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 urge KUT to reconsider using a voice-tracked deejay in place of local talent. If you are unfamiliar with voice-tracking, an example of this profit-boosting tactic is when one prerecorded deejay replaces the live deejays in 50 different cities. The one taped voice is sent to the 50 stations, and now there is just one deejay to pay instead of 50. Radio giant Clear Channel uses voice-tracking, but I can’t understand why KUT would do this by replacing our local talent with UnderCurrents With Greg McVicar. Yes, there are several taped NPR shows on KUT, but they all offer extra goodies like interviews, news, or storytelling. UnderCurrents is simply a tape of a deejay playing standard songs. KUT’s mission is to provide a community service, not to lose touch with our community by outsourcing deejay duties. Paying UnderCurrents instead of a local deejay transfers money out of the Austin economy. KUT could afford local deejays in 2000 when its budget was $2 million. KUT today has a budget of more than $6 million, so there is no financial reason to cut local deejays. The axed KUT overnight spots also helped build up our young talent into the Austin deejays of tomorrow. Before he became a radio, TV, and Esquire magazine big shot, a young Andy Langer honed his chops on a KUT overnight shift. Austin has lost this spot for our community to grow and retain talent.

Dear Editor,
    The former subscriber to KUT (“Soul Being Ripped From KUT”) [“Postmarks,” July 10] is correct in complaining that the station is sounding more commercial rather than not-for-profit because of relentless, loud, prerecorded “announcements.” The current management at KUT justifies this programming with supposed listener statistics, but KUT is violating the spirit and possibly the letter of Federal Communications Commission Code of Federal Regulations Title 47, Section 73.503, defining noncommercial educational FM stations. If Austin KUT listeners, whether subscribers or not, are increasingly annoyed and irritated with this commercial direction, they can voice their concerns by filing an online complaint to www.fcc.gov or by using the mail-in form. KUT lives in a University of Texas “bubble,” under the Communications Department.

Dear Editor,
    It seems that there must have been a surplus of red paint Downtown and that Red Bud Isle park has become the unhappy recipient. What had been a leisurely weekend ritual full of happy dogs and peaceful excursions in kayaks has instead become a competition of musical parking spaces. It has always been a dance for a space to park, but we found ways to work it out, leaving enough space to circle the small parking lot. Now, not only are the majority of the curbs painted red and say, "No Parking," but the new addition is that the cars will now be towed. Apparently, the extra income for fines was not enough.
    Instead of embracing the population that gratefully and respectfully uses this park and increasing the parking to accommodate this, the city has decided to vastly restrict its use. This is not a good use of our taxpayer dollars.

Dear Editor,
    We are on the threshold of a depression like this world has never seen. The government is stealing trillions of dollars while a crusade is on to continue murdering in cold blood millions of men, women, and children at the hands of our own military. Where's the change? Where's the hope? We are a pathetic generation more concerned about white teeth than the blood running in the streets. We are responsible since we do nothing to stop it. Where are the outcries? Why are we not protesting the slaughter we are causing? We are grown men and women hypnotized by shiny objects and toys, sedated by fluoride, unconcerned about the enormous debt that has been placed on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren for generations to come.
    Look up. When the war planes are in our own skies, when the bombs are falling on Sixth Street and Barton Springs, then will you give a damn? When the gestapo is at your door shuffling you off into an oven, then will you grow a pair and stand up for those you love? When they come for you, it will be too late to complain. I realize you don't have time to concern yourself with this, since we have the Michael Jackson story which must be run into the ground for the next month or two until some new media event grabs hold and here we go again. Let the guy rest in peace for God’s sake.

Dear Austin Chronicle readers,
    Louis Black titled my last letter “More of the Same” [“Postmarks” online, June 26]. Ha! About three points stood out to me in his latest “Page Two” column [July 10]. The subject has occurred at least twice recently (democracy is messy and should be/most letter-writers are stupid or vicious). He advanced the same arguments repeatedly in the course of the column, as if repetition strengthened them (more of the same). And he plucked a phrase from my last thread-posting to inhabit his list of “toxic” ideas to inform me that mine are permanently counted among them (“crimes against society”). Ironically, unless Black supports the futile war on drugs, he agrees with my contention (there can be no crime against a concept, ergo, drug laws are unconstitutional); yet it is still met with derision. His list of said toxic themes contained only a few categories populated with numerous synonyms and repetitions, yet he finished it with “into infinity.” I learned in school that a democratic government assumes people are corrupt (hence our checks and balances), and a communist government assumes they are good (that everyone will eagerly contribute to the benefit of the whole). I have realized that there is a difference between knowledge and intelligence and creativity. No amount of education – gained formally (via money) or on one’s own (via curiosity) – or experience makes a stupid person smart, a talentless person creative – or provides a sociopath with a conscience. Of all the demarcations of society (sex, race, class, intelligence), none indicates a member’s moral condition: whether their actions are mostly good, mostly evil, or evenly divided. I have also learned that no amount of anecdotal evidence or logic will affect Black’s opinions, which are literally calcified. But I know he enjoys the joust. Next: the revolution.

   [Louis Black responds: Sometimes the headlines I use for individual "Postmarks" are snarky and dismissive. I do try to stay away from those, but sometimes I forget basic civility, which is a mistake. Often in "Page Two," I think that my writing indicates I'm talking about "some" or "a few" rather than "most" or "all." On occasion I haven't made that distinction clear enough for even our most casual readers. For these transgressions I genuinely apologize.]

Dear Editor,
    This is not to discuss fiat money vs. commodity-backed currency or my particular take on the monetary system we slave under, but to ask a few questions. Why is it the federal government wants to know our income, our transactions, every last detail of our lives, but the Federal Reserve, a private and foreign bank, is allowed to control the creation of money and manipulate markets without a hint of accountability? The dollar has lost 96% of its value in the almost hundred years the Federal Reserve has been allowed to run roughshod like a band of drunken sailors, spending our labor and sweat on God only knows what.
    HR 1207 is a bill which has an overwhelming bipartisan support with more than 260 Congress members co-sponsoring. It was introduced by Rep. Ron Paul in February of this year. The Federal Reserve claims that to audit it would put our currency in jeopardy. Is that a threat? If it has nothing to hide, then what's the big deal? As it is, the dollar is history, and what little activity we may see in the market is the last quivering of life before the lights go out completely.
    We have a right to know what the Federal Reserve has done with the trillions. Our children and grandchildren have been enslaved by it. My last question: In the interest of fairness, should we not get the benefit of dinner and a movie?

Dear Editor,
    In Lee Nichols' article about the outsourcing of jobs at Cap Metro, there was no mention of the impact on the riders at MetroAccess (formerly called Special Transit Service) by this policy [“Cap Metro Shifts Routes, Riles Drivers,” News, July 10]. Most of the riders on MetroAccess don't have another way to get where they want to go. If it were not for this service, most of these citizens would not be able to hold a job, and many would be homebound.
    Over the past couple of years, Cap Metro has been outsourcing this service to save money. The contractor, called PTS, pays its drivers less than union drivers at Cap Metro are paid, which makes the PTS drivers less likely to do quality work. PTS puts cars on our city streets that are visibly undermaintained and often dirty, inside and out. Some of our passengers have refused to ride with PTS even though that can limit their access to a ride.
    If the Chronicle really wants its readers to understand what is going on at Cap Metro, in relation to outsourcing, then do an in-depth story on the impact of this policy on people who can't defend themselves. Don't just talk to the Cap Metro managers or the union officers, but go out and talk to the riders whose tax dollars are paying for these services. Talk to the riders of PTS to see if they feel safe when they are riding in those vehicles. I have seen the quality and depth of the Chronicle's articles when it is mad about something. How about getting mad about something that affects some of our most needy citizens?

Dear Editor,
    I've been gone a few years, paying for nefarious activities. But you're still a constant, Louis Black. I agree with a lot of what you say, but you lose almost all your credibility when you display such a horrid grasp of the language, man. When you say that "all arguments are not equal," what you're saying is that no arguments are equal [“Page Two,” July 10]. When you say that "all positions are not morally justifiable," you're saying that no positions are. When you say that "all opinions are not well-thought-out," you're saying that none are. When you say that "all … advocacy is not inherently valid," you are claiming that none is. I worked as a copy editor for Statesman, which you still, 17 years later, continue to rag on, and we knew that the proper construction in this type of argument is, always, "not all arguments are equal," etc. Maybe the copy editors there with you aren't up to snuff. Maybe they're afraid to edit your bad self. Maybe you should quit drinking (coffee, of course) and take a vacation and take some basic logic so you can learn to better present these precious opinions of yours in a way that is, at the least, grammatically sound.

Dear Editor,
    What I appreciate about the Chronicle is that editors constantly monitor the level of the playing field to keep one point of view from dominating discourse. Unfortunately a flaw in our current political system is that some points of view can use money to achieve an unfair advantage in making their point and pressing their point with our elected representatives.
    What editors are to the Chronicle is what a publicly funded campaign system would be for our government: a mechanism to keep debate fair and balanced.

Dear Editor,
    Re: “Soccer Watch” [Sports, July 10]: Give 'em hell, Nick Barbaro. I love my Horns, but I love Manchester United and the Austin Aztex more. Honestly, Ken Herman, if you hate soccer so much (speaking to him in his own language), don't cover it! You show your ignorance, and you look like a bonehead.

Dear Editor,
    As a new Austinite, I was more than disappointed to learn of the drought affecting Central Texas. My move to Austin was a big step to take and, in large part, an ideological one. I was greatly disappointed to find that this city, a shining example of ways we can all reduce our carbon footprint, falls short in water conservation – one of the most basic ways for a city to reduce both water consumption and the energy required to keep water flowing in Austin.
    I see this, though, not as a fatalistic reason to criticize the policies of those in charge but a call for all of the citizens affected by this issue to act. I call on all citizens of Austin to proactively address this issue by reducing their own water consumption, educating their neighbors, and donating to an active organization. I also call on City Council to actively pursue a solution to conserve these unique bodies of water and make clean water a priority. Now is the time for everyone to take part.

Dear Chronicle,
    Why (since we live in the live music capital of the world) do we have the worst selection of radio stations? It's appalling to me that even a city struggling to come back from the brink of devastation, such as New Orleans, would have better radio stations than Austin. Let's see, I can count at least three music festivals that we have annually (I know there are many more): 1) South by Southwest, 2) Austin City Limits Music Festival, and 3) Fun Fun Fun Fest. People come here from all over the world to see and hear music, yet when I get in my car to go someplace and turn on the radio, it makes me sick.
    Honestly, I would rather listen to Alex Jones rant about saving the world on 90.1FM than to any of the other so-called radio stations in Austin, with these exceptions: 1) 89.5 KMFA and 2) KUT's Left of the Dial with Jeff McCord on Friday nights. Would someone please explain?

Dear Editor,
    You are right, Tina Sattler [“Postmarks,” July 10]. It takes a freak to know a freak, and Michael Jackson was the king of freaks, not pop [“After a Fashion,” July 3]. But, "one of the most influential performers of all time"? Get real. Just how many international, national, state, local, and garage "performers" has he influenced? Name one star he has influenced. Now, try to count the number of "artists" that have been influenced by the likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, Buddy Holly, Hoyt Atkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Wills, Hank Sr., Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, John Lennon? Need I go on? MJ was nothing more than a media package with fancy feet. Nothing more. In the end, there was nothing "original" about him. (Indecently, he stole the moonwalk from Fred Astaire.)