Letters

Million Dollar Baby didn't deserve Oscar

I feel I must comment on Ms. Catsoulis' commentary on the Oscar race for best picture ["In Like Clint," Feb. 24]. Million Dollar Baby? You must be joking! Apparently she's never watched a real boxing match in her life. Every fight in it was totally phony and unbelievable. And where did Clint dig up these weird-looking broads she boxed? They were all freaky looking. One was so bad he wisely never lets us get a good look at her face. And a total hottie like Hillary Swank with no boyfriend or husband? And what was with the white dork waiting to fight Thomas Hearns? And calling Morgan Freeman the "N" word in a gym full of black guys? Please.

And finally, how in the world could she call an intelligent, well-thought-out, hilarious movie like Sideways overrated? I realize that people will have different opinions, but this is too much. I can only speculate that the radicals who populate Hollywood must have thought it was a good idea to honor a film for the ending only. Martin Scorsese must still be fuming to have lost to that bilge.

--Steve Harmening

Constitution ignored in assault on gay rights

It is unbelievable to me that in this day and age, the 21st century, homosexuality is deemed so against God's plan that America violates the Constitution every day with infringement of the separation of church and state. America has voted homosexuality as an accepted second-class citizenship due to sin described in the Bible. I challenge you today to go through the Bible and see where you stand in sin. See if you find why it was accepted to make a group a minority and then deny them minority protection. How socially acceptable it is to call someone a faggot. But most of all tell me why there is so much evidence of nonobservance of said transgression that this still is the biggest fight in the land with no leg to stand on.

--Cassandra Peterson,

Henderson

Eating meat adds to global warming crisis

Last week, the Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming went into effect, marking the first time the world (with the notable exception of the U.S.) has united to address the greatest natural disaster since the last glacial period. The treaty reduces global emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that trap the sun's heat, melting the glaciers and flooding coastal cities throughout the world. This week, U.S. government scientists confirmed a definite rise in the temperature of ocean waters, the driving force behind global climate changes.

Despite our administration's boycott of the treaty, each of us should do our share to minimize emissions of these gases by limiting the use of fossil fuels in our cars, our homes and our diets.

Yes, our diets. According to Cornell University professor David Pimentel, production of animal-based foods accounts for 8 percent of the national consumption of fossil fuels--nearly as much as driving our cars. It requires nearly 10 times as much fuel as production of plant-based foods. The additional fuel is used to grow animal feed, to operate factory farms and slaughterhouses, and to process and refrigerate meat/dairy products.

We can show our support for the Kyoto Treaty and planetary survival each time we visit our supermarket.

--Calvin Southerton

Bill Gates playing footsie with the commies

The world's political and financial elite, including former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft's Bill Gates, French President Jacques Chiraq and South African President Thabo Mbeki assembled in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in January.

Gates, Microsoft founder and the world's richest man, announced during an interview at the WEF that he was betting against the dollar, saying, "The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down." Recently, Gates received permission from the People's Republic of China to purchase a large amount of Chinese currency and bonds. Gates jubilantly described his new business partner as "phenomenal" and "a brand new form of capitalism." Gates' new form of capitalism is correctly known as communism.

I now have mixed emotions whenever I turn on my computer and see the Microsoft logo flash on the screen.

--Ken Hovey

U.N. has no place in Western Hemisphere

The long-range plan to unite the nations of the Western Hemisphere in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was announced at a Miami Summit of the Americas in 1994. Two main documents came out of that conference and each clearly stated that the pact would be subservient to the U.N.

The link between the U.N. and the FTAA is the Tripartite Committee. One of the three constituent groups of this committee is the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Another is the Organization of American States, whose charter identifies it as a "regional agency" of the U.N.

The Tripartite Committee supplies guidance and funding for the already existing FTAA Administrative Secretariat. The FTAA has yet to be approved by the nations it is designed to control, but its U.N. affiliate is busily working for its creation. It is, therefore, obvious that the FTAA is a steppingstone toward dominant U.N. influence over the Western Hemisphere.

Congress must be urged to reject the FTAA when the matter comes before them this year, especially now that the U.N., amid Kofi Annan's oil-for-food scandal, has been shown to be in disrepute.

--Frank M. Pelteson