As usual, Lessenberry hits the nail squarely on the head ("Rx for the Republicans," Metro Times, April 10-16). John Schwartz would be good for our state, regardless of political affiliation. Imagine! A straight-talking pragmatist concerned about
whether we have real jobs with real benefits that enable folks to buy a home and raise a family. I've seen Dick Posthumus in action. I think he'd show up for a 4-year-old's birthday party if his handlers thought enough of the parents might hang around. The disturbing thing is that even in an intimate setting where he and his boss were being mildly chided, I had the distinct feeling that he just didn't get it. His lack of response and beatific smile suggested a real disconnect from the group he was with. He was there to speak to them. Listening apparently wasn't on the agenda.
After the 2000 presidential debacle I swore I'd never vote for another Republican as long as I lived, but the Democrats keep offering has-beens, pretty faces and doofusses. So I hold my nose and instead of voting for a candidate, I vote against the Michigan Taliban, er, Republicans.
Go Schwartz! And good luck, buddy; you'll need it to beat your own party. Get past them and you've got my vote. —Bill Bresler, [email protected], Livonia
Now we understand
Once again, the academagicians have proved themselves capable of their gifted wizardry; they profess that free-market based capitalist "development" processes like gentrification are inevitable, and the poor continue to be swept from the corridor that once was their home ("Gentrify this," Metro Times, April 17-23). Accordingly, News Hits has sadly played its role in striking a severe blow to the viability and diversity of the Cass Corridor community by unleashing upon its readership the misleading and violent thesis that the market is an inevitable, all-powerful force when, in actuality, techno-mechanistic systems built and controlled by people in power work damn hard to make sure the masses believe such disinformation. This attitude of hopeless passivity to gentrification and corporate domination of our lives displayed by News Hits is upsetting and irrational. My main point here is that the processes and the people behind the neoliberal so-called "development" (i.e.: corporate yuppification) of Detroit is the single greatest threat to the sheer existence of low-income urban folk. We as caring communities must stand together to resist and defeat the classist processes of gentrification and rebuild a society that actually cares about people more than the money of developers, yuppies and faceless corporations. —Ryan Dloski, Grosse Pointe Woods
Judge not
I have an observation on the letter you published from Barbara Ingalls regarding the article on the Paybacks (Metro Times, April 17-23) I’ll bet Ingalls has never even read the column that she has passed judgement upon, based upon the circumstances under which Ms. Case got her job. I’ll bet she'd hate the Paybacks no matter how good they were based on her preconceived notions. If I may pass a bit of summary judgement myself, I’ll bet Barbara's a real barrel of laughs to hang out with. Get over your obsession with the newspaper strike, Barbara. It's over. Get used to the fact that despite the circumstances, Wendy Case may be a fine columnist and a damn great musician. Stop getting yourself off by dragging a good person’s name through the mud. In other words, get a life. —Brian Tomsic, [email protected], Ann Arbor
Pouring over memories
Great article on Steve’s Place ("The tao of Steven’s," Metro Times, April 17-23). My buddies and I discovered it back in the early ’80s, just out of high school. Your article hit right on! Many a tune-up for downtown concerts occurred there. One time, when we were into drinking B-52's, Steve was down at the end of the bar asleep with his head resting on the bar. His wife was making us B-52's; we told her how. She was charging us a buck a drink. After a few, Steve came to (barely) and muttered, "charge em $3 each" before putting his head back down. One time after midnight trying to find the bathroom with little to no light we came across several street folk sleeping on the floor, almost tripping over them. Thanks again for the well written article. —Jim Harris, [email protected], Sterling Heights
