To the editor: Hey, couldn't agree with you more about Joe R. Lansdale ("Leaving the Drive-In," Mar. 8-14, 2001). I love and admire his writing in this book especially, after all the books I own from him. When all is said and done, I hope he gets the recognition he deserves, not just because he is my favorite all-time writer, but he's single-handedly kept me searching out, buying and reading.

Jeff Bilby
Kingston, NH

To the editor: "We may eat our words about vaccines one day in the medical community." So said Tom Winkler in Beth Enoch's recent story on the vaccine safety debate ("Public Good, Private Pain," Mar. 29-Apr. 4, 2001). It certainly wouldn't be the first time the medical community laid down the moral law to an under-informed and trusting public before newer research disproved its absolutes. My mother was told it was absolutely fine to smoke cigarettes and have cocktails while pregnant. Nutrition was once regarded as unnecessary in maintaining good health. Thalidomide? Anyway, a little humility would go a long way with many in the medical field. If only doctors and politicians could embrace educated families instead of feeling threatened by them, we might be able to find an appropriate compromise in the vaccine debate.

Kathie Sever
Austin

To the editor: I first want to commend the Fort Worth Weekly for a well-written and well-rounded article. I agree with the philosophical exemption for parents. As adults, we have the right to accept or deny any medical treatment posed to us without fear of government punishment. Yet, to make this same decision concerning our children concerning vaccinations, we are attacked as uninformed, ignorant adults, and our children are punished by not allowing them to attend public schools. But as an informed conscientious parent, I should not only be allowed to make proper medical decisions but be expected to.

There is not enough unbiased medical research governing reactions to vaccines. And until I am comfortable with the levels of risks versus benefits, I and I alone should be making the decisions for my children without the influence of the government.

Tracy Valdez
Fort Worth

To the editor: I would like to thank you for your article addressing parents' consent to vaccinate. This would not mean near as much to me if I hadn't gone through the "Private Pain" of my own son's passing a mere 20 hours after receiving four vaccine shots required by the government. Ironically, six months after my son died, the Centers for Disease Control issued a warning about giving three of those vaccines at the same time. They warned it could cause reactions as severe as death. A little late for our family to heed their warning.

I heard an individual tell a group that in one year, there were 59 cases of polio in the United States; all but one were actually caused by the vaccine itself. This does not sound like the "Public Good." My son is a martyr. The pharmaceutical companies should be treated like the tobacco companies. Thank you for addressing both sides of the issue, unlike the television stations that spin everything around.

Tim Morren
Plano

Fort Worth Weekly Letters: I think that your title for the pro-death penalty letter, "Killing is OK" (Mar. 29-Apr. 4, 2001) succinctly undermined the author's point. That's good. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to respond to her ridiculous accusation that "hysterical anti-death penalty activists" think that "a sexual predator's life ... has more sacred value than that of the woman he brutally raped and murdered."

Sweetheart, a candlelight vigil will never bring life back to a murder victim. The mission of our protest is to save people from being killed. Which is more "disturbing"? 1) an abused retarded man commits rape and murder; or, 2) the state of Texas routinely kills people in cold blood?

Libertarians must work toward closing the loophole that gives the state the right to take a citizen's life.

James A. Austin
Fort Worth