Personally, I look forward to the turn of the century with more excitement than trepidation, and intend to spend New Year's Eve 1999 quietly with my parents. Those who try to breed fear are more weak than cautious. If they were truly spiritual, they would place their faith both in the power of God and in the goodness of humanity.
Just remember to make paper copies of everything you would normally place on your hard drive.
Lazaro De La Garza
Dallas
And wrong besides
Ordinarily, I wouldn't take time out of my capitalist efforts to respond to your publication, but Buzz/Patrick Williams is such a smarmy, cynical smartass liberal, I couldn't help but write in to correct his placement of Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. It is, of course, in Nevada, as all of us right-wing conspirators well know.
Brian D. Anderson
Denton
Editor's note: Buzz apologizes for the error.
Vulcan envy
As one of the "nobodies" mentioned in Zac Crain's review of Stellar Occasion [Night & Day] in the September 17 Dallas Observer, I have to thank Mr. Crain for his perceptiveness in seeing the horrors of the science-fiction fanboy. Lord knows, I've made the same arguments in print time and time again: The main reason science fiction isn't taken seriously as a literary genre is because of the actions of a few humorless and obsessive dweebs who throw fits when asked to move out of their parents' basements and try to do something constructive. However, I noted a strange tenor in Mr. Crain's screed.
At first, I thought it was a classic case of the Dan Burton Syndrome: Mr. Crain went on and on in the hope that bashing on Trekkies would conceal his urge to "come out" and show up to work at the Observer in his official "Next Generation" uniform next week. After all, it's not as if his comments were new. I sometimes expect to find that all newspapers across the country have the same smarmy story that they pass among each other in order to avoid doing any real coverage and maintain the perception that even journalism majors are above fanboys on the evolutionary ladder.
"That's the problem," I thought. "Here's a guy whose big dream is to get his ears bobbed so he can pass for Vulcan or elf, but he's terrified that the rest of the Observer staff won't think he's cool anymore."
Paul T. Riddell
Via e-mail
The word "delusional"
As I read the letters from the Log Cabin Republicans complaining about your article ["GOP to gays: Butt out," September 3] in a recent issue, I had the same feeling I almost always have when I read the comments of Republicans.
Do they even read newspapers, ever watch PBS, or have any relation to the real world where most of us live? The word "delusional" comes to mind, but I shall point no fingers at specific LCRs.
Presently, the GOP controls the Senate but not the House in Austin. Yes, we have Republicans as governor and senators (one of whom is openly hostile to gays; the others simply vote against us). But that does not make Texas a "Republican" state, as Democrats still outnumber the GOP in registration and hold many statewide offices.
Do most gays support Democrats, which your writer seemed to say and one of the LCRs disputed? With Republican leaders in the U.S. House and Senate calling gay people names, such as sinner and kleptomaniac, it does not take a rocket scientist, as some say, to conclude the truth your writer wrote.
With today's Republican party controlled by Christian Coalition types, the average person knows the GOP is not supportive of equal rights for all, be the person gay, black, a woman, and most significant, the seniors. President Clinton did carry Florida in 1996!
The bottom line, as I read recently and have repeated many times since, is that a gay person voting for a Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.
