Planned Scheme

(In response to "City Haul," in the March 18-24 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly.)

Dear Editor:

Can anyone else but me see the premeditated schemes the former administration has been perpetrating on the city of Tulsa? If there is nothing wrong with the old city hall building, why did the city move to a plush new building on 2nd St. -- no parking and looks empty. How much are we paying for that? Where is the sheriff's department going to move to? Has someone in government already built another building? For them with taxpayer's money, like they did with the YMCA, who has plans to buy or rather steal that building. As far as I can see, a lot of former politicians have insider information and are taking advantage of their power, and I believe the higher you are the harder you fall.

-Deb Burton

Unappreciated

(In response to "Rent a Rec," in the March 18-24 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly.)

Dear Editor:

I don't understand most people ... The younger generation is not into parks like we were as kids. The recreation for them is electronic for the most part, or very intense, i.e. paintball, extreme BMX, skateboard, group sports, etc. The only age group nowadays that need a park setting are the toddlers to 6-year-olds, and the grandparents who are raising them, therefore the parks don't need to be that elaborate. The Red Shield Maybee centers serve the group sports settings for the under-privileged. Anyone disagree?

-Mike Russell

One for the Books

(In response to "Triumph of the Swill," in the March 18-24 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly.)

Dear Editor:

Way to go, Tedster. What a thoroughly brilliant analysis.

The alternate universe that Rall inhabits is one where every day is Woodstock, (except that there are no bad acid trips and the National Guard isn't sent in to save the hippies from themselves), and Hitler's SS were just a peaceful, fun-loving bunch, albeit a little misunderstood. But certainly, they weren't "evil."

American troops on the battlefield? According to Rall -- evil. EOD units? Evil. America -- by extension -- evil.

What's funnier, that noted bastion of conservative thought, Hollywood, heaped high honors on Bigelow and her film. The very definition of a cartoon liberal -- which is what Rall is -- is someone to the left of Hollywood.

A mostly sane person would see this film and not come away with a particularly favorable impression of much of anything: American soldiers, Iraq, Iraqi civilians and certainly not "insurgents." Too see Hurt Locker as a pro-war, pro-military film takes a mind with a very warped perspective, and Rall certainly fills that bill.

I'd pay to see Rall stand in front of an Army or Marine platoon and tell them they were evil. I'd pay a thousand dollars to see that.

But not to see him get his ass kicked, which he deserves and from what I understand is not an uncommon occurrence for him.

Our Marines and soldiers, fine men and women they are, would probably only give a wry, sad shake of their head and say, "Sorry you feel that way, sir."

-Todd Kreigh, Skiatook

Dear Editor:

I picked up a copy of Urban Tulsa at a restaurant. Seeing an article pertaining to the movie, The Hurt Locker, I chose to read it because I have not seen the movie. Big mistake! I found a writer who was outraged because American soldiers assigned to dismantling IEDs in Iraq were depicted as brave and good young men working with stress and fatique.

The writer -- (Ted Rall) -- said these American men were in reality "raping, robbing and murdering civilians for the fun of it."

He further characterized the movie as a "nasty bit of pro-U.S. propaganda." He wondered how viewers could watch such a movie without losing their lunch.

I can't characterize my reaction to this "swill" better than that. His description of our sons, brothers and fathers doing this dangerous work as essentially evil made me want to hurl.

Then I saw his reference to Michael Moore, notorious malfactor, at the end of the diatribe and it was evident at whose trough the writer feeds. Everything fell into place ...

-G. Rackleff