Letters to the Editor
Jim White
Published Letters: 1325 Editor's Choice: 16
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She didn't kill her mike in some discussions with her attorney
[Read the article: Taylor declines to answer questions]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]During one, in which she was discussing whether she should answer a question about calls she might have gotten regarding the performance of US Attorneys, I could have sworn I heard her say something to the effect of "Then I won't remember".
A few minutes later, she said just that when finally forced to answer the question.
Someone with TiVo going should be able to find this.
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Now only four votes short!
[Read the article: Webb amendment blocked]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Of course it is disappointing that Webb's amendment failed, but getting up to 56 votes is new and exciting territory. Only a handful more defections are needed for real power to be returned to the American people.
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Of course they knew about all of his plans...
[Read the article: Cummins: "My professional reputation has already been slandered"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They didn't need to check the small-town weekly newspaper if they had transcripts from all of his phone calls at the office, at home, on his cell...
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More on the redemption theme
[Read the article: Tucker Carlson, stalwart defender of sexual privacy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]William Timberman:Who doubts that redemption can be real?
I just finished reading The Kite Runner. It can be argued that this entire novel is built on the theme of redemption. The most haunting line, "You can be good again", drives most of the action of the final third of the novel.
The redemption sought in this case is primarily a personal morality, although religion eventually enters. I find Khaled Hosseini's endpoint of the novel intriguing, with protagonist Amir achieving a modicum of redemption, albeit after considerable physical and emotional hardship. Even then, the stability and even the satisfaction to be derived from the redemption remain somewhat in doubt.
At any rate, Hosseini leaves the reader with a clear sense that both actions and lack of actions have a bearing on the goodness of one's character. With considerable effort and suffering, poor character can be redeemed, but again it is only through actions or the lack thereof that character in the new state can be judged.
That being said, Vitter claims to have put his past behind him. I would find his moralizing more convincing however, had he found the courage to use his own wrongdoing as an example of poor character to be overcome to achieve the morality he promotes.
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Why, indeed?
[Read the article: Little outbursts of journalism -- what causes them?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Several posts have questioned whether Jim Rutenberg is responsible for the improved tone of today's article by Michael Gordon, but appear unconvinced in the end. Could someone with more familiarity with Rutenberg's work provide more information here?
I lean a little more toward believing that Hoyt may actually have had an impact on Gordon. Did they perhaps have a conversation on journalistic standards? That would fit into a true "ombudsman" role for Hoyt in terms of taking action once a shortcoming has been identified. This would be particularly encouraging since Hoyt has only been on the job since May 14. Could more improvement be coming?
Has anyone bothered to ask Gordon directly for an explanation of his sudden shift? Any response from him would be of great value in sorting this out.
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Truce?
[Read the article: Little outbursts of journalism -- what causes them?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Folks, I propose a few days off on direct criticism of Gordon. A fellow worker of his in the Times' Baghdad bureau was just killed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/middleeast/13cnd-iraq.html
Many of us, myself included, have ranted a lot at Gordon, but the fact remains that he is in Baghdad and subject to significant risk. From the story, Khalid Hassan was an interpreter and reporter for the Times in Baghdad and was shot and killed while driving to work this morning. Let's lay off Gordon and allow him some time to put this into perspective.
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I said truce, not absolution
[Read the article: Little outbursts of journalism -- what causes them?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was merely referring to a pause in complaints about past abuses, especially in light of his most recent article. A little mourning time. Of course, if he should revert to warmongering, the truce would be meaningless.
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The "Clinton did it" argument won't work here
[Read the article: Still more White House secrecy -- this time in the Tillman investigation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]An excerpt from the Oversight Committee's letter that Glenn cites (sorry for the maddening internal line breaks):
The letter states that you took this action because these documents contain "þurely internal e-mails between White House personnel."
These are not appropriate reasons for withholding the documents from the Committee.
During the Clinton Administration, the White House provided the Committee with thousands of
pages of internal White House e-mails, including e-mails between the Vice President and his
staff. The White House also provided the Committee with handwritten notes of White House
staff and internal White House memoranda, including memos to or from the White House
Counsel, Deputy White House Counsel, Associate White House Counsel, the Assistant to the
President and Deputy Chief of Staff, and the First Lady, among others.
That's right, during the many investigations of Clinton, he made available internal emails among White House staff, including those of the Vice President.
If the pardoning of Marc Rich justifies the commuting of Scooter Libby's sentence, why does the turning over of thousands of pages of internal documents and emails by Clinton result in the opposite by the Bush White House?
Let's hope the Committee does more than simply point out the inconsistency here and follows it up with real action.