Letters for July 12, 2007

Reviews superficial
Re “'Black Rain’ and ‘Theology’ “ (In the Mix, June 14 and June 21):

I am amazed at recent RN&R music reviews I’ve read.

The first was by Matthew Craggs in the June 14 edition about Ozzy Osbourne’s new disc Black Rain. Here you have an icon, a legend of heavy metal, putting out an album that rocks hard and smart. I mean, it seriously rocks! How can you not mention that to the masses in an album review? That the production, guitar and vocals are amazing … especially for an outfit whose lead singer is a late-50s Ozzy? It’s downright incredible that he can still do it and do it this well. “Low bat diet?” Come on. Instead of the themes of Ozzy not wanting to be dethroned, etc., you could have talked about the actual music.

And in the June 21 issue, you have Bob Grimm reviewing Sinead O’Connor’s latest. First of all, there’s a big difference between describing someone as having found Jesus and someone finding Rastafarianism. Have you not been paying close enough attention? She found Jah, not Jesus. Yes it’s close in essence, but it’s totally misleading to say that she found Jesus as if she’s a typical born-again.

And the songs are not dead and worthless. They’re quiet and acoustic. Meaningful and introspective. Jeez-Louise, you are quick to say “blah” to one of the great voices of our time.

C’mon. Let’s have some sensitive, caring, imaginative, insightful music reviews!

Rob Pelikan
via e-mail

Seems simple enough
One need not be a scientist to confirm the fact of global warming over the past century. All one must do is ascertain accurate temperature readings from 1,000 points around the globe today and then compare these readings with precise temperature measurements reported from the very same locations, on the very same day, at the very same hour, in the year 1907. It’s that simple.

Joseph Pasulka
via e-mail

Where’s the steam?

All eight Democratic presidential candidates were present at the All-American Presidential Forums, and you’d think bloggers and journalists would be buzzing with excitement, writing about who won and who lost the debate, or who was the snazziest dresser. But I was browsing various blogs online and noticed little mention of the debate, nor the fact that John Edwards was the clear winner.

This debate had very interesting questions that were not even similar to the ones asked at the previous debates. It was by far the most engaging, contemporary debate I’ve seen this year. Strangely though, it wasn’t as talked about as the other debates—probably because it wasn’t aired by some big news station.

What’s even more puzzling is that even though John Edwards emerged as the winner of this debate, the focus in all the articles and blogs is still Hillary and Obama. It was Edwards who was constantly interrupted by enthusiastic applause. It was Edwards who had a clear understanding of each question and presented specific answers.

Edwards is the genuine, hard-working politician we’ve all been waiting for to lead the fight to change America for the better. He’s the Bobby Kennedy of my generation. He is the perfect example of a simple man living the American Dream. Why doesn’t the media write more about him? Is it fair that only those candidates who raise the most money get all the attention? It’s propaganda to write about the other front-runners all the time. The Rasmussen Reports show that Edwards beats every Republican contender in match-up polls by impressive margins, while Hillary and Obama don’t. If he beats every Republican contender in match-up polls, then wouldn’t nominating any of the other Democrats be like electing a Republican into the White House again? Simple logic. Edwards needs more attention from the media to boost the support he already has. Edwards has a lot of support and amazing ideas. The media just needs to focus on him more and, hopefully, then the country will wake up.

Name withheld
Reno

Keep the church review
Re “Lose the church review” (Letters, June 28):

Don’t pay any attention to Name Withheld. There are many of us non-Christians curious about what’s going on. Why is the Sparks Christian Fellowship so popular? Who are the people who attend the Reno Buddhist Temple? What’s a Unitarian Universalist? These are troubling times, and people look for answers (and questions) in many areas. There are no easy answers to life’s persistent questions—thank you, Garrison Keillor—and many of us choose to hang out with like-minded thinkers/souls to try to reach a comfort zone. Look at Bill Moyers. Would you put him down for being “just another Christian” after listening to his thought-provoking program on Friday nights? Let’s not be so hasty to judge. It’s good to find out about the other. Keep up the reporting on various churches/organizations. Enlightenment is good.

Sharon Wood
via e-mail