Letters to the Editor
lonewolfy
Published Letters: 472 Editor's Choice: 20
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@ Juliebird
[Read the article: Hero of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for sharing the nursing/nutrition info!!
One thing surprised me, though: if breast milk has ~20 calories/oz, and a baby of a certain size, etc. consumes, say 12-15 oz a day...that's only 240-300 calories for the whole day!
I know that for a baby's tiny body mass, they certainly don't need an adult-sized intake of caloric energy. But with their metabolic and developmental needs, it is pretty darn amazing that the little ones can grow on such few calories.
Heck, it makes me wanna focus more on trimming unnecessary calories from my own diet...=)
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Ahhh, to be 14 again
[Read the article: So long, Stepp!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Where were these mythical, wondrous rainbow parties when I was a horny adolescent?? (Who am I kidding, though - I was way too nerdy to ever get invited to such a fest of Dionysian debauchery...)
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Incidentally, Stepp never delved into the ugly corollary of "wingmanning": the infamous act of cockblocking. If ever someone wanted to write a dissertation on male group dynamics during mating seasons (e.g. spring break), the wingman and/or the cockblocker would each deserve their own chapter!
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BUT: The motors in Asia have only just begun running
[Read the article: Stop your motor running]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The explosive economic growth in China & India over recent years - and the resultant growth of an affluent new middle class - means that a whole lot more motors are just beginning to idle in the East...and this frankly drowns out any driving reduction by us here in the US.
GM and Toyota both (rightfully) see China and (to a lesser extent) India as the next cash cow market, with literally millions of people now in a position to desire/afford cars as transport - as well as larger, more comfortable homes (which brings on the issue of more fossil fuel usage for heating, electricity, etc.)
Are we Americans - kings of consumption that we are - going to demand this burgeoning group of young Asian professionals to stick to the small, cramped homes and the bicycles of their parents' generation? Do we have a right to lecture the rest of the world in their energy consumption behavior, when we have feasted for so many decades without any thought to conservation? These are thorny but necessary questions to ask...
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Trades are good...but remember short-term vs. long-term
[Read the article: Rosie the Six-Figure-Earning Mechanic]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A graduating Mechanical Engineer (B.S.M.E.) from a 4-year college can expect a starting salary of roughly $45-$50K, depending on the state, company, etc.
A graduate of BMW's (2-year) service technician program can expect a starting salary of $65-$70K to work on repairing new & old Bimmers at a dealership.
Certainly, that $20,000 difference is no chump change. However, it can be argued that the mech. engineer, with his Bachelor's, is in a better position for upward professional mobility...in 5 years, he/she may reach the level of Lead Project Engineer (salary: 70-90 grand), and in 10 years may become Head of R&D for the company (six-figure salary and then some).
The service tech/mechanic, however, has a much lower ceiling for promotions in the long-term - unless this mechanic ends up going to college at some point to get a 4-year automotive engineering degree!
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@ Alkaline
[Read the article: Stop your motor running]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, but will the Chinese government let their country get into the same predicament that the U.S. is now suffering? I don't think so.
But how exactly will the Chinese government prevent the same predicament? I realise that as a communist government they may be/are able to implement stricter social controls than us - but remember, in many ways this government is also more "Pro-Capitalist" than we are!
If the incentive to the citizenry for high productivity, innovation and other economic positives is the chance for a better standard of living, it really is not in the interest of China's leaders, politically speaking, to take a Luddite approach to environmental concerns. Somewhere between the extremes of bicycle-only transport and tiny rural huts, and Hummers and McMansions, there is/should be a middle ground that allows China's new middle class to seek greater creature comforts in a sustainable way.
As a "bright green" myself, I think we as Americans can make a case for sensible, sustainable consumption - and in doing so be a model for those in the East who find themselves with better means. I think such an approach would be a lot more palatable than the alternative of (hypocritically) demanding they arrest their nascent needs.
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The solution seems eerily simple:
[Read the article: What do you do when a girl is better than the boys?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why doesn't she simply try out for / play with the next level of team - say, a team of 15-year old girls (or boys)??
In Caribbean high schools, when a kid was wayyyy better than his/her peers, they are advised to try out for the older kids' team...where their skill level and physical gifts would be more appropriate.
As a great example, google Freddy Adu - who was scouted by Italian professional football leagues when he was only 10 - to see what I'm talking about.
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How much do YOU weigh, Mr. Keillor?
[Read the article: Playing soldier]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why don't you share your body mass index with all of us?
Judging from your pictures, it's quite obvious you don't have an extra pound of fat on your frame...right? Nope, you are as ripped and fat-free as Matthey Mc Conaughey...right?
Pot, meet kettle.
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To Jenny who said people shouldn't be so thin-skinned: I agree!
Which is why I have no qualms in saying that Keillor is an embarassing, clueless parody of what the Red States stereotype a progressive as being: the latte-sippin' elitist snob who believes that anyone who can find beauty in a '56 Indian AND a Monet - or enjoy listening to both AC/DC AND Chopin - is a lunkheaded troglodyte.
If Keillor had to face an iota of the horrors that many of those "fat, ponytailed" veterans dealt with in Vietnam etc., he probably would defecate in his pants and then soggily run home to Lake Woebegone. So would Dubya (substituting Connecticut for Woebegone). Guess you and the Decider aren't so different after all, huh Garrison?