Bowersox coverage is over the top

5/17/2010

Your May 13 front-page coverage of American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox took up almost all of Page 3 as well. I realize she is a local and possesses some talent.

She also may be a fine family member who attends church regularly. She might even be kind to children and stray cats.

But giving her more space than the meeting between President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai and more than Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and her meetings in Washington?

I fear the space allocations are a misguided Blade attempt to lure a different readership, at the risk of forfeiting readers of long standing. I doubt that young people who watch American Idol get their news from a newspaper. If they get the news at all, they are addicted to other forms of media.

What's next, a lengthy article about "tweenagers" and how to meet a Jonas Brother?

Gerald Bazer

Carrietowne Lane

I am fed up with hearing about politicians' climate change bills ("Kerry, Lie-berman unveil expansive climate bill," May 13).

There is nothing on this Earth that can change the climate. If there is, I want the ideal climate: 74 degrees, sunny during the day, and showers only at night. No blizzards, snowstorms, torrential rains, floods, droughts, tornadoes, or hurricanes.

This is just another scheme by corrupt politicians and their friends to get their hands on more taxpayer money to squander.

Mary Kuney

Fayette, Ohio

The May 11 letter "Don't depend on property taxes" suggests the defeated Toledo Public Schools levy was a property tax issue. The TPS issue was a 0.75 percent income tax.

There is a distinct difference. Local income taxes are not assessed on retirement income. This was an opportunity for those seniors who constantly complain about not being able to afford to support public education to vote on a tax that would not have applied to their fixed income.

As a lifelong educator, I see education taking a back seat in this country. Lack of support for education will only put us farther behind foreign countries that embrace an excellent educational system and all that goes into supporting it.

Paul Link

Holland

The pastor who wrote the May 7 letter "Church move taints its witness" about St. Paul's Lutheran Church leaving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America encouraged Lutherans to study scripture and read the Lutheran Confessions.

Christ taught us to love the sinner, but not the sin. After forgiving her, Christ told the adulterous woman to "go, and sin no more." He also commanded us to "flee from sexual immorality."

Just because everybody is doing something, the world condones it, and it feels right, that doesn't make it pleasing to God. A true believer measures modern culture using scripture as a plumb line. Martin Luther wrote: "My conscience has been taken captive by the word of God, and to go against conscience or scripture is neither right nor safe."

Marilyn Lechman

Maumee

What did the May 11 story "Obama hails choice as trail blazer" mean when it said: "Ms. Kagan's personal story, much like Mr. Obama's, is somewhat removed from Middle America"?

The next paragraph said Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan "was raised on the Upper West Side of New York, graduated from Princeton, and worked in the Clinton administration before serving as Harvard's dean."

What about that life history is removed from Middle America? Are New York City, Princeton University, Washington, D.C., and Harvard University not part of the United States? And where is "Middle America," exactly? In an American Gothic print from 1930, complete with pitchfork?

I resent the implication that life as experienced by those in Middle America is somehow more authentic, more valid, or especially more American than a life lived in one of America's largest cities or in the suburbs or in the mountains.

We are all Americans, whether we grow up in Tupelo, Miss., the South Side of Chicago, Elizabeth, N.J., or Perrysburg, Ohio. Rich or poor, black or white, every one of our lives is part of the American fabric, no one more American than any other.

Chris Ekstrand

Perrysburg

The Toledo Opera's May 9 production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (The Love Potion) reaffirms my great appreciation for arts in the Toledo area. Such highly accomplished performers and beautiful sets and costumes, aptly aided by the orchestra, offered a real delight.

How fortunate I felt to be at the beautiful Valentine Theater on Mother's Day with such talent.

The same enjoyment can be found at Toledo Symphony performances at the Peristyle in the Toledo Museum of Art, the Stranahan Theater, and other local venues. How lucky we are.

Barbara Creque

Maumee

I'd like to see all the oil executives dumped into the crude-oil mess in the Gulf of Mexico. But that wouldn't reverse the damage done ("Investigation reveals oil-well irregularities," May 13).

The Gulf oil spill is the result of greed, stinginess, and laziness - anything to save time and money. Containment equipment was insufficient and far away from where it's needed.

A shutoff valve was available but wasn't installed. State and federal officials didn't enforce existing regulations. On and on it goes.

We also are to blame for insisting on cheap oil to drive everywhere in vehicles that get poor gas mileage. But all the blame in the world won't save the wildlife or spare the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen. And just as Exxon did after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, BP will drag its corporate feet to avoid or postpone for decades paying up, even as it makes record profits.

The only good thing about this is that it happened before the government approved any new offshore rigs. Technology exists for zero-emission (read: does not use gas) vehicles. Maybe this is what we should invest in rather than more oil wells.

Monica Birsen

Rudolph, Ohio

Why is a resolution needed for the Lucas County commissioners to review financial dealings concerning the repayment of county bonds that funded the building of the former Lucas County Arena ("Konop calls for details of arena renaming," May 12)?

The concern is that something is being hidden from the public. Is there some sweetheart deal? I believe the commissioners have oversight in this matter. I know they have responsibility to the citizens of the county for repayment of the bonds.

I and one commissioner want to know how our county tax dollars are administered. Open communication and public disclosure are warranted.

Tim Porter

Sylvania

On the firing of Trish Birmingham Moore for her Election Day Facebook gaffe ("Election worker fired for Facebook posting," May 12), Forrest Gump put it best: "Stupid is as stupid does."

Larry Hawkins

Seaside, Calif.