Letters to the Editor
Margalis
Published Letters: 614 Editor's Choice: 16
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What JBinMO is saying
[Read the article: The president's escalating war rhetoric on Iran]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is what the President has said: that the executive branch members are "emanations of a president's will" with "no substantial authority independent of President Bush."
Of course that's silly. We do not expect blind obedience in corporations let alone government. Obviously people try to follow the orders of their bosses, but all jobs have other responsibilities as well. CFOs don't (or shouldn't) lie in tax statements because the CEO told them so. Bridge workers shouldn't use bolts they know are faulty, etc etc.
It's a basic and obvious concept and we reject "I was only following orders" even in the military. People are *supposed* to use their own judgement, especially competent people with some expertise.
It would be quite proper for military leaders to say "we're resigning rather than attacking Iran, a move that will break the armed forces and make America less safe." Using the Army to invade Washington and kill Bush? That's probably outside the bounds of what's reasonable. Refusing nonsensical orders, on the other hand, it not only reasonable but expected.
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They are running against each other
[Read the article: John Edwards turns on his fellow Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Saying how you are better than the other guy kind of makes sense no?
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Classified info
[Read the article: The president's escalating war rhetoric on Iran]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When classified info is declassified it often turns out to be either meaningless or something that would embarrass the administration rather than anything super-secret. "Who knows what the classified info is saying?" is a cop-out, for all we know it is telling us that attacking Iran is dumb.
Classified info is mostly a way for government supports to prop up empty arguments with pure speculation by projecting their fantasies into reality.
Rarely if ever have I seen that argument used in a way that was later validated. How about all that classified info on the exact locations of Iraqi WMDs? Yeah...
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Men's public bathrooms
[Read the article: Why bathroom sex is hot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]are really fucking gross. Hard to be turned on.
Article was fine except for a bit of projection. Instead of writing "men are sluts" just write "I'm a slut and so are my friends." (That isn't meant as an insult.)
The notion that all men are sex obsessed plays into quite a few negative behaviors and justifications, and more importantly isn't true. That men can't control themselves sexually has been used throughout time to force women to cover up, as one example.
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Facism
[Read the article: Warrantless surveillance and the new Coretta Scott King disclosures]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You guys talk about it like it's a bad thing. The conservatives here embrace it. Why, not only is violating Constitutional rights fine, we are are remiss when we don't do that!
Clearly what we need are more Constitutional violations, the more the better. After all, people we don't like have no reasonable expectation of rights.
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Who would win?
[Read the article: The 18 best Jewish ballplayers of all time]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A team of the best Jews of all time, or a team of the best Latino/Carribean active players?
LOL. The third best Jew of all time isn't even a Jew.
Well Koufax was great anyway...this article is proof that "greatest" is a relative term. If these guys are the top 18 I'd hate to see what 19-36 looks like.
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From Joan Walsh?
[Read the article: The 18 best Jewish ballplayers of all time]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Wow. I love our readers. But every once in a while, I feel...surprised. This is a great, only-in-Salon story, in my opinion.
Seriously?
Some people are weirded out (to put it kindly) about the clanishness some Jews exhibit. That explains the reaction you're seeing. This is certainly not the first time I've heard of a "top Jews in baseball list" and I can honestly say I've never heard *any* top any other ethnicity/race list regarding baseball. (Or really any sport for that matter) Nobody really seems to care except Jews as far as I can tell. It's a type of exceptionalism, that somehow being Jewish is an exciting story by itself.
There is literally no angle here other than "look it's some Jews." Wow! It takes a certain arrogance to think anyone should care.
How about a story about Joba Chamberlain, one of a few Native American baseball players? Oh, that's right, nobody really gives a shit about Native Americans. Silly silly me.
So the Youkilis clip is "the funniest Internet clip ever about Jews in baseball." Who keeps score about things like that? Again, there is a certain exceptionalism in thinking that funny baseball clips need to be divided up into ones about Jews and ones that aren't.
"Margalis hates Jews" in 3...2...
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No-fault divorces
[Read the article: McCain's selective defense of "traditional marriage"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If he IS just referring to what is recognized as a "traditional" marriage by the courts, no-fault divorces and children from multiple marriages are certainly not illegal.
No-fault divorces are a fairly new concept. The "traditional" method of divorce was both sides blaming each other. IIRC no-fault was introduced in California in the 70s, or something like that. Before that there was no such thing as a no-fault divorce under the law.
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Two comments
[Read the article: Dick Cheney's top aide: "We're one bomb away" from our goal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Look at warrantless eavesdropping -- it began as a LAW-BREAKING program. It no longer is. Now it is a power that the Bush administration has because Congress legalized it.
The same is true for torture and indefinite detention -- in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, the Bush administration was engaged in those practices with no legal authorization. It was lawless behavior. But then the Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, and those practices are no longer lawless. Now they are the law of the land.
I am not a lawyer, but I was under the impression that the Constitution is the ultimate law of the land. Indefinite detention seems contrary to the Bill of Rights, as does eavesdropping without warrant. I don't understand how laws make those things legal.
Second, I think the right-wing mentality on issues like these is this simple: the only way to prevent future 9/11s is with more 9/11s.
It's absolutely absurd on its face, but that is what they really believe.