Letters to the Editor
ironocrat
Published Letters: 245 Editor's Choice: 4
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Amity
[Read the article: Where are all the women going?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While I do agree with your allegations of a systemic problem with science in this country, I don't agree that the academic field has always been the way it is now.
Until WWII, the US as an entity had almost zero interest in scientific and engineering research. Most people don't realize that government entities like NSF, ONR, DARPA, and NIH are in most cases younger than our grandparents.
I seriously considered going the academic route myself as an undergrad engineering student. I finally turned away from that option because of the increasing striation between industry and academia, with most young professors teaching engineering without ever having practiced themselves. This is in some ways indicative of part of the problem: The people willing to toil through school to get into doctoral programs at Ivy League or other similarly-regarded schools are the only ones who had a remote shot at eventually getting tenure-track positions at respected schools, and working in industry is so mind-numbing that advanced degrees are rarely useful except as padding on a resume. The result seems to me a lot like a caste system, at least within engineering. Given that system, most people elect to get their BS and at least earn a few bucks if possible.
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kiojin
[Read the article: Dems prepare for West Virginia results]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Welcome to Salon. Pick any nasty liberal stereotype and you are sure to find it in the letters threads.
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Amity
[Read the article: Where are all the women going?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Interestingly, many kinds of law and medicine also serve primarily to improve and enrich the lives of our fellow humans, yet don't pay very well. From the poor state of justice and the lack of widespread access to good medical care in a society that nevertheless enjoys a surfeit of doctors and lawyers, I take it most of them are only thinking about what pays the best, too."
The supposed poor state of justice has little to do with lawyers making money, and lack of access to healthcare has nothing to do with where doctors choose to work.
Have you elected a life of penance in order to contribute to "civic virtue," or have you chosen to do something you like and feel engaged in? Have you ever received a raise? Bought a house? Had a child? Any of these are arguably choosing something for yourself rather than for "civic virtue," whatever that is.
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Now that A Billion Angry Bees doesn't seem to post anymore...
[Read the article: Skirt-chasing as sport]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...Svutlana is my favorite letter writer.
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Vaporland
[Read the article: Celebrate clean coal, come on!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That computer monitor you're looking at is dosing you with quite a bit of radiation. Moreso than plutonium is right now.
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Walmart shoppers are so stupid
[Read the article: Wal-Mart's "Faded Glory"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If only they'd realize they need to spend $45 on a t-shirt. Pull out the credit card!
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Anti-depressants
[Read the article: The MySpace mom's prosecution threatens us all]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"This poor girl was on anti-depressants prior to her suicide. We can go around in circles all day about the crappy things Lori Drew did, but the real culpability lies with the pharmaceutical and mental health industries that continue to promote and prescribe mind-altering drugs that increase the risk of suicide far more than mean and hurtful words do. It is also my understanding she was suffering from weight problems, so I wouldn't be surprised if her depression she was being treated for was a result of brain malfuction stemming from sugar addiction and/or malnutrition."
Yes, this has nothing to do with a despical woman goading and manipulating a child; let's imagine medical causality and place the blame on CORPORATIONS, man.
I mean, are you serious?
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Trainman
[Read the article: Indy and the Martian Inca mummies -- vs. the French!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Rather than just typing "Yes, you are wrong," I figured I'd at least ask if you can provide examples of that.
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"Salon's war room is perpetrating voter fraud"
[Read the article: Primary tests Obama, Clinton and Oregon's voting system]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That's exaggerating a bit, don't you think?
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bearpaw
[Read the article: New iPhone to hit stores worldwide June 9?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you don't want to use the phone, why not just buy an iPod Touch?
In the US at least, I don't see the point of "setting the iPhone free" from AT&T... why use the thing on TMobile at all? Or are there regional GSM providers that I've never heard of?
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"Farming out" the memorial
[Read the article: Controversy brewing over King statue]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They're hardly "farming out" this work... It's not like they found a Chinese peasant to do the memorial for a nickel a day or rode by Home Depot and picked up four Mexicans who can sculpt and gave them a photo to work from.
The head architect of the foundation funding the memorial liked the sculptor's work. To call this "farming out" the work is ridiculous.
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I don't read Salon for humor, but...
[Read the article: Teen Alex Phillips puts girlfriend's nude shots on MySpace: Child porn?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...this line had me rolling:
"After mulling over his proposal, the authorities countered, Fuck that, we're charging you with child porn."
Thanks Farhad.
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DaleBeck
[Read the article: Live Search Cashback: Microsoft gives you cash to ditch Google]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You can be 100% sure that Google, Pricegrabber, Amazon, and anyone else are keeping track of the exact same data.
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Great
[Read the article: Teen Alex Phillips puts girlfriend's nude shots on MySpace: Child porn?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A letters thread half full of internet pedophilia defenders (a 16yo is not a child!) and prison rape jokes (har har hope you got some lube).
Didn't see this coming.