Letters to the Editor
joseph
Published Letters: 62 Editor's Choice: 1
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new orleans, anyone?
[Read the article: Do Democrats need the South?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was surprised to see red Republican blood (is that what's in that graphic?) dripping down over my beloved city. True, once you get out to the boonies and away from NOLA proper, the predominant ideology changes rapidly... but America's Paris, battered and shrunken and PTSD'd though it may be post-Katrina, is as blue as it ever was. Okay, maybe a little less blue given that most of the black folks have relocated to that hell called Houston, but the remaining population is, understandably, not thrilled at our Republican so-called leadership.
My question: what role will Katrina play in determining the future political landscape of this region? Is the issue already dead to those outside of the 504 area code?
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Respect Mostafa's choice
[Read the article: Shocking incident]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is no possible justification for tasing someone who is lying on the ground offering no resistance. Were these cops too wimpy and weak to pick him up? If only. Two cops, each lifting under one of his armpits, is all it would take to drag him out. Handcuff him if he resists. Tasers induce cardiac arrhythmias and kill people with alarming frequency, even on the "low power" setting that, we are told, they supposedly used.
These cops tased him because a crowd was watching, because they didn't want to lose face, because they felt they had to demonstrate their authority, and because they wanted this little shit to feel pain for his lack of obedience. "Respect mah au-THOR-i-tay, boy!" They need to lose their badges at the very least.
As for the guy who posted here who was at Berkeley in the 60s who was oh-so-ashamed at the impotence of the bystanders to, what, get their asses kicked or get shot: Fuck off, Douchebag. If Mostafa had been incapacitated, if he'd been tied up, if he'd have had no possible way to end the assault, then absolutely, it's time for the bystanders to start throwing bricks and burning down city hall. But he made the choice to resist passively because that was a far more effective way to destroy these pigs. Remember, they were being filmed, and the consequences they face as a result of that are far worse than if he had done something stupid like throw a punch. It was a brilliant and difficult strategic move on his part. Mostafa was certainly capable of standing up and walking. The taser didn't paralyze him. He could have stopped the tasing at any time by doing just that. That door was always open for him. Thus, the crowd did well not to intervene.
Kudos to the crowd for simply bearing witness, for learning that yes, this shit actually happens in the world, and for letting the pigs dig themselves in deeper by threatening bystanders with their beloved tasers for the criminal act of asking for their badge numbers. That'll come up as an important point in court. And a big wet sloppy kiss of thanks goes to the dude who filmed the incident. If the participants in the Berkeley protests of the 60s had been slightly more strategic and intelligent and slightly less self-righteous and constipated in their thinking, the 60s might have led to something better than, ugh, the 70s. And the 80s.
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Dear Mr. Police Did Their Jobs Well
[Read the article: Shocking incident]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a sack of horseshit.
If the police were truly powerless to hold onto Mostafa's armpits because of said squirmage, they could have pig-piled on him (literally), handcuffed his hands behind his back, and voila! No amount of squirmage could have freed Mostafa from police officer arms inserted into the closed loop that they created with their magical handcuffs. Police do have ways of transporting unwilling suspects, even the ferocious squirming skinny college student variety (admittedly a tough breed). Cattle prods, however, are better suited for the sadists.
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military school?
[Read the article: My stepson is impossible! What's a stepmother to do?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]yeek. Sending the kid to military school's a pretty selfish way out. Not a lot of compassion there. In general, I like Carey's advice because he usually emphasizes the personal and spiritual value of fighting the good fight, of working toward redemption and maturity. The kid's not blowing things up or torturing animals; he's far from hopeless.
Family members aren't so disposable that they get fed to the beast for being sissies.
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no business apps?
[Read the article: Going mobile]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The iPhone runs Mac OSX, a stable, experienced, and versatile operating system. In terms of the applications that'll run on these phones, there's just about no limit. It's a simple job to port a program.
This is the coolest gadget to be created by the human species to date. All y'all who think it's not going to be the most popular new product of 2007 (and probably of the next 5 years) are sadly nearsighted.
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Cause and Effect
[Read the article: Anna Nicole Smith dead]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Leave it up. Whether it sits well with you or not, this is reality.
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thanks keef
[Read the article: The K Chronicles]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]come back for some red beans, Handsome Willy's, and futbol again this next summer. Yer always welcome in NOLA, friend.
PS - St Bernard's is pretty much still the same, except they've cleared away several of the wrecked homes.