Mail letters to Letters, Santa Fe Reporter, PO Box 2306, Santa Fe, NM 87504, deliver them to 132 E. Marcy St., fax them to 505-988-5348 or e-mail them to the editor.
Latest Estimates
So we learn that Zane Fischer is happy to patronize, or is it exploit, "immigrant" day laborers [Zane's World, Feb. 18: "Labor Daze"]? He conveniently fails to mention that according to latest estimates, at least 85 percent are here illegally. His narrative of inclusivity is somewhat duplicitous given that Obama has just signed a bill to protect and create jobs for recently unemployed American workers. Hence discussion of locations where illegal aliens should or shouldn't be soliciting work completely misses the point.
David Brown
Santa Fe
And The Winner Is
By the time this letter appears in the Reporter, it will make sense: In Jon Frosch's Oscar column [Movies, Feb. 18: "The Envelope Please"] he writes: "As for the nominated movies, forget the over-hyped Slumdog Millionaire." Over-hyped? Jon, tell that to the audience that saw the premier sneak preview of Slumdog at the Telluride Film Festival this past Labor Day. With no idea what the film was about and without exposure to any kind of over-hype, the audience of 1,200 broke into 10 minutes of deafening applause at curtain. Later, when director Danny Boyle came on for a short Q&A, one question thrown at him was, "Have you started writing your Oscar acceptance speech?"
After glibly dismissing Slumdog, Jon goes on to root for his favorite. Well he sort of roots or maybe waffles: "Forget the over-hyped Slumdog Millionaire; root for the vibrant and moving Milk" even though, Jon goes on to add, "it falls short of greatness." Jon, I think you need to start seeing the films you're reviewing with an audience.
David Ross
Santa Fe
No Nukes
The article concerning the transfer of New Mexico's nuclear weapons manufacture from the Department of Energy to the Department of Defense oversight almost immediately brings up the most frequently quoted fallacy regarding New Mexico's economy: New Mexico is irrevocably dependent on nuclear weapons revenue. Former DOE official Robert Alvarez is quoted as saying, "Minus the high-paying jobs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, northern New Mexico 'would be mighty poor.'" I have lived in Taos for 20-plus years, and I can tell you that northern New Mexico is already "mighty poor." Los Alamos contributes only to its own isolated community; There is no "trickle-down" from Los Alamos to the rest of the state! This is a myth perpetrated for too long by marketers of nuclear weapons, supported and made possible by our state and federal representatives who receive large contributions from this deadly industry. We need real leadership to address our needs by advancing opportunities in wind and solar—plentiful resources in New Mexico. As long as New Mexico keeps the albatross of weapons manufacture around its neck,
New Mexicans will never realize their full potential. A state whose raison d'etre is production of weapons of mass destruction is a sorry state indeed.
Francine Lindberg
El Prado
Biospheres
Congratulations on the cover story of John Allen and Biosphere 2. Such a meaningful and astonishing project! When the biospherians were still inside, my husband and I worked for a large international corporation, and I was the corporate environmental planner. We held a two-day meeting at the site on environmental planning and got special tours into the computer rooms, etc. Using Biosphere 2 as a source of inspiration, profound questions took on new meaning. When you see firsthand the size of the various buildings needed to support this handful of people, questions like, "What does it take to support people if we no longer can depend on nature's systems?" and "When we use toxic materials, is our globe really a closed system?" Participants were thrilled, and they left saying, "My life will never be the same," and "Before this, I had no idea why the environment was so important." My deep thanks to Biosphere 2 and its creators.
Louise Pape
Editor, ClimateToday.org
Santa Fe
The Reporter welcomes original, signed letters to the editor. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to speci?c articles in the Reporter. They may be edited for clarity and space. Include address and phone number for veri?cation purposes; these will not be published.
Santa Fe Reporter