Love/Hate Mail
A good sport
Hey guys, I got a kick out of this week's Fabricator ("Bulger hospitalized with banjo poisoning," Aug. 2). It made me laugh. If the old fiddlers at Smithville's Jamboree up and go electric next year, remember I'm your guy for the "exclusive."
Terry Bulger, Channel 4 News
tbulger@wsmv.com (Nashville)
Shedding light
Your cover story about foster children is an eye opener ("Fostering Better Care," Aug. 2). Rebekah Gleaves did an outstanding job of investigative journalism. It is good to see everyone involved working toward solutions to the sad plights foster children are enduring, instead of fighting in the courts over who is right or wrong. Please continue providing current and informative stories such as this and not rehashed unsolved murder mysteries from over 20 years ago.
Tim Hall
327 Trails Circle, Nashville
Clean it up
Mayor Briley put the politics in the Benefit Board. Mayor Fulton took the politics out of the Benefit Board. Mayor Boner put the politics back into the Benefit Board.
Since the day Philip Bredesen was elected mayor, I pled for a more responsive Benefit Board. Since the day Bill Purcell was elected mayor, I pled for a more responsive Benefit Board. This waiver-of-premium issue ("In Good Hands?" Aug. 2) is just another example of the disarray the board office has fallen into. During my tenure, life insurance policies were indeed promulgated. We had an individual who counseled each pensioner. The Benefit Board also had booklets printed explaining the pension and life and health benefits. Each employee signed a statement that they had received copies of these booklets. The board members knew of this provision; they signed off on every word in those booklets.
The Employee Benefit Board and the board office have endured many years of lack of leadership. The board has been poorly run, it has been used for political purposes, the board members have been browbeaten, and, I am told, some have been threatened with legal action.
Hardly a day goes by that someone doesn't remind me of the halcyon days of the Benefit Board. As a Metro employee, it troubles me that something is not being done immediately to restore the confidence in the board office and trust in the board members.
C. Michael Coode
140 46th Ave. N., Nashville
Conservative fornicating?
In your Political Notes column (Aug. 2), Phil Ashford and the Scene have gone even further than usual to slant the news in an unconscionable way. Gary Condit is characterized as a "conservative fornicator" and "crypto-Republican." And while such clues as "Democrats who deserted the party" do appear, at no point is Condit referred to as a member of the Democratic Party. When most readers see "conservative," they think "Republican." So it appears to me that you're trying to make readers think Condit's reprehensible behavior is that of a Republican politician. I'll bet a search of past issues would never turn up a single instance of Clinton's being called a "liberal fornicator," which brings to mind this question: How does one fornicate in a conservative manner?
Lee Stevens
2125 Fernwood Drive, Nashville
Thanks, Walter
So, having worked for both the Chicago Sun Times and Tribune for many years and currently living in Palm Springs, Calif., I have to say that Walter Jowers is the best laugh I've had in a long time. Despite what people in the rest of the country may think about Southern California, the Palm Springs desert area is like living on the moon. Looking to move back to the East Coast where we belong, Walter gives me great expectations...that people can still look life in the eye and have a sense of humor about it. Thanks, Walter. I look forward to the day my capital gains confinement is history.
E.K. Lang
eklang@msn.com
(Palm Springs, Calif.)
No drilling
Our United States Congress is one step closer to deciding the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to open the coastal plain of ANWR to development. But Americans, in poll after poll, support by a wide margin protecting the Arctic Refuge against oil development. There was a Gallup poll conducted on July 5 that found that the number one reason Americans disagree with Bush's energy policy is his insistence on drilling in the Arctic Refuge, our last great wilderness. So, last week's vote in the House speaks volumes about the state of America's representative government. Do our elected officials truly represent the will of the people? Or are our leaders out of touch, responsive only to big corporations with big money?
Susan McKay
3060 Anderson Road, Nashville
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