Letters to the Editor

Waiting for lefties: JM Schell tosses and turns in a fevered sweat every night over the "blatant left-liberal" press (Letters, May 29). Yes, the press is left, but only left of Attila the Hun. Apparently JM Schell is to the right of Attila the Hun. I'm sure that Adolf Hitler would have been too far left for the likes of Schell, being that der Führer ran on the Socialist ticket. See how rampant those left-liberals are? They're everywhere.

Let's call a spade a spade and admit that nutjobs like Schell are not just funny, they're actually dangerous. I'm glad Westword has a forum to remind us of that.

Shakti Goodwin
Rollinsville

Out in right field: JM Schell's paranoid-schizophrenic ranting and raving was typical of his right-wing keepers in Washington. No, it wasn't enough to reduce humanity to shades of black and white (good and evil). No, his beloved right-wing freak show has now traveled full circle to bore us all with more hallow accusations that the media is a left-wing conspiracy!

The tired old arguments of "liberal media" are not just whiny; they're also moot in these days of the FCC pandering to the likes of Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch's propaganda-filled television station, Fox News, has taken the concept of government-controlled media out of the realm of dictatorships and has shown that even in a capitalist democracy, the government can maintain media control through favorable regulation policies.

Thankfully, I'm of sound enough mind to realize that despite Fox's terrible assault on the integrity of the media, there are still other choices out there (for now?). So, JM: Watch Fox, eat your freedom fries, and shut the hell up!

Meanwhile, thanks to Jason Sheehan's Bite Me for a small slice of sanity in the May 29 issue. The French boycott undertaken during our recent nationalistic orgy is not just petty, but also a slap in the face to the concept of democracy. The French government echoed, and acted on, what the French people felt about the war. Shame on those of you who would eschew a government's right to listen to its own people. As Sheehan notes, the effects of this boycott are most likely to be felt here at home by American businessmen rather than in the country of France, anyway.

For my part, I intend to counter this tragedy by taking part in a French buycott. In fact, I've already started! On my recent trip to Europe, I drove my German car to the airport and used Air France as part of my trip to get to my final destination overseas (all flights were full, by the way). I'll continue by enjoying the now-forbidden fruits of excellent French foods and savory French wines far more than I ever did before to compensate for at least one childish American who refuses to accept France as an independent and free country.

Ty Ryan
Lakewood

The limits of the law: Regarding Stuart Steers's " Seize and Desist," in the May 22 issue:

If the administration of this city has any character whatsoever, and the facts are as Stuart Steers states them in his article, and complete, there should be no excuse whatsoever for the city to not fully reimburse the victim of this injustice. Not "the law is the law," not "the budget does not allow it," not "it was an honest mistake," not "as the owner of the vehicle, he is responsible."

Sometimes things have to be done just because they are decent, compassionate, honorable and just.

It has been my observation that when someone falls into a situation such as this, the prevailing attitude is that "the law is the law." Perhaps that is so legally, but no one worthy of calling himself human would be satisfied with that.

Al Begin
Denver

Get the Message? We, the undersigned staffers at the Denver Post, were so disappointed with "Post Toasts," Michael Roberts's May 29 Message, that we feel compelled to express our concern in writing. We can't understand how someone who writes about the media and often criticizes perceived shortcomings failed to follow the basic rules of journalism.

In his column, Roberts published a rumor that reporting errors had cost Ryan Morgan, a talented and respected intern at the Post, a permanent slot at our paper. Despite the seriousness of the charge, Roberts offered no facts to back up the claim. He made little effort to contact Morgan -- just one telephone message left at an office Morgan had not occupied for weeks.Roberts's sources were unnamed "rumormongers" -- whom he declined to quote. The one person Roberts contacted about the allegation, Denver Post editor Greg Moore, flatly denied it. Does the denial of a rumor constitute proof at Westword?