02/3/00
In an attempt to demonize America, you call a 17-year-old convicted murderer a “kid.” At 17, he is not a kid.
Although I do not agree with execution of most, age isn’t the issue at hand — the nature of their crime is. This “little” 17 year old killed two people and knew it was wrong. He even admits in your article that he knew it was wrong. That proves to me that he should be as punishable for the crime as an adult who knows the law.
Steve Peterson
What the Shell are you doing?
RE: “Shell Ads”
02/3/00
I believe there is a real conflict of interest with your decision to run the Shell ads.
No one really cares that Shell is running an ad campaign to perpetuate the notion that they are “turning over a new leaf.” What we really care about is whether the company really is turning over a new leaf. Actions speak louder than words. If Shell really were becoming greener, we would hear about it on the news, and the ads would be wasted money.
Thank you for respecting my right to decide and your decision to not censor information. However, you probably shouldn’t do the Shell ad. It belongs in your content like a fish belongs out of water.
Tracy McManus
In your editor’s note explaining why you decided to run Shell’s ads, you assert that you respect and value free expression. That’s fine, but Shell doesn’t need any favors. They have innumerable ways to get their message out and Mojo should not be one of them. Just because the message is not hateful or libelous or whatever does not mean you should give them voice.
Terry Gabriel
Take the money and run
As long as Mother keeps telling the truth, you can take their money.
Don Fielding
Visalia, CA
Misguided Justice
RE: “Money + Politics = Jailed Kids”
02/2/00
As a case manager in a juvenile correctional facility, I am appalled at the callous disregard on the part of Pete Wilson and his corporate allies in foisting California Proposition 21 on a frightened but well-intentioned public.
The reputation of the juvenile justice system has taken some major hits in the media over the past several months, and many of those criticisms are well-deserved. However, a juvenile correctional program run properly teaches youth to manage their emotions, the impact of their actions on victims, and provides them with alternatives to delinquent behavior including decision-making skills, coping abilities, education and job training. The adult prison system will make victims of these kids at the hands of adult detainees, and will teach them only one thing: to be savvier, remorseless criminals.
I promise the good people of California that what they will reap if Proposition 21 is put in law is increased recidivism among juvenile deliquents, and a larger population of professional career criminals when these kids have completed spending their formative years in prison.
Andrew Schneider, M.A.
Southern Crackers
RE: “Flying the Flag of Fairness”
02/2/00
Loved your piece on the confederate flag.
Here is a little FYI for you: In the 1950s there was a minor league baseball team called the Atlanta Crackers. Perhaps John Rocker, after being made king of Georgia, can bring back a fave team of his.
John F. Bigl
Milford, NH
An old leftist for guns
RE: “Light triggers, hefty profits”
02/1/00
(More Glock letters here.)
I was there in the heyday of Berkeley in the Sixties. The fight was good, the tear gas intoxicating to upper-middle class radicals. God, it was glorious.
Most of us don’t realize that “militia” referred to individuals in the days of the Bill of Rights. There was no National Guard, no organized militia. There were only disorganized farmers. The farsighted framers of the Constitution wanted the new Americans to always be able to oust fascism again, if necessary, even if it came from within, whether from the Right or the Left.
We of the Sixties all wanted to fight for our beliefs, to build a better country. Funny, but our beliefs now seem to end at the line at the gourmet counter, or watching the latest episode of The Sopranos. We’ve gotten a little lazy. We look to others to protect us. We look to others to protect our country.
We forget that we must always question authority. We must all remember that we individually are the last line of defense, for our families and our country.
The fear of guns belies the statistics. Guns save more citizens’ lives, by far, than they take through accidents, and those accidents are the fault of the gun owners, not the guns.
Let’s think calmly about our rights. Let’s think calmly about our safety and the safety of our families. 911 won’t work for you if your family is being attacked. Neither is there an effective 911 for our country. It comes down to us. Each of us. Do you want to trust that to a politician or a movement? I think I’ll put my faith in the Constitution. Particularly the Second Amendment.
Joseph Rooney
