LAME?
The loss of a business such as the Montage Grille is an unfortunate
moment in the life of any city. It will be sadly missed by those who enjoyed
the music and food. The Metro Ink item (“Mourning the Montage,” January 12)
spoke eloquently of what we should remember about the Montage, but I must take
exception to the tone about the “lame McBars.”
I don’t
believe local business owners and their patrons should be disparaged because
they offer entertainment that does not suit your taste. These businesses work
hard to maintain a level of success, and yes, they may not offer something for
everyone, but that is no reason for City to write such a distasteful commentary asserting that there is such
“little class in downtown’s nightlife.”
Maybe the pompous
and dismissive tone of this article is more indicative of what ails this city
than the “girl at the end of the bar in the DMB T-shirt”!
Jeffrey LaDue, StrathallanPark, Rochester
BEHIND PTSD
Dan Frosch’s narrative about the
reasons some combat veterans develop post-combat stress is a welcome but
limited explication of the mushrooming syndrome in Iraq.
Unfortunately,
it fails to explore why some former combatants develop post-combat stress, and
others don’t. As a World War II combatant (combat infantry badge, Bronze Star,
three battle stars), I’ve concluded after much consideration that there are two
basic reasons:
A combatant
must feel that his or her sacrifice was both necessary and worthy. In World War
II, we infantrymen in Europe never doubted the rightness
of our cause. Adolph Hitler had been conquering the world, killing and
suppressing millions while widely supplanting democratic regimes with military
fascism. That had to be stopped.
In
addition, we American soldiers in uniform fought German soldiers in uniform.
Society seems to countenance one soldier in uniform killing another.
But society
does not countenance the killing or maiming of innocent women, children, and
old people. And it certainly doesn’t countenance making war with highly deplorable
motives, as the United States
is doing in Iraq.
I do not
pretend that innocents weren’t killed in World War II; they were killed and
maimed by the hundreds of thousands. However, the motivations for the Iraq War
and, before it, the Vietnam war, were and still are
doubted throughout the world.
If a
soldier or Marine is to give up his or her young life, it has to be for the
perceived benefit of mankind. Nobody has, or will, ever seriously contend that
the imperialistic Iraq
war is being fought for noble or justifiable purposes.
As I wrote
in a Democrat and Chronicle op-ed last year, that’s what causes Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder: the doubt that the solider or Marine’s serious injury or death
was justified either by the servicemember or by
public opinion in our country or throughout the world.
Mitch Kaidy, Crittenden Road, Brighton
DANCING IN IRAQ
Folks, we have a problem. When the non-combat Air Force
veteran types — i.e., Bush and Rumsfeld — and the
military-service evaders — i.e., Cheney and Wolfowitz
— scoffed at a Pentagon general’s estimate of needed post-war occupation
troops, they made a gross strategic error. Hadn’t they ever heard of guerrilla
warfare? Did they really believe that a Muslim nation would greet the Christian
Bush crusade with open arms, instead of arms? Were they also not aware of the
long-standing intra-sect warfare inside Iraq?
It appears
that, regardless of consequences, there was a strong desire to try out our
latest toys of mass destruction, even at the risk of killing a few thousand
civilians. We would “shock and awe” the Iraqis to their knees or graves.
Recall how
Bush donned his aviator costume and declared that the war was over. Apparently
Iraqi guerrillas didn’t agree. At present, there are some estimates that
guerrillas outnumber our soldiers. Note also that several months after Bush’s
premature proclamation, our Army Reserve units are exhausted, and the
replacement with new recruits is not happening in anywhere near the volume
needed. Why, not even military-age members of the extended Bush clan are
signing up. What does that tell us?
What are we
to do? Should we stay and continue to smash their infrastructure, along with
killing thousands more US-UN soldiers and Iraqis? Do we change Bush’s
triumphant “Mission Accomplished” to “Mission Demolished” and withdraw?
If we
decide to withdraw, do we desert those Iraqis who supported us, dooming them to
terrible deaths? Or do we take with us all who want out?
Shall we
dance? Stay tuned.
Alan Whiting, Grosvenor Road, Brighton
IN-SECURITY
Both the Democratic and Republican parties, in their
prostitution for Hispanic votes, are betraying the American people by refusing
to protect us from prospective terrorists.
The El Salvador
Gang MS-12 has been reported to be smuggling al Qaeda
operatives into the US
via the Mexican border. This is in addition to “Terrorist Alley” in Arizona,
where Middle Eastern men are entering in increasing illegal numbers. Meanwhile,
our feds are releasing thousands of “other than Mexican” illegals
in Texas because they don’t have
enough space in their jails. Federal air marshals have been ordered to dress
“professionally” by their boss, thus making it easier for them to be
recognized. And the politically correct Department of Transportation refuses to
use homeland-defense profiling, so Arab males can travel through unscathed
while little old ladies get strip-searched.
The
Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary, Asa
Hutchinson, recently stated that it is “unrealistic” for his border-patrol
agents to deport illegal aliens (i.e., do their jobs).
It will be
interesting to see what the politicians and government bureaucrats say when the
homicide bombs start blasting away on Main Street USA.
Alan L. Glaser, East Main Street, Rochester
THAT’S ITALIAN
I was intrigued by George Grella’s
reference to the ’50s and ’60s as “a time when most of the male vocalists
seemed to be Italian — Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett [still at it],
Dean Martin, Vic Damone, Jerry Vale, etc.” (“The Doom of Bobby Darin,” January 12).
But he left
out a few other good names: EzioPinza,
Mario Lanza, Sergio Franchi,
Al Martino, EnzoStuarti,
John Gary, Julius LaRosa, Louie Prima, Frankie Laine, and Don Cornell.
I sure miss
that time, when my uncle, Hank Barr, was booking many of them, and female
vocalists as well, for our annual Post Office shows at the War Memorial. At
least one was a band leader: Guy Lombardo (and His Royal Canadians).
And did you
know that both Harry Warren (songs for movies like Forty-Second Street“) and handsome actor John Saxon (movies like Planet Earth) were also Italian?
Larry Farsace, North Union Street, Rochester
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 — and we don’t publish form letters generated by activist
groups. 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 Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2005.
