Letters to the Editor
dendrio
Published Letters: 200 Editor's Choice: 27
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Green Haters
[Read the article: Democrats on the edge of Senate control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"If Webb loses, can we get upset that the Greens ran a candidate in this pivotal race? It will be very hard to convince me not to." - gar
"I am sick of them. We need to make Machiavellian backroom deals with them to bow out of close races. How many times are we going to let them screw this up?" - TYEP&SI
Oh, get off it, Green Haters. First of all CNN has Webb with 50%, Allen with 49%, and Parker with 1%. Gail Parker is in the Independent Green Party, which, as its name suggests, is independent of the national Green Party. However, like the national Greens, they encourage regular, everyday people to run for office, to look for concrete solutions for our communities' and nation's problems, and to work for the Comman Man and the Common Good ... you know, the stuff the Democratic Party used to stand for before the DLC told its progressives to sit down, shut up, and vote Dem. If only the Democratic Party would make Machiavellian backroom deals with the Greens instead of Big Pharma and other K-Street interests! But then the Dems would have to do more than pay lip service to progressivism.
By the way, you don't see Republicans crying about the Libertarian Stan Jones ruining it for Conrad Burns (Tester: 49%; Burns: 48%; Jones: 3%). How typical! Even in victory you're still a bunch of whiners!
Buck up, Democrats. We still have a nation to save!
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I See...
[Read the article: They're still fair and balanced]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That the Right has moved on to the Bargaining phase of the grieving process.
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Republican Talking Points
[Read the article: The "thumpin'," unspun]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength...
And Defeat is Victory.
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Allen Just Conceded
[Read the article: AP: Burns concedes to Tester in Montana]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...moments ago. Says there's no purpose in seeking a recount. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110900775.html
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That Byrd's Song ...
[Read the article: Allen concedes defeat in Virginia]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is really a Pete Seeger song, which in turn (turn, turn) is from Ecclesiastes, one of the more hard-boiled books of the Bible. In it King Solomon laments the meaninglessness of a life spent in complacent consumption, distraction, and idleness. If Liberals and Progressives knew the Bible better than rock & roll lyrics they'd make more headway among religious voters. So says this secular humanist.
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A Well-Structured Essay
[Read the article: Bye-bye, bullies!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All I have to say is that this is one well-structured essay - seven simple paragraphs. Each one focuses on a single point which is made quickly and concisely before moving on to the next one, with all of them adding up to make her main point. The word choice is simple and straight-forward, with everyday words used in an everyday way. George Orwell would be proud. (I'm referring to his essay "Politics and the English Language" not the novel 1984.)
This is what political opinion writing should look like. I would like to see Walsh impose (yes, "impose"; she is the editor, after all) these sensibilities on other opinion writers on Salon. Free-form, rambling, over-reaching, "contain-the-world" op-ed pieces seldom make their point in such a clear manner as "Bye bye bullies!"
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It's Too Bad...
[Read the article: That other war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...That our "ally" Pakistan not only sheltered, trained, and financed Taliban fighters during their first rise to power, but they continue to do so. While Pakistan has been very good at routing out Al Qaeda in their territory, Pakistani military and intelligence officials continue to support the Taliban to this day with money, guns, training, and safe havens (in Pakistan) from which Tali fighters launch attacks and to which they retreat to regroup. The last thing the Pakistani government wants is a peaceful, prosperous Muslim-majority democracy next door to it.
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A Promise ...
[Read the article: Lieberman won't rule out switching parties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Lieberman promised to conference with the Dems unless they f*cked with his seniority. A promise is a promise, unless you're a politician, in which case it's a thinly-veiled threat to be used as a bargaining chip.
Words, words, words.
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If ...
[Read the article: Looking for 18,000 missing votes in Florida]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If it's determined that it was the machine's fault for the 18,000 missing votes, could voters bring a class action suit against ES&S for violating their Civil Rights? Anyone know?
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Oh, Sweet Jesus, No!
[Read the article: Giuliani prepares to throw his hat into the ring]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Please tell me why Americans must endure two-year presidential campaigns? How does it serve democracy when politicians spend more time campaigning than governing? I think we can see the fruits of the Eternal Campaign in our current state of affairs.
Here's a thought: No one is allowed to declare his or her candidacy for any Federal office before the July 4th of the year of election. Primaries are all held by Auguest 31, and party conventions are held within the first two weeks of September. I'd like all primaries are held at the same time mainly so I don't have to sit through endless coverage about Iowa and New Hampshire - or whichever state has just decided to hold the first primary, but I know small, sparsely populated states need the attention from pols.
Anyway, this leaves about two months of post-convention campaigning for the general election. That should be plenty of time to get your message out - that is, if you have a message.
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Appeasment?
[Read the article: Bush renominates four stalled judicial nominees]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why the conservative "base" should still be appeased by these empty and symbolic gestures is beyond me. Aren't they sick of being promised steak by the GOP and getting table scraps instead?
Abortion? Still legal.
Homosexuals? Still here. Still queer. And more and more Americans are getting used to it.
Christian Nation? Still no state religion.
Immigration? GOP favors giving American jobs to illegals.
Economy? GOP favors giving American jobs to foreigners.
The GOP has been fucking "the base" up the ass for twenty-five years without so much as one reach-around, near as I can tell. What's in it for them?