UNDER SUSPICION
Eric Snider has provided readers with a masterful portrayal of another member of the Lucky Sperm Club (Cover Story, "Suspicious Mind," by Eric Snider, Dec. 14-20). It's obvious that Jimmy Walter has never had to do a real day's work in his life, and this stool sample proves it.
How ironic that Walter criticizes Bush for his National Guard Service, while admitting that he is guilty of committing that which he alleges against Bush. Hellloooo?
Oh well, Lucky Spermers never do pay much attention to detail. I just wish he had been asked to give us his take on Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.
Dan Calabria
South Pasadena
Thank you for your article about Jimmy Walter and the 9/11 Truth movement. A good website to check out is www.septembereleventh.org, and two good books by theologian David Ray Griffin are The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions and The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11.
Dr. Griffin's book is titled The New Pearl Harbor for two reasons. One, because that's what Bush wrote in his diary on the evening of Sept. 11: "The Pearl Harbor of the 21st century took place today." But also because members of the Bush administration in 2000 helped author the document "Project for the New American Century," which opined it would be difficult to galvanize Americans to support military expansion in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere unless a "new Pearl Harbor" occurred. Dr. Griffin has clearly shown the gross inadequacies of the 9/11 commission, which the Bush administration demanded be restricted to looking only at how to stop another terrorist assault.
We need a press that will investigate the events of 9/11, given the fact it has provided the pretext for everything this administration has done.
Ron Kuhler
Lutz
MULHERNIN' IT OVER
I really enjoyed Wayne Garcia's recent twofer (Political Whore, "Tainted Love," Dec. 7-13); an update on the tiresome and "tainted" antics of Katherine Harris, and his smart segue into the potential launch of a fresh face within local Democratic politics.
However, Garcia's introduction of Mary Mulhern — considering a 2006 campaign for Kathy Castor's Hillsborough County Commission District 1 seat — could stand a bit of tweaking. Truth is, as much as the public might be fascinated by her husband's resume (Cameron "Cam" Dilley, advertising executive, co-founder of WMNF and current volunteer DJ), or her sister-in-law (Jennifer Granholm, the Governor of Michigan), I wish Garcia — admittedly a friend of the Mulhern/Dilley duo — had elaborated more on Mulhern's own background.
With the political stakes so high, and in anticipation of an actual candidacy, let's set the record straight. Mary Mulhern's background is amazingly diverse. Garcia cited her co-chairmanship of the grassroots South Tampa 537 Group and her work on the Kerry ticket. She's on the Hillsborough School Board's Citizen's Advisory Board, on the board of the Freedom Playground — Tampa's first universally accessible playground — and a long time active member of the PTAs at her children's public schools. She's been a volunteer tutor and instructor for the Hillsborough county schools. Add to this a passionate advocate for political activism, and an enviable record of family and public values within a remarkable detail-oriented persona.
On a professional level, Mulhern has been no slouch. Following her 13 years as arts administrator at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, she created her own fine arts consulting business in Tampa, and is a freelance creative director doing graphic design and writing. She's a contributor to the Tampa Tribune's Flair Magazine, and has been Planet art critic for the last year.
If Mulhern throws the proverbial hat into the District 1 ring (only if Rep./Coach Bob Henriquez does not), she'll define a new kind of candidate within a county striving to solve real problems for real people.
Adrienne M. Golub
Tampa
EDITOR'S NOTE: See Wayne Garcia's column this week for details about Mary Mulhern and nine other up-and-comers likely to make a mark on the local political scene in 2006.
WHAT'S GOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Shame on you! Yes, you Scott, for equating the boorish behavior of (I'll bet mostly, if not entirely) Christian, Jewish, and other believers at movie theaters with Godlessness (Life Sentences, "The Nine Circles of the Googolplex," by Scott Harrell, Dec. 7-13).
Perhaps the comment was meant tongue-in-cheek, but I suspect if you had substituted "blacks" for "Christians," it would never have made it past the editors.
I probably know far more atheists than the average person, and while there is a range of personalities and behaviors like any other group, I would say that on the average atheists are both kinder and more considerate than most believers I've known, and on top of it there is no behavior based on the sense of entitlement that belonging to the majority religion seems to give many in our society. They think they are forgiven for being jerks — but not by me!
Brent Yaciw, Vice President,
Atheists of Florida, Inc.
Tampa
CORRECTIONS:
Don't Panic (by Andisheh Nouraee, Dec. 14-20) included the statement: "Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi (a Pentagon favorite) recently told the Observer newspaper that the U.S. military is abusing human rights and killing civilians at the same rate that Saddam's regime did." Allawi's original quote didn't implicate the U.S. military. He meant the Iraqi government.
The cut-line for the photo in the Music feature ("Club Hoppers," by Scott Harrell, Dec. 14-20) incorrectly refers to Belching Penguins' album title as Back Draft ... Not Me. The correct title is Draft Beer ... Not me.
