...AND ANOTHER THING

US

NEWT versus Mitt. God bless America.

Bill Burns, Mount Waverley

PLEASE tell me the American presidential election is next week. I'm already thoroughly sick of it.

Roger Farrer, Hampton

Finance

TO MY superannuation fund manager: please place my money in an Australian bank. You can get 5 per cent per annum return.

Paul Cook, Blackburn North

IT'S just as well the mining resources tax got the chop. I would have hated to see Gina Rinehart in the poorhouse.

Margaret Callinan, Balwyn

Sport

WHY can't commentators have the courtesy to pronounce players' names (e.g. ShaRApova and MaKArova) correctly? Would Ms Stubbs appreciate being called REENay?

Judith Armstrong, North Carlton

IT'S ironic that players insist on a background of silence so they can concentrate on their grunting as much as their serve.

Doug Williams, Lorne

HOLD your heads high, Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic. Winning is not just about the scoreboard.

Mandy Macmillan, South Mission Beach, Qld

Politics

IT'S amazing how politicians are accused of "spin" (Letters, 24/1) when people don't agree with them.

Ros Levy, Bentleigh East

TONY Abbott pot calling the kettle black.

Sue Bennett, Sunbury

IF GILLARD is John Howard-lite, then her initial commitment to the precommitment pokies reform was akin to a non-core promise.

Joel Feren, Elwood

Furthermore

ON MY 65th birthday, I started taking flying lessons. I'm on to circuits now and am having a great time. Mature? I hope so. Elderly (Letters, 22/1)? Never.

Carolyn Reynolds, Lake Boga

WHEN the fad fades, the tatts (Letters, 23/1) don't.

David Dolan, Caulfield North

IN BURNING the bush for fire prevention, little heed is given to the animals that burn to death or are maimed. If you must live there, wouldn't it be better to build fireproof houses?

Rowan Wigmore, Gisborne

MY spellchecker suggests that I change NAPLAN to napalm. Perhaps it's an indication of what should be done with the meaningless tests that waste students' and teachers' time.

Geoff Phillips, Wonga Park

I WONDER if readers of Dan Murphy's full-colour, full-page ad (Letters, 24/1) noticed the article about the extensive effects of alcohol abuse on the opposite page.

Peter Fagg, Blackburn