Hi Paul,
What a pleasant surprise to see issue 14 so close on the heels of issue 13. You must have
had some vacation time.
A couple of comments on the various articles.
- wasn't 'don't ask don't tell' a big break
through and a step in the right direction when Clinton got it passed? We seemed to have forgotten that we thought it
was a good idea at the time.
- tax breaks and other compromises: the one thing that bothers me is that both sides are
congratulating themselves for compromising. In the meantime they seem to have forgotten that we borrow 40 cents of each
dollar the government spends. Sooner or later that's going to come back to haunt us. Both sides seem to have forgotten
that as they give bennies to their constituencies. I do think that extending unemployment
benefits is better for the economy than tax breaks for the rich. But maybe we'd have been better off if the tax
breaks all expired and no compromise was reached. That way we could start paying back the debt. In the long run
that would be better for the value of the dollar. Of course, we have to get China to float their currency as well.
- bromeliads: was that your father-in-law you interviewed? I get a kick out of impressing
friends by saying 'that's a bromeliad'. They think I know something about plants when I say that. I can thank
Terry's father for that bit of knowledge.
- movies: I saw 'Young at Heart' recently. I think that movie is about me in 20 years. Check it out.
Thanks for the new issue.
Andy 12/31/10
Editor's response: DADT was enacted to try and recognize the rights of gays in the
military (thus many thought it a good idea at the time) but without upsetting the apple cart of ingrained prejudice.
Like most half-assed solutions it backfired by calling more attention to the issue and actually led to more discharges of
gay soldiers. In the time since it was passed we've progressed so that many more people (including those in the
military) are tolerant and respectful of gay rights including the right to honor and serve their country.
Re: tax cuts...I agree that tax cuts will not be the economic panacea they are touted to be and they
just postpone the inevitable day of reckoning when we will have no choice in dealing with the deficit. The problem is
that the Tea Party Republicans have sold folks on the notion that government = bad, therefore less government = good,
and that the government has no right to collect money to provide the basic services people expect the government to perform.
Recipe for disaster.
In the interest of full disclosure, yes, Herb Plever is my father in law.
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Dear Opinion8ed, This is a wonderful presentation of the rosy view of bromeliads. But like roses,
bromeliads have their perils.
If you try to grow them (or end up caring for Herb's jungle as I have done), wear long
sleeves, or better yet, body
armor to protect from the spines on the sides of the leaves. Some of those beautiful deep reds in the flowers
have been nourished with human blood! Those plants also eat weekends - just ask Sylvia.
