Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 94 Editor's Choice: 19
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Two concrete suggestions for the LW
[Read the article: My boyfriend's family has money, but I have none]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1. Have you heard of a "date wallet"? Two friends of mine (now married) did this while they were dating (he a systems administrator, she a teacher, with the income disparity you'd expect from that). Basically you figure out what you generally spend on stuff you do together per week, then figure out the ratio of your salaries/resources, then put money into the date wallet accordingly. So, if you usually spend, say, $200/week on shared activities, and he makes three times as much as you, every week you put $50 in the wallet and puts $150 in. Then you *only* use the date wallet to buy stuff on dates. It's like socialism in one relationship!
2. This might sound slightly snotty, but: OK, you're working two jobs to live in an efficiency, and neither of you (including your rich boyfriend) has a car; I'm guessing you live in a big city with decent public transit. So *use it* when you go out instead of a cab, for Pete's sake. Is he (or you) allergic to the subway?
jf
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USA to Africa
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Pilot, I know that being able to fly a US carrier to Africa (or the Arab world, for that matter) is a big symbolic deal; but really, for most passengers, isn't a code share in essence the same thing? You mention that Delta and South Africa Air already codeshare the JFK-Dakar-Jo'burg route. I think most passengers would just buy their tickets on Delta, arrive at the airport and say "Oh, Delta 2845 is also South African 234, I guess we have to go to this gate" and not thing much more of it.
Also, I know I shouldn't generalize from my personal experience, but I'm always amazed how big a lead AA has in the airline world, considering that when I fly (and I fly a a fair amount) it almost never seems to be the most convenient/cheapest carrier. Over the last 10 years, I've flown from SFO/OAK to the east coast, SFO to Europe, East Coast to Europe ... the only time I flew American was BWI-CDG two years ago. (And had to change in Boston, which was a nightmare of having to leave the secure area and then stand in line again ....) Where are AA's strengths?
jf
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ha ha
[Read the article: GOP product launch]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I just wanted to say that I found this line extremely funny:
"Supporters of hometown hero Bill Frist wore decals that read, 'Frist Is My Leader,' which made these Tennesseans seem like members of a cult that discouraged free will."
It goes very well with the picture of Frist that runs with the article. It looks like he's saying "OBEY ME, HUMANS! OBEY MY COMMANDS!"
jf
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yay, pro-choice baseball!
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hey King-
Just wanted to give you props on your choice of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health as your charity. I was going to say "How many other sportswriters are gonna pick a charity like that?" till I scrolled down a bit and saw athat BP's own Kevin Goldstein was backing Planned Parenthood. The latter organization employs my wife, so I'm a bit biased, but I'm still pulling for you, King, out of reader loyalty.
I gotta say that reading about other people's fantasy league teams bores me to tears, but everyone else seems to love it so I think you should go ahead and write about it anyway. I'm sure you'll find a way to make it interesting to the non-fanatasy-er. I used to be a huge sports fan; not much of one anymore, but I do love your column, as it's well written and keeps me connected to what's happening in sporty land.
jf
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yeah, but...
[Read the article: Britney Spears gives birth in Brooklyn]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]what's the deal with the bearskin rug? That's what I want to know.
jf
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Gore 2008 = Nixon 1968
[Read the article: From Al Gore, a step toward 2008?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Youngish veep with difficult relationship with his prez loses a squeaker of an election thanks to what very much may be fraud in a voter-rich state.
Eight years later, the sitting president from the other party is leaving office as a foreign war becomes more and more unpopular.
Here's hoping Gore's years in the wilderness haven't driven him insane and paranoid with rage. But if he starts claiming to have a "secret plan to win the war," we're in trouble.
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sunnis and shiites
[Read the article: Attacking Iran: Are they nuts?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just to pick a nit on this sentence-
"Soon we will hear that Tehran is allied not only with the Palestinian group Hamas but with al-Qaida (although the latter are Sunnis and the former are Shiites)."
I think what you meant by "the former" (being Shiites) is the Iranians, but the way the sentence is constructed it sort of implies that al-Qaida is Sunni and Hamas is Shiite. Palestinian Muslims are in the vast majority Sunni, and thus Hamas is a Sunni Islamist movement.
jf
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Like $3 a gallon gas? Well, enjoy it, because it isn't going away anytime soon
[Read the article: Running scared in Ohio]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As much as I would love to see Republicans lose control of the Congress, I cringe when I see the Dems using high gas prices as a campaign tool. A Democratic congress won't be able to lower gas prices, nor will a Democratic White House. Promises to "fix" the gas problem will come back to haunt them. It's simple economics: there's more demand for oil, and there's less oil to go around, and what oil there is comes from parts of the world that are endemicly unstable. Of course, Carter and his cardigan proved that actually trying to enact policies around the coming changes is never good electoral politics. Sigh.
jf