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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Boost That Signal
To the editor: My husband’s family has been listening to Joe Bielinski for 10 years or so (“Buckin’ Trends,” June 19, 2003). I’m the novice of the group since I didn’t discover him until 1997. I even had the opportunity to work with Joe when he brought his show to Pioneer Days one year! This year The Ranch’s Steve Harmon helped us promote Meals on Wheels’ Mardi Gras Benefit. This station’s commitment to community and Fort Worth is so refreshing, not to mention they have some of the best talent in radio working for them (like Linda O’Brian). It is such a shame that Pioneer Days was discontinued — The Ranch would have been a perfect venue for their music. Only complaints: We can’t pick up their signal clearly in downtown Fort Worth buildings, and play more LeeRoy Parnell!
Kathy Robertson
Fort Worth
Beyond Rock
To the editor: I like to read your paper front to back each week, always enjoying your thought-provoking lead stories, calendar events, and even the funky ads. HearSay is always entertaining and informative. And I have always wondered — how much does Chow, Baby weigh?
It is evident that Ken Shimamoto likes the rockers that frequent the Wreck Room. I like rock as well as the next guy, but perhaps you could switch once in a while to feature a country combo or a blues band. Fort Worth has a wealth of great music from Texas Swing to Tejano to great blues and even traditional Irish. It would be a nice change of pace to read about some of the local musicians and venues that showcase other types of music.
Linda D. Pierce
Irving
Decisions/Drugs
To the editor: After reading your response regarding Keri Olson (Letters, June 19, 2003), I agree that my original letter was inaccurate. Keri did go on a 10-day binge and spend the $13,000 from the bank (“Meth Madness,” May 29, 2003). So she didn’t try to correct what she’d done immediately, but only after the drugs and money ran low. I never knew Keri when she was on meth. The time I spent with her she was clean. She was a rational person when I was around her, so I can say the drugs affected her decision-making. I know it was her decision to take the drugs in the first place. Hopefully she will come out of this and try to lead her life without alcohol and drugs. I also want to say that I never read your weekly paper before now, but I now make it a point to read your articles. Keep up the good work.
Ronnie Shipley
Denver CO
Sacred Cows and Corn
To the editor: A friend sent me Ms. Chacko’s article on PETA (“Food Fascists?” June 5, 2003). After reading this piece of propaganda, I was prompted to wonder who had paid her to forward the industry viewpoint.
What is more dangerous to our children: Colonel Corn encouraging them to eat more vegetables or Ronald McDonald pushing the Happy Meal? What is scarier: learning to love and care for animals or condoning the act of bludgeoning them to death? (Yes, they still do that on a number of pig farms.) If you eat animals that were raised in abhorrent conditions, are you not supporting the horror? In fact, many brilliant people, from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein, have agreed that a vegetarian diet is the best diet.
And while research scientists might have convinced Ms. Chacko that animal testing is an absolute necessity, those who have studied the question have reached a different conclusion. (Sacred Cows and Golden Geese, written by a doctor and a vet, examines the issue in detail.) Fact is, testing on other animals will only ever tell us how other animals react. Would you eat rat food or dog chow because it was good for them? What is more, a reliance on animal testing has put us humans at risk. Remember thalidomide and fen-phen? That is why erudite individuals from Pythagoras to Dr. Charles Mayo have denied the value of animal research.
I am proud to be a member of PETA (and our local animal rights group, Animal Connection of Texas). And, although PETA has never purported to save individual animals, I am convinced that they have saved millions. (I’m an example — when their articles prompted me to become a vegetarian 14 years ago, I began saving animals every day.) Food fascists? Maybe. But I think the world is a better place because of them.
Susan Oakey
Dallas
Editor’s note: Intern Sarah Chacko was paid only by the Weekly for thoroughly researching and then writing the above-mentioned story. Suggesting that their critics are paid by the meat industry is a common tactic of PETA adherents. PETA does publicize its rescue of individual animals. The story quoted people on both sides of the animal research question.
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