We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length, and clarity. Send letters to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
SHORT AND SWEET
One word to describe “Hostile intent” [Dusty Rhodes, Oct. 26]: Outstanding!
A.J. Woodson
Springfield
TO LOOK, OR NOT TO LOOK, AT CATS’ EYES
A reader says she was told by a cat owner during Springfield’s recent cat show to desist from making eye contact with her cats [“Letters,” Oct. 26]. The reason given by the owner was that doing so would be in conflict with show regulations, which prohibit interacting with the cats.
Something is wrong with this picture! Either the reader misunderstood what the owner said or was doing more than just looking at the cats’ eyes, or the owner overzealously misinterpreted the regulations.
Surely the regulations do not prevent attendees from simply looking at the eyes of the cats! Hopefully show officials will address this situation and make any necessary changes in order to preclude similar situations occurring at future shows.
Dick McLane
Springfield
HONOR YOUR LOCAL VETERAN
As we celebrate Veterans Day, I would like to take the opportunity to honor the more than one million brave Illinois men and women who have put their lives on the line for their country and who without a second thought put on the uniform to protect our freedom and liberty.
They stepped forward when America needed them the most.
It’s very important that we never forget what these heroes have sacrificed — both past and present, in peacetime and wartime.
An excellent way to pay tribute to our military heroes is to nominate a “Veteran of the Month,” a distinction that is given monthly to military veterans who excel as community activists and work on behalf of others. This is an award that honors those who have served their country above and beyond the call of duty and continue to serve their community. In May, we honored one of Springfield’s own, Sam Montalbano, for his longtime commitment and dedication to the community. For more information, go to www.state.il.us/agency/dva.
I encourage everyone who appreciates and cherishes the freedom we continue to enjoy today to thank a veteran or someone who is currently serving in the Armed Forces or Reserves. As a Vietnam veteran myself, I salute you.
Roy L. Dolgos
Director, Illinois Departments on
Aging and Veterans’ Affairs
Springfield
STATE NEEDS TO HELP HONEST PARENTS
I am writing to commend you on your article about child support issues [R.L. Nave, “Deadbeat or dead broke?” June 22]. I agree that payment is a straightforward issue. There is, though, too much wiggle room for opposing attorneys to abuse the intent of the law. I recently found on the Illinoislegalaid.org Web site that the state can no longer use a “debtors’ prison” as a means to collect a debt. This does not, however, keep attorneys and judges from threatening to jail honest parents, such as myself and other coworkers, who are making all possible efforts to comply with court orders.
Thanks for the enlightening article. I look forward to seeing what the state will do to help dads who get caught unjustly in the merry-go-round of being threatened for no other reason than to appease vengeful ex-wives and over-enthusiastic attorneys.
H.B Brown
Bloomington
DUMBER THAN SOME SOYBEAN FARMERS
Your article about a planned ethanol refinery in rural Illinois typifies the impact of these giant alcohol distilleries on the American scene [Manjula Batmanathan, “Not in their front yards,” Oct. 26].
Perhaps [it’s] a financial shot in the arm for the corn farmer, but more likely than not [it’s] just another financial ploy that will soak taxpayers to produce a fuel that consumes almost as much energy within the production process as it yields! Check it out on the USDA’s Web site, if you think you can believe the federal government.
The cloak-and-dagger description offered by one Sangamon County resident is an apt description of an operation that will likely pay no taxes while siphoning money from the local economy rather than creating much-needed manufacturing jobs.
However, the most chilling fact: “The plant’s need for water [will be] approximately 2.6 million gallons per day.” Sucking up our priceless drinking water to make corn liquor makes about as much sense as Arkansas soybean farmers pumping their own drinking water from 300 feet below the surface to irrigate their crops! Morons, all of them!
We have come to value the voodoo economics of such cloak-and-dagger projects many times more than their actual negative environmental impact. We may not have drinking water for our children, but they’ll have plenty of ethanol to power their BMWs while perhaps drinking what they don’t burn! But what the hell, maybe by then they will be desalinizing saltwater from the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, we’ll all be dead, and they won’t care. At this point in time, we can only hope.
Charles Conner
Aberdeen, Miss.
OF COURSE, HINDSIGHT IS 20/20
Withdrawal is what George H.W. Bush should have done 61 years ago. Think about it!
Steve Denton
Leland Grove
OK, GUYS, LET’S TAKE THIS OUTSIDE
I would first like to applaud the recent letter from Steve McGrew, pointing out that the anti-smoking zealots have no concern with the subsequent economic failures [of local bars]. I find myself perplexed, however, that McGrew earlier bashed a letter I had written that endorsed free-market capitalism. Capitalism, McGrew stated, was a religion and a fanaticism that “teaches” the love of money and pursuit of it in spite of any moral reasoning. Perhaps he will see with the smoking ban that the circumvention of the free market in the name of the public good resulted in the very policy he despises. Those on the moral high ground have hijacked the free market and decided for everyone that smoking is bad, and if drinking goes, too, as a result of the economic damage, then so be it.
McGrew was right about one aspect of capitalism: It never makes judgment on moral issues. That’s a good thing. Concern with the bottom line of making a profit ensures that business owners please their customers. In this case, capitalism is being overridden by what others think is the “right thing.” That is precisely the danger of mixing morality with politics.
Seth Bohlen
Springfield
DON’T BLOW IT IN PUBLIC
As a child we were taught manners. Cover your mouth when you cough. Excuse yourself when you sneeze. Respect your elders. Say please and thank you. Wait to be invited into someone’s house after you knock. Never just walk in. When driving, don’t pull out in front of anyone.
We like to go out to eat in a restaurant, as it is a treat for everyone. It never fails, whether you are in a fast-food place or a five-state establishment, some rude moron forgets his manners! The minute you put food in your mouth, he blows his nose. Gross!
Please remember your manners. Go to the bathroom to blow your nose! Think of others. Use your manners!
Rose Luparell
Buffalo
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
I am tired of all those whiners with nothing better to do. They complain about the Illini mascot, the Chief. We don’t insult him or call him lazy, drunk, crooked, or chicken. We call him brave, trustworthy, athletic, and a hero. We show him honor and love.
My name is Patrick Johnopolos. Johnopolos is a Greek name. There are teams called the Spartans and [there are others with] Greek references. My first name is Irish, and the “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame is probably the only semioffensive nickname among team names. Celtics are a race also. Some people are Packers. Saints are a religious reference. Mariners are seamen. Black Hawk is an Indian name. If Native American (Indian) names are offensive, then remove all human references. My high school, Niles West, had the Indians as a team name. They wussed out. I don’t know what they are now. They are not the team I remember — and I forsake them as cowards.
The sports fascists should either leave the Chief in peace or ban all human references in team names in all levels of sports.
There are good nonhuman names like Jazz, Lightning, Heat, Bears, Cardinals, and Cubs. We can go after the chipmunks, fuzzy bunnies, and lizards if we run short.
Patrick Johnopolos
Springfield
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2006.
