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Ron Smith

Published Letters: 219
Editor's Choice: 11

Sunday, April 29, 2007 05:45 PM

My letter to David Broder and a reflection

Yes, I too, see something changing out there in the public domain. Glenn's observations and his reporting are appreciated here in Virginia.

Today I wrote David Broder a short letter. Here it is.

D. Broder,

What a pathetic article you wrote comparing "I don't recall" Gonzalez with

Harry Reid. One is a criminal who uses U.S. Attorneys as agents of the Republican

Party. If the attorneys don't cooperate, they are fired.

This story and the 101 acts of malfeasance by the Bush Administration don't interest

a toady like you. You have to be a Republican loyal to W, our disgraceful president.

The Washington Post has gone to the dogs and YOU, just an incompetent old dog

punching the clock.

Name

Address

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 12:46 PM

George Tenet and Richard Clarke

Today I picked up Tenet's book, "At the Center of the Storm". Going to the index, I looked for any reference to Richard Clarke because the two men had dealt so differently with George Bush. Clarke, intelligence advisor to Bush on 9/11, was not in the index.

Recall that when Bush asked Clarke if Saddam had anything to do with 9/11, Clarke was emphatic. "No, Mr. President, we were attacked by al Qaeda!"

Clarke never got to hang around very long in the Bush Administration. Speaking truth to power can get you fired in this group of characters.

Viewing the "60 Minutes" interview of George Tenet I got the distinct impression that Tenet was a regretful man who had toadied up to a lesser man, George Bush. Now even Tenet understood that his Presidential Freedom Medal had bought his silence for a few years. It is interesting that he is of Greek ancestry. They of all people understand this form of tragedy that a man bought is a man disgraced.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007 07:23 AM
Original article: Bush's favorite historian

Gary Did a Good Interview

The purpose of the interview was served. We learned a good bit about Alistair Horne.

I looked for a sense of Horne's personal culpability in the Iraq debacle and didn't find it. He blames Tony Blair, the Labor Party guy. But aren't our historians with a "Sir" in front of their name better able to weigh the benefits and liabilities of going to war?

Horne offers one positive alternative to invasion that many supported, use special forces to attack al Qaeda where found. Horne correctly decrys the disbanding of the Iraqi Army in May 2003 and provides an 1814 analogy. But Horne tips his hand when offering a solution to the mess we are in. "Bring in the Indian divisions", he says and pay them.

Geez, didn't an earlier British historian have the wonderful idea of bringing the Hessians to America in the 1770's? The Iraqi's are Arabs and they HATE outsiders as occupiers.

So Mr. Horne we must leave Iraq for al Qaeda is our enemy. As long as we remain there, we recruit new and committed soldiers for our enemy.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 11:02 AM
Original article: Bush's favorite historian

568 posts at Salon

Now who spends all this time posting and is not paid for it?

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 07:19 PM
Original article: The impertinent prince

At least one poet was invited.

A lady poet shared with Salon her reasons for turning the Bush invitation down. Sorry, I've forgotten the poet's name.

Her reasons were related to the President's "war of choice", among other things. Looks like those low poll numbers are earned.

Monday, May 14, 2007 11:32 AM

Juan Cole has it right

Besides being a bully, Wolfowitz has something else in common with these boys- Cheney, Rove, Kristol, Feith, Delay, Gingrich, Perle, Guiliani, O'Reilly. None of them served in our military. Their leader, G.W. Bush, never left the USA during the Vietnam War. And yes, he did get his TEETH FIXED at an Air Base in Alabama at which he never reported for duty. These are the "macho boys".

Thursday, May 17, 2007 05:30 PM
Original article: All hail the king

The Wicked Wolfie is Dead

Heh! Heh! The wicked wolfie is dead!

Now on to Gonzalez... Any Attorney General who says "I don't recall" 50+ times to a congressional committee, deserves to walk the plank. These guys are criminals and they are IN CHARGE? No damn way, not in the USA.

Friday, May 18, 2007 07:26 AM

Thank You, Ann Bauer, for the Love and the Truth

To AKA Smith, I believe that the book you may have read was "Your Drug May Be Your Problem", 1999, by Peter Breggin, M.D. and David Cohen, Ph.D. It tells how to taper off drugs and lists some side-effects of them. Remember that most, if not all, of these psychiatric drugs are addictive. Going off too quickly will give you a rebound effect that your psychiatrist may misinterpret.

My hobby is mental health. I went back to college and received a bachelor's degree with 40 hours of psychology at the age of 56. The next day I got married for the first time. When folks asked why I waited so long, I tell them that I was crazy, only a slight exaggeration.

Two other books provide useful background to our discussion here. They are:

"Toxic Psychiatry", 1991, by Peter Breggin, M.D., and "Prozac Backlash", 2000, by Joseph Glenmullen, M.D. These authors will back up what AKA Smith, Ann Bauer, and many others here have written.

I had my last panic attack about 15 years ago.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 06:06 AM

Keep the Heat On

Both Bush and Cheney deserve to be impeached.

While this sounds great, conviction is another matter. Too many Republicans in the Senate will keep us from the 2/3 majority. The solution is just to gather more evidence on crimes with congressional hearings. Then get rid of the Republicans that have turned a blind eye to these crimes in 2008.

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