Letters to the Editor
MarieA
Published Letters: 264 Editor's Choice: 19
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What's the big deal here?
[Read the article: I am the keeper of secrets]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]LW must have left something out.
If I'm reading this right, Other Guy and his wife both have told LW separately that there is unhappiness, probably a separation. So, both parties to the marriage know something's up. Just because LW didn't tell Other Guy that she already knew there was trouble, that the wife has told her for this for years? What's to tell--he already knows that.
Now, if LW told Other Guy that he needs to dump that woman pronto, with an eye toward moving in on Other Guy herself, that's wouldn't be nice now, would it? But that doesn't seem to be the case.
LW is under no obligation to tell Other Guy or his wife anything the other has said. If Other Guy had asked LW whether the wife had talked to her and she had lied, that might be different. But in that case, all LW'd have to say is that she's not comfortable discussing conversations with the wife and vice versa. That's not a betrayal; that's ethical behavior.
So, I'm thinking there's more here than just that the husband and wife are each telling LW the same tale of woe.
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Ah, but saying makes it so!
[Read the article: Bush and McCain's shared foreign policy approach]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In these days of he said/he said journalism, when there is no substantive analysis, no confrontation or questioning during interviews, it will quickly become the common "knowledge" of the media that McCain is a foreign policy expert of a far different stripe from Bush because McCain's supporters have said so repeatedly.
This will play out beautifully, because the media is not very inclined to focus on the issue of whether McCain differs from Bush or not. After all, that's not very scintillating TV: a McCain supporter saying, "No, he's nothing like Bush" and the opposing view being, "Yes, he is." The media doesn't like that scenario very much.
It's more likely that they'll have someone from each campaign, or maybe an "expert" saying what their candidate's foreign policy views are, which is not quite the same thing.
It's going to be very hard for the Democratic candidate to harp much on McCain's presidency being 4 more years of the same failed Bush policies when the entire Republican machine is going to be saying, no it's not.
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The headline will read ...
[Read the article: Michael Mukasey's tearful lies]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Mukasey Claims Government Needs Broader Powers to Prevent Attacks
And that's what most people will know, because, at least, all they do is read the headlines when they see the newspaper dispenser while waiting in the McDonald's drive-thru line.
Or they might hear that as a bottom-of-the-hour teaser on CNN, a scrawl on MSNBC. Fox News will cover it hysterically, as though bombs were falling, acid being thrown on us, sarin gas being released into all baby cribs right now.
The good part of that is that most people will not write their Congressmen, will not send letters to the editor, will not work in political campaigns.
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Camp is not destiny
[Read the article: Our kids want to go to Christian summer camp]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let's all remain calm.
Do you talk to your kids about your religious views? Are you comfortable enough (as Cary says, do you respect enough) to let your kids have their own views? Have their own experiences?
The fact of the matter is that, in the end, your children's views are not likely to differ much from yours unless something hits them that really fills a deep emotional need.
Yes, all the Christian religious stuff is annoying if you're not into that. But consider this: I grew up in a household that went to church twice every Sunday. Many of my relatives were Mormons and I attended those services sometimes. I went to revivals. I took communion.
I write this as a hardcore atheist today, but, in reality, my worldview isn't all that different from my parents, except for the religion.
My kids are not interested in religion, but I try to get them to understand religion, in large part because so much of our cultural heritage refers to Bible stories and it's important to understand religious fanatics. My kids bow their heads when exposed to prayer and respond politely when told how their wicked ways are buying them a ticket straight to hell.
We are also good friends with many vegans and New Agers. When they talk of cleansing their chakras and meat is murder, we nod our heads and keep our mouths shut.
I've sent my kids to religious stuff and New Age stuff because there was also fun and companionship involved.
And they survived intact.
Talk to your kids. Teach them how to take what they need and leave the rest.
Then relax a little.
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The News Business Is a Business
[Read the article: The U.S. establishment media in a nutshell]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The mass media wants to be like Drudge because they perceive that Drudge has the eyeballs on the screen and that's what brings in the dough.
Running the media as a business is not inherently a bad thing; it is a business, after all.
But running a business doesn't necessarily mean you know how to run a business properly, especially for the long term.
It is instead the flock of birds approach. Oh look! Food over there, everybody go that way. No wait! Food over there! Fly there, everybody!
In the long run, it pays to really service your customer's needs and desires. If you are merely following the latest fad based on superficialities (oo, people like Drudge-like political gossip, don't ask why or what else they might want), as the media clearly is, you will lose those eyeballs, just as TV and print are, indeed, losing customers.
Oh, plus it's way easier to give an off-the-cuff opinion about bowling and haircuts than to read hundreds of pages of boring old documents.
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Texas isn't as backward as you think
[Read the article: Where the aldermen are all women]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Women have had prominent roles in Texas politics for a very long time. In fact, there have often been women in politics here when there weren't in more "enlightened" parts of the country.
While there have always been (and still are) some that say women shouldn't be in office, that hasn't kept them from being elected for the most part.
Which should go to show you that sexism isn't an unsurmountable hurdle.