01/28/00
Why does it matter so much to you whether or not Reagan was entering the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s during his Presidency? I have been racking my brains, but I can’t imagine why this would be critical to any serious historical analysis of his presidency — whether from the left or the right.
Pete Brown
MoJo responds — Will Durst said it best: “I never really worried that ol’ Lizard Neck was going to push the button, but I gotta admit I was a mite trepidatious he would nod out and fall on it. Then after he retires, he writes this letter to the press admitting he has Alzheimer’s Disease. My theory is he wrote the letter in 1979 and just forgot to mail it.” — Eds.
Another modest proposal
RE: “Tree Worship”
01/28/00
Wow, MoJo!
This angle blows the Pro-Life movement out of the water, huh? How would this read if Planned Parenthood were switched with the loggers, and the Pro-Life people were swapped with SWAN?
Fred Chambers
Gun guilt?
RE: “Hair Triggers and High Margins”
01/27/00
I think your article doesn’t see the whole picture. First of all, any gun can kill if you don’t handle it correctly, and every gun is as dangerous as the user wants it to be. In these accidental shooting cases, the user is the one who is guilty, not the gun.
Also, for police officers, having maximum capacity is important. Criminals can get any kind of weapon. But if you start limiting the magazine capacity of police officers, it’s more hazardous to the public and for the security of the individual.
Teppo Anttola
Helsinki, Finland
01/27/00
Leave it to Mother Jones to act as an apologist for people who act carelessly. Any gun will fire if the trigger is pulled — that’s what they’re designed to do. Perhaps you should be inquiring why all of these people are running around with their fingers on the trigger and not receiving adequate training.
David Wisniewski
(Tree) hugs and kisses
RE: “Tree Worship”
01/27/00
Thank you for this article. It clearly illustrates humankind’s continuing denial of its connection to nature and the struggle for those of us that understand how connected we actually are to the earth. Keep up the great work!
Stacy L. Horrigan
Cleaning the flag of injustice
RE: “Flying the flag of fairness”
To some Southerners, the flag probably does signify part of a heritage that they could be proud of, such as the bravery of their soldiers and their fight for states’ rights. But they also allowed the flag to be adopted by hate groups such as the KKK. This flag was the symbol of groups that lynched many innocent African Americans. There is no way that this flag should fly above a state house now.
But maybe the Southerners could clean the flag up and have it stand for all the things the South has to be proud of, instead of hate.
African Americans are also part of the south. That flag, like it or not, is part of their heritage. Could they ever come to accept it? Or even to embrace it? Maybe, if it stood for what was good about the south. After all, African Americans now accept and embrace the American Flag, which flew over slavery for many, many more years than the Confederate flag.
Dale Burton
Splitting Hair(trigger)s
RE: “Hair Triggers and High Margins”
01/26/00
The Glock does not have a “hair trigger”. It has a 5.5 lb trigger standard. A “hair trigger” is usually a few ounces — typical of what would be used in the Olympics. The fact that the police have a lot of Glocks “going off” — as you personify the gun rather than officer mistakes — means that police are typically not gun enthusiasts who know what they are doing. The fact that a Glock is “always on” was modeled after a revolver, which also has no manual safety selector. The way to make a Glock 100% safe is to not have a round chamber — certainly an option for those concerned. Your article is either very misinformed or designed to be completely biased.
Robert Silvers
Cambridge, MA
Say Yes to Secess
RE: “Flying the Flag of Fairness”
01/26/00
I agree wholeheartedly with the “Secession Is Still An Option” bit. But I think North Carolina should be included without debate or resistance. Any group of people that would repeatedly put Jesse Helms in a position of power should always be prepared to endure the wrath of being swept out to sea.
Tony Tschida
A different view of Colombian ‘thugs’
RE: “More Money for Colombian Thugs”
01/24/00
I’m currently serving in the US Air Force. I had the opportunity to train the Colombian Military for almost 10 years, and the charges that you make in your story are very unfair. The human rights associations (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, etc.) focus only on what some members of the Colombian military have done, but it seems like they don’t care very much when young soldiers get murdered by the narcotraffickers/guerrillas, or when they get tortured and subsequently brutally killed. Have you ever witnessed one of your coworkers or friends get their head blown up next to you? If you answer no, then it’s probably hard to understand why some military members in Colombia cross the line.
I do not justify it or agree with it, but I undertand it. Every time a soldier dies, nobody says anything, but when two or three criminals (guerrillas or narcotraffickers) die in battle against the Colombian military, all the human rights groups scream, “massacre.”
In observing how the Colombian military operates, I never witnessed a human rights violation. One thing that you should understand is that they are at war, the military in Colombia lose members in combat almost every day, but that never gets reported.
Edgar Giraldo
Hey Blacks: Get over it!
RE: “Flying the Flag of Fairness”
01/24/00
I guess if we follow the reasoning expressed in “Flying the Flag of Fairness,” we should go to Boston and rip down the 13-star flag of America, along with all the other stars and stripes including the 50-star flag we now have. After all those flags are the symbols of an expansionist, imperialist America that committed the systematic murder and enslavement of the Native Americans. We should tear down the lone star flag of Texas, because it would represent the theft of Texas from the Mexican people. The Bear flag of California must be destroyed because every Mexican and Russian would be humiliated because California was lost to America.
I really don’t understand how educated people such as yourselves can vigorously condemn bigotry and then in just a moments time turn around with anÊ attack on another race, the white one.
If you were to remove every symbol of the past, we would soon lose our memory of the past. I guess what I am really trying to say to those black people who haven’t anything better to do with their time is GET OVER IT! Find something constructive to do with your time like get an education, then go forth and become part of America.
Chuck and Dorie (last name not given)
