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,
    In regard to the letter from Sarah Stewart in the June 13 issue, p.10 [“Postmarks”]: Wise up.
    It was my intent to be very offensive to most women, and I'm very good at it. I learned from the best.
    Don't quote scripture to me. Genesis 8:17 mentions cattle. I grew up with cattle. Any cattleman will tell you that you don't put out more cattle than you have pasturage for.
    Why do you think there is famine in so many parts of the world? It doesn't take a genius to figure out it's because the population has exceeded their food supply.
    Also, the desire for sex is fine by me, but there are several reliable methods of contraception. Use them.
    I'm not angry, I'm pragmatic. And if Sarah wants me to become softer toward this issue, well, this is my soft side. Moo cow.

   p.s. Have the good taste to get hit by famine.

Dear Editor,
    In the June 6 “Hightower Report,” Jim mentions the old cliché about being liberal when young and conservative when you're old. I don't believe this. I think it is easy to be either liberal or conservative when you are young. The young are looking for easy answers to the world's problems and both sides give them in abundance. One's political leanings are usually determined by race, geography, family traditions, and which way the political winds are blowing when you come of age. As one gets older, you realize that the world is a lot more complicated than you thought. The easy answers no longer work. With age comes wisdom and experience, and the ability to discern who is right. I started off as a rock-ribbed Republican who has been voting Democrat the last few elections, but I don't think they have all the answers either. I just call myself a progressive conservative.

   p.s. Austin Chronicle, keep up the good work.

Dear Editor,
    How can Judge John Creuzot remain on Mary Mathis' case when he is under investigation by the Judicial Committee for violating Mathis' rights? Why has it taken the Judicial Committee more than six months to investigate and put the case on the docket, but still it has no date and time? Could there be favors going on? The very committee to uphold judicial conduct is afraid to police its own, especially when they are well respected. Why is it that people will back Creuzot, even when they know that he is wrong? Is it because John Creuzot is making money for so many people with his Wilma project that no one seems to investigate? Even the D.A. stated that there is no case, but yet, due to Ms. Rhonda Hunter being involved, the case remains. This is not a murder case, but a domestic theft case from 2001, and Craig Watkins stated that they would not pursue cases without enough evidence! The news media seem to think that this is business as usual for Dallas County, or do they not care about one person's plight?

Dear Editor,
    Just look around the world at all the things that are going on: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, global warming, diseases, and even the price of food. All these things were foretold in the Bible, written many years ago. Anyone who has read the scriptures should be able to determine they reveal what is true and real, yet so many seem to ignore their truths and believe things that have no substance. I am asking you to join me in prayer asking God to let every soul hear and obey the gospel before it is too late. Thank you very much – I'm counting on you to do your part.

Dear Editor,
    I'm not sure our government's priorities are straight. I heard Rick Perry has committed to restoring the Governor's Mansion, no matter what the cost. The renovation, before the fire, was reported to cost upward of $10 million. So, now that a large portion of the mansion was destroyed, I suppose that the costs will be much higher. On the same day that I heard Gov. Perry's commitment to fixing up his palace, I heard a commercial on the radio asking citizens to donate fans for senior citizens. Apparently, there are thousands of households in the area that do not have air conditioning. I am sure that the governor just isn't aware of this. Why else would he spend these huge amounts of tax money to fix up a building where he lives? So, Gov. Perry, how 'bout you make a commitment to provide fans (or even air conditioners) to all our senior citizens … no matter what the cost.

Dear Editor,
    The Governor's Mansion gets a face-lift because it was Molotov-cocktailed by someone with an issue. Could it be Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints payback, for the child-custody issue with the state of Texas? I lived in Bryce Canyon, Utah, for a year or so. I met this local girl, and she said her number was in the book. When I looked up Syrett, her last name, there were eight freakin' pages of 'em. Ya, Mormons seem to have nothing better to do with everything else being against their religion. Don't get me wrong, I like the LDS, but I have seen some go totally postal when it comes to their faith. That's why I am thinking Oklahoma City and Waco. Didn't I hear something about an FLDS enforcer on Fox the next day? I think he came early.

Dear Editor,
    Finally! They have finally broken down and implemented the instant replay for Major League Baseball. Hardball was the pastime of my youth. I was an all-star second baseman with a damn good eye for a hittable pitch in the pony league. I lost heart when the MLB players went on strike for more money back then. I thought they should have asked for fewer games per season, but they got their demands. It has only taken what, 15 or 20 years to catch up with the NFL? I still had a personal boycott since then. With all the bad umpire calls over the years, I was thinking the game was rigged. Combined with my Pittsburgh Pirates tossing the proverbial salad every season, there was no reason to watch. Thank God, I can end my boycott and start enjoying a fair game once again! Now, if the Pirates could only win the pennant …

Dear Editor,
    While working my job pushing carts in the parking lot of a very popular and local business yesterday, I noticed, in triple-digit heat, a silver Volkswagen with two dogs locked inside. The windows were only cracked about a half-inch. I gave the owner about 10 minutes to come back, then went inside and called 311 and reported the car to animal control. Two other customers came in at the same time, appalled, and also called and reported the car. I left a note on the owner's windshield that they had been reported, in case they came back before animal control got there. Forty-five (!) minutes later, the owner did come back, read the note, then sped away. Well, as it turns out, it took animal control more than three hours to show up. I don't know why they even bothered. At that point, those dogs would have been long dead if they'd still been there. I hope the human emergency services in this town are more reliable than the animal emergency services.

Dear Editor,
    I love Texas, but it seems wrong that Gov. Perry is asking for "donations" to rebuild the Governor's Mansion, which has been bought and paid for by taxpayers who've already "donated." I might be more sympathetic to Perry's privileged panhandling if the state didn't have the largest surplus it's ever had on record and we weren't paying for his $9,900/month rental home in the Barton Creek Country Club.
    I'm sure the oil, insurance, and banking companies who've had the last eight years to torch Texas taxpayers' pockets and/or actually debt them out of their homes will gladly find a way to contribute. All in goodwill of course!
    I do wonder, however, whether or not Perry's request for alms would fall within the proposed city ordinances for panhandling or, more importantly, whether the governor would consider staying a night at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless to experience what being truly homeless is like.

Dear Editor,
    Oh man, that illustration in yer magazine of the two dudes on bikes seemingly about to crash into each other sez it all [“The 'Chronicle' Guide to Motorcycle Rally Weekend,” June 13] … at least to a trauma nurse working at Brackenridge Hospital. I’m guessing the dude on the left has a head full of meth, coke, and beer, while the future whiny little paraplegic on the right had one Kamikaze too many on Sixth Street.
    Ah yes, and here they meet, at the Capitol with hundreds of other middle-class yahoos, tooting their little horns and filling the city coffers, while the cops check out all the pussy.
    Most will make it out alive, but the herd always gets thinned a bit; a few will die on the scene, a few more in the emergency room, and the rest will hang with us from one week to as long as three months … fractured skulls, broken arms and legs, punctured bladders, spleens, and lungs … a few amputations. Invariably, a few old ladies lose the backs of their skulls during a really cool wheelie, and lots of 'em go into DTs from years of unchecked drinking, 'cause we don’t serve beer with breakfast; certainly not through a feeding tube.
    In writing this, I don’t presume to speak for any of my co-workers. We all have ways of coping … mine is to rant to you, dear Louis. It’s my 10th and last year doing this kind of work (for obvious reasons) and every year, it’s the same old shit … more stress placed on an already overwhelmed refuge meant for the city’s poor and unfortunate, with totally avoidable trauma and heartbreak; enough to go around almost until next June.

Dear Editor,
    I don't know too many ultrarich elitists, but I sure know a lot of other folk consuming way more than their fair share while becoming fat and unhappy. In the meantime, populations in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the American South, and many other places wither in utter squalor! Complaints about losing rights, television, Internet, electricity, and the ability to drive while half the freakin' planet is struggling for their next meal seems a bit – elitist! It's time to turn off that television, put down those celebrity rags, get out of the air-conditioned house, and go help someone. Share the wealth! People in New Orleans are sleeping outside and don't have basic necessities, let alone Internet! Someone is not paying attention. How about volunteering at a homeless shelter right here in town or donating some fans to Eldercare! Hey, here's a piece of advice from the ultrarich Oprah Winfrey, start keeping a gratitude journal; it will help get you back to reality! What you're experiencing is upper-middle-class angst; it happens, I've been there. The cure is to stop blaming others and become part of the solution. By the way, there are alternatives to mainstream media and celebrity rags, but you've got to pay attention to know this. Stop being a pawn, empower yourself. You think that you are "the rest of us,” however, you are not. Sí se puede!

Dear Editor,
    As a frequent complainer to Austin Chronicle “Postmarks” about various conspiracies which seem to me to be corrupting America, I’m writing to praise the United States Supreme Court, regarding their decision today (June 12) to repudiate the section of the Military Commissions Act which restricted the writ of habeas corpus.
    According to (conservative) Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, "The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."
    The restitution of habeas corpus applies to detainees in Guantanamo Bay, whom the highest court ruled cannot be detained indefinitely without legal recourse; also, that the base cannot be considered “foreign soil” where the U.S. Constitution has no bearing.
    Writing for the minority, Justice Antonin Scalia warned that American lives will be lost as a result of this ruling. This sounds suspiciously like the threat of a Mafioso against a business owner who will not pay for protection from the Mafia.
    We should not take that threat lightly; there may indeed be retaliation by those who wish to turn back the calendar to a time before the Magna Carta. It should be noted that when we speak of the sacrifice men and women of the armed services have made to preserve the liberty, habeas corpus is one of those fundamental rights for which they died. Our weakened and lame-duck president is proud of his attempt to destroy that heritage.

Dear Editor,
    When neighborhoods improve, property values go up. That is something a homeowner should be able to enjoy, but the government imposes taxes based on the value of one's property. Increased property taxes aren't the fault of developers. They're the fault of the government.
    The idea behind property taxes is to have some semblance of progressive taxation. If you own a more expensive house, the government assumes you can afford to pay more. This has been proven wrong time and time again as neighborhoods improve and existing homeowners are forced to move due to their tax bill. That is the problem that needs to be fixed, not development. With actual progressive taxation, homeowners in improving neighborhoods would be able to enjoy the lowered crime and new amenities instead of having to move to a new neighborhood that has enough problems to keep its property taxes low.

Dear Editor,
    God gave deer a desire for sex, too. Does that mean God wants deer to overpopulate the earth? If so, why are we subverting God's will by keeping the deer population in check? See how silly that sounds? Now apply it to humans and you have your answer. It is not God's will that we overpopulate the earth. It is our unbridled greed and desire that we do so. We have the choice, obviously.

Dear Editor,
    An item in the June 13 “Naked City” reports that passenger travel at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport dropped 3% in April compared to the same month last year.
    According to the activity report posted on the airport's website, passenger traffic for April (747,509) was up 3.06% from April 2007's total of 725,293.
   www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/downloads/Stats%20Apr%2008%20Aviation%20Activity%20Report.pdf.

   [The editors respond: Credille is correct: Passenger travel at ABIA went up 3% compared to last April rather than down. That percentage is still considered a decline for Bergstrom, which has seen steady year-over-year gains of between 5% and 8% most months. The Chronicle regrets the error.]