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.

Dear Editor,
    I'd like to second Ben Aiken's letter [“Postmarks” online, March 17] decrying the exhibition of mediocrity that took place last week during South by Southwest. My complaint reaches much further than the Conference, though. I think there is an all-out war campaign being fought against the idea of musical virtuosity. It's rare you find a group with the balls to take the unfashionable risk of sincerity that isn’t saturated in self-indulgent pop-idol jockeying. Seen any truly dynamic instrumentalists lately? Not at SXSW, unless they were veterans. I personally know local musicians who, when quizzed on their goals as a band, actually say, "We want to be rock stars," not, "We want to make amazing music."
    There's a wide gap to be filled by someone who wants to dignify the dialogue between artists and their audiences and to create something fresh and uplifting, instead of being the millionth gang of slobs to gorge themselves on retro-culture. Or how about some rockin’ showmanship? Here’s some real retro for ya. I sat front row for the Van Halen reunion tour in Philadelphia last October and actually wept during Eddie’s solo! To be fair, I was kind of drunk, but I was also just moved by watching a battle-scarred old guard casually showcase his absolute mastery of his instrument, as David Lee Roth dutifully pranced about with a goofy grin. Not very hip, I know. But see if any of the several thousand people there – many of them under 30, like me! – gave a shit. People are starved for this stuff, and that goes to explain the recent trend of teenagers who are raiding Dad’s Steely Dan records instead of going back for seconds of post-pop crap.
    Look, I know it’s not all bad. But I’d like to hear more young people demanding better instead of just accepting the latest as the greatest because it happens to be a product of their generation. I wonder if they’re really listening. I feel like I'm too young to be this sentimental for shit that happened while I was eating glue.
    Ben, look no further; you struck oil. It’s mostly about the sweaters.
    “Jazz isn’t dead; it just smells funny.”

   p.s. I miss Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom.

Dear Editor,
    "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." – United States Constitution.
    There are those who claim that the right to bear arms only pertains to the militia. If everybody has been taught from the same history books on U.S. history as I have, this was written in 1787. We had just fought a revolution against the king of England and before that the French and Indian war. We landed on this continent and had to protect ourselves against the native population who did not like us taking over their land, which they had held for hundreds of years. We also had to put food on the table to feed our starving families by shooting wild game until such time that we could grow domesticated livestock. We also had to protect our domesticated livestock from wild animals that sought to take our food and our lives away from us. As we moved westward, we repeated the process outlined above. During a four-year diversion from moving westward, we also fought a Civil War. I just do not understand how anyone can say that the Second Amendment only pertains to a militia and not the general public. All one has to do is look at the times it was written in. I just don't think the Constitution would have been approved if the citizens felt that the new government was going to take away their guns. Stop and think about it. Even if we do not face the same dangers or require them for food today does not mean we do not need them to face the new dangers of today or need them to protect ourselves from our own government.

To the Austin Music Poll voters,
    I attended the Austin Music Awards show and had a wonderful time. If not for the glaring omission of the Dicks from the Austin Music Poll Hall of Fame [Music, March 14], the show would have been perfect.
    The Dicks were cited as primary influences by everyone from Henry Rollins to David Yow to Kurt Cobain and can still bring down houses in Texas and California to this day. Original prints of their first record, the Dicks Hate the Police 7-inch, a song, which was covered by proto-grungers Mudhoney, regularly sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay, yet Austin has still failed to acknowledge the punk rock royalty that sprouted in their own back yard 28 years ago. Year after year, we see dozens of people inducted into the HoF who are virtually unknown outside of Austin, folks who made their career marks long after the Dicks helped usher in the hardcore and “alternative” movements that dominated Austin’s underground and nascent live-music club scenes in the 1980s. All the inductees are worthy of the honor in their own right, but let’s not make the Dicks wait as long as Pinetop Perkins did to get his props! This honor is long overdue; the Dicks belong in the Austin Music Hall of Fame.

Dear Editor,
    Re: SXSW 08: Holy crap, did you guys see the drummer from the Ettes? Yeow! That is all.

   p.s. Not only the hottest woman I saw all week (and it was a good week), but the most ferocious drummer I've seen in maybe, well, ever. If that set had been the whole of my 2008 SXSW experience, it would still have been a winner. Thanks for the memories.

Dear Chronicle,
    The absence of the Dicks in your Hall of Fame [Music, March 14] is like the Stooges being omitted from The Fictional Ann Arbor Weekly's "Top 10 Bands to Come Out of Southern Michigan." Would it have helped if Gary Floyd, Buxf Parrot, and Pat Deason had run some kind of Karl Rovian campaign and reminded Grandma to vote? Out shilling for votes wouldn't be very Dick-like, and face it, we all know that's how these contests are won. (The Skunks in the Hall of Fame?! Gee, I wonder if they have any Chronicle connections.) How a band who penned the punk rock anthems "Dicks Hate the Police," "Wheelchair Epidemic," and "Dead in a Motel Room" – songs that went on to inspire the likes of the Flaming Lips, Scratch Acid, and even Nirvana, for chrissakes – a band that can still pack a club with throngs of people young enough to be their grandchildren and know every word to every song, a band whose anger, attitude, and message is more relevant today that it was 25 years ago yet still fails to be included in a Texas rock & roll Hall of Fame is a fucking mystery.

   [Editor's response: Gosh, as much as we all love conspiracy theories and cheap shots at the Chronicle, all categories in the Readers Poll are decided by the readers and not staff. The Hall of Fame category is the only one where we offer nominations; however, winners do not have to be among those nominated.]

Dear Editor,
    After reading Wells Dunbar's “Beside the Point” about the homeless solicitation ordinance, I realized that the guy begging for money at First Street and I-35 is like a karma vending machine. How many have thought to themselves: "I could use some extra karma. Why not give this guy a buck or 5 bucks or 10 bucks [if you're really low on karma]?" Maybe these modern-day chokhors (prayer wheels) should be allowed to return to their respective traffic lights. I know I enjoy being able to purchase some karma if I am having a bad day, and I miss the karma version of "Pay as You Go" at First Street and I-35.

   p.s. Wells Dunbar is by far my favorite wordsmith at the Chronicle. Keep up the great work.

Dear Editor,
    As races for the Austin City Council get seriously under way, I want to address an overarching issue that I see as one of the most important: encouragement for citizens to participate in their own government.
    Over the years, I have watched rights of average citizens become marginalized. Examples follow.
    1) The City Charter states that citizens should vote on utility revenue bonds. With the exception of part of the funding for the South Texas Nuclear Project, this was the norm until November 1998, when the last election held for revenue bonds occurred. Now the city routinely authorizes debt for utilities with little thought about asking the people that pay for them. What about Water Treatment Plant No. 4, which will raise our rates 12-15%? What about a possible coal plant that may cost hundreds of millions of dollars? Shouldn't these be public decisions?
    2) The charter also states that the City Council may not sell or lease "substantial" parts of utility facilities without a public vote. What about the utility-owned land at Seaholm Power Plant and Green Water Treatment Plant? This is 14 contiguous acres in one of the fastest growing downtowns in the country. Is this "substantial" enough to vote on? How much will it cost to replace?
    3) Recently a series of work sessions regarding rail transit for the Austin region was held. The forums were public. But the public asked to ride and pay for rail was not allowed input.
    4) Citizens have historically used their City Hall Council Chambers for public events whenever it was not being used for city business. But this right was arbitrarily taken away from us without a public vote or process.
    5) Information about Austin's electric utility was once considered public. But much of this is now withheld. Restricted information includes bills of large industrial customers who get huge rate breaks and information related to planning for clean energy sources.
    6) Even our right to speak to council has been threatened by a proposal to clip public comments at council meetings from three minutes to two minutes. Fortunately, the proposal has gone nowhere, but my guess is it will be back.
    Where do council candidates stand on these issues? I want my rights back.

Dear Editor,
    As a New Orleans transplant experiencing only my third South by Southwest, it's been hard for me to appreciate the style of music played by the vast majority of the 1,600 bands that come here. "Emo,” "art rock,” "cutting edge.” I've grappled with all of these labels to try to understand what I'm hearing, but I think I finally get it now: It's "anti-music." Follow me: The main things people look for in music are generally musical ability, something they can dance to, good songs, pleasing to the ear, and a soulful connection between artist and listener. The music being played by the 1,600 bands in tight, black jeans and goofy sweaters has none of those things. It's not danceable, they can barely play their instruments, there are no songs, it's abrasive to listen to, and it's completely soulless! Does this make it "bad" music? Technically, well, yeah, but since it's obvious that this is their intent, I think it should more properly be labeled "anti-music,” and SXSW is its yearly mecca. Love the free parties, though.

To the editor,
    In the matter of Villa Muse vs. the Austin City Council, I congratulate the council for refusing to release the Webberville land from its extraterritorial jurisdiction two weeks ago, enraging the developers and provoking a couple of suspicious letters to the editor in support of Muse [“Postmarks,” March 14]. I likewise congratulate Michael King for his column last week, in which he slices and dices the Muse proposal to perfection ["Point Austin," News, March 14].
    I've just returned to Austin after five years in Italy and Hungary. I'm stunned and depressed by the ferocity of commercial development I see has occurred in the city and continues apace. Much of it, despite efforts by the city and others to redirect growth more compactly toward the center, is taking the form of more – and more reckless – suburban sprawl. Said sprawl is a sickness unto death that most European cities wouldn’t tolerate. It’s especially a sickness in the context of global climate change, or GLOCCH, as I call it, which demands of us now that we redesign and retrofit our cities to respond to the crisis as quickly as we can.
    This will require an ever-increasing degree of coordination between urban planners and land-use planners in what is left of the countryside. Those dwindling acres must be saved not only as open space but as farmland, thus enabling cities like Austin to move toward self-sufficiency in food and other resources – a goal inherent in the long-term response to climate change and oil depletion.
    It follows that the city must jealously protect what powers it has to control the use of land on its periphery. If the dubious Villa Muse development is to be permitted at all, it must, at a minimum, accept and abide by the city’s need to retain its authority in the ETJ.

Dear Editor,
    I was shocked and offended to read Jim Caligiuri’s Friday review of Hayes Carll’s new album, Trouble in Mind ["SXSW Platters," Music, March 14]. Caligiuri harshly criticizes Carll and claims he is “derivative and uninspired.” Hayes Carll may be a lot of things, but unoriginal is not one of them. As a longtime fan of Carll’s, the thing I admire the most about his songwriting is his ability to take a common theme, such as love or alcohol, and depict it from a different angle. Clichés become clichés because there are truths behind them, and Carll writes at a deeper level to prove that songs about “whiskey and girls” can actually be about life.
    I strongly urge your readers – and anyone else who believes sounding too much like Todd Snider and Steve Earle can never be a bad thing – to forget Caliguiri’s disservice to him and give Hayes Carll’s latest work a chance. I’m confident that when it comes to Trouble in Mind, the only thing that’s recycled in this case is Caligiuri’s review and the Friday edition of The Austin Chronicle.

Dear Editor,
    Katherine Gregor’s “Developing Stories: Don’t Rush Seaholm East” [News, March 7] is dead-on, and I want to add additional concerns.
    One concern is that the city of Austin charter that strictly prohibits the City Council from doing exactly what they are in the process of doing; that is, “sell, convey, or lease all or any substantial part of the facilities of any municipally owned public utility.” Now, city legal staff may dance around the definition of “substantial,” but I (and other Austin voters) would view this parsing of what it means with some disdain (since the charter’s intent is pretty clear).
    Now, let me explain that I am a strong supporter of smart, dense, mixed-use redevelopment of the Green Water Treatment Plant. But, I add the concern that the redevelopment of the Austin Energy Control Center site will limit choices in regard to a future regional mass-transit/rail system.
    That is because if anything other than streetcar rail vehicles are ever to be brought across Downtown Austin (such as light rail or commuter rail vehicles and tracks), these vehicles and their tracks will need to cross from Fourth Street to Third Street somewhere (because Fourth Street ends at Shoal Creek and because light rail and commuter rail vehicles need a greater turning radius that can be accommodated in Downtown Austin street right-of-way). This switch from Fourth to Third Street can easily occur at two sites owned by the city of Austin: the surface parking lot immediately south of Republic Square and the Austin Energy Control Center site.
    I hope the Austin City Council can be persuaded to slow down the redevelopment of all the municipally owned public utility facilities (the Green Water Treatment Plant, the Austin Energy Control Center, and even the Seaholm Power Plant) until the consultant for the Downtown Austin Plan (ROMA) can fulfill the $250,000 amendment to their contract (just passed by city council on Feb. 28) to study “Downtown transportation options.” I hope they can be convinced without [our] having to accuse them of violating the City Charter, because I think it is in the best interests of the citizens of Austin (and the Central Texas region) to let the Downtown Austin Plan consultants, and the CAMPO Transit Working Group, decide transportation options, routes, and technology before proceeding with urban redevelopment projects (on land the public owns) that could preclude some of those very same transportation decisions still to be made.

Dear Editor,
    Noticeable changes are occurring as a result of Austin's new – not so improved – culture. Those who find the concept of assimilation offensive are contributing to the loss of our town and of our country. Assimilation is necessary in order to preserve our culture. It's a natural, historical progression begun by our forefathers that many of us did just 10, 20, 30 years ago. It is required and expected from those choosing to relocate. If you have recently moved to Texas – change your license plates. It's unsettling for natives to feel out of sync in their own town. Newcomers should also make a concerted effort to know the difference between a hick and friendly Texas dialect. Another reminder to newcomers is that Austin is not Los Angeles or New York. We do not want to see mobile billboards driving around our beautiful city. Those ghastly, lit-up, arrogant cruising advertisements are a distraction and are dangerous. And what kind of message is being sent when a Bud Light billboard is seen driving down South Lamar? The Villa Muse project is another perfect example of greedy developers attempting to exploit Austin with local taxpayer dollars. It's about time City Council acted in the best interest of locals. Recently, a bumper sticker was observed touting "Keep Out of Austin, Weirdo." It should say "Keep Out of Austin, Elitist."

Dear Editor,
    I am extremely disappointed, but not surprised, that Villa Muse is looking elsewhere. What a tragic and tremendous loss to Austin and East Travis County. As for the incompetent, arrogant, racist, and “west-of-I-35-serving” City Council, I'm still seeking a re-call election. As for Austin's alleged extraterritorial jurisdiction authority, it seems to me that these decisions, voted on solely by the City Council, impact me, and as I cannot vote in City Council proceedings, nor in City Council elections, they are unconstitutional, and further actions (such as an Austin Tea Party) are warranted. Ask for Council Member Lee Leffingwell (aka Council Member Laughingstock) to provide more details on “groundswells of protest," as I don't think he would know one if it bit him in the buttocks. As for the mayor and the other dissenting council members that are "protecting our environment and quality of life,” I am assuming that this refers to the "west of I-35ers” and that you will continue with the plans to build a landfill, power plant, and wastewater treatment plant in my back yard. Thanks for your predictability and, Lee, good luck on running for mayor – not!
    I only hope Villa Muse reconsiders.

   [Editor's note: For more on the Villa Muse story, see the March 14, News stories "Point Austin," "Beside the Point," and "Developing Stories."]

Dear Editor,
    This is a well-written article [“Reefer Madness,” News, March 14], mostly because it makes us aware of the awesome mounds of funding these useless programs receive from the feds. Now guess where the “loose change” of say, a couple of million bucks goes? Yep, that's right: into the pockets of the leaders who promote these types of programs that are doomed before they even begin. Just imagine 22 million drug-dependent citizens really being cut off from their drugs (vs. those who pocket the millions into offshore, numbered accounts) raiding the Capitol for their drugs or “refunds” of their taxes that were ripped off by corrupted political leaders who tout the need for the funds that stop – nothing. The funds only ensure the millions will be placed in their accounts and let the drugs flow to keep the 22 million happy, contented, and nonraiders of their golden ark. If you think that millions aren't being stuffed away by these feds, then you're living in a pipe dream world.