Letters to the Editor
casual_observer
Published Letters: 1249 Editor's Choice: 1
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OT-A visit with Ms. Perino
[Read the article: Giuliani's proposal for endless Middle East wars on behalf of Israel ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ms Perino said "I don't know" 14 times in the press briefing today. Here's an exciting exerpt:
Q If we could go back to Blackwater. The Iraqi government's own inquiry has concluded that Blackwater was not fired upon before they were firing in that incident. Is there any reason to doubt that account?
MS. PERINO: I don't know. I think what we need to wait for is the joint inquiry to be able to do its work and come back and report.
Q Is there any thought being given to using U.S. forces to protect State Department personnel, even though it might strain --
MS. PERINO: I don't know. I don't know, I'd have to look.
Q Why do you have to have private contractors who have, on the face of it, a lousy record?
MS. PERINO: Well, I think that there is because -- I think that is because there is a need. I don't know why it was originally set up that way. Our troops are -- obviously have a different mission and are helping train Iraqi security forces. And their missions are different. It could be that in the inquiry somebody would suggest using the military to do those functions, but I have not heard talk of that.
I'll bet some of these people wish they could chuck all this, and get into journalism.
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sysprog @ switchback
[Read the article: Giuliani's proposal for endless Middle East wars on behalf of Israel ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Texas farmers and other landowners are worried their property rights will be trampled to make way for the superhighway."
KXAN's phrasing has an interesting sterility to it. The little twit writing copy in the urban newsroom might as well be on a different planet. The land is condemned. A price is offered. The landowners must sell. The land ownership is transferred.
I'll bet you some of that land dates back to Spanish land-grant days, back when Texas was the northern frontier of New Spain. Some of it was granted to individuals by the Republic of Texas, back before it joined the union. Passed down from one generation to the next as the decades stretched out. Forts built and manned by the settlers to defend land and lives from the Wichita, Taovayas, Waco, Comanche. You can still see them--slight mounds of rotted, hand-hewn cedar timbers out in the pasture, or by the side of the road.
On these older properties, there is still clear oral history going back to those days. The story of a great grandfather in the Apache raid on the farm. Or the day when two Comanches rode up to grandmother's house, asking for food. Given half a butchered hog by a recently-immigrated german family. 3 days later, a freshly-killed fat buck found at dawn, hanging from the old oak outside that same family's home.
The newsroom twit can't fathom these roots, and money can't treat the damage to them.
"Some will rob you with a six-gun, and others with a fountain pen"
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Barr
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...Verizon general counsel William Barr, who served as attorney general under 41,...
When emptywheel was building a list of prospective AG nominees, I suggested Barr. Still puzzled that he was never apparently in the running.
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phoenix woman @ public financing
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]finance reform is as close to a true silver bullet/cure-all as can be imagined. and everyone knows it. and yet we hardly ever hear discussion of this. Including on the major democratic websites.
related question, for anyone with expertise,
Is there any feasible way that corporations might be legally shorn of their 'personhood' under US law?
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re: update
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]UPDATE: I thought the meaning of the last sentence was quite clear, but if enough people fail to understand what was written, the fault, at least partially, sits with the writer. Several commenters on the first page of comments explain the meaning. For those who do not want to look there, the sentence has nothing to do with a critique of the MoveOn ad.
re: fault with the writer--No. Remove stuff like this and you lose your written voice. I appreciate that you must balance style with effective communication. But I hope most would agree that readers come here not just for content, but for voice.
re: pagination--I strongly urge you to abandon paginated 'letters to the editor' and adopt a single-page comment section. Like a blog.
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Highways to hell
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"has it ever been more obvious that the road to hell is indeed paved with these things?"
I disagree. I believe we're bumping over 5/4 supreme court decisions. The hand-basket lid is kind of obscuring my view though.
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Stewart and Colbert
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]WT said: "I forget the details, but the gist of the results was that a) their contempt for politicians increased, and b) they were less likely to vote."
Sounds like a group that is being well informed about current events!
I think Stewart would be the first to admit that his show isn't supposed to be where young people or any people get their news. It was designed as counterpoint, rather than primary source. The real tragedy is not that these shows exist and have a major impact, but rather that they are trying to provide humorous counterpoint to a "serious" media that doesn't exist.
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RMP
[Read the article: Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"the comments that John Stewart makes often contain more news information than a normal satire like Saturday Night Live"
For sure. And not surprising that that is the case. For one thing, for the gag to be funny, the listener needs to have enough base information to see where the joke is. In other words, they have to understand the straight story, in order to appreciate the twist that Stewart and staff will plant.
But when Stewart content beats Kouric content, well, that ain't so funny.