Letters to the Editor
Etrigone
Published Letters: 159 Editor's Choice: 31
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To be fair to Moore...
[Read the article: A sickening truth at Guantánamo]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I suspect he was proposing that IF we are giving good care to the "Bad Guys(tm)" at GT, THEN we should also be giving it to the "Good Guys(tm)".
I doubt it was considered a given. In fact, given his penchant for mixing over-the-top with subtlety, I suspect he was hoping that would be noticed. "Wait, so we're not giving good care to *either* GT or our heroes? What else are you wrong about?"
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Thinking back a few years...
[Read the article: Obama and Clinton plan to cool it]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To the early 90s...
I remember words like "Peace Dividend", ideas like letting anyone who wanted to fight for his/her country do so, etc etc etc.
And this from a president I was happy to see get in. Sure, Bill != Hillary, but since she's campaigning with the idea that she was heavily involved, that '!=' is closer to '='.
I'm not sure if Obama will be better either, to be honest; marginally better, perhaps. And all of this is with the express statement that I'd prefer either 11 times out of 10 over McCain.
Of course, this is before the Conservatives and/or moneyed interests start getting in the way, and that even if they get all they want it's still more likely a day late & a dollar short than anything else.
Personally, I hope I'm wrong. On the positive side I tend to be wrong on these things. Here's for hoping the trend continues.
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@Noryungi
[Read the article: A 1930s history lesson]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>...will American citizens have to wait until the economic crisis is worse than the one in 1929?
DING DING DING DING! We have a winner.
I'd like to think that this isn't the case, but we're at best reactive to problems. At this point I think it's moot; if I had to put money on it, I'd say we're heading that way.
People who say otherwise were also ones who said the subprime fiasco would be self-contained. Here's to hoping they're right on the current "temporary" downturn.
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Indeed...
[Read the article: Welcome to the compact fluorescent twilight zone]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>The 21st century could turn out to be hard for absolutists.
One semi-paraphrase from the creators of "The Eleventh Hour", an otherwise not terribly well done movie, was that the biggest problem we'll face this century is that there is *no* one greatest problem. Tackle one and ignore the rest, and then at least another one will suddenly blossom into a huge mess. Interdependencies and changing situations will likely be the rule... and even that could change.
I've also heard this mentality referred to as "the silver bullet mistake", the belief that there is just one thing you can do to make things good.
I suppose some hippy-trippy types might call this a problem that needs a holistic solution. It still boils down to needing more than one answer for a given problem, and the need to address many of them at once.
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Home equity as worth...
[Read the article: Consumer pessimism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]reminds me of the paper millionaires of the .com boom. Some of my co-workers partied like they actually owned the millions in the late 90s. Their thought was they would just sell some if they needed cash.
At least in their case, selling stock - which some did - actually netted some of them money. Sell your house and you're back to renting.
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Point is...
[Read the article: Kicking the gas-guzzling habit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]People are not driving less because they want to. They are driving less because they have to - they can't afford the fuel, on top of everything else.
It's really not that deep, and I don't think Andrew (you okay with addressing you by your first name?) is saying it is. Drop the price of a gallon and dollars to donuts, we'll see the Yukon Explorer Mk. II. A certain amount of demand destruction can happen along the way, but barring some extreme shortages that we haven't seen (yet?), we can easily bounce back to a ridiculous consumption if prices drop.
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Boy...
[Read the article: Fred Kagan on Monday: "The civil war in Iraq is over"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One moment there is no civil war, and the next moment it's over.
Gosh durn it, the world moves so fast...
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"Only $50k" ?!?
[Read the article: Bonfire of the Bear-Stearns vanities ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yeah, same as the others. When we moved into our condo I needed to do an extensive remodel of a kitchen that had, um... seen better days. Too many renters was just the tip of the iceberg.
And yet this, plus converting the attic into usable space, cost ~$30k. Several people thought the contractor was a little pricey; I thought he was just a tiny bit extravagant. Big change from how the kitchen was; it needed fixing up something awful. Blowing more on any improvements seemed wasteful, but we did have enough cash for nice curtains & a valance.
(Did initially read that as "valence", though).
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Thank you, IaintBacchus
[Read the article: Record gas prices equal record Prius sales]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For stating what I thought was just durned tootin' obvious...
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Lie, lie, lie... then lie again
[Read the article: I'm embarrassed to admit I met my guy online]
[Read more letters about this article: Here](Btw Cary, that was IMHO some of the best advice you've given).
If only because, frankly, it's no one's business. Sure, if you feel like talking about it, go ahead. Maybe years down the line you'll find it funny, at least with the right crowd. For now, it's not important. Let them know that with absurdity.
Want to know how I met my wife? A gaming convention. You know, those things where AD&D geeks get together to talk about their 54th level paladins and show off soft-core porn pictures of their characters(1).
(Not true, but the con was where we got together. We'd known each other for three years, were good friends, and actually met in a computer lab when her then boyfriend brought her by - back in the mid 80s, when being near a computer mean big-time nerd).
To our other geek friends, that's how we met. To the "mundanes"? The convention is in the middle of February; we tell them we got together around Valentines day. Problem of story solved, and if we get away from the "I'm Italian & Mafia, She's Chinese & Triad - we're a peace offering between the two" lie it makes them happy.
Just don't ask about the tattoos.
(1)Tremendous exaggeration, but an example of a tested distraction and smackdown to people who can't keep their noses out of other peoples' affairs.