'Meathead music' more than just testosterone
I admit it. I am a fan of, as Heather Ramsden put it, \meathead music"" [""Testosterone and rock: Addressing Meathead Music, Culture,"" Jan. 29]. Contrary to what you may believe by reading her article, I am not a hulking, brutish neanderthal who enjoys smoking pot, rioting and exploiting women. Granted, some of the people who listen to heavy metal and its derivative forms of music fit that image; the vast majority do not. Stereotyping the listeners of heavy music like that is like saying anybody who listens to country music is a wife-beating, drunk-driving redneck, people who like rap are all unemployed criminals or everybody who owns a Grateful Dead or Phish CD is constantly stoned, tripped out and incoherent.
I'll be the first person to say that the music I listen to may not be the most artistic form of music today, but then, what is? The fact that one person doesn't find a style of music artistic doesn't mean that another person has the same belief. Furthermore, there is not one shred of evidence that heavy music instills negative ideals in formerly normal people and causes them to degrade women and shoot up schools. Rather, the people who do so had negative ideals in the first place, before they started listening to heavy music. The reports of the ""dangers"" of artists like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit today are exactly the same as the reports of the ""dangers"" of artists like Elvis in the 1950s. No, the music might not be helping anything, but I'm sure it isn't hurting anything, either.
Protection of services for students important
I appreciate recent letters regarding my achievements as a member of the city of Madison transit and parking commission. Unfortunately, there have been many misstatements recently and I would like to address them.
I have been an active member of the Transit and Parking Commission. I worked successfully as the city sponsor of the UW-Madison student bus pass program, approved the bike rack on buses program as an active member of the subcommittee and worked to distribute bus guides to students unfamiliar with the program.
I am proud to have been involved in making an environmentally friendly transit alternative available to students through the student bus pass. In the past seven months, I have not missed a single Transit and Parking Commission meeting. Although I have many other meetings, school activities and commitments, I have done my best to be a progressive voice for students. I have been able to attend the vast majority of Transit and Parking Commission meetings in order to ensure a strong student voice in city hall.
As you may be aware, Madison Metro experienced financial difficulties last year due to unexpected and dramatic fuel and paratransit increases. The Common Council was forced to review service cuts or bus fare increases in order to continue providing service. I looked carefully at alternatives to those options and supported programs to increase local advertising on buses instead of dramatically decreasing service. We were thus able to have small cuts limited to routes/times that had very little usage. The student bus pass contract renewal I am sponsoring this spring will actually increase student service in the summer. Overall, I have worked hard in order to ensure a fiscally stable, successful bus service and student bus pass program.
As always, feel free to personally contact me anytime at (608)446-3504 with your questions or ideas on any city issue.
