Letters to the Editor
English_roG
Published Letters: 80 Editor's Choice: 4
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Another Theory
[Read the article: Things that don't exist in Harry Reid's world]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One of my theories is that the Democratic Party has never gotten over the rigged election of 2000 followed by the shock of Dubya actually narrowly winning an election in 2004.
An entire generation of establishment Democrats has been deeply scarred and just don't have any fight left in them.
The solution is obvious; the party needs new faces in key roles and a new fighting spirit to replace the tired appeasment of the past 7 years.
As for traitors like Lieberman... while the majority is 51 he must be humored. The moment the majority is 52 he must be dumped, publically and with the maximum humilation possible. Scum like Joe (whose primary loyalty is to the Likud) are beneath contempt.
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Hummmm
[Read the article: "The Rabbi's Cat"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hummm...
French Algeria in the 1930s eh?
I think I'd rather watch my copy of "The Battle of Algiers."
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Sorry But...
[Read the article: Helicopter travel in Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry but for a volunteer in an all volunteer army, participating in the definative evil act of the early 21st century.... the sympathy meter reads zero.
As for embedded war groupie Ms Bradkhen, retirement can't come soon enough.
The sooner everyone leaves Iraq the better.
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Hopefully Obama's People Will Read This
[Read the article: Neocons and the truth: Bitter enemies to the end]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hopefully Obama's people will read this, and when the time comes politely and firmly show the neo-cons the door.
That's phase 1.
Phase 2 is far more difficult; that is to purge the lower profile neo-cons from the various jobs they hold in and around Washington. You can sure the cries of 'vindictiveness,' 'witch hunt,' 'partisan' and the inevitable 'anti-semitism' will be raised.
But the stakes couldn't be higher, and the American people and their President must demand a foreign policy establishment that isn't crippled by neo-conservativism.
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Fantastic Post on Nerds
[Read the article: The beauty of the geek]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't know if the author saw this before or during the writing of his book, but it's one the finest posts I've ever read, and a really compelling argument that explains why nerds struggle so much:
http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html
And for those who need some convincing, here are some quotes:
"In the schools I went to, being smart just didn't matter much. Kids didn't admire it or despise it. All other things being equal, they would have preferred to be on the smart side of average rather than the dumb side, but intelligence counted far less than, say, physical appearance, charisma, or athletic ability."
and
"Nerds don't realize this. They don't realize that it takes work to be popular. In general, people outside some very demanding field don't realize the extent to which success depends on constant (though often unconscious) effort. For example, most people seem to consider the ability to draw as some kind of innate quality, like being tall. In fact, most people who "can draw" like drawing, and have spent many hours doing it; that's why they're good at it. Likewise, popular isn't just something you are or you aren't, but something you make yourself."
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Where is the Outrage and the Desire to Punish Now?
[Read the article: The ugliest election]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The true legacy of that terrible election was the emasculation of the Democratic Party for the next seven years.
An entire generation of activists and politicians was deeply deeply scarred and has only recently shown signs of recovery - somehow they never managed to remind themselves, let alone the American public, that Gore had won that election.
Their inability to fight the Republicans left the arena clear for the neo-conservatives and their extreme agenda (Bush was simply the fuckwitted front man).
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The Cruel Equation
[Read the article: Another pretty face of a generation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The cruel equation:
Small Talent + Good Looking > Big Talent + Bad Looking
Emily Gould is merely the latest to demonstrate this.
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Wonderful Symbolism
[Read the article: Endangered species: The Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The symbolism is wonderful: just as President Fuckwit reaches the end of the road, so does the definative Fuckwit vehicle; the passenger 'truck' and the SUV.
And what is at the end of the road?
Whoa! Look at them roll down the memory hole!
In another 18 months nobody will ever remember or talk about them again.
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Good Arguments Here
[Read the article: I'm an exhausted caregiver on the point of collapse]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Good arguments here that support:
1) Euthanasia.
2) The essentially sadistic nature of god.
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A Truly STUPID idea!
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton for veep -- the petition]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hummmmm lets see...
How does Obama destroy all the good work he's done in presenting himself as the candidate for change unsullied by links to the beltway establishment?
Yup! Nominate his own worst enemy and beltway operator for decades Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Sadly for Hillary, Obama isn't a fuckwit in the Dubya mode.
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All Washed Down the Memory Hole
[Read the article: How Karl Rove played politics while people drowned]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And yet the entire fiasco has hardly been mentioned for over a year now...
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Absolute Trash
[Read the article: And Obama's veep is ... a Republican?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've seldom read a more stupid article than this one.
What a waste of time for the readers and the usually excellent Mike Madden's energy.
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Is it Stupid Political Speculation week at Salon?!?
[Read the article: A McCain-Lieberman ticket?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Another really dumb article speculating about VP candidates.
Joe Lieberman is a hemorrhoid who's primary loyalty is to himself and then the Likud. On any other issue he's completely unprincipled.
John McCain's advisors know this, and won't be putting Lieberman's name forward.
Who knows what dumb speculative VP article Joan will approve for tomorrow's Salon?
I'm only charging $500 for a 1000 words of guff on a rumour (I just invented) that Barack will choose Tony Blair.
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The Courage of Gore Vidal
[Read the article: Gore Vidal's inconvenient truths]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Gore Vidal also had the courage to tell the truth about lovely Israel at least 20 years before any other eminent American dared touch the subject.
His essays on the pro-Zionist lobby and their cynical use of the Holocaust are also at least 20 years ahead of their time.
That's a fantastically brave thing to do; see the reception people like Jimmy Carter have had in our own times.
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The Futility of Non-Violence
[Read the article: Dalai Lama's time bomb]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Non violence is a futile waste of time in the vast majority of cases where it is tried.
The 'effectiveness' of non-violence is well demonstrated by the plight of the Tibetan people; given decades to succeed and led by a charismatic and skillful publicist it has achieved nothing.
Violent resistence coupled with a clearly articulated set of demands has proved effective in numerous national liberation struggles throughout history.
Ghandi and British are the one exception, and even then there followed a brutal war that led to the partition of India and the foundation of Pakistan.