Letters to the Editor
lalucas
Published Letters: 52
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Hard Heads
[Read the article: Barack Obama: "Committed Christian -- Called to Bring Change"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If the primary purpose of this flier -- as Obama supporters insist -- was simply to rebut that false claim, why didn't Obama distribute this Christian brochure to Democrats in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada?
I have lived in most parts of this country, so feel justified to say: uneducated people all over the country, overwhelmed with too much information, latch on to something easy -- that is why sound bites work for the media.
The mantra in Central Florida and a good potion of the deep South with regard to Obama is: "Once Muslim, Always Muslim". It will take a powerful "I am a Christian" campaign to dislodge this idea in the minds and hearts of people tending toward bigotry and hatred from birth. If I were Obama, after all I have heard and seen from voters in this area, I would definitely begin to play the "Christian" card where it matters most -- in the South.
I agree with you that the offshoot of this Christian Campaign will have a broader impact than just fighting a rumor. He cannot be blamed for knowing that some people are just hard headed and it takes a big jolt to their awareness before a different viewpoint can be considered, however. That is the point of developing brilliant political strategy -- the depth and benefit of the multi-layered appeal of the message.
So, I am torn -- don't like to see him go down the "Christian" path -- that I find repugnant. Also, cannot stomach the "Once Muslim, Always Muslim" red-neck mentality. I guess I end up thinking this is something he had to try -- we will see how it sits with the populace...
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Where was Wolfe?
[Read the article: John King with Mike McConnell: Rare journalistic honesty]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"No time soon is King going to educate himself enough to ask the kinds of questions he needed to bring along to that interview. And even if he did, the issue would remain: would CNN allow the hardball (pardon the reference) questions to air that needed to be stated? I don't think so..."
Surely it was a calculated choice by CNN to have McConnell interviewed by John King rather than Wolfe Blitzer -- the outcome could have been very different, but then CNN would not have been able to air it.
Obviously, the affable, never too deep, but easily self-effacing King would be the perfect choice to stand in and say he wasn't versed in the subject matter. Wolfe would not have been able to pull that one off even if he was forced to do so. Allowing Wolfe Blitzer to maintain a shred of credibility as a journalist remains in the best interests of CNN...obviously, the producers doesn't worry about the same for King.
CNN can now say they haven't COMPLETELY ignored the issue of telecom immunity...good for them...sad for us.
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All Jammed Up
[Read the article: House Democratic leadership: not just complicit but also self-destructive]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It seems that there is some other agenda at work here. The whole Bush era is coming to an end metaphorically like a crowd rushing to escape a subway fire getting jammed up at the turnstyle which of course doesn't turn in the right direction...
So, what do you do if you are in charge? The problem is there, it is obvious, people are getting hurt, it is going to be messy no matter what happens. You aren't going to be able to turn your back on it as people will know it happened, will be looking for their loved ones, trying to recover the bodies and looking for compensation for their losses...
Then there is the investigation -- who started the fire? Why was there no better way out? Who will be sued? Layer upon never ending layer of time and expense spent dealing with the anquish, blame, loss, cost, and on and on...The Dems reaction makes me think of the Aussie phrase "They just put it in the 'too hard' box". Yep, as easy as that -- "too hard", too much work, too much trouble, too much turmoil, too much political fallout.
I keep praying that since the Constitution is still in place, we can shift our focus to electing a President with the morals to take us beyond this shameful administration. Let the historians roast Bush for his horrific legacy to the American people. When Bush is not the President of United States, especially no longer Commander in Chief of a country-at-war, the press is likely to have a field day with him.
Laws are always only as good as the people who enforce them. God save us from another Bushesque Administation. Hopefully, the new President will value the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and everything else that helped make America great from its inception.
If telecom amnesty is imminent, I think perhaps we need to try to become forward focused. We must demand better behavior from the new administration. Our focus needs to be toward our future. If not, we risk staying mired in the corruption, cronism, and calculated manipulation of the law that by extension will continue if our focus remains to prosecute existing leadership well into the next administration...