Debate goes on
ROB CASEY/JUPITER IMAGES
In response to the April Debate,
“Are we doing enough to protect
our national wilderness?”
NO. As our population expands we cannot
expand the wild lands—they are finite. I am
thankful every day for organizations and
citizens who work to protect our wilderness
areas not only for my family but for future
generations and wildlife, both of which have
no voice.
Gretchen Koch
Cottonwood, California
YES. A lot of people in our country do not
realize how much we are doing to protect our
wilderness areas. People in large cities such as
New York and L.A. keep pushing for more
national wilderness. How would they feel if
Central Park was fenced off and access shut
down? That’s what creating a national wilderness does. We are shutting off access to our
federal lands at an alarming rate.
Barry M. Usher
Billings, Montana
Odds and ends
Ditka is divisive
I was very disappointed to see a front-page picture of the coach smoking a cigar. I
think that sends the wrong message to kids.
Igor Dmitriev
Lake Zurich, Illinois
I applaud you for putting a picture of
Mike Ditka, smoking a cigar, on the cover of
April’s issue. In this overly politcally correct
world, it’s a nice change to see someone doing
what he enjoys, even though it’s thought by
many to be unacceptable behavior. You will
probably get more letters and e-mails disap-
proving of the cover, but that’s life in 2008.
Keep up the great work.
Marc Weinstock
Columbus, Ohio
We agree that a photo o f
Ditka not smoking might
have been a better choice.
But we chose to go ahead
with the cover for two reasons: ( 1) the man and his
cigar are inseparable,
much as the great George
Burns and his cigar
were—the image in
that sense is iconic; and
( 2) we felt the appearance of a
man with a cigar on the cover of The Costco
Connection was not likely to persuade someone to take up or continue smoking.
Does Ditka’s cigar smoking invalidate the
accomplishments of an All-American and Pro
Football Hall of Fame member viewed as an
underdog hero by a generation of Chicagoans?
That is for readers to decide.—Ed.
Costco Concierge, at your service
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costco.com, I did not truly realize the full
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I am relieved that I can now rely upon
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You have single-handedly made me a
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both my business and personal needs.
Laura Feldman
Pembroke Pines, Florida
A Connection fan
When I first got The Connection I threw
it out like so much junk mail because most
magazines are self-serving junk mail—or so
I thought. One day I glanced at it, and before
I knew it I finished it and was happy I did.
I find that your magazine is informative,
very well written, relevant, interesting to read
Have something to say?
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DIALOGUEletters
and gives useful details—there’s always one
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via e-mail
CORRECTIONS
The book Things Cooks Love, by
Marie Simmons and Sur La Table,
previewed in the March issue, didn’t
actually become available until the
end of April. It is still available in
many Costco warehouses.
In the April issue, a photo caption
on page 21 incorrectly identified
ESPN Radio’s Tom Waddle and
Marc Silverman. Silverman is in the
center and Waddle is on the right.
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