News

Letters from the issue of Thursday, March 6, 2008

ONLINE ANDY

Mr. Pitiful: This is an incredible story of arrogance by a public official ("The (Auto)biography of Andrew P. Thomas," Sarah Fenske, February 28). Imagine this little weasel sitting up late at night propagandizing his Wikipedia entry! At around the same time as the arrests of the New Times executives!

Here, [County Attorney] Thomas is the laughingstock of the entire country ("Who's Sorry Now?" Stephen Lemons, October 25), and he's attempting to erase any record of that, along with lots of other embarrassing stuff, from a Web site that's read by millions. This says more about the dishonesty of this martinet than anything I've read.

There are so many reasons why Andrew P. Thomas should follow his mentor, Joe Arpaio, into oblivion. But this proves what a pitiful, pious hypocrite he is. Aren't religious guys like he claims to be supposed to at least be honest? This little man is just another lying sack politician. I had very little respect for Apt37 before I read this New Times story; now I have none.

Please, please, voters, go to the polls in November and send "Little Joe" Thomas packing back to ex-special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik's law firm. He's only fit for mold work. Better still, can't somebody please disbar [Thomas and Wilenchik]. What ever happened to the Arizona Bar Association's investigations of them?
John Price, Phoenix

Wikipedia didn't count on guys like this: Great article. Interesting how the Wikipedia "creed" is to have fair, neutral, objective articles about people like Andrew Thomas.
Gregory Kohs, via the Internet

Thomas' twisted psyche: Damn, you're good! Really enjoyed your article. It gives insight into [Andrew Thomas'] personality, the unreality of [his] psyche. The guy defines vanity.

The darker, more dangerous side of this individual's mindset — the void of decency and compassion — were clearly evident in ABC's 20/20 transcripts regarding the Matt Bandy prosecution ("Doubting Thomas," Sarah Fenske, January, 25, 2007). [Thomas'] responses are of the nature of dogma, rhetoric.
Name withheld by request

DIRTY TRICKS

A slam dunk? Let's hope so: Never has there been such a slam-dunk lawsuit against these two so-called public servants [Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Thomas] as the one New Times proposes to file ("Blowback" February 21, Stephen Lemons). Andrew Thomas has already admitted in a news conference broadcast nationwide that his office screwed up. He has thrown his special prosecutor under the bus for running a rogue investigation, etc.

At first, I wondered why New Times would seek money damages, but I've come to believe that is the only way to get those two fools' attention and the public's. You should have sued for $150 million instead of $15 million. Maybe if you won that kind of judgment, voters would finally see that Joe Arpaio's malfeasance and corruption have cost us way too much.

The only way to get voters' attention around here is to hit them in the wallet. They care nothing about all the hapless prisoners, detained for minor offenses or awaiting trial for crimes they may or may not have committed, whom Arpaio has killed in his jails, while Andrew Thomas has sat around and condoned it.

Thank God New Times has the balls to stand up to these cruel tyrants. Never give up the fight.
Al Rodriguez, Phoenix

Exposing the new "troubles": From issue one of New Times, I have followed the evolution of this community's newspaper (for over 30 years now). Since being lambasted in issue one for my failure to produce Leon Russell, John Stewart, and the Carpenters at our SummersEnd Festival at Big Sur due to a hundred-year storm, I have enjoyed this newspaper's ongoing commitment to serving its readers with the hard and soft facts of life in this Valley of the Sun.

Indeed, we are all bozos on this bus and must acknowledge that our community has changed and the players — elected and suspected of leading us into world-class status — deserve inspection. Who would have thought that Lacey and Larkin would have become media moguls in our times? Not me.

Reading the "Blowback" story, I am enthused to respect our homegrown moguls for still acting as responsible citizens of our community to expose the serious flaws of certain elected officials and to hold them accountable for their actions. Kudos to them and the New Times staff.

[Former New Times writer ] John Dougherty may well have been proclaimed a saint in Ireland for his coverage of "The Troubles" we are experiencing in the Valley of the Sun. We today are, indeed, troubled by the lawlessness of law enforcement officials who are sworn to protect and serve. If, indeed, to protect and serve is the mantra of our law enforcement, then we are being poorly served by officials who are re-elected to posts that their PR machines have created out of public ignorance.

The troubles today are no less than serious. Educating the electorate is an important component to securing our future. How do we reach Sun City and other immigrants as to the threat unbridled law enforcement poses to our community? We would pray for the constant vigilance of our press and others who pass along the message that we are a free people and will not be intimidated by loudmouth political posturing that confuses the real issues.

Thank you, New Times, for turning over the rocks and exposing the slime that lives beneath. Indeed, you help us understand the difference between facts and the BS we are fed.
Robert W. Gately, Tempe

• 1
• 2
Next Page »