to www.irs.org and lo and behold right there in simple print are the tax breakdowns for the year 2000. This was six months ago and completed figures only went through 2000 at that time. Stats are as follows: Of all federal taxes collected by the IRS, corporate pays 8%. Out of the remainder of individual returns: The wealthiest 1% pay 33% of the total of all individual returns. This was also verified by John Stoessel (a conservative) on the TV show Dateline in January of this year. It's a very far cry from the 70% so I was more than happy to share this info with certain co-workers. Also, one thing to keep in mind Robert is the fact that due to that dumbo president we have now, the upper 1% has had two huge tax breaks since those figures were published. I guarantee that the 33% of their tax burden is a thing of the past and I guarantee you that corporate is not taking up the slack either. We'll find out when the figures for 2001 and 2002 come out. So lay off of Hightower, get your info from published government figures, which they have to do by law. It's right there in plain black and white and very easy to find. These are the reasons that I never listen to talk radio with the exception of NPR. It's just too easy to find the truth out on your own without being lied to.
Allen Cunningham
Wimberley
Wimberley
Time to Think Back to Objections to Iraq Invasion
RECEIVED Tue., June 15, 2004
Dear Editor,
With so many new facts about the war on Iraq coming out in recent months, I keep thinking back to the marches here in Austin and all over the world in opposition to war. At this point we can pretty much all agree that there were no WMD's and Americans have finally had to face a fraction of the horrors of war with the prisoner abuse scandals. Now is a good time to take a step back and reassess the march to war that preceded the U.S. government going to war on Iraq and killing 10,000-plus Iraqi's and 800-plus Americans in the process.
The voices that called for internationalism and alternatives to war should now be embraced in an effort to immediately start turning around the course that we are currently on. And what leader can we look to for this change? This is Bush's war. Kerry voted the powers of war to Bush. And, as much as I respect Ralph Nader's work for consumers, I don't remember ever hearing about him at any anti-war rallies. So it is looking back on those marches that I understand we must come together and demand real democracy. All people in this country must learn to hear the variety of voices in our community. With a political system run by two parties, an election that narrows the perspective of debate into a simplified battle of party ideals serves the two parties well. What we must do, as people with a rich tradition of democracy, is break through the limited perspective of party officials and pundits and have true public debates. How we do this is up to those of us who understood or now understand the critical decisions that our leaders are making in our name but without our input.
With so many new facts about the war on Iraq coming out in recent months, I keep thinking back to the marches here in Austin and all over the world in opposition to war. At this point we can pretty much all agree that there were no WMD's and Americans have finally had to face a fraction of the horrors of war with the prisoner abuse scandals. Now is a good time to take a step back and reassess the march to war that preceded the U.S. government going to war on Iraq and killing 10,000-plus Iraqi's and 800-plus Americans in the process.
The voices that called for internationalism and alternatives to war should now be embraced in an effort to immediately start turning around the course that we are currently on. And what leader can we look to for this change? This is Bush's war. Kerry voted the powers of war to Bush. And, as much as I respect Ralph Nader's work for consumers, I don't remember ever hearing about him at any anti-war rallies. So it is looking back on those marches that I understand we must come together and demand real democracy. All people in this country must learn to hear the variety of voices in our community. With a political system run by two parties, an election that narrows the perspective of debate into a simplified battle of party ideals serves the two parties well. What we must do, as people with a rich tradition of democracy, is break through the limited perspective of party officials and pundits and have true public debates. How we do this is up to those of us who understood or now understand the critical decisions that our leaders are making in our name but without our input.
Matt Simpson
Armchair Sociology
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Dear Editor,
It could be argued that the defining moment of Austin's unique culture came some 30 years ago when a cowboy shared his beer with a hippie, who in turn passed his joint. Tada – Austin.
Alas, those days have dramatically changed. Once a refuge for bastardized Texas liberals, Austin has morphed into a metropolis with a conservative/liberal dichotomy that mirrors cities throughout the country, not to mention others in the state. A fascinating result of this sociological shift is that a new designation has been given to what was once Austin's sleepy downtown – "urban" core.
Urban is a term in wide use that lacks much definition. In today's society, the homogenous mass often uses this term as a subtle form of racism, a reference to poor black neighborhoods or inner-city social agendas. In contrast, the urbane define urban as a cultural movement, with hip-hop music and fashion standards as trademarks. Regardless if its use is derogatory or praiseworthy, the term urban means black in most parts of America.
When charting the demographic history of American cities, it is not difficult to see how urban became associated with African-American culture. Over the last 150 years, Civil War, Jim Crow laws, desegregation, and white flight shifted the population makeup of city centers. In 1860, urban culture was defined by Irish and Italian immigration patterns; a century later urban culture evolved with a new demographic in place.
Lack of acceptance in Anglo circles repressed this urban evolution. Black music, style, and culture remained an insular force until its explosion in the 1980s. Today, urban America is being refined once again with gay/lesbian and Hispanic immigration to city centers. Although a black urbana has only been realized for a mere two decades, forecasts show that its exit will be as quick as its entrance.
It could be argued that the defining moment of Austin's unique culture came some 30 years ago when a cowboy shared his beer with a hippie, who in turn passed his joint. Tada – Austin.
Alas, those days have dramatically changed. Once a refuge for bastardized Texas liberals, Austin has morphed into a metropolis with a conservative/liberal dichotomy that mirrors cities throughout the country, not to mention others in the state. A fascinating result of this sociological shift is that a new designation has been given to what was once Austin's sleepy downtown – "urban" core.
Urban is a term in wide use that lacks much definition. In today's society, the homogenous mass often uses this term as a subtle form of racism, a reference to poor black neighborhoods or inner-city social agendas. In contrast, the urbane define urban as a cultural movement, with hip-hop music and fashion standards as trademarks. Regardless if its use is derogatory or praiseworthy, the term urban means black in most parts of America.
When charting the demographic history of American cities, it is not difficult to see how urban became associated with African-American culture. Over the last 150 years, Civil War, Jim Crow laws, desegregation, and white flight shifted the population makeup of city centers. In 1860, urban culture was defined by Irish and Italian immigration patterns; a century later urban culture evolved with a new demographic in place.
Lack of acceptance in Anglo circles repressed this urban evolution. Black music, style, and culture remained an insular force until its explosion in the 1980s. Today, urban America is being refined once again with gay/lesbian and Hispanic immigration to city centers. Although a black urbana has only been realized for a mere two decades, forecasts show that its exit will be as quick as its entrance.
Rad Tollett
Doesn't Regularly Read the 'Chronicle'
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Dear Editor,
Larry King is part of dad's daily routine.
Veering too far from his routine is an invitation to disaster.
And only those who embrace those with Alzheimer's really know what I'm talking about.
The end of the show was dedicated to a video montage of photographs of President Reagan, his friends, his family, and his beautiful wife.
America has been made better by the presence of President Reagan.
I never knew that one day Alzheimer's disease would touch my family, too.
When I saw Mrs. Reagan rest her face on your coffin, I could almost
sense the incredible loss and exhaustion she was feeling.
When she gently touched the beautiful United States flag that draped your coffin, I felt like she was finally saying goodbye, letting go, and setting you free.
The photos of both of you warmed my heart beyond belief.
What I felt was chilling and it was a feeling – some sense of great peace.
My dad, who is typically unresponsive to any stimuli, paused for a
moment to show me the goose bumps on his arms and legs.
My dad recognized this enormous loss and we both shed tears together.
For the very first time in my life I shared tears with my father – just one moment in this lifetime where I found myself in a special place with my dad.
I will treasure that forever.
My dad never liked sweets but now thrives on strawberry jelly beans.
My dad always loved Westerns but now prefers gospel themes.
This disease, called Alzheimer's, is honestly mean.
It takes all that you have and leaves you completely empty.
Eventually you'll not know anyone, even the mirror won't reveal anything.
This is so much more than merely being forgetful and it's
not just an "old persons" disease.
This disease, called Alzheimer's, is a monster and a Goddamn thief.
You are already missed, my dear President Reagan.
And God bless you, Nancy.
You are a modern day hero to my dad and I.
Thank you for the goose bumps, thanks for the memories.
Larry King is part of dad's daily routine.
Veering too far from his routine is an invitation to disaster.
And only those who embrace those with Alzheimer's really know what I'm talking about.
The end of the show was dedicated to a video montage of photographs of President Reagan, his friends, his family, and his beautiful wife.
America has been made better by the presence of President Reagan.
I never knew that one day Alzheimer's disease would touch my family, too.
When I saw Mrs. Reagan rest her face on your coffin, I could almost
sense the incredible loss and exhaustion she was feeling.
When she gently touched the beautiful United States flag that draped your coffin, I felt like she was finally saying goodbye, letting go, and setting you free.
The photos of both of you warmed my heart beyond belief.
What I felt was chilling and it was a feeling – some sense of great peace.
My dad, who is typically unresponsive to any stimuli, paused for a
moment to show me the goose bumps on his arms and legs.
My dad recognized this enormous loss and we both shed tears together.
For the very first time in my life I shared tears with my father – just one moment in this lifetime where I found myself in a special place with my dad.
I will treasure that forever.
My dad never liked sweets but now thrives on strawberry jelly beans.
My dad always loved Westerns but now prefers gospel themes.
This disease, called Alzheimer's, is honestly mean.
It takes all that you have and leaves you completely empty.
Eventually you'll not know anyone, even the mirror won't reveal anything.
This is so much more than merely being forgetful and it's
not just an "old persons" disease.
This disease, called Alzheimer's, is a monster and a Goddamn thief.
You are already missed, my dear President Reagan.
And God bless you, Nancy.
You are a modern day hero to my dad and I.
Thank you for the goose bumps, thanks for the memories.
Sincere Regards,
Peter Vincent Cannice
Phoenix, Ariz.
Peter Vincent Cannice
Phoenix, Ariz.
Punish Those Responsible
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Dear Editor,
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rumsfeld and the president, the persons responsible for the Abu Ghraib torture should be punished. The type of absurdist situational ethics that led us to this dilemma is clearly illustrated in the various memos circulating around the web. How can a president who self-righteously decries the evils of stem cell research, abortion, and gay marriage presume to hold the moral high ground when he advocates the use of torture?
The only way that we can salvage any credibility now is to assess the full penalties provided in U.S. law to those responsible. If only the individuals who were culpable weren't in such a great position to cover it all up.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rumsfeld and the president, the persons responsible for the Abu Ghraib torture should be punished. The type of absurdist situational ethics that led us to this dilemma is clearly illustrated in the various memos circulating around the web. How can a president who self-righteously decries the evils of stem cell research, abortion, and gay marriage presume to hold the moral high ground when he advocates the use of torture?
The only way that we can salvage any credibility now is to assess the full penalties provided in U.S. law to those responsible. If only the individuals who were culpable weren't in such a great position to cover it all up.
Frank McDade
Austin Public Library Is Hot
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Editor,
Just a friendly reminder to your readers and adding to Mark Savlov's article "The Hot Spot," June 11 [Technology] – the Austin Public Library is hot (provides free wireless Internet access) and has been since April 2003. Thanks to a donation from Schlotzsky's Deli, in 2003 wireless access points for all library locations became available. The library's technology team implemented the wireless connectivity using the library's existing infrastructure. Currently, 14 branch libraries, the Faulk Central Library, and the Austin History Center, as well as Wooldridge Square Park, located between Eighth and Ninth streets on Guadalupe, have wireless connectivity. APL has recently jumped on board with Less Networks and is part of the Wireless City Project. APL is the largest free public Internet access footprint in the city of Austin. Come visit us; it's your library! For additional information about wireless at Austin Public Library, visit the Web at www.cityofaustin.org/library or call 974-7400.
Just a friendly reminder to your readers and adding to Mark Savlov's article "The Hot Spot," June 11 [Technology] – the Austin Public Library is hot (provides free wireless Internet access) and has been since April 2003. Thanks to a donation from Schlotzsky's Deli, in 2003 wireless access points for all library locations became available. The library's technology team implemented the wireless connectivity using the library's existing infrastructure. Currently, 14 branch libraries, the Faulk Central Library, and the Austin History Center, as well as Wooldridge Square Park, located between Eighth and Ninth streets on Guadalupe, have wireless connectivity. APL has recently jumped on board with Less Networks and is part of the Wireless City Project. APL is the largest free public Internet access footprint in the city of Austin. Come visit us; it's your library! For additional information about wireless at Austin Public Library, visit the Web at www.cityofaustin.org/library or call 974-7400.
Patricia Fraga
Austin Public Library
Austin Public Library
One Vote for the Libertarian Parody
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Dear Editor,
Choke, chuckle, spit ... what? Who the hell is Michael Badnarik and why does he use a name that no one will ever get right ["The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik," News, June 11]? OK, so he seems to go for the jugular on all the issues, but I can't help but feel like I'm reading The Onion when digesting his quotes from last week's Chronicle. He starts off saying that he'd rather be jumping out of airplanes and getting drunk and laid than saving America. Sounds like some people I know. That's good ... but wait, is he serious?! No money for planes, trains, automobiles, and schools, affirmative action's like slavery, Lincoln's evil, 9/11's our fault, Roosevelt's worse than Hitler and the Communist Manifesto rules. The Libertarian Party is extreme to the point of parody. It's what everyone wants but no one dares. The media adds to the scare by telling you a vote not-for-Kerry is a vote for Bush. When Bush is shaking his victorious fist in your face on national television come November, remember that I said you're all a bunch of sissies. Here's one vote for the Libertarian Parody.
Choke, chuckle, spit ... what? Who the hell is Michael Badnarik and why does he use a name that no one will ever get right ["The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik," News, June 11]? OK, so he seems to go for the jugular on all the issues, but I can't help but feel like I'm reading The Onion when digesting his quotes from last week's Chronicle. He starts off saying that he'd rather be jumping out of airplanes and getting drunk and laid than saving America. Sounds like some people I know. That's good ... but wait, is he serious?! No money for planes, trains, automobiles, and schools, affirmative action's like slavery, Lincoln's evil, 9/11's our fault, Roosevelt's worse than Hitler and the Communist Manifesto rules. The Libertarian Party is extreme to the point of parody. It's what everyone wants but no one dares. The media adds to the scare by telling you a vote not-for-Kerry is a vote for Bush. When Bush is shaking his victorious fist in your face on national television come November, remember that I said you're all a bunch of sissies. Here's one vote for the Libertarian Parody.
Ivan Cook
S. Moser's Review More a Hit-and-Run Piece
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
To the editor(s),
We just had the chance to read the "After a Fashion" article [May 28] by Stephen MacMillan Moser and we were quite surprised. It is unfortunate that Mr. Moser did not have a positive first experience in our store. If he would have spent more time actually reviewing the merchandise I'm sure he would have found many unique lines and items that are not currently being offered in Austin (DA-NANG, Capitol Tailors, Cigena, R Jean Blouse, Sacred Blue, etc.).
The day Mr. Moser showed up at our store we were very busy helping several customers. We pride ourselves on our customer service and so far have served over 300 satisfied clients. We also try to give our customers space when it appears that they prefer to shop without interruption (as Mr. Moser appeared that day). Perhaps if he had asked for assistance we would have tried to find something for him in his size.
His "review" of our store seemed more like a hit-and-run piece. To insinuate that we may go out of business by process of natural selection was below the belt (our store is doing very well since our opening April 7). As a locally owned and operated Austin company we we're very disappointed by Mr. Moser's lack of professionalism. I expected more from your publication. Perhaps if the Chronicle were to send a more unbiased reporter into our store he or she will do a more professional piece.
We just had the chance to read the "After a Fashion" article [May 28] by Stephen MacMillan Moser and we were quite surprised. It is unfortunate that Mr. Moser did not have a positive first experience in our store. If he would have spent more time actually reviewing the merchandise I'm sure he would have found many unique lines and items that are not currently being offered in Austin (DA-NANG, Capitol Tailors, Cigena, R Jean Blouse, Sacred Blue, etc.).
The day Mr. Moser showed up at our store we were very busy helping several customers. We pride ourselves on our customer service and so far have served over 300 satisfied clients. We also try to give our customers space when it appears that they prefer to shop without interruption (as Mr. Moser appeared that day). Perhaps if he had asked for assistance we would have tried to find something for him in his size.
His "review" of our store seemed more like a hit-and-run piece. To insinuate that we may go out of business by process of natural selection was below the belt (our store is doing very well since our opening April 7). As a locally owned and operated Austin company we we're very disappointed by Mr. Moser's lack of professionalism. I expected more from your publication. Perhaps if the Chronicle were to send a more unbiased reporter into our store he or she will do a more professional piece.
Eric Simone, Toni, & Koshla
(Owners of Girl Next Door)
(Owners of Girl Next Door)
Toll Roads Are Checkpoints
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Editor,
There is an aspect of toll roads that no one mentions, though I'm certain that everyone is at least subliminally aware of it.
A tollbooth is a checkpoint. It turns the open road, where anyone might be and anyone might go, into a proprietary space, where no one is allowed to walk, where only those who have passed the checkpoint are allowed, for a specific and limited purpose. (As someone who's hitchhiked most of my life, I know well the difference.) The tollbooth operator, or cameras connected to sophisticated computer programs, will be able to recognize individuals the government might want to track or detain – or who simply appear strange to them – peruse the car's contents, and of course, check the license plate. I think it's no accident that toll roads are coming at a time when the United States is changing from what in Eastern Europe used to be called an "open society" to one much more like the Soviet Union, in which internal movement will be tightly controlled and surveilled.
Thanks, Austin, for being you.
There is an aspect of toll roads that no one mentions, though I'm certain that everyone is at least subliminally aware of it.
A tollbooth is a checkpoint. It turns the open road, where anyone might be and anyone might go, into a proprietary space, where no one is allowed to walk, where only those who have passed the checkpoint are allowed, for a specific and limited purpose. (As someone who's hitchhiked most of my life, I know well the difference.) The tollbooth operator, or cameras connected to sophisticated computer programs, will be able to recognize individuals the government might want to track or detain – or who simply appear strange to them – peruse the car's contents, and of course, check the license plate. I think it's no accident that toll roads are coming at a time when the United States is changing from what in Eastern Europe used to be called an "open society" to one much more like the Soviet Union, in which internal movement will be tightly controlled and surveilled.
Thanks, Austin, for being you.
Lee Foster
Elgin
Elgin
When Did America Lose Its Nerve?
RECEIVED Mon., June 14, 2004
Dear Austin Chronicle,
I am on my friend's patio drinking a beer in memory of Ronald Reagan, wondering why we don't back apartheid anymore.
When did America lose its nerve?
Winnable nuclear war was possible when Dutch was at the wheel.
What did he put in his hair that George Bush doesn't put in his?
Was it his wife's bizarre relationship with Mr. T? Why, then, isn't Bush palling around with Snoop Dogg to get this country on its feet again?
Reagan used to say 80% of pollution came from trees. What kind of dilettante only clears brush from his ranch while he's on vacation?
Reagan was secure enough to wear make-up on TV. Did Bush wear mascara while on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln? No.
Would George Bush ever outlaw Russia? No.
Would George Bush ever sanction spreadable vegetables as part of school lunches to give kids more time to study? No.
We'll miss you, Ronnie. We're mourning in America.
I am on my friend's patio drinking a beer in memory of Ronald Reagan, wondering why we don't back apartheid anymore.
When did America lose its nerve?
Winnable nuclear war was possible when Dutch was at the wheel.
What did he put in his hair that George Bush doesn't put in his?
Was it his wife's bizarre relationship with Mr. T? Why, then, isn't Bush palling around with Snoop Dogg to get this country on its feet again?
Reagan used to say 80% of pollution came from trees. What kind of dilettante only clears brush from his ranch while he's on vacation?
Reagan was secure enough to wear make-up on TV. Did Bush wear mascara while on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln? No.
Would George Bush ever outlaw Russia? No.
Would George Bush ever sanction spreadable vegetables as part of school lunches to give kids more time to study? No.
We'll miss you, Ronnie. We're mourning in America.
Sincerely,
Christopher Petkus
Christopher Petkus
Seton's Disregard for Women and Children
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
Cutting breast-feeding services at Brack and Seton is yet another example of Seton's disregard for women, children, and their well-being ["No Mother's Milk Here: Hospitals Cut Breast-Feeding Support," News, June 4]. The fact of the matter is that Seton provides obstetric services because they make money. When is the city going to realize that you can't provide good health care for all when the bottom line is your main concern? The city of Austin is clearly getting what it's paid for: inadequate, insensitive, and misogynistic health care.
Cutting breast-feeding services at Brack and Seton is yet another example of Seton's disregard for women, children, and their well-being ["No Mother's Milk Here: Hospitals Cut Breast-Feeding Support," News, June 4]. The fact of the matter is that Seton provides obstetric services because they make money. When is the city going to realize that you can't provide good health care for all when the bottom line is your main concern? The city of Austin is clearly getting what it's paid for: inadequate, insensitive, and misogynistic health care.
Kendall Kelly
Doesn't Trust Cap Metro
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Howdy y'all
Scene: the Austin Convention Center on Thursday, June 10, at 8am to 12pm. Many of the Cap Metro workshop tables sat understandably empty, retail-tax-paying Austinites were at their jobs. Lee Walker, chairman of the Cap Metro board spoke first, he said the words "plan the end of sprawl." What a farcical statement!
Peter Calthorpe is the developer behind the Triangle project near 51st Street and Lamar, Peter is very proud of his Triangle project. As Peter spoke, admiring glances were exchanged with the Cap Metro chairman, love was in the air.
Peter pedaled the specious hype that 1.25 million people would move to Austin in the next 25 years. Population growth of Austin last year – purdy close to zero. Peter and Cap Metro have revealed a plan to correct that problem!
Cap Metro's new commuter rail/light rail combo is now a big boy named TOD (transit-oriented development). TOD lusts for a rail line north to the Robertson Ranch, to cover up that 6,000 acres of grass and trees with houses and shops. And TOD, he gets his lusty strength when you combine the unstoppable legal powers of the Commuter Rail District with Cap Metro's limited mandate. This "synergy" will allow TOD to force, and spread, more sprawl south of Austin. The extra pollution TOD creates it will move into Austin on the north and south winds.
So, "go" with Cap Metro and the Commuter Rail District and watch this TOD fellowship rape the Austin environment we all love.
By the way, if you go to one of these workshops, don't ask how much your property taxes will increase if you live near the rails/rail stations – at present, Cap Metro does not want to give an honest answer – it might effect your vote come November!
Scene: the Austin Convention Center on Thursday, June 10, at 8am to 12pm. Many of the Cap Metro workshop tables sat understandably empty, retail-tax-paying Austinites were at their jobs. Lee Walker, chairman of the Cap Metro board spoke first, he said the words "plan the end of sprawl." What a farcical statement!
Peter Calthorpe is the developer behind the Triangle project near 51st Street and Lamar, Peter is very proud of his Triangle project. As Peter spoke, admiring glances were exchanged with the Cap Metro chairman, love was in the air.
Peter pedaled the specious hype that 1.25 million people would move to Austin in the next 25 years. Population growth of Austin last year – purdy close to zero. Peter and Cap Metro have revealed a plan to correct that problem!
Cap Metro's new commuter rail/light rail combo is now a big boy named TOD (transit-oriented development). TOD lusts for a rail line north to the Robertson Ranch, to cover up that 6,000 acres of grass and trees with houses and shops. And TOD, he gets his lusty strength when you combine the unstoppable legal powers of the Commuter Rail District with Cap Metro's limited mandate. This "synergy" will allow TOD to force, and spread, more sprawl south of Austin. The extra pollution TOD creates it will move into Austin on the north and south winds.
So, "go" with Cap Metro and the Commuter Rail District and watch this TOD fellowship rape the Austin environment we all love.
By the way, if you go to one of these workshops, don't ask how much your property taxes will increase if you live near the rails/rail stations – at present, Cap Metro does not want to give an honest answer – it might effect your vote come November!
Rick Hall
Read the 'Chronicle,' Burn in Hell Forever
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Louis:
So much is going on here that brings me back to Austin. I met a family from Austin here in Albany, N.Y., and we had a nice chat. The next time I saw the mom in the market I offered her an Austin Chronicle and it was as if I'd offered short ribs to a rabbi. A year later, their daughter gave my daughter a letter in school that said my daughter needs to stop worshipping false gods or she will burn in hell forever. Complete with a contract where my beautiful little girl, my soul, should sign her name and date it and thereby renounce her heritage.
I was talking to the bishop of the archdiocese of Albany the other day about this matter with my daughter. I told him that my great-great grandfather was the brother of the great-great grandfather of Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Bibi and I differ on most matters, I wanted to make that point that there are bloodlines here, and they can lead in some strange and interesting and provocative directions. If only we could see those bloodlines, if they appeared like rivers on a map, maybe the world would be a better place, maybe people would realize that we are all descended from kings and queens and are the mothers and fathers of angels.
Hope all is well in Texas. I'll try to write more about all this soon.
So much is going on here that brings me back to Austin. I met a family from Austin here in Albany, N.Y., and we had a nice chat. The next time I saw the mom in the market I offered her an Austin Chronicle and it was as if I'd offered short ribs to a rabbi. A year later, their daughter gave my daughter a letter in school that said my daughter needs to stop worshipping false gods or she will burn in hell forever. Complete with a contract where my beautiful little girl, my soul, should sign her name and date it and thereby renounce her heritage.
I was talking to the bishop of the archdiocese of Albany the other day about this matter with my daughter. I told him that my great-great grandfather was the brother of the great-great grandfather of Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Bibi and I differ on most matters, I wanted to make that point that there are bloodlines here, and they can lead in some strange and interesting and provocative directions. If only we could see those bloodlines, if they appeared like rivers on a map, maybe the world would be a better place, maybe people would realize that we are all descended from kings and queens and are the mothers and fathers of angels.
Hope all is well in Texas. I'll try to write more about all this soon.
Much love,
Steve Swartz, Lyuda Shmidova, and Katerina Swartz
Schenectady, N.Y.
Steve Swartz, Lyuda Shmidova, and Katerina Swartz
Schenectady, N.Y.
It's Easy, Just Cut Lamar Boulevard in Half
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
Is it too easy? Does it make too much sense? Cut Lamar Boulevard in half. Why? Make the other half the Armstrong Expressway. No motorized vehicles allowed except to cross intersections. Some businesses will be harmed; they would have to have special considerations. Many would thrive. European tourists would come from their countries to see where Lance Armstrong developed his stamina, strength, and an unbelievable heart. They could brag to their friends that they rode on it. Pollution would be cut down, obesity would be cut down. Traffic would be cut down to those who wished to pedal it. Doesn't Austin deserve to celebrate Austin's son in a valiant trendsetting way? It would be cooler if it was ..., we just might save a few million, dollars and lives.
Is it too easy? Does it make too much sense? Cut Lamar Boulevard in half. Why? Make the other half the Armstrong Expressway. No motorized vehicles allowed except to cross intersections. Some businesses will be harmed; they would have to have special considerations. Many would thrive. European tourists would come from their countries to see where Lance Armstrong developed his stamina, strength, and an unbelievable heart. They could brag to their friends that they rode on it. Pollution would be cut down, obesity would be cut down. Traffic would be cut down to those who wished to pedal it. Doesn't Austin deserve to celebrate Austin's son in a valiant trendsetting way? It would be cooler if it was ..., we just might save a few million, dollars and lives.
Anthony Wood
Hey, Cigarette Smokers
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
Hey, cigarette smokers. As a nonsmoker, you need someone like me on your side; it gets really tough when my 18-month-old son hands me a cigarette butt from city park grass, restaurant grounds, parking lots, golf courses, outside airports, other places, and especially my front yard.
Hey, cigarette smokers. As a nonsmoker, you need someone like me on your side; it gets really tough when my 18-month-old son hands me a cigarette butt from city park grass, restaurant grounds, parking lots, golf courses, outside airports, other places, and especially my front yard.
Anthony Wood
Left Alone, Free-Market Forces Will Make Austin as Smoke-Free as Possible
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
I was on the task force that tried to find a compromise between the folks who wanted a complete ban on public smoking and the folks who wanted to preserve some level of freedom of choice.
The members of the business community who participated were willing to compromise by banning smoking in almost all public places accept bars, normally defined as having more than 51% in alcohol sales.
It was the choice of one council member to impose the arbitrary 70% standard that set in motion confusion and conflict amongst the food and beverage community. It is an example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. However it is likely that a more enlightened ordinance would have passed if more people concerned about fairness participated in the process.
To simply roll back to the 1994 ordinance may not be the answer either. If all of those requirements were enforced it could be even more chaotic for businesses and customers.
To achieve a smoking policy that balances the community desire for clear indoor air with the individual's desire to exercise informed consent, we can simply require that any privately owned business that allows smoking to make sure that this is clearly indicated so that no one will be exposed to smoke against their will. Free-market forces will make Austin as smoke-free as possible based on what the community actually does rather than just what it hopes for.
If the health extremists insist on bringing this issue to the voters, they can count on the business community to mobilize to make sure that it is clear to each voter that this is not about symbolically forcing Austin to be smoke-free, but about actual freedom of choice. Because, what's next? – banning high caloric foods, candles, and carcinogen encrusted barbecue?
I was on the task force that tried to find a compromise between the folks who wanted a complete ban on public smoking and the folks who wanted to preserve some level of freedom of choice.
The members of the business community who participated were willing to compromise by banning smoking in almost all public places accept bars, normally defined as having more than 51% in alcohol sales.
It was the choice of one council member to impose the arbitrary 70% standard that set in motion confusion and conflict amongst the food and beverage community. It is an example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. However it is likely that a more enlightened ordinance would have passed if more people concerned about fairness participated in the process.
To simply roll back to the 1994 ordinance may not be the answer either. If all of those requirements were enforced it could be even more chaotic for businesses and customers.
To achieve a smoking policy that balances the community desire for clear indoor air with the individual's desire to exercise informed consent, we can simply require that any privately owned business that allows smoking to make sure that this is clearly indicated so that no one will be exposed to smoke against their will. Free-market forces will make Austin as smoke-free as possible based on what the community actually does rather than just what it hopes for.
If the health extremists insist on bringing this issue to the voters, they can count on the business community to mobilize to make sure that it is clear to each voter that this is not about symbolically forcing Austin to be smoke-free, but about actual freedom of choice. Because, what's next? – banning high caloric foods, candles, and carcinogen encrusted barbecue?
Paul Silver
Arithmetic Mistake
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
Ms. Moser may wish to refresh her arithmetic abilities, or else explain how Katherine de Roet born 1350 died 1403 could have died at age 62, as she asserts in her review of Anya Seton's novel ["Summer Reading," May 28].
Ms. Moser may wish to refresh her arithmetic abilities, or else explain how Katherine de Roet born 1350 died 1403 could have died at age 62, as she asserts in her review of Anya Seton's novel ["Summer Reading," May 28].
David L. Kent
Would Love to Be Shot in the Dark
RECEIVED Fri., June 11, 2004
Dear Editor,
It's been a secret dream of mine to be a Shot in the Dark target. I read them diligently every week, smiling. I am touched by people's faith in destiny, perceiving love in a fleeting moment. It's a lovely concept. For, upon the random chance that someone felt that way, had the courage and the know-how to put it in Shot in the Dark, and the other person read it and responded, well, I forgot where I was going with this, but hell, it sure beats meeting someone at a bar. It shows you each have a little faith, at least a little of your heart invested in something beautiful and unknown and true. And you don't have to recognize it right away. Shot in the Dark gives you another chance. In love, you've got to grab those while you can. Destiny does not limit our choices, only what may spring up as a result of those choices.
It's been a secret dream of mine to be a Shot in the Dark target. I read them diligently every week, smiling. I am touched by people's faith in destiny, perceiving love in a fleeting moment. It's a lovely concept. For, upon the random chance that someone felt that way, had the courage and the know-how to put it in Shot in the Dark, and the other person read it and responded, well, I forgot where I was going with this, but hell, it sure beats meeting someone at a bar. It shows you each have a little faith, at least a little of your heart invested in something beautiful and unknown and true. And you don't have to recognize it right away. Shot in the Dark gives you another chance. In love, you've got to grab those while you can. Destiny does not limit our choices, only what may spring up as a result of those choices.
Peace,
Kelly Davis
Kelly Davis
Levin: 'I'm Running a Positive Campaign'
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
I appreciate ACC union leader Mark Goodrich's complimentary statement about my approach to labor issues at ACC ["ACC Run-Off: Levin Defends His Record," News, June 4]. He also referred to my campaign as a "stealth" campaign ["Postmarks," June 11], which I will also take as a compliment.
The focus of my campaign in this nonpartisan race has been on my positive vision for the future of ACC, not on partisanship or on issues like global warming that have no relevance to ACC. More down-to-earth environmental issues should concern ACC, and I have advocated better promotion of recycling on campus.
Perhaps my campaign is "stealth" because of my genuine and long-standing support for affordable higher education. I worked against tuition deregulation and have voiced disapproval of cuts in community college funding made in the last legislative session. While I am a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility and believe that ACC's internal auditor should report directly to the board so the board can verify that taxpayers' money is being spent wisely, I feel strongly that funding of higher education is too important not to be a bipartisan issue.
Finally, I would note that many of the characterizations in the Texas Freedom Network attack on me are either inaccurate, misleading, or taken out of context. For example, I have never advocated racial profiling of Arabs. My article advocated subjecting to greater scrutiny citizens of countries designated by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism when they attempt to enter this country.
The Freedom Network was also highly selective, leaving out parts of my record such as my successful free speech lawsuit against the University of Texas with the help of the ACLU and my published articles advocating mandatory rehabilitation, rather than prison time, for some minor, nonviolent drug offenses. Indeed, in the same editorial in which I criticized the Kyoto global warming agreement for completely exempting so-called developing countries like China, I also advocated repeal of the 1872 federal law that allows private companies to mine federal lands for minerals while compensating taxpayers at rates far below market value.
Perhaps it is "stealth" to run a positive campaign focusing on the real issues facing ACC and to contribute independent thought to a wide range of public policy discussions. If so, I am going to continue to fly high above misleading negative attacks on issues irrelevant to ACC.
I appreciate ACC union leader Mark Goodrich's complimentary statement about my approach to labor issues at ACC ["ACC Run-Off: Levin Defends His Record," News, June 4]. He also referred to my campaign as a "stealth" campaign ["Postmarks," June 11], which I will also take as a compliment.
The focus of my campaign in this nonpartisan race has been on my positive vision for the future of ACC, not on partisanship or on issues like global warming that have no relevance to ACC. More down-to-earth environmental issues should concern ACC, and I have advocated better promotion of recycling on campus.
Perhaps my campaign is "stealth" because of my genuine and long-standing support for affordable higher education. I worked against tuition deregulation and have voiced disapproval of cuts in community college funding made in the last legislative session. While I am a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility and believe that ACC's internal auditor should report directly to the board so the board can verify that taxpayers' money is being spent wisely, I feel strongly that funding of higher education is too important not to be a bipartisan issue.
Finally, I would note that many of the characterizations in the Texas Freedom Network attack on me are either inaccurate, misleading, or taken out of context. For example, I have never advocated racial profiling of Arabs. My article advocated subjecting to greater scrutiny citizens of countries designated by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism when they attempt to enter this country.
The Freedom Network was also highly selective, leaving out parts of my record such as my successful free speech lawsuit against the University of Texas with the help of the ACLU and my published articles advocating mandatory rehabilitation, rather than prison time, for some minor, nonviolent drug offenses. Indeed, in the same editorial in which I criticized the Kyoto global warming agreement for completely exempting so-called developing countries like China, I also advocated repeal of the 1872 federal law that allows private companies to mine federal lands for minerals while compensating taxpayers at rates far below market value.
Perhaps it is "stealth" to run a positive campaign focusing on the real issues facing ACC and to contribute independent thought to a wide range of public policy discussions. If so, I am going to continue to fly high above misleading negative attacks on issues irrelevant to ACC.
Sincerely,
Marc Levin
Marc Levin for ACC Board, Place 6
www.levinforacc.com
Marc Levin
Marc Levin for ACC Board, Place 6
www.levinforacc.com
School Testing Comparisons Misleading
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
Michael King's article "Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 ..." [News, June 4] came very close to telling the public what has really happened in Texas concerning the TAKS test. However, he, along with the governor and the commissioner of education, has taken the 11th grade test results this year and compared them to the 11th grade test results last year. Can anyone explain what statistical significance this comparison of different students in different years shows us? It is like an 8th grade football team that goes 8-0 and the next year a completely different team goes 4-4 and someone says that the 8-0 team was a better team. This of course is possibly not true as many other variables can come into the picture. Maybe the competition in the 8-0 year was weak and in the 4-4 year it was very strong. At any rate, saying that the 11th grade this year improved 23% is meaningless. If you want to find out how much they improved you would have to go back to the 10th grade and find out what they scored. Using the math test as an example the 10th grade last year had 71% of all students pass when the passing rate was 44.6%. This year the passing rate in the 11th grade was lowered to 40% and the percent passing rose to 79% which the governor announced with "great pride" and our cheerleader education commissioner declared as "awesome."
The 11th grade passing rates this year were as follows: math 40%; language arts 49%; science 44%; and social studies 40%. For the results of these low standards to be met with comments of "with great pride" and "awesome" shows the name of the game is to look good. Don't do anything to derail the Texas miracle. It is an election year!
Michael King's article "Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 ..." [News, June 4] came very close to telling the public what has really happened in Texas concerning the TAKS test. However, he, along with the governor and the commissioner of education, has taken the 11th grade test results this year and compared them to the 11th grade test results last year. Can anyone explain what statistical significance this comparison of different students in different years shows us? It is like an 8th grade football team that goes 8-0 and the next year a completely different team goes 4-4 and someone says that the 8-0 team was a better team. This of course is possibly not true as many other variables can come into the picture. Maybe the competition in the 8-0 year was weak and in the 4-4 year it was very strong. At any rate, saying that the 11th grade this year improved 23% is meaningless. If you want to find out how much they improved you would have to go back to the 10th grade and find out what they scored. Using the math test as an example the 10th grade last year had 71% of all students pass when the passing rate was 44.6%. This year the passing rate in the 11th grade was lowered to 40% and the percent passing rose to 79% which the governor announced with "great pride" and our cheerleader education commissioner declared as "awesome."
The 11th grade passing rates this year were as follows: math 40%; language arts 49%; science 44%; and social studies 40%. For the results of these low standards to be met with comments of "with great pride" and "awesome" shows the name of the game is to look good. Don't do anything to derail the Texas miracle. It is an election year!
Dan Wever
El Paso
El Paso
Idea for Reagan Memorial
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
Here's my suggestion for honoring the memory of Ronald Reagan. Have him tastefully stuffed and propped at the entrance of the Smithsonian Museum, posed with outstretched hand and painted-on smile. Have a loudspeaker playing funny stories he told. Think of it as a Big Tex for D.C.
Here's my suggestion for honoring the memory of Ronald Reagan. Have him tastefully stuffed and propped at the entrance of the Smithsonian Museum, posed with outstretched hand and painted-on smile. Have a loudspeaker playing funny stories he told. Think of it as a Big Tex for D.C.
Robert Wilks
Remember Reagan's Negatives
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
To the Editor:
Before the deification of Ronald Reagan is completed by hysterical Republicans and before his face and name are put on every conceivable object, several of the more egregious things for which he was responsible should be delineated. He subverted the Constitution with the Iran-Contra affair. He and his unlamented successor Bush premier quadrupled the national debt in 12 years. He appointed two of the most intellectually dishonest Supreme Court justices ever to sit on the bench: Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist. Hundreds if not thousands of people died prematurely by his refusal to recognize the HIV menace, when that recognition could have led to palliating drugs being available years before they actually were.
Perhaps worst of all, he put his imprimatur on the destruction of moderate Republicanism that gave rise to positions of power and influence being taken by a congeries of sinister creatures like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, John Ashcroft, Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, Bill Frist, and Rick Santorum. Not to mention the usurper currently squatting in the White House.
Some legacy.
Before the deification of Ronald Reagan is completed by hysterical Republicans and before his face and name are put on every conceivable object, several of the more egregious things for which he was responsible should be delineated. He subverted the Constitution with the Iran-Contra affair. He and his unlamented successor Bush premier quadrupled the national debt in 12 years. He appointed two of the most intellectually dishonest Supreme Court justices ever to sit on the bench: Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist. Hundreds if not thousands of people died prematurely by his refusal to recognize the HIV menace, when that recognition could have led to palliating drugs being available years before they actually were.
Perhaps worst of all, he put his imprimatur on the destruction of moderate Republicanism that gave rise to positions of power and influence being taken by a congeries of sinister creatures like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, John Ashcroft, Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, Bill Frist, and Rick Santorum. Not to mention the usurper currently squatting in the White House.
Some legacy.
John David Hengst
The Dirty War
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
As I watched Attorney General Ashcroft refusing to enlighten the investigative body on Capitol Hill the other day regarding the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, I began to wonder what our offended citizenry will think when the whole ugly cat comes out of the bag. Selected prisoners in Guantanamo, who did not respond to our intelligence interrogators, were shipped off to third party countries such as Morocco and Egypt, where many of them have disappeared without a trace. These countries are not burdened with the same human rights concerns as ours and have no qualms about resorting to all kinds of barbarous methods of torture. If our war with the communist block countries was described as the Cold War, then clearly what we are involved in today with Islamic zealot terrorists could be called the dirty war. Our enemy does not choose to fight us by conventional means so we must develop new and more effective strategies. If, however, at the end of this process, we find that we have had to sacrifice our high standards for humane treatment of all individuals, then what have we gained and what have we lost? No matter the rage and helpless frustration that we all felt after 9/11, we must remember that that particular act was accomplished by a small group of very focused, and monumentally lucky, men armed only with a few box knives. Their will to die for their beliefs, and to murder innocent civilians, was in the end what made them successful. Are we prepared to begin murdering innocent civilians in suicide attacks in order to defeat this enemy? If it comes to that we will all be looking out our windows at a very different world on that day.
As I watched Attorney General Ashcroft refusing to enlighten the investigative body on Capitol Hill the other day regarding the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, I began to wonder what our offended citizenry will think when the whole ugly cat comes out of the bag. Selected prisoners in Guantanamo, who did not respond to our intelligence interrogators, were shipped off to third party countries such as Morocco and Egypt, where many of them have disappeared without a trace. These countries are not burdened with the same human rights concerns as ours and have no qualms about resorting to all kinds of barbarous methods of torture. If our war with the communist block countries was described as the Cold War, then clearly what we are involved in today with Islamic zealot terrorists could be called the dirty war. Our enemy does not choose to fight us by conventional means so we must develop new and more effective strategies. If, however, at the end of this process, we find that we have had to sacrifice our high standards for humane treatment of all individuals, then what have we gained and what have we lost? No matter the rage and helpless frustration that we all felt after 9/11, we must remember that that particular act was accomplished by a small group of very focused, and monumentally lucky, men armed only with a few box knives. Their will to die for their beliefs, and to murder innocent civilians, was in the end what made them successful. Are we prepared to begin murdering innocent civilians in suicide attacks in order to defeat this enemy? If it comes to that we will all be looking out our windows at a very different world on that day.
Pat McIntyre
Reagan's Record
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
I am grateful that the news is taking a few brief moments to remind us of the legacy of the Reagan presidency.
Lest we be allowed to forget ...
Under Reagan's subtle management, America's economy was rescued from the depths of a new Depression and soared to heights never before seen, creating wealth and opportunity at the top, where it would then trickle down in abundance to the rest of America.
Although the size of the government actually grew under President Reagan, he did drastically reduce social service funding, freeing millions of the poor, sick, and mentally ill from the whims of Washington, allowing the destitute to face a daily struggle for self-sufficiency on their own terms, not the government's.
Reagan's clear moral vision restored God to his rightful place in the shaping of public policy.
Reagan freed the American hostages from their long captivity in Iran, without having to publicly acknowledge any of the cash, weapons, or other considerations given for their release.
Reagan helped restore stability to the Mid-East, deploying U.S. forces to Lebanon to defend the peace process, and keeping them there for weeks, only withdrawing them after they actually took casualties.
During the crisis of the Iran-Iraq war, Reagan prevented the spread of radical Islam by assisting Saddam Hussein's Iraq against the Shiite fanatics from Iran.
During the crisis of the Iran-Iraq war, Reagan punished Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran by supplying vital weapons and spare parts to keep Iran in the fight.
Reagan prevented Afghanistan from falling under the yoke of communist tyranny by building the Taliban into a well-equipped, well-trained fighting force able to resist, and ultimately defeat, an occupying foreign army.
Reagan overcame constitutional, political, and moral hurdles to deal communism another defeat, preventing the toehold that Moscow established in Nicaragua from spreading northward through Guatemala, Mexico, and ultimately Texas.
And finally, Reagan took the fight to mother Russia herself, staring down the evil empire, winning the Cold War almost single-handedly, and thwarting Moscow's plans for world domination through the force of his iron will alone.
Did I forget anything?
I am grateful that the news is taking a few brief moments to remind us of the legacy of the Reagan presidency.
Lest we be allowed to forget ...
Under Reagan's subtle management, America's economy was rescued from the depths of a new Depression and soared to heights never before seen, creating wealth and opportunity at the top, where it would then trickle down in abundance to the rest of America.
Although the size of the government actually grew under President Reagan, he did drastically reduce social service funding, freeing millions of the poor, sick, and mentally ill from the whims of Washington, allowing the destitute to face a daily struggle for self-sufficiency on their own terms, not the government's.
Reagan's clear moral vision restored God to his rightful place in the shaping of public policy.
Reagan freed the American hostages from their long captivity in Iran, without having to publicly acknowledge any of the cash, weapons, or other considerations given for their release.
Reagan helped restore stability to the Mid-East, deploying U.S. forces to Lebanon to defend the peace process, and keeping them there for weeks, only withdrawing them after they actually took casualties.
During the crisis of the Iran-Iraq war, Reagan prevented the spread of radical Islam by assisting Saddam Hussein's Iraq against the Shiite fanatics from Iran.
During the crisis of the Iran-Iraq war, Reagan punished Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran by supplying vital weapons and spare parts to keep Iran in the fight.
Reagan prevented Afghanistan from falling under the yoke of communist tyranny by building the Taliban into a well-equipped, well-trained fighting force able to resist, and ultimately defeat, an occupying foreign army.
Reagan overcame constitutional, political, and moral hurdles to deal communism another defeat, preventing the toehold that Moscow established in Nicaragua from spreading northward through Guatemala, Mexico, and ultimately Texas.
And finally, Reagan took the fight to mother Russia herself, staring down the evil empire, winning the Cold War almost single-handedly, and thwarting Moscow's plans for world domination through the force of his iron will alone.
Did I forget anything?
Robert Heil
Doesn't Let Mere Facts Stand in the Way of His Agenda
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
The U.S. taxes more corporate income at higher rates than most of the world but mere facts won't stand in the way of Jim Hightower's class-warfare agenda ["The Hightower Report," June 4].
The U.S. corporate tax rate is 40%, which is one-third higher than the average for developed countries. The U.S. also taxes money corporations make abroad, which most developed countries don't. Then, when overtaxed corporations take advantage of the screwed-up tax code that Hightower and his buddies write for social engineering, they are evil and "shirking their responsibilities to the society that makes their wealth possible."
First off companies that pay more taxes than they have to are stupid: I'll bet Jim Hightower took all his tax deductions; is he shirking his responsibility as well? High taxes drive corporations overseas; reform the tax code and lower taxes and they'll come back.
Second, Hightower wants corporations to pay more money for a society with more bureaucrats to over-regulate them, more lawyers to sue them, and more politicians to be paid off through lobbyists. Most importantly Hightower wants to take money from the people and companies who earned it and buy the votes of everyone who would rather blame "the rich" than get off their ass and work.
Why don't you replace Hightower's column with a big scrawl, in crayon, that says "Corporations and rich people are bad, Democrats should control everything to take care of you poor little babies." It would be easier to read and more accurately convey his views.
The U.S. taxes more corporate income at higher rates than most of the world but mere facts won't stand in the way of Jim Hightower's class-warfare agenda ["The Hightower Report," June 4].
The U.S. corporate tax rate is 40%, which is one-third higher than the average for developed countries. The U.S. also taxes money corporations make abroad, which most developed countries don't. Then, when overtaxed corporations take advantage of the screwed-up tax code that Hightower and his buddies write for social engineering, they are evil and "shirking their responsibilities to the society that makes their wealth possible."
First off companies that pay more taxes than they have to are stupid: I'll bet Jim Hightower took all his tax deductions; is he shirking his responsibility as well? High taxes drive corporations overseas; reform the tax code and lower taxes and they'll come back.
Second, Hightower wants corporations to pay more money for a society with more bureaucrats to over-regulate them, more lawyers to sue them, and more politicians to be paid off through lobbyists. Most importantly Hightower wants to take money from the people and companies who earned it and buy the votes of everyone who would rather blame "the rich" than get off their ass and work.
Why don't you replace Hightower's column with a big scrawl, in crayon, that says "Corporations and rich people are bad, Democrats should control everything to take care of you poor little babies." It would be easier to read and more accurately convey his views.
Robert Lucadello
[Jim Hightower responds: Whoa, Robert, save some of that breath for breathing! First, the formal corporate tax rate is 35%, but major corporations use loopholes to cut theirs to an average of less than 15% (according to Citizens for Tax Justice), if they pay at all – two-thirds of them paid zero taxes from 1996-2000, for example. Yes, I take the standard tax deductions available to everyone, but I don't hire $600-an-hour lobbyists to gouge new, special loopholes into the law just for me, nor do I reincorporate myself in Bermuda just so I can escape what I owe to pay for America's schools, highways, water systems, parks, libraries, and other essentials of our society.]
I Trusted Reagan; I Got Screwed
RECEIVED Thu., June 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
As our nation says its final farewells to Ronald Reagan, I think we should reflect on what his presidency meant to our country.
Aside from the Iran-Contra scandal, the savings-and-loan mess, the huge deficits, and the campaign against flag desecration (while his followers wiped their butt with the Constitution), I'd like to share how his policies affected my industry. In the early days of the Reagan administration, the rules on radio station ownership were eased. You didn't have to wait three years before reselling a station, and the criteria for owners were loosened. This led to a speculative frenzy that more than doubled the price of radio stations. Just as the prices were peaking, the "Arizona Waiver" was approved. That meant small-town radio stations could move into large markets. Smaller communities lost their local stations, while the large markets saw the limited number of stations, in some cases, double. As an example, KEYI sold for $16 million in the early Eighties, but within a few years, it was losing money as it faced new competition from Killeen, Luling, Georgetown, and Lampassas stations that had moved into the market. By the end of the decade, the lender had foreclosed, and the station sold for $2 million. K-98 had sold in the early Eighties for $23 million; by the end of the decade, it sold for $3 million. Radio station owners used the huge losses as the justification for the loosened ownership rules of the Nineties, and the consolidation of the industry that resulted. It's similar to what happened to the commercial real estate industry when the tax advantages for real estate investments ended, and to what happened to the oil industry when the price of oil fell to $7 a barrel. (We'll always have the $4 trillion of debt added by Reagan-era budgets, too.)
How could I write such a screed at such a time? I cast my first vote for Reagan. I drove through 1976 with a Reagan bumper sticker on my Plymouth. I thought he would balance the budget. I paid the price for believing in a politician.
In return, I got screwed.
As our nation says its final farewells to Ronald Reagan, I think we should reflect on what his presidency meant to our country.
Aside from the Iran-Contra scandal, the savings-and-loan mess, the huge deficits, and the campaign against flag desecration (while his followers wiped their butt with the Constitution), I'd like to share how his policies affected my industry. In the early days of the Reagan administration, the rules on radio station ownership were eased. You didn't have to wait three years before reselling a station, and the criteria for owners were loosened. This led to a speculative frenzy that more than doubled the price of radio stations. Just as the prices were peaking, the "Arizona Waiver" was approved. That meant small-town radio stations could move into large markets. Smaller communities lost their local stations, while the large markets saw the limited number of stations, in some cases, double. As an example, KEYI sold for $16 million in the early Eighties, but within a few years, it was losing money as it faced new competition from Killeen, Luling, Georgetown, and Lampassas stations that had moved into the market. By the end of the decade, the lender had foreclosed, and the station sold for $2 million. K-98 had sold in the early Eighties for $23 million; by the end of the decade, it sold for $3 million. Radio station owners used the huge losses as the justification for the loosened ownership rules of the Nineties, and the consolidation of the industry that resulted. It's similar to what happened to the commercial real estate industry when the tax advantages for real estate investments ended, and to what happened to the oil industry when the price of oil fell to $7 a barrel. (We'll always have the $4 trillion of debt added by Reagan-era budgets, too.)
How could I write such a screed at such a time? I cast my first vote for Reagan. I drove through 1976 with a Reagan bumper sticker on my Plymouth. I thought he would balance the budget. I paid the price for believing in a politician.
In return, I got screwed.
Bob Crowley
Arlington
Arlington
