Letters to the Editor
debaser
Published Letters: 656 Editor's Choice: 11
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@KStone
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I just re-read my last post and I think I may have come across as some kind of apologist for segregation, rest assured that I am not. It remains the greatest blight on the game (and America in general). I agree with you 100%, were the game integrated then yes, the record book would look alot different, that's without question. There's a pretty good chance that it would have been Gibson's record that Aaron broke for example.
However, I'm just not that convinced that it would've had that great an effect on the career totals of Ruth individually. I mean, an influx of top notch hitters wouldn't really have much of an effect on the number of homeruns he hit. Granted, having to face potential ace pitchers of colour would. I'm just not sure how much. Again, it assumes that there would only be better than the best black pitchers...which is not a sure thing. And also, who's to say that the Yankees, who I'm pretty sure were also the premier team during Ruth's era, wouldn't hire the elite black pitchers themselves? In fact, one could argue that were Gibson and Bell hitting behind Ruth, his homerun total would be even higher!
In the end it's all just a bunch of bar-stool pontificating - but then isn't that what makes baseball so awesome?
One last thing: There was not "disingenious deflection" on my part. Rather, my taking the reality of Ruth's era comes from spending far too many years studying history and realizing that no matter how much we wish it were different, you simply have to take any historical era at face value.
cheers,
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@SB4609 and Juliebird
[Read the article: What's that giant suckling sound?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's nice to see some reasoned debate occurring on the Broadsheet! SB you say pretty much exactly what I think but in a way that is miles more eloquent then I could ever manage, and Juliebird, I totally see where you're coming from and from the sounds of things nursed in a "discreet manner" (I love that term by the way, it's so genteel it kills me!)
Since we seem to have latched on to my initial situation of nursing in Church (which actually did happen by the way)..I still insist that sitting on the aisle (which any parent of kids under 2 should do anyways) and ducking out into the foyer is the most polite thing to do...spend anytime in a church and you'll see parents taking fussy babies out there all the time. Someone earlier said anywhere it's okay to eat a sandwich is also okay to nurse - well I'd say that Mass would be one of those places you shouldn't eat a sandwich :)
One last point though, I think maybe more serious than any tut-tutting one may get while nursing in public, is the scorn a mother receives from other women if she feeds an infant formula. My sister (a full on sleeve-tattooed, last name keeping, de Beauvouir reading, di Franco listening feminist) stopped nursing after two months because as she said she "hated feeling like a goddam cow". She found the looks of disgust she'd receive from other women when she gave her infant son a bottle in public soul crushing. It was pretty sad actually.
Anyways,
thanks for the awesome dialogue here!
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@million year picnic
[Read the article: Giuliani's dangerous bluster]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Man that was some truly hilarious stuff there!
Good work, you totally nailed the tone of the Conservative Troll!! I damn near spit out my coffee on my computer screen...brilliant :)
I dunno, would we rather such an obvious crackpot like Giuliani to win the nomination? Or would Romney, who appears to be playing the Moderate these days, be better? I fear Romney could con a huge swath of Americans into thinking he isn't just as big a lunatic as the rest of the neo-cons.
oh well, I think and Edwards/Obama ticket would make that discussion moot.
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@Gary Owen
[Read the article: "We have failed on every promise"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Re: the Doonesbury Strip
I think you're not quite representing that strip properly. I think the point is that B.D - the most gung-ho military person in the history of the strip (remember when he went to Vietnam to get out of writing a term-paper? That was brilliant), is now disillusioned with the war. Rick isn't a prick, he's hoping that FINALLY the tide has turned, and that finally we can end this disaster. B.D is symbolic of the career military man, and if he's finally turning against the war, then it follows (for Rick) that most all the military are as well. He's not needling, and goading but rather is excited. And the final panel, with The White House in a bubble and Dubya's aide telling him they have to pop it soon, their running out of oxygen is just perfect.
On the whole, Trudeay has treated the character of B.D with great sympathy and delicacy these last few years.
btw - did you see today's strip? "What happens if we cut and run?" Where a soldier is greeted at the door to his home by his ecstatic wife and then she asks "who is this man behind you?" The soldier replies "a terrorist. He followed me home" And the "terrorist", holding a suitcase asks them if they know where a motel is.
man that's some comedic gold.
anyways, nice to see other Doonesbury fans :)
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@Karlos
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]About the CFL and Ricky Williams.
They have since implemented a rule wherein no player suspended from another league cannot play in the CFL. They did this in response to the Williams signing.
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or...
[Read the article: Breasts at work]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How's about making maternity leave 12 months long (like they do up here in Canada)?
anything less than a year is just silly in my opinion.