Letters to the Editor

Sympathy for the bedeviled

After reading the article about Antoine Morris and Vidale McDowell ("Confessions & recantations," Metro Times, Jan. 21) I can’t seem to shake it out of my mind. It’s the same feeling I get when I have a nightmare, and for the entire day pieces of it come back to haunt me.

Taking only your article into consideration, these children have been placed in a situation no human should ever suffer. I feel Vidale McDowell has been punished for something he didn’t do. I feel Antoine Morris was a victim of cruel circumstance. I could be wrong, but it seems to me whenever it’s a choice between believing a story such as this or the Detroit Police Department, I can never side with the police without speculation. I don’t know what the truth is and may never know. What I do know is that regardless of whether Vidale McDowell and Antoine Morris together committed this crime, the Detroit Police Department completely screwed this case. I pity the victim. —Joanna Chapman, Royal Oak,

I read your story in Metro Times on the McDowell-Williams murder case. I think the writing staff at Metro Times should offer their abilities and keen sense of perception to the Detroit Police Department. Lord knows they need it. —David LeVack, Clinton Twp., mrnlce2601@cs.com

Although I rarely read the Metro Times anymore, when I read Jack’s column, I usually shake my head and realize he’s about at the farthest point a Democratic liberal can get.

However, with his article about John Edwards’ candidacy ("Surprise choice for president," Metro Times, Jan. 21), I agree with him. I am an independent voter, definitely leaning conservative most of the time (though not on all subjects). Bush has really disappointed me, and I’m ready to vote for the Democrats for the first time in my 37 years. If he says the right things, Edwards will get my vote, for many of the reasons Jack has given.

One other thing: Jack’s pining for a decent candidate to beat Bush is well-founded. But people don’t buy (and neither do I) the idea that the Bush administration turned our economy sour. It’s 9/11 and the tech stock tumble, stupid. To blame him is to find a convenient scapegoat. —Martin Mazurkiewicz, New Boston, lapmaz@chartermi.net

Fog hasn’t cleared

While reading Jack Lessenberry’s column on McNamara ("The fog of terror," Metro Times, Jan. 28), I could not stop thinking about the present insanity that is going on in the current war in Iraq. Eventually we will hear about similar atrocities, as described in your column, once the war is over. The broadcasts from Iraq are not as intense as the reports we used to get from Vietnam. I don’t mean this in any way to minimize the horrors of the conflict in Iraq, but I think that the video images are softened by television networks and surreptitiously controlled by our own government. —Linda June, Jersey City, N.J., ljune171@comcast.net

I just read your "review" of Jawbone’s dang blues (Music reviews, Metro Times, Jan. 28), and felt compelled to respond. I hope others will interpret it differently, but the review gave me the impression that the writer liked Jawbone, but didn’t really care for the music too much. Saying that "dang blues cannot be beat," and "His passion for music’s on display for all to see" is thoroughly noncommittal.

I hate to gripe about this because I do appreciate that you were willing to give a local artist some ink, but what you published was not a "review" in any way. The review didn’t mention a single track from his dang blues, or what the recording was like, or anything. The reviewer spoke in greater detail and clarity, and with much more interest, about the hockey game he was watching.

If you didn’t like the CD, but still wanted to give Jawbone some kind of positive press for his efforts, fair enough. If you did like dang blues, then your reviewer did Jawbone a great disservice. —Andy Henry, Royal Oak, howling_mad@yahoo.com