Letters to the Editor
Ron Smith
Published Letters: 217 Editor's Choice: 11
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Thank You, Ken Burns and Gary!
[Read the article: You must remember this]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Having seen the first 2 of 7 episodes to come, I was reminded of our neighbor, Ken Smitley. We all lived in a small coal mining town (pop. 5000) in western Pennsylvania.
Ken, his wife Lil, and son, Ken Jr. lived three houses down from us on N. Water Street in Masontown. Just 7 years old in 1950, I remember Ken Smitley. He was a tall man with a booming voice. When he called his son to supper, we all heard him. One unusual thing about Ken was his volatile temper that he tried mightily to control.
We were all Methodists and our minister, Reverend Pierce, told me a story about Ken.
Ken was a tank commander in France and Germany during WW II. One night during a lull in the battle, Ken made a promise to God. If he ever got out of this hell, he would start a youth choir in his church in Masontown.
My older brother, Don, along with Ken, Jr. and 15 others are pictured in 1955 singing in that choir.
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More of Brooks' Elegant Lying
[Read the article: David Brooks and the deceitful tactics of the Beltway pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This morning I saw the article in the NY Times and skimmed it.
Glenn, you did a good job of pin-pointing the way in which Brooks lies to us. You are also right about naming two of his pals, Fred Hiatt and David Broder. These are the "no facts" people, posing as reporters.
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Dan Will Win If the Truth Matters
[Read the article: Dan Rather stands by his story]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That Lt. George W. Bush was AWOL from his duty station in Alabama is irrefutable. Here are the three main points from my October 16, 2004 Letter to the Editor.
(1) President Bush's Military Biography, released in 2004 by the Pentagon, states his times and locations of service. The line of interest is as follows:
Nov. 30, 1969 - Oct. 1, 1973, 111th Fighter Intercept Squadron, Ellington Air Force Base, Texas.
(2) Lt. Bush's annual Officer's Effectiveness Report is signed by two officers from the 111th on May 2, 1973. The officers are Lt. Col. William D. Harris Jr., a pilot and Bush's supervisor, and Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, squadron commander. The period covered is May 1, 1972 - April 30, 1973. In all nine categories, Bush is rated as "not observed".
The officers added a statement of explanation. The statement reads: "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of this report. A civilian occupation made it necessary for him to move to Montgomery, Ala. He cleared this base on May 15, 1972, and has been performing equivalent training in a nonflying status with the 187 Tac Recon Gp, Dannelly ANG Base, Alabama."
(3) By the fall of 1972, Bush was supposed to be with the 187th at Dannelly ANG base in Alabama. Two junior officers, Bob Mintz and Paul Bishop, reported never seeing Bush there. They are emphatic because Lt. Bush was expected in 1972. The number of pilots in the 187th was 25 to 30, a small group. Mintz and Bishop later rose in the Guard to the rank of lieutenant colonel and colonel, respectively. Even nonflying drills would have been occasions for them to see Lt. Bush had he been present.
Bush has not named or otherwise identified a single person who saw him at Dannelly from October 1972 to April 1973.
One last note: In January 1973, Lt. Bush did show up at Dannelly to get his teeth fixed.
My letter was not published prior to the 2004 Election because the local Virginia newspaper "lost" it.
The Opinion Page Editor, a former employee of the American Enterprise Institute, offered to publish it after the election. It was published on November 13, 2004. The editor titled my letter: "Re-elected or not, Bush shirked his Guard duty".
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Limbaugh Joins a Large Group of Republican Macho Draft-Dodgers
[Read the article: Reid to Limbaugh: You've got mail]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, Rush is another of those Republican tough guys who did not serve in Vietnam.
The Republican front-runners for President are Romney, Guiliani, and Thompson. And yes, they are all macho draft-dodgers. How about the talkers, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Kristol, and George Will? Yep, all are macho draft-dodgers.
How about those who lead us into Iraq and tell us we cannot leave? Well, there is George W. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Feith, Perle, Wolfowitz, Lindsey Graham, Trent Lott, Jon Kyl, John Cornyn, Tim Hutchinson, Saxby Chambliss, Eliot Abrams. All of these boys are macho draft-dodgers.
Senator Reid is correct. Limbaugh and his Republican pals are all for this Iraq Debacle no matter the cost in the lives of others or cost in national treasure. They are safe and their corporate friends are rich and getting richer.
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Schlesinger Reminds Us that Quality Matters
[Read the article: Arthur M. Schlesinger's playbill for the American century]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thank you, Mr. Blumenthal !
Passing through my mind is the image of Rudy G., a man who put his city's Operations Center in a World Trade Center Tower because it was personally convenient and financially beneficial to his political campaign. Faulty radios and poor health of Ground Zero workers did not concern Rudy. Because Rudy is so much like Nixon and Rumsfeld, the current Republicans are sure to nominate him.
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This Administration Has Money for our 104 Acre Embassy in Baghdad
[Read the article: Don't think of a sick child]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We are building this montrosity right now in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. It will be the largest embassy ever, by far. Just how big is it?
Well the Pentagon in Virginia across the Potomac River from the White House covers 34 acres, which includes the 5 acre empty space in the middle. So our new embassy in Baghdad is more than THREE times larger than the Pentagon!
Now where will the money come from? That's right, this Bush Administration and its Republican enablers across the country will pay for it with the lives of our children.
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Anthem Insurance CEO received $42.5 Million Merit Pay in 2004
[Read the article: Don't think of a sick child]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Our health insurance companies act as middle-men between doctors/hospitals and you, the premium paying individual. So why does a middle-man make so much money?
Because he can.
His favorite political party is the Republican "Party". And as long as we listen to and vote for these jokers, our children will suffer and our national debt will exceed the $9 Trillion that it is at now.
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Water-Board Mukasey, Then Ask Him Again If It Is Torture
[Read the article: I can't believe it's not torture, continued]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We helped to write those long standing Geneva Conventions Rules on water-boarding and other methods of torture. If the judge can't figure it out, then he is unfit for our Attorney General. He may want to apply elsewhere, say in Putin's new Russia.