Letters to the Editor
jebldmm
Published Letters: 933 Editor's Choice: 164
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This is inappropriate
[Read the article: Memo to O.J.: Kill yourself]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm as pissed off at the next person about OJ not being convicted. I just don't think it is appropriate for a respectable news outlet to be promoting suicide. This is a trigger issue for a lot of depressed people, and it's just not a good idea to go around saying that people who are "guilty" should kill themselves. A lot of people think they are guilty of something - heck, most of us have done things that are bad (although not generally as bad as murder). Having the words "kill yourself" in the title of an article might trigger dark thoughts in people who really don't deserve it. Please show more restraint in the future.
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bansidhewail, It's not just about taste
[Read the article: Diary of a turkey killer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As the author pointed out, animals grow the most during the first months/years of their lives. Feeding animals until they die of old age would use a lot more natural resources per pound of meat. Even animals that are raised in pastures require cultivated food for parts of the year (to survive dry spells and winter), and require water all year. They also dirty water all year. There is a balance between choosing the tenderest young meat and wasting resources. Personally, I don't eat veal, and rarely eat beef (which is the most resource intensive form of protein).
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Just another frustrated Repbulican
[Read the article: Lieberman bags himself a moose]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is anybody keeping a tally of the former Republicans who have given up on getting their party and are joining the Democratic party? If this were the reverse trend, I suspect that the media would be drowning us in headlines about how the Democratic party has become so extreme that loyal members are jumping ship, not to become moderates, but to join the opposition.
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No more smirk
[Read the article: Dazed and confused]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I noticed at the interview right after the election that Bush seems to have lost his smirk. I may be reading too much into this, but I was hoping that this indicates that he has been humbled. Arrogance is a bad personality trait in a world leader. I don't suppose that we can expect him to change overnight, but the election was obviously a much needed dose of reality.
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Trifles aren't the same as mousses
[Read the article: Let them eat cake (or a Yule log or cookies shaped like Barney)]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A Trifle is an English dessert, composed of layers of fruit, cake, and custard and/or cream. A Mousse is a creamy whipped dessert, often chocolate flavored.
That said, the menu looks quite impressive. I suppose that a better man than bush would be reluctant to partake of such luxurious fare when soldiers are in harms way, but "life goes on" (at least for those who haven't been killed fighting the war).
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Don't underestimate the fear
[Read the article: Mel Martinez is Spanish for Harriet Miers?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was talking to a friend of mine at Thanksgiving. She is the person I use as a sort of barometer for what the middle class is thinking. A very nice person, but with some ideas about race that I find quite offensive. She and I had a painful discussion in which she claimed that Mexican people were trying to take over the United States. Now, I'm not going to disagree that Hispanic's are quite common in California and some other parts of the country, and many newer immigrants don't speak English (neither did my grandmother, for that matter). But she believed every junk e-mail she had ever gotten suggesting that "they" are trying to make "us" (aka people of predominately Eurpopean ancestry) 2nd class citizens. Unfortunately, she isn't alone. A lot of otherwise intelligent, middle-class, Caucasians believe that "they" are in danger of becomeing "2nd class citizens" in "their own" country.
Racism has gotten more subtle in the U.S. over the last few decades. Very few intelligent Caucasians would insult a minority to their face, tell offensive jokes, or even exclude people from their social circles based on their ancestry. But there is still a strong sense of "us" vs. "them" between Hispanic and European people, and a sense among people of European descent that it would be a bad thing if the average natural skin shade of the U.S. darkened significantly. I believe that this sense of European superiority is at the root of the language issues, and it's not limited to wingnuts. A lot of otherwise liberal people believe that there families are somehow threatened by recent immigrants, and only time and education will change their minds.
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But is this good in the long term?
[Read the article: Geckos gone wild!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Without the genetic mixing that occurs during sexual reproduction, and species is totally dependent on random mutations to increase genetic variability. Most random mutations are either neutral or negative for a species. There is a reason that every higher life form reproduces primarily sexually. Sexual reproduction is "popular" for a reason - it provides for more genetic variability, which can help a species survive times of change or unusual stresses. Without the stresses of having to compete for a mate, these geckos may be performing better in the short run, but this may impair the long term survivability of their species. Only time will tell.
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They turned Kerry and Gore into liars...
[Read the article: What's in a name?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... and convinced America that Bush served patriotically during the Vietnam War. As long as the media keep letting the right wing get away with lying, they'll keep doing it.
I pretty much gave up on America when there was no outcry over the "purple heart bandaid" protest at the Republican National Convention. If a Democratic activist had pulled a stunt like that the media would have spent days complaining about how evil she was to demean the patriotism of injured veterans. As it was... most people don't even know it happened. Welcome to America, where the party that is perceived to support the troops is allowed to mock the awards given to injured service member.