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 mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    Re: “'Junk Science' Emerges in Graves Case,” News, Oct. 16]: Anthony Graves has never taken a lie detector test. Ever. So he has never failed one in his capital murder case. And more than two hundred items of evidence were tested for a DNA match in the Graves case, both by an independent lab and by the state Department of Public Safety office. All the items were selected by the prosecution. None had a DNA match. None. That's the point where the dog scent charlatan was brought in … now comes the state Office of the Attorney General, withdrawing from the case. Graves is innocent.

Dear Editor,
    This brilliant article [“'Junk Science' Emerges in Graves Case,” News, Oct. 16] highlights the horror of Mr. Graves' situation – and seemingly endless and unsettling challenges thrown his way by the state of Texas. I am horrified and shocked by the desperate introduction of "junk science” and the implications for Mr. Graves. This is my question: Why would the state of Texas depend on dogs sniffing 17-year-old burnt materials, rather than focus on irrefutable DNA testing? If the answer is that the DNA has been severely compromised, then what makes them think a sniffing dog will out-test DNA evidence? Pretty much like the "tests" that led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. It's unsettling also that two sets of prosecutors have quit – and as of now he sits in a jail without a prosecuting team for the third time in three years! Could it be that there really is nothing to suggest Mr. Graves was ever involved in this crime? That the state really has nothing at all? Perhaps the dogs become something someone dreamt up … with a Texas twist to it? It's ludicrous … this shouldn't be about saving face on behalf of Charles Sebesta or a judge's father – it's about the life of an innocent man who has already lost 17 years of his life and whose life is at stake!

Dear Editor,
    Re: “Tier One Tantrums” [Newsdesk blog, Oct. 28]: I'd just like to remind the author and readers that the Young Conservatives of Texas opposed tuition deregulation. YCT was the only conservative organization to do so. By the author's reasoning, YCT does have credibility on the Tier One issue.

Dear Editor,
    Has everyone forgotten that Robert Springsteen confessed a second time in 1999 [“The Yogurt Shop Saga,” News, Nov. 6]? It is true that every criminal justice system has flaws, but who would confess in 1991, get away with it, but then confess again in 1999? I remember the article when they found him living his life in Lockhart. He confessed, saying that it was a relief to get it off his chest. Everyone needs to remember this.

   [Editor's note: For the record, Robert Springsteen did not confess in 1991 and never lived in Lockhart. Regarding his 1999 confession, he has since maintained his innocence and claims the 1999 confession was false and coerced by police.]

Dear Editor,
    Capital Metro has one job and has yet to do it right: transporting the public. A significant percentage of the public which requires transportation is comprised of elderly, frail, and/or other-abled people. Capital Metro's boneheaded plan to create yet another layer of bureaucracy is simply a means to ignore the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, to raise our taxes yet again in order to finance such an agency, and most importantly, to not do the job it is funded to do. It is not a social need to require transportation for medical appointments, work, and so on. It is a transportation need. Do not let Cap Metro get away with ignoring the needs of all Austinites who need transportation. All of this hoopla it has created is a tactic to make the most vulnerable among us pay the price of poor decisions, like spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a rail system that does not work and which has unsafe (by federal standards) rail cars. Cap Metro needs to be reconfigured, with entirely new management, so that public transportation is actually the priority to offer to every single person who lives and works in this great city.

Dear Editor,
    I am writing to you regarding the phantasmagorilicious review of Fits by Raoul Hernandez [Record Review, Music, Oct. 23]. His rendered regaling of unexplainable, ubiquitous prose led me down a befuddled, topsy-turvy rattled path of extreme mystification as to how one could conjure up said thoughts after listening to White Denim's newest LP. Somehow synthesizing senses, a media mephitis bubbled forth as written words cunningly coalesced into crap. His perineal pining was a crappy clanging cacophony of theosaurohalucigenic prepostera. It evoked an arhythmic nauseopshychosis in my rockish rollish selfsame soul. My predispository boogievibe is woundsmacked beyond consolitory rehabilitation … and yeah, dude, I swallowed my tongue.

Dear Editor,
    I found some information you may find interesting. It's from the Electronics Pocket Handbook by Daniel L. Metzger, p.257: “Although it is possible for severe electric shock to actually damage body organs, or to render the heart nonfunctional, the most common cause of death from electric shock is the same as the cause in drowning – the victim dies because he isn't getting air into his lungs. Electric shock most often kills by paralyzing the muscles that force air in and out of the lungs. It follows that you can save most victims of electric shock by simple mouth to mouth artificial respiration."
    Applying this information to being Tasered raises the possibility that being Tasered numerous times in the chest area could paralyze the muscles used in breathing. The victim would not be able to say what is wrong, because without air movement, he cannot speak. I remember a news release from Waco which said that a man who was resisting arrest was Tasered numerous times. He complained of difficulty of breathing but died before EMS arrived. So why aren't these people being saved?

Dear Editor,
    Your cover of an out-of-frame Bob Byington with the caption "What's Wrong With This Picture?" [Oct. 23] turned prophetic when his screening of Harmony and Me was butchered by a faulty projector, leading to quite the awkward Q&A session. It was a shame, but the movie was still enjoyable, if yet another indie movie about a lovable loser who unrealistically dates beautiful women.

Dear Editor,
    I am still following the music mess at KUT 90.5FM. I have been an avid listener for more than 20 years and have been very pleased with the programming. That is, until recent changes and cutbacks have put a dent in my appreciation. I think Paul Ray, Larry Monroe, and John Aielli have been mistreated and misused by the present schedule. The expertise of these veteran broadcasters would better be used to create new "Austin"-style programs instead of canned, imported venues.

Dear Editor,
    I enjoyed reading Richard Whittaker's mention of Elliott Naishtat's "Sonic ID" on KUT-FM in this past issue [“Naked City,” News, Oct. 23]. And I am especially grateful to Mr. Naishtat for his open letter stating his true feelings on the matter. But this is hardly the only distortion of artists' and listeners' feelings toward KUT and current KUT management that KUT has been airing.
    If you go to the SaveKUTAustin website, there is a long list of the musicians who support our group. And, as Mr. Whittaker stated, the one time we accidentally included an artist in error, we immediately and publicly apologized. But if you listen to KUT, you will currently hear Sonic ID's from some of these same artists that give the very impression that Mr Naishtat's did, that they are in support of KUT policies. But it is a long leap from being a supporter of public radio and KUT in general to being a supporter of the direction that Stewart Vanderwilt is trying to take the station in. Vanderwilt is aware of this, but those spots continue to air. And his deliberate, willful misrepresentation of his listeners' opinions just points out again his arrogant, disdainful view of those listeners. Apparently there is only one viewpoint that matters to him, and that is his own.
    All of the 1,700-plus members of SaveKUTAustin are supporters of public radio; it is the reason the group exists to begin with. And most of us are longtime listeners and supporters of KUT. But we want KUT to go back to being the kind of station that reflected Austin attitudes and values, not one that condones the disgraceful treatment of Larry Monroe and Paul Ray. This is not how Austin shows support for its artists, and we as a community need to let him know that. Do not support bad KUT management!

Dear Editor,
    I understand that our theatre troop levels somewhat hinge on the success of the Pakistan army's offensive against the Taliban in Waziristan and not the run-off election in Afghanistan. However, what is the possibility of increasing the Russian troop levels in Afghanistan under a United Nations flag? In theory, they save face and allow U.S. combat troops some much needed rest.
    As for health care reform. With swine flu cases picking up again, Leslie Cochran recuperating, along with our vets, it sure does make more sense to approve a public option each passing day. By allowing states to govern medicinal marijuana, we will take money away from drug cartels and convert it into tax revenue. Hint hint, Texas!

Dear Editor,
    I saw the reflection in the sliding doors: a black man in a porkpie hat walking into H-E-B behind me. He was tall, wearing charcoal pin-striped slacks, a long-sleeved blue dress shirt, black tie. He had that dignified gait. It looked like his natural porkpie pace. I turned and said, “That is a fine hat.” He said, “Thank you, my friend,” shook my hand, and continued, “and it is a fine day to wear it.”

Dear Editor,
    Excuse me, but I'm going to tell you why your review is wrong in all sorts of ways [Film Listings, Oct. 9]:
    1) You don't give us any legitimate reason to believe this movie "sucks" or "isn't scary" as you have told us. You simply bash the film left and right while expecting us to believe you and giving us no evidence to back up any of your claims.
    2) You found the Blair Witch movie to be scarier. Seriously? I bet you saw crap like The Damned and thought that was scary, you putz. I bet for you a movie has to be scary to have a monster/killer and "gore = better.” It isn't. True horror is in the unseen. When you go to a movie and already know the killer, the only thing left to be used to scare anyone is the sense of dread. But if you don't know who/what is the reason for inflicting terror in the story and you can't see it … well, you know.
    3) The quality of your review is the same as something one could read on 4chan, amongst others who simply hate something just to hate it.
    No backup, poor journalism, poor point of view, poor everything. I suppose you think you're better than the other reviewers who actually gave the movie a chance with an open mind just because you bashed something that's popular? You're not.
    Also, if you go into a movie with a negative attitude, you're not going to enjoy it. That's just how it is. Go into a movie with an open mind, and you may enjoy it, you may not, but you would have kept an open mind and thus people can respect you a lot more for it.
    You say Paranormal Activity is nothing more than a very elaborate vid/prank from YouTube. Ironic, this review is something I expected to read on YouTube as well.

Dear Editor,
    Thank you for printing the photograph of a Copenhagen bike lane [“Cool Cities: Dispatches From Copenhagen,” News, Oct. 16]. It's much more informative than the accompanying article.
    Imagine how transportation in Austin would change if we had wide, comfortable bike lanes, free of parked cars and garbage cans. Austin's bicycle lanes are narrow, full of debris, and often in the door zone of parked cars.
    How about some pictures of sidewalks and crosswalks in Copenhagen?

Dear Editor,
    After reading “Page Two: Haters and Promises” [“Page Two,” Oct. 16] by Louis Black, it appears his “Bush-hater” logic applies to himself: You are either with us or against us ("us" meaning Democrats only). It is this kind of logic that has gotten us nowhere. The author seems to believe that if you are not a “Bush-hater” (i.e., self-proclaimed Democrat) then you are just completely out of your mind. As an independent that consistently votes for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, etc., I find it disgusting that people actually vote blindly by party. You can't just assume that because a candidate belongs to a party, they actually share your interests. Most Democrats and Republicans (including Obama and McCain) voted for the PATRIOT Act, bank bailouts, stimulus packages, increased war funding, and for increasing our troop numbers overseas. You, like most people who voted for Obama, are a Ron Paul supporter on most issues and don't even know it. I encourage you and other people with similar ideologies to educate yourselves and read his book The Revolution: A Manifesto and/or his new book, End the Fed (currently No. 1 on Amazon) – they are easy reading and nonpartisan. Doubling the debt, reducing our personal liberties, and expanding our military presence overseas is not change. As an independent, I am labeling you a “freedom hater.”