Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here.

Potatoes: best food ever.

In 2011, having lost the World Series (to the San Francisco Giants) the previous year, the Texas Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series—on two occasions. They lost the World Series (to the St Louis Cardinals). Today, as I sat watching in disbelief, the Rangers were one strike away from winning the American League West Division title. They lost the game and may yet lose the West Division title. It's embarrassing, humiliating, and disgusting. The good news is that the Rangers can still win the West Division title. If the Houston Astros lose either tonight or tomorrow, or if the Rangers win tomorrow, the Rangers win the West.

As for yesterday's game, which Katherine, Luki, and I attended, it was a classic pitcher's duel (Martin Perez versus Jered Weaver) until Mike Trout and Albert Pujols went to work. Triple; single; one-run lead. The Rangers lost to Los Angeles of Anaheim, 2-1. We went home disappointed, without bothering to stay for fireworks. Today, the Rangers were behind 5-1 at one point, went ahead 10-6, and lost, 11-10. Our pitching staff is depleted. (We used nine pitchers today.) I fully expect another loss tomorrow, which means the Rangers are counting on the Arizona Diamondbacks to beat Houston today or tomorrow. Is it desirable to back into a divisional title? No. But at this point, I'll take it.

To the Editor:

Re “Testing Mobile Ad Blockers” (Business Day, Oct. 1):

Thanks for the report on Purify, one of two ad blockers that work with the iPhone and iPad. The time-to-load comparisons across websites, with and without the blocker, were so compelling that I installed the app immediately.

And, no, I had no qualms about the ethical conundrum in the reporter’s preamble: the software’s potential to cut ad revenue to a host of websites and thus undermine their economic viability.

Indeed, the Internet has destroyed so many print publications—sucked so many advertising dollars away from newspapers and magazines—that perhaps this software will lead to a turnaround. If ads suddenly become less effective on the web, maybe advertisers will return to, and re-energize, print.

BILL APPLE

New York

Beautiful flowers on South Main Street in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Click to enlarge.

To the Editor:

As a college professor, I woke up in a cold sweat at 2 a.m., hours after our most recent mass school shooting at Umpqua Community College,imagining a young man with a big gun and a bad attitude standing at the door to my classroom. I asked myself what I would do: Flash a prearranged signal to Eric, an Army veteran who always sits in the front row, to try to take out the shooter, and hope that the class survives our attempt at heroics? Freeze in fear as the scene plays out in a hail of bullets? Get down on my knees and pray for mercy?

Tell me again that we live in a civilized country, even as such scenes have become numbingly familiar. Tell me that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. The truth is that people with guns kill people. Tell me I may someday be released from this fear.

BRUCE E. JOHANSEN

Omaha

Note from KBJ: What do you propose, Professor Johansen? If you ban guns, only the criminals will have guns, which puts us at greater risk than we are now. This isn't a slogan; it's a fact. Even if you could destroy every gun in this country (good luck with that), what's to prevent someone with evil intent from taking a bomb into your classroom, or simply locking the door and hacking everyone with a machete? By the way, if you don't like living in the United States, you are free to go to a "civilized" place.

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As I've been saying, Americans are sick to death of Bushes and Clintons.

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