Letters to the Editor

A NEW LOW

The Stranger: You’ve stopped [sic] to a new low. I’m
referring to the “I Got Drunk and Blew Three-Fourths of Van Halen”
article “by” Sarah Palin [Sept 11] where you keep repeating “my fifth
child, Trig, has the Down’s.” The Down’s? You’re making fun of disabled
infants now? What the hell is the matter with you? Pick on someone your
own size. You just made liberals look really bad. Shame on you.

Ramona Brown

GOOD WORK

Dear Stranger: Concerning your column “I Got Drunk and Blew
Three-Fourths of Van Halen”: My mama-knobs (doo, dooo, doo, doo). My
mama-knobs (doo, doo, doo, doo). My mama-knobs (doo, dooo, doo, doo. Da
doo, doo. Da doo, doo. Da, doo, doo. Dada, doo, doo, doo, doo,
doo).

Keep up the good work.

Bryan Connors

IMPOVERISHED
IMAGINATION

Editor: Has Paul Constant ever read any science fiction? Neal
Stephenson has to be the most overrated writer in America, possibly in
the English language. Certainly in the history of science fiction. And
Paul Constant, in one short paragraph [Genius Awards Literature
Shortlist, Sept 11], makes the two stupidest comments about science
fiction I have ever seen or heard (and I go back 50 years as a reader).
The Diamond Age defined cutting edge for the next 10 years? God,
what an impoverished imagination you must have. Only to be matched, if
not topped, by the claim that space opera has been long stagnant. This
statement is so off the charts I can’t even parody it. If by “long” he
means that any of at least three writers I can think of off the top of
my head haven’t published anything this week, I will concede his point.
Please don’t demean Sherman Alexie’s well-deserved [Stranger Genius]
award by following it with one to a libertarian blowhard suffering from
terminal prolixity.

David Jensen

WHO KNEW

Editor: Here’s a headline I’d like to see on the cover of The
Stranger: “Racial Disparity in Seattle: Who Knew!” As I read in “In
Other News” [“Marijuana,” Dominic Holden, Sept 11], more than half of
those arrested for marijuana possession are black, as opposed to white,
even though blacks make up only 8.4 percent of Seattle’s population. As
a criminal-justice student, this comes as no surprise to me. The
problem of racial disparity is a lot worse if you dig deeper—I’ve
done papers on racial profiling, social inequity, and race and crime,
and all the stats say the same thing; blacks are arrested at an
alarming rate compared to other groups, and the reporting of it doesn’t
show how bad it is. I think the media is afraid to look into it because
it’s a black hole. We’ll just leave it as Seattle is no different than
L.A., Chicago, New York, Miami… When it comes to discrimination, who
knew?

Terrence M. Scott

A WEIRD THING

Dear Brendan: I just read your article “A Funny Thing Happened on
the Way to McCain’s Speech” [Brendan Kiley, Sept 11]: excellent
coverage of a weird thing. The stuff at the end reminds me of Hunter S.
Thompson’s Kentucky Derby article. Glad you were out there covering the
bullshit. Keep your head down and your chin up, sir.

J Christian

A GREEN SPIN

Hi Erica! I saw your article about my little consulting business [In
the Hall, Erica C. Barnett, Sept 11]. I don’t mind you shredding me
publicly to try and discredit a campaign you disagree with, but I
should correct you on a few things.

First, the Proposition 1 campaign hired me to do fundraising. The
underlying assumption in your entire story seems to be that it was the
campaign’s intention to use me to try and put a green spin on their
position. This is not at all the case… I am a behind-the-scenes
player just raising money.

Second, I was pretty clear with you that I don’t represent
environmental organizations when wearing my lobbyist hat; I represent
businesses who are working to improve the impacts of their industry. If
you had bothered to look into the agendas of my clients, rather than
just the labels, you would have seen a much different picture than what
you wrote about. The Seattle “developer” you mentioned had me lobbying
the legislature in favor of greener building codes, among other
progressive agendas. The septic clients I represent produce new
technologies that retrofit polluting septic systems to eliminate septic
pollution (a really big deal for Hood Canal) with non-GM forest soil
bacteria, and the list goes on.

Using poorly researched information and right-wing tactics of
character assassination to win campaigns is something I would hope to
see left to people like Karl Rove.

Ezra Eickmeyer