Letters to the Editor
anonny
Published Letters: 124 Editor's Choice: 13
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Super Bowl
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To put this in historical perspective, from Wiki:
Senator Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) led opposition to the bill and questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. He also criticized King's opposition to the Vietnam War and accused him of espousing "action-oriented Marxism."[8]
Ronald Reagan was also opposed to the holiday. He recanted only after Congress passed the King Day bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate). Prior to that date, New Hampshire and Arizona had not observed the day. Throughout the 1990s, this was heavily criticized. After a 1992 proposition to recognize the holiday in Arizona did not pass, the National Football League boycotted hosting Super Bowl XXVII at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
Personally, I think McCain's vote belongs in the same Hall of Infamy as Cheney's vote against the anti-Apartheid resolution in the 1980s. When you are on the same side as Jesse Helms you have a serious problem.
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A good plan for Hillary's future
[Read the article: Avoiding "a thermonuclear climax"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Pretty close to 100% of Democrats will applaud this change in Hillary's strategy, for all the obvious reasons. In addition, though, this new strategy has one not-so-obvious benefit for Hillary. If she fails to win the nomination this time out, by exiting gracefully she gives herself a good chance to try again in 2012 and 2016.
I know a lot of people feel that this year is Hillary's only chance, but there really isn't any reason she can't lose and try again. Many Presidents lost their first campaigns only to come back and win 4 or 8 years later. Hillary could do the same, but her chances of a successful repeat campaign will diminish if she finishes out this campaign with a prolonged mud-slinging battle with Obama.
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Barak is to Tiger as John is to ... John?
[Read the article: The problem with comparing Obama to Tiger Woods]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Watching that video it is clear that that speaker is stumbling over his words trying to put together a coherent thought. In that light, "Tiger Woods" probably just popped into his mind. Somehow "Tiger Woods" and "Barak Obama" fit the same categories in his brain. It's a dirty secret that a lot of conservative white guys loathe Tiger Woods and his success -- so it's not surprising that one might confuse the two in speech.
But if we're going to compare Barak to Tiger, who on the golf circuit do we compare John McCain to? I see Fuzzy's been nominated, but I suggest John Daly. You may recall that the golf press was totally in love with Daly and his big swing early on -- he got far more press than his record deserved, and most of it very positive. He did have a little success along the way. And, when the negative news came out (drinking problem) the golf press worked hard to downplay it.
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The quiet also affect owners
[Read the article: Beware the ninja Prius]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, Toyota/Lexus hybrids (not just the Prius) are super quiet when they are running in electric mode. So much so that Toyota had to make some adjustments. First, they use lots of extra noise insulation materials in cars like the Camry and Hilander Hybrid because the noise difference between the cars' electric and gas modes was just too jarring for the drivers. Second, the car manuals contain all sorts of special warnings such as "you may hear sound X -- this is normal". This is because when the car is that quiet people heard all sorts of car sounds that they don't hear in other cars, and wondered if it meant there was car trouble.
But finally, the biggest quietness issue for Toyota/Lexus hybrid owners is that you might forget to turn the car off when you leave it. The "smart key" system means you literally never take the key out of your pocket -- the car senses the key remotely and you just push a button. This means you can forget to hit the off button when you stop, and the lack of any sound of an engine running means there is no warning except a beep from the car when you get out (a beep that you might easily ignore). Most Toyota/Lexus hybrid owners have done this at least once.
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Yes, this is the first MBA/CEO president
[Read the article: Who's in charge here?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sounds similar to Ken Lay's Enron defense, doesn't it?
This is the modern CEO style. Take credit for anything good that goes on in his (or rarely, her) watch, blame underlings for failings.
However, there may be a difference here. For the CEOs the idea is, as another writer mentioned, "plausible deniability". It's a double standard -- they claim they deserve their outrageous compensation on the grounds that they are predominantly responsible for their company's success, but deny any responsibility for their company's negative actions or results.
But for Bush, there is a lot of evidence to indicate that he really is just a hand puppet for Cheney, Rove, and company. His lack of interest in detailed descriptions of issues, his lack of active participation in White House meetings, and his 2nd-grade-level understanding of key issues, all point to someone whose access to information is being carefully managed by those around him. Thus, it would not be surprising if Bush is unaware of all the things he has authorized with his signatures.
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Focus on the VP
[Read the article: The dreaded septuagenarian issue]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is a class of McCain-leaning voter who is staunchly anti-Bush but somehow has bought into the "experienced" and "maverick/straight talk/bipartisan" rhetoric.
In talking to these people two arguments seem to give them pause:
1) McCain's age -- there is an excellent chance his VP will be president. Do you really want a President Huckabee? Or President Guliani? People who like McCain for his "independence" will probably not like his VP choice, unless he take (ugh) Lieberman. Usually the VP choice is a non-factor in elections, but this year may be different.
2) McCain's likely jurist nominations. People in the polical middle tend to overlook the Supreme Court when choosing between presidential candidates. But even those in the middle have trouble with the idead of a Supreme Court with 5,6, or 7 people like Antonin Scalia. Point out that the Scalia wing currently has 4 people, and that McCain would appoint more Scalias, and the independent voters do start to get worried.