RIGHTS, WRONGS
So Bishop Tutu is concerned about why we “detain people
without trial” (Metro Ink, October 13). Enemy combatants
who behead civilians, homicide bombers, etc., are neither American citizens nor
criminal defendants. At least since 9/11, we have been at war with religious
fanatics who want to become martyrs by slaughtering “Crusaders” and enter a
heaven filled with 72 virgins.
A senior
Taliban commander recently released from Guantanamo was just killed in Afghanistan
fighting against combined American and Afghani forces. Too bad he didn’t get
arrested and receive his Miranda warnings.
And by the
way, Bishop, there’s genocide in the Sudan, soldiers cutting off limbs and
raping children in Sierra Leone, and lots of other horrors being perpetrated in
the world today that would seem more worthy of your concerns. I doubt there’s
much “due process” in other prisons not far from Guantanamo, either.
Alan L. Glaser, East Main Street, Rochester
SOUND FAMILIAR
After reading Chad Oliveiri’s
interviews with Jon Haliniak of WXXI and Amy Goodman
of Democracy Now! (“The Sounds of Silence,”
October 13), I am seriously considering withdrawing my support from WXXI,
though I have been a long-time supporter of PBS. Democracy Now!is an award-winning
independent voice that uncovers stories that fall through the cracks of the
mainstream media.
The
interview with Haliniak and his defense of WXXI’s decision to not air Democracy Now!, despite the wishes of hundreds of listeners, sounds like a parody of the Bush
White House. It seems WXXI has made a hasty decision and is now determined to
save face by not reversing it. In Haliniak’s words,
it was a “staff-managerial-programming decision.” In short, no single
individual is responsible. Sound familiar?
When asked
for evidence that Amy Goodman stated her opinion on air, or that the program
exhibited her bias, Haliniak said the decision was
based on “her body of work.” In short, no specific
evidence. Sound familiar?
When asked
if WXXI would change its decision if more contributing listeners were to voice
their desire to have the program aired, Haliniak
said, “Not at this time.” They have made no mistakes and are going to
stand by their decision, no matter what the people want. Sound familiar?
The logic
is also Bush-league. They want a “range of opinions and voices to reflect
a non-partisan approach.” So let’s see: If you have an opinion, which Amy
Goodman is accused of having, you can voice it only in a non-partisan way. How
does one do that? Or isn’t it more that the station should present viewpoints
from a variety of perspectives, and thus achieve balance? How can one expect a
single voice to articulate an opinion and balance it at the same time?
Well, they
do allow the conservative Tucker Carlson:
Unfiltered. Haliniak justifies this by saying
Carlson’s show is not a news show. Aha! Here’s a way out, WXXI: Simply run Democracy Now!as
an opinion show, even though Amy Goodman doesn’t give her opinion. Or maybe you
could require that she do so, and use her show to balance Carlson’s. Seems
logical, doesn’t it?
I realize
that WXXI is afraid of losing its federal money if it riles the current
conservative government. But those of us who have appreciated and supported
WXXI all these years have come to expect courage and integrity and fairness and
in-depth programming on the part of PBS, and to have our wishes considered at
least as much as those of a particular political persuasion that happens for
the moment to be in power.
Robert H. Herzog, Rawson Road, Victor
FINDING DEMOCRACY
There is an
alternative for those who want to listen to Democracy
Now!but can’t access it on a local station. WOFF
Radio On Demand offers access to Democracy Now!archived programs so you
can listen whenever you want to whatever you want from wherever you are.
Just visit www.woffradio.com and
click on Democracy Now!, which is listed under “Indie News” along with several other independent
“point of view” sources. You have the choice of either accessing the
KPFA archives or going directly to the Democracy
Now!web site, which offers several listening
options.
Paul
Yonge, James Street, Syracuse (Youngeand Syracuse-area resident Richard Groff are
involved in the creation and operation of WOFF.)
LOVIN’ WEGMANS, BUT SMALL IS GOOD
I am not against Wegmans. The
business shows flexibility in its marketing, in being able to keep up with new
demands of the customers. It has created value with “Food You Feel Good
About” and house-brand canned vegetables. The deli and bakery sections are
well appreciated, and I like being able to get pharmacy items while shopping
for groceries. I have noticed with interest the many recent improvements to Wegmans’ East Henrietta Road
store. New refrigeration units and wider aisles have made shopping easier for
me and hopefully more efficient for stocking. I continue to support Wegmans as a great place to do business.
However, I
do not favor Wegmans’ proposal to build a superstore
at the Monroe County Fairgrounds location in Henrietta. First, I prefer to shop
in a smaller, simpler place that I can get into and out of quickly. If I need
fancy food or gourmet items, I have the choice of going to the bigger Wegmans in Henrietta or Pittsford. I also have the choice
of Tops, Lori’s Natural Foods, Gro-Moore, and summer
farmers markets. I appreciate the options I now have.
My second
reason is my desire for Henrietta — my home of more than 12 years —to have
an identity as more than a collection of businesses. “Community
building” rather than commercial building is what the town’s Comprehensive
Land Use Plan envisions. What is it that brings us together as neighbors?
Having another brick-and-mortar store, paving over more land, putting in
another stop light on Calkins would not further that goal.
Brighton-Henrietta
Town Line Road, Jefferson
Road, East Henrietta Road, West
Henrietta Road, parts of Lehigh
Station Road, parts of Calkins
Road, and part of Winton
Road are busy and commercial. Calkins
Road from Hylan Drive to East
Henrietta Road, where the Wegmans
development is proposed, still has a local flavor.
Laura E. Arney, Barnfield Road, Henrietta
WRITING TO CITY
We welcome and encourage readers’ letters for publication.
Send them to: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The Mail, City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester14607.
Our
guidelines: We don’t publish anonymous letters — and we ask that you include
your street name and city/town/village. We don’t publish letters that have been
sent to other media. While we don’t restrict length, letters of under 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We
do edit letters for clarity and brevity. And in general we don’t publish
letters (or longer “op-ed” pieces) from the same writer more often than about
once every two months.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2004.
