I got a fascinating letter from a reader about a story that really adds to it. First, the story from the 28 September 2008 issue:
Reader Feedback
The Right to Be Offended
I continue to be astounded at the number of people who choose to be offended by things that don’t exist. I refer this time to a story in the 31 August 2008 issue about the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin:
PETA: Pretend Ethics Totally Abused
I challenged the several PETA defenders who complained about my story and/or editorial (which is on the main PETA story page) to try to justify PETA’s actions. Which fact(s) did they dispute? What is their source for “more correct” data? And how can anyone justify throwing dead animals in the garbage? I noted that no one replied with answers to those questions.
A Family of Readers
Felix in California sent me an error report Monday (I left a confusing extraneous word after recasting a sentence when I was writing). He posted the error just 11 minutes and 44 seconds after the Premium edition was sent out, and his report enabled me to fix the error for the free edition.
What Can I Do About ZT?
Ben in Victoria, Australia, sent me a note this week with the subject, “ZT — I’m just stunned.” He writes:
Fornigate, Lindbergh and Hawaii
Ten years ago this week I wrote two full columns: the regular one, and one on the breaking scandal with President Bill “I Did Not Have Sex With That Woman” Clinton. I (and many others) dubbed it Fornigate, and it led to his impeachment.
Hook a Man Up!
I was a bit taken aback by a letter I got this week. The subject line was “Can I be a charity case?” and it was from Bill in Pennsylvania. He wrote:
Mystery Solved
I ran three letters in tonight’s issue that finally solves something that has perplexed me for years. (The meat is in the third one, but the first two lay the groundwork.)
A Wise Man
I got a thoughtful letter on Thanksgiving Day that I thought I would share:
Could Be Idiots
Remember the story from last week about the high schoolers that created an anti-drunk-driving T-shirt after their classmates were killed in an accident? Well, I got a lot of comments on it. Let’s start first with the story:
The Tyke’s Fault?
Several readers wanted to know what happened to the kid in the last story last week (copied below) — is he still wandering the airport or what?
Blonde Racism?
A story last week led a reader to accuse me of being racist. I first rolled my eyes over the accusation and deleted the message, but I decided to pull it out of the trash and run it here. I still haven’t replied to the message; rather, I’d like you to, by posting a response below.
99-Cent Divorce?
A story (or, rather, my tagline), led to an amazing letter from a priest. Let’s start with the story:
Lawyers: Burning in Hell?
A story from this week’s issue implied (OK… stated categorically) that there are no lawyers in heaven. First the story, and then the reaction from a lawyer reader:
Changing the World Just a Touch
One last word about my being called “anti-God” for a recent story. I’m not going to name the reader or her location so she can’t be identified:
Why is a Touch of Equal Time a Problem?
As I put this week’s issue to bed, I thought I had done a terrific job of handling what could have been a very controversial story. But let’s go to the start — here’s the story from the 3 June 2007 issue:
Keeping the Balance Balanced
Yes, True is sometimes a touch raw. Usually it works out fine — it’s balanced well between tragedy (like a school committing a grievous Zero-Tolerance punishment on a truly innocent kid) and comedy. But now and then, after I’ve written an issue, something comes up that tilts the balance, and the result is awkwardly off-kilter.
The Public Be Damned
In the 28 January issue I ran a story about two murderers who escaped from prison in England. I noted the story was an example of “zero tolerance” mentality migrating to the real world:
Another Day, Another Cry-Baby
Quite a few Premium subscribers actually stay on the free distribution specifically to see the advertising. That’s cool: the advertisers pay for this free distribution, so it’s nice that people actually look at the ads! But now and then people whine about the ads. That’s dumb: without them, they wouldn’t be getting the newsletter at all, would they?!
Peace Sign
In the 3 December 2006 issue I led with this story: