Killer KISS covers
Dude! I would like to thank Serene Dominic for finally allowing me to read my way through the fabled Kiss Alive! Album ("Read it out loud!" Sept. 16). I would have gone to see the show that it was "recorded at," but my pet rock needed a lot of TLC. The back cover has a lot of kids that I recognized from high school — Denby was well-represented. In fact, it's almost like a class graduation photo, except that I don't recall seeing any of them at the actual graduation ceremony. (Perhaps it's an un-graduation photo.) In any event, they all seemed to be saying, "Nyah, nyah, nyah" to me, for not being there with them, so I couldn't even buy the album.
But don't cry for me, Michiganders. I did see Kiss once. They warmed up Aerosmith at the Michigan Palace, at a benefit concert for that year's Belle-Isle kite-in. Neither band was quite as good as the kite-in, which took place earlier the same day. It had rained all day, and ended when some biker gang decided to kick everybody else's ass. (This was Detroit Rock City's version of a be-in.) I remember that I couldn't see anything during their first song, due to the flash pots that opened their set, and that I could only make out one word of any of their lyrics. However, I wasn't sure whether it was "firehouse" or "fire hose."
Yes, I just didn't "get it" back then. In fact, the first time I saw Bob Dylan, in the fall of '75, I muttered at intermission that I wished that he'd "take that (bleep)in' Kiss make-up off." Now, thanks to Serene Dominic's detailing, I can rock 'n' roll all night at their retread space-age minstrel show and make like I'm returning to the scene of the crime. That is, if none of my classmates are there. —Don Handy, Mount Clemens
Unhealthy distortions
I would like to comment on a letter sent to you ("Yahoo you," Sept. 9). The writer says this country has the best health care? No. 24 in infant mortality? No. 46 overall in health care? Unlike the writer, I fear Obama's plan doesn't go far enough. As for the assertion that health care is so terrible in Canada: Why haven't they voted it out? The man who introduced it (grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland) was voted the "Greatest Canadian Ever" in an online poll. Perhaps he should look here, where millions can't afford doctor visits or prescriptions. This gentleman needs to get his facts straight! —Kevin Smith, Lincoln Park
Defending Joe Wilson
Dear Mr. Lessenberry, it is clear to see why your column is called "Politics and Prejudices" and you talk about lies being spread in the media. You seem to be the king of the lying media and prejudice. Your column from MT Sept. 16 ("They lie, all the time") exemplifies your half-truths and flat out lies. 1) Wilson did not say "You lie" twice … he said it once. 2) He didn't "[rise] up on his haunches" as you put it. Even the pictures show him sitting. 3) Immediately after graduating from University of South Carolina, Wilson enlisted in the Army and was sent into the Reserves where he served from 1972 until 1975 (when the war ended). Be for real and quit making up lies. Tell the truth that can be found anywhere on the Internet. Also, your willy-nilly use of the racial slurs in the article was uncalled for. Shame on you. —Dwayne Roszkowski, Livonia
Ground Zeroes
Re: Detroit vs. NOLA (Sept. 9), it is ironic that we compete with New Orleans for "ground zero" status. In one category, we won. The United States Social Forum, scheduled to come to Detroit June 21-26 of 2010, this city beat out New Orleans and El Paso for this important gathering. We expect activists of all manner to show up from around the country during this important event, having made it through a grueling process and judged worthy of the social forum by a national and international planning group. Please encourage all Detroiters and others in the region to get involved. The forum is for everyone and all are invited to join in the planning, sharing, and excitement associated with being in on these important changes. Meetings are every other Tuesday at Central Methodist Church, Woodward and Adams, Fourth floor, at 5:30. —Elena Herrada, member, national planning committee of the United States Social Forum, Detroit
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