Remembering American history: Bob Norman's insight and precise reporting is worthy of the Washington Post ("Mayor Al Has to Go, Bad," Bob Norman, June 15).
When an elected official's private business infringes on his sworn duty to protect the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" of his retired constituents, ethics tell him to say, "No, Mr. Client, I can no longer represent your project." And "when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it." Good work, Bob and New Times!
Ben Kough
Deerfield Beach
Can You Trust Your Fireman?
Just put your job on the line, smoke-eater: Anyone who cannot print his name in a letter accusing the City of Deerfield Beach [Fire Department] administration of being corrupt cannot be trusted to protect my home and should look elsewhere for employment (Letters, June 15).
Steven R. Miller
Deerfield Beach
It's Not About the Middle East
Human rights begin at home: I'd like to congratulate Emily Witt for the article "From Gitmo With Love" (June 8). Sometimes, it is difficult to think that a prison like Guantanamo can exist at the beginning of the 21st Century. Sixty years ago, the world lived through the worst war ever, and since then, the international community has worked to establish a minimum number of requirements that should be respected. But now it seems that, in the name of liberty and freedom, those minimum requirements can be ignored and the worst human qualities — anger, ignorance, and revenge — have returned to prominence.
Considering that most of the prisoners in Guantanamo have not been charged and that a great majority of them may be innocent, the article made me ask myself: What is the objective of having those prisoners there? The only answer is anger and revenge; anger at not understanding other people and revenge for the terrible act that was September 11.
It seems that there is still a long way to go to achieve a perfect world, but a good way to start building it is to stop thinking that the problem is far away in the Middle East, where the words human rights and freedom are spoken only by politicians.
Victor Vazquez
Miami
But Did You Like the Movie?
When 1,000 words don't amount to a picture: Having put A Prairie Home Companion ("The Long Goodbye," Rob Nelson, June 8) on our must-see movie list, we turned to the movie capsule section of New Times to get an idea if this flick was worth shelling out $15 to see. We still don't know. In place of the clear and concise writing we have come to expect, we got pompous and pretentious prose written in a style that was more plodding than an overaged chorus girl. Our advice to the writer, throw away your Roget's Thesaurus and write on the blackboard 100 times "No more gobbledygook."
Marvin Gurgold
Delray Beach
Walter Paid His Debt
Even Oprah thinks he's cool: You really dug down deep to find Walter Shaw and cite him as a current client when he was a client for a brief time several years ago ("For Sale: Keys to the City," Bob Norman, June 1). And you failed to mention that we booked him on Oprah, who agreed with us that he is a fascinating character who had long ago paid for his cat burglary crimes. I'm sorry to say that your bias is really showing to refer to him as a scumbag and couple him with Mayor Capellini. Is there no limit to how far you'll stretch the facts just to humiliate a hard-working mayor?
Tom Madden
Boca Raton
When Eddie Met Joey
Didn't she show him the certificate? If Eddie Spaghetti happened to meet Joey Ramone's widow, he musta been high ("All Killer, No Filler," Jason Budjinski, May 25). Joey never married.
Carrie Main
Seattle
Parental Guidance
Try ignoring him: Lauren Anderson is unfit to be a mother ("See Dick Be Jane," Julia Reischel, May 18)! The child is 5, he doesn't know what he wants, and all he really wants is attention. Any parent who would let their little boy dress as a girl, whether a shrink says it's OK or not, is a moron.
It's your job as a parent to teach a child his or her gender role, not to put nail polish on a boy or allow him out of the house in a dress. What is this world coming to?
Kitti Henry
Mesa, Arizona
Kudos
New Times writer Wyatt Olson has been honored by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies for his article "Attack of the Killer Weed," which took the national organization's first-place award for long news stories among weeklies with a circulation of more than 50,000. Columnist Bob Norman tied for third place in the media reporting/criticism category.
