Letters for March 15, 2007

They’re an Obama-nation…

Re “Sac’s own Obama-thon” by Kel Munger (SN&R Upfront, March 8):

Obama Bush, like his rival, Hillary Clinton Bush, is not about ending the war on Iraq or bringing the massive overhaul to U.S. foreign policy that this country needs (i.e., we must stop killing the planet to impose U.S. empire). Both Barack and Hillary are also happily in bed with the Israeli war and injustice lobby, AIPAC.

Obama and Rep Mike Thompson (Davis) have introduced companion bills (S 433 and HR 787) that hand over control for “ending” the Iraq occupation to Bush. Both bills allow Bush to stop de-occupation indefinitely without Congressional approval (Congress would have to pass a separate resolution to make him start again). And both bills allow Bush to leave an unspecified number of troops in Iraq indefinitely.

Shamefully, Nancy Pelosi Bush is busy trying to continue the war until at least fall 2008 (election time!) by adding language like Obama’s and Thompson’s to Bush’s $100 billion supplemental funding request. And Doris Matsui is cheering her on, refusing to vote against more funding for this war.

These Bush-Dems are disgracefully playing games with the lives of U.S. soldiers and the Iraqi people. If they can end this war a year and half from now, they sure as hell can end it now.

We have little time left to convince the Bush-Dem leadership that we the people want this war ended now. Pick up your phone and call Matsui, Thompson and Pelosi (toll free at (888) 851-1879 or (202) 224-3121) and tell them no more funding for this war. They need to bring the troops home now, not in 2008 or beyond—now!

Maggie Coulter
Sacramento

… but they’re growing!

Re “Sac’s own Obama-thon” by Kel Munger (SN&R Upfront, March 8):

Thanks, so much for the nice piece on Sacramento for Obama in SN&R! As one of the “original 55,” and now a committee chairwoman, I’m in total amazement at the blow-out dedication and talent that has come forth. It was great to see your clear, thorough coverage of our “newbie” group!

As you quoted our veteran campaigner and co-chairwoman, Kim Mack, we can’t believe the interest: two weeks old and we’re now approaching 200 “official” Sac for Obama worker-members, and growing! If you get a chance, check out the nice—shiny-new!—Web site, as well: www.sacramentoforobama.com.

Suzanne-Marie English
Sacramento

Give Jor-El the credit

Re “Anti-social networking revolution” by Mike Connor (SN&R Feature Story, March 1):

On the cover of this issue, you state: “Superman imprisoned Zod in a Phantom Zone.”

This is incorrect. Superman’s father, Jor-El, was actually the one who imprisoned Zod.

At the end of Superman II, Zod’s powers were stripped and he fell into a crevasse in Superman’s arctic fortress. He was not re-sent to the Phantom Zone.

K.A.V.
Sacramento

Kloss a juvenile delinquent?

Re “Cartoon” by Kloss (SN&R Opinion, March 1):

How old is this juvenile delinquent? I refer to his absolutely inane cartoon with our President Bush on Mt. Rushmore. He insults the president, defiles a national monument and makes your entire “newspaper” trash!

Too bad you waste your time putting this sh** out.

I hope to hell you do not inspire more people to convert to Muslim and then go after this country. Your left sh** does this!

You bastards can only promote hate, hate and hate. Thank God I am no longer working so that you will not get any of my Social Security money, but I get yours!

Nick Schrier
via e-mail

Just call MGW ‘homofacist’

Re “Hey sailor!” (SN&R Bites, March 1):

Bites commented on MGW having kissing, body-building pornography stars in Navy uniforms on its cover and said there were “no heteros in foxholes.”

If your editors really want to make a “biting” commentary on this, you might tell the homosexual magazine to quit glorifying “homofacism.” It indeed looks like they’ve turned homofacist with their obsession with appearances that certainly don’t represent the majority of homosexuals and lesbians. Such unrealistic images make the majority of people, including the heterosexual majority, feel inadequate, and can lead to problems such as drug abuse and eating disorders.

While of course it is one thing to be healthy and not overweight, apparently the producers of MGW want to be part of promoting a culture that really doesn’t care about health, just as our Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t when he was in the body-building circuit (and we now know that he’s had various problems resulting from what he did to himself).

Michelle Kunert
Sacramento

Hayden should go keep peace

Re “Ending it” by Tom Hayden (SN&R Essay, March 1):

As a combat veteran of Vietnam who spent 10 years teaching in the Middle East, I believe it is important to consider what Tom Hayden has to say about Iraq, since he did such a good job on the post war “peace” in Vietnam. Only three million were murdered after we left. Having bought the rhetoric of the Viet Cong, Pathet Lao, and the Khmer Rouge (all French-educated), Hayden has now fallen for the rhetoric of the Baathists, Al Qaeda, and the Iranian Al-Quds (The Jimmy Carter brigade).

Hayden’s statement that “most parties in the region are desirous of a … peaceful stabilization of Iraq” may be the dumbest thing ever uttered by a left-winger. A successful democracy in Iraq would be an absolute disaster for Syria and Iran and they will do everything in their power to prevent it. Luckily for them, the Democrats are in the majority and they will do everything in their power to undermine the troops, our national security, and the aspirations of the Iraqi people.

As for the international diplomacy that Hayden supports, that would require two preconditions: that the Europeans overcome their pathological anti-American bigotry and that they find their collective backbone, neither of which will ever happen.

And speaking of “backbone,” Hayden wants international peace keepers to serve in Iraq. If he supports peace keepers, shouldn’t he serve as one?

Dennis McMurray
Nevada City

Griffith is too ‘old’

Re “Couples night at the Press Club” by Jackson Griffith (SN&R Trust Your Ears, March 1):

Perhaps SN&R should think about hiring a new music [columnist], being that Jackson Griffith totally proved his tired old age in the article about the Club Pow! at the Press Club. Venues for the music scene in Sac are kind of thin and places like Club Pow! give opportunities for shows that really can’t take place anywhere else, especially on a Monday night.

Griffith seems out of touch with the youthfulness of music, which is an important part of being a music [columnist] and also seems quite musically jaded. Actually, I’m not sure what he wants out of a venue. The beginning of his article criticizes Sac for turning into a Hummer-driving West Hollywood-like culture, but then puts down an admittedly janky but accommodating club like the Press. As a music writer, he should embrace the effort that people give to putting life into an endangered culture in this city.

Lisa D.
Sacramento

Aquifer down, temps up

Re “My carbon footprint” by Jennifer Davidson (SN&R Essay, March 8):

Jennifer Davidson did a great job with Al Gore’s documentary on global warming. But she may find the following theory on global warming interesting or, perhaps, amusing.

Yes, I believe that our scientists are correct in their assessment that greenhouse gases are a major threat contributing to Earth’s warming. My question is: Have our scientists overlooked a major source of global warming that began in the early years of industrial agriculture?

Prior to say, 1920, our grandfathers could dig a water well with a pick and shovel. As farmers began installing motor-driven water pumps deeper and deeper into our underground aquifers, water tables in many agricultural valleys dropped, in some cases to as low as 500 feet.

Now, as the sun passes not only over the millions of square miles of agricultural valleys (here in the United States and in other countries), its heat sink above the cold water table also is no longer 10-feet thick. In many areas, it is hundreds of feet thick. Now, as the sun sets, nightly radiation has more than doubled its Fahrenheit output.

If you allow your car radiator water to get lower and lower, then the hotter and hotter your engine runs. My above theory of global warming is in some ways a parallel to this reality.

Ellsworth Rose
Georgetown