Passersby could have helped dog bite victim Yes! Perfect word Rent-a-cart

Thanks to Milan Simonich for his article (“Bitten and scared, senior citizen tried to find pit bull,” Ringside Seat, July 18). So many issues are brought to our attention, including irresponsible dog owners and the lack of action by the city animal control workers. Isn’t anyone concerned about rabies? But the most concerning and shocking aspect of this article is that no one on Rodeo Road stopped to help this man. Could no one get out of their car to assist or at least call 911?

Anne Percival Santa Fe

For fear of misusing a word or two in responding to Stuart Ashman’s My View thoughts (“Accurate language makes a difference,” July 17), I’ll keep it simple: Right on.

Bill Siegal Santa Fe

Thank you, Stuart Ashman, for Sunday’s My View (“Accurate language makes a difference,” July 17). “Regressives” — I’ve always called them “expletive deleteds” who want to return us to the ’50s. Now I’ve been given the perfect word.

Susan Munroe Santa Fe

On a vacation trip in Italy, we went to a supermarket for the first time. In the parking lot, we offered to bring a cart back to the store for a family who just finished loading their car. They were very upset and refused. Puzzled, we walked on only to realize they paid to use a cart. Upon return, they’d get their money back. Just like an airport luggage cart. If businesses found the right monetary sweet spot and used card swipes for both processes, the losses would probably drop a lot. A win, win all around.

Karl Kregor Eldorado

Missing dads

I read the recent article by Paul Golding (“Focus on the performance of boys to improve schools,” My View, July 10). It is puzzling to Golding why boys are doing so poorly in this state where educational performance in general is dismal compared to other states in the union. Leaving aside whether the New Mexico public education system is good, fair or bad, consider basic societal issues instead.

I propose the breakdown of the family and the resultant boy crisis go hand in hand with dad-deprived boys who show a whole range of problems, ranging from poor academic performance; uncontrolled behavior; psychological, social and physical health; and later development in life. There is a brilliant source of what is really going on with boys (and girls) available: It is a book authored by Warren Farrell and John Gray, The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It. These are two outstanding academics with focuses on very practical aspects of the problem.

Bill Dedmon Santa Fe

Muskets in mind

Our U.S. Supreme Court believes it is crucial to determine what the Founding Fathers “had in mind” when they wrote our Constitution. Regarding the Second Amendment, we can be sure what the Founders envisioned regarding the firearms they were approving. The guns back then were muzzle-loading muskets or pistols with one shot that could maximally be reloaded four times per minute. A modern semi-automatic weapon can fire 60 rounds a minute. A squad of 15 Revolutionary soldiers could get off the equivalent number of rounds as one person now with a semi-automatic weapon. If the weapons we now possess existed back then, the Founders would have designed the Second Amendment quite differently. If we were to follow the intentions of our Founders, we would allow people to own single-shot, bolt-action rifles and single-action revolvers. These could serve for self-defense, target shooting and hunting; they would not be highly effective for mass killings.

Robert Ross Santa Fe

Broadcast buddies

The University of New Mexico is on an ignominious list of 87 universities that broadcast sports on 260 “Trump” talk radio stations. For more than two decades, Albuquerque talk station KKOB has used its association with UNM to attract advertisers while talkers like Rush Limbaugh told millions smoking doesn’t cause cancer, global warming and COVID-19 are hoaxes and Roe v. Wade must be overturned. A recent New York Times article reported radio hosts on those stations are still repeating the election fraud big lie that could endanger politicians and election workers in November. Surely UNM can find nonpolitical stations that don’t undermine students on issues like climate change; reproductive and voting rights; racism and immigration; LGBTQ rights; public education funding and student debt; the Supreme Court; book bans; science; and truth.

Paul Ericson Cerrillos