Letters to the Editor--They Get Printed!

Sometimes pushing buttons--technically speaking--can get you 'noticed'.


Especially when you're honestly trying to make a positive comment in the process...and it doesn't hurt when your local newspaper has online editorial letter submissions online, and some white space to fill occasionally.


That having been said, here's what I've said in the past few months that was 'seen fit' to print in the local 'Park City Daily News' (which of course, has nothing to do with that city, and is both 'officed' and 'produced' here in Bowling Green, KY).


If you click the title of this Blog entry, you'll get a 'Google' search for all of these, but here they are, in order of print (click the title of each to see them in their original form--if they're still taking up space on the DN's site, anyway):

City should offer Internet on its system

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:28 AM CST 

Why doesn’t the city offer paid wireless accounts on its new wireless Internet system?

I think it would be a great idea, because it would keep our city “greener,” make lots of quick money for the city and allow local customers within reach a permanent Internet account. If even 5,000 local customers started paying, say, $10 a month, that would be $50,000 immediately payable to say, the firemen who risked their lives for our safety and are owed hazard pay.

I remit the remainder of my time to the dummies-in-charge.

Mike Denney
Bowling Green

Dollar General should go to College Street

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:29 AM CDT

I found another way to contact Dollar General about their staying downtown - their website. It’s here: www.dollargeneral.com/OurStores/Pages/CustomerService.aspx.

I just submitted the following message to them:

“I know you guys have taken a little heat by closing a Bowling Green store in downtown BG that served the elderly in the downtown district here.

I love your DG Market, but we only have one, and it’s all the way across town. Why don’t you guys ‘kill two birds’ and open another one where Sav-A-Lot closed a few years back, in the 300 block of College Street?

You would easily be accessible to all the same older crowd who’ve relied on you for years, but also revitalize a fine building while opening a new market for all sorts of new customers closer to town.”

Mike Denney
Bowling Green

More investigation into Insight is needed

Friday, July 23, 2010 10:42 AM CDT

This letter is in support of Linda Matthews’ bemoaning the recent trend toward increasing ads in Insight’s programming.

I too noticed this, and also the trend toward Insight “dropping” their own ads in over other advertisers on a constant basis (many times interrupting even national ads!)

Insight appears to have “bought out” the only other competitor in the region - Comcast - by “allowing” them to show spot ads, ads merely promoting the effectiveness of “cable advertising” in the community.

Hmmm. That’s monopolistic to me.

I registered two complaints with the FCC about this by visiting their Web address at:  esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

Although the FCC responded both times by notifying myself AND Insight, Insight’s written explanation was to blame their “new computer” in charge of scheduling ads! Worse, Insight’s response (more like excuse!) seemed to quell further FCC investigations - I got only one “follow-up” letter from the FCC, just to say it considered the “matter closed” after Insight promised they’d “been working on this diligently for a year now.” Hmmm.

I agree with Ms. Matthews, plus, I think more investigation needs to be done.

Mike Denney

Don't Kill the Jester

I'm using my blog to post my CNN response to Stephen Colbert's 'testimony' on Capitol Hill (direct link to CNN provided above):

To 'get rid of this problem' we'd have to 'get rid of' 'our fellow citizens' who also happen to be illegally hiring illegal immigrants. Far too many 'patriotic Americans'--most of whom are rich from this practice alone, much less other nefarious stuff (tax evasion)--go out of their way to look for and hire ANYONE who they see could save them any kind of buck, whether it be pennies or pesos.
When the state of our nation becomes so low we look to actors for guidance, maybe we need a trip to the library. (I know I'm starting shortly).
With all his 'tromp l'oeil' patriotism and comedic political jousting, Colbert helps me get through some of the worst, most destructive political infighting that threatens our future more every day, in ways I'm sure we'll never realize.
I'm glad he submitted his colonoscopy after his opening statement; I'm also glad he was initially regarded with such contempt at today's hearing--otherwise, his attitude and message wouldn't have seen appropriate attention.
But I'm most happy that Colbert is on TV the way he is, that he and Stewart play off each other the way they do, involving us in a healthy way--I don't think it's hurt us at all to laugh at our mistakes (especially those made in the voting booth).
King Lear's 'jester' was also his whipping boy, much despised and mistreated by Lear himself--but even the King needed his 'fool' to tell him the way, tragically all-too-late, as Shakespeare wrote it. What happened in his case wasn't funny either, but certainly preventable, as he failed to see what was going on right under his eyes, and it brought him down, dramatically.
We're the same--we're better than kings here, in the US, so we should treat those we 'work' like slaves a lot better than we would treat ourselves, primarily since all of us 'opt out' of 'that kind of work'.
What is it? Not productive enough? Too 'low' for us? No--it's just too hot.
Colbert was right--but so are those like 'thinkmonkey' who say we still don't need to give it all (gov't assistance) away for free to non-citizens--let them enjoy it when born to it, like we do. Continue taking taxes out, don't give 'em subsidies or ANY other gov't assistance (even money for education), but care enough to treat them with dignity and respect. We may even end up with better neighbors to the south, once they see we're even human anymore.

Back to here and now, with even more to say.  I also appreciate the way Colbert plays on John Stewart--it's another healthy aspect of modern American living--an inalienable right we'll all remember long after anything we trod through on C-Span (geez, I hate C-Span).

I enjoy CNN's writing much more than their 'sister station's' devotion to Hollywood, TMZ, and Nancy Grace.  It's like watching your legitimate news interest become 'The National Enquirer' or 'The Star'.  It's also like the painful process of watching CourtTV change it's name to 'TruTV', in the process dumping legitimately informative, nearly educational programming in favor of scripted--even choreographed--trash TV like 'Operation Repo', 'Full Throttle Saloon', 'Ma's Roadhouse', 'Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel', 'Party Heat', 'Southern Sting', and 'Conspiracy Theory w/Jesse Ventura'.

In other words, I enjoy reading CNNs news site much more than watching their commercial-laden cable TV drivel, especially any content involving Twitter, Facebook, and even their old stand-by, i-News.

I'd rather watch and read the news than have it texted to me by any kind of media-savvy, borderline 'tweener' media team.  Social networking may end up integral to spreading the news, even getting info to it, but opinion and information need to be related to us by those smart enough to relay it properly and reliably.

End of post.