Letters to the Editor
Portlander
Published Letters: 303 Editor's Choice: 13
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Japanese Knives
[Read the article: This blade slices, it dices]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am a 'hardcore' amateur cook. While my wife was alive, I cooked for us 5 days per week. Even now (my wife died 6 weeks ago), I still cook full meals for myself almost every day. For reasons of safety and precision, I use Shun Elite knives. They are Rockwell 65, and they are sharp beyond anything I have experienced or can reproduce in Henckels or Wusthof or MesserMeister. If used properly, sharp is always safer than not as sharp. Japanese knives are also lighter, have thinner blades and, for me anyway, have much better balance.
If one is willing to take care of good Japanese knives, or any other quality knife for that matter, the knives are a long-term investment and are, therefore, not that expensive over time. Plus, I only have 6 knives - don't need the 42 piece set. Finally, if you buy the cheap knives, you will eventually hurt yourself.
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No check
[Read the article: What will YOU do with your fiscal stimulus check?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I won't get a check as part of this, but, after AMT eliminates all my deductions, I still should get a modest refund. That will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. My wife died of ovarian cancer 7 weeks ago.
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1977
[Read the article: Of Valentine's jinxes and packaged gnocchi ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This will be my first Valentine's Day alone since 1977. My wife and I always tried to make it a fun day, but she died 7 weeks ago. I will make bolognese as always. It will be sad, but life goes on.
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Not Exiles
[Read the article: Can a Cuban Democrat win in South Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]First, the Cubans who came here in 1959-60 are not and never were 'exiles'. No one forced them to leave Cuba, they left of their own accord. To be more precise, they are emigres. Second, not a single person came here in 1959-60 seeking freedom. There was no freedom in Cuba before Castro. The people who came here were the dictatorship, the murderers and torturers of the dictatorship, and the professional and other scum who used the dictatorship to profiteer on the backs of Cuban peasants.
The Cuban people certainly didn't deserve Castro, but they were well served by getting rid of the garbage who profiteered from the Bautista dictatorship. The emigres will also soon discover that actual Cubans don't want the fascists back.
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Anon
[Read the article: Can a Cuban Democrat win in South Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Can you read? Apparently not. You constantly attempt to put words in other people's mouths that they never said. The Cubans that came in 1959-60 were scum, but I never called for elimination of their citizenship. That's just your fascist perspective. Were I able to go back, I would deny them entry, but that has been moot for more than 40 years.
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Anon
[Read the article: Can a Cuban Democrat win in South Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Moreover, the Cubans of 1959-60 did not come here to escape dictatorship, they came here to escape justice for having been part of a dictatorship - quite a different thing.
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Latinchunk
[Read the article: Can a Cuban Democrat win in South Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My experience with Cuban-Americans is quite different. I was a professional actor for a period in my life, and Miami was a frequent tour destination. Three altercations with Omega 7 and one with some real nasties that called themselves Victory 61 (got myself a nice gunshot wound out of that one) plus many conversations with Cuban Americans convinced me that fascism is alive and very well in South Florida. I've done the research and met the people, both here and in Cuba, and my statement that no one came here in 1959-60 for freedom stands.
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latinchunk
[Read the article: Can a Cuban Democrat win in South Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well, the weirdos certainly claimed that they had never been revolutionaries. All I know is that I was just doing my job - performing a play - and guys with guns break in, shut us down, force us into the streets where there were many, many supporters and threaten us. In the case of the Victory guys, they wounded three of us. I am in Miami 4-5 times per year - I do find a few don't cares, but I also find a huge number of people waxing nostalgic about Cuban life before Castro - as you know, Cuban life before Castro was also a nightmare.
I'm willing to find these other views. I am willing to admit that getting shot by whack jobs preverts one's perspective. But, I haven't found them yet. Maybe you are a start.
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On Faith
[Read the article: The troublesome priest]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This entire issue was far more thoroughly and effectively discussed in the Washington Post On Faith blog.
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Just for the record
[Read the article: Anonymous no more]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I post as Portlander but my name is Darrell Zink. Just in the interest of disclosure.
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@ ProfEmeritus
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well, if you had stayed with just homeruns, you might have had it right, but when you add in the other things: Al Kaline in 1956 at age 21. Check it out.
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Hedges is a bigot.
[Read the article: I don't believe in atheists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I saw Chris Hedges talk about his book 'American Fascists' in Portland a few years ago, long before he ever debated Hitchens or Harris. His entire presentation was overtly and palpably anti-unbeliever. Indeed, he has a long record of hostility to unbelievers. He is a much a religious bigot as the fundies he criticizes.
All of that said, even though I am a lifelong atheist, I certainly hold no book for warmongering, torture supporting scum like Hitchens or Harris. Hedges is just plain wrong about dawkins.
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DurianJoe
[Read the article: Packing heat on polar bears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thank you. Truth hurts, but trophy hunters are the garbage of the planet. We also need to know how the polar bears are hunted. Is it some version of capture the animal, tie it to a stake and shoot it like so much of bear hunting here in the West. And, yes, hunting bears with radio-collared dogs is the equivalent of what I just described.
And, let's stop the nonsense about hunters being good game managers. In nature, the old, the sick and the weak are killed or die. Hunters ALWAYS go for the cream of the gene pool. Hunters are species destroyers not game managers.