Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 54 Editor's Choice: 7
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Actually, unpredictability is pretty key...
[Read the article: The TSA's plan for tricking terrorists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Unpredictability, if properly applied, can be critical in making a security screen safe.
Let's safe you can only effectively screen less than 20% of travellers. How do you pick the ones to screen? If you pick "Arabs," then the terrorists will make sure to recruit non-Arabs. If you pick Muslims, the terrorists will make sure to recruit non-Muslims. If you pick foreigners, the terrorists will find American allies. Any predictable screening method offers a 100% chance of evasion.
What if you roll a six-sided die, and screen people when you roll a "1"? Well, that means that 5 out of 6 terrorists will get through, but remember, we can only screen 1 out of 5 (or fewer) passangers anyway. Whereas predictable profiling provides a way to evade the screen 100% of the time, a random screen would ensure that terrorists are just as likely as non-terrorists to be subjected to screening, and that's the best you can do.
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Shut up, Doug.
[Read the article: Them damn pictures]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Around three years ago, Hans Blix presented a report to the U.N. Security Council. He said that despite some problems, Iraq was basically complying with the UNMOVIC. The inspectors had found a handful of missiles capable of flying about 20 miles farther than the U.N.-imposed limit and Iraq was going to destroy them.
The weapons inspections were working. In fact, Blix said that they could complete the inspections and declare Iraq free of banned weapons programs giving just a few more months. But they didn't have a few more months. Despite a complete lack of credible evidence many Americans wanted to invade Iraq anyway.
Around that time you, Doug, published a cartoon captioned "Hans Blix at Home." In it, Blix stands in his kitchen, in front of an open refrigerator. Despite the fact that the the 'frige is crammed with milk, Blix is calling to his wife: "Honey, do we have any milk?"
Ha ha ha. I get it. Hans Blix is an imbecile. Despite having dedicated himself to the task of keeping the world safe from rougue states with WMDs and despite having had a distinguished career as a weapons inspector, Hans Blix MUST be an imbecile because he couldn't find WMDs in Iraq, which "everyone knew" were there.
Now you whine about death THREATS? How many people have died for the lie that you promoted with your smug, self-righteous cartoon? I'm all in support of freedom of speech and you can publish whatever cartoons you wish to draw, but don't come riding in to Salon on a white horse claiming to be some avatar of truth and justice.
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Not a Youthful Indiscretion
[Read the article: America's Next Top Racist]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When I was 18 I said some stupid things (some of which I have found preserved for eternity on Google's Newsgroup archives). Although I might defend them as the actions of a raw youth, all of them were made in the context of values that I maintain 20 years later, and while I might apologize for indelicacy, I stand by my intentions.
Even Robert Byrd, who joined the Klan for a year when he was 20 years old claims to have done so due to peer pressure, and not a desire to promote the Klan agenda. If this woman looks back on a lackluster career that was limited by her racism and homophobia, she doesn't deserve a consoling pat on the back and a, "We were all awful people in our youth."
We may have all been crazy, awkward and indiscreet, but we weren't all awful.
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Best Andy Card Lie EVER
[Read the article: Our moment with Andy Card]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It was sickly entertaining to watch the story of Bush's reaction to the 9/11 news be revised egregiously, especially by Andy Card. If you've seen Bush's dear-in-the-headlights routine in Faranheight 9/11, or at The Memory Hole [1] you might find this recollection by Andy Card [2] particularly ironic:
He looked up -- it was only a matter of seconds, but it seemed like minutes .... And he just excused himself very politely to the teacher and to the students, and he left.
Um, Andy? There was a reason it seemed like minutes. It was minutes. Five minutes.
At least Andy stuck to a version of the truth. On September 12th, 2002, the New York Post published an article entitled, "TRAGIC LESSON - TEACHER RELIVES MOMENT BUSH - AND HER KIDS - GOT THE NEWS." This version of the story is a complete fabrication:
"I didn't want to collapse right there in front of my class, so I decided to treat the tragedy as a learning tool," [teacher Sandra Daniels] said. "I explained what a hijacking is and what a terrorist is. I told them how innocent people who went to work that morning, just like your parents, were dying because some people hated America because we're so free."
The article omits the part where she then said, "Don't worry kids, we'll make Saddam Hussein pay for this!"
I think the only person who told the truth about the incident was President Bush who claimed, "Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans." I used to think this was a lie, but after hurricane Katrina, we've learned that sitting on your ass and doing nothing is our government's emergency response plan.
[1] http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/bush-911.htm
[2] http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/11/MN911voice03.DTL
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I believe the letter
[Read the article: My husband says he's "allergic" to me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't believe the story about the "lesbian karaoke" bar, but the letter is believable (sadly). He didn't just tell this story to his wife, he told it to all of his friends, reporting that they approved. He seems to want his wife to approve, too. He's trying to prove something about himself.
Personally, I think he went to a gay bar and performed oral sex, but it wasn't on a woman. "Allergic" indeed.