Letters to the Editor
jimmymac1025
Published Letters: 12
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Perfect Storm
[Read the article: The war president "at peace" with himself]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Bush' comments to the Spanish prime minister reflect the perfect storm of ignorance and arrogance that is the hallmark of this administration: Dumb enough to screw up a two-car funeral and too proud to listen to anyone who told them so.
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Change primaries
[Read the article: My letter to the most important man in American politics]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Kudos to the State of Michigan for upsetting the Iowa-New Hampshire apple cart. The sooner the nation adopts regional primaries the better.
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Can Biden Win?
[Read the article: Biden calls himself "the odd man out" among '08 Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Like many Democrats, I had taken the position that I would support Clinton, Edwards or Obama in the next presidential election. I wish we could have thinned the herd to those three for debates. But as the process continued, I found myself more convinced that the best candidate is Joe Biden.
The polls suggest mine is a voice in the wilderness. Does anyone agree with this?
Our electoral process lacks institutional memory. Everyone runs against the status quo. No one seems to know or care about how things got the way they are. Biden is criticized for talking too much. But he seems to insist on putting things in context and perspective. His comments about the relative dangers presented by Iran's nuclear program and the firepower already existing in Pakistan floored his opponents, but was hardly mentioned in media reports.
I urge Democratic primary voters to take another look. There is plenty of time to change the dynamics of a process that doesn't start counting votes until January. We owe it to ourselves to give all candidates a fair hearing. You might learn something. I did.
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Exactly right.
[Read the article: Romney and Huckabee's religious intolerance ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As a devout secular humanist, I am insulted daily by Republicans who insist on "saving" the nation from my kind. I go to work, pay my taxes, love my wife and kids and break no laws. What I need is to be saved from those who think government ought to compel me to adhere to their faith. I pray daily and will always remember the advice of a good friend who said, "Go ahead and tell me what God told you during your prayer. Just don't bother telling me what God told you to tell me."
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Matthews should be fired
[Read the article: How bashing Hillary backfired]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews apparently believes people are following the election to watch him bellow at his guests, spittle spraying with each incomprehensible syllable. I hope the attention he has brought upon himself following the New Hampshire primary results in his termination. He belongs on sports talk radio. Who else has guests on his show and refuses to let them speak? While I love Keith Olberman's clever, impassioned commentary, I also enjoy conservative Tucker Carlson on MSNBC. I enjoy the edge and partisanship of cable news. But Matthews is an egomaniacal disgrace. MSNBS has a good thing going. But Matthews is an embarrassment. The network can do better and should.
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Right wing chokes
[Read the article: Why McCain provokes paranoia on the right]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They huff and they puff and...nothing happens. Their candidates are trounced at the polls at every turn. The only Republican to get any traction with voters this year is the one who openly despises them. Don't buy McCain's story about being a true conservative at heart. That smile he wears while conservatives jeer tells it all: He whipped their asses. I'll vote for Obama or Clinton. But the defeat of the gasbags on the right is the most satisfying schadenfreude I've enjoyed since the Yankees blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox.
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Clinton is the Republican choice
[Read the article: The Democrats' anti-momentum]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Amazing to think the Democrats may allow right-wing loudmouth Rush Limbaugh to select their candidate. Limbaugh's Project Chaos, during which he urged Republican listeners to register as Democrats and vote for Clinton, helped her eke out a narrow majority in Texas and padded her lead in Ohio. Democrats have spoken and Obama has won this race. The only ones who want her to be the Democratic nominee are Republicans who tremble at the thought of McCain facing Obama in November. Democrats in the remaining primary states need to ask themselves why the GOP is so insistent on helping Clinton win her party's nomination. Then, regardless of their leanings two weeks ago, need to ask themselves if they want to win.
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Why should the Stones change?
[Read the article: "Shine a Light"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's true the Stones haven't found new ways to stay relevant as have Springsteen, Dylan and some other older acts. But aside from the unavoidable loss of high range in Jagger's vocals, they remain a remarkable band. Why should they change? They had the most entertaining take on blues-based rock of anyone performing in 1964 and still do. The simplicity of Keith Richards and Ron Wood playing off each other in front of the effortless beat of Charlie Watts has always served as the stage upon which Jagger does his thing, performing for those in the back rows with exaggerated antics.
I wish I was as happy with Mr. Scorsese's direction as I was with the band's performance. I had high expectations since "The Last Waltz" is one of my favorite concert movies. Scorsese was content to pull the camera back and put the viewer in row 5 center for much of that film and the result was a comfortable view of the entire stage. Here, he chooses for us the key image every second and in zooming in loses the rest of the picture. I was reminded of the maddening old Hendix films in which we watch the facial expression rather than the guitar work. How about pulling the camera back and letting us see both, as we would if we were at the concert?
The IMAX format offered the perfect opportunity to capture the Stones. Close-ups aren't needed on that huge screen. Nor were the constant cuts from one angle to another. Scorsese forgot who was the star of this show. It should have been the band, not him and his legions of cameramen.