[RE: Feature, “Best of Burque Restaurants: Best French Toast,” Oct. 11-17] Wrong! Weck’s menu name change from "French toast" to "full belly toast” and "French fries" to "crinkle wedged fries" was indeed a product of a patriotic (more like idiotic) backlash against France by the former owner. My sons worked at Weck’s when this change was made. Their only comment to the former owner was "grow up!"
Red-Light Recovery
In regards to my previous letter [“Red-Light Running For Life,” Oct. 4-10] I wanted to update you on the following: Albuquerque Ambulance has sufficiently taken care of the red-light camera fine that my daughter received. As I understand, it has been dismissed, which leads me to believe that both Albuquerque Ambulance and the city of Albuquerque have addressed this issue to the satisfaction of all those involved. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.
Free-Market News
Christie Chisholm’s comments on Media Matters "research" [Thin Line, “Black and White and Re(a)d All Over,” Oct. 4-10] either reflects her ignorance of MM’s leftward lean, or her sympathy toward Air America, the bankrupt bastion of liberal talk radio. Media Matters is incapable of conducting an unbiased research project, and shame on Ms. Chisholm for suggesting that it did. Media Matters is trying to make an argument for the "Fairness Doctrine," a strategy proposed by the left to silence conservative talk radio hosts and syndicated columnists by forcing stations (and newspapers) to offer "equal time" to opposing (liberal) viewpoints. In other words, if a station runs Rush Limbaugh’s radio broadcast, it must provide equal time to Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz or another "opposing" viewpoint. (In many markets, this is already taking place voluntarily without the force of legislation.)The problem for liberals, of course, is that Randi Rhodes can’t compete with Rush Limbaugh on a viewer-to-viewer [sic] basis, because the difference in audience sizes is too extreme. Millions of people listen to Rush, a few thousand listen to Rhodes. Requiring a station to offer “equal time" to a personality or a columnist who can’t draw the same numbers of listeners or readers is patently unfair: It’s like forcing a successful Chinese restaurant to offer meatloaf so it doesn’t offend the occasional customer. Yet, that is exactly what the Fairness Doctrine would require: newspapers and radio/television stations must offer "opposing viewpoints" so liberals, who can’t draw a significant audience on their own (Air America is a perfect example), can voice their incoherent rants.If liberals are concerned about securing more space on the op-ed pages, perhaps they should craft arguments that make sense to the majority of Americans. After all, op-ed pages are a reflection of the communities they serve. If liberals want to increase their market share, they should offer a more coherent product. The fact that they seek legislation to mandate access to the market is evidence of their inability to provide such a product.
Representin'
I appreciate the drawing in “El Machete” by Eric J. Garcia regarding Sen. Domenici [Toon, Oct. 11-16]. I have heard Sen. Domenici speak, and for some years now I have recognized that he clearly has dementia. This is one of the reasons that he never debates an opponent. Given the disastrous situations our government (especially the Federal government) has put us in, I do not believe that Sen. Domenici, with his mental handicap, is able to represent me, nor able to make cogent decisions that affect not only the people of New Mexico, but all U.S. Citizens. I have called his office to request that he resign now, rather than in 15 months during which he has the opportunity to make more disastrous mistakes. I suggest that everyone who sees this situation as I do flood Sen. Domenici’s office with the request that he resign now.
Sheriff Bang-Bang For Congress
Well, we’re off to a scary start for the 2007 Halloween season. No sooner do we learn that Ol’ Pete will end his corporate representation so he can spend more time with one of his girlf- … ah, family or whatever, than our glee is whipped out from under us when we read that Heather wants to take his place. What did we do to deserve this? Oh, and did the Iglesias affair influence Ol’ Pete to search for a lower profile? Naw.On top of that despicable piece of news we also learn that Sheriff “Bang-Bang" White is ready to move up in the Republican gallery of rogues by replacing Heather. It’s a task he’s probably well-qualified to do, but who needs more of what she has already done to us? Is anyone surprised that the Journal , a "newspaper" that never saw a Republican it didn’t like or a Democrat it did, would hand kudos to Ol’ Pete? He’s their corporate guy, after all, just like the corporate stooges who are lining up behind him. Does anyone expect this corporate paper to endorse Wilson and the sheriff, too, if it hasn’t already? Stay tuned. You may just learn that some bears do not evacuate in the forest or that some pigs can fly.The corporations have lots of representatives in Congress. Don’t we deserve to have a few too? Isn’t it at least worth a try to send an honest politician (I know, I know) to Washington?New Mexicans please make sure to cast your absentee ballot as early as possible to send Wilson and White in search of a decent job. Whatever you do, don’t bother voting on electronic voting machines or on ballots that get counted by electronic counting machines. Why waste the gas?
Cycler's World
To the middle-aged, slightly overweight woman in the small, eco-friendly car on Silver who almost side-swiped our bikes this week at the corner of Girard and then cried "I’m on my half of the road," honked and sped away when we declared our right to bike on Silver, I have a simple question:Do you have kids? Would you like others to threaten them with cars and verbally abuse them the way you did to us?To the unnamed woman driving on Historic Route 66 in Tijeras who passed a group of bicyclists on Sept. 18 and, in a series of events still under investigation, struck and killed my friend who was one of those bicyclers, I have a simple question: When you saw those bicyclers, did you consider that you were protected by a steel cage and a seat belt while they were defenseless?No charges are pending in either of these cases. Why would they be? It seems that in our society, might is, a priori , right.All hard feelings aside, the bike racks at the University of New Mexico are full this semester. Helmets off to the Bike Boulevard project and the great folks at bikeabq.org who speak for the two-wheeled! I simply want to remind New Mexico’s four-wheeled folk that bicyclers make more space for cars to drive. We don’t take up parking spaces. We don’t use the interstates. We bike because we like to bike, and because we’re concerned about our community and our planet. All we ask for is respect—especially on the road and most especially from cars.
Animals At The Zoo
It’s OK to break the rules if you think they are trivial.Don’t speak out if you see something you believe is wrong.If all else fails, violence will solve the problem if someone doesn’t agree with you.These are three lessons a woman taught her son in a matter of five minutes at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo on Saturday. To make a long story short, her son was picking leaves off trees and throwing them into an exhibit where the animals got into a scuffle trying to reach them. After waiting for his mother to handle the situation, only to see that she was doing nothing, my request to the boy was “please don’t do that—you don’t know if those are OK for the animals to eat.” I did not yell, I did not curse and I did not carry the discussion any further than that. The boy apologized, the mother didn’t say anything and they went on their way to view another exhibit. But it seems the mother stewed for quite a bit on the fact that a 19-year-old was the one to speak up and correct her child’s action, because she came back and asked me who I was to tell her kid anything and to mind my own business (Lesson No. 1). She then proceeded to admonish me because the leaves were falling off the trees anyways—what difference did it make that her son was throwing them into the area, despite signs all over the zoo that people are not to feed the animals or put anything into their exhibits (Lesson No. 2). When I stated that I would not mind my own business when I saw something happening that was wrong, she asked me to “bring it” (Lesson No. 3).I have to admit, I was proud of the way her son reacted when I asked him to stop what he was doing. He was respectful and was not upset. I was even more impressed with his reaction after seeing how his “role model” handled herself—thankful that at least one person other than this woman was teaching him how to be civil.So, what’s the point to this whole story? I would like to encourage more people to speak up when you see anyone doing something you believe is wrong. It is apparent that many “family units” are more interested in being their child’s friend than correcting inappropriate behavior. But, perhaps if these people realized that their child’s upbringing is a stranger’s business—these children are growing up to be our neighbors, employers, employees and teachers for our own children—and it is us who will have to deal with their warped sense of the world instilled by parents who will not correct their improper behavior.
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