But stop whinin' about losing: In the October 21 Night Court ("Gamblin' Whoa Man!"), Courtney Hambright bemoans the fact that the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino doesn't have her type of slot machines -- yet she interviews people who've won $30, $100, and $1,500. Then she tells how she lost $22 playing poker (shocking!).
Hambright sees a lounge act (free), music videos all over the place, and when? At 2 on a Monday afternoon in off-season South Florida! Where else can Floridians have so much fun for so little on a Monday afternoon (let alone a weekend)? We can spend the same money at a three-hour sporting event, a concert, or the theater, but we wouldn't have a chance to come home with $1,500 or more on our investment. Hambright even mentioned how a patron lost big in the stock market in the late '90s. No free buffets, shows, or fun in Wall Street's "casino."
After the November 2 Amendment 4 (slots) vote, win or lose, Floridians will eventually see class III gaming at the Seminole casinos and slots at the track. Despite the regular no votes, Florida consumers have continued expanding, using, and enjoying gaming for the past 15 years. This trend will continue.
Stan Wertheimer
Hollywood
Hey There, Bikeroo
Keep on pedaling: Thank you for Jeff Stratton's October 14 article ("A Pain in the Bike Lane"). I am one of the founding members of SAFE (Safety as the Florida Department of Transportation Envisions) and have made a number of presentations at the Delray Beach commission meetings and at a metropolitan planning organization meeting. I support the original plan by FDOT for improvements to State Road A1A in Delray Beach -- these include wide sidewalks and five-foot bicycle lanes. FDOT is the expert on planning safe and effective roadways and should be the one to determine how roadways are planned and constructed. I think it is unconscionable that city and state officials would consider compromising the lives and safety of residents and visitors for a few feet of grass. Please continue to report the facts of this important issue.
Charles Bonfield
Delray Beach
Lots of Bushes
Even more weeds: I just read your article on Bu$h's War crimes regarding torture ("Bush's Crimes," September 30). I thought you might appreciate this rewrite of Paul Simon's "America":
Let us not cover up photos of torture together.
I've seen a man with his head in a bag.
If we listen to the Pentagon,
And Mr. Rumsfeld's lies,
We walk off, disgracing America.
"Ghastly," I said as I viewed the first Abu Ghraib pictures.
They're missing the point of Geneva somehow.
It took them four years to hijack democracy,
All bums, disgracing America.
Laughing at the press, making fun of no weapons.
He thinks the man with the camera crew is a spy.
Karl said be careful and stick to the message we planned ya.
Costing a bigger debt, I think he hopes he will gain votes.
He and his henchmen stole power you know.
Now they're rigging the machinery,
To run their Diebold schemes.
As the goons close in on the black folks' polls.
"Democracy's lost," I cried. Mainstream media's sleeping.
They're empty and faking, I think I know why
Counting their bucks from the FCC rule change.
They're all bums, disgracing America,
All bums, disgracing America.
Keith Blevins
Springfield, Oregon
No truth: I completely agree with Bob Norman's description of "Bush's Crimes." Almost from the beginning of this administration, voices were saying what Norman has said. Yet not one media outlet has reported it. How is this administration able to get this protection from questioning? I have lived through Watergate and several other "gates," and what Bush has done is much worse then any of the past investigations. If the media aren't part of the solution they are part of the problem.
The people I talk with no longer trust the national media. We get our news from several other places: the Internet, other countries' news organizations, etc. Our media are being laughed at all over the world. They report "news" as nothing more than sound bites. It is an insult to our intelligence. We can see what is going on, and we will stop reading and watching this prejudicial stuff. What more can I do? I am constantly contacting the major networks and newspapers asking for the truth. It doesn't matter whose party you are for; we must all care about the truth or we deserve what we get. I have e-mailed my representatives in Congress; what else can I do?
Barbara Andrews
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Follow the leader: I read Bob Norman's article charging George Bush with war crimes and want to congratulate him on having the courage to say what many are mumbling. Given the most recent reports, a follow-up story would be welcome.
Julio Jaramillo
Miami And he likes drugs: I totally agree that Bush should be impeached for subverting the laws protecting POWs. Recall that [Colin] Powell said our troops would be likely to suffer worse treatment in the event they are captured because of Abu Ghraib. I think the first beheading came shortly after that scandal broke and seemed to be in direct response. Nobody's making that connection any more in print, and maybe it's insignificant. But I do think we upped the level of atrocities because of the abuse we inflicted. (By we, of course, I mean some of the troops under Bush's watch.)
Other grounds that he could be impeached upon include the deliberate inclusion of religion in government in defiance of the Constitution. The fact that he said he goes to the father up there or whatever when he needs advice is appalling. I don't believe that's whom people thought they were voting for. We expect our leaders to consult with other well-informed human beings before taking huge actions like going to war, not the "god" of their own choosing! In any other walk of life (outside the clergy, for some reason), the belief that one can talk with imaginary beings is considered mental illness. But born-agains get a pass? That pass may work as a social good (tolerance) but should not be available to the president of the United States. Also, it is believed he is on strong antidepressants. That seems actionable too.
Ivy Hamlin
New York City
Then There's That Colombian Guy
He doesn't like drugs anymore: In regard to Bob Norman's column "Contra Campaign," (September 23) [former Colombian cocaine cartel leader] Carlos Lehder wrote to me for two years from various federal jails. Lehder is very interested in the Bible, even though the press says he's a murderer of hundreds. He escaped from federal prison and yet continued writing me letters.
Like your interviewee, Felix Rodriguez, Lehder considered John Kerry an enemy. Bush is equally hated by Lehder. For the truth on the two presidential candidates, if you are ready for it: They are third cousins, they both attended Yale, and they are members of Skull & Bones, meaning they both serve Satan. They are not Christians.
Christina Kanas
Kansas City, Missouri
Lori's Defecation
Is from the hills: Thank you for your great article about our amorphous county mayor ("Our Mayor, the Lobbyist," Bob Norman, September 16). It leaves me confused to some extent. After months of Commissioner Parrish telling me that Bill Markham was responsible for overdevelopment in Broward, I am stunned to find out that it could actually be the County Commission, not the property appraiser, that not only allows projects to proceed but actually lobbies on behalf of developers.
Could it be that Commissioner Parrish has been slinging a bunch of Northwest Arkansas chicken sh!t?
Name withheld by request
Via the Internet
