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,
    At the risk of arousing the ire of ACL Fest fans, I must ask, is there no way to have the festival without the incredible disruption it brings to the surrounding neighborhoods? I live near the park, and every year I – along with thousands of other neighbors – endure the incredible traffic snarls, not to mention the volume of the music itself. I'm guessing the city exempts ACL from the noise ordinance they impose so strictly on established music venues, here in the live music capital of the world. The signs posted along the neighborhood streets state “no event parking in neighborhood” – and of course, they're blatantly ignored.
    Don't get me wrong – I love music myself, as anyone who knows me will attest – but surely there's a better way to do this thing. If memory serves, it was the combination of noise level and invasive parking in adjacent neighborhoods that wound up killing the annual Aquafest.
    ACL is a great event, one that brings a lot of talent and visitors to our city. Is there a way to make it a better neighbor?

Dear Editor,
    This just in from KUT/Lexus of Austin: The dons of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, known as C3 Presents, have just announced they've bought Zilker Park and will restrict public use of the iconic "Great Lawn" to one week every leap year. Half-kidding aside, Austinites have been assured that the $2.5 million sewer sod was installed on C3's dime. Now it is quietly revealed that, in fact, taxpayers are floating a loan to ACL/C3 to be paid off in five years. I'm guessing that we'll continue to pay for the watering and now the Town Lake water tests for fecal contamination and soil tests to confirm that a kid cutting his shin playing soccer in that sludge is perfectly safe. Perhaps the dog-butt-ugly fences could just stay up year-round and serve as a FEMA camp in the event of a natural disaster? Don't like it, citizens? Use your imagination. You're sitting in a tub of that Dillo crud, smoking cigars with the C3 men and dividing up the muddy loot. Or just go play soccer or fly a kite in the streets. Or go to the mall.

Dear Robert Tillotson,
    In your letter "Panhandlers Are Intrusive" [“Postmarks,” Oct. 2], I found myself wanting to ask you – is it really so intrusive to your personal space that you need to call 911, an emergency number, every time a panhandler asks you for money? Get a life. What a waste of Austin's money.

Dear Editor,
    Re: Austin City Limits 2009: 50,000 people standing in a field of "treated sewage," gazing happily upward at rich musicians, could be construed as a symbolic gesture by the live music industry complex to its audience … people standing around wondering: "Why does it smell like shit? Is it the music? Good thing I'm drunk or stoned, otherwise I'd never know the difference."
    In the classic money grab this city has become so adept at, nobody seems to be considering the big picture; it's probably not a good idea to potentially hurt innocent, money-laden tourists with the city's own waste products and a few other surprises. Dillo Dirt indeed.
    So after the big boys go home and all the right people are counting their change, I'd like to know, in the context of a bigger picture: When will the same ground be safe for families to play, eat a picnic, or roll around on? If a child gets some Dillo Dirt in a cut, can anyone out there testify honestly as to its safety?
    Let them speak now please.

   [Editor's note: According to the Austin Water Utility, “'Dillo Dirt' is a compost made by the City of Austin since 1989. … All yard trimmings collected curbside across the City as well as some of our treated sewage sludge are combined and composted to create Dillo Dirt. The heat generated in composting (130 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit) is sufficient to virtually eliminate human and plant pathogens … [and] meets all Texas and EPA requirements for 'unrestricted' use [including] vegetable gardens."]

Dear Editor,
    Re: The firing of Jay Wyatt [“Watching Jay Like a Hawk,” News, Oct. 2]: I was similarly accused of sexual harassment at StarTran. I was originally charged with sexual misconduct; the charges later dropped to sexual harassment and then to inappropriate conduct. There was no evidence to either and included no witnesses. Management had me pegged guilty before the start of the "investigation" with their "kangaroo court," and their presiding Nazi gestapo agents found me guilty without any credible evidence. I was suspended for two days, forced to attend a sexual harassment retraining class, and still have this on my record. There was also another complaint of the same nature from the same person, filed on another employee that was not investigated (the accused was a female; I am male). When I heard this, I went to the Equal Employment Opportunity office and filed a discrimination complaint. That office director responded that there was no complaint filed and I had no legal standing (that complaint went to the trash can). Case closed. My employee rights (what rights?) were blatantly violated. That is Capital Metro.

Dear Editor,
    Is the term "Christian conservative" an oxymoron (self-contradictory or incongruous)? "Christian" is defined as “based on the teachings of Jesus Christ." Would Jesus Christ recognize Christian conservatives as his followers? Conservative is defined as "preserving existing conditions and traditions." Are existing conditions in line with the core values of Christianity or "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18)? I'm not sure, but judging by the "noise" from those who self-identify as Christian conservatives, there may be a contradiction therein.

Dear Editor,
    Re: “Karen Slafter Responds” [“Postmarks,” Oct. 2]: I do believe Karen Slafter's clients when they say she has an excellent "bedside manner,” does not "trace flash,” listens to her clients, and cares about her art. I never suspected she fabricated responses defending her skills. My intentions were not to personally attack Karen but to ask the readers to discover Austin's crème de la crème of the tattoo world. However, in response to the invitation to receive a tattoo from her: Thanks, but no thanks.

Dear Editor,
    Re: "Panhandlers Are Intrusive" [“Postmarks,” Oct. 2]: Robert Tillotson's letter demonstrates the common disconnect between those of us who currently enjoy financial stability and those who do not.
    Yesterday, I stopped by Little City to pick up the latest Chronicle and a half-priced happy hour coffee. Ironically, while reading Mr. Tillotson's rant about panhandlers invading his space, I bumped into one of "these people" in front of Prosperity Bank. After I walked into the back of his wheelchair, he asked, "Hey brother, can you help me out?" I saw his smile and the brick ground beneath his missing right leg and pulled a dollar out of my wallet. We exchanged stories and conversation before shaking hands and going our separate ways. This man was not only the most pleasant person I spoke with all day but also happens to be a fully disabled combat veteran living on $285 a month from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and whatever else he can garner from panhandling.
    As wars, foreclosures, and bankruptcies escalate, so will homelessness and desperation. To equate our poorest citizens with suicidal cult followers of Jim Jones is as irrational as asking a needy woman for money or repeatedly calling the police to harass impoverished people. Our time would be better served calling our elected officials and asking them to support funding for the VA and housing programs rather than for bat-winged bombers and bank bailouts. The countless domestic and foreign policies that exacerbate poverty worldwide should be our focus of criticism, not those who are victimized by them.

Dear Editor,
    Did anyone else catch the amazing radio event; Sarah Jarosz was playing her Tom Waits cover (“Come Up to My House”) live on Prairie Home Companion at the exact same time her album version of the same song was playing on KOOP! It was about 5:45pm on Saturday, Sept. 25. Obviously very auspicious for Ms. Jarosz!

Dear Editor,
    This is in regard to the film review for Amreeka by Marc Savlov [Film Listings, Sept. 25]. Overall, I appreciated the sentiment behind this review, and I am glad he enjoyed the film; however, I would like to point out that the characters in Amreeka (Muna and her family) are not "non-pious Muslim[s]" but actually Christians. This is documented in the movie when 1) Muna says to the principal, "We are not even Muslims," and 2) I believe one of the characters in the family wears a cross.
    Also, Palestine is not a "Muslim un-country" but an occupied land with indigenous Muslim, Christian, and Jewish populations. The Middle East is not a homogeneous region, and we should be careful of making assumptions and generalizations of people and populations.