Postmarks
ACC Needs Planning, Not Damning
Fri., June 20, 1997
As an ACC faculty member, I was disappointed to see the first Chronicle article that I can remember about Austin Community College ["Fonte's Inferno," Vol.16, No.40] based on the opposition to change by some faculty rather than on the good teaching an@ Ú <èð s for which ACC has long been known in the community and where the attention of the majority of the faculty and staff is concentrated.
You also repeat some misinformation. The accreditation warning to ACC had nothing to do with the Board of Trustees, but was due to our failure to comply with the Institutional Effectiveness provisions of the Southern Association of Colleges and School's Commission on Colleges. Those in charge of that area tried to blame the Board, but the accreditation team that visited this spring went out of their way to make clear that there was no problem about the Board.
The Accreditation warning does not mean that ACC has ineffective instruction. Rather, it asserted (as the faculty have been saying for years) that ACC did not have adequate planning or evaluation to ensure that instructional programs were getting enough resources and measuring their results. In spite of these management weaknesses, the faculty has for many years been providing what is generally acknowledged to be excellent teaching.
Ina Midkiff
ACC Northridge Campus
Welfare Report Well-Done
Dear Sir:
In your recent excellent article on welfare reform by Audrey Duff ["Get Out the Bootstraps," Vol.16, No.41], Ms. Duff did what few bother to do when passing judgement on welfare recipients - she took the time to talk and listen to people who receive public benefits.
As the Executive Director of Legal Aid of Central Texas, I have already seen the seeds of welfare reform come to fruition. Legal Aid of Central Texas is a charitable organization providing free civil (non-criminal) legal assistance to low-income people. Our 26 staff attorneys and paralegals offer legal representation to victims of domestic violence and legal advocacy services to low-income and elderly people who have been denied or are threatened with losing public benefits or housing.
Welfare "reform" has taken a tremendous human toll. An estimated 141,000 legal immigrants, including 38,450 disabled and elderly immigrants, plus 200,000 to 300,000 physically, mentally, and emotionally disabled children stand to lose their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The burden of proof for continued benefits lies solely with these roughly half a million low-income immigrants, elderly and disabled immigrants, and parents or guardians of disabled children.
Particularly chilling are nationwide reports of elderly or disabled immigrants committing suicide due to depression and panic created by receiving benefits termination letters. Since April, the Austin American-Statesman has published two articles recounting several deaths due to this twist to "the end of welfare as we know it."
Ms. Duff brings up two facts that proponents of welfare reform overlook: (1) Many welfare recipients work and (2) Employment does not end poverty. Far too many people are forced to subsist on the current minimum wage of $4.75 an hour. Many minimum wage earners struggle to support families, and most minimum wage jobs do not include health insurance or other benefits.
The income of a single adult employed full-time and earning minimum wage falls at 15 percent above federal poverty guidelines. Even with two wage earners, imagine adding one or more children, plus day care expenses, to that equation.
Sincerely,
Regina Rogoff
History Repeats Itself
To the Editor;
Barrientos' endeavor to extract an insult from your "Lege" article seems a little strained to me ["Postmarks," Vol.16, No.41]. Using a person as an abbreviation for a government entity is not unheard of. An example which comes to mind is Douglas MacArthur's "I shall return." Imagine Barrientos sitting in a history class wondering what MacArthur was going to do after wading ashore by himself.
Herb Ward
Austin resident
Save P.H.A.S.E.
Dear Mr. Black:
I am writing in regards to a situation that affects all of us, either directly or indirectly. But first let me introduce myself. My name is Januari Fox, and I am the HIV Peer Education Specialist at Youth Options, Project P.H.A.S.E. (Peer HIV/AIDS Street Education).
Project P.H.A.S.E. was founded in 1993 by Oscar Lopez when he saw a growing need for Austin's homeless and runaway youth to be served. This project began by feeding hot meals out of a van in various parking lots. We also passed out condoms and basic hygiene supplies, things that these kids do not have access to otherwise. In four years, we have grown to be the only youth drop-in center in the Travis County area. We have served over 4000 clients from every state and 13 countries, and now offer such services as warm meals, a clothing bank, a small food bank, hygiene counseling, case management, access to a shelter and transitional living program, and unlimited condoms and bleach kits. One of our greatest services we offer is our free medical clinic. People's Community Clinic collaborates with Youth Options to provide medical attention, immunizations, pregnancy testing, family planning, and STD appointments, all free of charge. However, as of June 30, the homeless youth drop-in center will be homeless once again.
The United Congregational Church of Austin has been kind enough to let us use their basement to operate out of for the past three and a half years. Our lease has now run out, and we have no prospects for a new building. The program is being put at great risk by not having a permanent place. It will be difficult to provide many of our services, such as counseling, medical clinic, and HIV testing. The clothing and food bank will become non-existent. We are receiving little positive feedback, and limited support from the community. Any avenues we attempt to explore are shot down by red tape and negative attitudes.
I believe that all of this is a result of ignorance, prejudice, and fear. When I began volunteering here over two and a half years ago, I possessed all of these traits. I come from a sheltered background in an upper-middle class family where I learned that different is wrong. I was taught to feel sorry for these people, but don't get too close. What I learned for myself was that these are fabulous kids, you just have to get to know them. All they ask is for the same level of respect that you would give any other "average Joe." As most people know, if you treat someone well, they will do the same in return. I have watched these kids grow, much like a parent would, into people who can and will accomplish great things. I believe that Project P.H.A.S.E. has played a huge role in this transformation. I would hate for it all to be jeopardized by ignorance, prejudice, and fear.
We will continue to exist, no matter what. We are not going to just go away quietly. But we need the community's help and support. If you have any information on a building in the University area, or if you have a parking lot we can feed out of on Tuesday and Thursday, please contact us at 482-9474. After June 30th, we can be reached at 441-8336. If your son, daughter, brother or sister were on the streets, wouldn't you want them to have a place to go where they could feel safe?
Sincerely,
Januari Fox
HIV Peer Education Specialist
Youth Options, Project P.H.A.S.E.
Crisis in the Arts
Dear Editor:
Michael Bertin's article "Slouching Towards Gomorrah" [Vol.16, No.40] brings awareness to a crisis in the arts, a crisis not limited to Austin nor to music. But musicians interested in furthering music as an art as well as earning a living sharing their art are indeed suffering in this town. We need artists to be free to invent, to take their art form further. Without that the soul of humanity will shrivel and die.
The music scene is driven by club owners, who to stay in business are forced to hire groups that please people who want to drink, smoke cigars, and socialize. What about people who want to listen and be uplifted by good music without having to drink or inhale smoke? What is the purpose of music anyway? Is it to lull people as they sleep and celebrate their habits, or is it to heighten our awareness of sound, beauty, and the depth of feeling of which the human being is capable?
There are musicians who are making great strides in the furthering of the art of jazz who Mr. Bertin did not mention and perhaps does not know about. What is needed is for a group of patrons of music to come together to provide a space for music to grow and develop in this town, a space where musicians will be paid well, where people can come to listen to good music, where the purpose of the place is not primarily to make money.
Caryl Schneider
Bloody Sundays
Dear Editor,
I am a fan of live music in Austin; I go out at least three times a week. I am not interested in the "death of rehearsal space" or the minutiae of the fire code or whether Cedar Street programs "jazz" or "lounge music." (Duh!)
I do want to know who is playing where. I've watched the Chronicle listings slide downhill for about two years. On one day last week, you omitted listings for: Antones, Atomic Cafe, B-side, Cedar Street, Continental Club, Central Market, Electric Lounge, Joe's Generic, Jovita's, Manor Rd. Coffeehouse, Pearl's, The Roadhouse, Saxon Pub, Ski Shores, Steamboat and Top of the Marc. And that was Sunday, the slowest day of the week!
I know compiling the listings isn't an easy job or an interesting one, but the listings are the backbone of music coverage - it doesn't matter how good the band is if nobody knows where they're playing.
I hope to see you out in the clubs!
Sincerely,
Adam Stern
[Ed. Note: We do not always have every act at every club listed, as sometimes that is not possible. In fact, this week in particular, we were not able to obtain full listings for Cedar Street, Ski Shores, and Steamboat, so we do not know if they had acts on Sunday. However, the rest of the clubs did not have music booked for Sunday (or at least they did not include them with the rest of their listings if they did). Realize that many clubs do not book acts for every day of the week; in fact, most of them don't, especially early in the week.]
Cockwhat?
Dear Chronicle Elite,
Well, I'm not surprised, but once again the Chronicle missed out on the concert event of the century and did not choose to so much as acknowledge last night's Dogstar concert at Liberty Lunch. Your loss, you self-indulgent arbiters of hipness and all that is rectangular of morphology. I'll bet if Quentin Tarantino had a band that played micro-tonal abstractions of 12 tone assertions with oboes and sheet metal, or if Eric Mitchell gave a concession speech in a chicken suit, you smug, self-righteous, tree-hugging wearers of rancid underclothing would be on those events like John Wayne to Walter Brennan's asshole. But bring any true visionaries to town, and the silence is truly deafening. And I mean "truly" in the sense that it is "true," not in the sense that it is "false."
Dogstar cries out to a generation of future Container Store shoppers. Their message is as robust as it is cocksure; Bret's lyrics speak for all who have loved and lost; Keanu's bass lines hang over our spiritual ethos like thick, radiant strands of mohair tossing in a summer's rain. I scamper buoyantly and fatuously to embrace the mother goddess; for she has blessed me with Dogstar.
Compassionately,
Joe Newman
Re: Pekar Wrong
Re: Pekar on Pynchon:
I agree with a lot of what Harvey Pekar has to say about jazz. But literature? And especially - Pynchon? Let's not talk about Crying of Lot 49 and V (both inspired but, admittedly, flawed), or Vineland and Mason Dixon, which, unfortunately, I agree are devoid of passion, purpose, and depth. Let's talk about Pynchon's masterpiece.
Gravity's Rainbow is a work of genius. The hell with innovation. It's a virtuoso performance. It not only anticipates the kleptomaniacal compulsion for synthesis of - uh oh! - p-p-p-postmodernism, but the whole concept of globalism. With WWII as its fulcrum, GR travels backwards along time's bar graph, searching out historical and cultural precedents, while simultaneously projecting their counterparts into a future that is our now.
Paranoia? Conspiracy theories? Even if that's all they were, they would still provide fodder for good plot structures. However, Pynchon is not simply trying to demonstrate a psychotic reaction to an ever more complex existence, but how, over centuries, the clumsy and primitive profiteering and secret deal-making that have gone on throughout mankind's history (its chief exponent being, of course, war) have evolved into an international corporate structure that manipulates vast portions of the world's population and global resources in order to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a very few, while maintaining the facade of national priorities by mouthing phrases like "strategic interests" and "the global village."
Not to mention the fact that Gravity's Rainbow is quite simply a helluva lot of fun. A wonderfully intriguing and incredibly rich lode of cultural references, plot twists, and jazz-like prose improvisations that displays an enormous gift for both synthesis and articulation of vast stores of knowledge. Turgid? Labyrinthine plots? You'd rather have your literature from McDonald's? Disney World? Hollywood? Everything plasticized, homogenized, and easy to digest? (But oh, those empty calories!) Harvey "Peacock's" own prose and cartoons (?!) are so ego-inflated, pompous, self-promoting, and badly in need of a good - even mediocre - editor, I'm surprised he manages to effectively convey as much spleen as he does. By the way, much of Joyce's Ulysses is simply tedious, self-indulgent crap - call it poetic licentiousness, the right of a great writer to masturbate in public. What's the matter, Harv, genius envy?
Sincerely,
REYoung
Thanks to Pekar
To the editors:
Gee, Harvey, thanks for straightening me out on that Pynchon guy. I did read Gravity's Rainbow twice (in 1977 and again last year, neither time because any professor told me to) and loved every minute of both readings. And saw all sorts of cool connections between all the encyclopedic references. But now I know I was duped; I should really detest the book and the guy that wrote it.
But it's funny. I've been sitting around, reclusively reading, for about 20 years, if not longer, and I still don't think I could write a Gravity's Rainbow. And I think the truth is that most people who pass that "Anybody could do that" line, in fact, can't. And that includes you, Harvey boy.
Tim Prather
15 Minutes of Lame
The Chronicle:
Enjoy your movie reviews but I sometimes have a question or two. Wife and I decided to see "Chasing Amy," four stars, and after about 15 minutes of said movie we got up and left. Maybe it got better later on but we were sufficiently disgusted by the 15 minute mark we didn't want to stick around for the possibilities. Oh well - one man's meat is another man's poison, as they say.
Kindest regards,
Jim Kilpatrick
Analyzing Progressing
Editor:
I must confess I find it highly amusing to watch the Austin so-called progressive community eat itself on the pages of your newspaper. Much like the Republican Congress at the other end of the spectrum, there are deep schisms and self-destructive infighting despite the fact that you won the recent city elections. This surprised reaction to the minority/social justice community's backlash against Bill Spelman and (to a lesser degree in terms of relevance) Willie Lewis' wins is amazing, as the potential for this sort of conflict has been brewing for decades. When you have a minority candidate one could classify as moderate-liberal and an arguably radically-liberal white candidate in a minority district, the vote will be torn straight down the middle between the civil rights crowd and those who swear their allegiance to far-left causes despite the candidate's unfortunate complexion.
The rich irony is in the fact that "progressive" voters have to face an unpalatable truth: To quote a recent letter from Kristen Nagel ["Postmarks," Vol.16, No.41], "We vote for the candidate, not the skin color - that, sir, would be racist." Now where have we heard a similar argument before... hmmm, how about all that affirmative action stuff going on at the UT Law School and the University of California? Now which side do you think all these "progressives" chose on that issue? For years many prominent leaders in the civil rights community have been voicing the opinion that only specific minorities can represent said minority's interests, which has been the justification for such doomed unconstitutional legislative activity as gerrymandering. Now Austin voters have contradicted that principle so dear to the civil rights community. I happily anticipate seeing the "progressives" rationalize their way out of this one, and ask myself, "Do they consider this progress?"
Sincerely,
Aaron Stover
Find Tolerance
Dear Mr. Kent:
I am writing this letter because I take issue with your opinion that the Rev. Chadwick's church is not worthy of help ["Postmarks," Vol.16, No.40]. What makes you think he does not have the same right to be heard as you? Because he is a Christian? In case you've forgotten, we are free to believe or not believe in anything we wish in this country. Additionally, no one is compelling you to help him, so why are you so upset? You mention an athiest organization in Austin that needs help, but you do not list a name, address, or telephone number by which they may be contacted to receive that help. Is it the Atheist Community of Austin? I certainly can't tell from your letter. At least Rev. Chadwick had the sense to provide specific information when he asked for help for his church. Perhaps you could better serve the organization you are concerned about if you did the same, rather than criticizing others.
I find the intolerant tone of your letter disappointing. Christians are often accused of intolerance and bigotry, and some are guilty of it, but most Christians are ordinary people with problems and joys like everyone else. Our faith teaches us to tolerate and forgive other people, and to help where needed. Tolerance and forgiveness are not always easy, and Christians have flaws, as all people do. I have regularly seen letters from atheists complaining of intolerance to their beliefs, and perhaps their complaints are valid. Your letter, however, sounds like you are complaining just to complain. If you are not, why did you not ask for help for the organization you support?
Please try to remember that, whatever our beliefs, we are all human beings who should be supporting each other during tough times.
Peace,
Cherie L. Bozoudes
Leander, Texas
Te Amo, Jeff
To the Editor:
Every once in a while, humanity is blessed with an artist with a strange and beautiful voice, who drinks deeply from the well of human emotion and offers us a generous sip with each new lyric. Jeff Buckley was one of those artists.
I grieve for him, along with thousands of others around the world who have been woven together with the golden threads of his seraph's voice and caressed gently by his music, which cuts to the heart and carves out a place in which to dwell forever.
His passing leaves us with cherished memories of his wry smile, sweet laugh, unique wit, and his amazing gift for creating music that transcends all boundaries (who else can scat to Van Morrison?). His final gift to us is a new appreciation for life - how precious and tenuous it is, slipping away with only a breath.
Jeff, your precious soul will be sorely missed on this planet. Will I ever again listen to "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" without shedding many tears? I hope not.
Vaya con Dios. Te amo.
Melanie Haupt
PD Needs PR
Editor,
On three separate occasions I have tried to apply logic and common sense with our local police department, only to receive the standard line that I was mistaken and wasn't familiar with the law. For one, I am inundated with the law on a daily basis, as is everyone. Second, isn't it the role of our local police to respond tactfully and intelligently to our complaints? (After all, our taxes pays their jobs.) And since when has the local police department relegated itself to final judge of morality and considered a defensive approach to a simple situation a responsible and rational alternative to handling a simple problem?
I've always been supportive of our police department but it has come to my attention too often, through experience, that Austin's police hasn't always had our interest in mind. From an aggressive, negligent, and confrontational situation on Neches & Sixth St., where the officer attempted to apply rational behavior, after physically subduing a young female, oh, lest I forget, accusing me and my colleagues of attempting to incite a riot, to two other minor phone related complaints. Fortunately I was with an attorney, who was prepared to debate the issue and educate the officers at hand.
My point is that I have tried politely to express and discuss logically my complaints to the police department, only to have the officer reject my complaint as frivolous and immature. Perhaps our local police department needs to become acquainted with public relations (i.e. courtesy) and not assume the worst of everyone when simply inquiring about a law that applies to all of us. Stop the double standards and bad public policy.
Angus Tilney
This Road Is My Road...
Bicyclists of Austin,
I beg for your help on a certain matter, that which would be your decision to use Old Spicewood Springs Road for your riding pleasures. Let me explain in case you honestly don't understand my request, my plea! The road is a beautiful one at that, this I will not argue. Its lush vegetation is surrounded by creeks and low water crossings as well as wild animals. However, if not for the fact the road is extremely narrow and has many blind spots (I know at least nine wrecks have occurred since I've lived in the area over the past two years), this would be a great bicycle road, but that is not what it was built for. I've been behind a bicyclist as I was heading towards the downtown area (in my car) and he literally slowed me down to about 10 miles per hour (that is to say, the speed at which the bicyclist was traveling). To say, "Hey, why don't you just go around me?" would be a wonderful idea if not for the fact that by doing so, one would have to cross over into oncoming traffic and that doesn't seem like such a "wonderful idea." So, at this point I'm forced to travel at the same speed of the bicyclist and I'm sorry for saying so, but this seems a bit selfish. This would equate driving my car on a road exclusively built for bicycles and traveling at speeds greater than the bicyclists could handle. Seems fair! I call on those of you who use Old Spicewood Springs Road not to be an antagonist but simply to preserve lives, one of which may be your own. So, I beg of you, "Please find another road!"
Sincerely,
Art Quinn
Bicyclists Lucky
Dear Editor,
I'm glad I'm not as depressed as Louis Black. I think that one reason I feel better than he does is that I don't have a car or a TV set. A lot of people who have these things seem to lack all control over their lives.
People with cars (which give their owners "the freedom to choose where they want to live and work") usually seem to work 20 miles from where they live. Moving or changing jobs doesn't seem to be an option. They are "forced" to drive more miles per year with each succeeding year, and to spend more and more time sitting in traffic jams.
The Statesman recently reported that millions of Americans will soon be forced to pay $2,500 for digital TV sets.
I don't have these problems. Since I don't drive, I have to get jobs I don't have to drive to. If a street is traffic-clogged, I ride on a different street. I don't sit in traffic jams, and I've never been forced to buy anything in my life.
It seems to me that we bicyclists are really a pretty lucky crowd.
Yours truly,
Amy Babich
My Cats Shall Not Walk!
Dear Chronicle,
I believe Amy Babich put a curse on my car. After reading many of her eloquent letters, I got to feeling guilty about all the impervious ground cover choking Mother Earth just for the convenience of my little Honda. Then I plowed into some dork in a truck who decided to stop for no reason in the middle of a merge on Congress. Pedestrians came rushing to help when the truck dork left the scene. A fellow driver, recognizing the car crash curse, went out of his way to help me explain to the cops. Carless, I consoled myself thinking I was now one of the noble hoofing minority. I felt blessed by the Babich and was ready to begin my new life. Riding a bike was out, it's tough to carry one up and down three flights of stairs with whiplash. Realizing that buses don't run after bands are done playing at 2am, I decided walking would be good. I wonder if Amy has ever been circled and followed by those creeps that think that any woman alone is fair game? Or maybe I'm still doing penance for all my years of evil car dependence? No! I lift off the curse! I spent my youth trying to stop nuclear power plants before they got built. I wonder how many anti-car folks are involved in keeping Texas from becoming the kitty litter sandbox nuclear waste dump for the nation? Ya kinda hope there's lots of impervious ground cover over that stuff! So, Amy, darlin', enough with the curse. Cars are just so darn handy sometimes. Mine is getting out of the shop soon and I need to take the cats to the vet.
Thanks,
Melissa Woodall
Why Acronyms Were Invented
Editor:
Just a suggestion on style, both to you and to other letter writers: Quit using the warm, fuzzy, politically-correct-sounding "development community." Call them what they are: enviro-rapists, terra-terrorists, or clueless jerks motivated only by greed who would sell their own mother (Earth) just to fatten their already repusively obese bank accounts. Better yet call them middle-aged rich slackers who are big on talking about free markets and the benefits of growth, but who really want something for nothing. I've never understood how the same people who think that welfare mothers should pay their own way can so easily accept that developers should get something for nothing. The natural environment, if it were a commodity on the market, would be worth a hell of a lot more than they want to pay. Then again, only the weak minded believe that markets are the paradigm for anything other than groceries. Anyway, it's just a suggestion.
Still enjoy the Chronicle though I've been exiled to the DFW megaopolis, where men are men and trees are expendable, for several years now. Keep it up.
Bill Newman
Marines Out of Bounds
Editor,
My old man made me go out and feed his cows every day after school. I always took a .22 or shotgun on the detail. I plinked around, as most any teenager would. It made the chore somewhat enjoyable.
On May 20th, Ezequiel Hernandez went out to tend his family's livestock after that day's classes at Presidio High. He, too, was plinking around with his .22 at dusk. A reconnaissance Marine shot him dead. Joint Task Force 6 based in El Paso said the Marine was within his rules of engagement. Texas Ranger Capt. Barry Caver said there was a "good possibility" Mr. Hernandez was unaware that he was shooting toward U.S. Marines.
I got the opportunity to graduate from Paris High School, then Texas Tech, and become an officer of Marines - a rifle company commander. Ezequiel Hernandez will not.
They are not supposed to be there. Marines are trained to vaporize, not mirandize. This has a tendency to irritate the citizens and cause revolutions. Look at the Chiapas uprising in Mexico.
Mr. President, please do not place covert, armed troops on private property among the civil population.
The Hernandez family has no redress. Corporal Banuelos did not possess a search warrant. He did not have permission by the property owner to be on his land. Why? He didn't need any. Corporal Banuelos commanded a reconnaissance team on a mission that had the latitude to legally enter your property, kill you if they perceive you to be a threat, load up and leave. What's wrong with this picture?
Presidio is outraged. The explanation is unacceptable to them. Some are hostile. I suppose we will have to station a Battalion Landing Team to pacify the indigenous population and to ensure troop safety. Order must be maintained.
Edward D. Holman
Support EPA
To the Editor:
Bothered by all those ozone alert days here in the capital city? Well, you should be. Smog was linked with more than 30,000 emergency room visits during the high smog season in just thirteen U.S. cities in 1993 or 1994. More than 40,000 premature deaths are estimated to occur each year due to fine particle soot from smokestacks, diesel engines, and other sources. And air pollution can trigger asthma attacks - the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S., up 118% since 1980.
In a matter of days, the Clinton Administration will decide whether or not to protect public health against smog and soot air pollution by supporting newly proposed health protections. However, big polluters have spent more than $10 million making outrageous statements attempting to roll back the Clean Air Act and defeat the newly proposed health protections against air pollution.
According to one oil industry lobbyist, "people can protect themselves. They can avoid jogging. Asthmatic kids need not go out and ride their bicycles."
Unfortunately, Representative Doggett has been silent on the issue. Although Doggett had a 100% environmental voting record last year, he has been reluctant to tell constituents whether he supports or opposes EPA's proposal to protect public health against air pollution.
A recent poll found that 83% of Americans favor stricter clean air health standards, and Austin's newly elected City Council proves how our city feels about environmental issues. Rep. Doggett and President Clinton should listen to the public, not the special interest polluters. They should speak out in support of EPA's update of clean air health standards.
Sincerely,
Sarah Kroon
U.S. PIRG Campaign Director
New Age McCarthyism Dear Editor:
It was good to see Mr. Black rant against the practice of accusing folks of things that are outright lies ["Page Two," Vol.16,No.41]. (Bigots calling others "bigots.")
Christians can sympathize with Mr. Black this time. And Christians, like Mr. Black, will not cower in silence when accused of a politically motivated lie.
Many who practice this New Age McCarthyism actually believe their own bullshit. I wonder if this is the case with Mr. Eric Mitchell and Mr. Manuel Zuniga?
Kurt Standiford
It Just Blowed Up!
Editor:
Anyone for conspiracy theories?
I was talking to a rather spirited Airforce retiree the other day and we somehow got on the subject of the
OK City bombing.
He pointed out to me several things which I don't know are true or not but it makes for good pondering.
He said that there never was any forensic investigation of the building and that they tore it down and buried the whole thing as soon as they could. He said they buried it in a hole behind some U.S. Govt. military installation (base).
His theory on that was that additional explosives were already in place along the pillars of the building and that the truck was just the concussion explosion that triggered the other bombs to go off.
I thought that could be because I have always thought it hard to believe that that little truck could do the damage that it did. He also suggested that some major military expert in explosives besides McVeigh was responsible, some one of rank and seniority and experience.
Then he said that no witnesses on the scene were ever questioned during the trial. He said that is because they would have seen two Timothy McVeighs in two different Rider trucks in different places.
What do you think of this? Is it true? Let's see what ensues when people ask.
Signed,
Mark C. Korzeniewski
Frisbee, Anyone?
Dear Editor:
I am conducting research into the origin and history of Frisbee playing. This Americana pastime, now played as an organized sport in 35 countries, "probably" started at a college or summer camp located in the USA. However, more than one school has taken claim for inventing the game. The question is, "Where is the true birthplace of Frisbee playing?" And, equally important, "Where did the word Frisbee originate?"
Please send any pre-1960 Frisbee playing evidence, including photographs, newspaper articles, and personal written accounts. Information on the former (1871-1958) Frisbie Pie Company is highly desirable. Perhaps, some of your readers will be able to contribute to this history of Frisbee. And, finally set the record straight.
Thank You,
Victor Malafronte
The Original World Frisbee Champion-1974
e-mail: frisbee@pacbell.net
And the Connection Is...?
To the Editor,
I have a question for the people who've sent "nasty grams" to the Chronicle about certain ads which they don't like - ads that allegedly show too much nudity: Why can't they express their outrage over things that really matter?
The most recent letter of this sort was by Dotti Webb, who feels that "nudist" ads are particularly offensive because they insult and dehumanize women. It would appear that many people feel this way, although I must say that nobody is really hurt by these "offensive" ads.
I would like to ask the "offended" people why they don't complain about a certain local institution (the Children's Hospital of Austin) that performs the atrocity of circumcision on helpless newborn infants. Is it because they just don't care?
The lifelong consequences of genital mutilation haven't been studied too extensively. If there is a reason for this, it must be that men are "sub human" to such an extent that we are expected to be "happy" about the surgical alteration of our genitals.
The End.
Respectfully,
Rev. Kenneth M. Avery
