Letters to the Editor
Marshall
Published Letters: 44 Editor's Choice: 2
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We need to create a Dodd Christmas
[Read the article: Anatomy and significance of Monday's FISA victory]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To me, the most astounding thing about this week has been how bad the reporting in the Post and the NY Times has been. I knew that the Post had gotten bad, but it is shocking just how divorced from reality it is. If someone's only source for news is those two papers, then I don't think they have a clue what has been going on this week. We have a chance to break through the bubble of conformity that surrounds the official press, and we need to grab it.
We need to pick a day to raise money for Dodd (and I say that not as a supporter, but to reward his good works) and I think that Christmas would be a good day for it. Ron Pail's supporters raised a lot of money for him as part of their "Tea Party," and got some good press, and we can do the same.
So, everyone, if you are intending to give Dodd some money (as I am), do it on Christmas. Let's see if we can get him some attention in the media. Last time, he raised $ 250 K in one day - let's see if we can't make it $ 1 million in one day.
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Peggy Noonan is not a grown-up, just another famous fool
[Read the article: Peggy Noonan is a serious "grown-up"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a complete lack of ability to read character she betrays. Some people would be ashamed to ever show their face in public again after being so wrong so publicly about so much, but her complete lack of insight apparently extends to herself as well as to others.
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The wheels grind slow, but they grind exceedingly fine.
[Read the article: Oligarchical decay]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...does anyone believe that there would ever be any consequences, any accountability, for this wrongdoing by anyone above a mid-level position of responsibility... ?
Oh, yes, there will be accountability. The wounds caused in the last 7 years will bleed and fester for decades to come, while the desire to protect the clowns currently in office will inexorably decrease year by year. There will be accountability, the only real question is when.
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Wrong in all directions
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a blast from the past ! I had forgotten how much I detested Abe Rosenthal's writings when he was head of the Op Head page. If he ever wrote anything that was true, except for his name, it escaped my notice.
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She should have brought booze
[Read the article: Hillary and the mean kids on the bus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It may sound cynical, but I think that the way to the Press Corps hearts is through their livers. She should have brought free booze - I bet they wouldn't have sat in silence for that.
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On line tracking services
[Read the article: The first "home-page primary"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There are at least two fairly good free online services that track web site usage, alexa.com and quantcast.com. Alexa runs about 2 or 3 days in the past, QuantCast runs about 1 month behind unless the webmaster uses their analytics. Alexa for Barack Obama shows a strong increase in January (you want to look at "reach," which is the audience per million. If you compare his site with Hillary Clinton's (which is easy to do on the Alexa site) you see that his traffic is now several times the Clinton site's. The Quantcast is not as up to date but has a lot of interesting audience statistics.
This sort of tracking is the basis for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which I do a lot of for my site. You can see a cool plot for Barack Obama here
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/barackobama.com
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I actually think Dodd is in a pretty strong position
[Read the article: Will the Democratic presidential candidates adhere to their rhetoric?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think Dodd is in a pretty strong position - he can run out the clock. 8 days is not a long time in the Senate, and there are lots of opportunities to delay things. (For example, the reading of bills is generally waived by unanimous consent. I would expect to see a lot of reading of bills.) The realistic goal should probably be a 1 year extension as is - i.e., into the next Congress. Since it will expire soon if nothing is done, that gives Dodd and company a lot of leverage.
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Will the press get it right ?
[Read the article: Today's FISA vote]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is the media going to understand and be able to explain what the Republicans just did? Yes, that's a rhetorical question.
Based on past performance, the Post won't mention it at all, and the New York Times will run a story tomorrow entitled "Telecom VIctory in the Senate."
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Nelson did not vote
[Read the article: Today's FISA vote]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The way that Salon breaks up the comments makes it hard to see if someone else has posted this, but the senate.gov site on this vote had
Not Voting - 7
Coburn (R-OK)
Dole (R-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Harkin (D-IA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCain (R-AZ)
Nelson (D-FL)
So, apparently Nelson did not vote for cloture.
It is hard for me to see this as anything but a big victory for the supporters of the Constitution. The filibuster succeeded - and, that will make further filibusters both more likely, and more likely to succeed. The PAA is likely to expire and, once it expires, it will not be easily brought back to life. (Today should tell that, I think.) And, we got all of the Democratic Presidential candidates to pay attention. All in all, not bad for a cause that seemed lost a few days ago.
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Bear Stearns is still trading
[Read the article: A Bear Stearns (im)morality tale]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Bearn Stearns is still trading on the market, at about $ 6.00. Someone must think that there is some limited value there.
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David did not have Babylonian captors
[Read the article: Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn't the problem]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Re:Verse 9 of Psalm 137, in which David, speaking in imagination to his Babylonian captors, .
Little is known for sure about David, some people even doubt whether he existed, but one thing can be said for sure : He did not have Babylonian captors. His period was 2 to 4 centuries before the Babylonian captivity of the 6th Century BC.
According to Wikipedia, "Rabbinical sources attributed the poem [Psalm 137] to the prophet Jeremiah."
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Ignorance about Buddhism
[Read the article: Seduced by the Dalai Lama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Would they be expected to believe their sufferings were merely illusory and passing?
That is indeed standard Buddhist theology (or philosophy, take your pick.) Mr. Bayard may not know much about Buddhism, but he should know that.
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The best political commentary from all over the universe !
[Read the article: The rubes and the elites]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I didn't know that Salon had access to political commentary from other worlds, and I am impressed. You neglected, however, to tell us which planet Michael Lind is reporting from.