The Mail
Dem Stem Cells
Other states-like California, New Jersey and several more-have surpassed New York by passing legislation and appropriating funding for this research. New York must act swiftly and smartly if we wish to be players in this important field of medical research. With the passage of my bill, New York State would be able to move to the forefront of stem cell research, and the state would surely reap the benefits of future economic development.
My bill was not drafted in the hasty, uninformed fashion Mr. Knipfel depicted. Rather, I consulted with several local scientists both before drafting the bill and after the first draft was introduced last April. None of the advising scientists had serious reservations about the bill's regulatory functions. What they were worried about was a lack of state funding, but Senator David Paterson would ameliorate this concern through his billion-dollar funding initiative.
In the future, I would encourage Mr. Knipfel to follow his own advice and consult with actual scientists before claiming to advocate on the scientific community's behalf. Were he to do so, he might also find that he is patently wrong about something else: banning human reproductive cloning will not curtail scientific inquiry into therapeutic cloning.
The time has come for New York State to recognize the importance of genetic technology and the need to pass sensitive, effective legislation.
State Senator Liz Krueger, Manhattan
Quite A Bit More, Actually
Book reviews should be about the books, not about the books' authors. Mark Ames' review of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs ("The All-Annoying Eye of Chuck Klosterman," 8/26/03) tells me far more about Mr. Ames than it tells me about the book. How utterly self-indulgent can one get?
ÊJoi Cardinal, Eugene, OR
One More Vote
I don't care if he is crazy. I'd like to see what Christopher X. Brodeur can do for NYC ("The Problem Solver," 1/19).
The fact is, the entire country needs radical change. Worried about the consequences? I'm not. The temporary inconvenience a leader like Brodeur would create is nothing compared to the bullshit citizens now deal with every day. This country is founded on radical ideas put into action by "crazy" people. Presently our country is under the thumb of cowardly, greedy leeches that would sooner freeze to death with cash in their hands than start a fire with the bills.
I am tired of playing it safe. My experience is that New Yorkers are the toughest of all Americans, so electing Brodeur seems like a good place to start.
My question for Mr. Brodeur is: do you have any friends in Southern California?
Penny Rene, Los Angeles
CXB & WTC
Christopher X. Brodeur is right on the money when he writes that most New Yorkers want the Twin Towers rebuilt rather than the governor's insipid "Freedom Tower" proposal ("The Problem Solver," 1/19).
For some unknown reason, the entire World Trade Center rebuilding process has been corrupted by officialdom. The result is the awful design put forward by that pompous ass, Daniel Libeskind.
Bill Hough, Manhattan
It Wouldn't Fit
This story should be on the cover of Time ("Pravda, Izvestia, Time," 12/28).ÊNothing else. Just Matt Taibbi's piece. You have my gratitude.
Peggy Albrecht, Westlake Village, CA
Red, White and Green
If Taibbi is a man of integrity and is truly despairing of the excesses of this affluent culture he calls home ("Burn Christmas Burn," 12/22) then let me enlighten him: there is nothing that keeps him from creating something meaningful during Christmas. I have some wonderful friends who celebrate Christmas in a variety of ways: a Jew who goes on a Zen retreat in a monastery all of Christmas week; an Upper West Sider who spends the day feeding the homeless and the hopeless in a soup kitchen; a couple of Latina immigrants who perform indigenous Christmas rituals in their neighborhood in Queens; an atheist who spends $2,000 on gifts because it's December and it's cold; and my Buddhist brother who does nothing in Boulder, Colorado, simply because these days, you can't even be a Buddhist in Tibet.
As an immigrant married to another immigrant, I spend it quietly with my husband and my son.
In my book, it's called America. And that is its beauty. Taibbi cannot know this in his soul because he's an American, and like many fair-minded, guilt-ridden Americans, he'd rather focus on the people who are shamelessly and conspicuously consuming. From where I sit, they're merely enjoying the by-products of their success. He sounds like he's never traveled to Third World countries where people can't afford Christmas. If he has been anywhere there, then forgive my assumption, but it doesn't inform his journalism.
He asks the terrorists to come finish off the rest of the shallow population he loathes, but I want him to please remember me and my friends who have found a country where we are given the freedom, the grace and the blessing to create a profoundly meaningful Christmas season.
Maayong Pasko ug malipayon unta ang imong Bag-ong Tu-ig.
But dude, I truly doubt it.Ê
Linda Faigao Hall, Brooklyn
Farm Animal
Regarding Matt Tabbi's "Burn Christmas Burn" (12/22): I am a beer-drinking gun-owner with a 4WD who lives on a farm, and I can't believe he gets paid for stuff like this. Everyone has a point of view, but I would think that a professional columnist could do a little better than this tripe. Hell, I got some free time between tending chickens, riding the tractor, and shooting to write a column. It can't be that hard. Sign me up!Ê
Dean Mullis, via email
Hear No Evil
Pray tell, Russ Smith, how is it that this statement-"The president's remarks seem to bear no relation to the actual facts?" ("Blogger Backlash", 1/19)-could qualify as a slur, or as proof of bias? What would you have corporate media do in the face of an actual lie that they don't already?
Joe Dessereau, Brooklyn
Where Do You Keep Them?
"Black Metal Nation: What Do Norwegian Dirtheads and Richard Perle Have in Common?" by Mark Ames (2/3/04) is the best review I have ever read of anything. I just found this piece on the web, and this guy is better than all 15,768,672 reviewers on Amazon.com combined. If the Book of Revelations were this funny it would be a best seller (if it isn't already).
I'm actually collecting intelligent Americans; Ames makes four so far. Thank you.
Eric McCay, Glasgow, Scotland
It Was Three Pages
How could you waste so much space on a wannabe mayor ("The Problem Solver," 1/19)? A cute little column maybe, but four full pages? His entireÊrant was almostÊidenticalÊtoÊoneÊspewed byÊan ex-boyfriend of mineÊwho so self-importantly proclaimed himself to be a kind of post-modern pragmatist.ÊMany people think that they, by default, are more virtuousÊand/or capable than any other politician in the history of representative government.Ê(Although Mr. Brodeur does take the time to allude to the qualities he shares with the likes of George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. OK, Jefferson I can see.) Only rarely (albeit less rarely in New York City) do they run for office. I tend to find that those people, when on their high horse, are frightening-a la Bernie Goetz.
The fact that seems to be lost on Mr. Brodeur is that to be an effective "reformer," once must have a working knowledge of that which they are trying to "reform." For example: he wants to abolish the MTA. He says "we'll just fold the agency into the Governor's Office." Mr. Brodeur: it's not an "agency"-it's an Authority! Authorities have a long and colorful history in New York that maybeÊhe should read up beforeÊhe runs around attempting to abolish them. Although, it might be fun to elect the guy and watch him and his ponytail play hardball with Pataki's boys, especially Kalikow. He's going to make 14-year olds, as a matter of DOE policy, go out and do internships in New York City. Besides the difficulties of providing equal educationÊto over 400,000 students in this manner, I cannot imagine how much the liability insuranceÊwouldÊcost!ÊNothing is quite as entertaining as watching someone with a real big mouth get in way over their head. Good luck!
Christina Hassinger, Brooklyn
Honk If You Hate Honkers
Aaron Naparstek hit the nail right on the head with that honking article ("Honk if You're a Sociopath," 1/19). I can't tell if my tolerance has decreased or the amount of honking has gone up, but it drives me f***ing crazy. NYC drivers just have no consideration when it comes to honking. It could be 4 a.m. or three in the afternoon-if they are faced with the slightest setback while driving they immediately lay on the horn.
I like Naparstek's techniques of knocking on the roof, and screaming a honk in the window. I usually just scream, "Shut the Fuck up." But I think I need some new techniques. If it is a cab driver, I immediately right down the medallion number and call it in. Sometimes looking to see who's doing the honking can piss you off even more-a suburban mom driving an SUV and talking on a cell phone is enough to make my head explode.
If it wasn't inconsiderate to those around me, I would walk around with an air horn and put it up to the window of the honker and just let it loose. Sometimes I just want to take a brick, wrap it in a note that says, "stop honking" and chuck it through a back windshield.
There really needs to be stricter penalties for honking, especially around residential areas or areas with a lot of pedestrian traffic, because it drastically decreases the standard of living in the city.
Mike Stern, Manhattan
Falun Wrong
Regarding Alexander Zaitchik's article "The Falun Gong Show" (12/15), the goal of Falun Gong is not the "rebranding of China," and the torture exhibitions are not just a "harsh visual translation of the media cliché crackdown." The point is that the brutal persecution depicted by Falun Gong activists is really happening in China today-and has been going on for years. Making people realize this takes time; it needs to be repeated over and over again. We just want to stop the persecution; that's the only goal of all our appeals.
Peter Sedik, Bratislava, Slovakia
Hari Kari
Pray tell, Russ Smith, how is it that this statement-"The president's remarks seem to bear no relation to the actual facts?"Êcould qualify as a slur, or as proof of bias? ("Blogger Backlash," 1/19.)
What would you have corporate media do in the face of an actual lie that they don't already?
Joe Dessereau, Brooklyn
Medicine Music
I have a copy of the Tex Johnson album burned to CD ("Tex Johnson Has Risen From the Grave," 1/30/02). As one of the sad and crazy fans of this album-my uncle gave it to me in the early 60s when I was seven or eight-I still listen to it with my family every year. The original vinyl now sounds like it's been sandpapered, but I was able to remove most of the scratches with some software I have.
Thanks so much for your article, Jim. The album always brings me up, too.
John Gamache, St. Charles, MI