Letters to the Editor

Letters posted here are associated with the following Salon Premium Member:

Mr Smith

Published Letters: 218     Editor's Choice: 8

  • The Dog Hair Question.

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I really want to know the answer to the dog-hair-falling-off-the-luggage question. My cats would appreciate an answer too, because if I don't get an explanation I'm rubbing them all over my nylon bags as an experiment the next time I fly.

  • More Vocabulary

    [Read the article: Just another "accountability moment"?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Instead of "lacuna", try using "cloaca". Kloh-ay-kah. Look it up! Use it in conversation! DO NOT name your baby girl Cloaca!

  • Still waiting...

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    ... for an answer on the dog-hair and x-ray question. Good column today, though.

  • Chavez Bashing

    [Read the article: New New Mexico?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    So, when democrats promote a surveillance state in the name of public safety, it's OK? You deserve to be spied on.

    Huh? I repeat: Huh?

    Anyway, Marty Chavez and his "beautification" schemes resulted in my (really nice) landlord having his property condemned because the stucco wasn't pretty enough. I can't say it's fascist but it is asshole-ist.

  • Washstand

    [Read the article: The filthy, stinking truth]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    If I remember correctly, the washstand in history generally had a compartment underneath to store the chamber pot. Not to denigrate washstands but bathing in a tub doesn't involve being in such close vacinity to a pot o' poop.

  • The solution is obvious.

    [Read the article: Lose pounds, pad your paycheck?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Clearly we need to discriminate against overweight people equally. It's not fair that hispanic women, black women, and all men are getting a free ride here.

    I'm kidding, of course.

    However, given that there is no acceptable form of discrimination, in the big picture this is discrimination that affects a small group which can avoid the discrimination by losing the weight, and consequently becoming healthier and living longer lives. All discrimination is bad, but at least this is something people have control over.

  • So Essentially...

    [Read the article: Everything you were afraid to ask about "Southland Tales"]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I gather from the overview that this film is the cinematic equivalent of white noise.

  • Sampling Method

    [Read the article: Study: College girls boozier and sluttier than ever]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I'd love to know what their, like, totally scientific sampling method was. Did they walk down fraternity row and choose parties based on "Wooooooo!" decibel ratings, or maybe they chose the houses with the unhealthiest-looking fetilized-with-vomit shrubbery.

  • Volvo liberal?

    [Read the article: Obama pulls closer]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I haven't heard that term in fifteen years. Who is this dinosaur that you're quoting?

  • I'm for bathroom integration.

    [Read the article: Women need johns]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Heck, they won't be standing next to me at the urinal anyway. And equality works both ways, so those rare times I walk into the women's bathroom by accident won't be nearly as embarrassing.

  • A good article as always...

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    ...but here's a writing tip from someone who loves travelogues and geography: Please ditch the metaphors and the flowery adjectives. Your stories are interesting enough on their own, and your complicated prose style distracts the reader from what's going on. You don't write your Salon columns that way, so why are writing a manuscript that way? It's like you're trying to impress your high-school English teacher.

    I hope I haven't offended you. I mean only the best. And I look forward to your next column as always.

  • If you treat people like animals...

    [Read the article: Bush's delusions die in Gaza]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    ... then they'll act like animals.

    Israel will figure this out someday. Maybe.

  • Sorta Proud of WV

    [Read the article: Mike Huckabee wins first Super Tuesday contest ]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    As a native son of WV (who's first goal upon graduating high school was to get the hell out of WV), I was very disappointed to see Huckabee get the delegates. But now that I see the details, I'm a little proud. Those rednecks may not be geniuses, but they're clever and you underestimate them at your own peril!

  • Not a Good Title

    [Read the article: Aboriginal STDs]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I enjoyed your article, and the fact that different types of populations require different kinds of intervention is a tricky public health problem. The more people know about it the better.

    I do have a problem with your title. "Aboriginals with STDs" would have been better, because your title plays into the stereotype that sexually transmitted diseases originated with indigenous peoples. Scientifically, the jury is still out on the subject, but throughout history and up to the present indigenous peoples have been marginalized by being called disease-ridden and promiscuous, and associating the origin of STDs with them counts as both.

    This was not your intention and I'm probably nitpicking and being too PC here, but please keep this in mind for the future.

  • Ever lived on a farm?

    [Read the article: What I wouldn't do for my cat]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I have. Animals die. Animals disappear. When I was a child we had eight cats, all living in the barn. I loved them all, but my father made it very clear to me that we could not afford vet visits for them. When they got sick or injured we did our best to make them better, but if we couldn't, we put them out of their misery. It was an awful awful decision to make, but we did it because we had to.

    Interestingly, as an adult I had to make the same decision about my father. That really put the whole cat thing into perspective. Animals are not people, and the same rules to not apply.

  • What happened to Eastern Airlines?

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I have fond memories of those DC to Atlanta to Orlando trips from my childhood. I think I still have several of those pin-on wings they'd give to kids. Who absorbed Eastern Airlines anyway?

  • Why it isn't a missile defense test

    [Read the article: Does the satellite shoot-down video really show a hit?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Because it actually hit the target.

  • How do we get more Al Qaeda on the internet?

    [Read the article: Osama bin Laden's "Second Life"]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    My fear of terrorists is that they are monomaniacal extremists hell-bent on achieving their goals at any cost. If they are surfing the internets then I feel a lot better. The internet is probably the most distracting thing ever invented by mankind, and getting terrorists hooked on it should be a national priority. "Dude, I'll go blow up that building after my Lost torrent finishes, I swear!"

  • Damn!

    [Read the article: The Obama photo flap]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    If I ever go into politics, now I gotta worry about someone digging up that picture of me in lederhosen...

  • It's funny 'cause it's true!

    [Read the article: Winner of 2008 election accidentally leaked]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    McCain gets 48%? Nader must be splitting the progressive vote again! Or he will be. He will have done?

  • Dirty Joke Alert.

    [Read the article: Quote of the day: Obama on boxers vs. briefs]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I've always thought the appropriate response to the boxers/briefs was this:

    "I wear briefs, because I hate it when my dick gets caught in my socks."

    Hey, a stupid question deserves a stupid answer.

  • I hope this doesn't go anywhere.

    [Read the article: John McCain's Panama problem]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I'm no McCain fan, but it's a no brainer that he should be allowed to be president. Democrats will only embarass themselves if they try to pursue this angle to keep McCain out of the White House.

    Of course, in the Obama/McCain fight, I think it would be perfectly fine for an Obama advertisement to say "Obama: actually born in the USA"

Most Active Stories

Read More

Letters Help

Daily Delivery

Salon headlines in your mailbox