Letter to the Bee - customer service

"My subscription will soon be due, and I notice the cost has increased. Nevertheless, this Sunday's copy arrived with about HALF of it missing. It lacked ALL of the advertising inserts (which should make your commercial interests very happy), the new Traveler section, and the one with the restaurant review which goes by some cutesy new name I have forgotten.

"This kind of thing has happened several times before, and I may have to threaten not to renew my subscription. I have previously asked you and Chico E-R, whose carrier delivers your Bee, WHO does the inserting, and this time, if I don't receive an answer, I may carry through on the above threat. Someone needs to be reprimanded if I am to renew."

Good grief/ it's been a week

As published in the E-R today:

"I find myself obliged to continue to oppose Cynthia Tucker and all others who make reference to the spurious concept of ethnic 'voting blocs' of black and Latino voters as though they do, and more divisively, should exist.

"I was raised in a medium-sized town that had large groups of people of both Polish and Dutch ancestry. At no time did I hear reference being made to Polish or Dutch voters, because only those who were U.S. citizens could vote, and, as Americans, their only concern was for the good of the nation. Those who weren't yet citizens were studying English and preparing for the test, because they had entered in the legally designated manner, and their only goal was to enjoy the freedom and contribute to the prosperity of their new home.

"Tucker, in her latest misguided article, 'Anti-immigration stance will hurt GOP,' implies that Republicans oppose immigration. Only fools deny the contribution of those people who had something to offer and came here to become Americans and enrich everyone's lives. What thinking people oppose is those who surrepticiously sneak over the border, pursuing only their own financial enrichment. That such individuals should be rewarded for their deviousness, no matter for how long they have successfully evaded the law is repugnant and a violation of the American spirit.

"A voter is a citizen, answerable only to his/her own conscience. Each time Tucker and others attempt to legitimize alleged voting blocs, equality takes a giant step backward."

cc: Cynthia Tucker

Good news

I may still live long enough to obtain DVDs of all the interesting films and TV shows for which I pine. Last week, I put a check in the mail for "Steambath," a film which stars Jose Perez as a Puerto Rican steambath attendant who is actually God.

I will no longer despair of finding "Trial" (1955) starring Glenn Ford, and the two sitcoms "On the Rocks" (also featuring Jose Perez) and "When Things Were Rotten," Mel Brooks' take on Robin Hood before he emphasized the tights. Not to forget "Ten Tall Men," starring Burt Lancaster (who chews up as much scenery as David Caruso) and Jody Lawrance, who is seldom seen.

The day after

Yesterday, my birthday, I felt weak and a little dizzy. I'm better today, but have no post prepared. So, here goes something ad lib.

I still have no presidential candidate. Although almost anyone would be better than what we have, the Republicans must nominate someone who can win. The present crop does not impress me. As soon as I began to like Herman Cain, the vengeful Democrats destroyed him. When I began to look at Newt, he decided to destroy himself.

Yesterday, I heard someone discussing Jeb Bush and Mitch Daniels. If they decide to run, I will consider them. . . especially Daniels. If Romney is nominated, it will be just another one of those lesser-of-two-evils elections. Don't the 99 percent deserve better?

As published in E-R today

I wrote a response to three or four other letter writers who took my name in vain. I thanked them for their opinions. Then, I said (excerpted): "My objection to our withdrawal from Iraq at this time stems from. . . compassion, and. . . the common sense approach to diplomacy" which dictates that U.S. intervention in world affairs is "welcomed by the weak and oppressed, and must be feared by those who exploit them."

I concluded with the emotional sentence: "When a distraught Iraqi child needs comforting and some explanation of Sharia law, there should be a trusted American soldier to whom to turn."

One important; two others not so much

1) Carefully secreted on page 11A of the Sacramento Bee is the story of President Obama's latest plan for the continued destruction of the United States of America. It tells of the systematic dismantling of the military. The one factor not mentioned was something that is now being downplayed in the media -- the reduction of the number of troops by 100,000. If for no other reason, that many displaced soldiers looking for work is just another increase in unemployment. He must be stopped.

2) I am looking for a recipe for prune whip. For 30-40 years, since I heard some comedian say he was going to give it up, I have made avoiding prune whip my New Year's resolution. It has been easy to fulfill, because I have no idea what it is, or, more specifically, how it is made.

3) My birthday next week will have its own motto. Following my trombonic celebration two years ago, and last year's Kookie anniversary, this year I have two sources. One is the number of one of the Psalms from the Bible -- "A poem of Asaph." The other is more transparent (a popular modern buzzword). It is the number representing the speed at which recorded music was played on phonographs. Remember phonographs? They were the forerunners of three-speed record players, wire recorders, reel-to reel tapes, 8-track players (briefly), and audio cassettes. Not to mention CDs which are presently being assaulted by another ephemeral method. I suspect that eventually the mere thought of music will be retrieved from the air by a chip implanted under our skin. I hope it will have an "off" switch for selective non-listening.