Ray Gunned To the Editor, Thanks for "Minor eruption of Mt. Carroll" (The Skinny, Tucson Weekly, July 3). You covered well Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll's less-than-stellar performance at his Republican coming-out party with the precinct committeemen on June 23. I was a tad startled, however, at your apparent understatement of just how badly Rabble Rousin' Ray actually stepped on it when he exploded into a Jack Nicholsonian, "You-can't-handle-the-truth" tirade toward the very people who are supposed to be instrumental in his election next year. Though there were probably a couple of Brenda Even supporters at the event, the majority of those attending had not the slightest idea of what to expect from our newly appointed "Republican" supervisor. Fact is, Ray was the first to dive headlong into the self-generated, yet annoying, Scott Egan issue--with little or no prompting from the peanut gallery. Things got ugly when he failed to come up with a good reason for naming a former Communist/IRA activist/now turned Green Party member to the primary post in his supposedly Republican office. The best Ray could muster was, "I thought we needed a bridge to the Democrats...," with a quick insinuation that the District's Republicans are just "too partisan." Besides, Ray intimated, his nearly three years as a Republican told him he didn't need the committeemen, anyway. He apparently hadn't thought much about a bridge to the Republicans. Immediate sainthood should not be conferred upon someone simply because they've managed to tee off the so-called "cementheads" on occasion. Ray has quickly proven to be someone who can stand on his own two feet--and dig his own political grave--all by himself. --Scott Kirtley War Games To the Editor, I read Jeff Smith's "The Coming War" (Tucson Weekly, June 26) with great interest. But he didn't tell me how to prevent this class war he foresees. May I suggest that we start taxing all of those multimillionaire entertainers and sports heroes at about 98 percent of everything over $1 million and give it to those who don't have such talent? Since that will only be good for a few weeks, there will have to be more taxes collected to give everyone a fair share and redistribute the wealth. So, next we'll punish all those who work hard, get an education and are productive members of society. The punishment will be taxing everyone's income over $100,000 at about 90 percent. Next, we need to raise the minimum wage to around $12 per hour. Since that will really make our goods and services very expensive, we will have to put a tariff of 500 percent on all imported goods. This will include such things as cars, televisions, sneakers, etc. Of course, other countries will do the same. At such a nice minimum wage, all of the fast-food places would probably go out of business, but then again, the food isn't good for you anyway. And the laid-off employees can leech off the superstar taxes. Next, we need to take care of all the pollution. I propose increasing the gas tax by $4 a gallon, thereby reducing the desire for gas. Then put the money saved into mass transit, such as a light rail that goes anywhere anyone wants to go. Jeff didn't tell me how he would have all of the wealth redistributed, or who was going to decide who got what, but I'm sure it would need a very large bureaucracy indeed. As he said, 50 years of the welfare state was a failure, but those rich folks have got to pay, one way or another. --Michael Herndon Fractured Fairy Tales To the Editor, I agree with Jeff Smith 100 percent about how Disney has absolutely mutilated the original stories for their movies ("Toon Tirade," Tucson Weekly, July 3). Did you know that in the original story of "Snow White," the Queen wants Snow White to be killed and her heart "boiled and salted" for her dinner? And don't forget the peasant girl who was so proud of her magic red shoes. Unfortunately, she was forced to cut off her feet to keep from dancing to death. And according to Charles Perrault's "Little Red Riding Hood," she does get eaten--only because she was dumb enough to talk to strangers. And, to much surprise, in the original "Sleeping Beauty" story, the Prince was apparently busy while she was under the witch's spell. Because...Sleeping Beauty wakes up with twins, being impregnated in her sleep. Now, obviously, none of these stories were originally meant for children; they were toned down even before Disney got a hold of them. However, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pinnochio, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules were changed to be suitable for children. Disney mocks them by turning almost all of them into two-hour musicals with the same stupid love story. The original myths, like all mythology, is rich with symbolism and meaning. If it's not suitable the way it is, don't use it! I say, write your own stuff! --Lani Steffens To the Editor, Please have Jeff Smith get a clue ("Toon Tirade," Tucson Weekly, July 3). His alignment with Southern Baptists over an inaccurate account of Hercules is daft at best, and really desperate, crappy journalism at worst. I'll start where his pleadings left off. There is no way to compare a story based on a true event, like Schindler's List and the Holocaust, with a fictional story based on a fictional event, like Hercules and Greek mythology. It's actually shameful and insensitive. There is too much information to process in the media to learn about morals and the "right thing to do" in life. It is up to us as individuals to teach ourselves and our children about the lessons worth learning in life. When we need insight we can turn to credible sources like the Bible, Koran or the book of Tao, which were all written for that exact reason. I venture to say that the inferences in Jeff Smith's article indicate he is way out there. Looking to movies to find your way back is like using credit to gamble--it's a crapshoot and, if you lose, you really needed not to. Come to think of it, I would like to see an animated Schindler's List. If it does for the Holocaust what Joe Camel does for tobacco, I think it's an idea worth repeating. As for children, let's just say Disney creates entertainment--wouldn't that be a novel approach. I'm sympathetic to all that is pathetic, but this is way below that. Disney is teaching tolerance; we need a lot more of that to truly be a strong nation. Southern Baptists are an okay bunch, as long as they have no power to tell me what to do. --Matt Graham We Want Letters! Thrilled by our brilliant insights? Sick of our mean-spirited attacks? Need to make something perfectly clear? Write: tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com

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