Letters for July 10, 2003
Re “You are what you eat” [RN&R, Cover, May 29] and “RoundUp kills weeds” [RN&R, Letters, July 3]:
Evidently some of your readers doubt the use of nuclear (fuel-processing) wastes being used as and in fertilizer. Supporting documentation can be found at the Seattle Times Internet site by searching for “Siemens” and “fertilizer.”
We’ve also challenged the EPA’s plan to expand the universe of zinc-containing hazardous wastes, authorizing their use—and that of other hazardous wastes—on farms. Heretofore, the “loophole” was only for fertilizers used on home lawns and gardens, parks and other “public uses” that would be difficult to track under a land-disposal permit. Any other use [of these chemicals], such as on a farm, would have required proof of safety and “cradle-to-grave” accountability through a land disposal permit.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact: Safe Food and Fertilizer, 617 H St. SW, Quincy, WA 98848.
Patricia Anne Martin
Quincy, Wash.
Graffiti isn’t just property damage
It is destructive and only costs tax-payers money. It is a dark negative in this rosy and positive world of ours. Graffiti is bad, and in no way will I support it.
I’m guessing that is what the older folks were saying when they decided to miss the beautiful Graffito show at Bleulion art gallery. Just a handful of over-35s wandered around gazing at the graffiti-ed walls. I commend these inquisitive people. But I was hoping to see, mingled in with the kids, those that rule this town and make the laws.
Because of irresponsible taggers, business owners have to pay to fix their signs and property. It costs, it hurts, but if people are truly concerned about something that has been going on since our ancestors took to the cave walls, they would look into it and gain knowledge about what makes someone want to see their handiwork on walls. Graffiti is not always an ugly thing; it can be beautiful. It can be a gift, and it doesn’t have to ruin anything.
Chad Sorg
via e-mail
Give Grimm the boot
Why do you keep that fool Bob Grimm on your staff? He is a flat-out terrible movie critic. How can that dimwitted hack like the Hulk? That movie was unbearably boring. The only thing that would be more boring would be a movie called The Life of Bob Grimm! It is time to get rid of Bob Grimm and find a critic who has a brain and knows the difference between good and bad movies.
Tom Schreck
via e-mail
Scared art critic
Re: “Bad art” [RN&R, Arts & culture, June 12]:
I was sitting in Pirate’s Pizza waiting for a large take out when I saw RN&R’s recent issue with the article “Bad art.” I couldn’t put it down. “Paul Mellender says most art in Reno doesn’t live up to a higher artistic standard,” [the subheadline stated]. From what I read and could see, neither does his.
The writer, Michael Croft, is Paul’s friend and is not an art critic. If he were a critic or, at least, knowledgeable, he would have told him that [Mellender’s] subject matter (a minotaur, bare-breasted woman and crashing waves) was historically mundane. They’re used in every Art 101 painting class across the USA.
I wouldn’t brag about not having the guts to put your work up in a university art department critique. You might find out how bad it is. Spending a lot of time attacking others just shows how frightened you are.
Elmer Taylor
Denton, Texas
Bush gives to the rich
Since Bush has been president, 2.7 million jobs have been lost. The tax cuts “given” by Bush recently appear to benefit the super-wealthy, while the average working person receives at most a couple of hundred dollars. We were promised that the purpose of this redistribution of wealth was to create a “million new jobs.”
I worked for 20 years in middle management for a phone company, but was laid off last year. I considered myself luckier than my fellow employees because my wife’s job at a supermarket allowed us to keep our home.
The problem is that I appear to be among the 1.7 million whose jobs have not been replaced. Despite my constant efforts, I have not yet been able to find a permanent job. Furthermore, it is my understanding that Bush is attempting to permit corporations to dispense with the requirement to pay for overtime. My wife’s overtime pay is the only income that allows us to keep our small house.
Bush’s policies seem to be designed for a reverse Robin Hood effect–to take from the poor and working people and to give to the wealthy.
Jim Stillwell
via e-mail