Letters to the Editor
uptoolate
Published Letters: 77 Editor's Choice: 2
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Beg pardon, Ms. Walsh?
[Read the article: Poor, sad Larry Craig]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Joan Walsh writes:
“I expect Buchanan to complain about liberal media double standards, but the story is simple. People hate hypocrites.”
Oh, they do? Is that why they keep electing them to high office?
Please stop pandering, Ms. Walsh. When it comes to making political decisions, most U.S. voters are idiots.
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@Hitlery & Arithmetic 101
[Read the article: John Edwards turns on his fellow Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Q: "If she is nominated, ...
... how many Southern states would Hillary carry?"
A: Zero. Exactly the number that any of the Democratic hopefuls would carry. Exactly the number that she (or they) would need in order to win the presidency.
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My Weekly Reader
[Read the article: The scruffy charms of an insecure president]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So Bush is a big reader, huh? Authors like Cormac McCarthy, Albert Camus. And, one assumes, being that W is a widely professed born-again Christian, the Good Lord Himself.
Only one problem. During the 2000 campaign, a reporter asked him about his recent Bible reading. Seems like an appropriate question for a person who had just named Jesus Christ as his favorite "philosopher."
According to the report I read of this exchange, W was unable or unwilling to point to any scripture that he happened to like or to have even read. He also became noticeably angry at the reporter. The nerve of that fellow!
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@ Quiet Type: But American Voters Like ’Em Dumb
[Read the article: The scruffy charms of an insecure president]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Regarding Reagan on Dubya: “It pains me to realize that, had this 1986 statement been widely publicized before GW ever began campaigning, he might easily have had no campaign at all.”
With all due respect to Quiet Type, it pains me even more to realize that, had this 1986 statement been widely publicized before GW ever began campaigning, it would have made no difference at all.
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Re: Who are the fundies voting for?
[Read the article: The Fred and Rudy show]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Rudy, Fred, Mitt, John - none has strong right wing Christian credentials."
True enough. But I don't think it will matter. The fundy sheep will vote for whomever their pastor tells them to -- as long as the candidate has an "R" after his name.
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@Christopher: You're Kidding, Right?
[Read the article: Bill Maher: "Don't show me your tits!" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Birth, like eating, is a necessary biological function, and neither should have stigmas attached to them. But neither should be on public display, either."
This is just too funny.
Wasn't there a movie from the 1970s, probably French, where for whatever reason the characters took their meals while seated on the potty, behind a securely locked door?
Bon appetit, y'all!
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Breastfeeding in public is like gay marriage
[Read the article: Bill Maher: "Don't show me your tits!" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Some folks simply cannot (will not) avert their eyes.
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Is he or isn't he?
[Read the article: Texans turn against Bush's war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm a born-and-bred Texan and have lived most of my life in another state. I have no fondness for GWB, but I do consider him an authentic Texan. If I understand his history correctly, he spent most of his childhood in Midland. His accent sounds entirely genuine. And his back-slappping, nickname-bestoying frat-boy schtick is, alas, all too real.
So why do people say he's not authentic? I ask not to be snarky -- reminder, I loathe GWB and all that he stands for -- but rather to hear your thoughts on what does and does not constitute a real Texan?
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GWB: Born on Third Base ...
[Read the article: Bush's stairway to paradise]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... and thought he hit a home run.
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But what did they EAT?
[Read the article: Bill O'Reilly explains the African-American]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Seems to me that would be relevant. Was it tasty? Reasonably priced? Would he recommend the place?
Inquiring minds want to know!
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The Convenience of Driving Three Blocks
[Read the article: We paved paradise]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A fascinating topic, and interesting responses, from all sides.
One aspect of the issue, however, has not yet been addressed: how ample parking rewards people who, as MissV points out, “do not even entertain the idea of walking three blocks” — and the sad result for us all.
I live in a town that has made heroic efforts over several decades to create walkable “communities.” My quotes are very deliberate here. These neighborhoods, mostly in affluent parts of town and with a charming mix of businesses, residences, schools, recreational opportunities, retail, and access to mass transit, are indeed walkable. But they are not walked, and so to me they are not communities.
Let me explain. Just because a neighborhood is comfortably and safely walkable - where the climate is moderate and crime is low - does not mean that the people who live there will actually walk to conduct the daily business of life.
For various reasons, I have spent many hours wandering and observing such neighborhoods, and most hours of most days their ample sidewalks, leafy parks, and safe, well-appointed playgrounds are as empty as those of the most desolate concrete exurb. Their shops and businesses are bustling, to be sure, but with people who have driven from their homes in other parts of the city. Or with people who have driven from their homes just a few blocks away. Which they can do, because there is plenty of parking. These are not the vast, ugly asphalt fields of this discussion, but rather aethetically designed garages placed discreetly behind multistorey buildings. Still, the effect is the same: if people can park, they will not walk, even a few blocks.
And when people will not walk, there is no community, at least not in the traditional sense of a vibrant, pedestrian-filled environment that virtually guarantees you will run into someone you know on your way to work or errands. This is a loss that is arguably as big or bigger than the environmental and health problems associated with our unfortunate addiction to automobiles.
Want a poignant example? Check out the recent Slate photo-essay (http://slate.com/id/2160718/) to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Seaside, the “new community” in Florida that was supposed to be all about “walkability.” Ten slides showing homes, public areas, shopping, etc. — and not a single person seen walking in any of them.