Letters to the Editor
PreviouslyCRL
Published Letters: 200 Editor's Choice: 32
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B. Pillay has it right
[Read the article: Cheney and Libby, a little vague on the details]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The post by B. Pillay hits the nail right on the head. It is almost inconceivable that Cheney would not have known Wilson from the GHWBush administration, making Cheney's plausible deniability in the Plame outing affair rather implausible. I don't expect our lame MSM to pick up on it, but a timely e-mail to the Daily Show might get that point across to an even larger audience.
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It's anice fantasy though
[Read the article: If dreams came true, oh, wouldn't that be nice?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As a big fan of the boss (his music and his politics), I wouldn't mind seeing him in the Senate, but, of course, it's not realisitic. Bruce has no interest in being a senator and there are other, better choices, as has already been pointed out.
Still, it's a nice Friday fantasy in a political landscape that has been all too distrubingly real since 2000.
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Zaynab D. has a point but...
[Read the article: Abu Ghraib redux?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My initial reaction was somewhat similar to Zaynab's, that it could be a faulty inference to think that Iraqi's torturing Iraqi's is a direct outcome of U.S. torture in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere during our ill-considered war on terror. I do think that the Iraqi's were culturally and historically capable of independently deciding to engage in torture without our help. But I also think that our government's sanctioning of torture has made it that much easier for them to do it with impunity. If we had set a high standard for respecting the human rights of detainees and prisoners (in Iraq and elsewhere) and made it clear that we not only did not condone torture but that we would also actively pursue and prosecute individuals who did, it might have given the nascent Iraqi government pause and possibly even have prevented the abuses that are coming to light. Once we relinquished the moral high ground, we lost most, if not all, authority to demand humane behavior on the part of the Iraq government, army and police.
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Right on!
[Read the article: Throwing words at Dick Cheney]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]These quotes are exactly the kind of damning evidence against the vice president (and the rest of the Bush administration) that enrage me to the point of uttering a profanity laced rant. His soul must be as black as the blackest of black holes to let him question the integrity and motives of people who are challenging this administration's deceptions.
I don't believe in an afterlife, so I hope that Cheney rots in an earthly hell for his lies and their deathly consequences. Is there no one in the Bush administration who has the integrity of Deep Throat or John Dean who will spill the beans on these pieces of camel dung? It is going to take many years of deliberate effort to restore American credibility after we finally depose these bastards.
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The administration has painted itself into a corner
[Read the article: Playing the Michael Moore card]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Bush administration has created a trap from which they cannot escape. Because they never admit error and always attack those who disagree with them, as more and more evidence comes to light that demonstrates their errors (and deceptions), their further denials and attacks only serve to further discredit themselves.
The polls show clearly that more and more Americans are wising up to their mistakes and lies, and since only a sincere mea culpa by the administration--followed by concrete action that demonstrates they are sincere about fixing the problems--is likely to bring anyone back into their fold, they are doomed.
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U.S. credibility in the gutter
[Read the article: Slipping and sliding on white phosphorus in Fallujah]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We have our work cut out for us once we are finally rid of the current administration. They have done such extensive damage to American credibility around the world, that I believe we will need to make an overt and concerted effort to regain it. We have lost our reputation for honesty and high morals. Further, the structural institutionalization deception, and the rewarding of the architects of this institutionalization with high posts in government, mean that no one will trust us until we publically clean house and declare that our policies and institutions are being rededicated to true American principles.
I'm feeling like I did during the Reagan administration: eight years of this administration will leave us with decades of work to undo the damage. Maybe that's their idea of a jobs program.
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Correction
[Read the article: Slipping and sliding on white phosphorus in Fallujah]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry. That should read, "the structural institutionalization of deception."
It would be nice to have a system where such errors could be corrected by editing the original. Although, that might just allow unscrupulous posters to rewrite history ;-).
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Don't get your hopes up
[Read the article: With friends like these ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Scanlon may or may not be singing a tune that will implicate Republican members of Congress, but I think one possible outcome will be that the "Ney" defense, "I was played for a fool," will keep them out of trouble. At the news conference yesterday, Scanlon was smiling and relaxed, which could indicate that, even after paying nearly $20 million in restitution to the tribes, he still has plenty of ill-gotten wealth to keep him in the black once he does his time. If that's so, it would make sense for him to give the prosecutor info on folks like Abramhoff but not members of Congress. Doing that might make it possible that when Scanlon gets out of prison, members of Congress will perceive him as loyal and will continue to work with him.
I think the real question is, "What leverage does the prosecutor have over Scanlon to get him to reveal everything he knows rather than just enough to minimize his prison time but come out able to pick up where he left off?" I would be interested to hear some informed speculation along that line.
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Helping Hackett gain a senate seat
[Read the article: Who's the "coward" now?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The up side of Schmidt's idiocy is that the voters of Ohio are being royally embarrassed, which I would think makes them more likely to vote for Hackett in his Senatorial race in that state. After all, he narrowly lost to Schmidt in a congressional election when I'm sure the electors in that district knew less than they do now about how incautious and dishonest she is in her statements. Surely, this helps put Hackett in a better light for his Senate run.