Monorail is Cure, Not Disease
It is a shame that the downtown political establishment will not take the lead on the monorail project ["One Billion per Mile," June 29]. If this project had sprung from Paul Allen, or from the developer–political donor establishment, the mayor and City Council would be all over it. If we had voted it down, like the sports stadiums, or if it was pie in the sky, like the viaduct or the Sound Transit light-rail real-estate development scam, the political elites and their developer friends would be pushing it to the hilt. But instead, the monorail is only a transportation scheme, and worse, there is nothing in it for developers or in regard to campaign contributions to local politicians. It means nothing that the people have voted for the monorail up to four times. No lead here from the political elite. Instead, they treat it like it was the influenza virus.
John Crosby
Seattle
Better in Baghdad
Somebody needs to shut the monorail and its highly paid cheerleaders down ["One Billion per Mile," June 29]! How bad a mess does it need to turn into before we pull the plug? It's way too much money over way too long a time for far too little transportation benefit! And worse, it's ugly and will visually degrade the city around it! The stripped-down version they're now proposing is assured to be nothing like what was promised, as bad as that was. The military has done better urban design in Baghdad! But worst of all are the scary finances. Where are our civic leaders we thought we'd elected to protect the public interest? Will local officials please step up to the plate and stop the Seattle Monorail Project in its single track?
Mike Moedritzer
Seattle
Nonlethal Weapons
Nice article [America, U.S.A., "Weapons of Mass Distraction," June 29]. I just wanted to mention a few things Rod Smith's article reminded me of.
One of the more interesting nonlethal weapons under development that I read about years ago was some sort of sprayable glue—a thick and ropy substance to be used to immobilize rioters. I've never read anything about that weapon actually being deployed, though, so maybe it wasn't as nonlethal as initially hoped? One might imagine inadvertent suffocations.
The so-called "poop frequency" was the subject of one of the Mythbusters TV shows. They were unable to produce any such effect and returned a verdict of "myth busted."
The Long Range Acoustic Device reminded me of a beautiful Kate Bush song, "Experiment IV." Part of the lyric is: "But they told us what they wanted was a sound that could kill someone from a distance. . . . "
Beautiful and scary to listen to.
Phil Dawson
Bothell
Don't Say Holocaust
You should not use the word holocaust to describe movie situations, or anything else short of a mass genocide ["The Popcorn Holocaust," June 29]. There are many who deny the Holocaust ever took place, and by using the word lightly, you cheapen its meaning. This word has developed a special meaning in this generation's vocabulary, and by trying to fit it into other, lesser situations, Seattle Weekly offends me and many others.
Eliot Dratch
Irvine, CA
The Weekly's Trash
Brian Miller begins his review of the film Deep Blue with comments lamenting the "expansion of trash programming like Howard Stern" [This Week's Attractions, June 29]. What?! I've just read the June 29 issue, which has its usual heavy load of sexual-aid ads and escort-service ads. And Miller has the balls to chastise cable television! Where'd you find this guy, Salt Lake City?
Barbara Koslosky
Bellevue
Idiot Columnist
I just read "Take Back Tom" [Small World, June 29]. Steve Wiecking's comments are completely idiotic. I have no idea where he established this viewpoint, but it makes no sense at all. Lazy journalists who make no effort to find out what Scientology is really about, from legitimate sources, are becoming a complete bore, and Wiecking just joined them.
Melissa Butz
San Jose, CA
Ain't Nothing like the Real Thing
According to Roger Downey, it took the owners of Longhorn Barbecue Outpost 50 years to find their way from Muenster, Texas, to Pioneer Square ["From Texas With Love," June 29]. Something was lost along the way. Anyone who has sampled barbecue in Texas can attest that the folks at Longhorn, nice as they may be, would starve to death trying to peddle "dryish and underflavored" beef to the citizens of that state. Likewise, people in North Carolina would not walk across the street for pulled pork that "didn't show much character." Moist, tender, flavorful beef and pork are the pillars of good barbecue. Sauce, especially one that leaves you unable to use "your tongue the rest of the day," can't compensate for barbecue that doesn't exhibit those qualities. The pit master(s) at Longhorn learned how to scout a good location over the years, but in the meantime, the quality of their product has gone, well, north. No doubt they were encouraged along the way by critics, like Downey, who excuse mediocrity either because they don't know better or because convenience is more important to them than the real deal.
