On Aug. 14, while meeting a friend at the Barnes & Noble coffee shop, I was told that KBYR talk-show host Eddie Burke was seated at the table next to ours, and we were introduced. In retrospect his presence in a book store seems somewhat incongruous-Burke is without peer as a professional disseminator and promoter of willful ignorance, hysteria, falsehood and outright bigotry. His behavior off-air wasn't much different.
Perhaps the high-point (for him) in our discussion came when, shortly after his learning that I was Muslim, he identified himself as a "Muslim hater" and asked if I was carrying a bomb beneath my shirt. In fact I have an abdominal hernia.
I now see that my initial anger concerning his "bomb" comment was somewhat misplaced. Abdominal hernias are sometimes sustained by those who have engaged in a lifetime of honest, usually physical, labor. Considering how Mr. Burke earns his pay, it's doubtful he'd know much about that.
- Al-Hajj Frederick H Minshall
Anchorage
Who's the fascist?
Obviously, Katherine Hicks ("Anchorage protesters bring their guns and slogans", Sept. 12), who accuses the Obama administration of "fascism", has no idea what the word actually means. Look it up, Katherine, and you'll discover that it's a very good description of people like you.
Real fascist types can't recognize fascism when they're staring at it in the mirror and yet they falsely attribute it to others who represent more-or-less the opposite. Of course, one of the hallmarks of fascism is intolerance of, and demonization of, any opposition. Statements like Katherine's show who the real fascists are.
- Jay Johnson
Champaign, Ill.
A Spanish call for modesty It was probably Julia Roberts playing Erin Brockovich who popularised the fashion - which is still around - of showing bra straps outside a T-shirt.
One fashion following another, year after year, what is being aimed at is to get rid of female privacy. The task of covering women moves between burkas and bikinis, and whilst there are voices against the Islamic veil, viewed as a religious archaism or a symbol of women's subservience to men, no one complains about the clothing of women in the West.
What greater subservience to a male can there be than for no reason at all to allow him a view of thighs, shoulders, navels and breasts while walking down the street, and thus provoking an unprecedented surge of male lust? Not to mention the show which is afforded at the beaches, where women staunchly parade in topless gear to the embarrassment and resignation of all others on the beach.
These women would never dream of walking around like this in their homes, because it is so obviously vulgar.
There is a middle way between burkas and vulgar exhibitionism .Are we women, or are we "females" ? It is up to us to decide.
- Lucía Rivera
Barcelona, Spain
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