Letters to the Editor
The Voice of Reason
Published Letters: 391 Editor's Choice: 41
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The "real" enemy of the state
[Read the article: Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Saddam Hussein and 9/11]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is truth, not Osama Bin Laden.
The Democratic position on all of this is as rooted in lies as those that got us into the war in Iraq. Ask yourselves what the democrat position would be if:
The war in Iraq had gone "well" and if the invasion and occupation were successful.
The United States had captured and executed Ossama Bin Laden after 9/11.
The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan had gone "well" (don't believe the media myth that things are going well there, check in on that "nation" in 10 years.)
The Dem's position is pointless and also a lie: The United States is less safe because Republicans have falsely tied Iraq to 9/11 and have bungled the invasion and occupation of that country, meanwhile the "real enemy" of the state is still at large in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Six years later and we, as a nation, are not dealing with the foreign policy decisions that compel people to fly airplanes into our buildings. We don't deal with our overreach of the world's resources. We don't acknowledge our training of these same "enemies of the state" in terrorism and insurgency. We will not admit that Saddam Husein was "our boy" in the middle east, Osama "our boy" in the mujahideen in Afghanistan. We continue to prop up despots and thwart the democratic will of people in any country that doesn't serve our interests. We are responsible for arming the world's conflicts with both weapon and motivation. We build this world we live in, the good and the bad.
Mea culpa,mea culpa,mea maxima culpa.
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Standing firm
[Read the article: Conflating the questions on Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If a politician or candidate is out there speaking loudly and standing firm in a position, then the media can not use these tricks of wordplay. Unfortunately Clinton et al, are wishy washing in their convictions and speech and are candidates for this type of manipulation.
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What of the coaches?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]People don't get to the top of the NFL without the help of a long line of excellent coaches. How excellent are our coaches if they are only teaching a sport and not personal character? Where is the character building and mentoring?
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Not just Bush
[Read the article: USA! USA! USA!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All political dissent that threatens the status quo is marginalized and or met with an extreme measure. You would be surprised at how even the tiniest of protest is met with aggressive counter measures. A classic example is the 2000 national convention in Los Angeles where over 70 members of the critical mass bike protest were thrown from their bikes, arrested, ticketed, thrown in jail for days. Their protest: People should consider riding bikes instead of consuming fossil fuels to the detriment of our environment. The method: They rode bikes in a group through the city towards the convention. The protesters: Librarians, teachers, bike messengers etc, little old ladies. If librarians are met with this much resistance, imagine how difficult it would be to assemble with a group of people and a message that is a real threat to the state.
I've tried to enter a Ronald Regan speech with a t-shirt they didn't like and was forcibly removed. I've tried to enter other political gatherings with signs and was not allowed entry. My guess is these tactics were even used at Clinton rallies. Have you ever seen the "protest zones" at the conventions? They are a mile away, surrounded by a twenty foot fence and covered in chicken wire so nothing can be thrown. Knowing that these "free speech zones" exist, what have the press or the people of this country done about this? Zero. There will come a day when the youth of this country will not even know there was a right to free assembly/speech in this country.
~ http://www.bclu.org/stories/demonstrations/lacm.html
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_speech_zone
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She has flip flopped
[Read the article: The flip-flop that wasn't]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]She voted wholeheartedly for the war. Funded it multiple times. Added to the misinformed public with strong pro war statements. Did not act as the check against a bad war and unfettered Presidential power. Refused to acknowledge she had made a mistake, and instead attempted to shrug her personal responsibility by suggesting that she had made an poorly informed decision based on lies (she never sought out any truth, just accepted the lies.) Now she wants to be seen as being against the war. She is cynically using U.S. troops as a prop here. Where was her concern when she sent them over there in the first place? Where is her concern for the people of Iraq? Hillary Clinton has lacked leadership in regards to the Iraq war. She is reactionary instead of proactive.
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Miranda
[Read the article: Craig to address guilty plea in Boise]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]According to the police officer's report on the incident:
a. No crime took place, so why was he detained in the first place? Is it considered lewd to tap your foot? Why do we give police this kind of authority without question?
b. He was detained and told he was under arrest, but no mention of being read his Miranda rights.
I'd say from the look of things, they railroaded a scared and confused man. I'd like to know why we need to have undercover cops seeking out assignations in bathrooms in this day and age. Isn't this the kind of stuff that put the gay community over the top at Stonewall? Why do people have to live in fear for their sexuality and be forced to crawl around in public rest rooms for human contact? I'm sure everyone is smugly liking the "outing" of a republican hypocrite, but let's not forget this is a human being, and deserves better from our media, the justice system, and society in general.