Letters to the Editor
karrsic
Published Letters: 463 Editor's Choice: 6
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Who are we fighting again?
[Read the article: Improvement in Iraq: Trust Joe Klein and his secret sources]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One of the worst aspects of the media coverage of the war is the apparent unwillingness to explain who we are actually fighting. Or to at least explain who we think we are fighting. We (and the media) allow the administration to dictate the term used to describe "the enemy." "Terrorists" today, "insurgents" tomorrow.
Are we fighting Sunnis attacking Shiites? Shiites fighting Sunnnis? Are insurgents Baathists trying to retake control? Are all foreigners Al Qaida? What to do we call Iraqis who are simply defending their homeland?
Klein lamely believes if the tribes defeat Al Qaida, Bush loses justification for the war. But Bush lumps them all together, of course. He will always have someone to fight.
I guess I don't see how this is news anyway. Google "Iraqi tribes fighting Al Qaida". (Here's a Guardian version from last October: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1886032,00.html) This has been an on-again, off-again story for a long time. Looking at it from the tribes point of view, the US is not making any strides against Al Qaida at all!
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This is a sideshow
[Read the article: Attacks on civilians, torture and lawless detentions]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think we should consider that when conservative Americans talk about politics, they care about the war, torture, honesty, personal lives, religion, sexual behavior, foreign policy, etc., etc. But when living their lives, they care about little: don't tax me and don't take away my car. When looking for a Presidential candidate, throw in "be somewhat personable."
Everything else is a sideshow. The more extreme the candidate, the more entertaining the TV.
Whoever wins the "don't tax me" debate, wins the nomination.
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Someone's confused
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm sure it's me. I mean, I really don't know what I'm talking about, but isn't it the basic tenet of defense to "get between the player and the basket?" I don't really know the rules, but if a defender beats the guy with the ball to a point on the court, shouldn't the defender be able to occupy that spot? And if the offensive players runs him over, shouldn't that be a foul?
Or should the defender be part time bull fighter? OK, that wasn't funny. I'm not really very funny.
BTW, I find Van Gundy annoying. While I appreciate his anti-flop stance, he's loud and acerbic. And, oh yeah, he's often wrong. He falls into that typical coach/player-as-color-guy role of being way too critical. Van Gundy went on and on, the other night, about how it wasn't Utah's good defense that slowed Duncan, it was Duncan not playing well. Jackson disagreed and ESPN roled video showing the great defense.
But at least it's a good thing that Van Gundy isn't modest!
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Treason
[Read the article: The al-Marri decision]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]At what point to these activities become legally treason?
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Klein's a wimp
[Read the article: Joe Klein's stirring defense of Lewis Libby]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The most eloquent arguments for the prosecution and imprisonment of Libby comes from, not surprisingly, Fitzgerald. One would think that any Libby-apologist with a spine would at least take Fitzgerald's arguments head-on. But no, Klein et. al., demonstrate the increasing vacuity of the American mind via shallow, emotional whining.
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The Fear of Death
[Read the article: Tucker, Jonah, Elizabeth and Jillian]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Fear of death is powerful and it is the cornerstone of the Authoritarian Mind. Despite a barrage of kiddy movies attempting to enlighten us, we here in the US have a hard time buying into that whole "circle of life" thing.
Where's the "better dead than red" crowd? It's "better to be safe than sorry" means it's better to be free from the fear of death, than truly free.
The Authoritarians could not have asked for a better enemy. Terrorists are everywhere. The war will never end.
The fear is irrational, but very real. I met a man at a family dinner a few weeks ago, who was bright and charming, telling stories of his days as a British merchant marine visiting San Francisco. He then started comparing President Ahmadinejad to Hitler. I asked for example, and the only thing he could come up with is that he hates us all and wants to kill us. I personally believe Ahmadinejad is rather impotent and has no real similarities to Hitler, but this man's fears were genuine and they are shared by many of his generation who lived through WWII.
It is an irony that is difficult for me to express to such people that their fear is much more likely to give rise to Fascism at home than incurring death at the hands of Ahmadinejad or any other leader of any other country in the world.
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Military Bases
[Read the article: Various matters]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's worth noting that the threat level at US Military bases remains at Alpha. The lowest threat level.
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Independents and the Moderate Left
[Read the article: The GOP is the party of the Iraq war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think the confusion comes from McCain's (former) ability to appeal to independents and conservative Democrats. As if McCain's candidacy was always about the general election and not the nomination. Maybe his views were never that popular within the GOP, but the "independent" note he played appealed to left and right.
His stance on the war accelerated the downfall he began with his preening for the religious right. The right-leaning left and Independents quickly dumped him. The media followed along. Now they had something more juicy to write about -- a candidate implosion. McCain's self-destruction likely has some impact, albeit a minor one, on his candidacy for the nomination.
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Anti-Bush Conservatives
[Read the article: David Brooks' field trip to the White House]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn,
You've written in the recent past about conservatives who are attempting to disavow themselves from Bush, but I keep wondering, where are they now? They certainly aren't voting against him in Congress. A few reluctantly distance themselves from the Iraq miasma, but hardly a groundswell. Even the Baker group is silent as the administration continues to ignore their recommendations. It is incredible to me, though I suppose it shouldn't be, the realization that this has everything to do with who wins -- Democrat or Republican; and who wins -- major Democratic funders or Republican -- and very little about esoteric concepts such as constitutionality, democracy, freedom, etc.