Letters to the editor July19

The difference between 'right' and 'power'

| The New Mexican

7/18/2008 - 7/19/08

I appreciate The New Mexican's free admission of its anti-civil rights slant in the July 1 editorial "Court's cowboys vs. common sense." It seems rather cowardly that whoever authored this sarcastic, bitter, anti-rights, anti-self-defense screed chose not to let us know his or her name.

Rights inherently belong to individual people; powers are granted to government entities, and those same powers can be taken away. The right of a person to be armed to defend oneself is entirely different than the power given to a militia, or National Guard. If the people of this country decided to disband the National Guard, that reserve component of the army could not sue that its rights were abrogated because it has no rights; it is merely a government power.

What "right" would The New Mexican support? Perhaps the right to dial 911 and beg for mercy?

Brendan O'Brien
Santa Fe

Power ploy
I spent a month at a printing plant in Shenzen, China. One morning, in an assembly of girls, I was asked just one question: "Does everyone in America own a gun?"

I looked at their expectant faces and said, "Yes, for the most part." They all gasped.

I have been shot at twice in my life. Once, a random shot pierced the driver's-side window of my car. Then I was fired upon for 30 minutes by a semi-automatic weapon while I hid behind boulders with another hiker. A gun nut had lost his sense of reality.

I believe this government — with its expensive crowd-control and violence toys — desires to unleash open guns in the street in Washington, D.C. and the rest of the nation to allow our Second Amendment rights to provoke violence in order to remain in power.

In China, no one owns a gun. It's one of the few places I have ever totally relaxed in my life.

Sally Blakemore
Santa Fe

Logistics, logic
It was with some amusement that I read William Briggs' July 12 letter "Give us a break." He states that by having no intermission between Acts I and II of Verdi's Falstaff, the Santa Fe Opera is "once again going against the express directions of the composer and the librettist ... by combining the first and second acts."

Where did Mr. Briggs get his information? I have a facsimile copy of the first edition score of Verdi's Falstaff. On page 134, the end of Act I, it says, "Fine dell'Atto I." Translation: End of Act I. Verdi made no mention of an intermission of any kind.

In point of fact, I am not aware of any opera in which the composer has indicated a minimum time for intermission. It is assumed that intermissions are required to accommodate set changes, not to give listeners a break. Because of the unique non-proscenium stage at the SFO, their designers, carpenters and technical crew have come up with many inventive ways to minimize the time needed for set changes.

Mr. Briggs is mistakenly confusing theatrical convention necessitated by logistics with a composer's intent.

Greg Schneider, D.M.A.
Los Alamos

Justice prevails
Regarding "Jury awards woman millions in damages" (July 10): I was the woman awarded damages in that case. Attorneys Will Waggoner and David Houlistan were exceptional. I was blessed to have such wonderful individuals fighting for me.

I sincerely thank them and my mother, Betty Finley, Judge James Hall and the jury for their time, understanding and justice.

Shiela Gentry
Santa Fe

Clanging symbols
As someone who spends much of his free time helping to restore and protect the Rio Grande cutthroat, I was elated to see the city pay homage to our state fish by commissioning a sculpture outside the new convention center.

What is extremely disturbing, however, is that a couple blocks away, runs a dry ditch that used to be the Santa Fe River.

When will the city commit the necessary resources toward restoring a flowing river that has real, live Rio Grande cutthroats in it? Are the Santa Fe River and the cutthroat that once swam there destined to become a relic of our past, only to be remembered through works of art?

William Schudlich
NM Council
Trout Unlimited
Santa Fe

Giving back's Biblical
In his July 9 letter, "Tantamount to theft," Paul Hibbert posits that nowhere in the Bible are people required to transfer assets to others. In fact, in the Torah (the Old Testament or Jewish Bible), it does so in several instances.

First, farmers are directed to set aside the edges of their fields at each harvest time for the poor who don't have land or sufficient food to eat. Second, in the jubilee year (every 50 years), (Leviticus 25:23-28), people are to redistribute their assets and start over again, giving everyone a chance for a better life.

In our society, wealth, which may lead to greed, seems to be the ultimate goal. It is a sorry day when sharing the wealth is no longer a prized value. I think with wealth comes responsibility to give back in whatever form is appropriate.

Ellie Edelstein
Santa Fe

Gospel proof
Regarding "Gospel message not about sexual orientation" (July 12): Rev. James Leehan misused the Bible when he accused letter writer Lorraine Rodríguez of relying on Webster's Dictionary, rather than the Gospel, to prove her point.

Jude says in the New Testament, "as Sodom and Gomorrah ... having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

Did Paul betray Jesus' gospel message of love by writing in Romans 1:26-27, "Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful ... ?"

Where did we get the word sodomy? Maybe Rev. Leehan can look up the meaning in Webster's Dictionary.

Pio O'Connor
Santa Fe

No such ship
Please tell me where to confirm that Admiral Lord Nelson ever commanded (or even traveled on for that matter) a ship named "Man of War," as reported by El Mitote in your July 13 issue. I must assume this to be presented as the actual name of a ship because it is capitalized and not preceded by the word "a."

A "man of war" is pretty much any armed naval vessel — but so far as I can tell, no British vessel was ever named such, let alone commanded by Nelson. For purposes of his greatest fame, Nelson commanded from HMS Victory at Trafalgar, but even then, the ship itself was commanded by his Flag Captain, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy.

A little history, anyone?

J. R. LaRowe
Santa Fe

Cultural exchange
This August, two families in Santa Fe will enjoy a special experience by welcoming into their homes high school exchange students from Brazil and Germany. These volunteer host families are participating with Educational Resource Development Trust for the 2008-2009 school year. These international exchange students are eager to learn about how Americans live.

As an exchange program coordinator for this program, I have helped families to select a student who best fits their family. Local coordinators and our regional office staff will supervise and monitor our families and exchange students throughout their stay.

There are still several outstanding candidates awaiting host families. If anyone has thought about hosting, now is an excellent time to start. Please contact me as soon as possible at 800-941-ERDT. This is a great opportunity to shares your heart and home with the rest of the world.

Adriana Ochoa
ERDT program coordinator
Santa Fe

Move that ruler
Regarding "Unofficially all wet," the July 17 front-page story highlighting the disparity between the National Weather Service's tally of Santa Fe's "official" precipitation (measured at the airport) versus the apparent illusion of semi-torrential showers drenching the rest of the City Different:

Perhaps the cause of the flash flooding and washed out roads cited in the article is something other than moisture that falls from the sky. Or perhaps the accuracy of the National Weather Service's precipitation figures would improve if they placed their measurement equipment outside.

D. G. Lindberg
Santa Fe