Love-Hate Mail
Harsh
If Chief Serpas were less concerned with extracting the last discretionary dollar from hard-working Nashvillians through contrived traffic violations and speed traps, he might actually inspire some real police work where it matters (“The Verdict on Serpas,” Oct. 13). He also should attend to his own backyard, where he’s setting some example with his son. How many DUI’s is that? I hope New Orleans offers him more money than he’s getting here and then maybe the crime rate will recede like the water.
Bruce Brody
brcbrody@comcast.net (Nashville)
Primary food groups
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Hey, Joey Hood, the guy with food problems, listen up: Grits are (or, as I like to say “is”) vegetables (“Lard Bucket Blues,” Oct. 13). So is macaroni and cheese, you little Yankee bastard.
Bill Fisher
jocbill@earthlink.net (Murfreesboro)
Ideologically anti-nugget
We at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are pleased that Joey Hood is attempting to follow a vegetarian diet and would be happy to help him break his “addiction” to chicken nuggets (“Lard Bucket Blues,” Oct. 13).
In their natural surroundings, chickens spend their day foraging for food, making nests, roosting in trees and taking sun and dust baths. They exist in stable social groups and can recognize each other by their facial features. Like us, chickens form strong family ties and mourn when they lose a loved one. A mother hen will turn her eggs as many as five times an hour and cluck to her unborn chicks, who will chirp back to her and to one another. Chickens are social, intelligent, interesting individuals who have much more to offer than greasy nuggets or drumsticks.
I encourage Mr. Hood and anyone else who wants to explore a vegetarian diet to visit GoVeg.com and watch “Chew on This,” a thought-provoking video listing 10 of the most compelling reasons to go vegetarian. Great-tasting recipes, a free vegetarian starter kit and information on fabulous faux-chicken products can also be found on VegCooking.com.
Heather Moore
Senior Writer, PETA
HeatherM@PETA.org (Norfolk, Va.)
For the love of God, stop John Summers
Private property rights have been in the news lately, starting with this summer’s ruling by the Supreme Court that the state of Connecticut was within its rights when it condemned perfectly maintained owner-occupied homes on behalf of a private developer who intends to build a shopping mall where the homes currently stand.
Locally, district by district, resolutions have been adopted “down zoning” neighborhoods to single-family homes-only.... No more duplex properties can be built, thus economically prohibiting renters and lower-income individuals from living in these gentrified neighborhoods.
Just last week, we all read with interest the legal nightmare faced by the 80-year-old widow being forced to tear off the vinyl siding from her house because it wasn’t a “period correct” building material.
Now, in Sylvan Park, outgoing Metro Council member John Summers seems hell-bent on leaving a piece of legacy legislation that the vast majority of residents and property owners don’t want. The proposed “overlay” would place additional major codes restrictions on the type, size and placement of outbuildings and/or additions that a homeowner could build on their own private property.
It’s time for property owners to stand up and say “no” to the continued erosion of our property rights by those who feel that they know (and will soon dictate) what’s best for the neighborhood. I don’t want anybody telling me what color I can or can’t paint my home, or that I can’t build a freestanding garage in my backyard. The pervasive societal attitude of deference to the city’s “master planners” just adds fuel to the fire that’s consuming our uniquely American private property rights.
I may not agree with what others say or believe, but I adamantly defend their right to our fundamental American freedoms. Private property rights are every bit as valuable and important as freedom of the press and freedom of speech. More laws and restrictions on private property rights represent a giant step backward by the “progressives” proposing this odious overlay. If it’s cookie-cutter “perfection” you seek, move to Brentwood!
Eric Hahn
erichahn@comcast.net (Nashville)
Stan again
Many in Nashville love to see outsiders in trouble, to see them fail, so they do what they can to speed the downfall. It gives cover for their inadequacies, for not doing the things they themselves were not willing to do nor capable of accomplishing. It’s unfortunate that the Scene provides them aid and comfort with controversy-stirring articles such as William Dean Hinton’s “Pedro’s Last Stand” (Oct. 13), based on inaccurate information provided by such folks.
The Metro school system is over a half-billion-dollar operation. The Board of Education, the system’s board of directors, contains members grossly unqualified to oversee a business of this size. The system is hampered by an entrenched bureaucracy that perceives any change as a threat, plus desires for power and control by unions and politicians. Unfortunately, none of our local media, including the Scene, has shown any interest in serious investigation to get at the root of its problems. Doing so requires obtaining validated facts, thus more guts and effort than do hatchet jobs, which will likely drive off those working in the students’ better interest.
Stan Scott
ss_scott@bellsouth.net (Nashville)
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