From You
Letters
From You!
Postcard From Austin
originally published February 8, 2006
My humble opinion is that March is the busiest month in Austin, TX. There is palpable excitement at the coming of spring and of the bluebonnets that are right around the corner. The weather is usually pleasurable and the pavement has not yet started to bubble in midday as it does in August. The rodeo is in town during the entire month in Austin. However, the real bread-and-butter winner for the economics of downtown and what helps place Austin on the map as the “Live Music Capital of the World” is South by Southwest (SXSW). While the SXSW festival consists of the interactive and film components, far and away most out-of-state visitors come for the music. The Austin Music Awards run concurrent with the SXSW events and are more than highly recommended if you are a seeker of “magical music moments” that will stick with you forever. Athens is not short on great music by any stretch of the imagination, but to be exposed to some 900 to 1,000 bands in just a little over a week is truly amazing.
You will get old, there is not much to do about that, but you could be tormenting your grandkids with stories about how you saw Robert Plant, Robert Randolph, Lyle Lovett, Erykah Badu, Patty Griffin, Jimmie Vaughan, Dwight Yoakam and Roky Erickson, to name just a few of the impressive performances and incredible talent that I have seen the last few years at the Austin Music Awards. I am “old school” and remember well going and seeing R.E.M. [and] The B-52’s at Legion Field, and one Halloween, staggering over to check out a band at the 40 Watt called Smashing Pumpkins that none of us had heard of before. My point is that some of the music you will see in Austin may be familiar to you, and some you are introduced to for the first time; the latter is the most exciting for me as it allows me to go beyond what I would normally hear, and certainly is not what is normally played on the radio - at least not yet. This is musician’s music, and a chance for those diamonds in the rough to be discovered… and it is very exciting to be a part of when all the elements fall together for those bands.
Having lived in Athens for eight years and now being in Austin for seven, I can say that I have had more than my share of poignant moments where music is concerned. It struck me as necessary to get the word out to Athenians now, as February begins, to allow for travel planning and budgeting. The SXSW website is full of good information about lodging and even some volunteer opportunities for those interested. Make no mistake, this festival is big and getting bigger every year. It is extremely well-run and if you attend, then come prepared to take a whole week off when you get home, because you will need it.
Austin and Athens are terrific towns for music, but it is in the month of March that the planets align for something magical in Austin.
A much-directed effort is made by me to check out the bands coming from Athens, Atlanta and the Southeast in general because, as a Georgia native, I want to know what is going on musically. There are quite a few bands that I have not seen from Athens and am curious about, the Woggles, The Low Lows and Of Montreal to name a few. The Drive-By Truckers have been a band that I have been following for over a decade now, and they are a big hit here in Austin and a band that Athens deserves to be very proud to call its own. So, get your calendars out and figure out how you are going to help Athens represent here in Austin in March at SXSW. On the way over, if someone could bring me some boiled peanuts, I would appreciate it. Will trade you for some mighty damn fine salsa. To quote Patterson Hood, “See you at the Rock Show!”
Ron Roberts Austin, TXLetters
From You!
Freedom To Choose
originally published February 8, 2006
In your Pub Notes [Feb. 1] you state we are “‘people that believe in… abortion on demand… civil and human rights… seatbelts in pickup trucks and other stuff like that.” Thanks for the laugh. What you are really saying is that people should live the way you think they should, isn’t it? A woman should have the right to choose what to do about an unwanted pregnancy, but not if she should buckle up? How about the freedom to choose for themselves? Something like “You have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering - as long as you don’t violate the rights of others.”
But then if you believed that you would be a libertarian.
Doug Carver AthensLetters
From You!
Unsolved
originally published February 8, 2006
Recently, Assistant Police Chief Alan Brown was quoted in the Athens Banner-Herald as saying that there are approximately 32 unsolved murders on the books in Athens-Clarke County, including, of course, the high-profile cases of Jennifer Stone and Tara Baker. This is an outrage, and I’m surprised that the quote didn’t spark more controversy than it did. Perhaps people are afraid to speak out, or don’t know to whom to speak. A county of this size should not have nearly that many unsolved murders, and personally I am forced to draw the unpleasant conclusion that the authorities here simply aren’t very effective at doing their jobs. Perhaps Brown misspoke, or meant something other than what came out of his mouth, but if in fact this number is accurate, the entire citizenry of this county should demand some accountability. For one thing, the names of those victims and the relevant details of their cases should be published, if only to refresh people’s memories. For another, citizens and elected officials should begin to ask some very tough, very unpleasant questions of those charged with the duty of solving these crimes. So far, I’ve heard nary a peep. Do we the people truly find this a reasonable and satisfactory state of affairs? I for one say absolutely not.
As for the Stone and Baker cases, they’ve been well-documented, and there’s no need in rehashing the details here. Suffice it to say that it is evident that the ACC Police Department and other state and local authorities have failed those young women and their families, and by implication, the rest of us as well. Two killers walk free, perhaps among us, and the powers that be continue to resist common-sense efforts to bring these situations to a satisfactory resolution. For example, so far the ACC Police have refused the help of world-renowned forensics expert Henry Lee, claiming a lack of funds. However, when the Baker family has offered to pay for Lee’s service through private donations, the police have still balked. Then there’s the matter of the autopsy report in this case, which was supposed to be released within 45 days, but as of this writing some five years later still hasn’t been - not to the family, the media, concerned and qualified investigators, nobody. Persistent rumors continue to dog Athens regarding the Baker case, and its investigation, and I for one have come to believe that those rumors have some substance. They offer the only plausible explanation for why the police would stonewall and obfuscate in the ways they have. I’m not suggesting for a moment that the authorities don’t want to solve these crimes - that would be sinister, indeed - but rather, at this date five years removed from the events in question, they have come to put their own reputations and pride ahead of their duty to protect and serve the community.
Jennifer Stone’s case was expertly analyzed by Elton Manzione in a series of articles published in the Athens Observer some years ago, and I would refer interested readers to that source, but suffice it to say that that case, too, was riddled with errors, obfuscations and worse. The details of the two cases differ, but the essential truth of them - that they remain unsolved, and that they are unlikely ever to be solved - remains. For a community of this size, there’s simply no excuse for the heinous murders of these two young women, or any of the cases of the other 30 victims, to remain open. I’m quite sure that in none of these are we dealing with criminal masterminds. What we are dealing with are law enforcement agencies that have failed us, time and time again. I urge Mayor Davison, the members of the Athens-Clarke County Commission, and each and every citizen of this county to demand some answers. Maybe for once we’ll get them.
David Ingle AthensLetters
From You!
Church & Community
originally published February 8, 2006
I gained knowledge from reading of Blair Heald’s life with manic depression [“A Frustrating Mess,” Feb. 1]. In her conclusion as to what helps her function at the best level, she mentions hope, relationships and community.
She, like all of us, was created to be a part of community and share in the gift of relationships. This is how we all best function given that genuine relationships are based upon love and acceptance.
To the reader who has a problem with churches having equal access to meet at local schools [Letters, Feb. 1], I suggest she attend one before generalizing that the forefathers of this country would disapprove. Churches have always been at the heart of community, and offer those like Blair who thrive on relationships of acceptance a safe place to come and hear about transformation from dysfunctional behavior through faith, hope and love. Some of us call Him God. If the reader has such a problem being violated, I suggest she try and calm down for a minute to realize why she feels that way. No one is pressuring her to become a Christian. In fact, I get the impression that she would like for all religions to go away.
Jill McElheney WintervilleLetters
From You!
A Big Fuss
originally published February 8, 2006
Bush made a big fuss in his State of the Union address about America’s need to end its terrible oil addiction. Well, it was just reported on NPR’s “Marketplace” that the budget for the National Renewable Energy Lab, in Denver, has been cut by 15 percent, and 40 scientists researching the very technologies Bush claimed we needed will be laid off!
Similarly, while he expostulated on the need for more education in science and math “to keep us competitive,” the Education Department is suffering massive cutbacks.
This has been called the “Bush Kiss of Death:” praise a program, while simultaneously gutting its support. His administration has done it numerous times, and to see more examples simply search “Bush kiss of death” on the Internet.
Just thought you’d like to know.
Gordon Stelter AthensIf you are having problems with the site, or have questions or suggestions, please contact us here. Thanks!
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