Letters to the Editor
Uncle Fester
Published Letters: 1346 Editor's Choice: 12
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AKASmith
[Read the article: Reexamining the Ferraro fracas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I thought your comment OT, perhaps due to it's brevity, and I responded in kind (both brief and OT). Sorry, I still don't understand the point of your comment. I think that affirmative action has been useful and necessary. And I'm quite aware that many think it doesn't make one a real star-bellied sneetch.
I've also thought for quite some time we should be phasing in a class based component to affirmative action. Mysteriously enough, that empty suit running for president has a similar viewpoint.
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@maureen Martha Mitchell and bits
[Read the article: Ferraro resigns from Clinton campaign]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Unfortunately, I don't remember much about Martha, other than she got into trouble. Doc is probably in a better position than me to fill you in. As I mentioned before, JFK has achieved a mythical status, so you critique him at your peril. The same thing has happened to MLK, which was why it was ill-advised for Hillary to make her MLK-LBJ comparision. Yet, if you listen to the speechs made by JFK or MLK, they still resonate after 40 years, they still compel. I think I'd rather choose to follow in their footsteps than in LBJ's. They are the ones invoking a limitless future and exhorting us to work towards it. My zen monk friend has this hoky chinese saying: "Piss in a glass of water, and everyone notices. Piss in a raging river and no one will".
I'm getting bored with the same old ding-dong about race and gender, the indignation and so on, so I don't think I'll stick around for much longer.
Well, I admit it's a peculiarly American obssession, but one not unique to our country. I think quite a few of us are starting to find it tedious as well.
My take is that a lot of this stuff has lain dormant for decades, like junk on the bottom of an otherwise placid lake. Since there appears to be a tendency to view race and gender progress as a zero sum game, a lot of folks want their candidate to win. As you've probably noted, it's always the other side that's stirring the pot.
Meanwhile McCain is getting endorsements from 'Christian' leaders who think the US is required to engage in a holy war against a few billion muslims. That makes the Obama Hillary dustup chump change.
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It's not that hard, really.
[Read the article: Reexamining the Ferraro fracas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she continued. "And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is." -G.F.
Obama's position is that he is currently winning. But according to Ferraro if we change his skin color, he's not winning. Which means losing. So he's getting a pass for his skin color. A lot of people think that's what Affirmative Action is all about: getting a pass. No need to be dense about it. It also means that all his other qualities and achievements don't mean diddly. They are not enough to win.
If you like the fact that Obama taught consitutional law for years and think it might have a bearing on the Imperial Presidency and the Unitary Executive posture of Bush 43, you might be disappointed in that comment, especially if Hillary's Foreign Policy remarks lead you to believe it's going to be more of the same under a Clinton II administration".
http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_8489268
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AKA Smith: Hills of Beans
[Read the article: Reexamining the Ferraro fracas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm glad we finally have something concrete to discuss.
None of these things will amount to a hill of beans against John McCain.
You might not be suprised to find that I strenuously disagree with you. And, as I have repetitively pointed out, you and others can keep saying this doesn't matter, that doesn't matter, that's insignificant. But when you add it all up and view the totality, it does matter, it is significant. And it's not the little ribbons and buttons like law degrees that matter, its the experience that you collect on the way, and how that experience is internalized and deployed. Where and how did Obama learn to speak, to write, to argue, to engage an audience? Not one of those qualities is a bean or two?
We need somebody who can remind us that the rule of law still matters, that our fundamental traditions of government should be honored and maintained and not overturned by fear. We should not be ruled by fear. You, my dear, may not care about someone who can bring the ideals of the founding fathers into this century, but I do. I'm tired of those idiot congresspeople coming on T.V. who don't understand the adversarial role of Congress to the Executive and instead think they are mere rubberstamps.
I don't that this is Hillary's forte and it doesn't seem to be on her radar.
You might not have seen the journal's take on Obama and the 2nd Amendment.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120398899374792349.html
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re: Current 5 Things (not)
[Read the article: Introducing 5 Things!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Do you think the fact that some bushwhacker has taken over the courtesan Dupre's myspace page to advertise for anal sex to be one of the top 5 stories that I simply must know about?
The fact that the above is sponsored by the US Air Force is simply the cherry on top. A little more discretion and deference to intellectual pretense would be appreciated.
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@jebldmm So what is leadership, then?
[Read the article: Reexamining the Ferraro fracas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But he needs to learn how to lead, not just inspire
That's a good question, how would you define leadership then? What is involved beyond mere inspiration?
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@Aycharaych Thanks for link www.intel-dump.com
[Read the article: Misadventures in logical reasoning -- and lessons learned from the Spitzer scandal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I do lots of moral things, I just don't want to use the power of the state to compel others to follow my particular moral code when they are not violating the rights of anyone else.
Agreed. Not always that easy though, especially when sorting out the rights one of one group of people against another.