Mailbag

Column on GOP Hair Was Like a Child's Tantrum

I have been a fan of the Tucson Weekly for I can't remember how many years. Although I frequently disagree with the opinions expressed in your pages, they have always been well-reasoned, thought-provoking and at times, hysterically funny. People of good conscience can disagree, which is I am disappointed you chose to waste ink on Renée Downing's screed on Republican hair (Nov. 4).

We had an election, the ultimate poll. There is no margin of error. For good or bad, the Republicans convinced a majority of an energized electorate that their way was the right way. Time will tell if they keep their word, and if they don't, throw the scoundrels out. But the waste of ink used for Downing's piece does nothing but add vitriol to the political discourse. Her answer reminds me of a child who, when they can't get their way, throws a tantrum and says his or her opponent is fat or ugly.

Jay Allen


Tuttle's Complaint About Dieting Missed the Mark

Connie Tuttle's Oct. 28 column served once again only as a forum for her to complain and chastise but not offer any meaningful solutions. She should know that a societal change must come from within. She makes fun of people who try to lose weight and generally typifies dieters as "pretending they are conscientious consumers." She completely overlooks the possibility that a diet can be used to solve the problem with overconsumption she so despises.

Is she just overlooking the fact that most religions participate in some form of fasting to practice restraint? Or that vegetarianism helps teach nonviolence? What about Cesar Chavez? Diets can be simply about controlling food intake, but this discipline can also be an impetus for social and economic change. If people are trying to control the food they eat, maybe this will lead to an ability to discern between what is necessary for survival and what is superfluous.

Perhaps dieting is a countermeasure to greed instead of an extension of the problem. In a country where obesity is quickly becoming the No. 1 cause of preventable death, I think that any route Americans can use to understand need versus want is essential. Connie dislikes our American culture so much that she fails to see a possible vehicle for change. And since we are the fattest people in the world, any suggestion is better than simply ranting. Connie needs to start becoming part of the solution instead of just bitching about the problems.

Briar Martin


Tuttle and Other 'Weekly' Columnists Hate America

Connie Tuttle hates America. Connie Tuttle hates Americans. She brazenly declares that Americans have more than they need and probably deserve. What a dolt! Tuttle is only the latest in a long line of Tucson Weekly columnists who wage war with their pens against people who are professionals, educated, successful and generally achieve. Get over it. If you're so in love with mediocrity, move to Sweden, for crying out loud.

Tuttle decries Americans who live in 4,500-square-foot homes and drive SUVs. Here's where Tuttle suffers her greatest lapse in logic: Huge mansion-like homes are few and far between. A substantial majority of Americans live in sprawling housing developments where the homes are built only a few feet from their neighbors, and are less than 1,500 square feet. Most people can't afford SUVs. Yet, Tuttle indicts the relatively marginal segment of Americans who work hard to achieve the luxuries they have.

Tuttle should indict the not-so-professional, not-so-educated, not-so-successful segments of our society who procreate exponentially and at record numbers. Just because certain people have the procreative abilities of mole rats doesn't mean they should. After all, they're the people who live in the overcrowded tract home developments and drive the substantial majority of automobiles on the road.

On top of it all, Tuttle is wounded by the fact that people who achieve want to be skinny, too. What a load. Tuttle should try achievement some time in her dreary life. It feels great. She'll feel better about herself, and perhaps she'll write commentary which is less hateful toward her own people.

Ron Reyna


DiGiovanna Fails to Realize Hollywood's Brilliance

I am writing to complain about one of your writers, James DiGiovanna. Every week, I turn directly to Cinema to see which Hollywood film DiGiovanna is trashing now. It's not a matter of which films he likes, but which he hates the least. He should realize Hollywood is an all-American industry, and the product is as consistent and appetizing as a Whopper with cheese. It's a comfort to us real Americans to experience the same movie over and over, just with different scenery and actors.

But what does DiGiovanna do? He attacks each and every product with a barrage of twisted similes that could only be thought up by a seriously deranged individual. Hollywood is an iconic symbol of our great homogeneous society, and DiGiovanna's rants are unpatriotic and un-American. God bless America, and thank God DiGiovanna is working for the Tucson Weekly. Otherwise, he'd be loose on the streets.

John Settle


Govinda's Owner Responds to BOT Write-Up

I am writing this letter in response to what I feel was an unfair review of Govinda's (Best of Tucson, Sept. 23). The piece was insulting--not so much to me as the restaurant owner, but to the guests who've enjoyed our restaurant since 1987.

Please let me address the reviewer's comments:

"Some people go to Govinda's, the Hare Krishna compound ..." Govinda's is a restaurant, located at the Chaitanya Cultural Center on Fort Lowell Road. It is not a "compound."

"... (T)wice a year on Thanksgiving to sit elbow-to-elbow with other anti-conquistador and bird-loving types from the foothills and midtown ..." This says nothing about the food--I'd be offended if I was any of the four "types" of people mentioned.

"... (B)ut others go more frequently just to slam gooey TVP and goulash mush onto a plastic plate and forget about food combinations." Nobody slams gooey TVP here; the plates aren't plastic, but paper (we're into conservation; actually it's the utensils that are plastic); many well-respected people such as Mayor Bob Walkup, singer Linda Ronstadt and others always remark that they love our food; and as far as food combinations, it's a buffet, so "combine" however you like. The only thing we don't serve is meat.

"... (A) sanctuary with a wax-like statue of the dude Krishnas pray to ..." The "dude" is Swami Prabhupada, a world-renowned spiritual leader of Eastern philosophy, the most prolific writer of his time, who has written more than 80 books. I doubt that if the reviewer went to a small family owned Italian restaurant, he would ridicule the religious images that might be hanging on the wall. Last time I checked, this was a free country, and the comment is just rude.

"... (O)r to wander around the itty-bitty creek, the peacocks and turkeys squawking amid desert night breezes ..." The "creek" he refers to is actually a small water fall and a koi pond; it's very cute, with a little wooden bridge. We have a beautiful patio with palm trees, dining tables, umbrellas and a decorative fountain. We do have two peacocks and two large exotic parrots. We do not have any turkeys. And yes, we do have desert night breezes. These are the only true words in the review besides the name of the restaurant.

I am a long-time reader of the Tucson Weekly, and I understand and respect that they do not "censor" their writers; however I feel that this writer stepped over the line with unprofessional, insulting and bigoted remarks. I am glad that the Weekly is as willing to publish my remarks as they were willing to publish the writer's remarks.

Charles Cooksey
Founder and director, Chaitanya Cultural Center,
Govinda's Natural Foods Buffet