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,
    By now, all but the stupidest Barack Obama supporters have figured out their guy is a fraud. It's amazing how badly Obama is doing, since he began the game holding virtually all the cards. He had America's desire for hope and change. He had scads of money. He had the mainstream media eating out of his hand. He had the progressive blogosphere pimping for him. He had some good speeches he'd cribbed from other sources. He had the race card to ruin the Clintons' standing with African-Americans. He had the misogyny card – and he knew how to use it. He had an army of enthusiastic mindless young thugs working for him. He had the Clinton haters on his side. He had a big bus to put people under. He had all the old smears against the Clintons the right made up during the Nineties. He had an arsenal of Stalinist tactics to help him along the way. He had threats and intimidation galore (this is what Obamites mean by "a brilliant campaign"). He had the Democratic National Convention rigging the nomination for him from A to Z. And yet – with the entire game rigged in his favor – Obama still can't win!
    Hats off, my friends. The Democrats have managed to pick the worst candidate ever.

Dear Editor,
    We live in an automobile culture. Texas is home to two of the largest oil companies’ headquarters, and auto manufacturers are so proud of the vehicles that are sold here that Texas models are made. Texas is also home to some of the finest roadways in the nation. Of course, there is a flip side. Our culture has overlooked the alternate types of transportation and this is seen on an enormous scale in fatalities. Our country’s automobile fatalities surpass 40,000 people per year, yet this number seems to fade through our news as common occurrences. This whitewashing of a staggering number of deaths is of great significance!
    Now is the time to act, and it is vital that we start locally. Austin’s streets don’t have nearly enough bike routes, sidewalks, and crosswalks for its population. Ever notice how many people stand in the center of a street trying to cross with no crosswalk around? Even our former mayor killed a pedestrian who was trying to cross North Lamar.
    Until our society deals with overcoming this pressure toward using automobiles, no perceivable changes can be made to our safety. Start by riding a bike or walking to your next destination. Try using our slow but reliable buses. If enough people act on their feelings instead of what’s convenient, we can make a change. Initiate conversations with your friends and neighbors, and get them to speak up. City, state, and federal representatives need to step up their pressure to create alternate means of transportation. Law enforcement personnel must start ticketing drivers who hit pedestrians, and courts must follow through and penalize them. The Department of Public Safety must make testing for driver's licenses more stringent and must require yearly mandatory testing for senior drivers. Together our actions can make an enormous change!

Dear Editor,
    Re: “Dead Dogs Don't Lie” [News, July 4]: On June 5 I was walking my dog, as I had daily for more than 2 years, on a leash, on our neighborhood street. As we passed a neighbor's house her three pit bulls ran out and attacked my dog. I hit them with rocks as large as bricks but they never looked up! Had the neighbor not come up and stopped the attack they would have killed my dog. All this in the span of less than five minutes. The neighbor drove me and my dog to the vet immediately – so far it has cost her just short of $1,000 in vet bills. The vet said I was fortunate that they didn't turn on me. From what I have since learned about pit bulls, there is not a nonlethal means of stopping their attacks. All pit bull owners are living with a ticking time bomb that will eventually go off! Why is it that the Austin ordinance requires a second attack before serious action is taken? As one who has been in an attack, I applaud the Austin Police Department for taking quick and decisive action where possible. In my case ,if the attack had lasted a few minutes more, I would have had a dead dog and possibly sustained personal injuries or even death. Had APD or Animal Control been called, they wouldn't have even have arrived on the scene in time to do anything. So, don't whine to me about the injustice being done to pit bulls; they have earned their reputation.

Dear Editor,
    Citizens of the suburbs: the time has come. Yes, Austin is a great place to live, and living out in the 'burbs used to be cheap. However, with the price of gas, the time has come … to start creating more jobs in the suburbs. The reason people commute to Austin is not because they are so enamored with driving, but because that's where the jobs are. My understanding of reality is that jobs should be where people are, and there are smart people living in the suburbs, I'm sure. Let's start pooling the collective intelligence and get started on making more local jobs. Austin will still be there for weekends and entertainment. However, be easier on yourselves. Push to make your "suburb" into the "city" it really is. Get community centers, art festivals, and all that out there. Obviously you like those things, or you wouldn't come into Austin, either. It's scary to be first and to plan it all out, but there's no reason that think tanks and business collaborations only belong in big cities. You've already proven that you have the guts to live outside of Austin, and as an Austinite, I'm arrogant enough to say that no suburb will ever be Austin. However, you are smart people who have families that need to eat, too. Let's get some businesses and jobs (other than retail and residential) going out there, too!

Dear Editor,
    I'll be the first to admit that it makes little sense to film a Texas story in Michigan, even in the summertime, but Josh Rosenblatt and the Chronicle were less than fair in their dismissal of Ypsilanti (“On Ypsilanti Roller Girls and Inverse Proportions,” Screens, July 11).
    More than just home to Eastern Michigan University and the Sauk Indian Trail (Belleville Road is actually in Belleville, guys), Ypsi has given the world Rosie the Riveter, Iggy Pop, Preston Tucker, the striped referee shirt, the perfection of pizza delivery, and the “Paul Is Dead” rumor.
    The “Rust Belt despair” that Rosenblatt maligns has made for cheap rent, which fuels a thriving local arts scene, one surprisingly large for 3 square miles. These days, as the threat of gentrification looms, “Keep Ypsi Weird” stickers have been popping up around town. Because, like you guys, we dig indie businesses and eschew corporate chains, even if we're happy to do business with movie studios.

Dear Editor,
    Re: Lillith Kendle's letter [“Postmarks” online, July, 11]: We have a shitload of land allocated for oil production. The oil companies have not started drilling on this land to keep prices high. The oil mogul President Bush could have figured out that the government can build drills and pumps on this untapped resource of land. Yet he would rather “Pat” his pocketbook. Our own government could produce it much more cost-effectively on our own land. We can even provide security and accountability with the military petroleum supply specialists, if need be. The U.S. produces 5.1 million barrels a day, and we can boost production to double that, flooding the market with cheaper fuels once they are refined. Venezuela was the fourth leading supplier to the United States. Hugo Chávez had a direct contract with the state of Pennsylvania to provide fuel oil at a reduced rate, helping keep the cost of living low. That was helpful as there is a large number of elderly up there on Social Security. There is a lot of snow and ice during the coldass winters up there! The skiing is great at Seven Springs, though. I am sure y'all remember the Valero gas stations that mysteriously disappeared overnight. That's because Exxon didn't want to pay, so Chávez got shafted. Since Bush has been Pat Robertson's vote puppet, the people have lost again. Of course, the loss of that supply hurt the price of oil in the market. That's probably why Bush supported the justices he did. The Supreme Court's overruling of the damages award for the Valdez spill that destroyed Alaska's fishing industry was yet another reaming by Exxon. What was the name of that Steven Seagal movie where he fights big oil back in the Nineties? Maybe Al Gore should give him a call, and get the ball rolling. Shit or get off the pot, Bush. Use it or lose it!

Mr. Smarty Pants,
    In the last 10 years, the number of criminals working in the Austin Police Department surpassed that of poor East Austin areas – labeled as crime-ridden by police – especially in zones where residents matched the numbers of APD's personnel.

Dear Editor,
    Re: The air marshals in Houston facing drug charges: America's deranged drug war is duplicating the conditions Al Capone bragged about when he said, "Half of the cops in Chicago are on my payroll." Then it was an alcohol ban and now it's drugs, but the results are identical.
    Police corruption has increased 500% in the last five years. Nearly all of these crooked cops were involved in drug crimes. Public officials from air marshals to beat cops to federal judges have been caught dealing drugs.
    If we do not stop this drug crusade, which is a colossal failure anyway, it will destroy honest policing in this country the way it has already done in Mexico and other countries.
    It's worth remembering that Eliot Ness never put the bootleggers out of business. Repeal and a regulated market for alcohol did that. The murder rate dropped 50%, and the crime wave associated with alcohol stopped after repeal. We will see similar results when drug prohibition is repealed. (See: “Did Alcohol Prohibition Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Crime?” www.druglibrary.org/prohibitionresults.htm and www.druglibrary.org/prohibitionresults.htm#a2.)

Dear Jordan Smith and all,
    I have to disagree that APD Chief Art Acevedo has "stumbled" in the instances you cite [“Acevedo Stumbles,” News, July 11]. If I understand the situation correctly (and my only source is your article), the issue is not the substance of the comments deemed offensive. Neither is the issue whether the people making the comments in question received the appropriate sanctions. The issue is accountability.
    People in this community have long demanded that police officers treat each human being they encounter with respect and dignity. We vigorously protest instances of police abuse or excessive use of force. Law enforcement officers avoid accountability for misdeeds when, due to misplaced and excessive loyalty, their co-workers turn a blind eye to things they know are wrong. Loyalty to co-workers and friends is an admirable trait, but only to a point. When police officers feel more loyal to each other than to the community, their sworn duties, or their uniforms, they are no longer able to protect the public.
    If the article reported the facts correctly, it seems pretty clear that Chief Acevedo has a single standard: Report wrongdoing, as you see it, when it comes to your attention. The principle applies whether the wrong is a racist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive comment, or a gun that shouldn’t have been fired. Maybe it will turn out that the reported act wasn’t what it seemed, wasn’t so bad, or doesn’t warrant much of a penalty or any penalty. But if officers, especially supervisors, don’t take responsibility for each others’ behavior, we all have reason to fear the police department. That’s why, based on your article, I think that Chief Acevedo is right. If the community wants accountable law enforcement, we need to support him as he demands that accountability.

Dear Editor,
    All that many people know about pit bulls are what they read in the paper or hear on TV, so when a story reports a pit bull attack [“Dead Dogs Don't Lie,” News, July 4], it is often absorbed as a generalization about all pit bulls – and all pit bull owners. That is the most frightening aspect of this issue – that the mistakes of irresponsible owners are being projected onto the many responsible owners of pit bulls.
    Jack [Bishop], it sounds like you won't even entertain the notion that there are responsible pit bull owners out there, much less have an open enough mind to want to meet them (and heaven forbid, work toward positive change) [“Postmarks,” July 11]. Too bad. Maybe you would learn that only the responsible owners would likely comply with heightened, ridiculous (and unfair) breed-specific impositions such as licenses and liability insurance. Do you really think that owners who currently don't keep their dog in a safe enclosure, don't train or socialize, and don't spay/neuter to reduce the potential for aggression are going to comply with even more requirements? The state law which restricts breed bans is not hand-tying anyone in local government – existing municipal codes on leash laws, anti-tethering, humane treatment, and vicious dogs (a definition based on behavior, not breed) are on the books and are being enforced to the extent that city resources allow. Overturning the breed ban restriction will not increase enforcement, awareness, or improve the "pit bull problem" in our community – it will only penalize responsible pit bull owners, and cause derelicts to pick another dog to abuse, neglect, or use as "property."
    It's extremely frustrating that responsible pit bull owners always have to jump in to counter perceptions based on individual cases. While I love my dog, if I knew that I would have had to become a full-time pit bull advocate, I may have picked another dog to rescue – and in the process, would have missed out on saving the life of a truly wonderful companion. That probably goes for all of the other responsible pit bull owners out there – and, despite the media reports which imply the contrary, there are many of us. You just don't hear about us or our dogs, because we're not "headline news."
    In the meantime, I'll endure the uneducated, closed-minded, and expletive-laden rants of those who have never met my dog (or me), and stay focused on changing one mind at a time.
    See also: Austin Pit Bull Meetup Group: apbt.meetup.com/78.

Hey,
    Someone should give that Mike Homa guy some sort of Economic Genius award! In his letter (“Follow Hugo Chávez's Example") on p.10 [“Postmarks,” July 11], he suggests that we should just nationalize our oil like Venezuela, in order to solve our oil pricing woes. Geez! Why didn't anyone else think of that? Maybe because in order to nationalize a resource, it generally has to come from within said nation's borders. Mike – we don't have any goddamn oil to nationalize! That's why we're over there killing Iraqis! Did this guy literally just fall off the turnip truck? Even better is his second letter ("Are You Kidding?") on p.11, concerning Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay detainees, and Nostradamus! No, really Mike. Are you kidding?

Dear Editor,
    I'm sure by now someone has explained to Stephen Moser (no one at the Chronicle clued him in?) that the reason he and his friend were refused sale at a head shop was not because the salesgirl was rude, but because his friend was being idiotically indiscreet [“After a Fashion,” July 11]. Using the correct “lingo” means avoiding references to illicit drugs rather than being expected to know the latest drug slang. Gems like this are the sole reason I occasionally scan “After a Fashion” when Moser exposes himself in hilariously embarrassing ways. Mr. Moser: Water pipes are sold, ostensibly, for the purpose of smoking tobacco, and if you're uncool enough to step into a head shop and ask for a “bong” or a “hitter,” you'll be refused sale and probably asked to leave. Or, uh, so I've been told.

Dear Editor,
    I'm really confused as to why the Chronicle would print a letter from someone like Jack Bishop [“Postmarks,” July 11], who clearly is nothing but a foul-mouthed, anger-ridden, and, might I say, misinformed individual. Anybody who comments, "Hooray for the cops who shot these goddamn dogs," should not be allowed to have his heartless comments posted. Freedom of speech, yes, but not when you spew out so much blatant hatred. I will agree with you on one thing, Mr. Bishop. People who keep their dogs outside in a fenced enclosure need to make sure that the fence has no hole. If they do, that hole in the fence needs to be plugged up, and so does your mouth, Mr. Bishop.

Dear Editor,
    John McCain’s song parody about bombing Iran passes for humor in his deluded, war-mongering Re-Uglican brain, but it seems more and more likely that his wish will come true and the Bush-Cheney criminal duo will once again call on their buddies in the Pentagon to make war on another Middle Eastern country, all at the behest of our “friend” Israel. Though the corporate media know better than to even mention it, Israel has several hundred nukes on hand and has so for decades. Pakistan, India, and North Korea all have nukes, and our backward, right-wing administration withdrew from nuclear nonproliferation talks years ago. Nukes are floating all over the former Soviet Union, unguarded and unaccounted for, but all we are supposed to worry about, according to the corrupt Bush and Co. through their ever-cooperative mouthpiece, the mainstream media, is Iran. Could this all be orchestrated by the folks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (an Israeli lobby) who, along with the oil companies, were the prime movers on Iraq? Like McCain’s song, it sounds ominously familiar.