Oprah Winfrey

Re “Cattlemen Want Oprah to Eat Her Words,” Jan. 21: I will be eating only fruits, vegetables, grains, chicken and fish until the Texas cattlemen drop their ludicrous lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey has the best interests of her audience at heart, and her comments are only meant to suggest people educate themselves on a subject. She doesn’t force anyone to do anything!

The media were full of “mad cow disease” information, so TV viewers, newspaper and magazine readers and radio listeners were all subjected to the dreadful stories about the outbreak of the disease in England. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” expresses opinions only, and thinking people watch and make their own decisions based upon a variety of information, not just what Winfrey says. The cause of “widespread panic as prices plunged for days in the volatile beef futures market” was clearly from a combination of factors. The cattlemen need to withdraw their lawsuit.

LYNDA MERRILL

Morro Bay

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I noticed your story omitted what to me is a very important item. It refers to Howard Lyman, the guest who was on the show discussing mad cow disease, as “a vegetarian and Humane Society spokesman.”

Why didn’t it also state that Lyman is a fourth-generation ex-Montana cattle rancher, i.e., one who would know?

LINDA JORDAN

North Hollywood

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What a strange society this is becoming. It is OK to sue a talk-show host for libel and damages due to her personal reaction to a discussed issue on a fairly debated and also informative show, while it is not OK to sue somebody for hate speech and allegations that go on daily on talk radio, and which can lead somebody “not all there” to act out violently. Does this then mean that as long as someone does not lose money, free speech is OK? It does not seem to matter that free speech has cost people’s lives.

I can’t be the only one reacting to our strange priorities in this world of free enterprise. We can simply not reward the thinking that loss of profit is more important than loss of life.

MARIE TAGENIUS

Los Angeles