Tea Party
In reading the article “White Rabbits” by Chris Davis (April 23rd
issue), I noticed a little confusion on his part as to why I and
thousands of others in Memphis took to the streets last week. I would
first like to apologize to him for the angry woman who accosted him. As
an American citizen, I grant you the same respect that we should grant
any other citizen, but as a conservative I can empathize with her lack
of respect for the media. We have been vilified by mainstream media for
our beliefs, and it’s frustrating.
It’s mostly frustrating because the media take national talking
points and run them as truths. The 95 percent of Americans you say got
a tax cut, for instance, is flat-out not true, but it sounds good and
nobody wants to report otherwise. You wonder why there were cheers and
chants of “radical” in the crowd. We were branded that label by the
Department of Homeland Security just days before the rally.
Government spending in this country is out of control. It is not
just this administration but administrations going all the way back to
the New Deal. This is why we showed up. I do agree with Davis on the
bullet-riddled Obama sign. That was wrong. I should have given him
mine. It read, “Spread my work ethic … Not my wealth.”
Chris Thomas
Memphis
Olbermann vs.
The Vast Wasteland
In Chris Herrington’s incisive review of the famous William F.
Buckley-Gore Vidal debates (“Blast from the Past,” April 16th issue),
he bemoans the fact that there are no more public intellectuals on
television these days.
While it is true that political commentary and debates today are
more or less shouting matches designed to keep television viewers from
being bored, one commentator today stands head and shoulders above the
fray with his intelligence, core values, and bedrock social and
political philosophy.
Keith Olbermann’s Countdown and his trenchant “special
comments” elevate the news political commentary with style, wit, and
courage. Unlike his nemesis, Bill O’Reilly, who panders to his audience
with bogus populist appeals and histrionic outrage, Olbermann respects
his audience and is never condescending or patronizing.
Forty-five years ago, the chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission famously declared that television was a “vast wasteland,”
and yet the erudition and intellect of Buckley and Vidal were on the
air for all to savor. Today, we have an even bigger wasteland to wade
through, but Olbermann stands out as a man who takes on the issues of
our time with the dignity and courage inherent in speaking one’s mind
and acting on one’s conscience.
Randy Norwood
Memphis
Anti-Hair?
In the Rant (April 23rd issue), Randy Haspel cites Karl Rove’s
abhorrent political philosophy as being pro-business, anti-tax,
demonstrably Christian, and having good hair. I can only conclude that
progressives are anti-business, welcome tax increases, are atheists,
and bald.
Guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round.
Warren Riggs
Cordova
Downtown Orchard?
In his column (April 16th issue), Bruce VanWyngarden wrote: “Let’s
tear down all the old crap and start planting fruit trees and gardens.
See ya, Sterick Building. Hello, downtown orchard.”
I started to sing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” because a long time
ago — in the 1790s — three families owned farms along the
Fourth Chickasaw Bluff and planted a “downtown” orchard. All of the
fruit is long gone, but Court Square remains only because one of the
owners decided not to fell its trees.
With Mayor Herenton’s vision of the regentrification of Memphis, we
can only imagine the Whitehaven, Frayser, and Hickory Hill of
tomorrow.
Jon Fox
Memphis
Good Times?
Republicans and conservatives can’t stand it that President Obama
and the majority of the American people are chanting, “Let the good
times roll again.”
They’re happy that Iraq is fading from page one. They are realizing
that GOP “tax cuts for the rich” will go down as one of the biggest
boondoggles of all time. (What America got was a recession, record
deficits, and a sagging economy.) They see that Rush Limbaugh and Sean
Hannity are taking on the likeness of Joseph McCarthy.
Hopefully, in 2012, Americans will still remember what Bush and the
Republicans put them through for eight years.
Ron Lowe
Nevada City, California
