Letters to the Editor
Jim White
Published Letters: 1088 Editor's Choice: 15
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Sounding the alarm
[Read the article: John Edwards' dark leftist America]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn,
Thanks again for putting together yet another insightful indictment of the dangers inherent in and moral hollowness of the neocon agenda. To those who despair of the situation and wonder what good is done by your patient exposure of what is going on, I offer the following thought.
I just got around to picking up a copy of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I haven't gotten very far in it yet, but a discussion from the introduction has relevance here.
One of the most infamous incidents in New York City history, for example, was the 1964 stabbing death of a young Queens woman by the name of Kitty Genovese. Genovese was chased by her assailant and attacked three times on the street, over the course of half an hour, as thirty-eight of her neighbors watched from their windows. During that time, however, none of the thirty-eight witnesses called the police.
We have the same situation now. Only the 30%'ers agree with the dismantling of the Constitution that is occurring, yet very few are sounding the alarm in a meaningful way. The flip response here, as in the reaction to the Genovese case, is to say that our society has disintegrated to the point that no one cares any more about our neighbors (or the Constitution).
However, psychologists Bibb Latane of Columbia University and John Darley of New York University conducted experiments which provided a very different explanation of the situation.
They staged emergencies of one kind or another in different situations in order to see who would come and help. What they found, surprisingly, was that the one factor above all else that predicted helping behavior was how many witnesses there were to the event.
[...]
In another experiment, people who saw smoke seeping out from under a doorway would report it 75% of the time when they were on their own, but the incident would be reported only 38% of the time when they were in a group. When people are in a group, in other words, responsibility for acting is diffused. They assume that someone else will make the call, or they assume that because no one else is acting, the apparent problem -- the seizure-like sounds from the other room, the smoke from the door -- isn't really a problem. In the case of Kitty Geovese, then, social psychologists like Latane and Darley argue, the lesson is not that no one called despite the fact that thirty-eight people heard her scream; it's that no one called because thirty-eight people heard her scream.
So little action is being taken to right the wrongs of the Bush Administration simply because their acts have been so brazen. They are right out there for everyone to see, and all but the 30%'ers recognize them for the criminality they are. However, because everyone can see this, it is simply assumed that "someone" will take care of the problem and the situation will be corrected.
Sorry folks, that responsibility falls to all of us. The illegality is wide-spread and ongoing. It is going to take the concerted efforts of all of us to force corrective action by the Congress and the Courts. Glenn is doing a good job of calling the police, but every witness needs to step forward and testify.
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tmailander
[Read the article: American flag pins are for idiots]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the link! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.
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Retired Military Patriot
[Read the article: John Edwards' dark leftist America]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Interesting article. I'm sure this edit of the final sentence will be needed, probably as soon as tomorrow:
works---->worked
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@RMP
[Read the article: John Edwards' dark leftist America]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was thinking more in terms of him being fired as a consultant since he no longer toes the party line.
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Jebbie
[Read the article: John Edwards' dark leftist America]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the link. That was great. The Johnny Cash tribute at the end was perfect. His last three or four albums were tremendous if you haven't heard them.
Looks like Merle isn't ready to make nice, either.
Here's a link that came up in the Bill Maher thread. You'll get a kick out of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmsOIjzQ1V8
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The Naccio story
[Read the article: The Beltway Establishment's contempt for the rule of law]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When the Rocky Mountain News story broke Thursday and we first became aware that the telecoms started providing illegal information to the intelligence community well before 9/11, I took courage from that development and decided that perhaps somewhere in the judiciary someone said "enough is enough" and decided to reveal enough information to give a lever for finally prying up the large rock that has covered this slimy mess. After reading Glenn's post today regarding the complete brazenness with which these people are acting, it occurs to me that they had to reveal that the illegality started before 9/11 in order to get the language of amnesty right. Didn't the early version of the amnesty provision actually have 9/11 as the starting time for immunity? Obviously, they need to move that date by a few months or some pesky citizen might cause a stir with one of those quaint laws.