Letters to the Editor
maximillianw
Published Letters: 19
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Embarrassed & Outraged
[Read the article: Will psychologists still abet torture?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am a psychologist, and I am completely embarrassed and outraged by the behavior of my professional organization. I am a member of APA, but not for much longer.
As I read the comments posted by other readers, I wanted to lash out in anger. It is not every day that I get called a pseudoscientist or get compared to Willy Loman. But, it is actions by the APA that leave all psychologists open to such ridicule and disdain.
Depsite what others may think in previous posts, psychologists are excellent researchers, and we actually know A LOT about human behavior and how the mind works. To take that information and use it to torture human beings is completely reprehensible. We have an obligation to use information about the human mind to improve humanity, not to torture people. No matter how "bad" or "evil" the person being tortured is, it is wrong and it is a terrible abuse of psychological knowledge.
As psychologists, we have an ethical obligation to, at the very least, do no harm to others. What APA has just told its members and the rest of the world is that it is okay to inflict harm on other human beings. I don't understand why they did not take a stronger stand, except that it must be political...there are obviously psychologists who are making a lot of money in the torture biz.
I can certainly understand why an individual would come to the conclusion that psychologists are idiots who are only out to make a quick buck and that they don't care whose lives they ruin in the process. That is the image APA is projecting with it's ridiculous endorsement of torture. But, please know that most psychologists are not like that at all. Most of us are caring, compassionate individuals who want to help others feel better. I hope these psychologists take a stand against the APA torture doctrine.
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Is anyone else terrified of a McCain/Huckabee ticket?
[Read the article: "Because I love America ... I have to now stand aside"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like McCain's best chance to get conservatives to vote for him...
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@ethics_professor
[Read the article: No Texas-size victory for Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Al Gore on the second ballot is what a lot of us are hoping for. It might just happen.
--That would be amazing. Can you imagine McCain trying to beat Gore/Obama in a general election?!
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McCain Can't Win
[Read the article: Time columnist: Gore-Obama in '08?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For everyone who thinks that Obama can't win in November or who thinks that Clinton can't win in November, keep this in mind: If Obama gets the nomination, all of Clinton's supporters will vote for him in the general, and vice versa. All of the neocons will pinch their noses and vote for McCain (who is proving to be just like their hero, Bush). That leaves a whole bunch of independents and moderate republicans who are sick of paying for the war, watching good people die for no reason, seeing our reputation around the world diminish, and making the world less safe. Those people are going to vote Democratic this time around.
McCain is doing so well in the polls right now because he doesn't have anyone attacking him on his crazy views on the war and the economy. Just wait until either Obama or Clinton focuses on him. He will crash and burn.
If I'm wrong about this, I am not planning on moving to another country...
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Not an important topic...
[Read the article: Would you vote for a smoker?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...But interesting nonetheless.
Keep in mind, there has never been a study that has actually proved that smoking causes lung cancer or any other ill health effects (there have been a lot of studies correlating smoking with poor health, but corrleation does not equal causation). Also, there are no studies confirming that occasional smoking has any ill health effects at all. Repeated, long-term exposure to cigarette smoke is definitely bad for your health, but a cig or two per week is probably not going to kill you any faster.
Finally, obesity ends up costing taxpayers more money in healthcare costs than smoking does. At least all three candidates are of an appropriate weight for their height...
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Totally Off Topic...
[Read the article: Did the "bitter" flap affect the race?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...But I wanted to post this somewhere where other people would see it (as opposed to sending it directly to Salon in an e-mail). Does anyone else see the horrible irony in Salon accepting advertising dollars from the Air Force and running their ads on the "War Room" page? I'm all for free speech and making money (I am a small business owner, myself), but maybe Salon should have some guidelines in terms of who they accept money from.
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A scary thought
[Read the article: The painful task of measuring racism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A number of posters have equated racism with stupidity. It is important to keep in mind that not all racists are stupid. Some of them are very smart, and probably capable of organizing large groups of voters to go to the polls and vote against the black guy or the woman.
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It is possible that we are as dumb as the pundits
[Read the article: Dean: "We really can't have a divided convention"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Something like this prolonged Democratic nomination process has never happened in any of our lifetimes (unless you count The West Wing...). None of us can predict how it will end any better than the talking heads. So, why all the doom and gloom? Maybe this is the best thing that could have ever happened to the Democrats and maybe it isn't.
In the meantime, I will finally get to vote for a candidate in the general election who I am genuinely excited about, as opposed to voting against someone I think is repugnant. Either Clinton or Obama would be great, and neither is perfect. I can't wait to vote for either of them.
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I was getting annoyed...
[Read the article: Voter suppression in North Carolina?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...with people bashing Salon for being Pro-Hillary until I read this post.
Nice try, Alex, but your argument is ridiculous. The amount of stupidity it would have taken for these robocalls to have been an accident is absolutely unbelievable. And, even if it was accidental, the calls were still illegal and ignorance is not a valid defense in court.
I don't care if Hillary knew about this or not (she already lost my confidence with her republican gas tax holiday). Voter suppression is serious and someone should go to jail for this WVWV debacle.