Postmarks

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Education Needs Better Help

Dear Editor,

The article about AISD's limitations with No Child Left Behind shows how misguided policies on education have become ["Bad Medicine?," News, Sept. 30]. Instead of looking to the future of what will enhance and strengthen our society, Band-Aids are continually applied to cover the scars that our inadequate education system brings about. Most of the problems, such as underachieving schools, apathy of parents, and high dropout rates, could be remedied if our supposed leaders placed a true commitment on education.

1) Triple the salary of teachers; give back the honor and prestige needed to once again place a value on the dedication and vision that are needed by an educator to successfully mentor our most valuable commodity.

2) Expand school hours. Schools should be havens, a place where children know they will be welcomed and nurtured. Why are the libraries closed, sometimes before school has even ended? Children should be encouraged to use the solitude, resources, and space for homework, learning, and enjoyment! Don't send them away.

3) Put mentors and tutors in the libraries to assist students in their homework, or to just have an adult available to talk with. Schools should be an oasis of learning and nurturing; instead they have become institutions.

Cynthia Sanders

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Doesn't Like DeLay or Earle

Dear Editor,

I'm a lifelong Republican who thinks Tom DeLay should have been jailed long ago ["Quote of the Week," News, Sept. 30] – saying his nuptials to someone named Bruno and finding out what it really means to be called "Hammer." Hats off to Ronnie Earle. And my understanding is that the real reason the Kay Bailey Hutchison case failed was because the evidence was excluded by one of those pesky technicalities so hated by rabid right wingers. There was plenty of evidence of her guilt, just no "admissible" evidence. Her claim of vindication is irksome. But Mr. Earle isn't exactly squeaky clean. His personal dislike of the concealed handgun law led him to persecute (the right word) someone who defended themselves. It took three grand juries to get an indictment, and the trial jury took all of 30 seconds to acquit. The entire case resulted from Earle's decision to use his power to pursue his personal beliefs, regardless of what the law required. If Earle wants to claim clean hands, he needs to be clean all the time, not just when it suits him.

Scott Sexton

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Sexton Album One of the Best

Hi David Lynch,

Well my heart sank when I saw that you only gave Charlie Sexton's new album three stars ["Texas Platters," Music, Sept. 16]! This is absolutely one of the best albums this year. I have come to learn that the fraternity of music critics almost finds it impossible to give the highest accolades to those who are definitely deserving.

Just curious, what is the last album that got the coveted four stars from ya?

Thanks,

Alan Dean

Dallas

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Thanks From India

Dear Ms. Baumgarten,

I am a filmmaker from India, my previous film being Lagaan – Once Upon a Time in India, which was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language category at the Academy Awards in 2002. It also won several awards in India, including the National Award.

Even though it is a bit late in the day, I must tell you that I was overwhelmed with your review of Lagaan, published in The Austin Chronicle on May 24, 2002 [Film Listings].

My latest movie, Swades, will be released worldwide on Dec. 17.

Thanking you,

Ashutosh Gowariker

Mumbai, India

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Know the Truth so Ye Can Oppress Others

Dear Editor,

The Nov. 8 election will have the bill to ban homosexual marriages and civil unions, which I think is a great idea. I do not want to give benefits to someone doing wrong. For Bible-believing people, it is like asking us to give you benefits for committing adultery, fornication, child molestation, or bestiality. They are all sexual sins, as is homosexual behavior. It is a mind disease, not an ingrained gene trait. We are all sexual, and our physical bodies define which type of sexual partner is best, and that is a heterosexual partnership relationship, for our differing parts complement each other. Why mess with perfection? Why is it difficult for a gay-proned individual to see he/she is settling for third best (behind heterosexual marriage and singleness). Homosexuals will not receive God's favor for settling for a third-best sexual sin relationship. You want God's favor to overcome your temptation to support sexual sins of this type in your newspaper. Having favor with God is better than having favor with men, who love you when it is convenient.

Carlos Carter

Tuscon, Ariz.

[Editor's note: For more on this issue see this week's feature "Stopping the Nonsense," News, p.26.]

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Not an Unworkable Fantasy

Dear Editor,

I'm a little disappointed that Louis Black considers smaller government an "unworkable fantasy" ("Page Two," Sept. 30). It was pretty workable in the U.S. for a long time. "Unworkable fantasy" sounds like something you say when you can't figure out how to justify your opinion. On the other hand, "fantasy" suggests something desirable, so maybe there's hope for Mr. Black yet.

What horrifies me, though, is that he lumps Republicans and Libertarians together. Libertarians want smaller government. Republicans do not want smaller government. In Texas, we live under a Republican state House, state Senate, governor, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and president. Yet every time you read about government-spending growth, you have to grab the edge of the desk to steady yourself.

If anything, Libertarians and Republicans have come to be opposites.

Arthur DiBianca

Treasurer

Travis County Libertarian Party

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Black Too Moderate

Dear Editor,

A couple of months ago I listened to a British etymologist on NPR assert that "paradigm" is a nonsense word used by persons who wish to sound more intelligent than they are; when he probably knows how propaganda, psy-ops, and pervasive misuse of semantics are used to create and sustain false and simultaneously opposing paradigms.

Louis Black is operating and blustering from within a self-constricting paradigm.

I am responding to two of the proclamations from his Sept. 23 "Page Two."

"Many of these [manipulations of semantics] ... were done quite consciously, but I neither buy nor want to sell a more elaborate conspiracy theory."

The reason he disavows a more elaborate conspiracy (I think) is because he believes it is not cool to do so. There is extensive depiction in the media of believers in a new world order conspiracy as geeks (who all promote absolutely absurd theories, i.e., lizard-headed aliens are taking over the world, etc.). God forbid Mr. Black should be tacitly associated with them!

European intellectuals and astute observers knew and acted on what Hitler was doing, with far less to go on than we have today to deduce that the neo-cons are up to the same game.

Modern Germans suffer a collective guilt for their parents having tolerated Hitler; now Americans share that blame for "electing" and tolerating the Bush crime family.

In another minor error, Black writes: "[The neo-cons rally around their man] in the face of unarguably inept and arguably corrupt decisions."

Arguably corrupt? Arguable by whom? Only the cynical neo-cons and deceived fundamentalists, who will argue that the administration is not inept.

Most people and growing numbers of Republicans will not argue that Bush's corporatocracy is criminally corrupt, treasonous, and extremely dangerous.

Sincerely,

Kenney C. Kennedy

[Louis Black responds: And just maybe I don't buy most conspiracy theories because they seem fantastical constructs imagined more to comfort those convinced of them that there really is order to the universe than actual examples of genuine human activity and interaction. Most conspiracy theories imply the kind of omnipotence, discipline, vision, and manipulative abilities on the part of those involved that are more suited to pulp magazine supervillains than real human beings.]

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The Truth Will Set You Up

Dear Editor,

I can't help but wonder if the Kleenex concession is already granted for the upcoming gay film festival ["Unique and Universal," Screens, Sept. 30]. There'll be more tear jerking at these films than in a decade of soap operas. Does life reflect art?

Go, my brothers and, errr, sisters, the truth will set you ... up.

Art McMillian

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Doesn't Support AMD's Move

Dear Editor,

So now computer company AMD admits their justification for moving to the Barton Springs watershed is false ["Headbutting Over AMD Development Continues," News, Sept. 23].

The company claimed their employees would save 10 thousand miles of driving a day by moving. However, as the Chronicle reports, the location labeled "existing" in their traffic study isn't really their existing plant. It's a highway intersection almost three miles farther east. This completely skews the study's results against staying at the current Eastside location.

What's surprising is the "who cares" attitude displayed by the company once the fraud was revealed. The Chronicle says spokesman Kevin Lyman told them "AMD never had any intentions to stay at its current site." Therefore, they didn't study the commuting distances from there. How does this excuse a deliberate deception of press and public?

Lyman's new claim (should we believe him now?) is that the current site "can't accommodate all our employees." FASL, the joint venture between AMD and Fujitsu, owns more than 50 vacant acres at the current site (see www.traviscad.org). It would seem there is room to stay and grow in east Austin if they want to.

Finally, the claim that Southwest Austin will benefit by the move is suspect. One of Oak Hill's chief complaints is traffic. How will adding 9,381 car trips a day (according to AMD's own study) help with that situation?

The only way to have corporate accountability is for individuals to take personal responsibility. They need to come clean on their conflicts of interest.

Sincerely,

Stephen K. Beers

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Noses Thumbed and More

Dear Mr. Editor,

I find I now have to sit down and write to you about how appalled I am at the vandalism that occurred recently when unknown parties cut off and stole the arms from the statue above Maria's Taco XPress, the famed icon of South Austin on South Lamar. I have always spread my arms to hug this woman; I love her food.

This is a major crime. It should be obvious to everyone in this burg that this is not just an 'armless prank. These criminals, obviously, are now well-armed and dangerous. The senselessness of it is disarming to us all. I cross my fingers in hopes that the Austin Police Department will take a hands-on approach and elbow aside all other priorities to strong-arm these crooks, doing their best to cuff the wrists of these nefarious evildoers. Our community is up in arms over this theft. Everyone in Austin should give them a hand; we are all comrades-in-arms. Anyone fingering the perpetrators, helping to nail them, deserves a handsome reward. You don't need to be a palm reader to know that we should never knuckle under to any form of vandalism. These pranksters have thumbed their nose at the soul of South Austin. If anyone out there knows who did this crime, by all means, don't keep them at arm's length. Otherwise, we all cut our wrists when we acquiesce to this kind of aggression. The Venus de Milo would agree, eh?

Your pal,

Artly Snuff

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More International News!

Dear Editor,

Regarding Bette O'Callaghan's call for more international news coverage ["Postmarks," Sept. 30], I could not agree more. There is not enough international news coverage in the American media today, and I too challenge The Austin Chronicle to provide its readership with increased coverage of global affairs. I only wish O'Callaghan's argument did not succumb to unfortunate generalizations and stereotypes while trying to articulate the inexcusable absence of thorough international news coverage by the media in the United States. I suppose one could delve into a rudimentary geography lesson to explain why a young Austinite like myself cannot just weekend in Rome or Prague, but I digress. I will take issue, however, with O'Callaghan's generalization that Americans do not seem to care about global affairs and that they must be prodded along like sheep in order to "explore the world in which they live." More global news than one could possibly digest is a simple mouse-click away. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only American that takes advantage of this opportunity. If it is like-minded Europeans that ridicule Americans for their supposed ignorance to global affairs, then I beg your pardon for laughing.

Anthony G. Smith

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Another "One From the Heart'

Dear Editor,

Having just read your review of One From the Heart, I should like to say how very strongly I agree with you [Screens, Dec. 26, 2003]. It is a movie I could watch over and over again and still be delighted. It has humor (e.g., the crushing of "the ugliest car ever built,"), emotion (I think the two central characters are likable and that their relationship seems authentic and significant), and the gorgeous Nastassja Kinski, but most of all it makes something mesmerisingly beautiful out of the garish, tawdry, rain-soaked streets of Las Vegas – usually seen as the epitome of ugliness, both aesthetic and ethical. I saw a snatch of it on TV once, and it haunted me for years. Then one day I came across a still from it of Kinski. It was only fairly recently at a car-boot sale that I found it on VHS – that was a good day. Now that it is out on DVD, hopefully it will gain its rightful place in cinema history.

Tony Marshall

Lancaster, UK

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Thanks to All of Austin

Dear city of Austin,

I would like to give a big thank-you to the city of Austin, from our little town of Wharton, Texas. A thanks as big as your city. I would like to give a special thanks from my family to the Delco Center. We stayed for five days and four nights. My husband, Albert Ray, and (myself) Lula (Allen) Ray, and our two sons. Our son Chaddrick Charlie Brown is handicapped with scoliosis. He also has written his first book, called I Am the Last Triplet. Also our younger son, Aveaire Ray. He wishes he could have brought his school uniforms (smile). He did bring his schoolbooks and a trophy that he got for A-B honor role at Wharton Junior High, seventh grade. Also there were my 79-year-old father, L.E. Allen, and his wife, Jean Eaten. Leslie Allen (my brother), (his wife) Patricia Allen, and (their grandson) Jason Freeman from Houston. He thoroughly enjoyed himself. When you're 6, it is a vacation. He smiled and laughed every day while we were there.

I learned later my sister Robbie Lee and her husband, Pete, were there in one of your high school shelters. They brought with them their three children and one grandson.

Also, there were some of our cousins sheltered at the LBJ. We had a lot of friends and neighbors all over the city in shelters. There were also some of my high school friends I hadn't seen for more than 20 years. That was a treat to see them again, to take our minds off the hurricane that was coming, and to ease the pressure of having to leave our homes behind.

I will always remember the day when Austin opened her doors to not only the city of Wharton, but also the cities of Bay City, Matagorda, Boling, El Campo, Spanish Camp, Egypt, Glen Flora, Rosenberg, Richmond, and Houston, Texas.

I would also like to thank the Red Cross and its volunteers. Thank you also to law enforcement. I felt sorry for all of those long hours that they had to put in to keep us safe.

Thank you all,

Lula Mae (Allen) Ray

Wharton