Letters for November 29, 2007

Who’s better: Baz or Josh?

Re “A Bach-alypse now” by Josh Fernandez (SN&R Feature, November 15):

Well, how lucky am I that on November 20, I should run into probably the last issue of SN&R on a newstand near me with Sebastian Bach on the cover?

Not sure who was more brilliantly entertaining—Josh [Fernandez] or Baz—but nonetheless a beautiful, nonconformist move to make Baz the cover boy.

And they said fame would change him!

Kylee Brooks
via e-mail

No choice, no peace

Re “Peace all over” (SN&R Letters, November 21):

Wynette Sill’s letter reads like the twisted logic of anti-abortionists who have been brainwashed, indoctrinated and programmed from birth into the belief that they are the “chosen ones,” judge and jury, over what a woman can and cannot do with her body.

Anti-abortionists protest and scream to save fetuses, while at the same time think nothing of squandering adult lives in a pro-war agenda. Where do they get off? My daughter and ex-wife have the basic right to make decisions about their own bodies and are not the charges of wild-eyed religious zealots.

Anti-abortionists are always hiding behind the veil of Jesus. Would Jesus have condoned taking away a woman’s freedom of choice? No; this is a modern-day aberration.

Ron Lowe
Grass Valley

SN&R’s required reading

Re “The dissatisfied majority” (SN&R Guest Comment, November 15):

Sonny Cline’s guest comment should be required reading for every elected official and should be made a part of whatever textbooks are being used in high school civics or government classes. He succinctly pointed out the core problems with politicians today.

Hey, all of you down on Capitol Mall and in Washington: Are you listening?

Nancy Sheehan
via e-mail

Nepotism at its best

Re “We pay Tonight Show writers when nobody else does,” by John A. Kennedy (SN&R Arts&Culture, November 15):

This story was hilarious. John Kennedy is the best person you could have chosen for this. Keep up the good work, John! (Of course, I’m his cousin, so I’m a little biased.)

Julie Tymorek
Madison, Wisc.

Save the whales— no, really!

Re “O vegan attack vessel” by Traci J. Macnamara (SN&R Words, November 21):

I read this book; couldn’t put it down. It beats any murder mystery that I have ever read, and believe me there’s plenty of murder throughout the book (though not of the human kind) and plenty of mystery, too. Shame on the Japanese government for its persistence in killing whales, extremely intelligent and magnificent creatures.

And shame as well on the United States, which I believe could stop the whale killing immediately, except that it, too, is an amoral entity whose only interest is economic gain at any cost.

Maryanne Appel
Garnet Valley, Pa.

They’re kids—they’ll be all Christian-right

Re “The kids aren’t all Christian-right” by Ted Cox (SN&R Higher Ground, November 15):

When I first re-dedicated my life to Christ, I was more passionate early on when I spoke to others about Christ for one reason: I feared for them. The ability to articulate what “being in love” with Christ truly means is like anything else; to be any good at it takes practice. I am sure as [these teenagers] grow as people, they will become better at being Christians.

When [Shaun] Moore says that “They’re a little bit too into it,” I say, “They have a rickety passion now, which will hopefully allow them to become more skilled in their expression of faith over time.”

As I grew in the Lord, as I studied the Bible more and more, I learned that the Bible tells us to share the Word, not compel the Word; to lead by example, admit and repent of sin and love one another.

The rest is up to God.

This brings me to the comments [Moore] made with regard to the easy swipe at [Jerry] Falwell. Those were not Falwell’s finest moments, to be sure; you might say he reverted back to his more rickety days of preaching. I suspect his motivation was that he feared for souls. And while he may have cited one sin in particular, his fear was for all. The majority of us who know Christ know the difference in spouting the Word to convince and terrify versus expressing, understanding and enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s heart and in one’s life and simply wishing to share it.

The kids are better than all right and they know it. It’s just that it’s so new to them that they worry about the rest of us.

Babz Bitela
Roseville

She ain’t just whistlin’

Re “Hospital drama” by Gustavo Arellano (SN&R ¡Ask a Mexican! November 15):

Ahorale Mexicano, I’m so glad you are still writing your brilliant column to assist us with the education of the tapados that we deal with every day. Here are some more catchy little tunes which every (insert Americano or your favorite racist term here) knows, “that is, if they’re lucky enough to finish fourth grade. It helps brainwash (insert your favorite racist term here) into being some of the strongest patriots in the world, with little justification.”

How about these? “Rally Round the Flag, Boys,” “The Marines’ Hymn” (that’s the one that goes “From the halls of Montezuma / To the shores of Tripoli”), “This Land is Your Land,” “Dixie’s Land (I Wish I Was in Dixie),” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “God Bless America.”

So, Pensive in Mero Pasadena, tell us about yourself. Maybe you were patriotic first and your racist rants came later. So which came first, the patriot or the rant?

La Yaqui Woman
via e-mail

We love ’em, so leave ’em

Re “Yes, we’re thankful …” (SN&R Editorial, November 21):

I noticed that one of the things you gave thanks for is the canopy of trees in Sacramento. I’ve lived in and around Sac for many years and my mom lives in Midtown. We really like the trees, too.

But it seems like the city is cutting down trees at an alarming rate these days. Am I crazy or does anyone else think this, too? I swear it’s true. Just look around Midtown and you’ll see white signs on trees that are due to be cut down soon. My mom really loves trees, so it pains her to see them cut down. Right near SN&R’s office, over by the Starbucks, two really big trees have been cut down in the past month or two. I really hope they never cut down the really big one in front of Java City on Capitol.

Anyway, if the trees are really diseased or something, I guess the city has no choice, but they’ve been unresponsive to me and my assistant when we separately called the number on the white signs. If you call, you’ll get the same story every time—that the trees need to be removed due to disease or something—but frankly, they look fine and seem just as healthy as nearby trees. It really seems that the rate of cutting has skyrocketed in the last year or two.

I know there are increasing tree diseases and beetles and such, so maybe it’s just the way it is, but some public insight might be good, considering that our trees are part of what makes Sacramento special.

Lance Walley
Sacramento

Correction

In “When East meets West” by Keleigh Freidrich (SN&R Higher Ground, November 21), the photo caption for Deacon Clark Goecker is incorrect. Goecker is a firm supporter of the Catholic Church’s proposal for a more “compassionate and understanding” immigration policy. SN&R sincerely regrets the error.