Love/Hate Mail
To pledge agreement
I would just like to pass on my enthusiastic applause to Mrs. Renkl concerning her article “Who’s the Patriot?” (July 4). I thought the article was well written and a refreshing change from many of the “articles” I have read in other Nashville publications. By demonstrating differing viewpoints through careful research and well-phrased passages, Mrs. Renkl opened the door to greater understanding of the issues at hand. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Todd Frederick
fredetl@auburn.edu (Auburn, Ala.)
Leave and let leave
In reference to your editorial “Primum Non Nocere” (July 4), well said and hallelujah. Please extend the same sentiments to the horn honkers and talk show hosts for both sides as well. They have accomplished nothing.
Dave Harris
dharris@hwdwcpa.com (Nashville)
A tough audience
When I began to read Bruce Dobie’s piece on Gayle Ray (“Plain and Simple,” July 4), I almost sighed with relief. Since the first few paragraphs focus on Ray’s lack of understanding of the issues and her poor performance when asked to discuss the issues, I thought certainly that this would finally be a news piece worthy of my attention. Of course, I read a little further and realized that Ray’s utter lack of issues is hardly as important as her name recognition. That she was endorsed by the pro-choice Emily’s List but has never once declared herself pro-choice in public seems to hold less weight with Dobie than the fact that she is an “impressive political fixture.” Does it not occur to Dobie that Ray is a fixture because she consistently refuses to take chances? Isn’t that exactly what we had with Clement? Isn’t it time that we ask our politicians to stand for something more than getting reelected? And isn’t it time that our media provide fair coverage to the candidates and not your biased version of the truth?
Sandra Harrell
Sandra.A.Harrell@vanderbilt.edu (Nashville)
Thanks
I was extremely moved by the Mike Coode article (Cover Story, June 27). This topic of abuse in the Catholic Church had not captured my full attention until I read this article. These actions are an absolute abomination to any religious participant. I am so grateful Mr. Coode chose to open up with Nashville, and I hope that people will listen to his horrible story with honest ears, and urge just punishment of these perpetrators, who should not be above the law. They deserve the same treatment as any citizen of the U.S. I know that the Lord will deal with them. Let’s hope that when the Catholic Church is not enforcing punishment on these men, they are keeping this in mind, and not any other motives.
Thank you for publishing details that would have been omitted in other publications. I thoroughly enjoy the Nashville Scene.
Becca Shores
RShores@mleesmith.com (Nashville)
Wait a minute
“...And sure enough, that’s when he called me to his cell in the monastery. We were nude....” Excuse me, but I must have missed the transitional phrase in that section of the June 27 cover story. Mike Coode, by that time, was 18 or 19 years old and, as the story was told, had been out of contact with Father Lott for two years. What transpired between “being called to the cell” and “we were nude”? Somewhere between those two sentences is a young man’s choice to go see Father Lott, agreement to remove his clothes and complicity in any ensuing act. At what age did decision-making enter the picture regarding priests and of-age young men having sexual liasons?
I was born, raised and still am a practicing Catholic, and while I do not condone priests 30 and 40 years ago entering into any kind of sexual activity with young men in their charge, neither can I ignore the fact that free will enters into matters at some age and at some point for young adults.
Carolyn Clark
Cmkclark1@aol.com (Nashville)
Predictable
I laughed aloud when I heard both houses of our General Assembly passed a one-cent sales tax increase last week. It brought to mind Liz Garrigan’s Political Notes column in March, which predicted that’s exactly what state lawmakers would do in the end. “We advise our elected officials just to go ahead and do the ugly deed. It would save us the pain and agony of the current deliberations,” it read. “We See a Penny” was the title of the column, and it was prescient.
And that was in March. Little did we know then what legislators would put this state through before they reached that misguided, foregone conclusion. “The most amazing thing about our prediction is that probably nine out of 10 people down at Capitol Hill—including many members of the legislature—also know that this is how the story will end,” the column said.
I wonder how it feels to be a state lawmaker and have your decisions predicted by a reporter months in advance? How does it feel to be so utterly unstatesmanlike?
Sharon H. Fitzgerald
fitzcomm@comcast.net (Murfreesboro)
Urban idiocy
Regarding the article “Botching the Bridge” (June 20), why anyone is surprised by the city of Nashville is beyond me. Having lived here for more than seven years, I cannot even fathom the city of Nashville and whatever “group” doing anything remotely great when it comes to urban design.
The powers that be in this department so need to get out more and travel to other U.S. cities and see what is happening with urban design, preserving historic buildings (which I don’t think this city knows how to do) and making the city more pedestrian-friendly.
I truly believe that whoever does the urban planning for the city of Nashville lives in a cave. The people here are so geared to bringing tourists to this area that they could care less about making this city a great place for the people that already live here. Seriously, is anyone really surprised?
Allison Lund
alund@infrainc.com (Nashville)
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