Letters to the Editor
TCinLA
Published Letters: 96 Editor's Choice: 5
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The 2008 election
[Read the article: Dead party walking]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While we are all fixated on the Presidential race, wondering about the "shiny object" of the continuing Clinton psychodrama, or trying to read the tea leaves of the GOP race, the Big Money Republicans are already focused on the Real Deal, and if we don't start playing serious catch-up ball, it's not really going to matter whether it's any Democrat or any Republican who sits in the White House.
What's "the real deal," you ask?
It's control of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
If the Democrats don't have 62+ control of the Senate (not counting Holy Joe), nothing's going to happen. Does anyone think that the same bunch who launched 63 filibusters (a world's record) in the past 12 months are going to change their tune?
Additionally, we have to have 279 votes in the House if we're going to get real, progessive legislation that leads to progress.
In case you wonder what this means in "the real world," I'l refer you to the energy bill passed and signed last month to much hoo-rah, that provides for a CAFE standard of 35mph for cars in America by 2020. What was signed was what was left after the energy bill was run through the Republican filibuster shredder, and compromised in the House because there weren't the votes to put forward the real thing.
The real thing included: a cap on the emission of carbon diozide and establishment of a national cap-and-trade system; a requirement that utilities get 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020 (up from 2% now); a CAFE standard of 36mpg by 2020, with a floorM/i> of 20mpg; dropping $12 billion in tax breaks for the oil industry and using that to create tax breaks and loans for folks like you to take your house off the grid and go solar, buy hybrid cars, etc.
The CAFE standard was reduced to a "40% increase" (which allows Toyota to have their best-selling Tundra pickup go from 10mpg to 14mpg - the sale of one Prius covers two Tundras) when there weren't enough Democratic votes to overcome the opposition of John Dingell, the Congressman from General Motors.
Then the bill got to the Senate and was completely eviscerated by filibuster threat. What we got - important as it is - was a shadow of what it was.
Freedom's Watch is set to spend $250 million in congressional races to maintain at least 41 Republicans in the Senate and no more loss than 6 in the House. This in face of the fact that 9 Senators and 21 Representatives, all GOP, have retired, with 4 other GOP Senators and 12 Representatives on "the endangered species list."
If we don't fight this, "progress" in 2009 will be the kind we saw with the "energy" bill.
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The Clintons and forgiveness
[Read the article: The Shuster fallout]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If it wasn't for the willingness of the American public to forgive execrable behavior far worse than anything Mr. Shuster did, Bill and Hillary Clinton would have been dangling from the hangman's noose long ago. Hillary Clinton coming along with all this b.s. is the height of her hypocrisy. The Queen of Entitlement can go to hell - and take that lying s.o.b. she's married to with her.
And just how in hell did some History major end up as a "hedge fund executive" (Chelsea's "day job") anyway? Payoff from some Wall Street crook to her scumball parents?
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counting delegates
[Read the article: NAACP head wants Florida, Michigan delegates counted]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It would, of course, be completely irrelevant that Julian Bond is a major supporter of Hillary Clinton, right?
I seem to recall her making a promise not to run or campaign in either state or to try to do anything like this. As is usual with the it's-all-about-us Clintons, following the rules when doing so might harm their interests - regardless of the interests of the rest of everyone else - is something only the rubes do.
As she campaigns, so shall she rule. Lying, cheating, conniving. Everyone's known that about her since the first time we ever saw her. Tigers don't change their stripes.
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Campaigning with an anchor around his neck
[Read the article: Bush, reluctant to give up the spotlight, endorses McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Nice to see that Senator McSame is so willing to do anything to be President that he'll even give Little Georgie a public blowjob.
The Yale C student hands it off to the Annapolis cadet who graduated five from the bottom. Sounds pretty Republican to me.
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Why they went after Spitzer
[Read the article: Eliot Spitzer's monumental fall from grace]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For all the reasons you stated you liked him, the Republicans hated him. The news is that the Attorney General (i.e., Bush's houseboy) approved a campaign to try and bring down Spitzer for political corruption, which is what they thought was going on with the various accounts and payments to shell companies.
That they nailed him on prostitution charges is even better, from their point of view. These scummy bastards, these pinstriped pimps, these back alley assassins in their shiny suits, can all "tsk tsk" Spitzer and tell the world that they were obviously the victims of a "pervert."
I'm sure the Dom Perignon will be flowing in every Wall Street whorehouse at this news.