LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or e-mail to [email protected]. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.
Stepping Up
After calling Outback Concerts and sending the letter to LEO in regards to the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss show, they responded by adding another date here in Louisville. They are (had) a pre-sale open only to people living in the Louisville area. I would like to commend them on actually taking my complaint to heart and doing something about it.
McKinley R. Moore, Louisville
Fired Up, Indeed
In response to Rep. Kathy Stein’s comments regarding the campus gun bill (LEO, Jan. 30), I would just like my fellow citizens to note how this is really the epitome of this government in a nutshell. Stating, “The General Assembly doesn’t need to get into the business of safety management,” she is absolutely correct. However, this does demonstrate the fact that the government is under no obligation to protect us. Governmental security forces, be them local police, the Army, Navy or Marines, are put in place in order to protect the state itself, while it remains the bureaucracy’s job to decide what the best way for you to live your life would be. I urge everyone to stand up for your rights and arm yourselves before the nanny state decides you’re really in no position to defend yourself from violence.
In the same issue, while Ricky Jones goes about touting the wonders of John Edwards as the candidate for change, I feel he has been grossly ill-advised. Especially seeing that (Edwards) has since dropped out of the race. I encourage anyone who feels they are pretty good at making decisions on how to run their lives to take a look at the Ron Paul campaign. Liberty-minded values are truly a change from our current socialist predicament. Edwards and the handful of like-minded, power-hungry Democrats and Republicans getting all the media attention are essentially the same product, just less limelight. Jones had it right in his column, saying, “If you really want change, the best chance for it this time ... is a white man.” He was only incorrect in referring to Edwards as that man. Ron Paul is the only candidate for true, liberty-minded, constitutional-based freedom — a real change.
Jimmy Flahetry, Louisville
ONE Love
I wanted to recognize Black History Month in Louisville. Our nation has been built by ordinary people whose extraordinary deeds and sacrifices have significantly impacted our daily lives. We recognize some of these great pioneers and leaders every February during Black History Month.
Throughout this month, we honor the strength of those who fought to make slavery illegal and laud those who helped relieve the oppression caused by the Jim Crow laws and civil rights inequalities.
Movements created by individuals who believed that every person, no matter the circumstances in which they were born, should have equal opportunity to their neighbors, changed America. Right now, many Americans are fighting social injustice outside of our nation’s borders. Men and women of all ages, races, religions and political backgrounds are joining together as part of an organization called ONE. We are 2.4 million Americans who believe that ending extreme poverty and ridding the world of preventable disease is the right thing to do.
Social justice has no borders. As we celebrate the courage of so many African-Americans this month, we invite all citizens of Louisville to help us stop the inequalities created by extreme poverty. Join me at ONE.org.
Greg Schneider, Louisville
Primarily Clinton
As an informed voter, it is refreshing for the moment to see that there’s a good chance that the commonwealth can still be in play come the primary in May. I also believe Kentuckians will be smart in the Democratic primary and vote the experienced candidate, Sen. Hillary Clinton, over a fresh newcomer, Sen. Barack Obama, in the primary. Clinton has the experience that is needed to run the country. Being the leader of the free world requires that candidates should already have on-the-job training, and she has the de facto experience as First Lady of both Arkansas and the United States.
I believe she will bring affordable and quality education for all Americans and universal healthcare, which we have been trying to get since the days when her husband was president.
I have no doubt that Sen. Obama is a good person, but we need a candidate who brings experience to the table, and for that reason, I endorse Sen. Clinton without reservation.
Daniel Solzman, Louisville
Primarily Obama
Barack Obama, a genuine presidential candidate of change, is the only candidate of either party who can unite the country. The American people are tired of the divisiveness that Bill and Hillary Clinton generate. John McCain has yet to show he can bring his Republican Party together. Obama is a person with a vision of peace who appeals to everyone’s better nature. He is wise beyond his years. President Barack Obama will usher in the dawning of a new day in America, and it will be good.
Paul L. Whiteley Sr., Louisville
Rants and Raves
With the exception of Cyborg Model #Mitt Romney, sent from the future to destroy us, and Rudy Giuliani, who claims only Republicans can protect me from terrorists (instilling terror to get my vote sounds a lot like terrorism), the Republican field seems to be composed of likeable candidates.
Here we are, at end of Bush’s second term, and here are my rants about it all:
1) Everyone who didn’t hate America at the end of Bush’s first term definitely does now.
2) Our economy is about as strong as the fellow who was shot in the face by our vice president.
3) We’re the leading producer of greenhouse gases; the world is in a panic about the earth melting; and George Bush’s answer is to admit that he, and the oil companies whose asses he’s been kissing his whole life, had been wrong about global warming. That’s a great fucking plan, George. Well done. Maybe if you acknowledge you’re an arrogant dumbass, then that problem will get solved, too. And he tells reporters he refuses to watch “An Inconvenient Truth,” probably because he can’t read a graph (which also explains how he still seems to think he won in Florida).
4) Also, our military is spread thinner than Donald Trump’s hair. War is not the answer! Countless lives have been lost in Iraq — not just Americans but Iraqis and Afghans (yes, they are humans, too) and soldiers from the other countries we intimidated into joining the war, and what’s the result? The term “Freedom fries,” more Taliban and bin Laden (still) flipping us the bird. “Mission accomplished,” eh?
So vote for Rudy (or at least another Republican) to receive this kind of protection? This terror of terrorism is making everyone go mad. I believe our entire political structure needs to move in an entirely new direction. I will vote for the candidate who I feel will do this most effectively. Also, I will do what I can to keep another power-hungry, war-mongering, environmentally retarded asshole out of office.
Joey Coe, Louisville
