Letters to the Editor
Dave Stallard
Published Letters: 7
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The Metaphysics of Disco
[Read the article: Dancing as fast as she can]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I for one do not dance to dance music; disco for me is a lofty metaphysical mode that induces contemplation."
This quote from Camille Paglia had me checking the URL in disbelief; for a moment, I thought I must have been reading "The Onion".
I suppose some statements are simply beyond parody.
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Give her an ultimatum
[Read the article: My wife wants to join the Peace Corps]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I really liked the post that predicted a whole course of future events in which he supported her through graduate school, etc., until she finally broke it off 10 years later.
Except that I don't think it will play out even that well. I've got bad news for the LW. This woman does not love you, otherwise she would not be willing to contemplate a 2 year separation in this way. If she goes, and you stay behind, she will inevitably find someone else over there who "shares her passions". If she goes, and you follow, she will still find someone else, and you will be there to witness it.
In fact, I would not be at all surprised if, during this present separation due to her internship, she is already exploring an alternative "deep personal relationship" with someone else right now, as part of her "quest for fufillment". As you say, if she didn't tell you about the Peace Corp thing, what else is she not telling you about? I bet a lot of things you don't want to know. You should ask her. You see, no matter how she dresses it all up in altruism and concern for others, in the end it is all about her with this kind of woman. She will always find a way to justify what she does.
My advice: spill your guts to her about how you feel, and issue an ultimatum. Either no separation, or no relationship. You can never lose by spilling your guts to your woman; you only lose by holding your feelings back (which a lot of men do). If she is unmoved, if the Peace Corps is that much more important to her than you, pull the plug. It means you don't have a real relationship with her anyway.
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Put Baker in as Secretary of State
[Read the article: Bush's policy quagmire]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Bush's foreign policy (and indeed his entire administration, but his foreign policy especially) is now widely seen as a disaster. It is viewed as such across the board, from Democrats to realist Republicans from the Bush I and Reagan administrations. Events from Iraq to Iran to North Korean to elsewhere are spinning out of control. It is so bad that establishment interests are now seen as threatened. That's where the Baker commission is coming from.
Bush is completely frozen in his stance, and cannot provide leadership. He never could, but he is getting worse. I actually wonder if he is suffering some sort of psychological breakdown. But like it or not, he is going to be President until January, 2009. So what to do?
I think the only realistic alternative is to bring in more experienced and sensible establishment Republican leadership. I think we are going to see a shift in power, at least unofficial power, from Bush and Cheney to them. And though I'm a Democrat, I think that will be an improvement.
Condi Rice is useless as Secretary of State, and is too personally close to Bush. So, dump her (and Rumsfeld of course) and bring back Jim Baker. He is a grownup, a realist, knows the Middle East better, and has actually stood up to Israel at least once. He understands that it's important to talk even to your enemies, and not play a faux tough guy. US diplomacy might have some chance of working then. Right now, it is not.
How humiliating for Bush, to be bailed out once again by his father's friends, just like he has been his whole life. But it is the least he deserves.
Dave
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Tell him
[Read the article: I think my baby is my ex's -- and my husband doesn't know]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Did anybody else notice the following important point? This bimbo didn't just have sex outside her relationship, she had UNPROTECTED sex outside her relationship! In this day and age. Talk about a betrayal!
Yes, the child should be tested for paternity, and the husband informed of the result. If the child is not his, his has the right to know, and the right to divorce this bimbo and refuse to pay child support. Let the biological father pay it. It's just common sense: if she "made a mistake" once, odds are she'll do it again.
To the poster he wrote this:
"Oh, and: does anyone else out there ever wish Cary could quit already with his loopy, elliptical, faux-literary badinage? It's getting so, well, nauseating.
Right on, and well said. Except I would say that it's been nauseating from the start. Advice to twits, from a twit.
"Remember when he was just the lowly copy editor here?"
No, I don't think I do, but I do remember Salon's early glory days, when it was so much better than it is today. It certainly has fallen far.
Dave
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It's Bush who should apologize to America's troops
[Read the article: White House: Kerry insulted the troops. Kerry: No, I insulted Bush]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For getting almost 3,000 of them killed, and thousands more wounded and maimed, in an unnecessary war, incompetently conducted. He is a disgrace to our nation.
Dave