Author: rakemag

Stephanie writes:

Here is a pic of me reading my favorite local rag while on an Outward
Bound staff dogsledding/skiing/camping trip in Ely, MN near the Outward
Bound school on the edge of the BWCAW. The temps never fell below 20
degrees that week in Feb. and topped out around 50 degrees the day
before this was taken. Yay global warming! Can you see my tan? Thanks
for the quality reads.

(Now that it’s June, 50 degrees sounds really nice!)

Janice writes:

I took these pictures of my great nephews, Erik (8) and Joe (6) Brandt
from Uster, while in Switzerland visiting them on vacation. The
pictures were taken in Zurich.

We left the Rake Magazine with
our niece and nephew and family to read. The boys are Minnesota Twins
fans and were interested in the article on the Radkes. You publish some
excellent articles! We look forward to picking up your magazine each
month.

I enjoyed “Church and State” by Adam Minter. Especially because one of
his observations reveals a flaw in the progressive value of tolerance
and the point at which tolerance becomes irrelevant. “Johnson espouses
tolerance as a philosophy, but he has a difficult time extending it in
this instance,” Minter writes of Sen. Johnson’s dissatisfaction with
Chaplain Hall’s ministry. What Minter forgets to mention is that not
only are fundamentalist Christians intolerant, they openly mock the
ideal of tolerance even as they whine about liberals’ intolerance
toward them. To most liberals, the accusation of intolerance is
anathema and the only way to respond is to go on the defensive. Caught
in the trap of politically correct thinking, most liberals cannot bear
to define themselves as intolerant. But that has to change very soon if
there is to be any future for a progressive agenda. Tolerance is a
virtue that we should extend as far and wide as we possibly can. 
But the virtue of tolerance cannot be extended to groups of people who
are themselves intolerant, and liberals should stop making any further
pretense of doing so.  Fundamentalists of any creed are barbarians
who do not deserve the privilege of tolerance in a democratic, secular
society as long as they refuse to extend it to others. They shun
knowledge, promote ignorance, condone violence against women and
children and adhere to a social hierarchy that places a wealthy WASP
elite on the highest pedestal. Their concerns do not merit serious
consideration because they emanate not from a legitimate theological
context, but from a sense of self entitlement, false piety, and a
shameless will to power. Power is in fact, the only thing they worship.
Lest Minter give anyone the wrong idea: We have a duty to subvert and
dismantle intolerant groups in any legal way we can. Whatever hat he’s
wearing, Senator/Pastor/Brigadier General Johnson has my admiration and
respect for his ability to place the common good above his own personal
religious beliefs.
Justin Teerlinck
St. Paul

 [“The Worthlessness of Things,” June] was a great article with
deeply depressing content. The writing style made me feel like I was
walking through the man’s life myself.  The unsatisfying and
abrupt ending was perfect for the theme of an unfinished life.

Jim Larson
Minneapolis

I am a faithful reader of The Rake, and thoroughly enjoy your columns.
[Sex and the Married Man, June] caught my attention because it deals
with the issue of erectile dysfunction and the drug industry’s solution
to everything—pills. I think you are missing a key issue in this
article. It is proven that the absence of a male foreskin has
ramifications that America is only recently beginning to understand.
When you cut off over three feet of veins and arteries, as well as
twenty to fifty thousand nerve endings, you are going to have problems
with your penis. It was not meant to function properly without a
foreskin. While I do believe that psychological issues play a role
here, the key factor is that circumcision destroys, denudes, and
otherwise does great harm to male sexual function.

Nicholas Ferlazzo
Minneapolis

I appreciate your enlightening information [Sex and the Married Man,
March]. However, your idea about not abstaining is rather saddening. It
is not surprising that many people are dying from the dreaded disease
AIDS because of similar ignorance. I consider it unfortunate that there
are some like you who insist on having sex outside marriage, although
religiously speaking, the Bible advocates otherwise. I also appreciate
that we all have different religious backgrounds, and I do not know
yours. But if you are a Christian by religion, I think you need to
revisit your convictions from a clearer biblical perspective.  If
you are from another background, what would you advise those on a
continent like Africa where AIDS is sweeping millions away because of
careless indulgence in premarital sex? Have yourself a sexless day,
won’t you?

 Janet Wanjiru
Nairobi, Kenya