Letters to the Editor
Gustav
Published Letters: 11 Editor's Choice: 2
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a good resource
[Read the article: I'm so anxious I can't think straight]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You might want to try "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" (Bourne; New Harbinger Publications). It's a very pratical guide that helps you learn how to relax (through meditation), cope with panic and calm your thoughts. Its approach is holistic, and it doesn't push medication as the only solution. I used this book during a bad spell of anxiety, and it gave me the tools I needed to get through that horrible time. The techniques I learned from it also helped me stave off further bouts of anxiety. I used the book in conjunction with visits to a psychologist. I hope this helps.
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Gooding's resume
[Read the article: Goodling's mea culpa]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That Goodling landed this position in the Justice Department is even more extraordinary if one considers her resume, a link to which is provided below.
What is remarkable is that she is remarkably undistinguished, which makes one wonder how she got her job in the first place. But then, note the types of schools she attended, including Regent University in Virginia Beach, which bills itself as being the only "Christian graduate school". I suppose hers was considered a "politcal appointment"?
http://web.archive.org/web/20000309185220/home.regent.edu/monigoo/resume.htm
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So what do we do about it?
[Read the article: Krauthammer's plan to deny Palestinians gas and electricity]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm sitting here in little old Roscoe, IL getting all upset about the state of affairs every time I read Glenn Greenwald's blog and Salon, in general, and I am finding no constructive outlet for my anger and frustration. What can I do to stop this? Anything? Are we just supposed to sit at home and watch helplessly while a president and his administration drag us into another war, continue to erode the rule of law, fundamentally change what this country is? Do I contact my representatives in Congress (none of whom seem to really care - "sure let's suspend the Great Writ, no big deal")? Do I write harshly worded letters to our so-called watch-dog media. Do I go on a hunger strike? Do I move to Canada? What?
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A Bluetooth headset does not an asshat make
[Read the article: Why are Bluetooth headsets so lame?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A couple of months ago I saw a man out to breakfast with his entire, what looked to be extended, family on a Saturday morning and...a Bluetooth headset neatly tucked behind the ear. It's sightings like these that lead to the inevitabele conclusion that headset wearers are asshats, not the device itself.
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must be on to something
[Read the article: A bizarre, unsolicited e-mail from Gen. Petraeus' spokesman ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]GG's posts have obviously struck a nerve to have inspired such a thoughtless, hasty reaction from a public affairs guy.
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Beware of the football gods
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"There are probably 2 million people who have, at one time or another, claimed to have been in the stands that day. I'll bet half of them believe it."
The father of my husband's friend, a Packers' fan from Wisconsin, had tickets to the Ice Bowl. But he didn't go, because "It was too cold." The football gods exacted their vengeance, though: His son became a Vikings' fan.
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We're gonna ...
[Read the article: What will YOU do with your fiscal stimulus check?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... pay down our significant student loan debt. The refund amounts to a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps, right?
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re: C. Mosby
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The point made by C. Mosby should not be overlooked. Just think of how cynical it is for Harry Reid to have worked for telecom immunity, to have done all in his power to block the Dodd/Feingold amendment, and *then* to vote in favor of it? That is just breathtakingly shameful.
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"If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear"
[Read the article: Has our reverence for DNA gone too far?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That phrase makes my skin crawl. It's inevitably used to attack anyone who does not want to see his/her civil rights whittled away any more than they already have been. Mr. Hannaham makes a good point: why not just collect everyone's DNA? That would be the easiest for law enforcement. Come to think of it, why bother requiring search warrants? Why not just let the police tap the phones of suspects. It would be so much easier for the police to catch bad guys if they didn't have to worry about probable cause.
It's exactly the same line of reasoning that has led this administration to commit its worst abuses:why adhere to laws and treaties outlawing torture. It's so much easier if we just beat/scare confessions out of suspected terrorists. Why bother with the FISA courts, when we can just data-mine everyone (including citizens)?
Limiting the power of the state and putting protections in place for the powerless/the average person, that is what all of those pesky civil liberties are about. There not in place because they constitute the "easiest" path. They are there to ensure that authorities stay on the "right" path.
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"No. 5 Germany -- which has played poorly but survived"
[Read the article: Underdog days: Fresno State, Turkey]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Um, did you watch the Germany-Portugal match last week? Germany dominated that match--they controlled the ball well, shut down Cristiano Ronaldo, whom many consider to be the best player in the world, and beat a team that was a trendy pick to win it all. I certainly wouldn't characterize Germany's win in the quarters as "surviving."
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This goes so far beyond party politics
[Read the article: Things I learned today about democracy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn's call for voters to expel blue dog democrats from Congress isn't some purist purge of the party. It isn't about not being inclusive. It's about something so much more important.
It's about the fact that Democrats and Republicans alike, those who have been in power, have been flouting basic principles that really shouldn't be up for debate. Things like the supremacy of the rule of law over men and women and my right to not be spied upon without the government having probable cause. And my right to a trial should I be detained by the government, and the right to challenge that detention. And my right to not be tortured. I could, of course, go on.
This is just basic stuff, folks. Any candidate, regardless of party affiliation, who doesn't believe these fundamental principles to be self-evident, anyone who doesn't vote in accordance with them for whatever reason (political pragmatist or true believer) isn't fit for public office. It's that simple, because these issues are so fundamental.
The fact that we have so many politicians, journalists, and pundits in Washington who don't get that, shows how thoroughly corrupt the whole system is.