Is anyone else fed up with Time Warner Cable?

For my part, I think they’re a despicable monopoly! They charge huge increases for channels we don’t even want so they can shove it down our throats. When you call for any help, you get robots telling you how to fix it yourself.

The new “upgrades” are lousy. I was happy with the old “upgrades.” It’s impossible to follow the instructions and, again, when you call you get a robot telling you to do it yourself. But if you want to wait to talk to a human — does Time Warner employ any? — you’re told you have to wait a long time because of high volume.

That’s code for “you’re a sucker if you wait.”

Time Warner, your service stinks. You’re a monopoly and you act like one.

Bill Boynton

Scarborough

Reviewer’s comment insults all musicians

Christopher Hyde’s statement “Anyone who encourages a young person to pursue a career in music is committing child abuse …” is offensive to every music educator, student musician and aspiring professional musician in Maine.

The comment in last Sunday’s review (“Youth is served in ensemble performances for the ages”) had nothing to do with the concert but served to demean what the students had worked hard to achieve.

Hyde should have applauded the dedication of the students and the hours of practice; the parents who supported and chauffeured their kids to rehearsals; the music educators who ignited students’ interest and challenged them to excel.

Instead, Hyde used his position to make an inflammatory comment that served no purpose.

Not all students who perform are looking for a career in music; most will pursue other interests and keep music as an avocation. In either case, we should be supporting their efforts not disparaging them.

In this time of state curtailments to local school systems, when school boards are taking a hard look at cutting music programs as a cost saving measure, it is counterproductive for a person in Hyde’s position to make such an arrogant comment.

Silvia Moore-Young, President

Maine Music Educators Association

Turner

Going strong at age 95 and still paying taxes

Five years ago I wrote to the Portland Press Herald protesting that no person over 90 should have to pay federal income taxes.

Fast forward to 2010. I am 95. I had to pay the tax even though my prescriptions are costly and I have to employ a shopper and some home care to stay independent. Nor do I have sufficient savings for an extended stay in a nursing home.

I doubt there will be a change in my lifetime.

Are there other “oldsters” who feel as I do?

Beatrice H. Comas

South Portland

Tea Party demonstrators: Thou protest too late

The Tea Party is right about government spending. But, I ask, where have you been for the past 30 years?

Where were you while Ronald Reagan ran up a couple of trillion dollars in debt? Where were you while George H.W. Bush continued the trend?

And where were you while George W. Bush (who inherited a surplus) added his trillions?

Under these three Republicans our debt soared; we had a recession in the early 1980s; we had the savings and loan collapse in the mid-1980s and in 2008 the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

There is plenty of blame to go around. But do you really believe the Republicans are any more fiscally conservative than the Democrats? Look at their record; don’t listen to their rhetoric.

They all spend, we all pay.

Peter Bogle

Gardiner

Stories lose credibility with faulty assumptions

Do news reporters report the news or what they think is news?

Case in point revolves around two stories in the Wednesday’s Press Herald.

One story claimed it was good for the planet because the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded around 100,000 flights, meaning that their carbon footprint would be less.

Does the reporter have a clue as to how much carbon, ash and glass are released when a volcano erupts? I don’t think so.

The second story was about the lack of places to exercise if one lives in the country. Well, my wife and I lived in Lee, population 738 when we resided there. During the five or so years we lived there we never came close to seeing all the places we could walk and enjoy nature.

If you are afraid of the bears and other extremely dangerous critters that are rumored to reside in the Maine woods, move to a city like New Orleans or any city along the Mexican border for your own safety.

Evidently the reporter never walked in the woods all that much because when I used to hunt or just take my dog for a walk in the woods, I never had a problem finding a place that was safe and easy to walk and enjoy.

Watch out, there’s another twig!

Lane W. Hiltunen

Windham

Enjoy your rights, but do it responsibly

Three cheers for Bill Nemitz’s column on Sunday regarding “Sam,” the anonymous blogger (“Online anonymity shouldn’t grant license to libel”).

I know we have a right to free speech, but what so many people never consider is that for every right we have, we also have the responsibility to exercise that right in a way that does not harm others. Or, as the old adage says: “Your right to extend your fist ends where my nose begins.”

“Sam,” and others who slander in secret, need a lesson in being responsible in the exercising of their constitutional rights.

Larry Ryan

Kennebunkport