Letters to the Editor
cdunlea
Published Letters: 153 Editor's Choice: 35
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LydiaS
[Read the article: And are you their grandmother?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Women either have a right to decide when and how they become mothers or they don't. That's one thing I don't mind making a generalization about."
Do they have a right to saddle their adult children with the consequences of their (reckless) decisions? As one letter already pointed out, there is a high risk here that the grown children will be required to care for their younger siblings, whether they like it or not. As one of them is likely the executor of the parents' estate, they would be responsible for the care of these kids in the event of: 1) death of both parents; 2) death of one after the other was incapacitated; 3) both are incapacitated. Otherwise, if the kids' school learned any of the above had happened, they would have to call the state social services agency, who would simply remove the children to foster care. Not good, but very foreseeable.
The fact that the grown kids are upset tells me that they were not brought into the discussion, or that the old folks just don't care. Either way, it sounds like these people put the same amount of thought into this thing as a 17 year old welfare recipient.
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Elliot
[Read the article: I Like to Watch]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"That grotesque thing! It opened up a great vacuum around itself, a gaping maw of soft-pawed convenience! Its fussy, distracting lines spoke of the detail-oriented irrelevance of aging professionals, as its formidable mediocrity quietly rendered every man within a square-mile radius impotent!"
I guess you were doing peyote as well, Heather. I mean, WTF??
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Before we judge the DA, let's think for a minute
[Read the article: District attorney won't take gang rape case]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a revolting story...yet not surprising.
Here's where I play devil's advocate for a moment. While I am certain this constitutes rape, and I have no doubt the events unfolded as recounted, I would like to know as to the exact evidence the police/DA has to prosecute these guys with. For example, the story did not mention whether the hospital ran a rape kit on the victim (they should have) or DNA matched the semen. If they did, how many different matches were there (ie, how many different men penetrated her)? I'm wondering if something didn't get botched up along the way. With DNA matches from multiple men, it makes it easier to argue that the girl was raped and did not consent to orgy sex with eight guys simultaneously.
Also, no where in the article did it say whether anybody saw the girl go into the room by herself or with one (or more) guys. If a witness saw her go to the room by herself to pass out, it becomes obvious there was no consent at all. The problem arises if she was accompanied by these guys; then the court has to determine her intent (ie, is she just a slut?). If nobody can say one way or another, who really knows how it started?
My guess? The police need to do more homework. Abhorrent? Absolutely. But if these questions are still unknowns at the time of trial, reasonable doubt will get these guys off, just like at Duke. That would be much, much worse for everyone.
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Rome
[Read the article: "Are We Rome?"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Crotus and CarlosT,
Those were probably the best and most accurate short analyses of the similarities between us and Rome I've read online, certainly should be Editor's Choice letters (most EC letters I've read on the subject tend to be uninformed).
The issue is not if, but at what period, are we similar to Rome, and Late Republic hits it on the head. But if the Gallic Wars place us at the time of Caesar's usurpation of the Republic, militarily we seem to be closer to Augustus' invasion of Germania. Whereas Gaul was a success, Germania had many of the hallmarks of today's Iraq: a stubborn insurgency bleeding the army dry, in part because Rome trained and worked with its former tribal leader friend Arminius, who used his knowledge of legionary SOP to ambush and crush Varus.
Throw in the homelessness, economic dependency on big landowners (corporations) and personal dissociation from the regime (ie, voting for American Idol is more important than voting for President), and you have us today.
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Daydreamer
[Read the article: "Are We Rome?"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'd say the lack of optimism is a very strong factor in our decline. Without the belief in our system, and the relevancy in our Constitution to today's world, not only do people become apathetic but our "leaders" feel compelled to take desperate measure to "save" our system--illegal wiretaps, extrajudicial imprisonment, pre-emptive wars--and the masses don't care enough to do anything about it.
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Mayans
[Read the article: "Are We Rome?"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not to argue with you, captainlarab, but as we know more about Rome, and see ourselves as having more in common, the fit seems better. Not to discount your Mayan idea, since the Roman collapse was also partially economic; they overworked their land and squandered their natural resources as well, leading to famines and high prices for goods and services. Combined with exorbitant taxation to pay for a bloated bureaucracy and military, and a near-total lack of progress in the sciences after the 1st century AD, the combination proved lethal to the Empire.
The factors widely acknowledged in the collapse of Rome include all of the following: economic collapse due to the factors listed above; a cyclical instability in the ruling class in which power devolved down the social chain (ie, from nobles like Augustus to foreign soldier thugs like Septimus Severus); popular disaffection and reliance on escapist entertainment; multiculturalism to the point where no common social context remained (ie, the many religious cults and philosophies overtaking the ste religion); the growth of separatist movements like Christianity; reliance on barbarians to man the armies against other barbarians; unchecked immigration; and the end of social mobility and opportunity under Diocletian. Whether the Maya had any of these issues, we can't say.