Corrections
We changed a word and made an error in Peter J. Wagner’s Sept. 11
letter to the editor. Wagner wrote us to say CWLP’s proposed rate increase “may
not be in the best interests of Springfield citizen-ratepayers.”
The telephone number for the Bluestem Bake Shop in Elkhart, the subject of
a review in the Oct. 9 edition, is (217) 947-2222.
Illinois Times regrets these errors.
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One for the scrapbook
We want to thank you for the article about the 233rd [Rich Miller,
“Wrong moves, right moves,” Sept. 18]. Our men have been gone since February
and we know that they are working hard. At our last meeting, we handed out a
lot of the Illinois Times. Our whole support group has a copy and I am
sure it will be in a lot of scrapbooks. It is nice to have our soldiers recognized
for their hard work overseas. The article is appreciated by the whole 233rd
support group. Thank you once again.
Tammy Hughes (SSG Lawrence Wilson)
Deanna Victor (SGT Marc Victor)
Sarah Mauney (SGT Joel Mauney)
Springfield
Monica Hildebrandt (SGT Paul Hildebrandt)
Bethany
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Waste of ink
I have just completed reading “Censored!” [Kari Lydersen, Oct. 9]. What a
load of crap. Illinois Times must be hard up for something to print.
I find it hard to believe that you would waste the paper and ink to give even
the slightest bit of credibility to the hooey that Ms. Lydersen and Project
Censored are spewing out.
It seems that Ms. Lydersen and her ilk are living in world in which reality
has not made an appearance. The whole gist of her drivel is that the mainstream
media is purposely ignoring (or more to her way of thinking “covering up”) the
acts of a government that would be considered criminal in the rest of the free
world.
The reality of the situation, as I see it, is that if any of these things
had actually been true; the “credible” media would be all over it. The fact
is the majority of the large media and the media in general is responsible.
That is, they tend to confirm the validity of stories and sources before publishing
anything or making accusations.
Of course, the obscure publications cited as sources do not have to be responsible
in their reporting. They simply have to cater to the minuscule portion of America
and other parts of the world that are against anything that we as a nation stand
for. A story does not have to be true, it just has to be detrimental to the
president or America and these people swallow it hook, line and sinker.
Please don’t think me naive. I know that America has gotten its hands dirty
many times. But I believe that it was done for no other reason than improving
freedom and basic human rights throughout the world.
Finally, I am not advocating censorship of the hogwash that I have just read.
I firmly believe that this is still a free country with free speech. I am just
glad that I am free to express my opinion and free to not read this unfounded
poppycock further or believe any of what I have already read.
I hope the Illinois Times will do a little better in selecting the
content of future issues.
Jeff Moore
Springfield
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Intelligence test
The Bush administration was never that intelligent so you think that they
would treat their intelligence better. Wrong. From relying on faulty British
intelligence to revealing the identity of a CIA agent to punish someone for
revealing the faulty British intelligence, the Bush administration has done
little to protect the intelligence community or to protect America. To George
W. Bush and Karl Rove, it seems winning re-election is more important than keeping
America safe and secure. I hope this is a wake up call for Bush to get more
intelligent on his intelligence.
Bryan Thompson
Lisle
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Moving on
Congratulations to Richard Norton Smith on his appointment as director
of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I look forward to the
excitement that is sure to accompany his arrival in Springfield. Under his leadership,
the library and museum promises to become one of the most important institutions
of its kind in the world.
To help ensure the library’s success, the University of Illinois at Springfield
is in the process of renaming our Abraham Lincoln Presidential Center for Governmental
Studies. We want to avoid confusion between the library/museum and our public
policy center in regard to marketing and fund-raising efforts.
However, I am troubled by the misinformation that continues to swirl in some
circles about UIS. We have been accused of providing a place for patronage positions.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We always follow strict university
procedures to hire our staff and faculty. We have no control over what others
say or do, but to suggest that we might give preferential treatment to applicants
as political rewards is just wrong, and to accuse us of doing so is not fair.
That having been said, I agree with Mr. Smith that it’s time to move on. We
look forward to a fresh start as we welcome him to Springfield.
Richard D. Ringeisen
Chancellor
University of Illinois at Springfield
Letters policy
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime
telephone. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity.
Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois
62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2003.
