Letters to the Editor
ljwalker53
Published Letters: 559 Editor's Choice: 9
-
@ Glenn Greenwald: The Stuff That Passes For News and Other Questions
[Read the article: The worst, sleaziest press corps possible]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I missed ABC's report on this, but I did catch the report about where Clinton was when Vince Foster died. I thought that was crass, too.
Why doesn't this surprise me? The media has always had a love-hate relationship with the Clintons, leaning more toward hate. And this seems just one more in a series of questionable media actions over a long period of time the Clinton Administration.
Another thing that is troubling to me about this is that it again points toward "identity-based journalism" (for lack of a better descriptor), wherein news organizations and reporters cover news almost based on how they identify with or against an issue or person. The story you reported on, the incessant pro-Obama news coverage on MSNBC, the misleading stories and reports in CBS News "60 Minutes" over a period of years, the blatant pro-Bush coverage given by nearly every organization and reporter for months after 9/11, and the outright lies about casualties and "success" in Iraq have made me question the honor and responsibility of journalists for their profession and for our freedoms and rights.
Regarding the blogosphere: To me, this is often the worst type of yellow journalism. Most (but not all) of the blogs reek of inconsistencies, unproven rumors, opinion passing as fact, invective aimed at individuals, unsourced quotes and passages in "news" stories, plagiarism, and nearly every other serious error that flies in the face of ostensibly "good" journalism.
I see the Internet as the best force for good in rebuilding journalistic integrity, because for the moment it remains "free" of the ownership constraints of the MSM.
I'd be interested in your thoughts about how the blogosphere can/should reshape journalism to reflect its true values and goals.
Also: do you think that there will be any serious deconstruction of the media meltdown after Bush leaves office and/or after this next election? I think it is sorely needed.
-
@ Joan Walsh: I Have To Agree With 'Jonathanseer'
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton's long strange journey on Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I wasn't happy that the majority of our Congress voted "Yea" on this resolution, including Hillary Clinton. In fact, I was furious and wrote my senators and congresspeople, urging them to vote "No." I also wrote editorials for my small newspaper and wrote letters to the editor of larger newspapers.
I'm curious to know how many of the posters in these threads actually did something except complain about their elected representatives' votes.
I'm also curious to know how many of the posters in these threads who viscerally hate Hillary Clinton for anything and everything, put themselves in her position (or in the position of other elected leaders during that period) before passing their liberal, armchair judgment. Yeah. I know it's a tough thing to do, but it's worth a try.
I have to agree with Jonathanseer on this: Clinton had no choice but to follow the will of her constituents. New York was in a state of shock. Over 3,000 people died in 9/11; Congress was receiving anthrax mailings; F-15 fighter jets and BlackHawk helicopters were patrolling the skies over D.C., for god's sake.
If we think the American people were under pressure to conform to Bush's worldview and were intimidated, just imagine the pressure in Congress to conform. Obviously, it worked!
Finally, Sen. Clinton's record since that authorization vote has been consistent and true. She never took that vote as a "game," as some seem to imply in these threads. She has actually worked to address the problems, from the get-go, even before the authorization was imminent.
Frankly, I'm unhappy that she voted in favor of the authorization, too. But what kind of apology would ever be satisfactory? She is vilified in right-wing Republican tactics and talking points by so-called liberals in our own Democratic Party. Apologizing would just feed the hatred. It's the classic Catch-22: Political suicide to NOT vote in favor of the authorization; Political suicide to apologize for having made it.
Would I like to hear her give a speech admitting her "flawed" vote? You bet! It would truly make my day. And maybe we will still hear that. I'm not convinced that we won't. Still, I'm not holding my breath for it.
Finally, at the end of the day, I think that if she is elected president, she will bring this war to a speedy and safe end AND probably find a creative way to bring some stability, sanity and peace to Iraq, drawing on ALL sources to do so.
-
As Always, A Note Of Thanks To AKA Smith
[Read the article: Would Americans elect a woman president?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think the fact that sexist comments are permitted while racist comments are not says something -- even about liberals.
Any woman who is alive and thinking understands viscerally that sexism is the most permitted of the "isms" we (as human beings) have.