Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 19 Editor's Choice: 3
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Go Al !
[Read the article: Another White House run? A former aide says Gore is considering it]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think that Al Gore is hands down the best option for the Dem's and for the country. We elected him in 2000 and we'll do it again.
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Viva Mexico
[Read the article: A Marshall Plan for Mexico]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The idea that we could neutralize the immigration problem by improving the lot of the common folks in Mexico seems to be worthy of a hard look.
Even if as a consequence the more skilled and upwardly mobil Mexicans would continue to be drawn here, this would be a vast improvement over the current situation. These would not be fence jumpers.
For this to happen in a republican administration, though, it would be necessary for us to first attack and defeat Mexico.
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Email. Yuh, right!
[Read the article: Best fake names ever]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have NEVER succeeded in emailing a video dog item to anyone. People simply receive nothing.
Has anyone else had this problem"? Advice?
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On an Historical Note
[Read the article: That was then, this is now]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The writer who somehow aligned the loss of respect for political leaders with the election of Clinton and the rise of Rush is over-looking one little thing: RICHARD NIXON!!! He started the ball rolling down hill in a big way, and general attitudes about our leadership have never recovered.
I would take the simple life of, in my case , the fifties in a heartbeat. The shame of it is that I refuse to believe we had to sacrifice that in order to have the "good stuff" that we enjoy today. Early 20th century progress (my favorite being novocaine) and even the industrial revolution happened without the sacrifice of values that we have seen since Nixon and Raygun.
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Where'd It Go???
[Read the article: Rakoff on "Daily"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Was this video a casualty in the Google purchase or was there some OTHER reason for its disappearance???
I'm not so interested in the answer to this as in making the point that Salon should have posted an explanation right up front.
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Good and bad, like most things
[Read the article: iPod: I love you, you're perfect, now change]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Portable music is nothing new and the quality of the sound is unarguably better than, say, small transistor radios - the curse of the 50's.
The joke may be on those who are unwittingly building their music collections at - as the author briefly notes - a degrading degree of digital compression which they may discover, in their apres-Ipod lives, is not at all satisfying on their high-end home systems.
This fate is avoidable of course, since Ipods will store sounds at respectable bitrates if asked to, 192khz for example. This does require diligence, though, since bitrate is a function of the music source and many or most MP3 files seem to be coming down at substandard rates.
The "gotcha" is waiting for those who remain uninformed.
Gary
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Desperate and Delusional
[Read the article: Mr. President, meet reality]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Smart move for the "president", if he chooses to make it. Send tens of thousands of new troops to Iraq and announce a bold trillion dollar expansion of the military. Smart for him but for no one else. It employs decisive action as a form of diversionary subterfuge. And it has a "Bridge on the River Kwai" smell to it, don't you think? As in "I may be doing something that is completely wrong-headed but, by God, I'm doing it to the best of my ability!".
This is when I wish that political leaders were subject to the dictums of the "Peter Principle" so they would know how to behave in a harmless manner once they have risen in stature to their "Peter's Plateau", their level of sublime and complete incompetence. Dr. Peter, of course, worked in the realm of private sector management. His subjects could close their office doors and quitely spend their days rearranging the items on their desks, sharpening pencils and ordering lunch. Tough to pull this off in the face of the public image requirements of elected office.
So the "president" stumbles on, pasting together his pathetic legacy of misguided, ill-motivated ineptitude, while his constituents and the rest of the world witness with horror the stupifying obscenity of spilled blood and squandered resources.
Merry Christmas.
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Grow your own!
[Read the article: The real problem with corn-based ethanol]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Contaminate big corn. Who cares?
It is difficult if not impossible to find a corn producer/seller who hasn't copped out to the Florida-style hybrid that holds its sweetness for weeks. Even the local farm stands have switched. Sure it's sweet but remember when you could sink your teeth into an ear of sweet corn without hearing an ear-splitting crunch? This stuff is tough and stays that way no matter how long it's cooked.
So I say don't spare the enzymes. The commercially grown corn can go straight to fuel. No big loss at my table and a boost for ditching middle east oil.
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I am a victim of corn physics
[Read the article: Biggest. Corn harvest. Ever]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It seems that all growers in my area (New England)have switched to a hybrid variety that is super sweet and remains that way for days. They can now sell on Friday the corn picked on Tuesday. (One farmer changed his sign from "fresh picked" to "picked fresh".) This is what we used to call "Florida corn", grown year-round for air-freighting to the far corners of an unsuspecting nation.
The problem is, this corn is not tender and does not become so with any amount of boiling. Whereas we could once upon a time sink our teeth into deep tender buttery kernels, the operative word today is "crunch".
The scenario is a familiar one. Take network television, popular music, fashion, the federal government. We who give a damn are victims of the oblivious masses.
I guess it's the American way, but if we can't switch off the preposterous Iraq "war" we can at least bitch to our local farmers. Now everyone, get out there and make a difference!
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Ceremony Junkies
[Read the article: The real lessons of 9/11]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When I read about all of the speeches and silent vigils and other commemorative gatherings on 9/11 I cringe, on the one hand for the hurt that we suffered but on the other for the recognition we give to the "accomplishments" of that band of demented, hateful lunatics who brought it upon us.
It rankles me to think that those who have profited politically by rubbing terrorism in our faces for six years continue to exploit the tragedy of 9/11 as cover for their dastardly acts abroad and here in the "homeland" as well.
Gary Hardenbrook