Letters to the Editor
swanee
Published Letters: 91 Editor's Choice: 20
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Thinking Republicans Love Roe
[Read the article: Angry pro-choice Republicans]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The split in the Republican Party confirms what I have suspected for some time--that the health of the Party depends on the continued viability (sorry, had to say it) of Roe. Now that Roe is in real danger of being overturned, the Party is starting to split. If Roe actually is overruled, choice will become the main issue in every local, state and federal election in the country. The Republicans will win many of those elections and enact bans on abortion, at least in the South. But elsewhere, the effect would create new Democratic majorities and shift control of state legislatures and governors' offices over to the Democrats. Next step, redistricting! And goodbye to Republican control of Congress.
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Protect the Incumbents
[Read the article: The war Lieberman didn't want]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You can always count on a Washington-based journalist to say nice things about the incumbent. Incumbents rarely lose, and one doesn't want to lose access after their almost inevitable re-election. However, I expect more from Salon.
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"astonishingly credulous little profile"
[Read the article: A woman's place is in the home section]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a perfect description for the piece on Joe Lieberman in yesterday's Salon.
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Where's Dad?
[Read the article: The happy hypocrite]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This ongoing debate between working and stay-at-home mothers always seems to occur in a vacuum where there are no men. Dad is always assumed to be the full-time working stiff and main breadwinner, except that this isn't true in many families, including mine. My wife works full-time outside the home in a very demanding job. I work full-time, but am based at home (kind of like Caitlin Flanagan, except that I don't pretend that my job isn't really a job). I know at least three other families in our neighborhood who follow similar working schedules. Our kids all seem fine, but who gets credit for that? Do the working moms get to use us as an example of successful two-career families, or can the stay-at-home moms claim us as reasonable facsimiles of traditional families, but with some gender issues? In the end, you can't change the definition of femininity without also changing the definition of masculinity--they're two sides of the same coin. Ignoring dad provides the clearest evidence that this battle isn't really about what's best for children and families, it's about confining men and women to traditional roles.
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Iran v. Gulf States
[Read the article: Attacking Iran: Are they nuts?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If the U.S. attacks Iran, Iran may bypass U.S. forces in Iraq entirely and strike out at U.S. allies in the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. Their main oil production and distribution facilities are on the coast or offshore in the Gulf and are very vulnerable to attack from Iran. Iran also could close the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, which would effectively disrupt oil supplies worldwide and cause prices to skyrocket. Despite having the best modern equipment, Gulf militaries are notoriously weak and unreliable, because their rulers don't really want to have them around. While U.S. forces can protect themselves in Iraq, it's absurd to expect them to be able to protect the entire Gulf region. Iran's military is not great, but it's probably more than a match for its neighbors.
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Bush's Base Splits
[Read the article: Bush does something right]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry, but I can't react to anything Bush does at this point without drawing from a deep well of cynicism. Bush's base split over immigration reform. Big business wants cheap labor, so it favors liberal immigration (or at least "guest worker") policies. The xenophobic far right wants to slam the doors shut on everyone, as always. What to do? Just like Reagan and Bush I, Bush II is sticking with big business and throwing the crazy right over the side when necessary. In doing so, he loses a certain number of Republican votes in the House and Senate. To make up for those losses, he talks to Democrats, and he'll throw them a few bones in the resulting legislation, because he knows that Democrats believe that compromise is a necessary and admirable part of the democratic process. When the bill passes, he'll take credit, make up with the right and get back to demonizing the Dems. His goal in all of this is to serve the interests of big business, which he will accomplish. His conversations with Kennedy are just a means to an end, and compromise is acceptable because the end always justifies the means.
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Aging Not-so-gracefully
[Read the article: "Mission: Impossible III"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Back in the 80's, I generally enjoyed Cruise's movies, but as time has passed it's become increasingly hard for me to watch him. These days, every time he speaks, acts, stages an event, whatever, I see only one thing: a middle-aged man having a mid-life crisis. No other actor has this effect on me, so I don't think it's me. He just seems so determined to convince us all of his extraordinary skills as an actor, producer, father, lover, fitness buff, and on and on. I know other guys who behave like this, and the intensity only seems to increase as the years pass, as if they're trying to battle time with sheer force of will. Just being around them is exhausting, because they're always trying so hard. I look forward to the day when Cruise can convincingly play a man his own age; perhaps then I'll be able to watch his movies again.