Not So Neutral
I could not agree more wholeheartedly with your Political Whore ("Delivering the Mandate," by Wayne Garcia, Nov. 16-22) on the matter of the St. Petersburg Times' indirect endorsement of Rick Baker. I was rather appalled at the lack of impartiality with the St. Petersburg Times myself. I'm glad I was not the only one who noticed the bias, as every article dealing with Ed Helm was negative. They dredged up a private family fight sent in by the "injured party." (One, how biased is that resource and why would they run an article on such a lopsided issue, and two, truthfully, how many families have been torn apart by inheritance issues?) The only semi-neutral article they ran was how the two candidates used the information on crime in a slightly different context, but even that indicated that Baker was more correct in his assessment. Baker, on the other hand, was the golden boy, whose own family issues and failures were left untouched. (Among other questions I have, I wonder what to make of the half-vacant "art district" in St. Petersburg? Independent business owners were forced out by rising rent prices and failed development deals.) Baker didn't even appear to take the campaign seriously enough to debate Helm in a public forum!
Overall, I was very disappointed in the "neutrality" of this particular media resource. It makes me think that the tail really is wagging the dog. I hope your article helps people to open their eyes and take a harder look at local political candidates. I know that I do NOT want the newspaper voting for me.
Brandy Stark
St. Petersburg
Speaking Up
I respect your interview with Sami Al-Arian ("Al-Arian Speaks," by John Sugg, Nov. 16-22). I think it is a travesty of justice what is happening to this man. Although I do not know him personally, I was on a panel with him, and ironically we were speaking about civil rights.
M. Ali Khan,
Executive Director, American Muslim Council
Chicago, Ill.
Fair And Balanced
As an active member of Tampa Bay's Jewish community, I just wanted to say thanks for being so even-handed in describing the situation over there ("Don't Panic: Your War Questions Answered," by Andisheh Nouraee). I know that members of my community often are very quick to point out negative views and articles in regard to Israel, but when an article close to the truth is printed, I feel it is also important to recognize that fact. Hopefully peace will break out soon, and both Israelis and Palestinians will be able to live their lives in freedom and security.
Stuart Berger
Jewish Federation of Pinellas County
Greet 'Em, Then Nab 'Em
I rarely take the time to write to a publication, but I felt compelled to do so with regard to "useless" jobs (Cover Story, "The Most Useless Job in the World," Nov. 9-15). Particularly that of door greeters at Wal-Mart.
First, yes, I work for Wal-Mart, but only occasionally as a greeter when someone is sick and they need a fill-in.
I think you have it pretty wrong about greeters. Not only do they give people a greeting and a buggy, but they are a primary defense against shoplifting. People often try to get out with everything from computers to condoms and they catch them all the time. I've caught many myself. We have those little alarm things that go off when merchandise has not been paid for. Sometimes it's accidental, but often it's not. And [greeters] have other duties as well, like aiding our handicapped patrons. Especially the busloads they bring in from nursing homes. All in all I think it was an unfair piece of journalism and you hurt a lot of nice people's feelings.
And speaking of useless jobs, how about reporters who probably smoke dope all day then write stories they think are funny?
Raymond C. Schmidt
Lutz
Skate On
I read your article (Life Sentences, "Above Board," by Scott Harrell, Nov. 9-15) and I was amused. I am in my 30s and I still skate several days a week. I have been to the Bro Bowl and all of the local parks. I quit for many years but picked it up a year ago. I went to the Old Man Jam at SPoT last Saturday. It rocked. Lots of old fuckers that could skate.
Ken Kimberlin
Via Email
Correction:
John Sugg's interview last week with Sami Al-Arian contained a quote attributed widely to Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. There are many quotes reflecting anger and hatred on both sides of the Middle East dispute, including several by Ben-Gurion — who, it should be noted, initially had a vision of Arab-Jewish peace and unity — but Sugg has concluded after reviewing the original source material, a biography by Michael Bar Zohar, that this attribution is not accurate.
This article appears in Nov 23-29, 2005.