I was disturbed and perplexed when I found the lead story [News Profile, “Mining the Law,” April 19-25] in your issue featuring stories on industrial pollution [Feature, “Citizen Eco Warriors,” April 19-25]. I wondered whether our last local liberal news source had gone over to the other side. The interviewee [Pete Domenici Jr.] was obviously an industry apologist, and after having seen the story in the business section of our morning paper about the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, I feared the worst.The interviews with your citizen eco warriors quickly reassured me. The contrast very effectively reveals the nature of the first story, and I want to congratulate you on a very well-planned presentation regarding some very important issues.
Letters: A Question Of Authority A Question Of Authority
As an amateur political junkie (who was politicized by the murders of JFK, MLK and RFK—and further politicized by the murders of four students at Kent State on May 4, 1970)—and as a leftist and a progressive, I confess that I am utterly jaded and contaminated by the mayhem and murder committed over the last 10,000 years by governments, armies, religions and businessmen.I am amazed that the "goodness that resides within each of us" has not yet joined forces to put a stop to the environmental degradation, the bloodbath of constant war, the bribery and the widespread money crimes.There are many transforming lessons available to any individual who chooses to be moved by the politics of the ’60s. Two of my favorite lessons from that era are "voluntary simplicity" and "question authority."I know that life is far more complex that any expression of duality, but it helps me to comprehend the USA when I think in terms of the two very different political types who seem to be at odds in 2012. Maybe these two groups have been at odds for 10,000 years. On the right we have the fascists (authoritarian government by political and corporate elites), and on the left we have the socialists (of the people, by the people, and for the people). As flawed as the Democrats are, the ultimate goal of the left is that we work together to make it fair for all, bottom to top, nationally and globally. The fascists are engaged in a looting operation; the socialists are not angels but they lean more toward Jesus rather than right-wing Satan. I have publicly confessed that I have a pie-in-the-sky left-wing attitude: "social justice;" "one for all and all for one."I trust a handful of Democrats, I trust none of the Republicans, anywhere, in any state of the Union. The Republicans represent the fascist and racist tendencies that ooze through American politics. It is as if the Republicans and the many vile corporate leaders (Wall Street) are itching to at last commandeer this entire country and thus continue unchecked their lucrative feeding frenzy.It is especially telling that so many fundamentalist and conservative male-dominated groups throughout history have enacted laws that are designed to control women. Many religions and governments have taken part is this sociopolitical game designed by sexually insecure men, aka the fascists. Do you want to live in a world controlled by sexually insecure men?
Letters: Buttery Beef Buttery Beef
[Re: Food for Thought, “Ground and Browned,” April 26-May 2] Beef grinds easier if you slice it into half-inch slices and then freeze it overnight. Don’t add your fats until after you’ve ground it. Lay out your ground beef onto a cookie sheet and pour some melted butter over it. The cold meat will cause the butter to congeal, which is what you want—pockets of buttery goodness. Then you can roll it all together into your patty. Mmmm …
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