Letters to the Editor
Ben Sen
Published Letters: 488 Editor's Choice: 93
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Lieberman's Problem
[Read the article: Joe's fall from grace]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I didn't see any reference in Sidney Blumenthal's article, or in the letters to Lieberman's connection to Israel, and the Rove doctrine linking Christian and Israeli fundamentalism. What is there in Lieberman's background that could so influence him to take the tack he's taken if it is not his Orthodoxy? He's not stupid, and he's not unskilled. He could have gotten off the bandwagon a long time ago, like Hillary, and knocked the feet out from under the opposition like she did. Now, we are witnessing the former Democratic candidate for Vice-President seeking Republican support!
It is unclear how capable Americans are to make the distinction between Israel, and the Israeli right wing who have dominated the country for so long now, and led to the current debacle. Maybe Lieberman doesn't think it's possible, and is playing it safe rather than sorry. Perhaps it is time for more Americans of Jewish descent to speak up and say they are tired of being led around by the nose by regressive and bloodthirsty Jewish fundamentalists.
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The Sad Part
[Read the article: Come as you are]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Stores like this prove there is a hunger for religion but it is being exploited by the ideologues hungry for all the attention they can get. How dangerous a fellow like this can become as he ages and finds out how easily these gullible kids can be deceived is a long standing problem. But more than that, the problem is with those who know better, who actually have faith in a loving god, who do not reach out to the young. The old organized religions are so badly buried in hypocracy now the underlying values are lost, and the kids who don't know any better revert to these demented charismatics. It's just as Yeats said:
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold,
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood dimmed tide is loosened, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Ben Sen
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The Center Lost Once Again
[Read the article: Run over in the middle of the road]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The article gives a real impression of the choas that is loosed among lawmakers at present, not knowing which way to turn. It appears Schumer wants to take the high ground on protectionism, outdoing the Republicans, but does anyone really care that much about this issue? I'm sick of it. They've made me about as paranoid as I want to be. I suspect a lot of others feel that way too, especially after the recent panic attack.
WHO IS GOING TO GRAB THE CENTER AND HOW WILL THEY DO IT? I don't think the Ports issue is it. Good try Chuck. Hillary proved herself the best at it in her recent denunciation of Rumsfeld at just the right time and place. The difference between what happened in New York and what happened in Ct. was is instructive--don't you think?
I'll be glad at this point when the current election is over, and I'll be surprised if anything more interesting comes out of it at this point. The battle is really one of ideas, picking the right fights at the right time to carve out some territory that can then be filled in by the few who simply refuse to cater to the passionate loonies on the right and the left.
That is what I am looking for at present. Sorry, I really don't need or want any more proof of the current instability and polarity--it only angers me since it shows the focus has not yet turned to the center as it should--even by the press that I think is smart enough to see that is the problem. I feel the impetus is there, but it simply isn't clarified enough. Is anybody listening?
Ben Sen
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Jolted Joe's Blind Spot
[Read the article: Carter delivers a jolt for Joe]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Assertion: Lieberman backed the war as long as he did because he sympathizes so strongly with Israel. Why else would such a seasoned politician make himself so vulnerable?
The question in the next Presidential is: who will find a "centrist" position on Israel? Someplace between the Rove doctrine linking their right wing fundamentalists with American fundamentalists--and those Americans, Jewish and Non-Jewish, who are fed up with Israeli atrocities.
Why not start asking some of the candidates questions to this effect--after the Nov. election when the battle for the Presidency begins. Did they agree with Bush in returning Lebanon to the stone age as a result of Hezbollah's baiting Israel to do so? Isn't it time the U.S. distance itself from Israel's right wing?
I think a lot of voters are interested in the issue, and the Democrats need opportunites.
Ben Sen