Letters to the Editor
ELYDOG
Published Letters: 498 Editor's Choice: 43
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McCain's Democrats
[Read the article: It's 3 a.m. Who do you want answering the phone?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What was rather unnerving was the amount of Clinton II "Democrats" that would vote for McCain over Obama. 25%.
Playing the 'fear' card, as Clinton II has done, is what McCain wil be doing in the general election. So Clinton II is doing McCain's politics for him.
Then we have the rather long history of Democrats like Kerry romancing McCain with the vice presidential slot in 2004.
Of course, Liberman, the vice president with Gore in the 2000 election, is now a McCain supporter.
Makes you think that maybe all that stuff about Republicans in the 'Democratic' party makes a lot of sense.
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Bloomberg on Thornburg
[Read the article: Twilight of the hedge funds]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Bloomberg is following Thornburg's default, as is the market today.
"Thornburg Mortgage lost $1.76, or 52 percent, to $1.64. JPMorgan sent a default notice after Thornburg failed to meet a $28 million margin call, Thornburg said. That triggered defaults on other financing agreements and the amounts involved are ``material,'' the company said. RBC Capital Markets wrote in a research note today that ``bankruptcy is now a more likely outcome'' for Thornburg."
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Auditory / Visual v. Language
[Read the article: The man who ruined the novel]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ben,
Hangs ten ... writers.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. Not that the novel is bad, but that people have stopped reading much. There are two kinds of people on the train - those with iPods and those with books. Guess who's in the majority?
I also love good films and music, for what they are. But Cormac McCarthy is surely laughing if you think he didn't have something to do with the success of "No Country." Much of the language couldn't have been done by most screenwriters. Good writing is musical, visual and even 'smells.' Another Frenchman, Mr. Proust, would note the latter.
Upton Sinclair provided the essential background for "Blood." However, that film is a perfect example of using literature, but going beyond the original story to create something new. And good films based on books always do that, if they cannot re-create the novel is some way.
As to all the excellent letters here, Mr. Marche has been properly roasted. Viva la difference!
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Boarding and Bags
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Boarding used to be back to front. Now it is either in no order at all (see Northwest) or in some random order by 'zone' which doesn't seem to be by seat or by area. What is a 'zone'?
How many people just board anytime? And why aren't they told to wait by the staff?
Biggest beef is those people with so many bags in the plane they can barely get them in. People have too much stuff, and then they buy a large bag to put it in, a bag that barely fits the overhead, then they trundle in their laptop and a purse or a briefcase, and, viola, 3 bags on board. They put the bag in sideways, as it's too big to fit end-in, and somone eventually can't find a place for their bag. We all stand and watch this pathetic process of squeezing the over-stuffed bag into the overhead over and over again. And the people that do it are oblivious.
I NEED all this shit! See Rick Steves, folks.
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Zone out on Kid Bags
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If the 'zones' are by the price you paid, then this is one of the reasons boarding takes so long.
Folks with kids, I've been there, and everyone with kids knows what it is like to travel on a plane with them. Don't worry about it, we understand, unless you let your kid run wild. The people who have never had kids can just shut TFU.
But what is with these strollers? Again, bigger, bigger, bigger. I raised two kids without the 'volume' of crap that today's parents take with them. Why do you need a stroller?
Carry them! Build up your upper body.
I sympathize with the folks who won't check bags. I never do, as it is a time consuming hassle, 30 minutes wasted on either end of the trip, and almost fatal at times if they are lost. It limits your mobility to change planes, etc. However, if you make this decision, you MUST go with a small bag. I have traveled to Europe, Vietnam, Mexico, Cuba and many destinations in the U.S. for many years, using the same small soft sided bag, sometimes with a shoulder book bag added. You can do it. You can carry it. You are strong enough. Cut down on your possessions or leave them at home.
If you can't hoist that humungous thing over your shoulder onto a rack, it is telling you it is too heavy or big.
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Excellent Article
[Read the article: Killing ourselves in Afghanistan]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think most people who did't worship at the shrines of George Bush or Hillary Clinton knew an arm of the Pakistani military and intelligence has been helping the Taliban for years.
Nice to see some more hard evidence to back it up. Also the clear demarcation between the goals of the "arabs" and the Taliban, which explains the activities of the ISI recently.
Actually, the whole invasion of Afghanistan was and is an error in the hunt for Bin Laden. Like Iraq, we instead overthrew a government, installed our own puppets, and got sidetracked from attacking Al Quada. As retrograde as the Taliban were, they are little different from the present rulers in Afghanistan, who are figure-headed by the western slickster Karzai, presiding over a government of anti-female opium warlords.
We visited a form of collective punishment on Afghanistan because their government sheltered Bin Laden. We should have kept the focus on Al Quada alone. Nation-building and catching killers are two different things.