Letters for March 17, 2011

Support the Co-op

Re “Will work for food” (Green, Feb. 10):

I caught your article online and am thrilled to hear about the Great Basin Food Co-Op expansion. Organic food is more than a fad, and it reflects a growing awareness that a large part of our physical health and happiness begins with what we choose to put on our dinner tables. We visited the current co-op location on a recent visit to Reno and were very impressed with the selection afforded in such a small space, and the staff who knew each farmer and their product personally. Of the many worthwhile businesses in your community, this one in particular is a wonderful asset. They provide a real, viable outlet for your local farmers to sell a nutritionally superior product, and give each person in your community a convenient choice for real, natural, nutritional food. I applaud Reno for supporting this worthwhile endeavor.

Michael Roberson
Seattle

Think, think, think

Re “Check your check” (Letters to the Editor, March 10):

Lemme see, Stephanie Dobbins’ letter is about a snow day. No, it’s about quality time with her kids. No, it’s about an itemized receipt from a restaurant. No, it’s about getting ripped off by a restaurant owner with an attitude and broken English. No, it’s about a taxpaying African-American homeowner, not from the old school. No, it’s about Black History month last month. No, it’s about President Obama not being some kind of fluke.

Oh, I think now I see it, it’s about her lunch bill being off by $3 to $4. But really, it’s just about that giant chip on her shoulder, all coming out in one giant unfocused diatribe. What has the owner’s broken English to do with his purported overcharge? New Asian immigrants are liable to do that as a matter of course.

No, Ms. Dobbins, Obama is no fluke. He got Nevada’s vote, and my vote because of certain promises he made during his election campaign. He iterated those promises loud and clear, and he reiterated them. Then, when the time came for him to make good on those promises, he crawled back into the pockets of Wall Street and reneged on those promises. You talk about cheating someone out of money. What do you think it cost the middle- and working-class taxpayers when Obama renewed Bush’s tax cuts for the super rich? You worry about a few piddling dollars from a local restaurant owner? You may have learned to read, write and count, but now it’s high time you learned to think and discern what’s important from what’s really important. In Honor of Black History Month, last month, learn to do that. And if you really want to save some money and spend quality time with your kids, stay home and cook them lunch.

Renate Fong
Reno

Thanks, dude

Re “Stone church” (Filet of Soul, March 3):

Nice work on all the church reporting, dude! So have you been to Circle’s Edge? It’s worth it just to hear our boy Peter Supersano play the piano, and Dr. Sandy is great.

Also, I’m thinking you could begin to expand your theme to the area of religious tolerance (or intolerance). And just how and the hell are these fundamentalists ever going to leave each other alone?

My guru, if I had to choose one, didn’t believe in gurus. You should hopefully know that I am talking about none other than the great J. Krishnamurti. He didn’t want to become a guru, and yet sort of became one anyway. He said “religions (or organized religion) only serve to separate people.” Really true. Check him out. I think some of his most poetic writing is from a piece called The Second Krishnamurti Reader, which contains “The Only Revolution” and “The Urgency of Change.” You’re gonna love him. I guarantee it! Here’s a taste for you:

“Silence has many qualities. There is the silence between two noises, the silence between two notes, and the widening silence in the interval between two thoughts. … and when you wake up in the middle of the night and listen to an owl hooting in the valley; and there is that silence before the owl’s mate answers.”

Jon Obester
via email

Us, too

Re “What about Bob?” (Editorial, March 10):

As one of those tattooed folks very excited to use the CommRow climbing wall, I say, “Hear, hear!”

Karl Fendelander
Sparks

Restore Americans

Re “Who’s in charge here?” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, March 10):

IMHO, this is exactly who we are now. Unfortunately, because of our apathy and self-imposed ignorance to what is and has been going on politically, we’ve left governing to the greed-driven, immoral and corruptible, with very little oversight or demands for honesty and actual service to the American people. We are excusing all sorts and forms of illegal and immoral practice by our politicians and leaders mostly without rebuke or repercussions for their actions. They take us down the slimy path with them, and we sit back too busy to take a real and valid interest in just exactly how we are being led right down the drain. All that has taken place in the last 15 years or longer is strictly the American people’s fault for not being responsible at the polls and educating ourselves in fact and the truth of the actual policies or agendas. We are bombarded with partisan politics, outright lies, deliberate misinformation and a wholehearted effort to sway and manipulate the voting masses to line pockets of the corporations and make the rich uber rich, all the while taking every dime they can out of the middle class’ and poor’s pocket. When is rich, rich enough to start paying your fair share and do what is innately right for our country? The funny thing is when they finally squeeze every cent they can out of us, we will no longer have the discretionary funds to buy their damned, mostly unnecessary products. American decadence needs to come to a screeching halt and let the chips fall where they may.

Shirley Allen
Dayton

Not about morals

Re “Don’t take away my breast exams” (View from the Fray, March 10):

Thank you for covering our letter writing event in support of Planned Parenthood! We had over 20 students come and write letters, send text messages and compose emails to our representatives to encourage them to think of the benefits Planned Parenthood provides to our community. We will continue to advocate for access to such important resources. This issue expands beyond a “moral” dilemma—moral is ensuring that all of the men and women of our community are healthy and have the choice to determine the lifestyle that is best for them.

Ashley Hennefer
Reno

That’s just crazy

Re “Spending dollars to save dimes” (Feature story, March 10):

What is it about our society that often mental-health funding is one of the first things chopped when budget cuts need to be made? People are dealing with so many stressors today, such as high unemployment, foreclosures, two wars, and the uncertainty of everyday life. We have homeless people with issues of addiction and psychoses. Pretending these problems do not exist does not make them go away. When you have a gaping wound, ignoring it does not heal it. In fact, more than likely it gets infected, and you have complications. We need to face reality and deal with mental health issues. We can’t pretend that we can forget about funding, and mental health problems will magically go away. We must be prudent in dealing with funding for all medical problems, including mental health.

Gail Dietrich
Sparks