Reader feedback 6.29.05

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SATISFACTION

There have been many orgasm studies over the years ("As Long as I Get Mine," XX Files, June 15). In my own experience (which seems to agree with more than one study I read of), women who had good relationships with their fathers were most likely to have regular, satisfying orgasms. Strangely enough, they also seem to have less animosity toward men and appear able to go out in the world, succeed, be, do, and have, and not see a male conspiracy in every nook, cranny, and disappointment.

I've noticed also that they don't insist that everyone see the world through their personal window.

The trick is to find a man who doesn't have his own baggage. Sadly, too many human beings carry a full load of cargo out of the growing years. If that's the case, it takes us a long time to find and unload most of it.

Also, sadly, we often transfer much of the burden to others in our lives as we rummage through our trunks in anger, dissatisfaction, and finger-pointing, searching desperately for a way out of our misery.

Dean Morgan, Garson Avenue, Rochester

IT'S WHAT'S MISSING THAT'S IMPORTANT

PBS President Pat Mitchell, who spoke here June 8 (Say What, June 15), says: "PBS's defense against the decline in trust for all media is to listen to the public above all other voices, to stay closely connected to what they want and need from media."

That is why WXXI should respond to the thousands of local community members who have urged the station to air Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! news program. Goodman seeks out the voices missing from our public discourse. For example, a Project for Excellence in Journalism study found that of the stories surveyed, women were news sources in only 27 percent of network nightly news programs and only 17 percent of PBS's NewsHour sources.

On International Women's Day, Democracy Now! broadcast an hour-long interview with WangariMaathai, the first African woman and first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and her daughter WanjiraMaathai, who is active in environmental, women's, and social-justice movements. Of that day's 20 headline stories on NPR, only one was about a woman.

More than 330 stations nationwide, including NPR and PBS stations, already broadcast Democracy Now! NPR's Diane Rehm says, "Amy Goodman is doing a first-rate job," and Bill Moyers recommends getting Democracy Now! on local stations.

I hope that City readers will not be taken in by attempts to frame this as a left-right issue ("Radio Daze," June 15). To quote former CBS foreign correspondent Tom Fenton: "The problem is not so much right/left, it's what's left out."

Beth Myers, Church Street, Scottsville (Myers is a member of the Rochester Democracy Now! committee.)

Editor's note: Maathai's Nobel Prize was reported by NPR, and she has been the subject of numerous NPR programs, including interviews on Morning Edition (December 10) and NPR News With Tony Cox (December 22); a feature on Weekend Edition (November 7), and coverage of Maathai's National Press Club lecture on May 15. All of those programs continue to be available for listening on npr.org.

BIBLE VERSES

How ironic that Dorothy Hayes kept putting down Jim Callan as a naughty child (The Mail, June 8). I'm not the best at Bible quotations, but something about "Suffer the little children to come unto me" kept popping up in my mind as I read her letter.

And when I think about the formal religious business that many churches have become, there's a Bible lesson about it being easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

I have come to understand that the Supreme Creator who made us all, loves each and everyone of us exactly as we are.

Rose O'Keefe, Gregory Street, Rochester

A SPARKPLUG, NOT TANTRUM KID

In response to the letter about Father Jim Callan, "Dissent or Tantrum" (The Mail, June 8): A kid with a temper tantrum? That kid's accomplishments, with the support of his parishioners while at Corpus Christi, were noteworthy. Such charities as a home for the homeless, a hospice, a restaurant providing work and training for ex-offenders, a health clinic, child care, and an outlet for gently-used clothing were opened. Many are still in existence.

Then there were outreaches to other countries: El Salvador (which supported two sister cities); Chiapas, Mexico; and Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

As an 80-year-old practicing Catholic, I never realized that I should have taken comfort knowing that the church would save me from the gates of Hell. I was expected to "walk the walk as well as talk the talk."

I was reminded of the old story that Catholics thought they were the only ones in Heaven. It's hard to accept that this could be believed in 2005. None of our deceased have come back to tell us the location of their final resting place. As for me, if the Dali Lama's future destination isn't Heaven, God help me!

The Rev. Jim Callan deserves credit for the accomplishments he spark-plugged with others while at Corpus Christi and now at Spiritus Christi. My belief is that God is the one who will be the final judge for each of us.

Janet R. Straub, Green Knolls Drive, Rochester

DUFFY RESPONDED

Wade Norwood's attack on Chief Bob Duffy is sickening. He only attacks Duffy out of fear that Bob is competition. Mr. Norwood helped caused the fast-ferry debacle and allowed the East End to become a bar heaven for young adults who are mainly from outside of Rochester. He is part of the dysfunctional City Council machine.

I personally can say that Bob Duffy responded to all letters and phone calls I made to him while he was chief. The last thing he did was order more drunk-driving details in my area, and the rate of drunk-driving arrests went up.

Richard Goode, Alexander Street, Rochester

MONORAIL'S CRUCIAL

I highly agree with Matthew Fox about the need for mass transit in Rochester, particularly a monorail system (The Mail, June 1). I am just briefly back in Rochester after a 10-year hiatus elsewhere.

There is a group-think mentality that Rochester is destined to be a ghost town. Without a mass transit system, this will surely come to pass. It is critical for any up-and-coming, mid-sized city to have a train system to move people and goods. Rochester's bus system is egregious at best and is not comprehensive. Having a monorail system would bolster business corridors with an assured flow of customers.

The Renaissance project reflects a myopic view of development. It is not a true transit hub. Rochester needs a transit hub that ties together cabs, the Toronto ferry, buses, bikes, Amtrak, a monorail, and a connection to the airport. Without this critical component to city development, Rochester is in for disappointment.

A monorail would attract prospective businesses and corporations, just as the Erie canal did 150 years ago. If Rochester cannot see the importance of this, perhaps it will become another casualty to the Rust Belt.

RohanSamahon, Hollybrook Road, Brockport

WRITING TO CITY

We welcome and encourage readers' letters for publication. Send them to: [email protected] 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.