Letters to the Editor
bystander
Published Letters: 1240
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odds and ends
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hoisted from Chris Floyd's Empire Burlesque. Some 'light' reading suggestions for Iraq on the ground reporting:
Generation Kill by Evan Wright
My War: Killing Time in Iraq by Colby Buzzell
Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams
The Deserter's Tale by Joshua Kay
And, did I see it here, or somewhere else? One in four of our homeless are veterans, and the new additions to those numbers are soldiers returning from our follies in the middle east. 60,000 divorces from the conflict in Iraq alone. Crooks and Liars link: http://tinyurl.com/yvwzsb
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@ arcturus
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I tend to think it's actually a scandal that 18 year old women are not required to register. IIRC, Young men are disqualified from receiving federal financial aid for their postsecondary education if they haven't registered. I see no reason that women shouldn't face the same requirement under 'equal protection' of the 14th amendment, if not Title IX. I daresay a few chickenhawk fathers (and mothers) might veiw our military choices a little differently if their daughters were registered with the local draft board.
[Disclaimer: I am female, and I have nieces I dearly love of a draftable age.]
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Democrats are the party of the rich? That's rich.
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Paul Krugman; NY Times; http://tinyurl.com/262thy
As a number of people have pointed out, one reason pundits may think that affluent people vote Democratic is that this is, in fact, the case, in the areas where pundits live. But working-class voters in those areas are even more Democratic — there is no state where the income-voting relationship is reversed, although it’s weaker in rich states. And in most of the country, the rich are Republicans.
some cool graphs to back it up: http://tinyurl.com/2xrldq
[emphasis mine]
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Oh, Bop.
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]These blessed hounds of the pound have chewed up more stuff. But it's just stuff, after all. Hounds may have small souls (a la Douglas Hofstadter) but they still have souls. And, their souls are good for mine. Part of staying grounded in the world. Same for the horses and these milk-moo-cows.
Chainsaws and I don't mix, for all of the cautions you mentioned.
I truly hope my neices never see war. But, if young men are drafted to serve, then the female segment of their cohort should be obliged to serve as well.
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various
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Look, I don't know where you're going with this but Santa Claus said he doesn't have WMD's!! If all options are on the table, can you at least wait until January?!! -- JKP1000
LOL. Thanks for the chuckle, JKP1000.
Ondolette, it has been a puzzle to me since they opened the military academies to women why women aren't required to register. And, I keep thinking, sooner or later, someone will bring a suit that says either all students headed for postsecondary education and filling out the FAFSA must register, or none are required to register. I have often wondered how many parents of sons, do without federal financial aid so their sons aren't obliged to register. If anyone can put it on the table, I think Clinton can. I suspect it will have to be a female to do it. I don't think a male would. Not sure why I hold that belief, but I really don't see any of the current male candidates ever broaching the subject.
Baldie McEagle, I just figured the screen name told one everything they needed to know.
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ondolette
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No delay if I wasn't online to look anyway. Just got back up. Traded my dial-up modem for a broadband connection, and on my aging (much like myself) system - that took some doing ;-)
Thanks. That 'gender' analysis made perfect sense the minute I read it. If universal draft registration is Hillary's goal, well, good on her. About damned time, my opinion. But, as your analysis would suggest, we'd have to get a woman where Hillary is (or, where she's headed) for it to happen.
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Done
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Via Crooks and Liars. Mukasey confirmed 53-40.
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Thanks, karrsic, for the "roll call" rundown
[Read the article: Democrats in big, big trouble because of the Great Iraq War -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]At least my Democratic Senator isn't guilty for this one. Likely, he will be guilty when it comes to FISA. He's already warned me. How convenient for some of the 7 to be on the campaign trail.
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skill transfer
[Read the article: What happened to the Senate's "60-vote requirement"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What was it ondolette said? "It's always darkest... (right up and to) the night before the oral defense?" Or, something like that. So, sometimes you just keep pressing forward even though the night doesn't seem as though it could possibly get any darker.
Slow motion train wrecks are so hard to watch. You know it's going to end badly; you're just not sure how bad "bad" is likely to be. This has been, and I expect will continue to be, a most bruising ride to the bottom. And, I don't think we're at bottom yet.
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What happened? A deal?
[Read the article: What happened to the Senate's "60-vote requirement"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]TalkingPointsMemo: http://tinyurl.com/3blmq6
Reid Allowed Vote On Mukasey In Exchange For Military Funding Bill
By Greg Sargent - November 9, 2007, 6:00PM
Here's some more on what exactly happened in the negotiations that led up to the rushed confirmation of Michael Mukasey yesterday.
According to sources inside and outside the Democratic leadership, Harry Reid allowed a vote on Mukasey because in exchange the Republican leadership agreed to allow a vote on the big Defense Appropriations Bill, which contains $459 billion in military spending but doesn't fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reid had wanted to get this bill passed before the end of this week, and in fact, the defense bill did come up for a vote late last night and was passed after the Mukasey vote.
One key reason Dem leaders wanted this defense approps bill passed, sources tell me, is that they wanted to be able to argue that they had sent a bill to the President funding the military, if not the war itself. The idea was that doing this would allow them to protect themselves in the days ahead when the battle over Iraq funding heats up and Republicans inevitably charge that Dems are refusing to fund the troops....