Letters to the Editor
nola1971
Published Letters: 9
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the nation's top educational institutions?
[Read the article: Report: Gonzales aide resigns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I just want to know what happened to the days when such a high-profile, high-prestige position would have been filled by a graduate from, say Harvard or Stanford? OK, let's say we won't be elitist and allow for maybe the possibility that he or she would have gone to at least a school that anyone has ever heard of????
Damn, this stressing "Bushie" loyalty over - um, I don't know - COMPETENCE permeates every level of every agency, it seems...
(As long as they're God-fearing Christians, they must be trustworthy for the position, right? - so goes the thinking. These people give Christians a bad name!!)
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a few points worth noting
[Read the article: To Damascus with Nancy Pelosi]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]a) Pelosi was following the recommendations of the Baker Hamilton Report (which Bush requested to be drafted, then ignored every recommendation therein, i.e., "the United States should engage directly with Iran and Syria in order to try to obtain their commitment to constructive policies toward Iraq and other regional issues." - see http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/index.html)
b) the mere fact that a leader of a Shariah Islamic nation was willing to meet with a woman and engage her in a dialogue as an equal should be applauded by everyone, including feminists (of which I am one)
As an aside, I worked in a Shariah Islam region of the world for eight months, and in order to be taken seriously as a professional (rather than distract everyone with short skirts or low-cut blouses), I dressed as the local custom dictated. I never once felt oppressed or disrespected.
For those of you who choose to stay ensconced in your suburban safety zones or uber-chic metropolises where anything goes, rather than get out and see how the rest of the people on the planet live, I implore you to PLEASE STAY HOME. You are the people who give Americans a bad name abroad.
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she asked for it
[Read the article: My boyfriend has no front teeth, and he won't go to the dentist]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If she didn't realize the first time he smiled that his teeth were a turnoff, and if she wasn't grossed out by his breath on the first kiss, she has no right to complain. By her entering into the relationship and accepting him "as is", it's unfair for her to now turn around and demand that he change.
The advice would be the same to a woman who was dating a fat man (who was fat when they met), if she suddenly decided she wanted a fit boyfriend. Duh.
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no no no no no
[Read the article: And baby makes two]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Didn't we learn anything from the ME generation? All the divorce and key-swapping and communal living and calling your parents by their first names and treating kids like little adults - all in the name of self-fulfillment (for the adults)! And what did we end up with? A generation of 30somethings from broken homes with latchkey memories who are emotionally incapable of commitment and confused about gender roles.
Let me preface this by saying that I am as leftie as they come on political issues and don't align myself with the rightwing nuts, BUT...
A child deserves to be given the opportunity to be raised with a mother and a father! Plain and simple. Purposefully handicapping a child on this account amounts to utter selfishness on the part of the parent(s).
That goes for gay parents, too. I'm sorry, but as liberal as I am, I still believe a male and female role model in the home (as well as a model for a loving heterosexual relationship) are valuable tools to a child's development.
This comes from someone who was raised by a single mom (they never married, and he died when I was young). I grew up completely unclear as to what comprises an adult romantic relationship.
Plus - and this is important - I had to be my mother's confidante, cheerleader, support network, buddy, dinner date, conversation partner, and the focus of all her attention. This is not healthy and robs children of the freedom of childhood.
Now I'm in my 30s and haven't found a partner yet (imagine that!) and would like a child, but first I would like a husband. I would NEVER impregnate myself just to fulfill my selfish need to procreate, thus burdening the child with the job of making my life happy. It's a thankless job, I've had it.
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every one of you letter writers missed the point of both Flanagan and Walsh
[Read the article: Oops, she did it again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The point is that girls' self esteem today is tied to their ability to please boys, and that boys and girls have perceptions of sexuality confused by both the all-pervasive porn industry and the disastrous "abstinence only" campaign that has invaded our sex ed programs. You'd have to be heartless (regardless of your feminist or anti-feminist leanings) to not feel sorry for these girls and the emotional toll this will take in their long-term development.
Really, were blow jobs that casual when you were in junior high? Not when I was (in the early 80s)...
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ready to give up
[Read the article: Why can't I find a relationship that will last?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have also been hurt a lot and don't trust my instincts and have been to therapy and have turned into the jaded person I never thought I'd be, since I used to be such a romantic person who REALLY believed that love exists.
I ask myself on a regular basis, which is more painful: continuing to hope or giving up hope?
I firmly believe, however, that it's utterly human for us to WANT that connection with another human being. The problem is our society stigmatizes that desire if you happen to be a 30something female.