Letters to the Editor
WeikuBoy
Published Letters: 487 Editor's Choice: 62
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Of Respect, and the Loyal Opposition
[Read the article: This just in]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Others have said it already, but it's just so true: Where was Chris Matthews's respect for "our" president when he and the other jackals were engrossed in their vicious and hysterical attempt to bring down America's last democratically-elected president? Of course, given the current strain of amnesia that has started among the neo-cons and is now spreading to republicans in general ("WE called for a glorious success, not this mess in Iraq"), he probably wouldn't know what we are talking about.
My theory is that the root of Chris Matthews's pro-republican bias is abortion. I suspect the same is true of other media stars, but in Matthews's case my theory seems to have been confirmed by his recent admission that he indeed is opposed to abortion. Apparently he once worked for Democratic Congressman Tip O'Neill, and conservatives repeat that fact ad nauseum in their rant about the "liberal media". However, that was in a kinder, gentler era, before the republicans became serious about curtailing personal privacy, and before the parties became so polarized over this issue (Harry Reid and the "republicans for choice" notwithstanding).
Perhaps when abortions are finally re-criminalized (in the red states, at least), and a good number of women and doctors are in prison as a result, America's media stars will move on to other religious-based concerns, such as the plight of the poor (besides poor pregnant women, of course), and the needless suffering of the victims of "pre-emptive" wars based on lies, etc. Or would Jesus still be a republican then, too?
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Stop the Madness
[Read the article: W's Ohio humiliation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The American people did NOT elect Junior Bush or Cheney. Al Gore received the most votes in 2000, and if the United States were a democracy, the world would be a much better place today. Junior Bush & Cheney might or might not have taken office in accordance with the laws and the constitution, depending on how history judges the irregularities that skewed the 2000 vote, especially in Florida, and the legal case of Bush v. Gore -- in my opinion the worst and most indefensibly partisan decision the Supreme Court has ever rendered. Junior Bush and Cheney most certainly were not elected by the American people, however; and it distresses me that even their critics legitimize this nightmare by falsely repeating that the United States is a "democracy" or that the American "people" elected an extreme right wing government in 2000.
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From one George to another
[Read the article: The deception Bush can't spin]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"It's not a lie if YOU [can make yourself] believe it."
-- Costanza
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Help me out here
[Read the article: Scott McClellan: Plenty of criticism, no answers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What I don't get is why anyone in the "liberal media" is still bothering to attend this daily exercise in absurdity. This current minister of disinformation has been caught lying; and unless and until he comes clean at once on Plamegate and about a dozen other scandals, I don't understand why America's mainstream media stars continue to afford him any legitimacy. They should be boycotting these ridiculous sessions, as their time would be much better spent reporting on real stories, such as the lies that were told in the months before the invasion of Iraq, and the ongoing failiure to catch the real terrorists responsible for 9/11.
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Right on, Michelle
[Read the article: The left splits over immigration]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's just so typical that the so-called republicans would pretend to address the illegal immigration problem -- and yes, it is a problem -- by attacking the "illegals" rather than the U.S. businesses (read: GOP contributors) that profit by illegally employing such persons and paying them the unfairly low wages that Americans cannot afford to take. Personally, I was enlightened by the noble stand taken by Sen. Kennedy and other Democratic leaders in support of those less fortunate human beings; and I believe it is possible to support the "illegals" while still opposing illegal immigration. Quick points:
1. It is wrong to say that Americans "will not do" particular jobs. If anyone doubts this, then simply run an ad for such a job -- restaurant, janitorial, farm work -- and offer to pay $25 per hour. As a previous writer pointed out, mining is about as difficult and dangerous a job as there is, yet there is no shortage of decently-paid unionized U.S. miners.
2. Mass illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America is unfair to the rest of the world that does not share a border with the U.S., and to the people there who spend so many years waiting for the opportunity to legally immigrate to the U.S.
3. Globalization should involve raising Third World wages to U.S. standards, rather than the current trend of reducing U.S. wages to Third World levels. In a race to the bottom, there are no winners in the end.
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Yes, they're nuts
[Read the article: Attacking Iran: Are they nuts?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Those armchair neo-cons who are so infatuated with Junior's imperial presidency might want to consider this: it was a basic tenet of ancient Roman policy to bring any war to a successful conclusion before starting a new war against a new enemy. It's sort of like the Australians say, "One job at a time, every job a success." Three years ago, many of us tried to point out that it might be a good idea to capture bin Laden and remove the threat from al-Qaeda before embarking on any new adventures, no matter how many WMDs and reconstituted nuclear weapons Saddam Hussein didn't have. It is still more crucial that the U.S. not start yet another war of choice at this time in Iran.
Of course, our warnings were scornfully rejected by the republicans three years ago, just as our advice will certainly be scorned again today. We were told, and will be told again now, that the U.S. is perfectly capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, or whatever. But then, WE assumed that military success was the goal. If the real goal is something else, such as driving up the price of oil, or letting Junior strut around as a "wartime president", or crusading against Islam and bringing about the fire and brimstone of the Christian end-of-days, then the so-called republicans hardly need our advice, and are certain to meet with the same success in Iran that they have encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan.