Letters to the Editor
Steve EVfuture
Published Letters: 25 Editor's Choice: 1
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Amazing How Small the Effect Is
[Read the article: Little outbursts of journalism -- what causes them?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It seems to take years for the mainstream media to acknowledge something that is patently obvious to so many of us. When they finally do acknowledge it, they take full credit for it and continue to ignore the blogs. If there were no blogs, would the mainstream media still be reporting about weapons of mass destruction and painting a rosy picture of the war in Iraq? Actually, I doubt it.
In fact, one could argue that the mainstream media is so hostile to blogs and so worried about kowtowing to them, that they have deliberately refused to consider what the blogs are saying and treat us like an enemy. I felt the same way about my involvement in the peace movement. Every protest we had, I felt like I was in a small, marginalized group that was only reinforcing the stereotypes and hatred coming from most Americans, thus increasing their support for the war.
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They Just Want to Make it More Complicated
[Read the article: The leak designed to save Alberto Gonzales]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It doesn't matter to them that it doesn't exonerate Gonzales. What they are doing is adding layers of complexity so that the lie sounds more and more like some kind of technicality. Your need for a long post to refute it shows that it is succeeding. Then they will push the "partisan" meme, saying that Dems are nitpicking and just going after Gonzales for political reasons. This isn't the first time they've used this approach ("16 words," Libby, weapon of mass destruction "programs", etc.).
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Big Brother Has Been Listening
[Read the article: America under surveillance]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have to believe that somewhere in the bowels of the NSA, there are large computer storage facilities dedicated to recording every cell phone and land phone call and e-mail from all Americans over the past few years. With some good voice recognition software they would be able to have catalogued transcripts of every call from every person in the country. Maybe someday it will all be on google and we can just look up transcipts of anyone's personal calls for the past 5 years.
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An Obvious Flaw in the Argument
[Read the article: Chris Matthews skewers Mitt Romney]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Iraq War has been going on for over 4 years. Romney's campaign is less than a year old. How were his sons serving the country for the three years before their father announced his candidacy?
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"...and a veteran of the November 2004 battle of Fallujah"
[Read the article: Fallujah catches its breath]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That little "battle" was nothing more than a war crime. Talking about the pacification of Fallujah is like talking about the pacification of Guernica. We bombed the city into submission. I wouldn't be so critical if you actually made significant mention of that in your piece, but you glossed over it. The U.S. has nothing to be proud of in Fallujah or anywhere else in Iraq.
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The Pseudo-Supermen
[Read the article: National Review's new tough guy, Mark Hemingway]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Pectoral Implants and the Right-Wing Noise Machine
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Seems Unlikely
[Read the article: Michael Mukasey's role in the Jose Padilla case]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have a hard time believing Bush will appoint him to AG if he actually stood up to him in the past. Bush only hires yes men.
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Maybe Bush Picked Mukasey to Avoid the Supoena Pressure
[Read the article: Michael Mukasey's role in the Jose Padilla case]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It would make sense to get an easily confirmable candidate to take the wind out of the sails of the Democrats' supoena threat.
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You Are Kidding Yourself
[Read the article: Why Bush won't attack Iran]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Bush doesn't bomb Iran, it's because someone high up in the Administration or the military blocks it from happening. At this point, I don't think there is anyone there with the balls to stop him. Bush will bomb Iran. He'll call it some kind of targeted "surgical strike" bombing and will go in and hit several targets (presumably random). He isn't going to get the country behind it this time, because he knows they won't bite. He'll say that it was his duty to act and he'll go in there and bomb. It's the only thing he has left to do and his presidency has another 15 months. I'm guessing at about the 7 month mark, he'll make his move. To argue that he won't because it doesn't make sense is a misunderstanding of what Bush is about.
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The National Character? Frightening to Think About
[Read the article: The latest revelations of lawbreaking, torture and extremism ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I wish that I could just make this a facetious post about the shallowness of American culture and leave it at that, but we are way past that point. There really is not much of a national character to speak of, anymore. There is not a common, shared sense of what it means to be American. There is a group of angry, proudly ignorant individuals who think that drinking beer, watching television, making fun of sissies, mocking the weak, etc. is what defines the country and there is another group that thinks that needs to change, but don't really provide much of an alternative. No sense of courage, vision or sacrifice exists. Art and entertainment have been replaced with fame. The fame, however, is randomly thrust on talentless and vapid individuals who have earned none of it. Politics can only be a whisper before the masses flee from it. Most Americans, I think, are just fine with torture. They consider those who oppose it to be the "radicals."
America is essentially dead. Sure, the Grand Canyon still exists and the there are still some Redwood forests (although we did lose a city), but that is just the corpse. Maybe it's for the best. Nationalism, patriotism and all the rest of it seems to create war, xenophobia and little of positive value. We are about to attack Iran, very possibly with nuclear weapons, and the subject is not even being talked about. That's a good enough sign that the American experiment is basically over.
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Great Piece, Glenn
[Read the article: Follow-up to the silence from the ADL regarding Fox News and right-wing talk radio]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You are turning one of the biggest weapons of the right, faux outrage, against them. Everytime one of these idiots uses a Nazi reference, we should be contacting the ADL and demanding they respond to it.
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The Guy is Sounding More and More Like Col. Flag from M*A*S*H
[Read the article: Follow-up on the Col. Steven Boylan e-mail exchange]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What an ass.