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:
    Re: The Bush administration blaming the Iraqis for the continued violence in this country: Blame the Iraqis? The Bush administration occupied Iraq under false pretenses, put Iraq in chaos, destroyed its infrastructure, and embedded fear into the souls of its citizens. He gave the terrorists a "safe haven" to continue their "dastardly deeds." Now you tell me ... who is to blame?

Dear Editor,
    What horrible editorial discretion in using the Grateful Dead's Steal Your Face icon to ensconce injection paraphernalia and hepatitis C drugs on your Nov. 24 cover ["C Sick," Music]. Could it be that The Austin Chronicle Corporation, in a cheap and lazy attempt to maintain its "alternative newsweekly" image has sunken to a new all-time low (just in time for the holiday season) and capitalized on such stereotypical imagery to peddle advertising for its Black Friday edition. After all, utilizing such simplistic, prefabricated stereotypes that propagandize well-known rock iconography with drug-related imagery easily tinges as newsstand eye candy to lure in readers, and it's my guess that the majority of your revenue is based upon advertising rather than your paid circulation. Perhaps I'm incorrect and the dangerously foolish parallels symbolized in these associations were simply the result of a last-minute cut-and-paste in your graphics department due to deadline constraints and a lack of original cover-art ideas.
    At least some vague mention of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and his unfortunate struggles with hepatitis C would have been noteworthy. Here's the hyperlink to Phil Lesh's Web site, where he personally presents his ordeals with hepatitis C: www.phillesh.net/philzonepages/friends_stuff/hotline-010904.html. In the future, before embarking on such a shameless capitalization on the heel's of a band's logo, at least consider doing a bit more research.
    Not to be condescending, but Grateful Dead listeners are not automatically drug users by default, and some are even medical professionals working to treat and hopefully someday cure hepatitis C. It is my hope that this letter reaches print, but with all the homogenization of media and specter of news "infotainment" leaching into the "alternative newsweekly" format, it's saddening that it may be passed over for more "favorable" content.

Dear Editor,
    Most of Wal-Mart's goods are made in China. I don't think people really understand how ungodly evil Chinese sweatshop production is.
    It isn't just a matter of low wages. The folks who work in sweatshops have been driven from their homes in the country, their farms taken by local communist party bosses for personal gain. Either that or they're officially nonexistent people, off the books from the Chinese one-child policy.
    They're driven into the cities, but because of the Chinese residency system, they have next to no rights we assume as automatic. They can't own property. They can't hold formal jobs (only back-alley sweatshop work and informal construction jobs). They aren't even allowed to rent housing for the most part, living in informal tenements, on rooftops, on the street. They're referred to as a "floating population" and current estimates of their numbers match or exceed the total labor force of the United States.
    These aren't just crappy jobs, this is outright abuse: land-grabbing from farmers, taking away the basic rights of citizenship from millions of people, forcing them into horrible working conditions. They're functionally slaves of the Chinese government's development policy and American retailers content to sell their own nation's workforce down the river as long as there's loot to be had.
    Wal-Mart makes its gold from this. We should drive them out of the community and drive them out of America. At the very least, we shouldn't kowtow to their ambitions for expansion in Austin [“Developing Stories,” News, Dec. 8].

Dear Editor,
    I'm not sure who in the Chronicle wrote about the enchiladas at the Dart bowling alley ["Favorite Finds," Food, March 17, 2000]. I always heard they are the best. Well today I tried them, and I was very disappointed. The sauce was watery, and the onions were just huge chunks of white onion. Yuk! For the same money I spent, you can go to Luby's, yes Luby's, and get two side vegetables and a homemade roll for the same price, and if you have ever looked who cooks the food in a Luby's kitchen, you will know why their enchiladas are what I think are the best.

Hi,
    Regarding the article: “Norwegian Black Metal – Photographs” [Arts, May 6, 2005]: "One chap, Frost of Satyricon, recalled visiting a store in Oslo called 'Euronymous' or Hell, and let's just say he felt at home there."
    Euronymous was a band member of Mayhem. He owned a store called Helvete (which means Hell).
    Apart from that, the article is pretty much accurate.

Dear Editor,
    The issue of Wal-Mart at Northcross ["Naked City," News, Nov. 24] presents an opportunity about what we want Austin to be – or one that makes it like any other city. As a member of Allandale for more than 15 years, I have cherished the unique flavor of the area and of this city. Its variety of local enterprises, ease of access, tranquility of the neighborhood, are the short list of the items at risk.
    Northcross is an inappropriate site for a facility this size. This is not a freeway location. Better planning options with input from the community affected are a much wiser choice.

Dear Editor,
    We just wanted to wish everyone in Austin a very Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah. Especially the schmucks who stole our beautiful, homemade, and very well-lit peace sign and five of our pink flamingoes, including the one dressed as a rabbi and the one dressed like a Christmas tree. Way to observe the holiday spirit. We're pretty sure that karma will pay you back for stealing a peace sign during the holidays. Nice. Anyhow, we do hope that everyone who didn't steal our peace sign has a grand holiday season. Happy New Year, Austin.

Dear Editor,
    I am a Crestview resident and have been for more than seven years. I bought in this neighborhood for the charm it has and the many local "mom and pop" businesses that surround the area. I have been excited about the planning and development that Austin is usually so good at, as evidenced by the Triangle and the upcoming Crestview Station, and I was looking very forward to hearing the plans for the Northcross redevelopment. I was very upset, however, to hear that there are now plans for a Wal-Mart to go there [“Naked City,” News, Nov. 24], only four blocks from my home!
    I am outraged at the lack of public input into the Northcross redevelopment plans. I am totally in support of developing the Northcross center and would love to see a plan based on the new mixed-use model, similar to the Triangle or Crestview Station.
    I also support the proposed big-box ordinance our City Council will be voting on on Dec. 14, which requires a public input process for approval of such huge big-box developments as Wal-Mart.
    It is imperative that Austin seeks meaningful neighborhood involvement in planning for Northcross and other such developments. Our mayor and City Council members must hear our voices and halt the demolition that is scheduled for Jan. 8! This is our neighborhood, and we care about its future.

Dear Editor,
    I was surprised to read Robert Morrow's letter to "Postmarks" in the Dec. 1 issue. I'd like to see him point out where folks in the hep C article [“C Sick,” Music, Nov. 24] were not claiming personal responsibility, because I sure didn't see anything like that. Of course, the letter could have been satire. At least, I hope it was satire – if not, I'd be expecting to read a letter any day now where he lambastes the victims of religious persecution because, hey, they could have converted.

Dear Editor,
    If Louis Black really cares about "a free exchange of ideas," as his Dec. 1 "Page Two" article contends, he must contemplate this. In fact, most of this country’s problems are caused by "clueless Democrats/liberals/progressives." This stark reality stems from a dysfunctional neo-leftist utopian emotionalism that permeates this disparate group. It disallows a rational discriminating historical acknowledgment that some ideas, when in practice, lead to genocide and tyranny, e.g., Marxist communism. Obviously, any tolerance of such nihilistic ideological dogma is suicidal. But sadly Democrats currently practice this facile and credulous multicultural madness.
    Additionally, and even more dangerous, is the morally vacant mindset necessary for tolerating such horrific ideologies as Marxism. It opens the way for blind lenience and appeasement of other forms of genocidal tyrannies; item one being Islamist fascism. This model of moral dishonesty is precisely why we find ourselves in a world war of survival with its evil devotees. And make no mistake, whether liberty and America will prevail is very much in question.
    Mr. Black is bound by his own neo-leftist addiction to social and political fashion having nothing to do with intellectually and morally honest debate. After all, I responded to Mr. Black’s initial rant about the poor little Chicks being pushed around by big mean conservatives like myself, but he just could not bring himself to face that “free exchange of ideas” in print – unless I missed it somehow.
    Whatever the case, Mr. Black’s moral compass is shattered. Only brutally honest self-realization can mend it. But, alas, that would mean his entire neo-leftist elitist world would collapse. So I seriously doubt such a transformational moral catharsis is near. In the meantime, those possessing moral clarity will bravely continue the “free exchange of ideas” defending liberty, America, and humanity from genocide and tyranny.

Dear Editor,
    I really enjoyed the article by Nora Ankrum titled "My Semester on the Beat" [News, Dec. 1]. It shows a side of the police department that many people don't see. I would like to comment on one fact in the story that was stated incorrectly. A statement in the "District Representative Program" part of the story is the one in question. "There are nine districts in Austin, with a DR assigned to each one" is wrong. Austin is split up into nine sectors. Each sector is split up into districts. Each sector has around seven districts. Each DR is responsible for about two districts. There are somewhere around 20 to 30 DR's citywide.
    Once again, thank you for a good report.

   [Nora Ankrum replies: Austin does in fact have nine sectors, known as "area commands," rather than districts. Each area command has several district representatives (three to six) assigned to it and is divided up into several districts (four to 10). We regret the error.]

Dear Editor,
    Re: Iconic Business Commission ["Icon or Eyesore?," News, Nov. 24]: Our first location [Off the Wall] was in my father-in-law's garage. We've had at least eight or nine locations over the last 28 years and that doesn't include all the movings in and out of countless arts-and-crafts shows, seasonal mall events, selling on the Drag, and 19 years worth of the good ol' Armadillo Christmas Bazaar.
    Does that make Ellen and I iconic? What nonsense.
    Was the Night Hawk iconic? They would have as good a shot at that status as anyone I know, but they're not here anymore. Should they be? Who decides, the individual business through the series of decisions they make as they respond to market forces, or does a public commission have a better idea of how to run a business?
    What about the Holiday House, 2 J's, Orange Bull, Tamale House, Dale Baker's BBQ, Shady Grove, Checkered Flag, Saxon Pub No. 1, Saxon Pub No. 2, or is it Saxon Pub No. 3?
    One Nite, Gordo's, Alliance Wagonyard, Steamboat Springs, Threadgill's No. 1, Threadgill's No. 2, Threadgill's No. 3, Willie Kocurek, the Big O, Sharp's Locksmith, oh, I'm sorry, Liberty Lunch?
    How long this list.
    Should we put some city commission in charge of who stays in business, or is that decision better made by the free market?
    I'll bet on the market making the most right choices.

Dear Editor,
    Bassless bands? For some reason, there are many bands today that feel a bass player is not needed. I believe this might have started with the White Stripes, but I am hardly an expert on this. I saw the Hot as Shits recently at Elysium, and bassless, they had the thinest, most annoying sound you could imagine. As three cute girls, they get away with it, but put three fat dudes in need of a shave up there and there will be a line at the door asking for refunds. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have this same empty, lifeless sound.
    Bass is the foundation of music. Combined with drums, it provides the feel that people want/need to physically connect with the band and the song. Without it, many times the music sounds like a guitar played with a chainsaw. My point here is, I wonder if any experts out there might want to comment on this phenomenon, why these bands are so against having a solid sound, and why people put up with it. As a drummer, the bass player is the most important girl/guy in the room, and I would not do a gig without one.

Dear Editor,
    Re: The Year Without Santa Claus ["TV Eye," Screens, Dec. 1]: This story was also made into a Rankin & Bass stop-motion animated special in the Seventies. It was taken off the air due to protests that it emphasized mythological and pagan themes. There was no mention of Christ, to the chagrin of those who celebrate the eponymous holiday. Until recently, the special was not shown on television but could be purchased on DVD. It has found a home on ABC's Family Channel and is a part of its 25 Days of Christmas. Incidentally, the Family Channel also airs the Rankin & Bass production of The Little Drummer Boy, which was also taken off the holiday schedule in the Seventies due to unflattering portrayals of Arabs. Just a little holiday trivia. Merry Christmas!

Dear Editor,
    If Rep. Frank Corte is basing his pro-life interference in women's lives on Judaic/Christian beliefs ["Frank 'the Fetus' Strikes Again," News, Dec. 1] then he should take a quiet evening to study and meditate on Numbers 5.
    This scripture clearly is a procedure for abortion if the woman's husband believes she has been unfaithful.
    If she has been unfaithful then, as I understand it, God will abort the fetus and the woman will be rendered barren.
    Abortion is a media issue, therefore, a safe one for public men to display their moral outrage.
    I would like for Rep. Frank Corte to address child rape with the same fervor. Child rape leaves a bloody victim who can tell the story and in that voice is a demand for justice.
    Child rape is a man's crime. Abortion although ordained by the Holy Scriptures (Numbers 5) has been made to be a woman's crime by vocal public men.
    Nowhere in holy scripture is rape of any kind ordained.
    Rep. Frank Corte I challenge you to sponsor a bill that demands a life sentence without the possibility of parole for child rape.
    Numbers 5.

Dear Editor,
    I am writing in response to the "Naked City" article [Nov. 24] regarding the proposed Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall.
    I'm a native Texan that grew up in Colorado Springs. Big-box stores killed many small businesses in Colorado Springs and turned it into a big, homogenous suburb that happens to sit in a beautiful location. I don't want to see that happen here in Austin. Austin is a unique city with cool, local businesses that offer good service and good products. Many of those local stores sit on Anderson Lane and Burnet Road. I don't want to see those stores die for the convenience of saving a few pennies on crappy products and bad service at Wal-Mart.
    About a year ago I purchased a house a few blocks away from Northcross. It placed me at an ideal location for walking and bicycling to local shops and to work. I would not have moved here if a 200,000-square-foot Wal-Mart sat at the Northcross Mall location. Traffic on Anderson Lane and Burnet Road around this area is already bad, especially during lunch time and rush hour. I've heard that Lincoln Properties said traffic flow would not be impacted, but everyone knows that is blatantly false. Other estimates say that traffic will at least triple in the area and tractor-trailers would be part of the mix. It's already difficult enough to navigate this area as a pedestrian or bicyclist. I've nearly been hit by cars while walking in crosswalks many times.
    Traffic is just one of the many reasons I don't want a huge warehouse store placed in the middle of my neighborhood. Based on the turnout at the Responsible Growth for Northcross meeting on Thursday, Nov. 30, many other people in this area feel the same way. I'm not opposed to growth or developing the Northcross Mall site. I just want the development to be done in an intelligent manner that includes the input of the affected neighborhoods.

Dear Editor,
    I agree with Mr. Morrow ["Postmarks," Dec. 1]. I too would enjoy reading an article about "homo anal sex that rambles endlessly for pages," which like the letter writer, pounds at this issue repeatedly.
    I think this would be a much more interesting article than say; some dry scientific treatment of how brain research proves psychoanalysts were right about homophobia.

Dear sirs,
    There is a new reason to support the state Congress' bill calling for legalized medical marijuana. The new reason is Alzheimer's disease. (As well as other diseases.)
    The Scripps Research Institute in California reported that THC inhibits the enzyme amyloid plaque. This is believed to be the cause of Alzheimer's disease. THC or cannabis in recent scientific studies may simultaneously treat both the symptoms and progression of the disease.
    While this will not bring back people who are suffering from AD, it will prevent people from getting it and help people who are suffering from the symptoms of AD and can prevent it if they start using it early enough.

Friends,
    Thank you for the Celesta Danger photo on this week's issue – a cleverly posed Nora Ankrum said as much with her body language, as captured by Ms. Danger, as we would hope to (and did) find within [“My Semester on the Beat,” News, Dec. 1]. Here's hoping you find other ways to bring Celesta's art to your cover.
    Louis Black's serial-sequel op-ed on "free speech" has taken on epic hues [“Page Two”], but maybe he's/we're getting there now in our search for the true meaning of "free.” I think part of the problem may be trying to simplify the responses to Ms. Maines' spontaneous comment. Some/many were, I believe, exactly as Mr. Black read them to be: hectoring punditry aiming at the speaker, rather than the spoken thought. In that regard, I agree fully with him. However, to the extent that some/many of the "critics" were angrily denouncing the thought expressed, I would agree with Mr. McKendree [“Postmarks,” Dec. 1] that the marketplace of ideas can sometimes be a bear market. Let's be thankful that we are all willing to think and argue openly about the consequences of speaking freely and can still do so in publications such as yours.

Dear Editor,
    Nora Ankrum's article on APD's Citizen Police Academy was a real eye-opener for me [“My Semester on the Beat,” News, Dec. 1]. Like Nora, my encounters with the police have also included a lot of handing over of licenses and insurance cards. The officers have run the gamut from very professional to asshole bullies. However, in the last few years, I have noticed a definite increase in professionalism in my encounters with the police. APD's strict recruitment policies and extensive training seem to be paying off.
    The community policing policy is a fantastic solution to crime. If the officer knows his beat, and the people in it, they are more apt to trust him and give him good information on potential or existing problems.
    I am disappointed with some of the issues with APD, such as the Daniel Rocha, Sophia King, and Jesse Lee Owens shootings. However, I realize that the officers have a tough time out there on the streets and must make split-second decisions that may result in a choice between life or death. Until I walk a mile in their shoes, I am in no position to judge how an officer reacts to mentally unstable people or threats to their own lives. I believe the Office of Police Monitor gives citizens some oversight into potential police misconduct and may separate some bad apples out of an overwhelmingly good batch of police officers.
    I also disagree with the city of Austin's use of the police department as another tax collection entity with its zealous use of speed traps and exorbitant fines. It seems to me that traffic enforcement would be better served by removing road ragers and incompetent drivers from our highways.
    Overall, however, when I read articles about the LAPD and the New York Police Department, I am thankful to live in a city under the protection of our police department.

P.S. p.s. Nora, you are smokin' hot in that uniform! Talk about Dream Police!

Dear Editor,
    As a longtime sufferer of chronic hepatitis C and enduring a year of failed chemotherapy in hopes of eradicating this under-reported epidemic in the U.S. media, I congratulate Margaret Moser for her graphic and well-researched article on this killer disease [“C-Sick,” Music, Nov. 24], and I thank the Chronicle for making it the cover story.
    Ms. Moser's graphic depiction of a person's agonizing death from hepatitis C was right on the money, and reading the accounts of survivors' stories has given me new hope that new treatments and possibly even a cure could be discovered within my remaining lifetime.
    If Ms. Moser's article gets just one person concerned enough to be tested for this often fatal disease and to seek treatment if needed, it was well worth it.
    Thank you for understanding the importance to make this your cover story.

Dear Editor,
    Save the Villa Marquis! We are on the verge of losing an Austin landmark!
    I have never written a letter to you before, but it seems like you guys care about Austin.
    The Villa Marquis is at the corner of Sixth Street & West Lynn. It provides affordable living for the young working class (no BMWs in this parking lot).
    I moved to Austin in 1990 and had always noticed this apartment complex every time I drove down Sixth Street. It seemed like it would be a cool place to live. I am told that everybody knows somebody that has lived here (some of them famous).
    The property's sale is almost final, and the plan is to turn it into another high-priced condo unit. I hate seeing what is going on in this part of town and all over Austin. About 30 of us are to be evicted in a month or so. Can you help?

Mr. Black,
    Re: “Page Two,” Dec. 1: Would you agree that this tactic to demonize and silence one's opponents did not originate on the far right? It began on the left as an effort to force people to be "politically correct." The right only copied it, and now the left is crying about it. As an example: there are well-meaning people out there who believe that, unlike race or gender, homosexuality is a trait defined by a behavior. Whether that behavior is inherent or learned is for another time. But your own publication, along with others, will ridicule, belittle, and insult anyone who voices such ideas. Does not that qualify as an effort to silence such ideas? Does not your own publication engage in exactly the same sort of tactics as you complain of being used against the Chicks? Whatever side one comes down on in the discussions of "gay rights," why is it acceptable to support the "pros" while completely denigrating (in frequently virulently personal terms) the "antis"? The Chicks have no less right to speak out than any of the rest of us. But just because they can sing, they have no greater right nor any greater level of protection when they do speak. I expect some nasty responses to this letter. It's a risk I accept by jumping into this arena. And it's the same risk assumed by the Chicks when they ventured from singing to politics. Usually, the greater the level of notoriety, the greater the level of response. Seems to me that it goes with the territory.