Music to My Ears
Great articles by Randy Harward on David Lee Roth and Rush ["Hello, Dave," July 16; "Semi-Permanent Waves," July 9, City Weekly]. Please tell me Harward still has the audio clip of David Lee Roth saying "fuck you"—and, pretty please, could he make it available? At least to me?
Because that would be truly cool. I like the idea of using it as an email notification. Maybe even a ringtone, properly edited. I know it's a long shot but, wow, that would be great.
Andy Toomey
Jacksonville, Fla.
Requiem for Gyll
Brandon Burt's July 11 CityWeekly.net blog essay on Gyll Huff was very lovely. I stumbled upon news of Huff's death obliquely referenced in Facebook postings. I had to Google him to find the blog piece.
What a force of nature he was! We did lots of different things together during my time in Salt Lake City, from 1978-84, and afterward when I visited.
The last time Huff and I were onstage together, we pruned shrubs at the arts festival while dada-esque moments happened around us.
Thanks for sharing.
Tom Hagood
West Yarmouth, Mass.
Soothed by Anti-Trump Prattle
Jim Catano's column ["Trumped Up," July 16, City Weekly] bemoaning Donald Trump's announced presidential candidacy as frivolous and unserious is music to my ears, since I picked up this rag to read to pass the time at a local laundromat one late night (I usually pick up City Weekly for Ted Scheffler's dining reviews, since his commentary is apolitical).
I have lent my support to Donald Trump ever since he announced his running for president, whether on the Republican Party ticket or going rogue, like Ross Perot and Theodore Roosevelt, that could split the election for a historical first as a duly elected third-party president.
There are two reasons why my support for Trump stands (even though I disagree with him on some issues):1. The Donald tells it like it is on the vexing crisis of illegal immigration, unlike the cowardly and complacent competition concerned with the purse strings of the corporate masters such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Wall Street, that love exploitable cheap labor and intended to displace American citizens and legal immigrants. 2. "The Trumpinator" is serious in his intention to win the presidential candidacy, even if he gets booted off the Republican Party ticket through the party's utter corruption and fraud, as happened to Ron Paul in 2012.
The more attacks that are levied on Trump, the stronger he will be, with his record-setting climbing polls made up of discontented voters sick and tired of political gridlock and the dismal economy exacerbated by unenforceable immigration and retrogressive free-trade agreements.
Donald Trump is winning the hearts and minds of the "silent majority." That is why self-professed liberal or plutocratic tools like Catano are scared that Donald could win the election and turn things around, rebuking the disastrous administrations of the past five decades, especially reversing the antagonistically anti-American worker policies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
The sound of Catano's self-righteously prattling and pontificating whining—being so frightened of Donald Trump becoming president that mockery and derision must be elevated in order to attack him—is soothing.
Aaron Heineman
Provo
Change Dealership Laws
Hey, Utah Legislators: I want a Tesla!
A 2016-17 Tesla model goes for around $36,000. I will buy this car even if it means buying it out of state, which means Utah would lose the revenue from sales tax.
The ridiculous current law requires cars to be purchased from franchise dealers, not manufacturers. You might remember New Car Dealers of Utah. In coordination with Larry H. Miller, they were instrumental in bringing in the law prohibiting dealerships from being open on Sundays. If you want to help them out, you could like their Facebook page. They have only 48 likes so far and they've been around since 1923.
As far as I can tell, the law was put in place to keep car manufacturers from setting up franchises that would cannibalize each other. Why a company would need a law to stop this behavior is only one of a giant list of problems with the way automakers do business. Another is, why does everyone get raked over the coals every time they try to buy a car? This is followed closely by manufacturers building cars that need complex servicing: Work preferably done at the dealership. They are operating on a flawed business model, and affordable electric cars could force them to change it.
The range of most Tesla models is 200-270 miles. The average American drives 37 miles a day, so that's plenty of miles for 90 percent of people.
There is virtually nothing to the Tesla automobile. It is literally a bank of batteries with a motor to drive the wheels. This means no oil changes or mechanics telling you the O2 sensor that monitors the rear-view mirror has to be replaced. The Tesla Model S has 2 motors. It can go from being an all-wheel drive winter vehicle to a rear-wheel drive sports sedan depending on the driver's needs.
Teslas will autopilot and park themselves. You pull up to a tight parking spot and tell the car to park and it does a perfect three-point parallel park. You get home and tell the car to park in the garage and it does. You will be able to summon the car (on private property). That's like something out of an Ironman movie.
If the old style car is analog cassette tape, then the Tesla is fully digital iPod. In 2014, inventor Elon Musk released his patents to the world, free to all. This flies in the face of automakers intent on creating proprietary products.
I no longer wish to support auto companies who aren't forward thinking. I don't think it matters what your political affiliation is. How about supporting something that will make cleaner air? Why not drive a car that is almost as fast as a Porsche? How about driving a car that costs $5 to fill instead of $60? Why not have Utah lead the way to the future for once?
Justin Wood
Salt Lake City
