Letters to the Editor
blunderdog
Published Letters: 509 Editor's Choice: 10
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Thanks for Reading, Bill!
[Read the article: Taser nation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hey, Bill Owen. I very much appreciate your reading my thoughts--I often wonder if my mic is on here in the comments.
As for the video: it would be a hassle for me to post it. I'd have to muddle my way through those DVDs again to find the moment, and watching them once was painful enough. Further, the event which was recorded doesn't show the details clearly enough to make the time/place evident to people, and even if it did, there's no risk of justice occurring as a result of my efforts. The cop is not identifiable, the event may have taken place years ago, etc.
Heck, it's even DMCA piracy that might get me put on a no-fly list or shipped down to Gitmo! (OK, maybe not.)
Personally, I doubt that anyone would care even if it were publically posted. Many posters here aren't even understanding the issue of Meyer's tasering, and this is a bastion of moonbats.
However, if you personally are really interested, I'll see what I can do. You can email me at blunderdog_x at hotmail, and I can provide some details when I dig them up.
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Wisdom to be Gained from Truth
[Read the article: Should I tell my kids about all the drugs I used to do?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've done a lot of drugs. I have friends who have also done a lot of drugs. A few friends have had their lives wrecked, or even lost, because of their drug use.
I still do 'em.
People have all different levels of curiosity and experimentation about all different things. I've never been interested in exploring violence, personally, but I've known plenty of people who really get off on it.
To the LW: I don't think you need to answer this question for yourself in advance. Hopefully your kids are still young enough that it hasn't occurred to them that you may have done such things. Perhaps the kids will be hellraisers and perhaps they won't.
I only saw one other poster who pointed out that he feels he actually LEARNED something from his drug experimentation. I feel that way myself. I definitely had some very powerful and profound experiences while on drugs which have motivated me to explore aspects of life, the universe, and everything, that I don't think I'd ever have had without the chemical influence.
I've never had a "problem" dealing with my illegal drug use.
On the other hand, I'm a nicotine addict. That damn stuff--insidious. I've been on and off it for decades, and I know full well it hurts me, makes me feel lousy, and leads others to judge me for my decision-making. But I have a helluva time staying "straight" when it comes to smoking.
What I've taken from that experience is that there's just no predicting if a certain chemical is going to have your number. If you are predisposed to a destructive relationship with a chemical, the only way for it to "get you" is if you try it. So there's a lot to be said for complete abstinence.
Back to the LW...
You want to be honest with your kids, but you're concerned that they may misinterpret your story. I'd suggest that means that A: you're not ready to talk to them, and B: they're not ready to listen to you on the subject.
So chill.
When/if the day comes they ask you about your experiences, hopefully you and they will have grown to the point where the "correct" answer will be clear to you. Perhaps you'll say, "When I was a younger man, I did some of the things that younger men do." (Although I don't recommend paraphrasing Dubya about anything important.)
Perhaps you'll say, "My experiences taught me some things that I might not have learned otherwise, but I don't want to tell you all the details." And then you can go into a mature discussion about drugs, their potential pleasures and harms, and try to help your kids make smart choices.
Don't lie to them. Don't plan to lie to them. Declining to share every single thing about your past isn't lying. Telling them the opposite of the truth is.
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I Get It Now...
[Read the article: Giuliani: 9/11 helped change my views on gun control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Rudy (who is also posting here under the name johnsonjohnson) has changed his perspective on gun control because he realized that if there had only been enough gun-toting bigots around before the hijackers learned to fly at that flight school in Florida, they'd have killed those damn Arabs for fun and the 9/11 attack never would have happened.
To a Dubya fan, it should sound like a pretty clever stratergy.
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I Think the Plaintiffs Botched It
[Read the article: Who pays for an unwanted twin?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]From the linked story:
"The birth mother [...] said she and her partner briefly considered adopting out one of the girls but quickly dismissed the idea. She said adopting out one child would be unfair to both girls. "The burden is not the children's to bear. The burden is ours alone."
Well, if by "ours alone" one means "ours and the doctor who negligently transferred two embryos."
Something just doesn't jibe there.
I wish the story mentioned when the lawsuit had been brought. Was it immediately after the procedure? Immediately after the birth? Or a year later, after the parents realized kids are more expensive than puppies?
The parents would have been better off just suing for malpractice and asking for a multiple of what they paid for the procedure. The rest of the details surrounding the case make the whole story sound WAYYYY too nutty. I doubt they'll get a dime.