Letters to the Editor
pageiger
Published Letters: 201 Editor's Choice: 38
-
My letter
[Read the article: Democrats may come to regret not opposing Bush on torture]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I sent the following to my representative (Joe Crowley of New York's 7th CD) and Senators Schumer and Clinton. I also sent it to Rep Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid.
"I am appalled to read that some Democrats actually support President Bush's sick attempt to legalize torture and suspend habeas corpus. I hope you are not among them.
Torture is not an effective means of gathering information. It endangers our men and women in uniform.
Legalizing torture and suspending habeas corpus even for terrorism suspects will put us on the road to tyranny.
Let me be clear about this. I am a Democrat and have always voted for Democratic candidates, but I will not, I cannot, vote for anyone who supports the legalization of torture or the suspension of basic civil rights."
-
Why they fight
[Read the article: Come to think of it, Northerners looked a lot like Southerners, too]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]People fight for the same reason all over the world. They have a view of the world they are convinced is right, often divine in its inspiration, and will not tolerant anyone having a different view.
I am grateful that I can still recognize a racist moron when I see or hear one.
-
Worse than D'Amato?
[Read the article: Rick Santorum and the "Eye of Mordor"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am from New York. I thought I had it bad when Alfonse D'Amato was our senator. Santorum is just plain goofy.
OK, Rick, some facts.
1. We STILL have troops in Europe, 61 years after WW2 ended.
Iraq was a British protectorate after the First World War. The British arrived in 1920, re-established the monarchy and didn't leave until 1958. Are we still going to be there in 2041?
2. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
3. Iraq had no meaningful links to Al Qaeda. Saddam Hussein hated them almost as much as we do. And vice versa.
4. Using someone else's country to fight a war because you don't want to mess up your own front yard is bad manners. Especially when thousands of them die, whether it's 40,000 or 600,000. Tends to piss 'em off.
5. When James Baker advocates getting out, will you denounce him as a "cut and run" guy?
Oh, never mind that last one. Baker's report won't be released until after the election and you will be busy looking for a new job.
Good luck with that Eye of Mordor thing.
-
Game 6
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I met Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson a few years ago at a photo signing. For $40 you received an autographed wide angle photograph of the play (the ball has just gone through Buckner's wickets, Mookie is sprinting down the line, and pitcher Bob Stanley is chugging towards first with no hope of beating Mookie, who at 30 is still fast afoot) and a few moments of benign banter with the two former stars. The black and white photograph has a wonderful seedy quality. The first base line is nearly obliterated; the dirt of the infield is all scuffed up.
I was at Game 6. Yes, I know, me and 10 million other people. I still have my ticket stubs and my program which Buckner and Wilson very graciously signed gratis. Buckner paged through the program pointing out the former Sox players he didn't care for and those he couldn't remember.
After the Sox scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning, I suggested to my wife that we leave early to avoid some traffic. I couldn't face the Mets losing. "Oh no," she replied, "We're staying. If they come back and win this thing, I am not going to listen to you tell people for the next 40 years that I made you leave."
I told Buckner I thought his was a bum rap. Reliever Calvin Schiraldi had retired Backman and Hernandez on easy fly balls, then surrendered three consecutive singles to Carter, Mitchell and Knight, scoring one run and putting runners at first and third. Mitchell going first to third on Knight's bloop over second is an overlooked key to the inning. Mets lore has it that Mitchell was already semi-undressed when he was called to bat and did so sans jock strap and cup. Stanley uncorked a wild pitch which catcher Gedman barely moved for, scoring Mitchell. For me, the tying run was the important one. It meant the Mets lived and the 1986 baseball season was not yet over. The upper deck at Shea Stadium (built for NY City by the lowest bidder, mind you) rode up and down with the crowd.
Being in the upper deck (close to the Almighty), I swore several times that Mookie had swung and missed. As his bleeder edged towards Buckner, it passed through my mind that the Mets were in a good spot. Boston's best reliever was out of the game. We were deep into their bullpen and could win it in 12.
When the tiny white dot trickled onto the green grass of right field I heard lots of screaming. I felt a great weight on my shoulders. The drunk guy from the row behind us had fallen on me. I was the one screaming. Once again we surfed the upper deck as it undulated with the delirious crowd. It would be a shame I thought if a headline about 2,000 dead and 15,000 injured were to push this magnificent moment off the front page of the New York Daily News.
It was one of the few moments of pure, absolute, unmitigated and unadulterated joy in my life.
I surveyed with giddy schadenfreude the cars in the parking lot jamming on their brakes, no doubt following events on their radios. Thanks for not leaving, babe.
Whenever anyone says sports are meaningless, I tell them, "You weren't at Game 6."