Letters to the Editor
nancerich
Published Letters: 554 Editor's Choice: 18
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As a Pet Slaver...
[Read the article: The beef over pet food]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]my three elderly cats, who reside in a 16th floor apartment have yet to complain about much...except maybe who gets the most attention. I also spayed or neutered them at an early age. All are descendents of feral cats...and were adopted out of miserable circumstances.
Rather than slavery, I have never seen one of them do an honest days work. They parade around the house all day....lording it over me. I think I am the slave in this relationship...what with daily emptying of the cat box...and efforting to find them treats which appeal to them.
One has a vet who makes house calls. He had a quick and alarming drop in weight...and we thought he might have thyroid problems, but alas...after gaining weight at a pound of month...the problem might have been he was off his feed.
My cats wouldn't dream of eating raw food...except for one who used to catch and eat whole birds. (her feral mom taught her good) She now prefers yoplait yogurt and dry cat food. I have switched them from cheapo kibble to Purina one.
Seriously, a cat who is kept in the house will live longer, avoid injury, and can enjoy nature from a window. Cats have domesticated for thousands of years...and I have it on good authority, their love of nature is trumped by a nice warm place.....and plenty to eat.
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Unnamed Sources
[Read the article: Fear of spying]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Shapiro writes:
"Typical was my lunch discussion earlier this week with a ranking Democratic Party official. Midway through the meal, I innocently asked how the "Big Brother is listening" issue would play in November. Judging from his pained reaction, I might as well have announced that Barack Obama was resigning from the Senate to sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door. With exasperation dripping from his voice, my companion said, "The whole thing plays to the Republican caricature of Democrats -- that we're weak on defense and weak on security." To underscore his concerns about shrill attacks on Bush, the Democratic operative forwarded to me later that afternoon an e-mail petition from MoveOn.org, which had been inspired by Al Gore's fire-breathing Martin Luther King Day speech excoriating the president's contempt for legal procedures."
Your readers would be able to make judgements of the legitimacy of such a reaction if you named the source of this...er...crapola. When one lunches with ranking Democratic officials, who picks up the tab?
It would seem that Mr. Shapiro should be more forthcoming with regard to who he is lunching with. Especially when clearly his sources don't seem to be in touch with the party base.
If Salon is going to hire a "Washington Bureau Chief" the editor in chief should insist that such provocative statements should not go unsourced.
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Mr. Shapiro, regarding unnamed sources...
[Read the article: Fear of spying]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am confused about the designation of "ranking Democratic" official when one describes one's lunch mate.
When discussing DC Democrats, one can be talking about consultants, elected officials, party operatives, or people from various interest groups like the DLC.
Clearly there is a tension between the Party Leadership, as in the official Democratic Party...and those who make a living getting taken out to lunch to give background to reporters. Or you could be breaking bread with Rahm Emmanual, who also has his own ax to grind.
You aren't telling the complete story with regard to who sets policy...as the struggle for power for power continues toward 2008. There is a conflict here, and quoting shills who have a vested interest in consolidating power...while not necessarily electing Democrats gives a skewed point of view of the forces at work here.
Perhaps you might want to widen your luncheon calendar to include a few people who are not embedded in the consultant class, but actually working to get Democrats elected, rather than scouring the polls looking for data which backs up their preconceived notions.
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I'm just for protecting babies.
[Read the article: Another front in the abortion war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I like puppies and kitties, too.
But I sure don't want "a parent" deciding the future of my children...or turning my daughters into vessels whose rights are inferior to the developing life within.
Let's get real.
There are worse things than not being born.
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Dear Parent:
[Read the article: Another front in the abortion war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Seeing you feel absolutely comfortable imposing your view of what constitutes life and personhood on the rest of us...what plan you have to offer the rest of us who disagree with you as a compensation for allowing you to make these life decisions for total strangers. In other words, what makes "a parent" the one to judge when life begins....
Now that it looks like Roe will be over turned shortly, will "a parent" take responsibility for the suffering and misery which will ensue from her love of babies.....
Or will she shrug off her contempt for other people and their life choices in this manner which shows the inability to think beyond her own selfish choices....
when the consequences of her beliefs turn out to cause untold hardship and pain in this country?
You see...you are going to get your wish, Ms. Parent. And you are not going like how it all turns out.
You might look into what happened when they outlawed abortion in Romania before you make choices for other people.
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Dear Mr. Parent,
[Read the article: Another front in the abortion war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The more you say love babies, the less I am buying it.
You show nothing but contempt for woman making their own choices. And one has to wonder why you could possibly trust a child with people you so obviously have such little respect for.
This isn't about babies. It is about you and your discomfort with you not being in control.