I had quite a few email respondents this week and this weekend.  Some of the best follow:

On alien life/extra-solar planets 

Anya C. writes:

The universe is too vast to believe there isn’t another species out there like us.  The real question is whether or not they’ve destroyed themselves.

E.Cal writes:

Area 51 is probably the only place we’ll have answers.  Why did we have such rapid progress in space travel to stall with near-earth stuff for the last thirty years?  I think we’ve been ordered by an alien group to stop our space program in exchange for under the table tech deliveries.

On Oil/Alternate Energy Sources

ExxonCanBiteMe writes:

Nice summary of the market, for all the help it does me.  What I’d like to see is some real dialogue on alternate energy sources and making your homes more green. 

Actually, I may have Jesse/Tasuja guest post on here about that.  He knows quite a bit and can frame his arguments very well. 

Tarna Mohindo writes:

This is the flaw with capitalism…resources are held in trust by people who don’t have the public interest at heart.  Transportation may not be a fundamental human right, but the ability to move about in society sure should be.

Uh…maybe this is a flaw with capitalism, but I’m not sure I like the wink at socialism.

On the Virginia Tech Memorial

Michael the Left Wing Angel writes:

Pete,

People like you are the problem with this country.  Don’t think of yourself as a sheepdog keeping the wolves at bay (as Meat Wagon said).  Instead understand that you are the root of the problem…Violence begets violence.  Peace begets peace.

Michael, it’s really hard to argue with your point.  Peace does beget peace.  However, there are always going to be people who are not and will never be interested in peace.  They require people (like me, I hope) to stand up for them, to protect them, or at least to speak for them when they can’t speak for themselves.  This may be a bit outdated…it may seem to be a bit too masculine for our modern-day culture, but there it is.  I was raised to believe that I have a duty and a responsibility to help those that I can, and to protect those that can’t protect themselves.  I will generally try a peaceful solution first, but I remain vigilant to the day when I must resort to force and/or violence to protect me, my family, or my fellow man.  I have been forced to act exactly once in my life; I pray that I am not called to do so again.  To say that my willingness to protect others stimulates violence is ludicrous.  I would invite you to amplify your point, and should you ask me to keep that conversation private, I will honor your request.  Otherwise, post in the original thread.

Jenny Gordon writes:

Pete, you are out of touch with the students on modern campuses.  We value forgiveness and altruism and detest the culture of materialism and warmongering.  We have it within our capacity to forgive even Cho Seung-Hui for his crimes.  For healing to begin, we must have forgiveness.

I might have it a little backwards, but for forgiveness to truly occur, don’t you have to have a confession of wrong-doing, followed by repentance?  Since neither of these last things have transpired, I will remain aloof.  Ask the families of the slain how easy they’re finding it to forgive.  I bet you won’t find too many who are in that mode right now.  And unless I was mistaken, I thought the students on modern campuses valued hedonism and apathy over forgiveness and altruism.  (If two wrongs don’t make a right, do two stereotypes?)

Andrew writes:

We may find ourselves in the minority, Pete.  Thanks for taking a stand on this.  It’s easy to see the media blowing this completely out of proportion after first glorifying, then villifying this asshole.  If we don’t speak for the victims, who will? 

I wouldn’t say we’re in the minority of the people reading this site; 68% of the emails I received regarding this were positive, but you have to admit that the readership here is beginning to be skewed toward a Libertarian viewpoint. 

 Thanks for all the emails this past weekend, folks.  Over the course of a week, I’m averaging around 100 emails.  Keep ‘em coming, and if I don’t respond or if you don’t make the weekend mailbag, it’s certainly not a slight against you.  I would, however, encourage more of you to post.  You no longer have to register, you just have to have a valid email address that I do NOTHING with, aside from assure WordPress (my content management system) that you are a legit poster and not a spammer.  That being said, if you email me, and you would like to NOT be featured in the weekend mailbag, just include that in your email and I’ll abide by your request.  Thanks again!