Gee, David Holthouse, I just finished reading your column "Border Censors" (House, May 13), and I was wondering: Has Scott Stanley, the illegal-alien advocate you wrote about, requested any photographs of Phoenix police officer Marc Atkinson's body, after he was shot numerous times in the head by a lowlife son-of-a-bitch illegal alien from Mexico, here in Phoenix? Or how about any pictures of other murdered victims in this state who were killed by other illegal aliens?
No one told these lawbreakers to come into this country illegally, and they did so at their own risk. And as for the illegal alien Antonio Martinez mentioned in your column--who was shot while attacking a Border Patrol agent with a rock--how dare he get drunk and attack American citizens inside our country? I guess you don't feel that a rock is a dangerous weapon, Holthouse, because it doesn't go "bang" or something. Let me hit you in the head with one and see how you feel about it then, you moron. Martinez got what he deserved, and he got what anyone would have gotten who attacked the police with a weapon. We don't need people like Martinez in this country in the first place.
Take your pathetic, whining story and drop it on the doorstep of Officer Atkinson's widow. I'm sure she'll cry her eyes out over it.
E.B. Arthur
Phoenix
Flash Wounds
The Flash was right on about the Arizona Republic and the stadium vote. The vote gave me faith in "The People." They obviously saw right through the media blitz and the almost "threats" of the big team leaving "Oh, what will we do without them" logic. I can't believe the Republic wants the city/state to be run by "jockstrap" mentality--pay us more or we'll strike! Move on, Bidwill. Phoenix was here way before you.
Name withheld by request
You better watch out. You might end up really establishing your weekly paper as more credible than the daily rags that grace our driveways each morning with mindless drivel.
Your psychoanalysis of the Republic's corporate neuroses, and compulsive kowtowing to the likes of Colangelo, Bidwill and others holding major purse strings--in my opinion--hits the issue smack on the head.
More such analysis of local issues exposing the elitist bullshit would be most welcome.
Steve Muratore
via Internet
Editor's note: The Daily Flash appears online at www.phoenixnewtimes.com
Vapid Transit
Great article ("Think Tank Warfare," Tony Ortega, May 13), but too bad you didn't touch on the many times Jeff Flake has (pardon the pun) derailed mass transit in the Valley under the guise of libertarian economy.
Scott Hume
via Internet
Review Master
Hats off to M. V. Moorhead for the right-on-the-money review of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream ("Good Will Shakespeare," May 13). I read the "other" review, and it was an obviously contrived piece from an individual with little to no academic training, common sense or aesthetic sensibility. To say that Kevin Kline "overemotes" was ridiculously absurd.
M. V. Moorhead, whoever you are: Send this to your bosses and tell them that you are an intelligent, studied, well-read and obviously well-rounded person with whom they should make a lasting relationship (if they have not done so already).
This is not just because I agreed with your assessment; it is because it was done with the eye of a critic, and we are sorely lacking someone with this character and intensity here in the Valley.
Dean Palmer
Glendale
Caged Heat
Come on, Tony, you make it sound like these "inmates" are all churchgoing boys ("109 Degrees of Incarceration," Tony Ortega, May 6). The fact is 99 percent of them are guilty or have had some sort of criminal background.
Hey, I have a good idea: Let's increase our taxes so that some sick son of a ----- can chow down on steak and lobster at least one day out of the week. Who cares that he's on trial for sodomizing an 8-year-old girl? Let's not go too far, how about just a simple drive-by shooting, maybe a rape? I'm sorry some child molester died. I should say, I'm sorry for his mother.
Why don't you tell the public how much of our hard-earned money goes into the prisons and jails instead of the lawsuits that are pending? In my eyes, these sick SOB's should be melting in a cell anyway.
D. Bassler
Peoria
Editor's note: About two-thirds of the people held in Maricopa County jails are awaiting trial, presumed innocent until proved guilty.
I was truly appalled at Jennifer Alcock's last statement regarding Lance Hawthorne (Letters, May 20). "This guy deserved what he got, and his mother should be glad that this part of her life is over. If I were her, I would be ashamed that I gave birth to that." Either Jennifer is not a mother, or Jennifer is one of the sickest of this sick society!
Name withheld by request
Bawl Park
Thanks for your piece on these ridiculous "stadium" proposals (Flashes, May 13). Let's stop taxing people for these sports arenas. I think, if any arena is built with taxpayer money, they ought to be admitted free, because they own it, not the Bidwills and the Colangelos!
The Republic, is a disgrace. We call it the "Arizona Repulsive," and have long canceled our subscription.
M. Farooque
via Internet
Unwise Crack
I hope David Holthouse's letter to Cris Kirkwood ("Lake of Fire," House, April 29) has some positive effect, though we all know that drugs are oftentimes more powerful than any emotional or physical plea. The letter was well-written and should be sent to any punk who starts fucking around with crack and smack, thinking that it's a cool way to get indie cred, or whatever propels kids to fuck with that shit. Thanks for taking the time to care enough--messages like yours are hard to read, but their importance is unfortunately very real.
Jules Sears
San Francisco, California
Ice Squad
Just read Paul Rubin's fantastic article on the Coyotes and the NHL ("A Season on the Rink," April 22). As usual, superbly done. I myself am a journalism student, and I learn so much reading Rubin's work. I would like to thank him for giving the people of Phoenix some quality.
With all due respect, since I am a diehard hockey fan who takes very seriously how the game is portrayed in the press, I must point out some errors in that article:
1. Bobby Smith scored the game-winning goal in game five, not game seven, of the 1986 Stanley Cup finals. (He could not have scored in game seven because the finals went only five games in 1986.)
2. Referee Paul Stewart's first game back in the NHL after suffering cancer was February 12, 1999, in a game between the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils at the Meadowlands, not on Sunday, February 14, as the Coyotes PR people claimed, and as you reported. You can easily check this out by calling the NHL office. The Coyotes' PR people, although Kuperman is a good guy, are wrong a lot as well.
3. Ruslan Salei is not a "tough Russian defenseman." He was born in Minsk, in Belarus. I think Mr. Salei would resent being labeled a Russian.
As far as Bob McManaman being an "excellent" reporter, I must disagree. McManaman is infamous with hockey fans for his constant errors--especially prevalent in his "NHL Insider" column where he once said that Bill Muckalt and Brendan Morrison were U.S.-born players: Both were born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. This is just one example of his penchant for errors and misinformation. I understand your position, however.
John Power
Tempe
I just wanted to say thanks for the articles you did on the Coyotes this year. I think it is truly the first piece of journalism that communicates the reality of a hockey season, and the heart these guys play with.
Personally, in this age of ridiculous contracts and super-agents, I believe that hockey players are a dying breed: They play because they truly love the game. And they take time out for the fans. Hockey players know where those salary dollars are coming from, and they give it right back to us.
I can only hope that more of the bigger sports rags read this and follow your lead. And I sincerely hope our beloved Coyotes will stay here in Phoenix, and will stay intact for another season. I cried my eyes out after that game seven, mainly because of pride. It made me so happy to see those fans cheering and clapping; they obviously recognized the effort those players put in and wanted the players to know it, too. JR saluting the crowd will be a memory I have in my heart (and on tape!) for a very long time.
Becky Juan
Chandler
I just want to thank you for supporting the Phoenix Coyotes with your article in the May 13 New Times ("Reporter's Notebook," Paul Rubin). It is rather refreshing to see that someone actually appreciates the efforts of these men and doesn't play armchair critic.
The lack of support for the professional sports teams in our state never ceases to amaze me. I am so sick of, "Well, you know that I've always been a Coyotes (Cardinals, Suns, Diamondbacks) fan!" Yeah, when they are winning and are in the spotlight!
Doesn't it seem that there is an unusual amount of bandwagon fans in this state? Nah, just my imagination!
Thanks once again for your words of encouragement for the efforts of probably the only true athletes left in the world of sports today. Here's to Bobby Smith giving these guys one more chance!
R. Bradfield
via Internet
Aims Test
I am writing in regard to Barbara Blackford's May 6 comments about David Holthouse's yellow journalism ("Clip Joint," House, April 22).
It seems inconsistent that a lot of our citizenry and New Times in particular do a lot of indignant hand-wringing about police brutality and government conspiracies, yet at the same time encourage laws that would give these same entities an exclusive on deadly force.
Our president claims 600,000 felons have attempted and been denied firearm purchases by the Brady Bill. How many of these have been prosecuted for it? I read someplace that it was like three; kinda makes me wonder if the 600,000 ever really existed at all. But the FBI is keeping computerized records on all gun purchasers, in direct violation of the Brady Bill and the 1968 Gun Control Act. So they refuse to prosecute criminals but are creating and maintaining files on law-abiding citizens!
If you just look back to our grandparents' and great-grandparents' time, you will see that more people in this century have been killed by their own government than in the considerable history of 20th-century wars. We started the century with British concentration camps filled with Boer South Africans. Moved quickly to the mass execution of the Mexican Revolution, and really hit our stride with the 38 million executed in Stalinist Russia. The six million Jews and 10 million others that Hitler killed. Then the millions who were massacred through Red China's storied rule.
Think it can't happen here? Ask any Indian or Mormon. The Second Amendment guarantees it won't be so one-sided.
So increasingly the American people are caught between an autocratic government that disdains the constitution and a criminal class that disdains the law, or anything else in their way ("Beware, Capitalist Gun Nuts," Letters, May 6).
Two teachers at Columbine High School had concealed-weapons permits, but did not have their weapons on them because it was a "gun-free" school. Utopian, feel-good legislation kept them from putting a stop to this massacre. Blackford has never thought that maybe, just maybe, she contributed to it.
Steven K. Bowers
Apache Junction
Mission Statement
Steve May made a comment about the Mormon church casting out young men who don't serve missions ("Confessions of a Gay, Right-Wing Mormon," Amy Silverman, April 29). That is totally untrue. The church does not cast out anyone for the sole purpose of not attending a mission. The young men have their choice; some feel very strongly about it, and some don't. Mr. May should set the record straight and not try to bash "his" religion with little comments like that.
When there is a story dealing with anyone or anything that is a part of the Mormon religion, it gets pointed out as if it is a crime itself. You don't hear about the Catholic murderer or the Jewish thief, but we will hear about the "Mormon" murderer or the "Mormon" thief. Newspapers are quick to label like this. We are a Christian religion, and we have rights, just like any other religion, to believe what we believe and disagree on what we feel is wrong.
J. Ricks
via Internet
