Letters to the Editor
essmeier
Published Letters: 119 Editor's Choice: 15
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It's not just athletes
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's not just athletes whose transgressions we are willing to ignore; it's politicians, too.
Congress has an approval rating that's in the cellar; most Americans would be willing to dump almost all of them in a heartbeat.
Except their own guy.
We hate Congress. Only 30% of Americans approve of the job they're doing.
But members of Congress enjoy a reelection rate of 99%.
Steroid-filled athletes and corruption-filled Congressmen. We love 'em all, provided that they're on Our Team.
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"Lousy" Barry*
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The thing that continues to baffle me is why teams are so eager to walk Barry* rather than pitch to him.
While today's column makes some good points, it overlooks this:
On any given at-bat, he has a 76.7% chance of making an out.
It makes no sense to walk him. Make him hit it.
Charlie
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Stretching credibility
[Read the article: Finale wrap-up: "24"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The writers on that show just think up the craziest, off the wall stuff.
Cracking an encrypted NSA database that's behind a firewall in five seconds and passing it to Jack's PDA? Sure.
The president commits crimes and his attorney general has him arrested?
They've certainly had their fair share of improbable plot twists over the years, but that's the most unbelieveable thing they've had on that show yet.
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Katie?
[Read the article: The Couric effect]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Katie who?
Isn't Hugh Downs the host of the Today show?
I haven't watched in a while...
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Plan B "Plan F for foolishness"
[Read the article: What else we're reading]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The notion that Plan B will cause women to become promiscuous is ludicrous. The pill costs as much, or more, than contraception, so it's not exactly the "easy way out" that politicians envision.
And even if it did cause promiscuity, so what?
This is typical, Big-Government Republican Liberals at work - Government is a hammer, and everything in sight is a nail.
Note to Republicans - "Conservative" means less government, not more....
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Katherine Harris on the 10 Commandments as the basis for U.S. law.
[Read the article: Thou shalt not win]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Earth to KH - No, it isn't.
Only three of the 10 Commandments are even laws. Four if you live somewhere that still prosecutes adultery.
How do people with such a tenuous grasp on both law and reality get elected?
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How about slavery supporters?
[Read the article: War critics as Nazi appeasers? How about slavery supporters?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Odd comments coming from a representative of an administration that still supports slavery.
Just ask any soldier who thought their tour of duty was up, only to be told they had to stay in Iraq.
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NBC looks a lot like ABC
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I happen to think Costas is to Berman as James Joyce is to Soupy Sales, but does it matter that much?
Flawed analogy. You're comparing sportscaster to writer vs. sportscaster to comedian.
Better choice: "I happen to think Costas is to Shelley Berman as James Joyce is to Soupy Sales."
Now you've got something.
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Inside the park home run
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I still have never seen an inside-the-park home run that should not have been scored an error.
I've seen one. Bill Buckner's last career homer was an inside the park job. The right fielder, attempting to catch the ball, fell over the fence and into the seats!
About a week later, Buckner finished rounding the bases for an inside the park homer.
I will concede, however, that most ITP home runs should be errors.
Charlie
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Big deal
[Read the article: iPod: I love you, you're perfect, now change]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's a Walkman. Granted, it's one that requires you to put in a CD, rip the tunes and then copy them to the device, rather than just popping the disc or cassette in.
Or you can buy the tunes at a buck a pop.
OK, it's like a Walkman but harder and more expensive to use, with mediocre, compressed MP3 sound, to boot.
This is a revolution? Feh.
Charlie
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Getting the name right
[Read the article: The cherry on top]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And let's not forget - it's pronounced "ma-ra-SKEE-noh."
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Bad play?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't know that the play was the bonehead move that McCarver suggests. Pujols has a leg injury; at the time the throw missed third base, Pujols was only a third of the way to first. He'd have been easily doubled up if Zumaya's throw hadn't been errant.
That play should have been both easy and effective, and in a 2-0 game in the World Series, possbily even smart.
Then again, a 1-5-3 DP leaves a runner at second and a 1-6-3 DP leaves a runner at third.
Either way, there's two outs and a runner in scoring position.
It's a tossup.
Unless, of course, you just throw the thing away...
Charlie
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A simple solution
[Read the article: Stopping the surge]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The solution for how we get out of Iraq couldn't be simpler:
Saddam has no weapons of mass destruction.
Saddam is not a threat.
Saddam is dead.
We have no further business in Iraq. We declare victory and withdraw.
It's as simple as that.
Charlie
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Wow!
[Read the article: This Modern World]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I can't believe I was able to post before the guy who always complains about Dan "phoning it in"!
My lucky day, I guess.
Charlie
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Drug testing in the workplace
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have long thought that drug testing in the workplace for non-safety reasons was unreasonable, and I have long refused to take such tests. If it's a condition of employment, then I'm not willing to work there. Period.
Here's a possible solution for baseball: No mandatory testing without due suspicion, but a lifetime ban if you're caught.
That might settle both civil liberty and record book issues.
Or not.
By the way, the use of anabolic steroids is illegal. Why aren't those players who test positive, such as Rafael Palmeiro, doing time? Or do the drug laws just apply to regular guys who like the occasional joint while watching SportsCenter?
Charlie
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If you're going to post first...
[Read the article: This Modern World]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...you are required to complain about how Dan Perkins hasn't had an original thought in years, and that he's merely "phoning it in."
There are rules if you're going to post first.
Charlie
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Was Romeo a sex offender?
[Read the article: Was Romeo a sex offender?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here in Utah, if she is 15 and he is 40 and they have sex, he'll be locked up and they'll throw away the key.
No explanation is necessary, such activities being sick and perverse, etc.
Of course, if the 40 year old man wants to marry the 15 year old girl, then circumstances change. It's no longer sick, perverse, etc. It then becomes perfectly legal and has the blessings of the same state that thought it a crime just a paragraph or two ago.
Clear?