Reader Comments!
| Published March 18, 2014 |

By Thursday Review staff

Some of our recent content generated a lot of mail and commentary by Thursday Review readers, and among those articles which topped the list of items most viewed by TR visitors were: Crash Landing: The 1969 Seattle Pilots, by Kevin Robbie; Battles Over Bottled Water, by Earl Perkins; and several of our short business and finance articles about major retailers implementing store closures this year (Radio Shack, Staples, JC Penney). Other articles that received widespread comment included Earl Perkins’ look at Eminent Domain and its effect on poor neighborhoods, and Alan Clanton’s investigation into Comcast’s business model in the context of its recent plan to buy Time Warner (our most-clicked-on story of the last month).

Here’s a recent sample of our reader comments from the last few weeks (most of these comments and responses came through Word Press, Facebook, Google +, or through emails):

Crash Landing: The 1969 Seattle Pilots; Kevin Robbie; March 5, 2014:

Phillip in Atlanta: I guess this makes me OLD but I remember this well—brought back some memories of early love of baseball, the good and the bad.

Charlie in Vancouver: Nice article, and as a fan of Seattle sports I can appreciate the wonderful details. Can’t avoid weather issues in Seattle, and the article reminds us that politics can also play a big part in the success or failure of any team, anyplace.

Ricky @gmail: Thankfully the NFL’s Seahawks run a better-managed operation than these guys did in ’69. Ball Four by Jim Bouton is an excellent book.

Frank @roadrunner: Sounds like this may have been the worst major league stadium in baseball history. The condition of the venue can make or break fan loyalty. Of course, helps too if you win a few games.

A reader @Yahoo: Notice that beer and breweries were common thread in Seattle and Milwaukee. What’s up with that?

Michael in Los Angeles: Place was doomed, bad karma all around. Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin each performed there, and each died within a month.

A reader @Hotmail: Nicely done perspective; great piece of sports history.

A reader on Word Press: Loved this article—something I never knew about baseball history. Also, liked your look back at Deacon Jones and the reviews of recent Super Bowl.

Pete in Snohomish [near Seattle]: There’s a Lowe’s store there now, but they have the exact spot of bases and pitcher’s mound marked in the store. Ironic since the stadium was dilapidated and could have used repairs, plumbing and some decent toilets.

Kings of Content: Why Comcast is Inevitable; R. Alan Clanton; February 28, 2014:

A reader @Yahoo: The next rate increase in receive means I am switching to dish, even if the service is lousy.

Betty in Montgomery, AL: Like the consolidation of the big banks, eventually everything we expect in entertainment and internet will come from one or two companies. We will have no power over price increases or bad service.

Ed in Tampa: With the Comcast merger access (speeds) WILL go down and prices WILL go up.

A reader @Hotmail: My cable/phone bill suffers from Creep! It creeps up every month—a new fee here, a tweaked service charge there, an increase for some crazy thing that they can never explain. Been like that for years, and the politicos don’t seem to care.

Tonya in New York: I have TW now, and this means more outages, slow internet, and poor phone service for those who still have land phone.

Eric @gmail: Your article is a bit naïve and even pro-Comcast; like Google and Amazon, Comcast wants to control everything along their pipeline, and it has nothing to do with those “improvements” they claim will result from merger.

Brandon @Outlook: They have the cash and the lobbyists to make this slide through Washington, so I wouldn’t expect any regulators to step in and stop this. So much for competition.

Sherry in Indianapolis: And after the merger is complete, that means layoffs for thousands of people everywhere and no one fighting against most of the jobs moving overseas. Expect long on-hold waits for customer or tech support in India or China or the Philippines.

Caroline @gmail: No one seems to really care how big the corporations can get. What happened to competition? Didn’t we used to have presidents and a Congress that resisted monopolies?

Radio Shack’s Image Deficit; Thursday Review staff; March 4, 2014:

Andy on Facebook: (Regarding the need for Radio Shack to update its 80s image) Howard Stern agrees, by the way!

Sam on Facebook: Radio Shack’s prices are too high. I needed a cable to charge my phone and RS wanted $16 for it, Wal-Mart was out of them, so I went online and for $2.99 got it with free shipping. Screw RS! Good article, by the way.

Anthony @AOL: Strange, I hadn’t thought about Radio Shack in years until that Super Bowl ad, then, I went to my local store and saw the prices. THAT’s why I quit shopping there! They never were cheap, just convenient.

Cassie on Facebook: So, Thursday Review, where will you take that old TRS-80 when it needs repairs? [regarding an image we posted back in November showing a vintage Radio TRS-80, purchased by Alan Clanton in 1984].

Tiffany on Word Press: The store never seemed to catch up to reality—behind the times on hardware, expensive, not as good a selection as Target or Wal-Mart or Best Buy. And they always want your name, address and phone even when you buy a battery.

Battles Over Bottled Water; Earl H. Perkins; February 19, 2014:

Paul in Raleigh, North Carolina: This problem is happening in lots of states, not just Florida. Bottled water is the stupidest craze of the century, and it is destroying our planet faster than global warming and the extinction of the bees.

Debbie in Winter Park, FL: This was nothing more than political leverage at its worst. The state should at least require a more serious study of the long-term effects.

Val in Mankato, Minnesota: I guess this proves that hardly anyone trusts their own local water supply? Didn’t George Carlin have something to say about this?

Candace @yahoo: And then everyone wonders why the Earth opens up sinkholes and swallows houses and cars! Seems to me they should make the company responsible for any sinkhole damage in the area for years.

Johnny @Road Runner: Reminds me for some reason of that dork spokesman for the coal ash company in West Virginia, standing there saying “calm down” and “the water’s just fine,” meanwhile he’s holding a bottle of Deer Park.

Deepok on Word Press: Very interesting article; and I did not know that bottled water would be extracted in such large volumes and at such crazy speeds. My intuition tells me that someone will have to pay for this damage when it comes back to haunt us.

Tonight Show Debuts With Jimmy Fallon; February 18, 2014:

Shawn on Facebook: Tough to hate Fallon. Leno was great, Johnny was amazing. But things change. I have liked the debut episodes so far.

Steve on Facebook: I like Fallon, but I probably still won’t watch The Tonight Show that much more than when Leno was doing it…because…I miss Johnny Carson!

Teresa on Facebook: Love Jimmy Fallon.

Cindy at Yahoo: Times change, and though Leno was the best, it’s time to pass the baton to the next generation.

Mandy in Denver: There can never be another Johnny Carson, so the comparisons to him are pointless; Jay Leno did what Leno did best; Jimmy Fallon will make the show into his own as well. My mom used to compare Steve Allen to Jack Parr!

Kyle in Philadelphia: Fallon rocks. No insult to Jay, but it was time [for] a changing of guard. Debut was awesome with U2, but hopefully he can keep the energy up for years.

Gail in Jacksonville: I’ve watched all week (the debut week) and it has been hilarious!

Tom in Orlando, FL: Great review Alan, and thanks for sharing!

Chris in Tampa @roadrunner: Awesome review, and I agree that Jimmy will make the show work for him much better than the Conan experience.