Letters to the Editor
amspeck
Published Letters: 357 Editor's Choice: 50
-
We are all immigrants
[Read the article: The GOP begins to implode]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you are not a full-blooded native American, you are an immigrant to this country. So: Why shut the doors now? Who's the last person to get in?
You talk about how immigrants don't/can't pay their way... and that might be true initially. But eventually they do, and they contribute more to the nation than the nation had to give them to get them there. It's part of the beauty of being American.
Of course, part of the Beast in that beauty is our continuing resistance to new people. When new people come along, things change. When things change, my security and economic power may change. If it changes, it may change for the worse. It could change for the better, but the anxiety that things may get worse seems to be the only emotion some people feel.
-
Funny!
[Read the article: Video Dog Exclusive!: CNN/Cooper/Jolie!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Of course, that's really a clip from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But what's funnier is that the Fix linked to this as if it was a legitimate clip. ;-)
-
My experience
[Read the article: Blow-job blowhards]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was introduced to the blowjob in my formative sexual days... a boyfriend who felt he deserved to get off because he felt aroused. There were several options... since I refused intercourse at the time, the insistance on one of the other types was quite strong. So I can see the "it's a form of domination" side of the argument.
However, now that I have some informed choice in the matter (and adjusting for my preference for women) I know there are times when I want to engage in sex with my lips, mouth, and tounge. So I get that some people may really enjoy the act with the right partner.
What's sad to me about the debate is that it's another version of what it "Truly means" to be a feminist. I prefer a very broad reading... feminists are men or women who believe women have the right to own property, to participate in good paying work, to enroll in any school, to be physically safe when alone, to choose one's own sexual expression, and to be economically independant.
- Anne
-
You're testing us, right?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]After your article last week on how Lance Armstrong promoted himself rather than the Tour de France, I expected at least a mention of American Floyd Landis's win yesterday... http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/0,6805,s1-7-0-0-0,00.html?location=_*topnav*
But maybe you're checking to see if we really care. ;-)
- Anne
-
Katherine Harris and Stalin
[Read the article: Hitler, Stalin and ... Joe Lieberman?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While I agree there is a time and a place for extreme language, and that it should be used to make a serious point -- not as a ploy for a smattering of applause -- I think there is a case for comparing Katherine Harris to Stalin. I'm not thinking of Stalin the dictator or Stalin the mass murderer, but rather Stalin the political machinist.
Before Stalin became the Premier of the Soviet Union, he was an opportunistic underling who knew the value of counting the votes. Who knew the value of disenfranchising embarassing minorities. Who knew the power of aligning oneself iconically with dear leader.
Katherine Harris does embody these traits. She isn't charismatic or socially competent enough to rise as high as Stalin did, and that's comforting. She also isn't the only one, and that's disturbing. For that reason, it is useful to remember what the mighty totalitarian oaks looked like as acorns.
- Anne
-
Perspective
[Read the article: Inflammatory breast cancer: Living up to its name?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I got the IBC email on the heels of learning my mom has lobular breast cancer... another of the rare types. In explaining it to me, mom said that 80% of breast cancer is "ductal", which is what the traditional self-exam is designed to find. Hers had no external symptoms, but a very good examiner found it at early stage one.
-
Actually, what's freaky...
[Read the article: Wait, was Karl Rove in Boulder this week?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is that a friend of mine did get caught in a traffic shut-down around chataqua park in Boulder and watched a stretch limo with tinted windows roll by.... it coulda been Karl!
-
Croc-owners unite!
[Read the article: In a while, Crocs-adile]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They are light, extremely comfortable, and have good arch support. I've owned my pair for about two years and they aren't smelly. If they did get smelly, it's easy to wash them because they are completely waterproof... so scrub 'em out or set them in a bleach solution for a while.
The environmental answer to the shoes is:
What are they replacing? For me, I've go through a pair of slippers in about a year. I wear the crocs instead and have skipped buying two pairs of slippers with at least a couple more to go.
Buy just enough. They are made from a petrolium-based (for now) resin and no good means for recycling exists yet (though I bet you could make "mulch" from them http://www.internationalmulch.com/). So, despite the craze, use the ones you have until end of life before replacing them.
Buy the brand. As noted, Crocs is the innovator here. By paying the brand premium, you are telling the company you are willing to reward them for their work. That gives them the latitude to research recycleable materials for manufacturing.
And talk to the company. With the advances in corn-oil products and recycling there's a good chance that the company can move in that direction and other green directions. But they need to know it's a concern for their customer base.
And finally... they're not any uglier than any other clog or garden shoe! ;-)