Letters to the Editor
AJCalhoun
Published Letters: 964 Editor's Choice: 127
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It Seemed Simple Enough
[Read the article: Blame Bill]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Til I read the article here and then the responses.
What the hell?
Nearly every administration, usually via its Attorney General, has fired most of the residual U.S. attorneys left over from the previous administration. This almost goes without saying. True, the Clinton firings were vast - but there were vast numbers of U.S. Attorneys sitting around, brainstorming over ways to keep the nascent administration from even getting off the ground. never mind the good of the country. So, as is more or less traditional, they went. All of them. Ronnie Raygun did the same thing. Bush the Elder did it too. He just wasn't under such profound scrutiny going in.
What sets this relatively small number of firings apart from the usual housecleaning is that it occurs during the middle of a second term. This has never happened! It is remarkable and telling, if nothing else. The current administration is awash in scandal and, per its only apparent strategic apparatus, it launches upon itself yet another scandal, in that this round of firings, during the midst of said scandals, shouts to the world and to any attorney unlucky enough to be thrust into the middle of this morass, "Look too closely and you're gone!"
Is it a President's "right"? That isn't even an issue at this point. What it is is a tacit admission that the Bush administration has done so much wrong in such a short time that its only hope of deferring justice is to take out the people responsible for investigating the details.
This isn't rocket science. It isn't even political science. It's just the Texas Mob, doing "bidness" as usual.
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The National Rifle Association
[Read the article: Shooting his mouth off]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]no longer is concerned only with "rifles." It has been evolving for decades into the plywood shack crowd's PAC and is now a far-too-powerful influence over not only the rightfully paranoid but the willfully ignorant and essentially dangerous among us as well. I first recognized the tendency toward the Association's politicization in 1962, when I tendered my resignation from the group at the age of 17. It had already started then.
In 1993 I had to face down a room full of NRA-ites mutterig threats and imprecations, in order to deliver my testimony on behalf of proposed legislation in Montgomery County, Maryland, which required that a handgun, when "not in use" be separated from its ammunition - that loaded guns not be stored around residences. I supported this bill because a bullet is unforgiving, like electricity, which is extremely well-regulated. I supported this bill with the same degree of vigor I later used to oppose a law requiring all people under the age of 18 to wear bicycle helmets, for a diametrically opposite reason. The hate was just as loud.
What I have learned from both experiences is that a mob is always ugly. The difference between me and Jim Zumbo (and countless politicians) is that I don't apologize for saying what I mean. I may be persuaded to change my mind upon hearing intelligent counter-arguments, but I don't holler "My bad!" soon as I discover what I've said isn't playing well with the rest of the kids.
Just as "a drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts", Zumbo's remarks were undoubtedly what was on his mind when he said them. Had he been given the chance to recant later, I seriously doubt he would have, had he found an appreciative response instead of a lynching. Nope, he's no martyr. He's an ass, and unfortunately he's not alone. This has nothing to do with Zumbo's "freedom of speech" and everything to do with a man's convictions or lack of them.
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The Prize, Debra....
[Read the article: Sympathy for the devil: Leave Rev. Al alone!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]..is to get us the best President we possibly can. That's the prize and it's for all of America, which includes everybody. This is not "a Black thing." By now we all understand this much: what's in the White House now (whether we paint it black or not) is a disaster. We have been blessed with a choice who can bring the country back together on the power of sheer charge of personality. Big Al couldn't. He's been growing, for sure, even as he's been sweating off the avoirdupois, but he's still not THERE yet, and his insistence on Obama paying obeisance to HIM is every bit as ridiculous as the notion that Obama expects Sharpton to serve him his rack of ribs. It's got nothing to do with any of that now, we have moved on dear, and it is about the survival of the country and the recovery of our honor. Sharpton needs to just keep working on the personal growth and not demand he be treated like the senior member of the barbershop society.
The prize? This time it's bigger than race. Nice try turning it into another game of The Dozens. We're all in this one together. About damn time, too.
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Cary Shoots! Nothing But Net! Three Pointer!!
[Read the article: My boyfriend wants me to move, my daughter wants me to stay]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sweet bleedin' Jesus! This is the greatest, most courageous, humane response I think I've ever seen you write, son! All's forgiven! The basement has been cleaned out. Come on home!
Seriously, I was unexpectedly moved and absolutely thrilled by your answer to this poor, confused woman. God, I hope she listens!
I've always hated Carrie Bradshaw. This is why. Women took her seriously. God bless you, Cary Tennis. I'll sleep well tonight.