Letters to the Editor
melthough
Published Letters: 1264 Editor's Choice: 102
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"And we get to watch for free."
[Read the article: Huckabee, Romney, Jesus and the devil]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here is my problem with the idea that all this religious talk is sending Republicans up shit's creek: W.
Eight years ago, I had so much faith in my fellow citizens and my country that, as I watched Gore win debate after debate with that prick, I was sure we would not be stupid enough to get anywhere near electing him. I was wrong - we got very near electing him, and then our Judicious Cabal installed him even though he wasn't elected.
For the past eight years, I have watched the bloody fucking train wreck that this country has become and appealed to my congresspersonages to DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! TO GET THESE FUCKHEADS OUT OF OFFICE!!!
Even though my congresspersonages happen to be Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, and the venerable Patrick Leahy, and my town and state have officially called for the impeachment of these fuckheads, the fuckheads are still in office.
I used to laugh at the idea that anyone as stupid and power-hungry as W and his ilk could come to power. Believe me, I would LOVE to laugh at the idea that anyone as stupid and power-hungry as Huckabee could be president. But I can't anymore. This is a scary place we live in, friend. It's time we started taking this more seriously.
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Please, brightstar
[Read the article: Creepy panties for the 'tweens on your list]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You DO understand that we're talking about underwear for children, right? Because if you think all pre-pubescent girls are "teases," then you are even sicker than I thought you were. And I mean "sick" sincerely - as in, get a doctor. Seriously, man. I'm not sure I can keep my breakfast down after a comment like that.
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College students don't pay taxes?
[Read the article: College kid caucus stuffing in Iowa? ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Since when? Plenty of them work while in school. Also, the overinflated rent they are often forced to pay means the towns and counties are reaping some pretty sweet property tax income from them.
And anyway, since when do we say you can't vote unless you pay taxes? I know they often go together, but not by definition. In fact, putting polls and taxes together is kinda sorta a little bit antithetical to the American Way.
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A gym is not a bar
[Read the article: Las Vegas gym case tests "Ladies Night law" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Now, granted, I guess there are people who go to the gym to try to get dates, but even those people are probably not going there PRIMARILY to hook up. It is absolutely unfair to give women and men different rates. The ladies' night thing at bars was designed to 1) encourage women to come and buy the first drink for themselves, then 2) help out the men, who were expected to buy drinks for themselves as well as the "ladies" they were trying to pick up. It is a stupid cultural relic, but, as you say, not discriminatory in the same way as an "Irish need not apply" sign. If the gym feels it has a disproportionate number of male members, it needs to find some other way to attract female members besides giving them a different membership rate. Add services that attract women, advertise more in magazines women read, offer bring-a-friend promotions - whatever. But offering a cheaper rate for women is discriminatory.
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@vondo
[Read the article: Where does faith drive Huckabee?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ha ha! Exactly my thought - OMG, he's a communist! Then I got to the part about charter schools.
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No-fault divorce
[Read the article: Gold diggers not that greedy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All that means is that neither party needs to prove that the other did anything wrong. Saves men doing things like they did in the early 20th-century British novels - agreeing to pretend to have had an affair so the two could get out of the marriage. Not sure how often that happened in real life, but I think it's good if men and women who don't want to be married anymore don't have to make excuses for themselves to the government. Why should they? It's not like an annulment from the church. The no-fault divorce is just a teensy tiny chip out of the monolithic stupidity that constitutes marriage under the law. It is still so mixed up with morals and religious traditions, no one even knows where to start reforming it. All marriages under the law should be civil unions; if you want more than that, ask your local church/synagogue/temple/coven/spaghetti factory/etc. to host a ceremony for you. What is so hard about this?
But my original point (made much less humorously than Juliebird made it): if no-fault divorce is the right way to do things, people should be willing to accept the financial consequences.
And wouldn't it be nice if people stopped marrying and breeding with assholes and then burdening the judicial system with the details they can't seem to work out themselves? Family court is the social equivalent of our emergency-room-based healthcare system for the poor. When will we learn?
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In an ideal world
[Read the article: Party of two: Lieberman and McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]McCain and Lieberman would be recognized for what they are - fairly rational conservatives. But because the Republican party's right wing has become its mainstream, our intractably dualistic political system dictates that we plug these guys in the "centrist" slot along with the Clintons. Just another sad consequence of 1) letting the right wing pick the battles and call the shots and 2) having an outdated, non-parliamentary republic. The special American blend of said republic with deeper and deeper economic inequality has brought us Gilded Age II: The Dance Remix. As usual, being human, we won't do a thing about it until we absoutely have to.