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:
   Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I did it. I’m guilty. I’m sorry. I had an overdue book that I borrowed from the county. It was due Aug. 24, and I didn’t get it back in time.
   I received a certified letter from Hays County Special Counsel Jacqueline Cullom Murphy dated Aug. 26 telling me she would turn the case over to the Hays County sheriff if I didn’t get that book back by Aug. 31. She didn’t say what the charge would be ... grand theft book?
   I notice she sent a copy of her letter to Hays County District Attorney Mike Wenk. Is the district attorney spending a lot of time on overdue books? Doesn’t he have other things to work on? Surely he is too busy to prosecute overdue books.
   Does Cullom Murphy send these expensive certified letters to everyone who has an overdue book? You’ve got to wonder why the county is paying a lawyer to deal with overdue books. An office temp with a bad attitude could notify us when we forget to return a book. The county could even use those postcards like the library uses, the ones that say something like, "You have a book overdue, and you owe us 25 cents."
   If Cullom Murphy handles this case well, will she be entrusted with the additional responsibility of handling felony jaywalking cases?
   Oh yes, the reason I borrowed the Hays County Government Center Needs Assessment and Conceptual Design book was to provide the commissioners with an evaluation of the study regarding a proposed $30 million government center. I am a Ph.D. research/business economist and felt it was a public service to share my professional training and experience with my elected officials.
   I’m sorry to be late in returning the book.

Dear Editor,
   I appreciate all the coverage, even the negative letter of Mr. Retherford ["Postmarks," Aug. 27], stating that I am not really an independent and am under the control of Fred Newman. Just for the record, I have worked with Fred for more than 25 years and love the guy. Now if that makes me part of a harem, so be it.
   If any of y'all went to the Web site Mr. Retherford and other Newman detractors put up [www.ex-iwp.org], perhaps you read the fine talk Newman gave up in New Hampshire last January to independent activists from around the country about what to do about this presidential election. Again, the independents who are part of the "Choosing an Independent President" process put our support on the table to Democratic primary contenders who were willing to address our concerns for political reform (the myriad of ways to clean up our electoral system). A number of them expressed an interest, not including Mr. Kerry. Newman's point was that "truth" is often used to beat up one's opponents and that what we need in our system is a little more honesty. The major-party candidates have little commitment to honesty in this election, and neither does, in my opinion, Mr. Retherford and a number of "progressives" whose only work, it seems, is to attack Fred Newman and his so-called "cult."
   As for me not being an independent, I suppose none of my 25 years of working in the communities across the country with third party and independent candidates of all stripes counts, including my work with Lenora Fulani, Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, the Libertarians, the Reform Party, Ralph Nader, and yes, even Pat Buchanan, until he reneged on his promise to focus on political reform. None of these include the KKK. Apparently, none of this work counts because I'm part of some "Newman cult."
   OK, I confess, I am part of a cult (or tribe, as Mike Clark-Madison describes us). The cult I'm with is working to overturn the two-party monopoly that gives people the green light to bash those, like me and Newman, who won't join the major parties, members of a "cult." If anyone's interested in joining, give me a ring or go to www.indytexans.org and www.letnaderdebate.org and join the growing cult/tribe/movement for reform!

Dear Editor,
   I've lived here eight years and had never attended the Hot Sauce Festival; boy did I miss out. What a great city! My family had a fabulous time and sampled some of Texas' best and hottest. This would be a great event to advertise on Festivals.com and get worldwide recognition. Why not let the rest of the world in on our little secret? I can't wait for next year. Thanks!

Dear Editor,
   As I have written on several occasions, I am a disenfranchised Republican who cannot, in good conscience, vote for this administration this election season. I was hoping to watch some keynote speakers at the opening of the Republican National Convention to address some of my concerns regarding job growth, a $450 billion deficit, and our plans for Iraq. Instead, we got a rehashing of the emotional trauma of 9/11 and justification for the war in Iraq. For sure I thought Sen. McCain and ex-New York Mayor Giuliani would be the leaders and patriots I presumed them to be but instead, we got Cold War, antiquated rhetoric from Sen. McCain, and SNL schtick from Giuliani. Yes, 9/11 was a deep tragedy for all Americans, and going after al Qaeda in Afghanistan was the right thing to do. But as we all know now, Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack, and we should have never invaded this country. It's sad when two senior politicians try to justify Iraq by saying Saddam Hussein was the weapon of mass destruction. On top of further classifying Islamists as evil doers who must be vanquished and they will hear from us. It's sad when I hear campaign speeches include the insulting of Germans and Italians who were blamed for releasing Munich Olympics and Achille Lauro terrorists many decades ago and that Europe is complacent in the offense on terrorism. And this was only day one. I'm saddened for the party I grew up with! This "your either with us or your with the terrorists" attitude and "taking the offense" on the war on terrorism does not bode well for our respect as a member of good standing in the world.

Dear Editor,
    It's amazing how much time, effort, and money our various governments spend to keep people in cars from having to stop and get bored. The goal, as one letter writer notes ["Postmarks Online," Aug. 20], is that people driving cars should never have to stop, as long as they drive at or a little over the speed limit.
    Most traffic lights now run on sensors, not timers. The sensors often fail to detect bicycles. They do not even attempt to detect pedestrians. Thus, cyclists and pedestrians must often wait at high-speed intersections through several light cycles. These are dangerous places to wait. They are the more dangerous because the cars are encouraged to keep moving at or a little above the speed limit. Speed limits are set for motorist convenience, not for the safety of unarmed people whom the cars may injure.
    When cyclists go to public meetings, the trip often takes 45 minutes or longer. On arrival, the cyclist hears the car people complain that it took them 15 whole minutes to drive across town, and that they had to wait at a light for two whole minutes. Poor souls!
    Streets on which the cars go fast and never have to stop cannot be crossed safely by pedestrians. The highways built "to increase mobility" box people in. "Increasing mobility" means speeding up the pace of those who are already moving fast. For people who truly lack mobility, nonmotorists boxed in by highways, road-building, and light synchronization just make things harder.
    The same letter writer urges the City Council to "think outside the box." I concur. Let's start thinking outside that two-ton four-wheeled box that eats so much time, space, effort, money, and good will. Maybe we can get rid of the boxes we live in, whose sides are the high-speed highways.

Editor,
    Your "Page Two" articles of late reveal a mystifying urge to reinhabit select moments of the past while simultaneously accounting for nothing of a future that terrorizes us all. A splendid blindness, but I should like to remind you of the present.
    The present time, as in "these times," when so many have mobilized for change, when even the apathetic hold an opinion – about 9/11, the economy, the candidates. When nothing can be taken for granted because we find that, regardless of political belief, "proof" is never lacking. Needless to say, proof itself is becoming anachronistic.
    Will the world survive another century of such democracy? Surely the next wave of political evolution will confront the myth of a free press. Many of us already know that the press is not free and only serves to mask the conditions it aggressively maintains. What we are dealing with here is a system based on exclusion, or to be more precise: middle-class notions of economy, justice, culture – need I remind you that the Chronicle has money, law, and force on its side.
    But you're not as hapless as I would like to imagine. Judging by your recent remarks on the First Amendment, you seem to be committed to an ideology which is not necessarily the one which you continually proclaim.
    It's no longer sufficient to affect the pose of a liberal. You're 50, Mr. Black. How depressing for a person of my age to read your reflections on a career well spent – the second half of your career has only begun! I should like to glimpse, for just once in my life, a paper in this town that demands more from its writers. And an editor who is more supple, less thin-skinned, and no so apt to show contempt for his audience. I've made you my pet project, sir.

Dear Editor,
   Mike Clark-Madison is correct to be skeptical of Capital Metro's commuter rail plan for a number of reasons ["Austin@Large," News, Aug. 27]. But you don't even have to get that complicated. One flaw alone will be fatal, given the experience of other urban areas in this country: the requirement for nearly all rail passengers to transfer to shuttle buses to get to their office.
   When this transfer is required to get any use out of a rail line, areas like South Florida have seen that the "choice commuter," i.e., the one who can decide whether or not to drive on a given day, will leave and never come back.
   Cities like Dallas, Denver, and Portland ran a starter line on a route, which ensured that a lot of people could ride the train and walk to their office. This, unlike Capital Metro's nonstarter, attracts a large number of choice commuters and provides the voter momentum for expansion of the system.
   On the other hand, systems like Capital Metro's proposal end up running empty trains, which impels voters to reject future rail expansion.
   So if you support rail transit for our area, please don't vote for Capital Metro's line because it's a starter system; please do vote against it because if implemented as proposed, it will, as one of my colleagues aptly coined, be a "finisher" system.

Dear Mr. Black,
   It appears we are on the verge of another defining moment in our city's history. Although a number of significant civic issues are currently being debated and resolved by our city leaders, the most pivotal issue in terms of how our city will look 20, 30, or even 50 years from now is our decision regarding commuter rail. With Capital Metro's decision last night to put commuter rail (not light rail) on the ballot in November, we all have a chance to shape that future.
    If we vote in favor of commuter rail we will unequivocally have a city with transportation choices much more consistent with the progressive nature of our citizens. We will be less reliant on our automobiles. We will be able to support new and livable communities where walking, cycling, and riding mass transit meet a much more significant percentage of people's mobility needs. As a result, we will also have a cleaner environment and less pressure for development over the aquifer.
    Not only does the All Systems Go initiative deserve our support, but so do the elected officials that support it. Defining moments don't come around often, but we are approaching one for Austin this November. I hope commuter rail is a part of that future.

Dear Editor,
   On Saturday, Aug. 21, after dropping my daughter off at a babysitter, I was headed to work via 2222, about to enter the ramp of 360 South (I work in the Brodie Oaks shopping center). A police car was parked vertically at the very beginning of the ramp with his lights on, and it was obvious to me that traffic was about to get really hairy. I only recently moved to Austin and had no idea of an alternate route to work so I figured that this APD officer would be the perfect candidate for directions. I pulled up on the side of him and before I could so much as speak a word he was yelling at me for attempting to pass him! When I tried to explain to him that I only needed directions, he continued to yell over me, saying that no one is to ever pass a police car ... and "what was I thinking?" Instead of getting any help out of this guy, I navigated myself to work with help from the directions of neighboring motorists, and I was still half an hour late for work. I'm not angry that I was late for work, but I am angry that this bad seed of an officer gives so many other respectable law enforcement officials a "bad rap" with such an ugly attitude.

Dear Editor,
   Has Louis Black been possessed by a Republican? I must disagree with Mr. Black's assertions about his shortcomings ("Page Two," Aug. 20); not only is he sporting a pair, they are cast-iron and nickel-plated. For the editor of a left-wing rag like the Chronicle, it takes an industrial-strength set of cojones to spew the following conservative rhetoric:
   "The First Amendment, when it comes to free speech, does not guarantee you access to media; it does not insist that your voice has to be heard; it compels no publication or broadcaster to offer you a platform. You have no First Amendment right to publish a letter in the Statesman, the Chronicle, or any other publication, and no right to an uncensored, unrestricted cable access show or your own radio program."
   Liberals' most blatant failure is their inability to distinguish "rights" from privileges. Overgrown babies like Tim Robbins, Whoopi Goldberg, and the Dixie Chicks shot off their mouths and were forced to deal with the consequences. Then they squealed like stuck pigs and declared themselves "martyrs." This is the direct antithesis of liberalism: all the rights and none of the responsibilities. News flash: It's not George W. Bush's fault you didn't think things through and got dumped by your corporate sponsors or your audience. Climb down off the cross, people; we need the wood for the fire.

   p.s. See you in NYC, Louis; the first round's on me!