Letters to the Editor
swilldog
Published Letters: 184 Editor's Choice: 20
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power and the presidency
[Read the article: Dodd is my copilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I would like a responsible Democrat in the White House but not at the expense of having someone who has unbridled quest for power and no moral compass."
Like it or not, an "unbridled quest for power" is pretty much a requirement to aspire to the Presidency. Brings to mind something I'm fond of quoting:
There is something fundamentally wrong with the person whose answer to the question, "What's wrong with the world today?" is, "I'm not in charge."
Sorry to burst your bubble.
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we all could be sex offenders
[Read the article: Don't be alarmed: 29,000 sex offenders on MySpace]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If snapping a bra at age 12, buying "marital aids," getting a lap dance from a dancer with too small a g-string, having a consensual sexual relationship with a 15 year old at age 17, etc., are the types of criteria one has to meet to get put on the list.
There are a lot of states that hve an insultingly low threshold for branding people with being a sex offender, yet most people who hear "sex offender" hear instead "rapist" or "child molester."
It's all about keeping people afraid of everyone and everything so they're easier to control. Ask Karl Rove, it works like a charm.
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re: "Harry Potter is for children so shut up"
[Read the article: "40 Reasons Not to Have Children"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All I know is that if I, or countless other of my generation (I'm in my mid-30s), were running around like a sugared up ninny at a movie theater to see Godzilla versus the Smog Monster, my mother would have yanked my arse outta there pronto. Done. The level of indulgence I see in many parents today is appalling. Broad generalization, true. But it's what I see, and not just in the relatively wealthy town I live in.
Also, to the people talking as if they view child-rearing as an obligation to further the species or something: LOOK AROUND YOU. Watch the news. There is no chance, I repeat: NO CHANCE that this on any other corner of the earth worth living on is in danger of being underpopulated. While this doesn't apply to all of you, most of you should get over your fear of the invading hordes of brown people.
My wife and I choose not to have children -- not because we're self-absorbed. Not because we'd rather sip absinthe in the salons and contemplate our pocketbooks. We did so because we realized that neither of us had any need or overpowering longing for children of our own. Our potential offspring are not needed in this world already burdened with far too many humans, so why indulge in some sort of societal obligation to create more consumers on the planet? Because the Lordbabyjesus expects us to? Pfft.
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kinda funny
[Read the article: Microsoft on Mac gains: Apple's not even close]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What's somewhat surprising is that these guys felt the need to even comment on Apple's numbers in relation. What's that Microsoft? Hearing footsteps? ;-)
One billion computers running Windows is pretty impressive, I'll admit. Depressing, too, but whatever. It's the de facto OS of business, so I would suspect that the installed user base far exceeds 1 seat to 1 user. In light of this fact, to be crowing about how Vista has sold 60 million copies (anyone care to guess how many of these licenses were purchased by software developers and other technology companies whose fortunes are tied to being able to support Vista?) -- well, that's hardly "bringing the heat."
Also, considering the insanely long development period for Vista, I don't know how impressive it is to brag that there were "only" 12 serious vulnerabilities reported in the first 180 days. Especially considering that they had to gut about 75% of the advanced features that were supposed to be included in it just to get it out the door years late.
And 21% fewer support calls for Vista than there were for XP? Talk about damning with faint praise! A considerably smaller and less successful launch of a stripped down, ages behind schedule, far more technologically mature OS has resulted in one fifth fewer support calls than for XP, an OS chock full o' flaws from day 1? Please stop, I must gather my wits about me.
MacOS is, in the grand scheme of things, an OS designed for personal home use and for creative professionals (it also works like a charm in a regular business environment too, but good luck telling that to Madge in the Purchasing dept.). I'd be very interested in seeing the numbers of how Macs now stack up against Windows boxes in just those market segments.