Letters to the Editor
amspeck
Published Letters: 269 Editor's Choice: 44
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Intriguing
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I watched the Superbowl in a room full of women. We're not huge football fans, but we like to hang out and we like to watch things together -- so this weekend we did a Superbowl potluck instead of a movie potluck or a latest episode of whatever potluck. And for none of us being rabid Giants/Pats/Football fans, we had a great time. And most of the commercials got a laugh. So maybe part of what you're seeing is something we got to talking about during the half-time show... the only thing that makes the string of performers we could name make sense is that there's the thought that the game is for guys and the rest of the stuff is for the kids/wives/girlfriends. Even the most action oriented show promos featured women.
One thing I thought was different this time... I appreciated that every spot that ran was essentially unique. Maybe this is the result of not having Pepsi (Mountain Dew/Doritos) advertising, and deciding that running one really dazzling ad three times will go over great! (But then again, maybe they figured they're still getting traction from their Brittany Spears Superbowl ad.)
As far as originality goes... well, tell the big shots where they can go to buy originality that will actually work for their product instead of against it and they'll line up out the door. Oh wait... that's how we got here in the first place.
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Cheating Voters?
[Read the article: Super Tuesday showdown]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Um... I'm in a state that's voting it's primaries today and I hardly feel cheated. We moved our primary up to Super Tuesday and this is the first time in a generation that I can actually cast a ballot (or rather attend a caucus) where I can choose between candidates. I do wish there'd been more candidates to choose from even now. I'm delighted that my state has a proportional system, that my local district can choose someone different than the rest of the state might choose.
Am I getting a crash course in politics? You bet. Last weekend a friend of mine did a mock-caucus to answer questions she was getting about how they work and what to expect. I am tickled pink that a dozen folks showed up and that the county Democratic party is expecting our local supercenter to be filled to overflowing.
And I'm pretty sure this is how democracy is supposed to feel.
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Here's your Cohereant Story Line
[Read the article: Goodbye, Super Tuesday]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was tired of listening to Chris Matthews and Tom Brokaw grasping for something they could say with certainty last night, and I'm disappointed to find the same thing on Salon's pages this morning.
American voters have longed for their votes to be relevant for decades. For too long the votes have been decided by a handful of powerhouse states, those decided by powerhouse players. The race between Clinton and Obama is a voters revolt, and it is the result of a voters result. By deciding to going to apportioning delegates by district (I think in my state we did it after Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote).
In addition, the vote has come down to two historic candidates. And that has generated historic enthusiasm for voting... which in my mind is an amazing thing.
Instead of blabbing on about how this year fails all your templates for analysis, why not talk about whether this is a result of the Dean revolution. Whether the folks who called up their secretary of state trying to figure out where to vote went to caucus. Whether folks who went to caucus for the first time are thinking about getting more involved.
Or whether, just maybe, we are seeing an explosion in the size of the Democratic party.
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I grew up reading those too
[Read the article: The K Chronicles]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I grew up reading Alley Oop, Gordo, Gasoline Alley, Mary Worth, Prince Valiant, and Andy Capp on my dad's lap too. And I say good riddance. I didn't get them most of the time, and when they were funny it was in this weird Archie Bunker kinda way. They were of a certain place and time and they haven't aged well.
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How to feed people
[Read the article: The upside to peak fertilizer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem we're running into is that the number of calories we use to grow luxury foods like chicken breasts, lean turkey, and steaks, is far less than the number we get from those foods. Given the inefficiencies in the system, it makes sense that if we all eat lower on the food chain, there will be some room to get off the oil based fertilizer treadmill.
(Oh, and the fact that gas prices are up, fertilizer prices are up, and food prices are up, points to a transition in the way we have done things. This is a "peak" by definition, for those griping about "peak this-that-and-the-other-thing" alarmism.)
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Vet Ethics?
[Read the article: What I wouldn't do for my cat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So, in the heat of the moment, a trusted professional in a white coat says, "your pet needs to have this surgery or it will die. We can't give you an estimate." And this creature we have taken into our homes, who is in so much pain, just wants away. This is the classic set-up for a scam. And the doctors, who have had people spend $25,000 on treatments, seem to not think twice about hiding the actual costs during the treatments in order to give the family peace of mind to concentrate on getting the pet well.
I think it would be more ethical to treat a pet like a car repair. The office says, "here are the treatments that are needed and the prices they usually run. These are critical, these can be delayed." And the owner says, "I authorize this set of treatments and care up to this financial level. You must call me for re-authorization to do/spend more."
It is my experience that huge surprise bills suppress routine care for pets. I would like to see vets offer a discount on major procedures when routine care is undertaken through their offices.