Letters to the Editor
Rob H.
Published Letters: 122 Editor's Choice: 30
-
This Piece Makes Friedman's Point About Bloggers
[Read the article: And tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]From the way you and FAIR make it sound, Thomas Friedman is continually stating that the "next six months are always critical" as if he's unaware of events in Iraq and blindly repeating a catch phrase.
That is patently unfair and simply untrue. Anyone who cares to dig about one millimeter below the surface (say a real reporter) will see that Friedman was reacting to different events in Iraq when he said or wrote these things. He wasn't just blithely tossing out throwaway lines. So what if he uses "six months" or "nine months" or a "few months?" when reacting to events? Those are just fairly standard time frames.
And FAIR and Salon are even disingenuous enough to try and paint a picture that obscures the fact that many of Friedman's quotes being used against him were said or written within days of each other. I would hope he'd be consistent in that respect. And he was.
And not for nothing, but the phrase "serial optimist" to describe Thomas Friedman when it comes to his thoughts on Iraq is pretty unethical and totally dishonest. The way you portray it, one would think that Friedman is nothing more than a talking head on FOX News.
Friedman has been pretty honest throughout his reporting on Iraq and he's been very critical of the Bush administration. So to call him a "serial optimist" and lump him in with Rumsfeld, based on quotes that are given no context within the events that precipitated them, is not only unfair, it's just plain ridiculous.
It really disgusts me when I find cheap shots like this being taken in Salon. You guys know better. So I wish you'd "report" with a little more FAIRness before you go tarring someone like Thomas Friedman by associating him with Donald Rumsfeld and taking his quotes out of context.
Maybe Friedman has a point when he fires off salvos at bloggers. And this kind of shoddy "reporting" could be exactly what he's talking about.
-
Hey Robert Lewis
[Read the article: And tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for your thoughtful, well-reasoned post. It speaks so tremendously of a keen intellect -- one able to engage in an actual, articluate debate.
I mean such musings as "an apologist with all the fibre of a urine-soaked cardboard box under Lower Wacker Drive," are without equal.
I bow to your superior perspicuity.
-
Debate The Facts
[Read the article: Was the 2004 election stolen? No.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I see plenty of ranting about the canceling of subscriptions, I see plenty of screeds against John Kerry's fitness as a candidate, and I see numerous, vicious tirades against Farhad Manjoo.
What I hardly see is any objective analysis or discussion of what Manjoo has to say. And I think he makes some pretty valid points in rebutting what Kennedy has written. Especially his points about vote tallies for down-ticket judges and his fact that it would have taken duplicity on the part of Democrats to alter the voting machine allocations to favor Republicans. His other point about Kennedy's selective and sometimes faulty use of statistics in the Democratic Party's own report is pretty illuminating as well.
So it's sad that after reading through all these letters, it seems that many people here have become zealots who are unwilling to be disabused of their firmly set notions no matter what the facts say. In a way, you folks display some of the same traits you supposedly abhor in people on the other side. And when you're unwilling to rationally discuss what Manjoo -- or anyone else for that matter -- has to say, then you ultimately forfeit your right to participate in the discussion. That may sound harsh, but if you're disinclined to debate facts, then you've become just another part of the noise machine. And that's the last thing we need in this country.
And lest you think I'm some kind of Manjoo apologist, which I'm sure I'll be thought of, take a look back at his piece on McCain from a few months ago. I went after him pretty hard for that piece.
So please, debate Manjoo on the facts and stop bombarding us with charged-up, inaccurate rhetoric that adds nothing to the discussion.
-
This is Depressing
[Read the article: Was the 2004 election stolen? No.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you want to pretty much call Farhad Manjoo a right-wing hack on this issue, maybe you should actually try reading some of his other work on the subject.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/21/intimidation/print.html
After reading that piece, one would have to believe that if anyone would be taking these clowns out to the woodshed for a substantive beating, it would be Manjoo. But he's looked at the evidence in Ohio and found it lacking.
That's not to say that he believes there was no fraud, it's just that RFK's major accusations about instances of fraud and suppression in Ohio -- ones that could have turned the election -- are easily rebutted.
Frankly, I think Manjoo is pretty well versed on this issue, and in this case, is simply dealing in factual errors, distortions and some fairly blatant omissions in Kennedy's piece. What in God's name is so damn awful about that?
You people leap down the throats of the Republicans when they engage in less than truthful tactics, but it's okay for our side to engage in these shenanigans?
Now do I think Kennedy is guilty of the same kind of execrable behavior that many Republicans commit on a daily basis? No, I don't. I think Kennedy is guilty here of nothing more than shoddy work. But that doesn't make him any less ripe for criticism.
And wading through the drivel that makes up the vast majority of these letters, I see almost zero objective thinking or discussion of the facts. Only a few people seem to approach this issue rationally.
So I have to say, the almost total lack of critical thinking that's rearing it's head here is not only embarrassing, it's pretty depressing.