Last week's essay by Stacy J. Willis arguing for a tolerant view of gay marriage elicited the predictable range of responses, pro and con. First, the pro:
A note to say thank you for your insightful essay. Pastor Duncan-Krieger's thoughts on invisibility and extremism hit the nail on the head.
It is reassuring to know that although LV has made same-sex marriages illegal, there appears to be articulate members of the gay and lesbian community.
Thank you again for your piece and I look forward to reading more of your work.
Margaret Maguire &
Marie Alidio
There Is Such a Country—It's Called America
And now the con, transcribed from voice mail left on Willis' phone:
I got a suggestion for all the gay people. You ought to form your own abstract government, and get your own tax system involved and anybody can pay in that's gay—I know there's tons of gay people around this country with money, right? And you can get your own medical insurance and your own gay doctors, and you can have your own little thing and you don't have to be bothered by the United States government. How about that for a suggestion? Unite all of your people—even though it goes against God's laws, you can still do what you want. Take care! God bless!
"Frank" (Number Blocked)
Editor's note:
Or, as an alternative, perhaps you and your kind can form a country where you can still stone heretics! Take care!
Passion Piece's Perspective Praised
I would just like to say bravo on a piece well done ... Lonn Friend's article on The Passion is great, and what an interesting perspective to have coming from someone Jewish. I really enjoyed it and am more open to seeing the movie now.
Ingrid Earle
This Week's Best Letter About Sonja and the Readers' Choice Awards, Purportedly Written by a Maloof Brother But Not Really
As tantalizing as the thought of a dice-covered Sonja is, you chose the right picture for your March 4 cover: It's classy, just like Sonja herself. Here's a woman who's smart, creative, sexy, brave and idealistic enough to still believe in true love. It's an embarrassment to Southern Nevada that a woman like this is still single.
That's why I'm calling on the Valley's most prominent eligible bachelor to step up to the plate and make us proud. That's right, George Maloof: It's time for you to buy a ring with a rock on it about the size of a large marble, haul ass over to Sonja's yoga class, adjust your body position as necessary to look her in the eyes and beg her to make you the happiest man in the world. After all, before long the Sacramento Kings are going to win it all. Do you want to celebrate with your arms around your brothers or with your arms around Sonja? And when you're old and gray, you're gonna want a good woman in the rocking chair next to you who you can reminisce with about all the good times. What makes Sonja the perfect choice is that, if you forget anything, you can go to the Wink column archives to remind you of all the details. By the way, every now and then, some sexually-frustrated, under-endowed misogynist will send a hateful, spite-filled letter about Sonja to the Weekly; maybe from now on, you could have the Kings' power forwards rough these guys up a little.
Oh, one closing comment to all the Weekly readers who voted for best TV personality. Kim Capozzo is great and Nina Radetich is practically superhuman. But next year, all of us in the Polly Gonzalez constituency need to make our voices heard. She's been doing a great job for years now, and it's time she got her propers.
Gavin Maloof
(Just kidding; it's James Taylor)
More Sonja Mail
Well, congrats for your Readers' Choice for Sexiest Person, first of all. With your March 4th column, you ROCK, LADY!!! When I pick up a Weekly, the first thing I do is look for your Wink column. I've been meaning to write you since your gathering that you set up for children a while back. [A benefit Sonja recently arranged to help abused children.] If ever I get the pleasure of meeting you in person, it would be an honor to shake your hand. Thanks for being YOURSELF, Lady Sonja.
A Weekly Reader
And Now, a Technical Note on the Photography, Addressed to Art Director Benjamen Purvis
Nice work, Benjamen. After looking at those shots of Sonja, I can't think of anything else I'd like to photograph at this particular moment.
Lupe