Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
DEAD AGAIN
I have a friend who is very interested in whether Andy Kaufman faked his own death. As a matter of fact, most of our exchanges regarding this topic end up quite heated. Does Nick Schou, author of “Andy Kaufman Isn't Dead” [Dec. 3], really believe that Orange school-board trustee Steve Rocco is indeed Andy K.? If so, why? Any light you could shed on the subject would be most appreciated and will probably lead to further debate in my circle.
J.
via e-mail
Nick Schou responds: For the latest in this developing story, check out this week's The Rocco Files by Victor Infante, page 14.
HIGH SCHOOLED
Allow me to correct a few errors in Nan Kappeler's article “The Rich vs. the Addicts” [Dec. 10]: a textual error says Narconon is Narcotics Anonymous. That is not true. Narconon means “Narcotics-None or No Drugs.” Narcotics Anonymous is a separate, respected approach to recovery that shares a common purpose to ours—to restore drug-free, ethical, productive persons to their families and society.
Since we have been part of the community in Newport Beach for nine years, we have consistently made positive adjustments in our centers in order to be good neighbors. Sadly, there are still people in the world who continue to try to reduce or destroy betterment groups and activities such as ours. Whatever motivates such people, the rest of us must be vigilant to stay on the path of truly helping our fellow citizens.
Gerry Marshall
president
Narconon Southern California
The quote attributed to me that was so freely used throughout Nan Kappeler's article that states our neighbors are spreading “blatant lies” is not accurate. I never said that. What I said was in response to your reporter stating that “one” neighbor had accused our clients of stealing their Wimbledon medals. This accusation is unfounded, and I stated that this was a blatant lie. In regards to the title of your article, “The Rich vs. the Addicts,” I would like to convey that we are in the business of saving lives. The disease of alcoholism and drug addiction is an equal-opportunity affliction. Many of our clients are “rich” as well as “addicts.”
Mike Newman
director
Newport Coast Recovery
An editor, still blazing from last week's party featuring 3 Vodka, responds: Readers can see for themselves how difficult it is to know what Mike Newman really means when he speaks. First, he says that he “never said” his neighbors were spreading “blatant lies” about clients in his Balboa Peninsula recovery center. Then he admits he said precisely that, but only in response to one accusation: that one or more of his clients might have stolen a neighbor's Wimbledon medals. Kappeler's notes are clear on this matter, and they're represented accurately in her story: when she told Newman that a neighbor accused his clients of stealing virtually everything that wasn't tied down and locked up—including someone's Wimbledon medals—Newman responded that the charges were “blatant lies.” Now we have Newman's letter, which puts us in the awkward position of suggesting that while it is a “blatant lie” his clients ever stole Wimbledon medals in particular, it's slightly less “blatant” and maybe not even a “lie” that they'll steal everything else. We're sure he sees the dilemma.
SOUTHERN STRATEGY
Editor's note: The following letter references Tim Bueler, profiled by Gustavo Arellano in “What I Want to Kill When I Grow Up” [July 2]. In that article, Bueler, a high school senior, said he looked forward to going to Iraq and killing Muslims because “Islam is not peaceful—it's rooted in evil.”
I just heard Tim Bueler speak here. In fact, I hung out with him all day. I watched for the first time the videos of innocent people being beheaded. It's quite a sobering experience. Have you ever seen those videos? The way OC Weekly made it sound, Tim is some kind of nutcase. Not true! He is very down-to-earth, and his views, though slightly extreme, are all strong and well-backed. Why shouldn't he want to kill Muslims before they kill us? What do you think we're doing in Iraq right now? Islam is, according to the Koran, a violent religion in which you are glorified for killing INFIDELS. And guess what: because you live in America, YOU are an infidel and a TARGET. I didn't like your negative spin on Tim.
Daniel Entrekin
Birmingham, Alabama
The editor responds: Daniel, we are shocked to hear such sentiments from anyone who lives in Alabama.
RACY
Gustavo, Gustavo: I sure like you a lot better when you're critiquing OC restaurants than when you're standing on your little “Ask a Mexican” soapbox, flipping whitey the bird. Come on, brother: if all us nasty white people packed up and headed for Arizona, you and your paisanos (you know, the ones with the superior sperm) would be beatin' a path hot on our heels. Then we'd be reading you in the Phoenix New Times, bitching about how those insensitive gringos are making your life a living hell. I say, can't we all just get along?
Robert Armstrong
Long Beach
I'm a Mexican from Santa Ana who now lives in London. My sister called me a few weeks ago to tell me about some column in the OC Weekly called “Ask a Mexican!” And I just wanted to tell you I find it absolutely hilarious. Thanks for the laughs when I need an OC pick-me-up.
John Paul Gutierrez
via e-mail
WELL SAID
I'm just writing in so you can get your obligatory “Fuck Greg Haidl” letter. Maybe you should devote a five-by-five-inch square each week to just those words and save letter writers a lot of time. But seriously. Fuck Greg Haidl.
Danny
Fullerton
