Letters to the Editor

Harvey hurls again:
Bob Norman's article "One Man, One Vote"(November 30) included so much information that was a week or more old, I thought I was reading the news about JFK's assassination.

The angle you took to report this stale news -- the disenfranchised Haitian community -- is one that New Times often uses to make the point that no one gives a rat's ass about the Haitian community. Duh! More stale news.

Your reporting about the nastiness and insulting demeanor of the GOP, who know more people voted for Gore than the Bushmeister, was weak. I suggest you peek at The New York Times and see how Maureen Dowd, Anthony Lewis, and others skewer the arrogant, hypocritical GOP assholes.

But come to think of it, the article was much better than most of Jen Karetnick's restaurant reviews. Maybe Bob Norman could give Jen a writing lesson or two!

Harvey Slavin
Hollywood

A Raider's xenophobic rebuttal:
Does Bob Norman know that you MUST be a U.S. citizen to vote and that to become a U.S. citizen you MUST have a grasp of the English language? Neither of these facts was mentioned in his article.

Democracy is best served when votes are cast by informed people rather than some group who blindly follow a certain political party. The people in your article are uninformed to say the least. But on the other hand they probably serve as a counterbalance to the rabid "exile" Republicans.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Cadet would stop at nothing to get Gore elected and would fix the ballot any way he could. Just as the Dade Republicans vote from the grave, he would have people who don't understand the issues blindly vote Democrat. I voted for Ralph Nader and feel I made the right choice when I see these groups from both parties at their demonstrations.

Graham Cawdrey
via the Internet

But spellerians, get out:
Just went back to your site to read the chad story ("It's Chad-tastic!," Bob Norman, November 30). Excellent choice. Haven't read anything like it.

But, editor: Why "chads"? The plural, as I'm sure you know, is "chad."

John Heaner
via the Internet She hates Gore:
It is the height of irony that Mr. Gore and his cronies chant, "Every vote must count," when there are 2.8 million votes across America that have yet to be counted ("Down For the Recount,"November 16). Additional irony is found in the curious and theatrical allegations from people who had no trouble with the butterfly ballot, except when they selected the President. Still more ironic is the fact that Gore tells Americans he cares but slaps the military folk in the face with his hypocritical and empty diatribes.

Upon careful analysis one could ascertain that Vice President Gore meets the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder. People like this are obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, power, and brilliance. They feel a sense of entitlement and expect automatic compliance. Most disturbingly they lack empathy or compassion for the needs or desires of others and use people to get what they want. In short, a vivid and chilling description of Gore and associates.

Colleen O'Rourke
via the InternetHe hates Bush:
I want to express my deep outrage at the stubbornness of Mr. George W. Bush. He ought to allow the recounting to be admitted. He ought to insist that Katherine Harris recuse herself for obvious reasons. There needs to be a complete and fair revote in Palm Beach County. Please do whatever you can to let millions of voters' voices be counted fairly, so the election will be legitimate. Thank you!

Steven W. Pollack
via the Internet

Bush to the penalty box:
I'll keep this short and bitter. How can we, the great United States, claim the high moral ground, pointing fingers at Third World countries that fumble at election time, when we do just the same? First we should get rid of the Electoral College. This is a reminder that there was a class divide at the founding of the country, and our leadership didn't trust peasants, farmers, and soldiers to vote sensibly. Also, [we should] set up direct voting, with the winner of the popular vote getting the nod. In the computer age, this should be a class project for ten-year-old kids.

Next [we should] insist on some sensible spending limits and time limits to this process. How can Al Gore take a year off and still claim to be doing his job? This is an insult to all citizens who work nine to five. To end this thing quickly, I would prefer a clean fight, with a referee deducting points for dirty infighting, mudslinging, and head butting. We deserve the best and cleanest election money can buy, so let's give it to ourselves.

Mark Chavez
via the Internet

Well-read on Red:
I just wanted to congratulate Jeff Stratton on his article about Mark Kozelek ("Covering Up,"November 16). It was, bar none, the best Red House Painters article I have read since the liner notes in Retrospective. And believe me, I have read a lot of articles about RHP. I just thought you might like to know what a big, big RHP fan thinks.

Thank you for great work.

Dave Bay
via the Internet