What happened to the Krasniqis ["A mother and child reunion," June 25] is a travesty of justice. To hear that such a thing could happen puts fear into every parent--that the court would so cavalierly dissolve a family based on the testimony of strangers. There is little doubt that the children have been taught by their adoptive families to fear their parents because they were of a different culture and religion.
Lynne Jacobs
Via e-mail
I think you did a great job with this story. The story of insane laws terminating parents' rights unfortunately happens all too often. Please convey to Kathy that as a birth mother who is also rejected, I feel and understand her pain. Thank you.
Alana Miller
Via e-mail
The story of the Krasniqis and their dealings with human services and child protective services is almost too hard to believe. However, after having first-hand dealings with the system myself, I believe each and every word. As a parent, you have absolutely no rights when you deal with CPS and the family court system.
Joe Johnson
Via e-mail
This is America
For many years I have read the Observer for its vernacular ferocity and overall entertainment content. As in, one week you guys were defending the kid whose dog kept running off in Mesquite and got put to sleep; the next week we're cheering the cause of some 400-pound black psychotic who keeps screwing people around and wonders why he ends up in solitary. Go figure.
The best unreal piece of unfathomable twisted liberal perspective manure you have most recently retched is that really tight piece (whooo-hoo) on the Albanian Krasniqis and their fight to regain custody of their two children. Thereby, you defended the father's actions by attributing his deviant behavior to the cultural differences between Albania and the United States.
Well, dumb-ass Dallas Observer, that's the point: This is America, and every individual has rights. Krasniqi had no excuse for fondling his daughter.
Charles F. Brymer
Dallas
Judging the judge
Judges are supposed to be impartial and ethically sound; however, judges are human, and therefore have flaws and biases. It appears to me that Municipal Court Judge Brenda Prewitt ["Benched," June 11] more than likely knew she was dealing with a family member and should not have been involved with the case, period. She lacked impartiality in that case.
Now, Municipal Court Judge Gustavo Gonzales, in my opinion, should not have complained at all about repaying what was not his, even if it was due to a clerical mistake or any other mishap. The legal profession is not a bad one; it just has imperfect people in charge. To any objections raised by Judge Prewitt or Judge Gonzales, in my book you are overruled.
Jerry D. Lee III
Cedar Hill
Failure to Yield
When you did the review for Pearl Jam [Music listings, July 2], were you smoking crack? I don't know where you get off writing such total crap! Have you been living under a rock for the last six months? Just because Pearl Jam doesn't cater to the money-mongers and industry charts, that doesn't make them has-beens or rock-and-roll dinosaurs. Few bands have the vision and the drive that this band has. I'd put the quality and contents up above anything that gets played on the radio and MTV any day! Do us all a favor and lay off the music reviews--you suck!
Chris Adams
Via e-mail
Robert Wilonsky, the author of the article previewing the upcoming Pearl Jam concert, is misinformed. He spouts less-than-insightful statements about a band that has sold out practically every one of its 38 shows on the summer tour. He bashes the albums No Code and Yield without giving any concrete examples. He fails to mention the fact that on this tour, the band looks like it is having the most fun of its career. He fails to mention that they are backing many good causes, or that the entire proceeds of their two Seattle shows are being donated to charity. I think that if this author intends to cut up a band as great as Pearl Jam, he had better do his homework and come up with better arguments to support himself.
Joe
Via e-mail
Perhaps the readers of the Dallas Observer would be better served if your papers did not contain articles with such an obvious bias as was shown by Mr. Wilonsky in his piece on Pearl Jam. The "article," if I can even call it one, is nothing more than a mean-spirited and distorted editorial trying to masquerade as fact. I suggest that, in the future, you hire reporters who are able to put aside personal opinions when reporting the "news."
Peter Trahms
Via e-mail
Upon reading your review of Pearl Jam, I kept reminding myself that not everyone is a fan. I guess my biggest heartbreak here is that a man who works with the media, who gets his work published all across the country, cannot open himself up enough to give the deserving a decent write-up. It just seems to me that Mr. Wilonsky isn't much of a rock fan, music reviewer, or even a music fan, judging by his past reviews, which all seem to carry a negative pattern. It is very sad that there cannot be some sort of openness here, if not for the die-hard Pearl Jam fans, then for the people who still can become fans.
I lay the blame on the paper itself for not assigning more qualified people for the job--people who are more interested in doing their job well than using their typewriter to show that they can say whatever they like with or without any knowledge of the subject at hand. It would be very nice to have someone without a five-dollar degree and 10-cent knowledge of music to write a decent, well-balanced, well-thought-out preview of the Pearl Jam show in Dallas. I would like to hear about it without having to sift through the wasteland that has been Mr. Wilonsky's prior reviews.
Chad Smith
Via e-mail
This is to the wonderful "journalist" who wrote the Pearl Jam article. I didn't bother remembering his name because I don't expect to see it again. Do you have any idea about what is going on during this tour? Have you read any articles or reviews? It's obvious you haven't seen any of the shows yet. Pearl Jam are having the times of their lives. You can see it in their faces and actions. They are selling out every venue they play, so how have they lost anything? I encourage you to see them in Dallas and then form an opinion. I just think you might want to make an informed opinion since you do write for a newspaper.
B.R.
Via e-mail
For the dolt Robert Wilonsky who trashed Pearl Jam, I have one word, two syllables: Jackass.
Anonymous
Via e-mail
