Letters for April 30, 2009

Letter of the week

Re SN&R advertisements, April 9 and April 16:

It was bad enough [earlier this month] when the special d’ART supplement for SN&R was stapled through the middle with a trifold brochure advertising cigarettes and offering a coupon to entice a purchase. Appalled, I showed the ad to several colleagues, wondering “Is SN&R really in such dire financial straits that this type of anti-health ad is not only accepted but given a prominent position in the Second Saturday insert?”

Hey, I’d gladly pay a few bucks each week for the paper if we can avoid such noxious ads for a product that we all know is detrimental to public health and the environment.

So imagine how shocked I was to rifle through the current edition to find a loose flyer promoting chewing tobacco stuffed into the restaurant listings! And again, the ad also features a coupon, this time for a free tin of chew with the purchase of any tobacco product.

Is this really a message and product that SN&R wants to promote? What sort of justification can the management possibly be using to rationalize encouraging people to purchase and use products that are undeniably harmful?

This certainly isn’t a very eco-friendly decision for a variety of reasons, from impacts on human health to the frivolous use of excess hard-stock paper.

I’m disappointed that SN&R continues to support tobacco companies and advertising, and I sincerely hope that those who’ve made this choice re-examine their motives and adopt a policy of refusing to include such advertising in the paper.

Jodi Samuels
Sacramento

The end is coming

Re “The end is not near” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, April 23):

Excellent story, and let those who want to keep their heads in the sand be damned. This article is just the truth.

As to the conclusion, I am convinced we’ll be telling our children this was as good as it got. The majority of the American people watch American Idol and are waiting for the past to return. To those of us that don’t: Plan your escape route now, if you haven’t already.

William Taylor
Ranch Cordova

Long time gone

Re: “20th Anniversary Issue” (SN&R April 23):

I feel so damned old. Just about the time SN&R started, and was housed in an exquisite office at 21st and V [streets] (then owned by someone near and dear to me), a group of unlawyer lawyers opened up an unlaw alternative to the civil court justice system on the McGeorge [School of Law] campus, where I worked for a number of years. SN&R figured prominently in our office, which was rife with unlaw or ex-law types running a nonprofit for the first time, trying to provide a place to resolve disputes without having to file a lawsuit and enter the seeming morass of paint-by-number civil jurisprudence.

Many Friday afternoons were spent with our students, resting from a week of training and cases and scheduling with argumentative clients, just reading the latest stories from SN&R all about Sacramento, whilst sharing an obligatory few bottles of donated champagne (Domaine Chandon was always very generous). Especially entertaining in the hot afternoon haze of a slight tipsiness were our weekly reviews of horoscopes by Rob Brezsny, who seemed to have been a cross between Timothy Leary and Jerry Garcia, whose psychic abilities seemed at once laced with acid and spot-on accurate. Well, much has changed from those very innocent years, but your paper still marches on in a testament to the tenacity of a small business built very much like the little engine that could, weathering economic ebbs and flows like the good little handcrafted boat it is. I only wish to thank you for these memories and to congratulate you for your service to a community in need of the telling of its stories, and I wish you many more such anniversaries.

Alex Berg
Sacramento

Be flexy withthe veggies

Re “A carnivore’s dilemma” by Ted Cox (SN&R Feature, April 16):

I was at Capitol Dawg that night and enjoyed talking with Ted Cox about the value of a plant-based diet.

Although I eat vegan all the time, I recognize that not everyone can do that. I think what’s important is to find a way to adapt a plant-based diet to your lifestyle. It sounds like Ted’s experience has helped him become mindful of what he’s eating, and that’s important for everyone.

Thanks to Ted Cox and SN&R for raising these issues.

Theresa Hammond
Carmichael

It worked for her

Re “God is in the brain” by Matt Perry (SN&R Frontlines, April 16):

Great story, very informative. Having experienced this brain-state work a few years ago, I can tell you it is worth every penny of the cost. I have seen a couple of lives dramatically changed by brain state and have heard of a couple of others that friends knew. It is only expensive if you consider the cost of not doing it.

Thanks for publicizing this amazing work that has potential for so many people.

Meg O’Neill
Sacramento

Truth is imperative

Re “Truth is a prison” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, April 16):

You are correct in saying “the controversy over 9/11 isn’t ending any time soon” and I am glad that the 9/11 truth groups are keeping the discussion alive.

It seems there are two types of people when it comes to 9/11: Either they are more than happy to accept whatever the 9/11 Commission Report tells them (and dare not look into all of the reasons why it is flawed), or they demand to know the real truth about what happened and who is responsible for this tragedy. After all, it has been the excuse used to lead us into war (never ending).

Paulette Cuilla
Sacramento

Reptilian nonsense

Re “Truth is a prison” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, April 16):

I was surprised to find this the least informative, and least professional, article that I’ve ever read.

Despite the fact that Mr. Scheide has absolutely no evidence that Dr. [Steven] Jones has any connection whatsoever to David Icke, he fills a good part of this piece about Jones with reptilian nonsense.

He then says that two years after the terrorist attacks, he first encountered Jones’ work. That’s a bit surprising, since Dr. Jones did not get involved until four years after the attacks. Could it be that Mr. Scheide’s time travels relate better to his own reptilian rantings than does the peer-reviewed scientific work of Dr. Jones?

Mr. Scheide repeatedly uses ad hominem attacks against those questioning the events of 9/11, saying those folks live in a vortex, a Wonderland, Fantasy Island, the Good Ship Lollipop, and Never Never Land.

SN&R should be ashamed at how little effort, and how much baseless ridicule, Mr. Scheide puts into articles published there.

Kevin Ryan
via e-mail

So there!

Re “Burritos in the eye of the beholder” by The Mexican (SN&R ¡Ask a Mexican! April 16):

Mr. [Gustavo] Arellano, you sure live up to your name: Arell-ano. You are a shame and an embarrassment to the Hispanic and Mexican communities of this country.

I read part of your column and never even finished reading it. All the merda you wrote was more than enough to make me stop reading.

But then, of course, this is what keeps you employed at this ultra-left-wing gay-and-lesbian-loving magazine. Reminds me of Rush Limbaugh, but on the other extreme.

Y’all have a nice day now.

Brenda
Sacramento