Ok, so after popular request, I've hung up PLEASE STOP WRITING for a while. I may come back to it on occasion, but not today. Today I've got a bigger fish to fry.
Before you read my letter, read this editorial from the Sioux City Center for Worship of Mike Blouin, aka the Journal.
Here's my reply. I doubt they'll publish it, but nonetheless...
In response to “Continue the Momentum” which appeared in the July 19 Journal, I would remind Iowans that the current trend in economic development may turn out to be little more than a blip on the radar screen, and is costing Iowans more than $50 million annually, money which is badly needed elsewhere.
In the last week in the Journal, I’ve seen three writers complain about the cost of school renovations and the lack of funding to complete them. Over 500,000 Iowans have either inadequate health insurance or none at all. But instead of earmarking some of our state’s income to fix these problems, your paper has chosen to endorse large payouts to companies that are already experiencing huge profits. Trickle-down economics didn’t work for Reagan, and it’s far too early to call the concept successful now.
All Iowa is doing currently, and in the years to come, is taxing its existing businesses to lure and subsidize their competitors. Furthermore, Iowa will never see the full benefit of having these new companies here, because the first time the state tries to get them to pay normal income, sales or property taxes, they’ll start building new facilities, either in South Dakota or Central America. To continue to keep these businesses here, we’ll have to keep bidding lower and giving away more. Why play a game we can’t win?
In the meantime, the alternative is being ignored. How many jobs would it save or create if all Iowans could afford to go to the hospital as needed? How many jobs would be saved or created if our schools had enough money to stay open, finish their construction projects and give our children the quality of education we wish they could have?
On the back of the Iowa quarter, it says “Foundation in Education.” Maybe before we give more money away, we should take a look at the “Iowa Values Fund,” and decide if this trend really reflects our values at all.
This has been KL Snow.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Welcome to Wednesday's edition of PLEASE STOP WRITING.
As always, we start with today's crap from The Eye Patch.
June 25th came and went and I'll bet no more than a dozen Iowans and probably less than two dozen people in all of America, for that matter, know the significance of that date.
According to Proclamation 5672 — filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:13 p.m., June 25, 1987 — it's National Catfish Day, as proclaimed by former president Ronald Reagan.
The proclamation states, in part: In recognition of the value of farm–raised catfish, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 178, has designated June 25, 1987, as National Catfish Day, and authorized and requested the president to issue a proclamation in its observance.
"Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 25, 1987, as National Catfish Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities."
Unfortunately, as with too many things political, this proclamation is incomplete and somewhat misleading. You will note that this proclamation was made in recognition of the value of farm–raised catfish. There are a great many different species in the catfish family, some no bigger than your little finger, others of such huge size you couldn't fit them in your bathtub. Of all these, the only one that is farm–raised is the channel catfish, and it should have been stated so in the proclamation.
The channel catfish should also have been designated the official state fish of Iowa years ago.
GEORGE L. MARZECK Sr.
West Burlington
Mr. Marzeck Sr., I'm mildly unhappy that you wrote and wasted my time with this. I'm even unhappier that you reproduced. I'm sure Reagan and his staff spent hours, maybe even days discussing which catfish to praise and which to ignore. Perhaps he even had the Presidential bathtub filled with catfish to check their size.
And of course, you're right, our legislators should take time away from piddly topics from education, health care and the environment, and get to work on naming Iowa's OFFICIAL FUCKING FISH.
Let's stick with the Eye Patch for letter 2:
Kudos to Phillip W. Hillman on his opinion of the recent pay raise of our city manager. I couldn't agree more that this seems to be unnecessary and overindulgent. The City Council cited its decision for giving him this pay raise — it doesn't want to lose him. Like there's no one else qualified to be in this position? Wake up citizens of Burlington. You've been led around by your noses too long. Open your eyes and your mouths. It's time.
KATHY R. CALDWELL
Burlington
Y'know, she's absolutely right. Anyone who wants to make more than $6600 a year is just greedy. So as Ms. Caldwell says, "open your eyes and your mouths." And look at the fact that your mayor would still be below the poverty line if you doubled his salary. Then say something about political greed.
Here's a quick one for #3:
Worldwide there are some 6,700 languages and 39,000 dialects spoken, yet English is used as the language of international diplomacy, business and air-traffic control. This use of a common language promotes understanding, efficiency and safety.
It is simply impractical to provide government services and documents in the 162 languages spoken in the United States. We should conduct official business in a common language and private business in our language of choice.
-Tim Ehrich,
Corydon.
6700 languages? Really? And to find 39,000 dialects, you'd have to count three different kinds of Minnesotan. I don't need the people at the local police station to speak Ojibwe, but can one person in the office speak simple Spanish? Is that really that much to ask?
This has been KL Snow.
As always, we start with today's crap from The Eye Patch.
June 25th came and went and I'll bet no more than a dozen Iowans and probably less than two dozen people in all of America, for that matter, know the significance of that date.
According to Proclamation 5672 — filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:13 p.m., June 25, 1987 — it's National Catfish Day, as proclaimed by former president Ronald Reagan.
The proclamation states, in part: In recognition of the value of farm–raised catfish, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 178, has designated June 25, 1987, as National Catfish Day, and authorized and requested the president to issue a proclamation in its observance.
"Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 25, 1987, as National Catfish Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities."
Unfortunately, as with too many things political, this proclamation is incomplete and somewhat misleading. You will note that this proclamation was made in recognition of the value of farm–raised catfish. There are a great many different species in the catfish family, some no bigger than your little finger, others of such huge size you couldn't fit them in your bathtub. Of all these, the only one that is farm–raised is the channel catfish, and it should have been stated so in the proclamation.
The channel catfish should also have been designated the official state fish of Iowa years ago.
GEORGE L. MARZECK Sr.
West Burlington
Mr. Marzeck Sr., I'm mildly unhappy that you wrote and wasted my time with this. I'm even unhappier that you reproduced. I'm sure Reagan and his staff spent hours, maybe even days discussing which catfish to praise and which to ignore. Perhaps he even had the Presidential bathtub filled with catfish to check their size.
And of course, you're right, our legislators should take time away from piddly topics from education, health care and the environment, and get to work on naming Iowa's OFFICIAL FUCKING FISH.
Let's stick with the Eye Patch for letter 2:
Kudos to Phillip W. Hillman on his opinion of the recent pay raise of our city manager. I couldn't agree more that this seems to be unnecessary and overindulgent. The City Council cited its decision for giving him this pay raise — it doesn't want to lose him. Like there's no one else qualified to be in this position? Wake up citizens of Burlington. You've been led around by your noses too long. Open your eyes and your mouths. It's time.
KATHY R. CALDWELL
Burlington
Y'know, she's absolutely right. Anyone who wants to make more than $6600 a year is just greedy. So as Ms. Caldwell says, "open your eyes and your mouths." And look at the fact that your mayor would still be below the poverty line if you doubled his salary. Then say something about political greed.
Here's a quick one for #3:
Worldwide there are some 6,700 languages and 39,000 dialects spoken, yet English is used as the language of international diplomacy, business and air-traffic control. This use of a common language promotes understanding, efficiency and safety.
It is simply impractical to provide government services and documents in the 162 languages spoken in the United States. We should conduct official business in a common language and private business in our language of choice.
-Tim Ehrich,
Corydon.
6700 languages? Really? And to find 39,000 dialects, you'd have to count three different kinds of Minnesotan. I don't need the people at the local police station to speak Ojibwe, but can one person in the office speak simple Spanish? Is that really that much to ask?
This has been KL Snow.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Tuesday's edition of PLEASE STOP WRITING is brought to you by the letter C, for CRAZY, the letter I, for IRRELEVANT, and the letter S, for STUPID.
First, the crazy one, which of course comes from The Hawk Eye:
Remember Sunday's post, when Charles Young of Phoenix, Arizona, was informed of his great potential? Well, I sense a great potential in him too. A great potential to write utter crap. Favorite lines are in bold, as always.
Kudos to George L. Marzeck Sr. for his excellent letter, "Seeking Answers", July 2. He certainly speaks for me, and far more eloquently than I.
I would add a comment. Congress is made up of gutless cowards who march goose steps behind George W. Bush. They will never have the courage to impeach Bush. But half of them will be running for re–election next year. What we must do is get out the vote to remove the cowards from office and replace them with people who have the courage to stand up to Bush and his administration of street thugs. I have great admiration for Howard Dean because he stands up to George W. Bush. The Republicans hate Dean ... why? Because he tells the truth and the Republicans hate the truth. The truth uncovers all their lies.
Kudos, too, to Dick Distelhorst for his fine letter, "Please Explain", June 28. There is nothing I could add to his letter. He said it all!.
Dennis Caulfield's letter July 3, "Burning Question" left me quite perturbed over his apparent belief that 'might makes right', therefore it is quite permissible to assault anyone who disagrees with him. The difference between burning the flag and setting someone on fire is that burning the flag is a form of free speech, while setting someone on fire is an act of bodily assault and is a crime.
I wonder if Mr. Caulfield would feel the same way if someone would take a baseball bat to his head to see if they could pound some logic into his head. The flag is nothing but a piece of cloth. What it symbolizes is something that is in the heart of every American and cannot be burned away. The flag is not a holy icon.
I might remind Mr. Caulfield that according to the rules that govern the disposal of the flag, one of the methods that are approved is to 'burn the flag'. So if the amendment to ban flag burning went into effect, if one should dispose of a flag by burning it, then that person would be breaking the law that bans burning the flag. Sounds like Catch–22 to me. I would advise Mr. Caulfield to be wary of anyone speaking softly and carrying a big baseball bat.
CHARLES W. YOUNG
Phoenix, Ariz.
Wow. Flatly, wow. First of all, Charles, you win the award for "repeat offender sending letters the greatest distance," a remarkable 1647 miles.
Now, let's address your actual content. You wrote a letter, and mailed it almost 2000 miles, just so you could praise three letter writers, and add some insanity to their viewpoints?
Oh no, wait, you did something else too. You threatened to attack a letter writer with a baseball bat. This is the kind of crap the Hawk Eye publishes every day.
But we're not done with The Hawk Eye. Actually, let's call it the Eye Patch, cause reading it just makes me want to cover my eyes.
Here's the irrelevant. You may remember Mr. Caulfield from the letter above.
Steamboat Days. Budweiser and/or Miller Lite. We do seem to have a dilemma of monumental perpetuity.
I don't know how many parties you've been to, but usually the old school rule of thumb is with keg beer it doesn't make any difference if after a few beers whether Clorox or Sani–Flush is stamped on the keg. As long as it is free, cold and wet, the party is on.
And also, don't hand me that worn–out myth about judging the whopper of a hangover by the brand of beer you drank, along with that undercooked brat. You simply had a six–pack too many. Steamboat Days is not a beer–tasting contest. It's a party. Even though the beer is not free, two out of three ain't bad.
DENNIS CAULFIELD
Burlington
Mr. Young, you may not need your baseball bat after all. Just some Clorox to put in Mr. Caulfield's keg. Apparently he had a few before writing this as well, just check out his grammar. "but usually the old school rule of thumb is with keg beer it doesn't make any difference if after a few beers whether Clorox or Sani–Flush is stamped on the keg" might be the most grammatically incorrect sentence ever to appear in a newspaper.
Finally, the stupid one, from a first time offender, the Sioux City Journal.
I am concerned about the upcoming vote regarding renewing the school tax.
I recall that when this tax was initially proposed, about seven years ago, there was a statement made by the school board that there would be no more than 10 years needed to bring our school buildings up to snuff.
Now, what happened to that? I understand some changes needed to be made, i.e. closing Hoover instead of making renovations, and some other changes. My question is, what is going on regarding selling the site Hoover sits on, the site East Middle used to sit on, and the site West Middle used to sit on? And why are we putting an addition on West Middle? It doesn't take rocket science to determine how big a school needs to be.
I think we need to know how much those new schools cost, what is going on with marketing the old real estate and, fineally, how much longer are we going to have this penny tax?
Wouldn't it be great to vote OURSELVES an extra $6 to $8 million a year?
Brian H. Smith
Sioux City
Ok, first of all, Mr. Smith, if you really want to know what your school costs, you can find out in about 30 seconds by using Google. If you're too lazy to do that, go here. Furthermore, you say yourself, the project was supposed to take 10 years. SEVEN years later, you're whining. You probably spend more on porn than you'd save by getting back that penny tax. And if you were going to spend it on education, I'd vote you $6 to $8 million too.
I haven't seen a Mr. Smith this dumb since Brad Pitt.
This has been KL Snow.
First, the crazy one, which of course comes from The Hawk Eye:
Remember Sunday's post, when Charles Young of Phoenix, Arizona, was informed of his great potential? Well, I sense a great potential in him too. A great potential to write utter crap. Favorite lines are in bold, as always.
Kudos to George L. Marzeck Sr. for his excellent letter, "Seeking Answers", July 2. He certainly speaks for me, and far more eloquently than I.
I would add a comment. Congress is made up of gutless cowards who march goose steps behind George W. Bush. They will never have the courage to impeach Bush. But half of them will be running for re–election next year. What we must do is get out the vote to remove the cowards from office and replace them with people who have the courage to stand up to Bush and his administration of street thugs. I have great admiration for Howard Dean because he stands up to George W. Bush. The Republicans hate Dean ... why? Because he tells the truth and the Republicans hate the truth. The truth uncovers all their lies.
Kudos, too, to Dick Distelhorst for his fine letter, "Please Explain", June 28. There is nothing I could add to his letter. He said it all!.
Dennis Caulfield's letter July 3, "Burning Question" left me quite perturbed over his apparent belief that 'might makes right', therefore it is quite permissible to assault anyone who disagrees with him. The difference between burning the flag and setting someone on fire is that burning the flag is a form of free speech, while setting someone on fire is an act of bodily assault and is a crime.
I wonder if Mr. Caulfield would feel the same way if someone would take a baseball bat to his head to see if they could pound some logic into his head. The flag is nothing but a piece of cloth. What it symbolizes is something that is in the heart of every American and cannot be burned away. The flag is not a holy icon.
I might remind Mr. Caulfield that according to the rules that govern the disposal of the flag, one of the methods that are approved is to 'burn the flag'. So if the amendment to ban flag burning went into effect, if one should dispose of a flag by burning it, then that person would be breaking the law that bans burning the flag. Sounds like Catch–22 to me. I would advise Mr. Caulfield to be wary of anyone speaking softly and carrying a big baseball bat.
CHARLES W. YOUNG
Phoenix, Ariz.
Wow. Flatly, wow. First of all, Charles, you win the award for "repeat offender sending letters the greatest distance," a remarkable 1647 miles.
Now, let's address your actual content. You wrote a letter, and mailed it almost 2000 miles, just so you could praise three letter writers, and add some insanity to their viewpoints?
Oh no, wait, you did something else too. You threatened to attack a letter writer with a baseball bat. This is the kind of crap the Hawk Eye publishes every day.
But we're not done with The Hawk Eye. Actually, let's call it the Eye Patch, cause reading it just makes me want to cover my eyes.
Here's the irrelevant. You may remember Mr. Caulfield from the letter above.
Steamboat Days. Budweiser and/or Miller Lite. We do seem to have a dilemma of monumental perpetuity.
I don't know how many parties you've been to, but usually the old school rule of thumb is with keg beer it doesn't make any difference if after a few beers whether Clorox or Sani–Flush is stamped on the keg. As long as it is free, cold and wet, the party is on.
And also, don't hand me that worn–out myth about judging the whopper of a hangover by the brand of beer you drank, along with that undercooked brat. You simply had a six–pack too many. Steamboat Days is not a beer–tasting contest. It's a party. Even though the beer is not free, two out of three ain't bad.
DENNIS CAULFIELD
Burlington
Mr. Young, you may not need your baseball bat after all. Just some Clorox to put in Mr. Caulfield's keg. Apparently he had a few before writing this as well, just check out his grammar. "but usually the old school rule of thumb is with keg beer it doesn't make any difference if after a few beers whether Clorox or Sani–Flush is stamped on the keg" might be the most grammatically incorrect sentence ever to appear in a newspaper.
Finally, the stupid one, from a first time offender, the Sioux City Journal.
I am concerned about the upcoming vote regarding renewing the school tax.
I recall that when this tax was initially proposed, about seven years ago, there was a statement made by the school board that there would be no more than 10 years needed to bring our school buildings up to snuff.
Now, what happened to that? I understand some changes needed to be made, i.e. closing Hoover instead of making renovations, and some other changes. My question is, what is going on regarding selling the site Hoover sits on, the site East Middle used to sit on, and the site West Middle used to sit on? And why are we putting an addition on West Middle? It doesn't take rocket science to determine how big a school needs to be.
I think we need to know how much those new schools cost, what is going on with marketing the old real estate and, fineally, how much longer are we going to have this penny tax?
Wouldn't it be great to vote OURSELVES an extra $6 to $8 million a year?
Brian H. Smith
Sioux City
Ok, first of all, Mr. Smith, if you really want to know what your school costs, you can find out in about 30 seconds by using Google. If you're too lazy to do that, go here. Furthermore, you say yourself, the project was supposed to take 10 years. SEVEN years later, you're whining. You probably spend more on porn than you'd save by getting back that penny tax. And if you were going to spend it on education, I'd vote you $6 to $8 million too.
I haven't seen a Mr. Smith this dumb since Brad Pitt.
This has been KL Snow.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Monday's edition of PLEASE STOP WRITING:
Our first letter comes from, where else? The Hawk Eye It isn't long enough to warrant any bolding of favorites.
After scanning the column by Mike Sweet on June 30, I just have one question: Does Mike have any formal education — I mean, beyond the third grade?
DALE BOREX
Burlington
Thank you, Dale Borex of Burlington, for sending us a letter with a two-line personal attack, no evidence to back it up, and a very thin reference to ANY TOPIC AT ALL.
Here's one from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier:
Do you like it if someone talks about you behind your back? I don't. It surprises me how many people do it. It needs to stop now. Everyone has the right to know what is being said about them. If you talk about someone behind their back they might be mad. It also makes them look bad. Also they might not want something released. They might not want other people to know something like a new job, or change of address. You have to respect that. Please do not talk about other people without their permission. Please let people talk for themselves, and do not talk about people.
It irritates me to see people who can make their own decisions but others will not allow them to. I have heard someone tell someone that they cannot drink Kool-aid because they have outgrown it, but that person has not outgrown it. I have heard people tell someone they cannot go on vacation because they do not have an invitation, but no invite is needed; liquid laundry soap is better than powder; this is better than that. Do not tell someone how to live their life. Everyone has the right to live their life the way they want to, even if someone is disabled. Just because someone is disabled does not mean they can't decide what's best for themselves.
SARA JOHNSON
Waterloo
People talking behind the backs of others is inevitably a new development, and now that Sara's addressed it, I'm sure the turnaround is in sight.
But you're never too old for Kool Aid.
Only two today: Good work Iowa.
This has been KL Snow.
Our first letter comes from, where else? The Hawk Eye It isn't long enough to warrant any bolding of favorites.
After scanning the column by Mike Sweet on June 30, I just have one question: Does Mike have any formal education — I mean, beyond the third grade?
DALE BOREX
Burlington
Thank you, Dale Borex of Burlington, for sending us a letter with a two-line personal attack, no evidence to back it up, and a very thin reference to ANY TOPIC AT ALL.
Here's one from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier:
Do you like it if someone talks about you behind your back? I don't. It surprises me how many people do it. It needs to stop now. Everyone has the right to know what is being said about them. If you talk about someone behind their back they might be mad. It also makes them look bad. Also they might not want something released. They might not want other people to know something like a new job, or change of address. You have to respect that. Please do not talk about other people without their permission. Please let people talk for themselves, and do not talk about people.
It irritates me to see people who can make their own decisions but others will not allow them to. I have heard someone tell someone that they cannot drink Kool-aid because they have outgrown it, but that person has not outgrown it. I have heard people tell someone they cannot go on vacation because they do not have an invitation, but no invite is needed; liquid laundry soap is better than powder; this is better than that. Do not tell someone how to live their life. Everyone has the right to live their life the way they want to, even if someone is disabled. Just because someone is disabled does not mean they can't decide what's best for themselves.
SARA JOHNSON
Waterloo
People talking behind the backs of others is inevitably a new development, and now that Sara's addressed it, I'm sure the turnaround is in sight.
But you're never too old for Kool Aid.
Only two today: Good work Iowa.
This has been KL Snow.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Here's a new blog feature, I think I'm going to call it PLEASE STOP WRITING. For those of you who don't know, one of the things I do everyday is look over the letters to the editor in several papers. Why I do that is irrelevant. What I find is sometimes maddening.
Three examples from today. The first is from the Burlington Hawk Eye, far and away Iowa's single greatest source of crackpottery. My favorite lines are in bold.
In re: to Mr. Young, Phoenix, Ariz., June 29 — your alleged disbelief in God and your reading of the Bible is a paradox.
If you don't believe in God, why fight against Him? Wouldn't that be referred to as sparring with a myth or, as St. Paul says, "fighting as one beating the air." Would you use the dictionary but deny the well–known lexicographer Noah Webster as the author?
Your disbelief in God does not diminish Him in any capacity, it only diminishes you.
The real truth is, God believes in you, Fact. He loves you, He thought you were worth dying for.
Saul of Tarsus also didn't "believe" while on his way to round up all Christians to kill them. He was knocked from his horse, a bright light surrounded him, he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
Please note Saul's response, "Who art thou Lord?" Saul became Paul, the greatest disciple for God.
Perhaps God has His eyes on you, Charles. I feel a greatness in you that even you don't realize is there.
Working for God? The pay isn't much but the retirement plan is out of this world! And I wouldn't miss that for the world!
JOSIE WOLFE
West Burlington
Let's make one thing perfectly clear. There are lots of perfectly acceptable places for this debate to happen. None of them happen to be the Hawk Eye. It's a NEWSpaper. It's supposed to publish NEWS, and sometimes opinions on the NEWS. It is not the place for your theological debates, your belittling of the views of others, or Dennis Caulfield's bi-weekly letters to the editor concerning the boring nature of Star Wars and the need to start a Straight Pride parade.
And that line about "feeling a greatness in you that even you don't realize is there," is more than a little creepy.
Next letter, and surprise! It's also from The Hawk Eye:
Richard Distelhorst is certainly correct. It is now time we impeach Bush.
Our so–called brilliant government impeached President Nixon for some piddly thing. Nixon had great relations with countries including China.
What Bush is doing now is a million times worse. As we all know there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. Bin Laden was totally responsible, and still after four years we still haven't found him. He might be playing High Hold 'Em in Las Vegas.
SPENCER GARTH LARSON
Burlington
First of all, Spencer Garth, (S.G.?) when liberals like me start backing away from you, that means you're WAY on the left wing. Our so-called government? What else would we call them if we didn't call them that? Some piddly thing?
Reasons for going to war are a touchy subject, and I don't ever plan on arguing them here. I'd rather talk about the bigger problem: That some dumbass named Spencer Garth felt the need to proclaim himself an expert on the matter.
Lastly, I'm pretty sure if Bin Laden was playing Texas Hold 'Em in Vegas, Bravo would've asked him to be on Celebrity Poker Showdown.
This last one comes from the Iowa City Press Citizen:
On June 24, Tom Cruise finally crossed the line. In a Today Show television interview, he declared: "There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance." In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he also compared psychiatry to Nazism.
Along with the American Psychiatric Association and National Mental Health Association, NAMI condemned Cruise's remarks in a formal statement released to the news media. He is entitled to his personal point of view but not false facts -- particularly when they perpetuate stigma around the nature of mental illness and treatment. I am disgusted with Cruise. What possible good is it to shame someone for having a mental illness?
Mental illnesses involve biological brain disorders, no matter what Cruise says. Medication and proper therapy often make a difference between life and death.
It is irresponsible for Paramount Studios and Cruise to use a movie publicity tour to promote an ideological view that deters people with mental illness from getting the care they need -- and adds to stigma.
Paramount Studio should help undo the damage by supporting legitimate mental health organizations and public awareness campaigns around mental illnesses.
I wonder how many more suicide attempts will be made because of Cruise's thoughtless comments.
Linda Hug
Coralville
Ok, admittedly, this one isn't as bad as the other two, but any letter that starts with "On June 24, Tom Cruise finally crossed the line" has got to draw mention here.
Tom Cruise is on a career suicide mission at this point. Much like Mel Gibson shortly after the Passion or Brad Pitt after any public moment, the general public is well on their way to discovering that there is ABSOLUTELY NO intelligence required to being a leading man in Hollywood, and that the ultimate truth is more likely to come from a bowl of Alpha Bits than from Tom Cruise.
If you're committing suicide or denying yourself the mental care you need because Tom Cruise doesn't believe you have a problem, then maybe your problem is irrational choice of authority figures.
I tend to think my problems are caused by stupid people who write letters.
This has been KL Snow.
Three examples from today. The first is from the Burlington Hawk Eye, far and away Iowa's single greatest source of crackpottery. My favorite lines are in bold.
In re: to Mr. Young, Phoenix, Ariz., June 29 — your alleged disbelief in God and your reading of the Bible is a paradox.
If you don't believe in God, why fight against Him? Wouldn't that be referred to as sparring with a myth or, as St. Paul says, "fighting as one beating the air." Would you use the dictionary but deny the well–known lexicographer Noah Webster as the author?
Your disbelief in God does not diminish Him in any capacity, it only diminishes you.
The real truth is, God believes in you, Fact. He loves you, He thought you were worth dying for.
Saul of Tarsus also didn't "believe" while on his way to round up all Christians to kill them. He was knocked from his horse, a bright light surrounded him, he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
Please note Saul's response, "Who art thou Lord?" Saul became Paul, the greatest disciple for God.
Perhaps God has His eyes on you, Charles. I feel a greatness in you that even you don't realize is there.
Working for God? The pay isn't much but the retirement plan is out of this world! And I wouldn't miss that for the world!
JOSIE WOLFE
West Burlington
Let's make one thing perfectly clear. There are lots of perfectly acceptable places for this debate to happen. None of them happen to be the Hawk Eye. It's a NEWSpaper. It's supposed to publish NEWS, and sometimes opinions on the NEWS. It is not the place for your theological debates, your belittling of the views of others, or Dennis Caulfield's bi-weekly letters to the editor concerning the boring nature of Star Wars and the need to start a Straight Pride parade.
And that line about "feeling a greatness in you that even you don't realize is there," is more than a little creepy.
Next letter, and surprise! It's also from The Hawk Eye:
Richard Distelhorst is certainly correct. It is now time we impeach Bush.
Our so–called brilliant government impeached President Nixon for some piddly thing. Nixon had great relations with countries including China.
What Bush is doing now is a million times worse. As we all know there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. Bin Laden was totally responsible, and still after four years we still haven't found him. He might be playing High Hold 'Em in Las Vegas.
SPENCER GARTH LARSON
Burlington
First of all, Spencer Garth, (S.G.?) when liberals like me start backing away from you, that means you're WAY on the left wing. Our so-called government? What else would we call them if we didn't call them that? Some piddly thing?
Reasons for going to war are a touchy subject, and I don't ever plan on arguing them here. I'd rather talk about the bigger problem: That some dumbass named Spencer Garth felt the need to proclaim himself an expert on the matter.
Lastly, I'm pretty sure if Bin Laden was playing Texas Hold 'Em in Vegas, Bravo would've asked him to be on Celebrity Poker Showdown.
This last one comes from the Iowa City Press Citizen:
On June 24, Tom Cruise finally crossed the line. In a Today Show television interview, he declared: "There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance." In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he also compared psychiatry to Nazism.
Along with the American Psychiatric Association and National Mental Health Association, NAMI condemned Cruise's remarks in a formal statement released to the news media. He is entitled to his personal point of view but not false facts -- particularly when they perpetuate stigma around the nature of mental illness and treatment. I am disgusted with Cruise. What possible good is it to shame someone for having a mental illness?
Mental illnesses involve biological brain disorders, no matter what Cruise says. Medication and proper therapy often make a difference between life and death.
It is irresponsible for Paramount Studios and Cruise to use a movie publicity tour to promote an ideological view that deters people with mental illness from getting the care they need -- and adds to stigma.
Paramount Studio should help undo the damage by supporting legitimate mental health organizations and public awareness campaigns around mental illnesses.
I wonder how many more suicide attempts will be made because of Cruise's thoughtless comments.
Linda Hug
Coralville
Ok, admittedly, this one isn't as bad as the other two, but any letter that starts with "On June 24, Tom Cruise finally crossed the line" has got to draw mention here.
Tom Cruise is on a career suicide mission at this point. Much like Mel Gibson shortly after the Passion or Brad Pitt after any public moment, the general public is well on their way to discovering that there is ABSOLUTELY NO intelligence required to being a leading man in Hollywood, and that the ultimate truth is more likely to come from a bowl of Alpha Bits than from Tom Cruise.
If you're committing suicide or denying yourself the mental care you need because Tom Cruise doesn't believe you have a problem, then maybe your problem is irrational choice of authority figures.
I tend to think my problems are caused by stupid people who write letters.
This has been KL Snow.
Friday, July 01, 2005
A funny exchange from this evening, which ties in with this post:
Kati: and i still have all the dried out roses
TheEvilKL: dried out roses are creepy.
Kati: i love them
TheEvilKL: When I buy a girl roses, it's because I want her to enjoy their beauty, not because I want her to slowly watch them die and then display the corpse.
Where else in life is this acceptable? In absolutely no other situation is it acceptable to give something that's dying as a gift. If I give you a fish, I'm really supposed to give you a fishbowl, or at least something with water in it, like a hollowed out skull. Flowers? Nope. I'm supposed to give you flowers with a vase or something, something to keep them from tipping over as they slowly but surely begin the process of rotting. It's the plant version of giving someone a recently removed finger.
And now, an all new one act play by KL Snow!
KL usually disc golfs in the morning with friends, but after hard days at work he'll go do it by himself, just to clear his head. Today, he got to the first hole. ASSHOLE was there, just standing around.
KL walks up to the first tee.
ASSHOLE: Excuse me, I was here first.
KL: I'm sorry, I thought you were waiting for someone.
ASSHOLE walks up to the tee, pulls a disc out of his disc golf purse, and throws. Then he stands there at stares at the disc for a long time.
ASSHOLE pulls a second disc out of his disc golf purse, winds up, and throws again, landing the second disc about two feet away from the first disc.
KL is getting restless.
ASSHOLE pulls yet another disc out of his fucking disc golf purse, winds and throws. The throw goes wide and skips across the road.
KL tries and fails to supress a chuckle.
ASSHOLE glares.
ASSHOLE pulls a FOURTH driver out of his fucking goddamn disc golf purse (which is on wheels for days when he's too fucking lazy to carry it), winds, and throws it over a tall chain link fence. He pulls out the handle on his pansy-ass purse, wheels it to the fence and tries to climb over a couple of times and fails, before he finally gets a foothold, vaults over the fence and lands on his ass on the other side.
In the meantime, KL plays through.
Moral of the story: One mulligan is allowed. Playing four discs at a time means I'll laugh if you suck.
This has been KL Snow.
Kati: and i still have all the dried out roses
TheEvilKL: dried out roses are creepy.
Kati: i love them
TheEvilKL: When I buy a girl roses, it's because I want her to enjoy their beauty, not because I want her to slowly watch them die and then display the corpse.
Where else in life is this acceptable? In absolutely no other situation is it acceptable to give something that's dying as a gift. If I give you a fish, I'm really supposed to give you a fishbowl, or at least something with water in it, like a hollowed out skull. Flowers? Nope. I'm supposed to give you flowers with a vase or something, something to keep them from tipping over as they slowly but surely begin the process of rotting. It's the plant version of giving someone a recently removed finger.
And now, an all new one act play by KL Snow!
KL usually disc golfs in the morning with friends, but after hard days at work he'll go do it by himself, just to clear his head. Today, he got to the first hole. ASSHOLE was there, just standing around.
KL walks up to the first tee.
ASSHOLE: Excuse me, I was here first.
KL: I'm sorry, I thought you were waiting for someone.
ASSHOLE walks up to the tee, pulls a disc out of his disc golf purse, and throws. Then he stands there at stares at the disc for a long time.
ASSHOLE pulls a second disc out of his disc golf purse, winds up, and throws again, landing the second disc about two feet away from the first disc.
KL is getting restless.
ASSHOLE pulls yet another disc out of his fucking disc golf purse, winds and throws. The throw goes wide and skips across the road.
KL tries and fails to supress a chuckle.
ASSHOLE glares.
ASSHOLE pulls a FOURTH driver out of his fucking goddamn disc golf purse (which is on wheels for days when he's too fucking lazy to carry it), winds, and throws it over a tall chain link fence. He pulls out the handle on his pansy-ass purse, wheels it to the fence and tries to climb over a couple of times and fails, before he finally gets a foothold, vaults over the fence and lands on his ass on the other side.
In the meantime, KL plays through.
Moral of the story: One mulligan is allowed. Playing four discs at a time means I'll laugh if you suck.
This has been KL Snow.
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