Eat the Rich
Sick of bailouts: Thanks for the great reporting in "The Fall of a Titan" (Tim Elfrink, April 9). The execs at Stanford, the politicians involved, and the SEC people involved should all go to jail, where they will be safe from the public. It's time for the citizens of this country to make the decision to stop paying taxes.
R. Rice
Normandy Isle
Great writing: Fine reporting on a vital topic. But for Mr. Elfrink, commendations on what is just splendid storytelling: The short paragraph near the end, beginning, "Executives in Italian suits..." was classic. Fine exercise of the writer's craft!
Phillip Holder
Mount Vernon, Washington
Missed one thing: Very thorough article, except I believe Stanford took personal bankruptcy around 1985, when his Houston real estate turned bad.
Jerry S.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Get your facts straight: I would like to point out that Allen Stanford did not bring "the sport to Antigua by sponsoring a lavish international tournament..." Cricket was established in the Caribbean (West Indies), of which Antigua is among the countries, probably before Stanford's father was born. The West Indies played their first test (highest level) against England in June 1928 and were the undisputed world champions in the '70 and '80s.
Wayne
Jackson, New Jersey
A Raw Deal
Not fair: I plead guilty as charged. I am Evan, the tall, bearded law school student in Elyse Wanshel's April 2 story, "Deal Breakers," and after several alcoholic beverages, I referred to retarded people in a derogatory manner. Hell, if Barack Obama can inadvertently offend Special Olympians while sober, it was only a matter of time before I did so drunk.
Judging from the remainder of Miss Wanshel's article, however, I think my transgressions pale in comparison to those of Peter, who we can only assume is addicted to cocaine; Nick, who has an aversion to camel toes; and my poor friend Ian, who is not at all that chubby.
Yet I feel additional charges are in order. Ms. Wanshel purports to be writing an article about people's turnoffs, an appropriately lofty topic for such an "enlightened" journalist. In search of facts upon which to base her conclusions, she visits two bars in Coral Gables. Make no mistake, this is yellow journalism of the worst kind.
If Ms. Wanshel really intended to investigate the most common types of turnoffs prevalent among young people, she should have visited a myriad of places, other than bars, where people could have provided her with more accurate and substantive answers. Bookstores, supermarkets, and coffee shops would be a good place to start. But Ms. Wanshel never really intended to answer the question suggested by the title of her article. No, her true intention was to get drunken people on the record saying the ridiculous things that drunken people so often say, and then ridicule them from the cold comfort of her laptop with contrived, condescending lines wrapped in verbose, melodramatic schlock.
Evan the Bearded
Miami
Money, Money
Nice work: I thoroughly enjoyed Michael J. Mooney's April 2 story about the art heist, "All for the Monet." Good job.
Anna
Fort Lauderdale
Silly crooks: Florida is so much fun. This guy must be a complete moron. Why is it that anyone needing to sell a stolen painting or hire a killer always ends up asking an FBI agent?
Craig
Miami
What Racism?
Gimme a break: In response to Tim Elfrink's April 2 story, "Black History No-Show": Who cares? Just be happy you have a job. Boys are fighting two wars and we are talking about dreadlocks and cornrows? This is total nonsense. Corrections chief Tim Ryan should not have to go to a function if he does not want to. This type of foolishness makes me sick.
Greg
Miami
