Thanks to Timothy Davis for putting into print my favorite Charlotte Rant ("Ah, Whadda You Know?," June 18). Since I moved to the area in "94 I have screamed about the whole safe corporate music that comes to this village. I am a 38-year-old punk, who happens to also enjoy a lot of roots and "Americana" music. Bob Crawford of the Avetts is a good friend of mine and I was overwhelmed to see how many people came out for their show. It is a shame, however, that on Wednesday night, there weren't any kids there. They could have learned how pale and corporate their idea of punk is. Bands like Good-182 and Blink Charlotte and New Found Biscuit annoy me with their hypocritical anti-establishment bullshit. They are Boy Bands with guitars and silly haircuts.
Now if we could get 400 out to see Jem Crossland & the Hypertonics and 4 on the Floor, life would be perfect.
-- Chris O'Neill, Charlotte
Lucy's Got A Point
Re: "Drugs R Us" by Lucy Perkins (June 11).
Having spent a number of years as a teacher in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg School system, I have seen the failures of the current drug enforcement program. The drug problem is very complex, therefore it is not likely to be solved, because our politicians are incapable of thought beyond a single solution, whether a single answer satisfies all or not.
The starting point for reasonable decision-making has to be facts, truth, and scientific evidence. I would like to see unbiased research about each of the drugs now subject to restriction. It would be refreshing to have researchers who simply let the facts fall where they may and report them honestly.
I am not certain that a world with legal drugs being consumed is a world I would want to occupy, but we have drugs being consumed now and I do occupy that world. If the drugs were legal, they would be of consistent quality and concentration, thus overdoses would diminish; the criminal element would be out of work; and the tax revenue would allow politicians to go on a spending spree of epic proportions.
Continue to challenge the thought processes of the readers. I do not agree with everything Ms. Perkins writes, but I love to consider the arguments she presents.
-- Name Withheld by Request
Kelly Misses the Boat
Kelly Boatright's claiming that Fox News provides "balanced no-spin reporting" ("Hal the Twisted Liberal," Letters, June 11) flies in the face of that network's own internal documents, which reveal that Fox News began as a conservative platform, opposed to the major cable and broadcast network news operations. This doesn't mean those news outlets were or are necessarily "liberal" in focus.
The important issue here isn't the standard name-calling tantrums poorly informed conservatives throw when they are faced with opposing viewpoints. No amount of childish finger pointing at Bill Clinton can excuse the Bush administration's blatant deceptions it has given justifying the invasion of Iraq. Mature, responsible leaders don't resort to war unless they believe they have no other option. George W. Bush doesn't seem to fall into this category. His administration is trying to spin Americans' recollections as to what Bush and other high-ranking officials said were the reasons for war.
By any reasonable standard, Bush is showing a shocking lack of candor and accountability on this matter. If WMDs aren't found, then it will be obvious that this allegedly moral, responsible president lied to the American people in order to start this war. And if faking a reason to start a war that's continuing to kill US troops on a weekly basis doesn't anger conservatives, then someone needs to start questioning their commitment to freedom and honest government.
-- Michael A. Clark, Charlotte
Boatright's Bias
In response to Mr. Boatright's letter, Mr. Crowther may "embrace free thought only as long as that thought results in one arriving at the proper politically correct conclusions," but Mr. Boatright shuns stupidity, unless of course it serves his own bias. He has failed to account for the huge barrage of propaganda we receive every day in our media, namely Fox News. Every news source bends over and takes one so that we all may see good ol' Dubya strut around in his flight suit. I bet that military garb feels rather odd since he mysteriously disappeared during his supposed service to the National Guard. The best attack Boatright seems to come up with is the extremely cliched "liberal being serviced by an intern" bit. I'm aware of plenty of other things to not like about our last "liberal" other than the intern debacle. While every one, including the FBI, was placing all of their energy into finding out exactly what brand of cigar it was, terrorists were planning 9-11. Meanwhile, Cheney is meeting with Osama only months before the attacks to discuss . . . you guessed it -- our oil interests. Some homework into media tycoon Rupert Murdoch might clear the way to reasonable thought. By the way, I don't hate America, but I do love the truth.
