Letters: Country backs the troops

Ihad to do an errand at the Presidio of Monterey today and I felt I needed to apologize to each military person I passed by for what happened at Fort Hood.

[Nick]

Salinas' residents don't think they are getting the value for their tax dollars. They see 51 year old retired officers collecting 90% of their highest salaries for life. Playing this safety issue to get higher benifits is getting old. We want to see value in our public safety.

[PGjack]

Joe Snyder of Monterey tells a fellow letter writer to "quit her bellyaching" about the state of our televised programming. At the personal level turning off the TV is good advice. The problem is that the television is probably the biggest influence on our society. The fact that more folks are concerned about a talent contest than about who represents them in congress or who becomes our president is more than a matter of personal taste. We constantly hear complaints that schools aren't doing their jobs but it is the society as a whole that has allowed corporate profits to trump all other matters. Whatever makes a buck rules the day. Whether it's healthcare or entertainment/information or fast foods, whatever makes a buck is what we feed our kids.

[ALbert]

PGjack wrote:

Joe Snyder of Monterey tells a fellow letter writer to "quit her bellyaching" about the state of our televised programming. At the personal level turning off the TV is good advice. The problem is that the television is probably the biggest influence on our society. The fact that more folks are concerned about a talent contest than about who represents them in congress or who becomes our president is more than a matter of personal taste. We constantly hear complaints that schools aren't doing their jobs but it is the society as a whole that has allowed corporate profits to trump all other matters. Whatever makes a buck rules the day. Whether it's healthcare or entertainment/information or fast foods, whatever makes a buck is what we feed our kids.

Remember the Pink Floyd song "Nobody Home": "Got thirteen channels of shi* on the T.V. to choose from." Now it's more like 1300 channels...

I got sick of it and got rid of tv, bought myself a quality radio and listen to that when I don't feel like reading. Otherwise, I just read magazines or use the internet.