LETTERS

Response to our February 5 cover story on the polygamous goings-on in Colorado City, Arizona, keep rolling in:

A copy of your article was sent to me by a friend. Please keep up the good work in exposing this ongoing atrocity. Maybe if enough people learn about this something will be done.

Best Letter This Week Mimicking a Tired TV Commercial Format

The following arrived in response to a February 19 Gray Matters item on long waits at McCarran International Airport:

7 Minutes: Time a traveler recently spent in the United Airlines check-in line and then security line at McCarran International Airport.

Difference in ticket price between United and Southwest?

$40.

Not having to wait in line like a tourist?

Priceless.

Sucks waiting in line at the clubs I bet, huh.

Where Was Ombudsman Horton Veal When We Needed Him?

Josh Bell's February 5 review of Miracle continues to elicit comment:

Josh Bell wrote, "I have to admit right away that not only am I not a hockey fan, nor a sports fan at all, I also had never heard of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that beat the Soviets in a stunning upset to win the gold medal at Lake Placid, New York."

Josh Bell claims he is not a hockey fan, or even a sports fan. I wonder if he's not much of a movie fan, either. If he was paying attention in 1980 or during Miracle, he would know that the victory over the Soviets was in the semi-final game. Beating the Soviets did not win the U.S. the gold medal, but was one hell of an amazing step along the way!

A Whole New ERA?

With 24-hour news coverage every day of the year and numerous female journalists working for TV, radio, Internet and newspaper organizations, why doesn't the major women's rights issue of a STILL unratified EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution merit a scream or two?

Editor's note:
1.) Aaaaarrrrrghghgh! 2.) Aaaaarrrrghghgh! Happy?

You Grownup Journalists Just Don't Understand!

One of the special joys of the Internet is that an old story—say, a piece Kate Silver wrote last year about the online diaries kept by teens—will continue to find new readers, who will then write pissy e-mail:

Have you ever heard of exaggeration? Sarcasm? Dry humor? If not, I suggest you look them up and try to grasp the concept of online journals. Just because every teen isn't a happy-go-lucky golden child doesn't mean they need a "lithium drip," and eating a pack of hostess cupcakes hardly qualifies as an "eating disorder." Not every teen is suicidal, depressed, so on.

Obviously, these online journals are a way to express one's self without having to worry as much about carpal tunnel from writing pages' worth of thoughts. Since when is spitting Tic-Tacs at people "pure evil"? If that's your honest opinion, I cannot imagine how you feel about shows such as Punk'd, Girls Behaving Badly or any other televised prankster shows.

There were so many flaws in your article it makes me wonder if perhaps you're the one who needs to see a doctor. Maybe they can give you a dosage of common sense, so the next time you hear some "kid" say, "Man I just wanna KILL that guy!," you won't go running to the nearest law enforcement station claiming another Columbine is on its way. Man, all this criticism is making me hungry, time for some cupcakes. .. uh-oh, better call a psychiatrist.

Not Again!

It looks as though Ralph Nader is pulling the same stunt that he did in 2000. At that time, Associated Press writer Laura Meckler noted in the Friday, October 27, 2000, edition of The Washington Post that the Republican Leadership Council was funding the Nader campaign by launching TV ads in Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington, showing a speech made by Nader which was critical of Bush and Gore—but only airing the segments that were critical of Gore. This was done in a deliberate attempt to siphon off Gore votes in states that were favorable to Nader. Nader must surely be aware of what happened in 2000, so why is he attempting another run? What is his true motivation? Does he really want to be funded by Republicans again, in order to ensure another four years of Bush?

Editor's note:
Maybe it's because chicks dig vote-splitting insurgent third-party candidates. "Hey, baby, wanna make some time with the man who put Bush in the White House ... ?" That's one theory, anyway!