Letters to the Editor
dmac68
Published Letters: 25 Editor's Choice: 2
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Bush Lite
[Read the article: Giuliani's dangerous bluster]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Fred Kaplan over at Slate Magazine does a nice job of breaking down Giuliani's article:
http://www.slate.com/id/2172285/nav/tap1/
My favorite quote from the Giuliani article is this one:
"The time has come to redefine the diplomats' mission down to their core purpose: presenting U.S. policy to the rest of the world. … Our ambassadors must clearly understand and clearly advocate for U.S. policies and be judged on the results. Too many people denounce our country or our policies simply because they are confident that they will not hear any serious refutation from our representatives. The American ideals of freedom and democracy deserve stronger advocacy. And the era of cost-free anti-Americanism must end."
Like Bush, Giuliani just doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that it isn't simply a matter of explaining America's policies to the rest of the world. The world understands our policies well enough; they simply don't like them. And that last sentence is just scary. "The era of cost-free anti-Americanism must end"? What the hell does he mean by that? Is he suggesting that other countries should be punished because they don't LIKE us??
Heaven help us if this man gets into the White House!
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Appropos of Nothing
[Read the article: Tom the Dancing Bug]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Okay, you can tell it's kind of a slow day at work when I start looking up stuff like this on the web.
The all-time HR leader before Babe Ruth was a guy by the name of Roger Connor, who played for an assortment of teams from 1880-1897, including the NY Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and the St. Louis Browns. Connor's mark of 138 career dingers stood until 1921, when he was surpassed by The Babe. Prior to Connor, the HR king was a guy named Harry Stovey, who spent most of his playing career (1880-1893) with the Philadelphia Athletics. Connor surpassed Stovey's mark in 1895.
The single-season HR leader before The Babe was Ned Williamson. Williamson cracked 27 homers in 1884, as a member of the Chicago White Stockings. That mark was eclipsed by Babe Ruth in 1919, who hit 29 dingers while playing as a pitcher/outfielder for the Red Sox. He blew away that mark by hitting 54 HR the very next season, 1920, his first with the Yankees. The Babe beat his own single-season HR mark with 59 HR's in 1921, and then again in 1927, with 60 HR.
All of these stats are courtesy of baseball-reference.com.
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No Big Surprise...
[Read the article: Scott Bateman: Cheney said, Cheney did]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...to those of use who've been paying attention over the last six years. I read about this Cheney interview some years ago (on MSNBC.com, I think). The question is, why wasn't this video all over the news networks during the run-up to the Iraq invasion? And why did no one in our brave, independent, "liberal" media question Big Dick about it back then?
Speaking of MSNBC, I watched some video highlights of the Chris Matthews show a few moments ago. One of the panelists on the show (I forget her name) tried to defend Cheney by invoking 9/11. The thing is, Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and Cheney knew that during the run-up to the invasion. Even Bush belatedly admitted as much, even though he was banging the Saddam/911 drum as hard as anyone in 2002-03.
But even if you accept this explanation for Cheney's turnabout at face value, the reasons that Cheney cited for NOT invading Iraq back in 1994 were still very much in play in 2003. There was no support among the allies for a US-led invasion of Iraq; there was no clear-cut successor to the Iraqi regime; and there was little to no cohesion among and between Iraq's various ethnic groups.
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New Yorker Magazine
[Read the article: After 9/11, Rudy wasn't a rescue worker -- he was a Yankee]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You know, some months before 9/11 (I don't remember when, exactly), there was a bit of a dust-up between Rudy and The New Yorker magazine. The magazine had begun using a series of ads on the sides of NYC buses with the tagline, "The only good thing in New York that Rudy hasn't taken credit for." Well, to make a long story short, America's Mayor threw a hissy-fit, and threatened to sue The New Yorker for libel, defamation, etc., etc. Ultimately, the ads were pulled, and the controversy subsided. But this is the Rudy that New Yorkers came to know and loathe before 9/11.
New Yorkers, Midwesterners, and everyone else would be better served to take a hard look at Giuliani's pre-9/11 record before pulling the lever on election day.
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No One Can Take Advantage of You...
[Read the article: I let my friends stay with me and now they're evicting me!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...without your permission. It's a hard lesson for a young person to have to learn, but there it is. Find yourself another place, and use this as a learning experience. It's okay to be selfish from time to time; in fact, it's vital that you do so.
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Wow.
[Read the article: The K Chronicles]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Keith, did you really do that? If so, I truly envy the size of your cajones. But you're lucky the guy didn't have a gun under the front seat...
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I Gave Up on Time Magazine...
[Read the article: Demand answers from Time magazine]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A number of years ago, shortly after they ran a gushing cover story on Ann Coulter ("Ms. Right," Apr. 25, 2005). It was apparent to me even then that Time had utterly given up on even the appearance of reporting the news in a fair and objective voice.