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,
    It is clearly apparent that Kate Getty has not spent enough time in the gay bars of Austin to know that there has always been some form of segregation enforced (at one time) and just understood [“Gay Place,” Community Listings, March 4]. For years there were bars that stopped trannys from entering because the sex on the driver's license did not match what the doorman could see. One bar asked that women pay $25 to enter. Although it isn't like that anymore, there are still some places where not everyone in the gay community can go to and feel comfortable in a gay bar. Yes, it would be great if we could all hold hands together and sing “Coming out of Hiding” together as a tribute to Pamela Stanley, but that's not going to happen. Sidekicks/Xtreme is following the tradition of telling people that there are two bars in one. The slash tells only that. Kate seems to be seeing some form of prejudice that the men only go to the Xtreme side while the women are on the sports side watching television and playing pool (which sounds a bit stereotypical). So what if they are; they are in a bar and doing what they feel comfortable doing. I have spent many evenings there with men watching sports and on the dance side drinking and mingling with both sexes. The ratio of men to women in that building is better than any other gay bar in Austin. I do understand that we as gay people need to pull together to become a more powerful force, but to put down our own people in the process is only going to hurt the gay community. I personally feel that the owners of Sidekicks/Xtreme, who are a mixture of men and women, are helping in bringing both sexes together under one roof. Kate should spend some time in the other gay bars and see how diverse or lack thereof and how they compare to each other. I think she will find that these two bars in one cater to all kinds and welcome everyone. And considering Sidekicks/Xtreme won as the best gay bar in Austin, that has to prove they are doing something that the gay community wants and needs.

Dear Editor,
    Who is the graphical genius behind the Betty Dunkerley signs now sprouting around town? They make it look like the council member is priced to move at a yard sale.

Dear Editor,
    As I was listening to Sen. Ted Kennedy address the Senate on minimum wage and the effect of bankruptcy on poor people on C-SPAN 2, I heard a lot of pretty words, but show me the personal donations he has made to programs that help the poor. If you are going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.

Dear Editor,
    I completely agree with Chip Tait in his quote of the week, "It is not up to the American Cancer Society or Lance ... Armstrong to tell me how to run my business" [“Naked City,” News, March 4].
    It amazes me how "free citizens" want to have control over how others run their businesses, support their families, live their lives, and continually call in the government to pass laws to force these businesses to comply with their personal preferences with regulation after regulation. It is not really even about smoking. It is about civil liberties and the ability to have and run a business that is not doing anything illegal. There are plenty of nonsmoking establishments in Austin and also as "free citizens" nonsmokers have the right to create nonsmoking establishments. That is a free society. It is a very slippery slope when we continually hand our freedom over to government officials (which is happening all the time). Is there not a way to handle this in the "free market" or is the "free market" going to be a thing of the past? How much do we want government controlling our everyday lives? Why can't "free citizens" figure out solutions without calling in big brother to issue more control over free enterprise and our daily lives?
    Oh yeah, I do not smoke. I do, however, like the idea of freedom and personal choice.
    Also, in reference to the blurb about Michele Deitch and curbing human rights abuses in prisons. I heard on the news how much better Martha Stewart's fellow inmates were treated because she was there. It was a frightening thought to think what would happen after she was gone – the party will definitely be over.
    What strikes me is that we have cameras filming "free citizens" everywhere, stop lights, while we shop, etc., and yet there are no cameras filming prisoners and guards to insure human rights are not being violated – not just by guards but by other inmates as well. Go figure.

Dear Editor,
    Once again, we in Central Texas are offered the chance to rid our region of traffic jams by building more highways. Of course, this is a joke.
    Do you think politicians, road builders, and transportation departments really want to rid the region of traffic jams? Suppose that we finally had a marvelous system of roads with no traffic jams. Then transportation departments would have their budgets cut, and highway builders would be out of work.
    It is not in these people's self-interest to get rid of traffic jams. Traffic jams are a godsend to road builders, transportation engineers, and politicians. As long as there are plenty of traffic jams, there will be plenty of demand for roads. And demand for roads is what brings these folks money and power.
    A serious attempt to solve traffic problems would include modern techniques such as reducing speed limits and closing roads. (Even Mr. Smarty Pants has heard that reducing traffic speeds has sometimes been shown to reduce congestion.) It would include a serious effort to improve the streets for pedestrians and cyclists, in part by restricting motor traffic. But since road builders, politicians, and transportation engineers make their biggest money building highways, highways are what they propose to build. And by the time they are built, these highways will be full of jams, thus perpetuating the demand for more highways.
    The self-interest of road builders, transportation departments, and politicians lies not in solving transportation problems, but in appearing to try to solve problems that appear to be unsolvable.

Dear Editor,
    One might think that Ana Marie Cox's belief in the primacy of the text (as she says, "I think writing is a one-way medium") would lead her to edit her posts on her blog (www.wonkette.com) for accuracy and correct English [“Nellie Blog,” Screens, March 4]. Or get an editor, as she suggests others do. Alas, the blog's awareness seems only to extend as far as the author's nose.

Dear Editor,
    I want to thank the Austinites and those from the northern Edwards Aquifer region who made the effort to join with those from as far southwest as Del Rio alongside representatives from across the sweeping Hill Country at the regional water summit last weekend held in San Antonio; all of whom are concerned about the state of our most valuable resource, the Edwards Aquifer. I was excited to see such dedication to formulating solutions collectively, and even more pleased to hear the general consensus on our plan from a wide array of business representatives, government officials, and those fighting to save our very Hill Country heritage.
    As quickly as our water is being legislated as a public commodity to be sold off to profit a mere few in the private sector, so too our coalitions must grow! See www.aquiferalliance.org for more information on how you can get involved.

Dear Editor,
    New England suffered a tragic loss not so long ago when a fire at the Station nightclub claimed the lives of 100 young concertgoers. Public spaces from all six New England states have altered safety procedures in efforts to never again see such a terrible day. The topic is about as humorous as prison abuse, beheadings, and racial profiling. That is to say, there is no joke appropriate for the occasion, especially for cops. As a theatre producer, no task is more important than assuring that all 1,000 patrons remain safe while attending events I produce. The police are not afforded the luxury of tiring of keeping the public safe. Thankfully, no one died at the Midtown [“Naked City,” News, Feb. 25]. The inference made by the flurry of police e-mails that Midtown, the fifth busiest club for police response citywide, deserved to burn implies that its innocent patrons' lives are of lower value to authorities. Austin, the production world is watching. In the wake of this scandal, fire marshals had better make damn sure that event attendees are safe in Austin, a city noted nationwide for excellent live music and the venues that support it.

Dear editors,
    I noticed the article by Michael Ventura (austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-01-21/cols_ventura.html) making the rounds on various left-wing Web sites [“Letters at 3AM,” Jan. 21]. I tried to look up his source articles, and I was unable to find The New York Times article from Dec. 12, 2004, that has us ranked 49th in literacy. (There was another Dec. 12, 2004, article in the Times that contained the 28th out of 40 in mathematics statistic.)
    But most disturbing to me in my searches was this article I found from December 2001 (www.conway.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf011210.htm). It clearly contains the central theme and some of the statistics from Michael Ventura's article written three years later.
    If the article that I have linked was verifiably written in 2001 and contains original material itself, I think Michael Ventura owes that author (Jack Lyne) an apology at the very least.

   [Michael Ventura replies: I have no knowledge of the article Mr. Peterson is referring to, and never heard of Jack Lyne until reading Mr. Peterson's letter. But it isn't surprising that writers with similar concerns, working from similar statistics, would write similar pieces. In addition, I rarely take my facts from Web sites (and when I do I say so); though no source is perfectly trustworthy, I prefer traditional news outlets, like The New York Times, that have long histories of factual accuracy.]

Dear Editor,
    Nice try, Carl [“Postmarks,” March 4]. But it was nukes, not chemical weapons the Bush administration was lying to us about (as in scare talk about a "smoking gun turning into a mushroom cloud,” aluminum tubes, and yellow cake). It was general knowledge that Saddam had chemical weapons and that he used them extensively against the Iranians during his war with them in the Eighties. Yet the Raygun administration was quite happy to do business with him while it was well known he was committing these atrocities. For example, in a meeting with Saddam in 1983, Rummy told him that the U.S. would assist him in building an oil pipeline from Iraq to Jordan. And now we have all this talk 20 years later about him being a bad boy? The real crime here is the Republicans taking advantage of the general level of ignorance of world affairs in this country to frame a tinpot dictator with a crumbling army as a threat to the United States. So, I still want to know, why were we lied to? Was it the oil? Was it to get back at Saddam for his attempt on papa Bush's life? Or was it just right-wing ideology?

Dear Editor,
    In 1986 I moved into my home at 309 W. 37th. That winter, I put up holiday lights to help celebrate the season. Over the past 19 years about a million people have passed in front of my home and smiled at the spinning dreydl, or laughed at the volcanic eruption. To those people I just want to say a heartfelt “thank you.” Today, our house tearfully went on the market, as we can no longer afford the outrageous tax increases that the city of Austin has decided to impose upon us. The next holiday season will undoubtedly be a very difficult one for my family and me. I hope that the city can find a way to correct their shortsighted policies that are causing so many of us to flee.

Dear Editor,
    In the 1960s, opponents of the patriarchal welfare state used to say, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." Given the way boy George and the other neocons are going, maybe we should update that to "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to put you in an internment camp"!

Dear Editor,
    I am responding to "Neighbors Call Foul on Tennis Center Expansion" [News, Feb. 11]. I am an avid Austin tennis player. I can tell you firsthand these extra courts are definitely needed. The article stated that the South Austin Tennis Center courts are only used 50% of the time. What wasn't mentioned was the fact that SATC is required by the city to keep several courts open daily for walk-on players. These courts are not to be used by the pros for lessons or for league matches. Sheryl Behne, the director of tennis at SATC, said she could easily fill every one of her courts if she were not held to this requirement by the city. Empty courts during the morning and afternoon hours Monday through Friday are no different then empty soccer fields or rec centers during the same time periods.
    The Galindo Elementary Neighborhood Association suggests adding more courts at the public schools as an alternative, but they can't even fit enough portable buildings to accommodate the number of students, let alone adding tennis courts. Regarding the flooding, according to the parks department engineers, the new landscaping would actually alleviate some of the flooding problems. And there is no comparing a few extra courts with the magnitude of the Waco Regional Tennis Center.
    Tennis is a family-oriented sport for a lifetime. Adults and children of all ages and skill levels can enjoy the game, and there are many great community programs, too. I can't imagine a better possible neighbor than the SATC. In fact, the Chronicle named the SATC the best public tennis facility several times.
    I completely appreciate the concerns expressed by GENA; we also want it to retain its integrity, but this is our neighborhood too, where we work, live, and play. Would you prefer a Wal-Mart instead?

Editor,
    This is Chris Cogburn – director of the Creative Music Workshop and Ten Pounds to the Sound record/dvd label. I am writing to say thank you for including Michael Chamy's wonderfully written review of the No Idea Festival double CD, included in your February 11 edition [“Texas Platters,” Music].
    It was a delight to read such a thoughtful and genuinely inquisitive piece written about the CD document of this four-day gathering of creative musicians here in Austin (and Houston) last spring. While the CD, and the festival in general, has been gaining recognition throughout the world of improvised music, it is rather inspiring to hear that this work of a few committed improvisers is not only being recognized by your publication, but that it is also being intelligently and passionately discussed and considered. In noncommercial art forms, this sharing of process and collective, active contributions to the art itself, is considered one of the art's highest successes.
    This year's No Idea Festival, the third annual, takes place March 31 through April 3 – four days and nights of music from creative improvising musicians from all corners of the U.S., Europe, and Japan, including artists from: NYC, Berlin, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, New Mexico, Baltimore, Houston, and of course, Austin.
    For more information, please visit: www.noideafestival.com.
    Thanks again.

Dear Editor,
    I write this in hope of giving a face to smokers in the revived debate about a smoking ordinance in Austin [“Smoking Ordinance Headed for the Ballot,” News, March 4]. Though I am only one of those faces, I suspect many nonsmokers lump all smokers together in a category of inconsiderate idiots who are ruining their own health and impinging on the health and general enjoyment of others (nonsmokers).
    I am a 33-year-old, college-educated female. I am a vegetarian. I exercise daily. I wear a Lance Armstrong bracelet. And I smoke.
    My family is riddled with all types of cancer, including my father who died of bile duct cancer in 1996. I give my financial support to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, right alongside the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Sierra Club, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Clean Water Action, and NARAL.
    I have had long stretches of not smoking, and I recognize how unpleasant the habit can be to a nonsmoker. I try to be as considerate a smoker as possible: I don't toss my butts on the ground; if people are in close proximity, even in a smoking establishment, I ask if they mind if I light up; I only blow smoke directly in someone's face if he or she truly deserves it.
    Nonsmokers should have places to go where the air is clear and any stains are from substances other than tobacco. But, smokers should also have places to go and enjoy themselves and their habit. Limiting or eliminating the range of smoke-friendly establishments will not make people smoke less. It will only make them stay at home more, or go outside of the club or restaurant for frequent smoke breaks. It will make them unhappy. It may make them mean.
    I want us all to be happy. And I say this out of complete self-interest, as I have been a nonsmoker before, and I may be again someday. But I will always have the soul of a smoker.

Dear Editor,
    The recent ChoicePoint and Bank of America data losses and identity thefts illustrate that politicians and businesses are not intelligent or concerned enough about my private information. If someone suffers identity theft because these data pimps are inept and politicians are in the pockets of these pimps, they should both pay restitution to the unfortunate victim (who isn't even allowed to see the data in his own file, and that's just not fair).
    This is what politicians can do: allow a security freeze. A security freeze allows me to stop anyone from looking at my credit report for purposes of granting credit unless I choose to allow it. I actually get to be in control of who looks at my own personal information, and in an ownership society shouldn't I be the one who is in control of information about me? If the file is frozen, the creditor will deny the identity thief's credit application, preventing identity theft. When I apply for credit, I lift the freeze so creditors can see my credit file. When I am not seeking credit, the security freeze prevents an identity thief from perpetrating identity theft, which costs U.S. consumers about $5 billion a year, and U.S. businesses about $47.6 billion annually.
    Under this proposal I have the right to decide for myself whether to place a security freeze. A state law allowing a security freeze option will allow individual consumers to make their own personal choices, to take a responsible ownership position.
    There are other things states can do to prevent identity theft, such as requiring that people who have had their personal credit information stolen be informed of the thefts. Right now, only California requires the data pimps to notify the victim if an identity thief steals their information, and that's just not right.

Dear Editor,
    The ones who support displaying Judeo-Christian doctrine and guidelines for their morality such as the Ten Commandments forget that this country is a cultural melting pot ["Naked City," News, March 4]. The ones who wish to press this issue are going to be the loudest because they are the most selfish and rude. The rest of us have enough manners not to ram our beliefs down people's collective throat. I still say that if this ruling is to be fair, then either disallow all religion from government or give all religions in this country equal billing and time. One way to insure this is if any religion wants government endorsement then they should pay taxes for it. Tax Jesus! Food for thought: Great things do not have to tell you they're great ... you can figure it out on your own.

Dear Editor,
    Michael Ventura certainly paints a dire picture of the state of our union [“Letters at 3AM,” Jan. 21]. On the other hand he quotes The New York Times, CNN, The European Dream, the Associated Press, USA Today, and that renowned bastion of intellectual research The West Wing. Perhaps if he broadened his horizon beyond hand-wringing news media he could find some good news about America.

To the editor,
    I wonder if the voters who put GWB in office are at all concerned about his budget proposals. I wonder if any actually care. Are they paying attention? Here are some facts which concern me.
    Bush plans devastating cuts to America's top priorities, from homeland security to health care to education to benefits for veterans and much more. And this budget is a huge disaster for Texas. The Bush 2006 budget cuts $420 million in state and local funding for homeland security, including a $55.7 million cut for Texas. These cuts will take police and firefighters off your streets. The Bush budget cuts the COPS program, which has put 6,124 officers on Texas streets, by 96%. The Bush budget cuts $45 billion from Medicaid, enough to provide health care to 1.8 million children. Texas' share of these cuts is $2.7 billion. Bush's budget cuts the very same community and rural health care programs he touted during the campaign, even though more than 626,000 Texas residents have lost their health care coverage since Bush took office, due to his failures. Bush underfunds his own No Child Left Behind Act by $13.1 billion in his budget. In Texas, that means a shortfall of $1.1 billion, leaving behind 272,271 Texas children. Bush promised to fund Pell Grants in his State of the Union address, but his budget is $6.6 billion short. That's $516.7 million less than what's needed in Texas, a real burden for the 355,653 students in Texas who receive the grants. The Bush budget would require many veterans to pay a new $250 annual "user fee" to use the Veterans Administration health care system, and would double the prescription drug co-payment for the 1,754,809 Texas veterans. Bush cuts Texas clean water programs by $17.7 million. Bush's 2006 budget also cuts the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program – which helps low-income families afford heating fuel in the winter – by $234.4 million, including a $5.2 million cut for Texas residents. And Bush's irresponsible budget is a record $427 billion in the red, increasing each Texas family's share of the federal debt by $36,536.
    Do you care about any of this?

Dear Editor,
    Remember a few years ago when the morally correct got their panties all in a wad because the president was having an affair with an intern? Remember those 70 million tax dollars spent “investigating” every blow-by-blow detail of this shameful and embarrassing incident? Remember the grueling, relentless media blitz-a-thon of novella-style coverage? And remember the televised impeachment that followed?
    Now we have a gay military-fetishist hooker, who proclaims to be a “devout Christian” but whose beefcake pictures are spread-eagle all over the Internet, posing as a journalist and covering the homophobic White House. James Guckert, using his hooker alias, Jeff Gannon, advertises his eight-plus “cut” inches for $200/hour on HotMilitaryStuds.com while working for a GOP-funded fake news organization and writing gay-bashing articles on the side.
    Curiously, even with heightened post-9/11 security, he was vetted and issued a daily press pass for the last two years using his fake name.
    Give me about two minutes on Google, and I can tell you exactly when Clinton inserted that cigar, but the mainstream media won't touch Gannongate with a 10-inch pole. Why? Even with evidence that Gannon was leaked critical news before the rest of the press (yawn). There is a possibility that he might have been the Valerie Plame leak (yawn/stretch). And for the few who have dared, the spin is all about the unfairness of these activist bloggers delving into a fake reporter/hooker's private life. I mean, isn't that just going too far?
    Have I slipped into a bizarro parallel universe where a presidential affair with an intern is an impeachable offense and a yearlong soap opera, but the family values administration has got a kinky, born-again gay prostitute coming into the White House on a daily press pass. And it's not even news? God Bless AmericaBlog.com.

Dear Editor,
    Not sure how to make this clear, but to suggest that the only reason we went to war in Iraq was to kill people, spend money, and hold free elections is ridiculous; how should someone answer [“Postmarks,” March 4]? The fact remains that President Bush clearly stated the reasons for the war, several times; the idea of answering hypotheticals seems a little strange. I can't answer a hypothetical; not even the brilliant editor of this paper can. Or maybe he can. What do you think milk truck drivers would do if cows could fly? Let's see.

Dear Editor,
    Thanks for the recent and informative article “Let's 'Rumbo'! Right Now!” [News, Feb. 25]. As a fifth-generation Austinite of Mexican descent, I'm glad to see attention paid to what in some respect has always been a neglected and undervalued part of the community; Spanish-language newspapers.
    The current publications follow a long tradition in Austin. Ley Reforma Libertad y Justicia was published as early as 1908. Edited by Tomas Sarabia, it was the official journal of the local branch of the Revolutionary Junta active in Mexico at that time. In 1920, local physician Alberto Garcia self-published El Vanguardia. This was issued weekly and contained community news and information.
    The 1940s saw the printing of two publications. El Organo was put out by the Lopez family. It featured numerous photos of returning service men, weddings, graduations, and even a funeral with open coffin. Del, while primarily in Spanish, and also had an English section. It carried Spanish language advertisements from major businesses such as Sears.
    Information on and examples of these historic publications can be found at the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe.

Mr. Black,
    As the final Slobberbone performance in Austin draws near (March 11 at the Parish, to be specific), I wanted to publicly tip my hat to the boys in the band for one hell of a run.
    Best of luck with future endeavors, fellas. You'll be missed.

Dear Editor,
    The Wednesday, March 2, morning talk-radio shows exhibited the two faces of the local theocrats. First, they weighed in against the local attorney fighting to have the Ten Commandments monument removed from the state Capitol grounds, purportedly because the commandments represent the source of American law and the monument is present for a historical purpose, rather than a religious one ["Naked City," News, March 4]. But then they decried the Supreme Court's decision prohibiting the execution of juvenile killers. Maybe they've forgotten that one of those commandments they're defending states, "Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Or maybe they're just hypocrites.

Dear Editor,
    What kind of people are these conservative media watchdog groups patrolling the public airwaves listening for naughty words and looking for nipples [“Are You Decent?,” News, Feb. 18]? And who in their right mind cares about the pathetic fate of television and corporate radio stations at this point? Let the religious right have it. Maybe then grownups will stop watching. Appealing to the lowest common denominator has worked out well for Dudley and Bob; if their bosses want to keep them around they should stop taking money from advertisers who foam at the mouth over a dick joke.

Dear Editor,
    Bless Nanci Griffith [“There's a Light Beyond These Woods,” Music, Feb. 25]! I love her 'cause she headlined the very first benefit concert for the nascent Austin Peace and Justice Coalition, back in '83, funding its birth. Thanks, Nanci!