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 [email protected]. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
   I know it's very early, but could you add a category for handyman services in the 2005 "Best of Austin" poll? I think this is one area where highlighting good service providers really does the community a service.

   ["Best of Austin" Editor Kate X Messer replies: Out of the hundreds of suggestions we receive for "Best of Austin," we select a number of new or different categories each year. Some categories are more difficult to classify or tally and often appear as Critics Picks in the same issue. Be sure to look for the 2005 "Best of Austin" ballot in an issue this June!]

Dear Editor,
   As one who is still in awe that the American people could re-elect someone as president of our country when, at the very least, he should have been impeached because of his needless invasion of Iraq, I read Mr. Black’s beautifully written "Page Two" [Dec. 24] with a lot of, yes, sadness.
   What are we doing in Iraq? Why have we killed an estimated 100,000 innocent Iraqis? Why have more than 2,000 of our brave fighters died?
   Oh, it’s great to be rid of a despot, but there’s this nagging thought that it’s solely because of their oil. With no WMD and no clear threat to our country, can there be any other reason for war than to keep our SUVs contented with ample and cheap gas? Or to support Mr. Cheney’s Halliburton?
   Unfortunately, in attacking a sovereign country on duped-up charges, I believe we have created a war that will never end. Simply stated, it has become a war of fundamentalist Christians against fundamentalist Muslims. No one can win in this fight – or can we simply kill everyone in Iraq and the Near East and the world who does not agree with our beliefs? Do we really know what is best for everyone else? Iraq is only the starting place. Can it ever stop?
   Furthermore, I am sick and tired of Mr. Bush’s Christ. I almost hate him. He is not the Christ I loved as a child. Now I feel an outcast of the Christian faith. I fear that if the true Christ came back to earth tomorrow, the evangelistic Christians would not recognize him. The Christ I knew would be preaching love and acceptance. They quickly would crucify him.

Editor,
   Your story about Austin radio managed to exclude more than 25% of the market ["Dialing for Dollar$," News, Dec. 17]. Mr. Brass overlooked the eight Hispanic stations that rank among the Top 25 stations … foremost among them KHHL ("Exitos"), a Top 5 station in every important demographic. Our company, BMP Radio, operates seven of these stations (Univision Radio also has a minor presence) targeting the nearly 300,000 Hispanic Austinites, and garnering a more than proportionate share of the advertising dollars. We're disappointed that the Chronicle seems oblivious to this vital and rapidly growing segment.

Dear Editor,
   Some liberal-conservative arguments are anything but black and white. The Trans Texas Corridor is not black to the exclusion of white. The fact is, truck traffic from the border among other places certainly seems to be eating I-35’s lunch. I’m no fan of Perry, but the corridor is an honest admission that this is and will be for decades a truck-based economy. The corridor fires through beautiful Texas land in the process of this admission, but at least it deals with the facts at hand. To sit back and pretend that the world’s (and along with it, Texas’) population isn’t growing and that free trade and traffic with Mexico is irrelevant will land us where poor planning always lands you: mired in mistakes. At this stage in history, Texas environmentalists need to focus on the real issue, and that’s the oil-based economy. Instead of coaxing I-35 corridor cities into a no-corridor frenzy, wouldn’t our greater interests be served by riling everyone who is tired of dealing with Mideast turf battles, Exxon’s price gouging, melting ice caps, and their kid’s asthma into a frenzy over a product that is doing a hell of a lot more damage than a 1,300-foot-wide swatch of concrete would ever hope to? Liberals, we need to start wising up. We’re losing elections because we dream old dreams with old allies instead of producing new solutions with broader coalitions.

Dear Editor,
   It's not surprising that Kinsey will not be everyone's cup of tea, or that a male's reaction to the movie might differ significantly from a female's. I do not take exception to critic Kimberley Jones' rating the movie with three stars [Film, Nov. 26]. I would disagree that John Lithgow overacted; his character was pathetic, and ultimately poignant. Jones mentions the ambiguously gay scene between Boy Scout Kinsey and a fellow camper as "uninspired." Like Clara's pronouncement that she found Kinsey "churchy" (when he proposed), I found the scene of the two scouts praying in response to their mutual sexual attraction to be "a howl," as well as beautifully photographed. When Kinsey finally does explore his bisexuality, he immediately confesses to his wife, for not to do so would be "hypocritical." Kinsey does not "bully" Clara into accepting "an open relationship," he pleads with her not to abandon him. He clearly cherishes her throughout the story and never physically or psychologically abuses her. I really cannot think of the movie, however, without remembering Lynn Redgrave's stellar performance, which provides a catharsis to Kinsey's flagging career and self-esteem. And how can Jones say the movie "never thrills" when we are introduced to a character who starts out as hilarious but soon turns very creepy with his proud revelations of prolific pedophilia? The intersection of Kinsey's revolution with McCarthyism was also touched upon. It is truly ironic and thought provoking that Americans are in the grip of a new Puritanism, after we were given such enlightenment about human sexuality in the middle of the 20th century. Oh my God! The children saw an African-American breast during halftime of the testosterone-driven Super Bowl!

Dear Editor,
   As a lesbian survivor of gay-bashing, I ask my Austin community and all people, especially those who are hated by white supremacists, to visibly and vocally oppose the execution of James Porter on Jan. 5, 2005. Whether a white supremacist is killing a gay man, or whether the state of Texas is killing a prisoner, murder is murder.
    James Porter is an acknowledged white supremacist. He will be executed for murdering Rudy Delgado, a Latino prisoner, because he believed Delgado was gay.
    Homosexuals are vulnerable "members" of U.S. society, even when they are in the custody of the state. A current example of this is the current case of gay Texan Roderick Johnson, who [allegedly] was "horrifically" subjected to being a sex slave in a Texas prison with the full complicity of the prison authorities. The state needs to protect gay people. But not by murdering our murderers.
   As a lesbian in this world of neo-Nazis and gay-bashers, I call for a full moratorium of all executions, even the execution of neo-Nazis. Especially when it seems most difficult, Americans with "moral values" must be champions in the fight against state-sponsored murder.
    Jeanette Popp is chairperson of Texas Moratorium Network. Jeanette's daughter Nancy was murdered in Austin in 1988. Jeanette became intimately familiar with the many flaws of the Texas criminal justice system after two innocent men were wrongfully convicted of her daughter's murder and spent 12 years in prison. They were exonerated and released in 2001. The real killer was convicted in December 2001. Jeanette successfully pressured the district attorney not to seek the death penalty for her daughter's murderer. Jeanette’s riveting testimony in 2001 helped convince two Texas legislative committees to vote in favor of moratorium legislation. She frequently travels across the nation speaking out against the death penalty. She is a Texan.
   Coretta Scott King says, "Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder."

Dear Editor,
   So, what have you done for us lately? That should be the priority question the voters must ask elected officials. Jobs are being outsourced overseas in high numbers. More jobs have been lost or eliminated during the past three years. The unemployment rate still is too high. More homes have been lost in foreclosure than ever before. Most Americans cannot afford a higher education for themselves or their children. The quality of public education continues to spiral downward, and more financing is needed to reverse the trend. A large, new population of veterans, many disabled, must be received back into society – that requires more funding. Most Americans cannot afford the cost of health care for themselves and their children. Elected officials are looking into developing creative financing sources due to the need for more revenue without increasing taxes; one such avenue is toll roads, which is another way to collect taxes without calling it that.
   Special interests and corporations appear to be getting their needs fulfilled by paying out large campaign contributions. You wouldn't mind that so much, if legislators would "throw a bone" now and then to the rest of us. Bottom line is that voters really need to ask officials, "So, what have you done for us lately?"

Dear Editor,
   In 1978 I visited some friends in Austin, and they took me to a steak restaurant outside of town. I remember driving on a farm road, and we came to a large building (it was dark). At the entrance, outside was a huge grill, and cooks were grilling steaks. On the inside there was a Texas-sized bar with a brass rail where you waited for a table. As I recall, the only thing on the menu was steak, potato, and salad. Does that place still exist or does anyone know anything about it?

Editor,
   The tragic story of the Ukrainian opposition candidate’s poisoning should rattle people’s brains. This most deadly toxin used in Kiev is the same chemical named as a key ingredient of Agent Orange, the product developed by DuPont chemicals during the Vietnam War to defoliate the jungles, thus revealing the enemy hiding therein.
   Only recently has the U.S. government even acknowledged that the ailments being reported by the thousands of U.S. servicemen who came in contact with Agent Orange might possibly be related to the defoliant’s ingredients. The international reports of thousands of Vietnamese people who were sprayed by Agent Orange developing cancers and other serious ailments have been largely ignored by U.S. government officials.
   Think about it, folks! Using the criteria being applied today to such international monsters as Saddam Hussein, who used chemical weapons of mass destruction against his own people, then added to the world’s list of individuals who committed crimes against humanity must be presidents Lyndon Johnson and Nixon, Defense Secretary McNamara, and generals LeMay and Westmoreland, all of whom either authorized or ordered the use of WMD against Vietnam.
   Is the USA a terrorist state? Think about it!

To the editor,
    In reference to the Mike Clark-Madison "Naked City" article printed Dec. 17 [News], I believe the paper should print a retraction and Mr. Madison should conduct some research before succumbing to the political machine rolling over him. I believe since I am a candidate for Place 1 and my name is listed first on the sequence I should be declared winner of the race five months before the election and before even one candidates’ forum has been held. Please consider the following before crowning the Austin Place 1 progressive candidate. I have attended an HBC (historically black college), been a single father raising my son, and conducted grassroots organizing on affordable housing, APD community police relations, and the Travis County Democratic Party. I have been a small-business owner, involved with neighborhood zoning and planning, sustainable housing, and community empowerment. Building bridges for one community, one Austin.

Dear Editor,
   Every morning when my alarm clock goes off, I have about five minutes to lie in bed and wake up before KALW airs the Jim Hightower segment.
   It is always the highlight of my morning.
   I do think it's interesting and very very sad that even in the progressive Bay area, during the fundraising drive, the stupid announcer repeatedly apologized for the "inflammatory" words of Mr. Hightower.
   This should just show us all how far out of touch even NPR has become as it's been dragged right by the FOX News Channel along with everyone else, though less severely.
   Mr. Hightower, I don't know what I would have done without the acknowledgement I gained for my views by listening to you. We all know the truth when we hear it. Even Republicans who prefer denial.
   Excellence in journalism is still possible. Mr. Hightower is proof.
   Love and peace be with us all.

Michael Ventura,
   It was a moving tribute to your brother ["Letters @ 3am," Dec. 10]. I cried a little at the end. Thank you for sharing.

Dear Editor,
   It's frightening how much the local media landscape has transformed in the last few years. As reported in "Dialing for Dollar$" [News, Dec. 17], currently 23 of 27 radio stations are owned by just five chains! In a community with a tradition of grassroots support for cultural uniqueness, it's sad to observe the consequences from FCC media ownership deregulation and neglect of its localism mandate. With the shutdown of Radio Free Austin, uncertainty over Austin Music Network's future, and the deaths of many indie publications, how can we "keep Austin weird"?
   What Clear Channel doesn't understand is that the amount of advertising on our airwaves isn't what turns listeners away – it's the prepackaged formats programmed without considering why Austinites chose to live here. All the changes in the local media landscape should be the clearest signal that Austin media is failing to satisfy this market.
   Austinites should remember that dissatisfaction inspired an outside proposal to KAZZ to experiment with a pioneering radio concept a couple of decades ago as KOKE’s signal echoed across the national media landscape. Radio owners should also take note that Besley Corporation turned the table years later by guaranteeing creative control in order to attract an innovative program director to makeover KGSR. Granted, corporate radio has its limitations, but noncommercial stations like KVRX can step up by giving more support to our local music scene.
   Maybe the Chronicle should bring back the Biggest Waste of the Airwaves category. But since that award would be shared by too many, perhaps the Chronicle can spotlight what's still worth tuning in to on our airwaves instead, once the media landscape settles down a bit.