God Bless Alex Jones

Dear editors,
   I take issue with Mike Clark-Madison's latest article, "Austin @ Large: Access of Evil" [News, Aug. 6], with its mean-spirited swipes at Alex Jones. Perhaps if more viewers actually listened to Jones, they would realize this remarkable young man is not only correct, but that his outcries spring from a deep and sincere concern for all of us, not from paranoia. As a mother and grandmother, if my own children, neighbors, and countrymen insisted on playing Frisbee on I-35, I would do my best to dissuade them. Failing that – I, too, might begin screaming. The barely 30-year-old Jones is certainly no commercial sellout, though he could have been – he's had several offers. Rather, he prefers the less restricted ACTV environment and various independent radio stations where he, unlike his commercial contemporaries, freely shares all that he has learned – documented, for our benefit. Unfortunately, for some more used to that impersonal disingenuous monotonic alphabet-glam-news style, Jones' oft-unrestrained delivery can be initially disconcerting. But rest assured, his trademark intensity springs from deeply genuine political and spiritual convictions. And while his avant-garde delivery may at once startle, at worst it just might awaken some of the politically and spiritually long-slumbering from indifference. Jones is consistent in his expressed desire for all of us to "wake up," regardless of topic. In 2000 when I moved out of range of Austin Cablevision and ACTV, I was comforted to find him on our satellite lineup. Now, after six years of carefully researching his claims, I find that he more than exemplifies possessing the courage of one's convictions. Therefore, shame on you for mocking free speech, Mr. two-names. But God bless you, Alex. We are surely listening. Hope it's not too late.