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.
RECEIVED Tue., April 30, 2013
Dear Editor,
Rosemary Lehmberg violated the law. By definition, those with the motivation to become public figures must accept that they are held to a higher standard. This forfeiture of privacy doesn’t mean that public figures must forsake rights for fairness, justice, and forgiveness. Rosemary accepted full responsibility and requested the most severe punishment, waiving rights for appeal. This is not typical.
[Lehmberg] is a true public servant, dedicated in her role as district attorney, and for 36 years previously, as the head of the Public Integrity Unit, founder of the Children’s Advocacy Center, and chief prosecutor under Judge Tom Blackwell, as well as being named Best Lawyer for Children’s Issues. You don’t know these things because her performance has been beyond reproach.
The universe presents us with opportunities to practice grace, many of which we ignore. Defined as “the divine influence in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation,” grace is an attitude that we often neglect in favor of judgment and persecution.
Public servants are not required to relinquish their rights to fairness, justice, and forgiveness. Those who sit in judgment must recognize the need to balance accountability with grace. The symbol of justice has long been the beam scale, epitomizing the balance between truth and fairness. Place Rosemary’s 36 years of public service on one side, and her arrest on the other, and the scale would be heavily weighted on the side of good, for she has contributed more to our community than she could take away with this one act. Through her willingness to accept responsibility, she has established a standard that we can hope will be met by others in the future. Here we have an opportunity to practice grace that we cannot overlook.
Angela Luck
RECEIVED Mon., April 29, 2013
Dear Editor,
A true-life Austin Psych Fest moment: About two-thirds of the way through an exuberant Roky Erickson set that was at turns manic and muzzy as it was fuzzy, I spied original Patti Smith Group guitarist, Lenny Kaye, walking the grounds. Struck by the immense synchronicity of the situation, (after all, it was Kaye's seminal anthology of Sixties' garage rock, the Nuggets double album which for many served as their initial introduction to Roky & the 13th Floor Elevators' landmark single "You're Gonna Miss Me" – not to mention, on a larger scale, acting as a veritable aural Rosetta Stone blueprint for subsequent garage and psych movements to follow), I approached him and asked if he ever pondered the butterfly effect, to wit: If he hadn't produced Nuggets, would maybe none of "this" all be here today. He politely demurred, and humbly answered, "I think it would have all happened anyway, but I'm extremely glad to have played whatever small role in helping it along the way." Classy answer, Lenny ... but I, for one, am extremely glad we won't ever have to live in that horrible alternate musical universe where Nuggets never existed. Psych Fest forever, y'all!
Don Payjack
[Music Editor Raoul Hernandez replies: Amen, Don. Lenny Kaye walked past Chronicle music writer Michael Toland and me as we watched No Joy at the Levitation tent on Sunday – which is where he was headed just prior to Roky’s set. We both did a classic double-take. “Was that Lenny Kaye?” asked Toland. The next words out of our mouths were "Nuggets."]
RECEIVED Sun., April 28, 2013
Dear Editor,
What ever happened in the John Schaefer shooting case? And why haven't we seen any dash-cam video? All the reports and affidavits released so far seem to make clear that Mr. Schaefer refused to obey a lawful order from a police officer to temporarily disarm while a (potential) crime was being investigated, and that he drew and pointed a gun at a police officer resulting in his death. I've read the reports, but it seems that releasing corroborating video evidence in this shooting should not take the two months it has. Where is the video?
Steve Basile
[Editor's note: We continue to monitor the case, but note that it's standard practice to withhold video and other evidence while the incident remains under Austin Police Department review.]
RECEIVED Thu., April 25, 2013
Dear Editor,
Thanks for the update on HausBar Farms [“
Growing Pains,” News, April 26]. It was satisfying to read that the PODER organizers, Llanes and Almanza, have backed off their exaggerations about their issues with the farm and become more reasonable.
However, one thing I would love to see in print that has not made it into any of the articles I have read on the topic is regarding the complaint made by Mr. Polanco about the smell coming from the compost on the farm; that smell was an anomaly and was corrected quickly by Barger and Hausmann. So it sounds like the bad smell is an ongoing issue but it is not and has not been for some time. But Polanco is still complaining.
Kim McIntosh