Love Letters/Hate Mail

Oh Shucks

(In response to "Censor-tive Subject" in the July 21-27 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Thank you Holly for featuring this story related to discrimination, censorship, and freedom of speech and expression. We are so grateful for the Philbrook Museum bringing Richard Meyer to Tulsa.

--Toby Jenkins

Savor The Flavor

(In response to "Over Easy" in the July 21-27 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Treasure these places. Until recently I spent a lot of time each year in NYC. It would take 20 minutes just to say the names of every restaurant offering upscale cuisine worth trying.

If you wanted food prepared by the tiny Garifuna ethnic group of Honduras, or food from Heilongjiang Province in China, I could tell you where to go. But if you wanted a restaurant like this, forget it. If you offered $100 to any restaurant that would give you a chicken fried steak, you couldn't find it.

--Brian Schwartz

Stop the Spores

(In response to "Toxic Assets" in the July 21-27 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

So Ted listened to an NPR story about mold in empty houses. Astounding that it took an NPR story for someone to realize mold is an issue in empty homes, as it's common knowledge to most people. And then, without so much as citing another source, morphs the mold story into yet another rant against capitalism and against anyone who has achieved more success than Ted has?

Along the way he explains the entire housing crisis and how it was all about evil bankers. Not government that mandated banks provide absurd loans. And certainly, certainly not the poor people who bought a quarter-million dollar home on a $25,000 a year income. They're just victims, you see.

What's next? How Casey Anthony is an extension of evil capitalism.

--Michael Wayne

Bon Voyage

The crumbling of Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a huge boon to mankind worldwide.

Imagine: that God-awful propaganda machine that redefines bottom-feeding for conservatives and idiots (same thing) -- silenced! All Fox, NY Post, Wall Street Journal and many others internationally -- all gone! It couldn't come fast enough: then balance, intelligence and journalism will win.

"Fair and balanced?" If it's fair to balance truth/lies, smart/stupid, thoughtful/reactionary, extreme/centrist -- Good riddance Rupe! But now who will cover Palin and Bachmann?

--J. Andrew Smith

Lifetime Saving

Here are six good reasons to oppose raising eligibility at which workers can qualify for Social Security (62 and 67) and Medicare (65):

1. Age discrimination. After age 40, workers are discriminated against by employers -- "You're an old lady and you're an old man" -- because younger workers can be hired cheaper, have less medical problems and offer less challenge to bosses authority.

2. Sex discrimination against women. Women out-live men. Living alone and retired with medical problems and no paycheck, they need their Social Security and Medicare earlier, not later.

3. Generational discrimination. One of the purposes of the 65 retirement age for Social Security and Medicare was to permit the next generation to take the jobs of retirees. Every year the retirement age is raised younger workers are hurt because there are less jobs for them to fill.

4. Worn-out discrimination. Raising the retirement age discriminates against workers who have been worn out by their stressful jobs at middle age. These jobs include manual labor, truck driving, teeth cleaning (carpel tunnel), bricklaying (knees wear out), roofers working in 100-degree heat, highway workers, nurses exposed to chemicals and possible infectious blood etc.

5. Retirement plan discrimination. Some employers offer no retirement plans. Even with a 401K plan, many workers spend it before retirement to deal with family emergencies.

6. Wage discrimination. Many employers pay slave wages, making it impossible for workers to save for retirement. The $7.25 an hour minimum wage is a poverty wage.

The eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare should be 59 and 62. To pay for it, raise the payroll tax, take the cap off and stop the wars.

--Virginia Blue Jeans Jenner

Nature vs. Nurture

Oklahoma is at the bottom of most surveys of good things and at the top of bad things. Part of that is a lack of Oklahoma government to do what is necessary to take [care] of the basic needs of the people. But most of the problems are caused by bad habits and the genetic make-up of our inhabitants.

It is my understanding that starting in the 1830's approximately 65 tribes of native-Americans were gathered and sent to Oklahoma -- I think that now only 37 are recognized tribes. These people were survivors of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle which built in survival traits that only that those who survived were those able to put on weight fast when food became available.

That is why there are such a high incidences of obesity and diabetes. They also had the tobacco culture built into their habits and worship rituals -- tobacco could be called the Redman Revenge. Mathematically if your family is a third generation Oklahoman then there is native-American genetics at work in your genetic make-up.

Of course, the cheap available food is a factor among those with inadequate incomes -- often then based on old recipes designed for flavor and not long term health results. Oklahoma also in recent years has been under conservative politics and religions that do not care about taking care of the bottom feeders in our society. It is doubtful that Oklahoma cultures will ever change.

--J. Ray Hunt