Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 283 Editor's Choice: 20
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Rubbish
[Read the article: Trading preschool for passports]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This reminds me of a Wall Street Journal article I read a few years back about the problems of buying a yacht. My heart went out to the writer then, just as it does to Amanda Ward now.
As a father, I was most appalled by the dad who said, "Come back every few weeks." Unbelievable. This is liberal parenthood? I bet Dad takes up with his secretary while Wondermom trots the globe, and yes, she deserves it if he does.
Thoreau said, "I have traveled many miles in the city of Concord," and that has been my mantra ever since I read it. A person who can't find a whole world in her backyard has no imagination. And a life devoid of real meaning.
So, by all means, go. America will be better off without you.
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And Who Is To Say E Is Not Purple?
[Read the article: The letter E is purple]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is a school of thought in philosophy that says the way we perceive reality is not necessarily the way reality is. Just because we see a flower and call it red doesn't mean the flower is truly red. Redness is the way our brains analyze and understand the light reflected from the flower.
E could be purple, especially if the property of purple has some meaning to the perceiving mind. A musician who sees musical notes as colors might be able to compose more easily, because the colors allow the musician to see as well as hear his composition.
Einstein was not the best mathematician. He made most of his greatest discoveries through "thought experiments" in which he visualized the physical principles he was interested in. Then later he went back and figured out the math.
E could be purple. Who's to say it isn't? Just because something is not normal doesn't mean it is not correct.
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This Article Is Clinton's (or the GOP Nominee's) Blueprint for Election
[Read the article: The race vs. gender war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree totally that Obama is constrained. If he appears to bestrident or combative, voters will desert him out of fear that he is becoming "too black."
So, to beat Obama, you provoke him. As soon as he gets angry he is politically dead. Unfortunately, if Clinton doesn't do it, the GOP definitely will in the general election. Karl Rove ain't that far gone.
Sad to say, this shows that Kamiya is right -- Obama's candidacy is high-flying, but very fragile.
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It's Her Nickel?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think this is a pretty causal way to dismiss steroid use in sports. While I agree that Marion Jones chose to take steroids and that she may yet pay the price for using it (see Florence Griffith-Joyner and Lyle Alzedo)we forget what steroid use does to the other competitors.
Imagine you are a world class sprinter who routinely goes up against Marion Jones. You strongly suspect she is juicing, and she is taking the gold every meet to your silver. What do you do? A lot of people would be strongly tempted to take steroids also, just to keep up.
The problem with steroids is that if it gives an athlete a competitive edge, the competition is left with a hard choice. Do you stay clean, and run second your entire career, or do you get on the bandwagon.
Who knows how many people juiced just to keep up with Marion Jones. People who wouldn't have if they could have won clean. That is her real legacy.
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His Kramer Moment
[Read the article: Chris Matthews' mea culpa]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Matthew's remarks remind me a bit of Michael Richards's n-word comments during a comedy club act last year. Richards was simply "going nuclear," pressing the most offensive buttons possible to get a rise out of his audience. It was an attention-getting measure, but Richards didn't understand how serious a line he crossed until it was over.
Matthews does the same thing, almost on a daily basis. He seeks attention by saying provocative things. I think he said what he said to get a rise out of people, more than to express a sexist point of view. What he didn't understand was that he was crossing a line.
Like for Richards, for Matthews the charge of sexism sticks not because of the stupid things he said, but because of his tone-deaf behavior afterwards. He will always get in this kind of trouble, because he feels the need to be provocative. That is also why he is not a real journalist -- real journalists aim to convey truth, not to get attention.
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Woody Allen Is Dead to Me
[Read the article: "Cassandra's Dream"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ever since Allen married his stepdaughter I have not seen an Allen film. And won't until he dies. This may be a Jewish-Wagner thing, but I consider him a child molester and won't see his films.
I know he has made some fine movies in the past, but I am getting along quite well without him. Thanks for letting me know that I am not missing anything.
I wonder if Allen's moralistic tone in this film is some kind of response to the fierce criticism he has gotten over his private life. At any rate, it seems rather hypocritical for a man with his history to use ethics as a principal subject of a movie.
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Obama Stands to Lose the Most
[Read the article: The knives come out in South Carolina]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hillary Clinton has always been seen as a divisive candidate. No one should be surprised if she gets her hands dirty.
But Obama's hook has been that he is the unifying candidate, the Man for Everyone. If he mixes it up too much with Clinton, he loses that aura and stumbles.
America may be ready for a black president. But I do not think it is ready for an angry black president.