Letters to the Editor Man of the Year To the Editor: Your editorial on Don Sundquist as the “Man of the Year” and the Richard Cohen Viewpoint on Linda Tripp (both December 30th issue) were typically revealing. By now it can’t possibly surprise any reader that the editorial position of The Memphis Flyer is to favor increased taxation. Although your editorials always referred to it as “tax reform,” the core issue was the creation of a new tax. The language you use to persuade the hearts and minds of your readers of its merit — as well as the language Mr. Cohen uses to demonize a fellow American citizen — is telling. Those who are in favor of increased taxation are the ones who are the “lions … championing tax reform and defending TennCare.” Those who raise concerns about excessive taxation and the increasing size of government are “creatures” who want Tennessee to “wallow below the waterline of mediocrity.” Reasonable people understand the need for taxes but with recent reports from Washington detailing literally billions of dollars of government waste, they also have legitimate reason to wonder whether or not elected officials are handling the taxpayers’ dollar responsibly. With the recent property-tax hikes, proposed Internet taxes, and the possibility of an income tax in Tennessee, the average American citizen can’t help but feel like he or she is viewed as little more than a revenue target. Segueing to the Cohen article, I was actually nonplussed by the hatred he has for Linda Tripp. It’s typical for those on the left to engage in the most murderous and heinous “hate speech” when referring to anyone who disagrees with them. After referring to her as “Loathsome Linda” he states, “Tripp’s behavior was awful — vengeful, meretricious, and dishonest” (dishonest in spite of the fact that of all the players in this sordid drama she was the only one telling the truth) and “she’s loathsome and guilty anyway. Enough said. Get the rope!” This is not a surprising stance for Richard Cohen since he also once wrote that “for hypocrisy, for sheer gall, Gingrich should be lynched.” … John C. Leek e-mail (Memphis) Too Many Metaphors To the Editor: Please call Amnesty International and stop the torture! “Fortner’s ‘pick-a-card’ economics may sound like pie-in-the-sky, but it is Cochran’s reconstruction of the old, ‘best laid plans’ saw that opens the can and lets slip the worms of irony.” (City Reporter, January 13th issue). I lost count with seven metaphors — in a single sentence no less — and at least four of them beaten into one tortured pun. It would be impressive if it didn’t verge on the incoherent. Does the Flyer not have editors? Did someone not read this and ask, “Why is this appearing in a news story?” Or are you all so drunk on your own literary aspirations that you’ve forgotten that journalism “aims to disinterestedly report the facts and inform the public?” (“Switching Sides,” same issue) Between lapses like this, the computerized spell-checker substituting for real copy-editing, attitude pretending to be insight, writers who seem willing to whip up a cotton-candy mountain of a story from an abused nugget of real information, or conflate their politics with the story at hand even if it unbalances the whole, one wonders just what in the hell the Flyer is trying to do. Because being a newspaper sure doesn’t seem to be part of the plan. Michael Roy Hollihan e-mail (Memphis) (Editor’s Note: The story was billed as a news analysis and written by Chris Davis, our theater critic for the past three years. In such articles the reporter is allowed to utilize his experience and informed opinion. Metaphors and similes optional.) Crumby Remembered To the Editor: Thanks for the well-written and well-deserved tribute to Bill Crumby (January 13th issue). To those of us that knew Bill, and I didn’t know him that well, Dennis Dugan was able to put in words what we all felt in our hearts. Sam Cantor e-mail (Memphis) Tiger Games Need FM To the Editor: Ron Martin answered his own question in his letter (January 13th issue). Why they are a detriment to the program is in their name WMC 790 AM — the AM part, Mr. Martin. Granted maybe you spend more time on programming, but keep in mind it does not reach listeners past Bartlett or West Memphis, and most of the time the city limits. If you want to do something for the U of M put it on FM100. Keep in mind KIX106 FM was heard 50 to 100 miles outside the city where it could be used as a recruiting tool. I think it is a shame a Tiger fan in Bartlett can’t pick up the game and has to watch Tennessee play Vanderbilt on TV. It’s time to put all Tiger games back on TV and get people talking again. Steve Stewart e-mail (Bartlett) The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to: Letters to the Editor, POB 687, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-9405. Or send us e-mail at letters@memphisflyer.com. All responses must include name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters should be no longer than 250 words. CORRECTIONS: Bill Crumby was injured in 1977. An incorrect date was given in the Editor’s Note last week. Also the Annual Manual failed to list WPXX-TV (PAX50), 381-7291; HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, 729-5265; and The Children’s Museum, 458-2678. We regret the omissions.