Lady Ballers M.I.A.
Regarding the Nov. 7 cover story: Hey, LEO, what about the ladies? Hoops domination in this region is not limited to the men. The Louisville and Kentucky women are both ranked in the top 10 in preseason polls, at No. 9 and No. 6 respectively. What a missed opportunity to highlight both teams and support your overall story about strength in our region. Let’s hope you include them in your coverage of hoops this year since they are going to be competitive in conference and nationally, and really fun to watch.
Kate Shore, Highlands
Judd Juice
Ashley Judd would be without a doubt a compelling candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014. Just imagine how uplifting it would be to hear a candidate who says what she really thinks. More straight talk. Less spin. The bad part is that many voters don’t really want that. They’ll shoot the messenger. Some will also shoot other candidates who belong to the messenger’s political party. Just ask Ben Chandler. That’s my biggest concern about a Judd candidacy. I would hope that her campaign does not hurt the down-ticket candidates. Oh, heck! The very idea of a Judd candidacy is still exciting.
Tom Louderback, Highlands
Papa Don’t Preach
So John Schnatter told his shareholders in August that Obamacare would require him to raise the price of his pizzas from 11 to 14 cents. Now he explains that Papa John’s will probably cut lots of people to part time so they won’t have to pony up those 11-14 cents to provide them with health coverage. A large pepperoni pizza from Papa John’s costs $12.25. I don’t make quite as much money as Schnatter does, but I think I can swing $12.39 instead. Particularly since I’m already adding on a few bucks to tip the drivers. You see, their Papa can’t bring himself to pay them a living wage, so I pick up the slack.
Meanwhile, Schnatter is hosting Mitt Romney fundraisers at his house. I’m guessing they raised a few million bucks there, and I’m guessing the Papa himself wrote quite a hefty check. Because Romney needs our charity. But some poor schmuck who delivers pizzas for a living? Screw him. What’s he ever done for Schnatter, besides allow Papa John’s to exist? Why should they be able to see a doctor?
And this man is supposed to be a pillar of the community?
Steve Loomis, Germantown
Republican Conundrum
I remember a middle-school teacher who made quite an impression on me who had a penchant for rehabilitating injured animals when possible and reintroducing them into the wild. One particular lesson I recall explained why anesthetizing birds of prey to trim their talons and stitch lacerations was necessary. The animals would attack a person who was helping them due to fear and ignorance of the situation, because they could not comprehend that they were being helped. I see some obvious parallels in dealing with far-right Republicans.
The psychology of the Republican brain runs on a much higher level of fear than other people, hence the clear racism, sexism and general oppressive nature of their mentality. Some researchers believe this to be due to an enlarged amygdala causing an overactive fear response. All this fear causes paranoia, which is manipulated by political propaganda to persuade the emotionally incapacitated to vote for candidates who wish to fight the very interests of the voter. This is a strange psychology that has kept the tribal followers throughout history alive by quivering in the dark to avoid danger. Hopefully we have evolved farther than this by now and are able to use logic in place of fear to make decisions. This is the way of the future — evolution can be slowed but not halted by the lowest common denominators of society.
Let’s stand together to improve the obsolete policies still held in a death grip by the gnashing, clawing, screeching beasts so that we can sew up their wounds, for they know not that we are trying to help them.
Scott Clements, West End
