Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 211 Editor's Choice: 44
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Emphasis was on the wrong side of the story
[Read the article: Joe Klein rewrites his role in the 1990s]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I defended Clinton through Whitewater and Lewinsky, although I was occasionally critical--as were more than a few members of the White House staff--of the First Lady's reluctance to be more forthcoming on Whitewater and of the Big Guy's prevarication on Lewinsky
Somehow, Klein seems to think that Hillary, who was the victim of her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky, which--despite the crap idiots like Klein tried to propound--was far more her business than that of anyone else in the world, was somehow supposed to do ... what exactly? Help the impeachment cause? Join the Republican Party? Aid Starr and the media witchhunt? Run off with Richard Scaife? She didn't owe Joe Klein and his anonymous (if real) White House staffers jackshit.
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The Saddest Thing is the Lack of Growth
[Read the article: Clarence Thomas is not a sellout]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Clarence Thomas was appointed every bit as much for his age and health as his race. He is still, nearly 16 years into his time on the court, the third youngest justice, barely older than Alito. Clinton's two appointees are much 15 and 10 years older than him.
When you combine that with his incurious mind, he will probably live forever. And that is exactly what his supporters wanted when he was appointed.
I'm eight years younger than Thomas, though only six years behind him graduating law school. When I watched his confirmation hearings, I realized that for the first time there was someone being appointed to the Supreme Court about whom I could say I was more qualified than he. Never discussed Roe v. Wade? The only way that could be true is if you were in a coma when it came out, and remained in one until the confirmation hearings.
And it's just gotten worse. Many justices have changed and learned in their years on the bench, in different directions. Felix Frankfurter was one of the most liberal men in America and became quite a conservative with life tenure. Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens moved the other way. But Thomas seems frozen in time, probably the easiest justice's vote to predict in my memory (other than Justice Douglas on tax questions; he also dissented against any case where the government one, without issuing an opinion).
And the man doesn't ask questions from the bench, and doesn't appear to have his attention on oral argument. Judges I've known--of all political stripes--will tell you that oral argument is more important than the briefing, more important than their own reading. It is the quintessential place where appellate judges and appellate advocates can learn from one another (or in the case of Scalia, show off). But Justice Thomas doesn't seem to need oral argument; I guess, if you know the answer before the brief even hits your desk, you don't need to hear from the lawyers either.
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A Lot of Wisdom in What Leitch Says
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]His comment that the Clemens hearings are not about saving kids from steroids but about embarrassing Clemens (and if you don't like Clemens--and I don't--you think that's a good thing) are right on. So too the comment about how you hope your favorite player isn't on steroids, but if he is, he'd better hit a lot of home runs for you--exactly. Giants fans loved Barry Bonds because he hit a lot of home runs that won a lot of games. If you look at some of the losers mentioned in the Mitchell Report, who risked their lives and got nothing for it, you see that Bonds at least got something for the drugs.
Of course, so did Lyle Alzado.
There have been times when I've finished watching a great game broadcast on ESPN and the SportsCenter report on the same game focused on some inconsequential detail--a missed call, a ooaching move--and entirely missed the beauty of the sporting contest. The chatter before the conference championships last weekend was dominated by discussions of Randy Moss, including speculation on ESPN Radio between Freddie Coleman and Sal Palontonio about what should be done if his accuser was found to be an extortionist (my wife and I listened to this with our jaws nearing the floor). Luckily, the games themselves were good enough to at least let that topic get overshadowed by actual sports for once.
I also love what Leitch had to say about the Cardinals. Ultimately, what this should be about is the beauty of a sport and the love of a team. Myself, I would rather watch a well-played game involving a team I care about than a Super Bowl between teams that I don't, and I'd rather watch a close game that didn't matter than a blowout for a championship.
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The Letter Writers are a Hoot on Deadspin
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The topic was the suggestion that Jose Canseco was seeking financing for his movie by threatening to "out" those who didn't.
Someone suggested that this would be the name of the movie:
There Will Be Blood Testing.
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@thingswesaid
[Read the article: Our first black president?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He is half black. His mother is white. Why does everyone say he's black? He's just as white as he is black.
Probably because if he were driving through Brentwood in a nice car going a mile over the speed limit at night, he'd be pulled over by the LAPD. Which, I think, was what Toni Morrison was writing about.