Letter to the Editor

Editor,

Mr Karger begins his ill-informed, simplistic and mean spirited tirade about Don Imus by trying to excuse the inexcusable. Mr. Karger feels that instead of worrying about some “humanitarian” (his word, not mine) shock-jock labeling a group as “nappy headed ho’s”, we should “be outraged about things that matter…” He then decries the “the slaughter of baby seals in Canada by pipe-wielding thugs”.

I am personally against the seal hunt but am willing to put it far down the list of things I am outraged about. Maybe it’s because I am in possession of the facts:

There are no baby seals killed in Canada by “pipe-wielding thugs,” or anyone else. The killing of baby seals has been banned since 1987. The videos you see are dated and used solely for financial gain by some animal right groups.

Almost 75 percent of the baby seals born this year died, not to slaughter but due to thin ice. Due to global warming, the ice is not strong enough to hold even a baby seal. That’s higher on my outrage list.

Since 1970, the population of Harp Seals in the St Lawrence, the ones with the cute little faces, has increased from just under 2 million to an estimated 5.8 million. In only 5 years, due to slaughter and people fleeing the country, the population of Iraq has declined by 1/3. That’s higher on my outrage list. 

Seals are not killed with pipes. The heads of the adult seals are too strong. They are shot, in the head, with high-powered rifles. This is a similar method (albeit a high-powered plunger) used on the kill floor in an abatrar for Mr. Karger hamburgers.

The people who continue this rather obnoxious hunt live, for the most part, at a subsistence level. That they are required to continue to do this instead of killing ugly animals (like fish) is higher on my outrage list.

Mr. Karger’s cure is simplistic to say the least. “We could stop buying anything made in Canada for any reason.” I would suggest he start with oil. Canada is the US’s largest supplier of oil (didn’t know that, did you). In 2006, Canada supplied 17 percent of American imports (2.3 million barrels a day). That was 11percent of all American consumption. Which 11 percent of Americans would you cut off, Mr Karger? Then again, you could always get it from Saudi Arabia.

Or maybe then he could switch off the natural gas imports. Canada only supplied 85 percent of American imports in 2006 (16 percent of consumption). Which 16 percent of Americans would you cut off, Mr. Karger? For your information, Iran has a huge surplus of natural gas.

Or maybe wood products: the United States imported about 15 percent of plywood consumption and 38 percent of OSB (oriented strand board) consumption with over 90 percent coming from Canada. What part of your nice home in Dallas don’t you want, Mr. Karger?

What could Mr. Karger get legitimately outraged about? How about incarceration: The US has the world’s highest imprisonment rate. That’s 715 per 100,000 people in 2003. Higher than Canada at 116/100,000 or Mexico at 156/100,000 (2003 figures). Higher even than Iran (226).

Or how about American health care? In 2005, there were 46.6 million people in the US (15.9 percent of the population) who were without healthcare insurance. That would be high on my outrage meter.

American education… no, I think we both made that point.

So, Mr. Karger, if you wrote this article tongue-in-cheek, only wanting to piss off a Canadian; congratulations, you were successful. If on the other hand you were trying to write a thoughtful, hard-hitting attack piece, do some research, it’s fun!

Jack Harrop

Editor, 

Today I took the long walk from San Francisco church to the Panteon. I’ve done it more than a few times in my 17 years in SMA , but never with such a heavy weight as today.

It was the funeral of a child named Daniel. He was 9 years old and attended Francisco Villa on Sollano in 4B. He was my son Felipe’s best friend in the salon. He was beautiful, innocent and full of life. He deserved more than this. More than a full mass at San Francisco. More than a hole in the ground.

My wife Maria had wanted all week to take our kids to visit Daniel. On Saturday, she finally found the time. When she arrived it was to find the news of his death in the early morning.

Daniel had suffered a blow to his internal organs the first of last week .It turned out to be a fatal blow. The details of exactly what occurred are not available. I hope Mexican Justice is up to the task. Daniel deserves to have the truth made public no matter where it leads.

I’m withholding judgments, but as a father of two students at Francisco Villa, I’m more than concerned. Did this really occur at school? Or elsewhere? And how was a nine year old boy, who I personally knew as mild-mannered, brutally attacked and given a blow forceful enough to kill?

While all of the tourists are wandering around google-eyed over San Miguel, and the politicians are flaunting San Miguel as the mecca, remember real life tragedies are occurring here everyday.

Kurth Bousman

Editor,


Congratulations and applause to Ali Zerriffi and the board for the great refurbishment and clean-up of the Biblioteca bathrooms. They look great! As a longtime House and Garden Tour volunteer, I was always a bit embarrassed by the condition of the ladies’ room. Now they are suitable for the fine institution that the Biblioteca is.

Jean Yeager

Editor,

I read with disappointment the article by John Barham, “North Looking South” as it was filled with misconceptions and bombastic terminology. As it is increasingly “politically correct” to silence those who in any way oppose the more liberal faction of our country, even through extreme measures, whether it be with words or actions, the end result is a very hedonistic society that is increasingly out of control.

As he does not define exactly what a Militant Christian Fundamentalist is I would assume such a general term is meant to generalize which he does so well throughout his article. It would seem that there are only three condition one must meet: Believe in the Bible (which billions have done for thousands of years), believe in God (approximately 87 percent of Americans do) and become actively involved in politics (hopefully, everyone will). 

As a Born Again Christian born in the United States, I was under the impression it is both my duty and my privilege to be involved in the politics of my country. To simply choose not to be involved is ignorance at its best. I was raised to believe in God (Boston Irish Catholic), taught to respect authority (including teachers and police) and to live a decent moral life. I was also taught that I had a responsibility to serve my country if called upon to do so. That I did by serving in the US Army. I grew up in a time when sex outside of marriage was called fornication, abortion was murdering an unborn child and faithfulness to one’s wife was expected, and received. By everyone? No, of course not, as there were selfish people then who sought only their own pleasure and so chose to break their most important commitment to their families.

Mr. Barham uses terminology of his own choosing to put as negative a literary impact as possible upon President George Bush and Fundamental Christians. It appears that his personal agenda to malign all those who would be seen as Fundamental Christians as well as the President. Such terms as “rigidly dogmatic” can very well be used by anyone that is committed to what they believe and are willing to state so. “Decidedly political” could be used to describe anyone who works in any way to elect a political official they believe in. I was under the impression that is exactly what the American system is all about “A government by the people for the people.”

Furthermore, Mr. Barham’s assertion that the Americans should be immune from “normal notions of accountability” is irresponsible at best. It would do him well to remember history, even as recent as it has been, that it was Saddam Hussein who invaded Kuwait, it was Saddam Hussein who blew up the oil fields, (so much for Global Warming) and it was Saddam Hussein who gassed his own people. It was Saddam Hussein who consistently violated the agreement to cease hostilities after Desert Storm, including the building of long range missiles and chemical weapons. I suppose that Mr. Barham would have preferred not to hold Hussein accountable even as he paid the families of suicide bombers thousands of dollars for blowing 58 year old grandmothers and their 2 year old grandchildren to smithereens at a bus station.

I would direct Mr. Barham to our constitution and political history regarding church and state. The real issue as addressed in the United States constitution was to keep the US government from restricting the practice of religion not the reverse as he so states.

In closing, one thing I find astonishing about the Americans who live here in San Miguel Allende is how many of them, who have benefited so handsomely by their lives in America, seek every opportunity to defame our nation and remove the God that has blessed her and them from existence. 

May I remind Mr. Barham that each of us, including him, will be held accountable for our actions and our words by an Almighty God whether we like it or not.

P. Jack Driscoll