Letters to the Editor
cpereyra
Published Letters: 29
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Waited in Vain
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All week I've waited for Patrick's comments on the following news item:
"Concerns over the adequacy of fueling practices at US Airways were raised last week on national news by allegations from the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) which said that the airline was pressuring pilots to carry less fuel. USAPA said that the issue emerged when US Airways singled-out eight Senior Trans-Oceanic International Captains for mandatory "training," based on the Captains using their judgment to add additional fuel. USAPA considers this to be retaliatory discipline. " (from marketwatch.com)
Patrick, could you comment?
Carlos Pereyra
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You Gringos...
[Read the article: Bridesmaid revisited]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You just have too much time and too much money. Imagine worrying about all this bullshit with the way the world is going. Amazing.
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Performance enhancers used correctly.
[Read the article: Let 'em eat steroids]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Performance enhancing drugs should be banned in amateur sports and required in professional sports.
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I once rode a camel...
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You say:
(For what it's worth, I have flown MD-80s, and although anything is possible, and at the risk of violating my own anti-speculation rule, it would be very difficult for a wiring malfunction to lead to a catastrophic takeoff crash.)
What it's worth is nothing. Your columns are getting more and more inane.
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The Pilot is an Aviation Professional
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And for that reason, he should be held to higher standards than, for example, news anchors, news writers or news editors. One of the tenets of American aviation safety has always been that the investigation of the possible causes of an airplane accident is conducted without bias to any particular possibility before all facts are considered. For The Pilot to say that one possible factor should not be regarded as significant based on his experience in flying the model aircraft in question is ridiculous. Maybe I'm ignorant of his qualifications but I don't recall ever reading that they included training in the investigation of aircraft accidents.
The Pilot is always quick to castigate those who offer speculative reasons for accidents. He should hold himself up to the same standard.
When you write non-fiction as a professional, the margins of error allowed in favor of the writer are, and should be, very slim. Otherwise, give us fiction and tell us so.
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To Dionysus
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'll agree with you on your definition of Patrick Smith as a journalist if you agree with me (and Dictionary.com) on this definition of journalism:
"writing that reflects superficial thought and research, a popular slant, and hurried composition, conceived of as exemplifying topical newspaper or popular magazine writing as distinguished from scholarly writing: He calls himself a historian, but his books are mere journalism."
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To Patrick
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You're right about my misuse of the word inane and I retract it here and now. I do enjoy reading some of your columns and they certainly have value. In fact, after reading the article again, I find that the only objection I have is to the paragraph in question.
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Shabby Treatment?
[Read the article: Hench items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And how about soccer coverage? The favorite sport of the world and of Hispanics in the U.S. has been totally ignored.
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Nature is Only Right in the Long Run
[Read the article: Fresh blood for the vampire]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Nature herself is a mass murderer, making casual, cruel experiments and condemning 10,000 to die so that one more fit or lucky will live and thrive"
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Savagery?
[Read the article: Eat, for this is my body]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"How long could they last, in the most extreme conditions imaginable, before reverting to savagery?"
What savagery?
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Al Pacino in Scarface gave me a new way to refer to politicians and Wall Streeters
[Read the article: Why "Scarface" is f-ing great]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They're all cocoroches.
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@wonkazoo
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Your reasoning is correct but it contains at least one major flaw: As a surgeon, your ass is not in the gurney.
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That's OK
[Read the article: I stole my lover's pot while he was sleeping]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He had sex with you while you were sleeping. Even Steven.