No, Sir; I Didn’t Like It
(Regarding LEO’s Fake Issue, June 24): FWIW, I didn’t like this issue at all. The Onion has done this type of shtick for how long now? The whole issue seems trite, contrived, forced and not very funny.
If Kate “Semicolons are My Life” Welsh is serious about being let go, then I might reconsider.
Respectfully submitted, regular LEO reader,
Jeff Davis, Buckner, Ky.
Fake is Fun!
I cannot tell you how much I love this issue (LEO Weekly, June 24). I have to say I usually pick and choose what I read (sometimes based on the picture, the first few sentences or even the title of the article), but I actually read from cover to cover this time. Please say you all will do more fake issues. Oh yeah, I’m interested to see how Thunder on Twitter will turn out next year.
Stephanie Wolz, Germantown
Forgotten Antiques
I was just reading the June 17 LEO Weekly and was surprised to see the buildings of downtown New Albany featured. I was quite happy to see my building on the front of the magazine. However, I was quite disappointed after reading the article that the only business on the block that was not mentioned was the Antique Shop at 145 E. Market St.
Since Cary Stemle made it quite apparent that he did his homework about the businesses on the block that were no longer, let me add updated info that Mr. Stemle did not seem to obtain. First of all, the Little Chef Diner is currently closed. Second, the Antique Shop has survived through many other businesses in the downtown area that have failed. That shop is the second oldest business on the block still open.
A downtown revitalization needs more than bars and restaurants to survive. We bring in people from many different states for the quality of our merchandise. We have been a vital part of the rinse and repeat of downtown New Albany and would like to take this opportunity to express our distaste for your magazine and lack of good reporting.
Ketrina Jones & David P. Scott, Antiques Attic (145 E. Market St., New Albany)
Underground Dwellers
I’ve noticed ads recently in your weekly for the new Louisville MEGA Caverns tours. Perhaps the feared MEGA Wayside shelter could find a new home there … this would be a win/win — out of sight, out of mind — for all those “concerned” Highlanders.
Ben Curl, German-Paristown
Eastern Kentucky Should Secede
It’s been a full year since Jim Welp sounded the first calls for Louisville’s secession from Kentucky, and once again Frankfort has given us another reason to put it into action. However, this time, I believe it should be Eastern Kentucky, not Louisville, that should leave.
On June 22, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee killed a bill to allow slot machines in horse tracks, putting at risk 100,000 jobs and jeopardizing the future of the Kentucky Derby.
Now it’s all fine and dandy if the Republican Ayatollahs want to dictate scripture in their own region of the Third World, but once they start smacking their crosses in Louisville’s face, it’s on.
For too long, we’ve let the Bible thumpers of Appalachia have their way with progress. There’s a reason Louisville has high rises, while the hicks in Eastern Kentucky have shacks. It all comes down to Louisville’s ability to separate church from state. This is a concept apparently unfamiliar to the clerics in charge of the Appalachian backwoods who preach American freedom but trump democracy with Ayatollah-like decrees. Well, here’s a news flash. We don’t want you. We never wanted you. You are an embarrassment to Louisville and the rest of the state. Do us all a favor and join West Virginia.
While these words may sound harsh, it’s really the best course for all of us to take. Just imagine a state without Louisville. You can keep your banjos and what’s left of your teeth, and you can fulfill your wishes by establishing a Christian Republic. It’ll basically run a lot like the Islamic Republic in Iran, with a set number of clerics to make all the decisions for you, while simultaneously ignoring democratic protests and institutions. You can even establish appropriate dress codes for women. In the meantime, Louisville can progress by establishing casinos along the Ohio River, expand its job market and finally lose the stereotype that the rest of the state has just by being associated with your region. Thus, it’s a win-win for us all.
So I say to thee Eastern Kentucky, onward wayward sisters, West Virginia is calling!
Mike Hall, Old Louisville
Bunning Embarrassment
I’ve never thought Sen. Jim Bunning has grasped reality terribly well, but after his barring Courier-Journal reporter Joseph Gerth from his weekly news conference calls — on the grounds that Gerth has a “political agenda” and is “biased” — I don’t know whether to laugh at Bunning’s silliness or just plain cry that we have a senator who regularly humiliates himself and us.
I can bring some inside perspective to this debate. While I worked as an independent contractor for many sections of The Courier-Journal in the 1980s and ’90s, Joe and I had spirited discussions daily on every political issue, during which he repeatedly called himself a centrist, not a conservative or a liberal. And that is exactly where we should expect our reporters to be if we want them to be unbiased, logic would dictate (I’ll bet this letter is the first thing even found on a keyword search using the terms “logic” and “Jim Bunning”).
Furthermore, Joe’s journalistic tenacity and affinity for politics — two other traits revealed during those discussions — serve the people well by holding Bunning and other officials accountable.
George Morrison, Original Highlands
