Letters to the Editor
bystander
Published Letters: 1627
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L.W.M.
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sincerely. With all due respect. The way I am approaching this whole Ron Paul discussion is as an object lesson in discovering where my blinders are. What intellectual/emotional short cuts I use in political decision making. And, what my *own* first principles are, versus what I might want them to be, if I honestly/sincerely/thoughtfully explored them.
I've acknowledged, repeatedly, that there is a lot, nay a boatload, to not like about Ron Paul. I'd happily drop him on his head for an array of his fiscal policies alone, and - Please, God!! - don't let him anywhere near monetary policy. And, that's setting Paul's foreign policy aside for the moment.
I hope I'm simply thinking through the lesson I believe Glenn wants me to walk away with:
1. Who do I dismiss out of hand just because of their label, their desire to gore one of my oxen, or because of who they attract to their campaign. And,
2. How easy do I make it for my preferred candidate to skate past sticky issues because a different candidate has at least one policy plank that has a reverse-dog-whistle effect on me. Because,
3. In the office for which the person campaigns s/he might, or might not, be able to influence whether my ox is actually gored.
I'm more at risk for voting for Mike Bloomberg than I am for Ron Paul. Really, I'm just trying to internalize Glenn's lesson.
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LWM
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the link. Bookmarked for future reference. The paragraph below was particularly appealing. But, others were as well. You are correct; I'm glad I read it. Thanks, again.
To put the United States in such a condition of foreign influence and dependence was for Washington the negation, or antithesis, of "true independence." The corruption of the American character would initially manifest itself by "permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations and passionate attachment for others." Such indulgences of excessive fondness or hatred would render America "in some degree a slave." It would be a "slave to its animosity or its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and interest." Antipathy toward a particular nation, he explained, led to a national character that was more readily disposed "to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes and umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur." This excessive sensitivity would result in "frequent collisions, obstinate envenomed and bloody contests." Public opinion that was prompted by such ill will and resentment could drive the government into war, "contrary to the best calculations of policy"; it would adopt "through passion what reason would reject." The nation thereby would become "subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambitions, and sinister and pernicious motives."
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bamage re poll
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I could be wrong, but if that poll was conducted exclusively over the internet by volunteering to click on what looked, to me at first glance, like an advert, it has a monstrous self selection bias. Use caution in terms of your assumptions as to how representative it is. If it's not the same outfit, then I stand corrected.
And, fwiw, re drugs, I'm all for decriminalization. Legalization (with attendant regulation) can follow. There are days when, fully fed up with, and outraged by, the medical establishment twisted into knots by insurance companies and its own hubris, I'm ready to put ALL drugs over the counter. Every last one of them. I do, however, understand the scenario Ondelette paints. I think it's stretched a bit, but Ondelette 'lives' where the rubber meets the road in this stuff. So the concern makes sense to me.
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waste water
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I believe the story about drug residues turning up in the "water supply" had to do with someone testing sewage/waste/treated water.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071206231740.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/040826085912.htm
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as for medical practitioners regulating the drug supply
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'd prefer to be treated by a veterinarian to most MDs - full stop there; drop no lower in the medical degree hierarchy. I know more than one MD/GP/FP, etc who has been beaten into antibiotic scripts when it wasn't warranted. As practitioners, at least a DVM fully understands the implications, tends to be better versed in the statistics, research design, and study limitations. And, they tend not to be cowed by their patients.
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Happy holidaze to all
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]and, to all a good night.
Best wishes of the season!
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A Christmas Santa Story
[Read the article: Political Christmas wishes]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]On December 20th ...
37,000 Americans ask the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) to send a copy of the U.S. Constitution to George W. Bush as an early holiday present in the hope that he might actually read it. With an urgent appeal from CCR, Santa made the trip down from the North Pole in his sleigh to try to deliver the law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohc8Uyl95xQ (or, click on my sig)
It didn't work out so well, but Santa captured my sentiments exactly with his concluding thoughts.
Best wishes of the season to Glenn, his partner, and all who visit here. It has been an unfortunate journey, but one would have to look far and wide to find a better group of traveling companions. Happy Holidays to all!
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Relatives
[Read the article: Political Christmas wishes]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]shamefully, some members of my own extended family
Hell, some of 'em in my immediate family complete with PhDs. I refuse to feel shame for them, or myself for being a blood relative. Some of us deal more effectively with uncertainty than others. And, the ego is profoundly organized to not accept its own death. It's a faith I sometimes wish I had. Would make contemplating the abyss more tolerable. Alas, it was a genetic sequence I missed. I just get to stare 'forever' square in the face knowing full well it leaves me behind. Dust to dust.
And, on that note, I'm going to pour myself a lovely glass of wine.