I love the Alibi and would like to be able to continue to. However it’s getting more and more difficult, for several reasons.Recently I celebrated my 69th birthday. For years my “BS” detector has been screaming constantly, but my ability to smile through it and put up with this consistent indication of willful ignorance has deteriorated. So I have given in to my inner curmudgeon and am determined not to put up with the “BS” and the lack of knowledge it portrays.Secondly, this is at least the third incarnation of the Alibi since I began reading it regularly. The slight lean to the political left has always been evident, but there was a measure of obeisance to the god of journalism evident before the particular renaissance. Some of the editing difficulties can be blamed on the COVID-19 work at home alone, but—and I confess my lack of computer expertise—I would have thought that networking would make it possible for those who claim the title of editor to do their job; perhaps even applying grammar checks in addition to correcting and guiding the writing.And therein lies the nexus of the major complaint. Other than the three columnists O’Leary, Lee, and Condé (in addition to moments of Pennington), the writing is poor. There seems to be no understanding of what the title “News” implies the article is heading will contain and “guest” writers seem to be given their lead with little or no correction or editing. Not to mention corroboration.I do not need a print version of vlogs espousing the individual opinion. Your Alibi has become one big opinion page. Giving a voice to the voiceless does not inspire understanding if the message is garbled and wrought with personal opine rather than facts. Maybe hire people who have had writing experience or give them the direction and correction editing implies.I sincerely wish you the best.P.S. While I cherish the right to free speech, it is not required to be printed or promoted by others. That being said, please do not print any more Lev Tsitrin mushy-peas writing. If his “article/essay” is any indication of the writing in his self-published book, he is not able to advocate cogently for his cause.
Letters: Managing Editor’s Response
Dear NM Crab,We know “Opinion” pieces aren’t for everyone. We ensure that they’re labeled to prevent any misconceptions. “Town Square” will inevitably have some opinion in it as the people writing it aren’t traditional journalists or sometimes not even professional writers. We believe growth as people comes from experiencing different viewpoints from our own, even if they’re ones we really don’t agree with.As we continue to go through more changes here at Weekly Alibi under new ownership, we hope you continue to voice your loves and frustrations with our work.P.S. “Moments of Pennington” sounds like a great title for Dan’s first self-published collection of works.
Letters: Science Meats Violence
Readers who care about animal welfare should ask Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. Cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering nonhumans. It has the potential to eliminate unimaginable levels of suffering. After all, we kill tens of billions of land animals and over a trillion aquatic animals for food every year.Ending this violence is more plausible than you think. A growing number of companies are developing cultured-meat products. Even Tyson Foods, the slaughtered-meat giant, has invested in the sector. However, costs of these humane options will need to be reduced for them to be successful. This can only be achieved by further research. The federal government should support it.
Letters: Voting By Mail
Voting by mail should replace voting at the polls in its entirety. The two institutions that can definitely be trusted are the County Board of Elections and the United States Postal Service. The money saved by eliminating the need for poll workers could be used to offer free postage on the envelopes used to vote by mail. The person voting would also have more time to consider what they are voting for and would not be confined to the hours of the polling place. It would also prevent unwanted entry to schools and churches from anyone trying to harm someone. In addition, the voter would not be harassed by someone trying to place unsolicited campaign literature into their hand. The additional revenue would boost the Postal Service and perhaps keep it afloat until we as a country are able to vote online. Voting by mail would solve the registered voter problem and guarantee safe passage of the ballots to the County Board of Elections. It might even prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number via email to letters@alibi.com. They can also be faxed to (505) 346-0660. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium; we regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter. Word count limit for letters is 300 words.
