The Guadalajara Reporter

Letters to the Editor - February 7, 2014

Dear Sir,

Andy Meyers (Letter to Editor, GR Feb. 1-7 edition) thinks Allyn Hunt shouldn’t write about U.S. politics in our expat newspaper.

I actually appreciate hearing what other Americans think about what’s going on in our country. Mr. Hunt said many Republicans are troubled by David Brooks’ New York Times column “because he too often writes from a sense of country rather than party. This troubles the GOP’s present atrocious, embarrassing cluster of haters, racists and their taste for destructive fairy tales.” This cluster is made up mainly of a relatively small group of radicals.

Destructive fairy tales? How about statements from our House Science Committee members saying there’s no such thing as man-made global warming and temporary cycles of warming may have been caused by “dinosaur flatulence”? or saying Todd Akin was partially right when he said “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Or that the universe and earth were created sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago?

Fairy tale plus cluster of haters? How about the haters who after all this time still constantly proclaim our president was born in Kenya and that he’s a lying Muslim socialist dictator and who are welcome to spew their hatred and ignorance on Fox? Or who want the president to be tried for treason because some terrorists killed our people in Benghazi?

A frightening number of Americans display the most despicable intolerance imaginable and I don’t think we should tolerate it. We must stand with Joseph N. Welch and say enough. At long last, have you no sense of decency?

Kim Metzger

Dear Sir,

Where is toleration? You remember, surely, the spirit we once were taught lived behind the words of Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it” ... ? I was reminded most recently of this spirit when I read a correspondent’s reaction to a Perspectives commentary by Allyn Hunt: “I am not keen on spending 17 pesos weekly for another performance of the liberal Greek chorus.” Hunt’s offending words in a 1,500-word article totaled 35, by my count, as follows (discussing a column on leadership by New York Times conservative David Brooks): “Brooks troubles many Republicans because he too often writes from a sense of country rather than party.”

This troubles the GOP’s present atrocious, embarrassing cluster of  haters, racists and their taste for destructive fairy tales.” I thought that was a little rough, too, but as a conservative I let it pass out of respect for the spirit of Voltaire. My grandfather was also a conservative, and he once canceled his subscription to Life magazine because it ran a cover photo showing a female tennis player’s underwear as she lunged for the ball. But he at least did so without trying to intimidate anyone. My other grandfather subscribed to the leftwing daily newspaper in our city because, as he said, he liked “to keep an eye on what the enemy is saying.” Today’s spreading failure to honor Voltaire’s spirit exists on both side of the political divide. I have a very good friend who refuses to read anything that comes out of the Wall Street Journal because it is trying to destroy the Republic. But we still get along, and not always by staying clear of politics.

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Chris Wallace interviewed a proud Republican from the world of football at the Super Bowl arena who told the viewing public he wished there’d be “a little give and take” in Washington. If the politicians there behaved more like businessmen, he said, something might get done. He didn’t say so, but the reason there is gridlock in Washington is because the ideological purists on each side dare not “give and take a little” to get things done. They think their respective bases would desert them, right as the primaries are coming up. I do feel that the most tightly shut closed eyes seem to exist on the right. My conservative friends keep sending me chain emails that all have one thing in common: Obama is the worst president we have ever had, he never had a girlfriend before he met Michelle (what kind of man is that?), he wasn’t even born in the USA, he is a Muslim, he hates America just like Jeremiah Wright does, he wants to Europeanize America ... None of these survive fact-checking, incidentally, but they keep coming thick and fast. The spirit of Voltaire seems to have left us.

Jim Dickinson, Tlachichilco

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you concerning the article “Trojans, unwanted junkware” written by Charles Miller in last week’s Reporter. 

The amazing thing was that I was just suffering through an affection by a trojan. I wrote to Mr. Miller and he responded promptly. Due to the fact that my computer skills are very weak, he was kind enough to call me and assist me by solving my particular problem. 

I can’t thank him enough for his understanding and patience. I write this in hope that you will continue to publish his articles because I am sure that there many others in similar situations.

Terry Shannon  

Dear Sir,

On entering the Guadalajara Airport from the United States we had two kennels with our Labrador and Terrier dogs in them. We had our dog travel certificates from a U.S. veterinarian showing that the dogs had all their necessary shots: rabies, dewormed and parasites. They were both in good condition and healthy according to our vet’s certificate.

The man handling the dog inspection harassed us for two hours, saying the papers we had were not correct. He took each dog out of the kennel, one at a time, sprayed the kennels and confiscated the two dog blankets from them, throwing them in the trash. I had just cleaned them that morning before traveling. They were valued at 30 dollars each. The inspector checked each dog, took their temperatures and checked their rectums. He traumatized our dogs and made them very nervous, which made me very nervous as well. The dogs had been in the kennels for 12 hours with nothing to eat nor chance to evacuate.

I was supposed to have my INM document stamped on returning to Mexico, but with all the distraction, forgot to do it. At that point, we just wanted to get out of the airport and get to our home in Ajijic. This is complicating my permanent resident visa.

Both dogs were obtained in Mexico — the Lab 15 years ago and the Terrier one year ago. The Terrier was a street dog we took in, had spayed, got her shots and nursed her back to health. My wife and I would like to let authorities know that this treatment is a big discouragement to adopting animals here in Mexico. If someone at the inspection area is allowed to harass people for two hours at the airport when we enter, this will discourage us from returning to Mexico. We have even put our house up for sale.

Richard Johnson