Thursday, April 17, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Letters

We've lost our sense of wrong and right

Jamie Huston immediately began her letter to the Mercury [April 10] with the prejudiced phrase "the liberal media" to reveal that she doesn't know what she is saying. It is odd that "liberal" is defined as relating to freedom, a concept that indoctrinated anti-conservative "conservatives" always find trouble with.

Truly open-minded people will question both the legitimacy and the legality of King Boy George Bush's brash attack on Iraq, and can do so by also considering the archive of historic criminal violations perpetrated by Republicans: Senator Joseph McCarthy, Vice President and President Richard Nixon, Vice President Spiro Agnew, "President" Ford, George Bush Sr. (in many capacities before and after becoming Vice President and as President), and now serious international violations just committed by George Bush Jr.

If you have no moral problem with what our country has done to attack Iraq, then there is little hope for humanitarian and international laws against illegal military aggression. Maybe our nation has been watching ninja movies for so long that we can no longer discern the difference between wrong and right.

--Ronald Kinum

Knapp's implant story milks old hysteria

George Knapp needs to be disciplined for his poorly researched, hysteria-inciting article about silicone breast implants. Evidently he hasn't bothered to read the research papers that clearly show that there is no increase in occurrence of the diseases he mentions in women who have silicone breast implants. He evidently has based his whole opinion on the Dow Corning settlement (which has been modified to show the new findings), and Oprah's opinions (as she was one of the early spreaders of this hysteria), instead of doing some actual research. If he had chosen to do some research he could have found the following sites from just a basic Google search: www.junkscience.com/news/sbibmj.htm, www.obgyn.net/english/pubs/announcements/imp_0218.htm, www.silicone-review.gov.uk/annex2.htm.

In light of the scientific evidence, how can he talk about the "mass chemical poisoning" and the "Women who, in all likelihood, will die because of the toxic crap that is pulsing through their systems"? Oh I know, he's just practicing sensationalist journalism. Nice job!

He is arguing for an extension for people to file what are, in light of the scientific evidence, frivolous lawsuits. Isn't that just what this country needs, more frivolous lawsuits?

--Dan Shepard