Listen Up, Fools
Thank you for the write-up in the Loserville issue of LEO (Dec. 12) about poor attendance at shows here in Louisville. The past couple of years have been all about the reunion shows, which have been good. But it bums me out that Terry Harper has brought three of the biggest death metal bands to Louisville this year and the attendance should have been so much better. Enjoy your 3 Doors Down and Nickelback covers, idiots. This town has much more to offer!
Brian Omer, Germantown
A Nobody Tragedy
A meaningless nobody made the world cry a lake of tears, forged eternal heroes from everyday heroes, and reminded us that the presence of a child is an unmatchable present. He, on the other hand, remains nobody.
Suzanne Marie, Crestwood
Looking for the Bottom
I’m beginning to wonder what it will take. What will it take for the United States to acknowledge that we don’t just have a love affair with guns, we are a nation addicted to guns and violence? What will it take for the most violent nation on earth to admit that it is out of control and that its life has become unmanageable and that it will do or overlook anything to protect its fix?
It is said that most alcohol and drug addicts must “hit bottom” before beginning the long climb back to sanity and sobriety. So I wonder: What will it take for the nation to hit bottom? If the slaughter of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school is not enough, what will it take?
Imagine a nation that thinks of itself as compassionate and caring, especially when it comes to its children, but is willing to allow children to be killed to protect the “rights” of a minority of its citizens to own and use semi-automatic pistols and rifles. What would you say about such a nation? Are there words sufficiently detrimental to describe it? How might you explain the incongruity of putting the profits of gun manufacturers and the murderous tendencies of its population ahead of its future citizens? Would that not be a nation of such gross immorality as to be condemned by any religion or morality worthy of the name? Would that not be a nation so addicted to violence that it would destroy itself before admitting its obsession and seeking help?
Polk Culpepper, New Albany
Held Hostage
The Republican Party, now dominated by Tea Partiers, has allowed itself to be held hostage far too long by Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform and the National Rifle Association. Greed is killing America. Greed and lust for political power exhibited by the two aforementioned bullying organizations are harming our country and hurting the GOP’s chances of ever becoming a majority party again.
Like recent unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, neither the Americans for Tax Reform nor the NRA are concerned about the wellbeing of all Americans. They are controlling entities who are able to dictate their narrow-minded agendas by raising huge amounts of money from wealthy benefactors. For them, plutocracy is the preferred form of government.
Weak-kneed politicians of either party who allow themselves to be bullied by AFTR and the NRA are unworthy of holding office. Solutions to fiscal and gun violence problems can only be found when independent-thinking, courageous people work together for the common good rather than for greedy lobbyists.
Paul L. Whiteley Sr., St. Matthews
Expired
Let’s cut the Republicans in Congress a little slack. Most of them have signed Grover Norquist’s no-tax pledge. They’ve also run for re-election on promises of “Read my lips. No new taxes.” It’s obvious they cannot vote to repeal any part of the Bush tax cuts. But, they also have another political problem. Most people recognize today that the Bush tax cuts drove our economy into the Great Recession. This means the Republicans will catch the blame for gridlock in Congress in 2013. The way out is easy to see. Just let the Bush cuts expire for everyone. After that, voting them back into law for middle-class taxpayers would not require the Republicans to violate their pledge to Norquist. Politics can be simple sometimes.
Tom Louderback, Highlands
