Letters to the Editor
midnight04
Published Letters: 213 Editor's Choice: 9
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Privacy
[Read the article: What's in John McCain's medical records?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I worked in a psychiatric hospital and I am acutely conscious of the rights of patients to confidentiality. I am uncomfortable about the release of the psychiatric portion of McCain's medical recorsd. I am not uncomfortable about the release of the non-psychiatric portion, especially in the light of a history of malignant melanoma which has a relapse rate.
The fact that he has been an effective Senator for many years makes me wonder whether we need to know about his psych evaluations. I would liken it to a man who has had colon cancer. We don't need pictures of his colon but we do have a right to know that he is not now suffering from it. A simple statement from a reputable gastroenterologist will be sufficient. A simple statement that Senator McCain is not suffering from a significant psychiatric illness is enough for me. As a Democrat, I would not vote for him anyway but as an advocate for privacy, I don't think I need to know about his mental status.
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Lieberman
[Read the article: Joe Lieberman, ideological turncoat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The idea that Joe Lieberman is more loyal to Israel than to the US is not the issue. Joe Lieberman is more loyal to Joe Lieberman than to either entity.
He is enraged that Ned Lamont won the CT primary. After all he thinks he did for his state, how dare they reject him??? He is taking it out on the Democrats the only way he knows how and will go on doing that until he is mercifully retired by his state's voters. Meanwhile, he is McCain's consigliere, has actually compared Hagee to Moses (shudder) and has become a laughingstock. When the Democrats increase their majority, he will be retired to the sub committee on barber poles.
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A bad bunch
[Read the article: Joe Lieberman, ideological turncoat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is a group in Israel and in the U S that refuses to accept Israel's right to exist. They embraced the President of Iran when he came and said he would destroy Israel. Neturei Karta (the Guardians of the Gates, as they call themselves) is known in Israel and here to be a danger to the survival of Israel and capable of setting off a huge explosion to get their way.
They are not as dangerous to Israel, however, as the so-called Christian Zionists. When I saw a clip wherein Lieberman appeared at one of their conferences and compared Hagee to Moses, I was so nauseated I had to log off and get my breath. The Christian Zionists have forged ties with neoconservatives, encouraging the most extreme right-wing elements of the Israeli political scene. They (including Parsley) are encouraging the expulsion of the Palestinians from Israel proper, Gaza and the PA. They expect that this will encourage Jews to make aliyah to Israel. When all the Jews are gathered in Israel, they imagine, Jesus will return and slaughter the Jews who choose to remain Jews, tossing their souls into the "lake of fire."
This is the group of scum that Lieberman has based his hopes of ascendency with and on whose lapels he has clung. He is what Jews often call "schlang." A schlang is one of those delicious double entendres that mean so much in their native tongue. Schlang means both a snake and, more informally, the male reproductive organ. There is no excuse for him and, when the Democrats win more of the Senate, he will be sent to well-deserved obscurity unless he has the uncommon and unexpected decency to want to spend more time with his family and quits.
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Okay, and...
[Read the article: Fact-checking Clinton's RFK comment]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Meanwhile, Liz Trotta called for the murder of Barack Obama on the air and laughing about it. Then she said, in the course of her inadequate apology, that it was a "colorful" election. For me, that was saying "Kill the n---r...er, just joking."
I am not sure why she has not been arrested by the Secret Service. There is no cover under any statute ensuring freedom of the press for calling for murder.
I am not sure what Hillary Clinton's responsibility is but I fear that she has unleashed the worst of our nature whether or not she intended to. After four and a half years of analysis, I am acutely aware that fatigure can loosen the tongue just as effectively as wine can and can cause the unconscious to pop out. In Trotta's case, it wasn't all that unconscious, of course, but I worry that Clinton opened a door that should not have been opened.
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It is easy
[Read the article: Obama and the Holocaust]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is easy for someone who has never been steeped in the history of the liberation of the camps to make that mistake. I have heard Jews do it. Auschwitz has become a kind of symbol for the entire camp system for people who are not historians and who are not listening closely. Yes, Obama should have been more careful but confusing other camps with Auschwitz is not exactly a deal breaker. If Obama's relative had been in on the liberation of ANY of the camps, he did something quite important.
OTOH, Obama is dealing in a supercharged atmosphere wherein Liz Trotta called for his murder on Fox News so he has to be careful about his statements. He cannot mess with the facts.
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Meanwhile
[Read the article: A new low in Clinton bashing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Meanwhile, Liz Trotta on Fox News called for Obama's murder. Her apology was weird, She said it was a "election." Even if Hillary didn't mean to say that she wanted Obama taken out, she unleashed the dogs of war by her statement. She has to be careful because of the position she occupies. Trotta can easily be taken care of by some knuckle-dragging Secret Service attention but Hillary has to be careful that someone doesn't decide she's Jodie Foster and tries to impress her. She doesn't have the leeway to make careless mistakes any more than Obama does or McCain does.