DAILY RFT, NOVEMBER 1, 2011
SOUR NOTE
Here's an idea: Why don't they make it into a museum and get some security in it ["Miles Davis' East St. Louis Childhood Home Is Falling Apart," Albert Samaha]? It would then provide a few jobs and become a tourist attraction. Seems like then it would not only secure the building but even help the surrounding neighborhood.
SMDrPepper, via the Internet
Broken record: Isn't that what things do in East St. Louis? Fall apart? Saving anything over there is throwing good money after bad. The solution to East Boogie's problems is and has always been to raze it to the ground, remove the region from the control and oversight of Illinois, build two more bridges across the river and better infrastructure, and promote development of the newly created cheap land.
MSanders, via the Internet
DAILY RFT, OCTOBER 31, 2011
WHO'S THE REAL MVP?
You're out! You're entitled to your opinion like everyone else, and hats off to Carp and Berk, but David Freese was correctly chosen the MVP ["Chris Carpenter: The Real World Series MVP," Aaron Schafer]. His extra-base exploits occurred at the most crucial moments in the series. When the pressure was on he came through. Of course, there were other heroes, baseball is a team game, but Freese proved to be the man for those pressure-packed moments.
Fred L., via the Internet
Safe at home: I hate picking the top/first/best in anything, but I guess it's a necessary evil because of the nature of the MVP. I'll play devil's advocate and side with Aaron here; Freese delivered in the showstopping points in the series, but he also had a few rather bad fielding bungles, and his hitting was dry in the middle of the series. Craig had some pretty important HR's, but his hitting wasn't all consistent either.
Carp's pitching is consistent, and he was solid in his games, even though he gave up a few runs. When he fucked up, it seemed like no one was more pissed at him than himself. And Puma consistently delivered; his stats speak for themselves. It was a surprise for him to not make it on base at every bat.
I can only hope Freese's teammates aren't too sore about it and are happy for him that he fulfilled any baseball fan's wildest fantasy. The hard MVP pick shows that it truly was a team effort.
As an aside, any speculation as to why Freese seemed so damn morose during the parade?
Anonymous, via the Internet
FEATURE, OCTOBER 27, 2011
DEAD DUCKS
Quack methods: Thank you for your article on the hunting crimes of Jeff Foiles ["Fowl Play," Nicholas Phillips]. The article does a good job of sketching out some aspects of hunting ethics, but Jeff Foiles' actions go beyond ethical issues to raise what can only be called metaphysical issues.
Years ago Joseph Wood Krutch wrote a profound condemnation of what he called "sport hunting:" "Killing for sport is the perfect type of that pure evil for which metaphysicians have sometimes sought. Most wicked deeds are done because the doer proposes some good to himself.... The killer for sport has no such comprehensible motive. He prefers death to life, darkness to light. He gets nothing except the satisfaction of saying, 'Something which wanted to live is dead."'
By no means does this description fit all or even most hunters, but Jeff Foiles is the perfect example of such nihilism.
J. Claude Evans, author of With Respect for Nature: Living as Part of the Natural World
Misfire: I have to say that as a committed waterfowl hunter, Foiles represents most of the ways things can go wrong in hunting. Commercialization and money are not what hunting is about. Clearly hunting became about inflating his own ego instead of paying respect to the game and the hunt. It also results in a public-image black eye for the 99 percent of waterfowl hunters who hunt ethically and with respect. Hopefully this will all give Foiles a chance to return to what's important in hunting.
Cody Williams, via the Internet
Parting shot: As a Missouri hunter, fisherman and conservationist, I'm very upset with Jeff. I'm pissed at the feds as well for how easy they went on him. He should have gotten jail time and a much bigger fine. Jeff's limit violations and his unethical methods are atrocious, but he and those like him have done far more damage to hunters than they know.
Hunting, fishing and outdoor life are under political and cultural attack in this country, and as we become more urbanized there are more people that look at Jeff's bloodlust, his canned hunts and lack of ethics and would paint all hunters and outdoorsmen with the same brush.
Jeff Foiles is not a hunter and does not represent the 99.9 percent of us that hunt ethically. He is a sadistic, thoughtless glutton with a license who forgot the resource he was harvesting belongs to all of us and in so doing has done a great disservice to the hunting community. I've seen this kind of behavior in the field, and I make it my business to call people out on it. If you enjoy hunting and fishing in this country, please do the same.
MOutdoorsman, via the Internet
