Letters to the Editor
stackey-dackey
Published Letters: 242 Editor's Choice: 8
-
C'mon you guys
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton, sniper fire and Sinbad]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You aren't being fair. Maybe Clinton did have to duck under enemy fire. (Though I think it's pretty unlikely)
Actually, you know what, I'm going to lose all snark here and say that throughout history, diplomacy and intellegince gathering have been conducted by wives, mistresses, courtesans, catamites, and anybody else who ends up screwing people in power. Because their trips don't get the same sort of scrutiny, and can be chock filled with ridiculous trips to one legged orphans and concerts with the national ballet, they are the perfect way to relay information back and forth without the whole world knowing you're talking about important stuff.
So, I do beleive that Clinton probably did a lot of diplomacy work when she went abroad (at least now that I'm think about it rationally.) Whether or not she was just relaying the message from the administration, or she actually crafted the policy, is the real question.
I do, however, find it disturbing (if true) that the Secret Service would allow the First lady and her daughter to Bosnia when it was too dangerous for the president to go. Um, that seems like a really bad idea. At least leave Chelsea at home.
-
Maybe there is a real disconnect between black and white in this country
[Read the article: The difference between Jeremiah Wright and radical, white evangelical ministers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Because even though I'm not a "black" radical, nor am I a muslim, nor am I a "kill whitey" sort of gal, I don't really find Wright's comments that offensive. Or really, offensive at all. I think the AIDS comments are a bit kooky, but when you think what the American government has done to black people in this country...well..it's not too farfetched. I went to a college whose named after a man who gave small pox infected blankets to the Indians, (supposedly) so even though I think things are better now, I wouldn't put it past this country turning around and rounding us all up and giving us Ebola. Us and the Gays.
And the God Damn America line...heck, I've said it. Especially around tax season.
I don't think Wright is Anti-semitic (but we all know criticizing anything or anyone in Israel is anti-semitic. Pretty convenient for the those doomsday evangelistas) or that he hates white people. Like a lot of old black people (get ready for gross generalization time)
I bet he'd gotten much more radical as he's gotten older. Or at least his views appear much more radical because we as a society have shifted more right when it comes to talking about race relations. I mean, no matter how many times I try to tell my mom that white women didn't have it that great during the 50s, she still persists in pointing out the lazy and trifling "Ms. Anne" she worked for who couldn't be bothered to take care of her own children because she was too busy getting drunk on genteel Southern liquor.
-
I'm back after a long hiatus...
[Read the article: The difference between Jeremiah Wright and radical, white evangelical ministers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What I want to say about this whole thing is this:
Maybe, in the grand scheme of things, this is the best thing to happen to Obama. Honestly, I almost think he started pushing this story himself. Because if he gives a speech tommorow which resonates with America, a speech which says, yes we will work with the black racists and the white racists, with the liberals and conservatives, with the capitalists and the socialists, we will try, as hard as we can, to create a society where people of all different political bents, all different creeds and color, can still agree that what we have in common is our inherent American-ness...well that would be awesome. Even if we disagree, I don't think most Americans have evil in their heart.
Because that's what is missing in our current discourse. I remember reading an editorial from some old conservative fart who disparaged the whole idea that America could come together. It made me sad. I can't take another 45 years (god willing) of back and forth picking and fighting. I don't expect us to agree. Certainly not. But we really need to stop seeing disagreement in black and white. We need to stop beleiving that just because someone thinks abortion is evil or that homosexuals should marry that somehow we don't have one important thing in common; we're still American.
Maybe because we're a country of ideas. A country who isn't based on language or color or culture, but instead the simple concept that we all on some level agree to our great social contract.
I think, despite the fact that politicians get such a bad name, that there is something we can really learn from them. I imagine the halls of the Senate like that old Loony Tunes comic: Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner fighting like cats and dogs but as soon as the whistle blows, they sit together in the commissary and maybe go to the strip club after work. The truth is that what we beleive isn't all that makes us who we are. In truth, we have much more in common than whether we pray five times a day or tithe a portion of our check every week to some church.
Oh well, that's what I hope. Maybe I'm some optimistic fool, but I can't take the fighting and the back biting. I really can't.
-
@damnthatxanadu
[Read the article: Obama's speech on race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well, all we need to happen for Clinton to get equal air time is for her to be embroiled in a "scandal" But since she is so vetted, and since she's never done anything wrong, what has she got to respond to? I guess she could respond to this speech, but I think Obama is a hard act to follow, especially for her. She's a great debater and really good at interviews, but speechifying isn't her strongest suit.
-
KateTex
[Read the article: Obama's speech on race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Of course Obama was lying about his grandmother because he's evil incarnate. He is like Hitler, Jim Jones, Damien (the adult one in Omen 3) and Osama Bin Laden all rolled up into one. He is evil and dangerous.
Happy now?