Letters to the Editor
John in Nashville
Published Letters: 82 Editor's Choice: 4
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Wilson/Plame cause of action
[Read the article: A civil suit against Karl Rove?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sam is way out in right field. Retaliation by a governmental actor for one's exercise of the right to criticize government officials has long been recognized as a violation of First Amendment rights actionable (where the defendant acts under color of state law) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. Where, as here, the retaliation takes place by a federal actor, the cause of action for damages arises directly under the Constitution itself pursuant to the Bivens doctrine. The immunity issues, however, are tricky, and discovery would likely be stayed pending resolution of any immunity defenses asserted at the pleading stage.
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Limbaugh
[Read the article: Rush Limbaugh and the little blue pill]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When Rush Limbaugh takes Viagra, does he get taller?
In retrospect, doesn't anyone wonder whence came the vitriol and invective Limbaugh spewed, first about Ted Kennedy and later about Bill Clinton, e.g., the "arousal gap"? Is it because he couldn't bear the thought of a fat guy who didn't have trouble getting laid?
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"Pete"
[Read the article: Area man mistakes Onion story for reality]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for an intersting article. I had suspected that "Pete" was a pseudonym (short for peter)and that Stephen Colbert had taken up blogging. The blog did have the familiar ring of truthiness.
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IVF and "murder"
[Read the article: Does Bush really think stem cell science is "murder"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]With the Cheerleader-in-chief, it's all about pandering to higher income groups. In vitro fertilization costs tens of thousands of dollars; heterosexuals who have that kind of money expendable in furtherance of uncertain outcomes are a natural Republican constituency. Bush will offend that group when pigs fly.
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Does participation in IVF facilitate murder?
[Read the article: It's murder, yes, but we've got to strike a balance]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let's see now. The destruction of an embryo is "murder", according to Tony Snow and other Bush acolytes. The Bush administration has made no effort to criminalize nor to otherwise prohibit privately funded stem cell research, even though this research presupposes the destruction of embryos.
In vitro fertilization commonly uses a much greater number of embryos than can successfully be implanted; the remainder are frozen until they deteriorate or are otherwise destroyed. IVF is an elective procedure which costs tens of thousands of dollars, often without great prospects for success. Does the Cheerleader-in-chief regard the doctors and technicians who participate in this procedure to be "murderers"? Are the prospective parents who fund the procedures facilitators of or, more pointedly, accessories before the fact of "murder", i.e., the destruction of excess embryos? Has anyone in the Bush administration sought to prosecute these malefactors or to amend existing statutes in order to authorize such prosecutions?
Is the President's silence related to the fact that doctors and heterosexual yuppies with tens of thousands of dollars of discretionary income are part of the natural constitutency of the Rethuglican Party?
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One of Coulter's signature lines
[Read the article: Miffed Republicans, plus Ann Coulter and the Bush twins, too]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]is, "The truth cannot be delivered with novocaine." Is that because Coulter does for political discourse what Dr. Christian Szell ("Iss it zafe?") did for dentistry.
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One of Coulter's signature lines
[Read the article: Miffed Republicans, plus Ann Coulter and the Bush twins, too]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]is, "The truth cannot be delivered with novocaine." Is that because Coulter does for political discourse what Dr. Christian Szell ("Iss it zafe?") did for dentistry.
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How do we know "Randi" exists?
[Read the article: Learning from multiple abortions]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Does anyone remember the doofus who read an article in The Onion headlined "I'm Really Psyched About this Abortion" and did not realize that it was a parody? That came to mind as I was reading "Randi's" letter.
I suspect that "Randi" is a pseudonym coined by a right wing nutjob in order to parody or lampoon those who support abortion no matter what the circumstances are. Think about it. The name itself (at least when spelled with a y) is a synonym for horny. That "she" is unwilling to pay for contraception but willing to undergo multiple abortions suggests that our correspondent is at least arithmetically challenged or perhaps feeble minded--most abortion providers presumably charge a fee for the service. The "in your face" tone of the letter suggests that the writer is being more clever than subtle.
The right to choose abortion should be defended, but those whose behavior and attitudes are similar to "Randi's" make that defense far more difficult in the court of public opinion.
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"I had other priorities in the '60s than military service"
[Read the article: What Mary Cheney should expect while she's expecting]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While in the abstract gay couples should be left to choose whether or not to rear children, in this particular situation I am skeptical that any good will come of perpetuating the DNA of a present day warmonger who, when he ran out of student deferments during the Vietnam War era, literally fucked his way out of the draft--on October 6, 1965, the Selective Service lifted its ban against drafting married men who had no children. On January 19, 1966, when his wife was about 10 weeks pregnant, Dick Cheney applied for 3-A status, the "hardship" exemption, which excluded men with children or dependent parents.*
This unfortunate child combines the DNA of a pus-gutted coward grandfather and a quisling mother.
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*Hat tip to Wikipedia
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Why two-thirds?
[Read the article: Fetal pain bill fails]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am confused as to why this bill would require a two-thirds vote in favor of passage, unless the proponents would rather have a recorded vote than he passage of the bill; that is, the Republican leadership would rather have the issue than the resolution.
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Other states with at least Democratic senator and a Republican governor
[Read the article: South Dakota senator suffers apparent stroke]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]include Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut (one Democratic senator; one hermaphrodatic senator who says he will caucus with the Democrats), Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland (until January), Massachusetts (until January), Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York (until January), North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Missouri has a Republican governor and a Democratic senator-elect.
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I wouldn't be too sure
[Read the article: Monica Lewinsky is "dumb-but-smart"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that our famed fellatrix will ever get beyond being a punchline. Can anyone imagine an employer telling his wife over dinner, "I hired a new employee today. Her name is Monica Lewinsky"?
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What is the issue here?
[Read the article: What else we're reading]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If I recall correctly, the charges of rape (though not all charges) have been dismissed at the behest of the state. While it may have been indicted as a rape case, how can anyone presently call it that?
Just wondering.
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What if
[Read the article: Real talk with Bill Maher]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]the baby wound up with Anna Nicole's brains and courage and eloquence and Bill's looks?