Join 8664
Thanks to Cary Stemle for his highlighting of Tyler Allen’s proposal to get rid of I-64 along the downtown riverfront and reroute thru traffic onto I-265 in Southern Indiana (Jan. 11 LEO). Count me in.
Allen’s proposal, most recently presented at the Louisville Forum, which will be broadcast several times in the coming weeks on Insight Channel 25, lays naked the lack of vision of the current proposal. And the scare tactics and frequent misrepresentations of fact eloquently offered by Allen’s debate opponent at the Forum event further demonstrate that weakness.
Expanding the concrete roof over Waterfront Park by another 80 feet while compounding and making all but permanent a 40-year-old mistake by the river leaves a reasonable person breathless.
David Jones Sr., one of this community’s great visionaries, said recently, “Having interstates 64, 65 and 71 meeting in the downtown of a major metropolitan area was a really bad idea. If there is any chance of correcting that, we ought to make every effort to do it.”
Good for Jones and Allen, and good for the growing number of community leaders and everyday citizens who are looking past this city’s institutional inhibitions to see a brighter future for our community. Check out 8664.org and join us.
Ken Herndon

Demand 8664
Thank you for articulating so well what many of us are thinking — 8664 is an idea that deserves — no, demands — an honest look. If the powers that be are not willing to think boldly and with a truly exciting vision for the future of our city, it is up to the rest of us to demand it! Of course there are many details to still work out, but what idea worth getting excited about doesn’t come with a few difficult questions? So, yes, let’s start that movement and give 8664 the full vetting it deserves. Everyone needs to check out www.8664.org and pass it along to their families, friends and neighbors.
Mike Mays

Not So Sold on 8664
The blurb: “Tyler Allen’s plan is a big idea. Is it too big for Louisville?” is a lively jab at our seemingly musty and apathetic citizenry. Cary Stemle also implies that Louisville’s leadership, particularly those not on the 8664 bandwagon, are philistines who lack the backbone to change the status quo. Like 8664 supporters, I am an educated thritysomething who once lived in another “sophisticated” urban center (Boston). Like other Louisvillians, I am not sold on this vision. What do I know? Boston invested heavily in I-93 improvements downtown. I also believe it made sense for Boston.
I chuckled when Stemle suggested that Tyler Allen is not a “do-gooding nobody” because he comes from the “East End establishment.” No diluted South or West End ideas for this movement! Speaking of crass …
I have received numerous chain e-mails on this topic and have read several zealous accounts of Allen’s genius. I welcome Allen’s ideas and the efforts of his proponents because they clearly engage everyone. Stemle relies, ironically, on provincial stereotypes to explain away the lackluster response to 8664’s vision.
Deliberation over hard facts and corroborating studies are critical, as is timeliness. Grassroots fervor by itself offers me nothing. The idea that some mistakes can be hard to undo applies to both sides of the issue. As for the lack of “buy-in,” I suggest some introspection. Louisville is progressive, open to implementing challenging new ideas and bold urban planning concepts.
Stephen M. Cull

B-i-l-l-y Billy! billy! billy!
Thank you, Billy Reed, for this week’s cover story on Adolph Rupp. It’s a tough enough season for UK fans without having to defend the past on top of the current state of our beloved team. It’s good to have something positive concerning Coach Rupp and that movie … I may have to wave it under more than one nose, I’m afraid.
I’m glad you’ve joined LEO!
Martha Reed Perry

Critic’s Snob
My wife, daughter and myself saw “The Producers” Sunday at Tinseltown. All three of us came away totally satisfied, having just spent two hours either smiling or laughing out loud. Afterward, we discussed our regret that we had not seen it this summer when we took a mini-vacation to New York City.
Today I read the review by Alan Abbott (Jan. 4 LEO) where he totally trashed the film. He must be suffering from Critic’s Snob, that dreary disease that makes a person so cynical they can find nothing good in anything. Gary Beach and his assistant Roger Bart were outrageous, and Nathan Lane was so good I wondered why I’ve never noticed him before. Will Ferrell’s portrayal was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen him do. I could go on praising the movie, but by now it should be obvious we felt we got our money’s worth. I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD so we can watch it again.
Gary Ress

Swing Away
Lately I have wanted to rip the monotonous phrases “stay the course,” “cut and run” and “the immediate irritant miscommunication” from the media and beat them — the phrases, not the media — with a Louisville Slugger. I hate when you’re right, Orwell. It’s doubleplusungood.
Lesley Blakley

Hug it out
Al Mohler has cleared things up for me once again, in an essay recently published. Quoting heavily from Anthony Esolen, a boyfriend of Mohler’s (I’m sorry, I mean a friend who happens to be a guy … or maybe they’re not even friends, I don’t know and I’m not trying to imply anything), Mohler has helped me figure out why I’ve lost all friendships with my boyfriends … I mean friends who happen to be male!
According to the couple (Mohler and Esolen), my male friendships have been destroyed because of that gay cowboy movie, “Brokeback Mountain.” Apparently, the shared intimacy between the two cowpokes is responsible for the collapse of male friendships. That’s why I didn’t feel comfortable hugging my dad for Christmas. That explains why friendships with people of the non-opposite sex is so hard (“difficult,” I mean!). According to Mohler/Esolen, “The normalization of homosexuality destroys the natural order of friendships among men.”
Oh, a curse upon those gays and gay supporters for destroying male friendships! It wasn’t enough that they tried to destroy marriage, now they’ve decided to destroy my intimate male friendships (well, I don’t mean “intimate” really).
Thank you Al and Anthony for enlightening us. I love you! (Well, not “love” literally … only in the two-dudes-in-a-beer-commercial sense.) Where will the madness end?!
Dan Trabue