Letters to the Editor
ann1960
Published Letters: 54 Editor's Choice: 4
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sad
[Read the article: Reporting for duty, sir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I live in a very red state (Texas) and no matter what new scandal comes to light, no matter how incompentent this administration is, no matter how the Constitution is trampled--too many people here are STILL glad that "that traitor" Kerry didn't win the last presidential election. Yes, many (even here) are not happy w/ the current prez, but they are infinitely happier that Kerry lost. I'm dumbfounded.
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Me, too
[Read the article: I work with the most annoying man alive]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm the annoying one in my office, but of a different sort. I work at an ultra conservative business in Texas, and while I'm checking the news on Salon and MSNBC, my co-workers are looking on Fox News and Drudge. I'll read yet another story on the gross incompetence of the current occupant and comment on it to my office mates (I know, I should keep my mouth shut, but I can't help myself) and be met with stony silence or quiet sighs, followed by "thank God we don't have that traitor Kerry in the White House." I guess after six years, I'd like to hear just ONE of them say that they may have made a mistake by voting for the wrong man, but they never do. I now feel it is my job to keep them informed with the news that Fox tends to leave out. Long live annoying!
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Interesting stuff
[Read the article: Mom's a pothead]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This subject really pushes some buttons, doesn't it? Defend the kid and the pot smoker's brigade comes stampeding out of the woodwork to defend their habit. I have been around pot smokers (and alcoholics) and have walked away from both groups. I tired of seeing my funny, bright boyfriend turn into a glazed donut; I tired of seeing my father turn mean when he had his daily booze fix.
MacK made some good points; too bad Anonymous chose to disrespect our entire nation because he disagrees with an American poster. Go back to your bowl, Anonymous, it's callilng to you. Run now, go on.
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Oops
[Read the article: Mom's a pothead]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Oops, I mistyped "calling" -- for shame, for shame. Anonymous, feel free to slam the US for my typo, too.
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more on "hone in:
[Read the article: I hate buzzwords! It's not "carbon," it's "carbon dioxide"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Home in" predates "hone in." Another example of usage-driven changes in our language.
According to Mirriam Webster dictionary:
Main Entry: hone in
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: alteration of home in
Date: 1965
: to move toward or focus attention on an objective
Usage: The few commentators who have noticed hone in consider it to be a mistake for home in. It may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the m sound to n or may perhaps simply be due to the influence of hone. Though it seems to have established itself in American English (and mention in a British usage book suggests it is used in British English too), your use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. "Home in" or in figurative use "zero in" does nicely.
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to Sally the Werewolf:
[Read the article: Isn't it good, Norwegian oil]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"How much does anthropomorphism factor into how I feel about this?"
What kind of blather is all this about anthropomorphism?? Sally, do you feel that humans are the only species that plays? That gets hungry? That feels pain? That gets jealous? That feels true affection? That would die to save the lives of their offspring?? That have a sense of humor (yes, humor)?? I could go on and on, so YES, animals are like us, and we are like them. The only difference is degree, and that varies even amongst ourselves. I work with scientists who do animal behaviour studies, and it is proven time and again that animals experience and exhibit the characteristics that we humans do. Imagine that-- that other mammals behave like the human mammal and vice versa.
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Too much of a good thing
[Read the article: "The World Without Us"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I remember seeing a "pyramid" with respect to the food chain: In nature, the top predators numbered the fewest, while the bottom of the food chain (i.e. one celled organisms) numbered the most. Therefore, you'll have fewer lions than gazelles. Soooo, along comes humans, clearly the top of the food chain, and we keep increasing our numbers (10,000 more humans every hour of every day, after you calculate births/deaths.) So, is it any wonder that we are throwing things off kilter? We're at almost 7 billion, and growing, and growing, and growing. And, no end in sight.
I decided at 10 years of age that there were too many people (that's when there were less than 4 billion humans on the planet), so I made the decision to never have kids, and have lived by it. But, why should I care? Why should I care that YOUR grandkids have a great world to live in? As long as people keep having more kids than replacement level fertility (2), too many other creatures that call Earth home are doomed. THIS IS A GROSS INJUSTICE. That's why I care, for all the non-humans who are screwed because of us.
Before I get blasted, consider this: I am on the losing end of every environmental argument. My wish that everyone will only have one child will NEVER happen. Species will go extinct long before their natural extinction would have occurred; land will continue to be paved over with strip malls and McDonalds. Elephants will still be poached for their ivory, and sharks will be killed for their fins. ANWR will eventually be drilled, and be trashed. The list is endless, and this poor planet is poorer because of my species. Richer in some respects, poorer in most.
The saddest part of this all is that we KNOW better. For all the good that humans can do, we as a whole choose to crap in our own nest. There can be too many of us, and we have passed that point.