Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 15 Editor's Choice: 1
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Never over estimate the intelligence of the electorate
[Read the article: One state, two ads]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As much as I agree with the principles and message of Barack, I don't believe his ad will sell as well as Hillary's merely because it appeals to intellect and not emotion. I believe that the American electorate, will always get sucked in by emotion. Consider the mushroom ad by LBJ in 1964, the Willie Horton ad by W v1.0, the folksy appeal of W v2.0 in the election of 2000, 9/11, etc, adnauseum. Sorry, Barack.
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Ellison & Powerline
[Read the article: Only America-hating traitors believe in due process for journalists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While the the comments by "Powerline" are atrocious, it's the typical pablum coming out of this Minneapolis area right wing group these days. These folks have been hammering Keith since he started running for the House, and they know very well who he is. While they get traction in the McMansion enclaves they represent and they are very much connected to the Bush machine, they have been identified as by we locals as typical Bush wingnuts. It's just sad that the attack on Keith is the news and not of the journalists' plight. Maybe we should get some T-Shirts...
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It's really about liability for prior war crimes
[Read the article: Senate confirms Mukasey]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In my humble and non-legal opinion Mukasey reticence in condemning waterboarding and proposing a law to ban it is really a maneuver to provide legal cover for war crimes already committed. If the Congress were to pass a law, I'm sure there will be a release for prior acts. At this stage of the game the Bush gang is most interested in playing CYA.
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People appear to have a desire for controversy
[Read the article: Sound and fury on the campaign trail]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As an Obama supporter I'm terribly distressed by the brouhaha regarding Bill Clinton's comments. It appears everyone is too lazy to any research anymore. They just want to draw their own opinions and mouth off. It's common behaviour as described by Al Gore in his book Assault on Reason. If you want to know what Bill Clinton actually said, just click here. It has been recorded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Ytbr-7VaE
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This isn't so far fetch
[Read the article: The technology that will save humanity]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's nice to see someone else talk about this solution. A similar article was written in the January issue of Scientific American in which they discussed the economics and infrastructure required to embark on this endeavor. Their take was that it would require approximately 500 billion dollars (that's one year of the current defense budget) of investment over 40 years to achieve this solution. They did not propose using thermal solar, but rather the more inefficient photovoltaic system. Their solution encompassed multiple technologies including building of large DC power transmission lines to reduce voltage loss, and utilizing old mines and caves to store compressed air for use in storing energy in non-solar producing areas. A reference to the article is:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan
Their take home point was that is was do-able.
Another article written by Jim Louderback in the May edition of PC Magazine discusses the third generation photovoltaic technology which is available this year, also makes solar price competitive with coal. This technology when perfected will allow, get this, HP ink jet print technology capable of printing solar photovoltaic panels. Yes, HP will make a killing on this. Sorry, but they haven't printed this article on-line yet.
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I'm completely underwhelmed...
[Read the article: The return of the Rev. Wright]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I listened to Rev Wright's speech and am very mystified by Koppelman's take and the irrational anger espoused in these comments. After this I can only conclude that Hunter Thompson was correct in his analysis of democracy in America. I can only hope that I'll have the courage not to follow his path in desparity. I'm just overwhelmed by the stupidity of the media and the reflection in these posts.
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It's all about controlling the news cycle...
[Read the article: Bush, Cheney to skip Republican Convention]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just as McCain made his surprising VP announcement just in time to interrupt the media from discussing Obama's acceptance speech, and to divert the Friday water cooler talk and the weekend BBQ talk, the primary motive behind delaying the convention will be to control the news cycle so the propaganda dispensed from the event will not be overshadowed by reality. This is going to be one interesting election with the current regime trying to control what sticks in people's minds.
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Who sets the price of the mortgages to be purchased?
[Read the article: First reactions to the Paulson plan: Boo!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Great article distilling the issues. The question I have is this: How can we set the price of the notes to their most accurate value, and who will set that price? If in fact the price is too high, then this is a subsidy, and worse the purchase will not solve the problem as the market will continue to fail and the problem will re-emerge as people will not be able to afford the mortgage they will currently carry. The root of the problem from my view is that the real income of Americans has declined and will continue to decline until structural changes occur within the economy. Not until either the price of homes reflect workers' income or workers' income rise to match their mortgages will this problem be resolved. No, John, the fundamentals of the economy are not sound.