Letters to the Editor
Max Snafu
Published Letters: 8
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Why hold back?
[Read the article: Torture teachers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Given the "coercive" (i.e., "torture") methods this article describes as being used and the Administration's position that the president can disobey any law or treaty he chooses, I wonder why we don't just go all. What's to prevent us from bringing back the rack, cat-o'-nine-tails, iron maiden, chains, flaying, white-hot poker up the ass, or whatever diabolical means suits our ends? The answer, I'm afraid is damn little. The media and the American public are asleep at the wheel and our politicians for the most part are spineless nabobs who are more concerned about their own welfare than that of their constitutents or -- most distressing -- our nation.
Our principles, such as those in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, used to be considered inviolable. They were models -- imperfect but pretty good ones -- for the rest of the world. Under the rallying cry of "War on Terror," our president and his minions continue to move our nation toward a way of life that is at odds with the fundamental beliefs upon which the United States of America was founded. As a people have we lost our ablity to know right from wrong and stand up for what we believe in? Is this the legacy we will provide for our children?
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Dereliction of Duty
[Read the article: The evil of banality]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This article strongly suggests that the time in Colin Powell's life when bravery and courage were most called for, he chickened out. We appear to have become a nation of self-serving opportunists who are willing to compromise any value to obtain or help ensure personal success.
We're the fall of the Roman Empire without the togas.
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Taze him again
[Read the article: Shocking incident]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why is it that people in California disobey multiple, direct instructions from police officers, resist arrest and then are surprised when the police restrain them with force?
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Why axe Audiofile?
[Read the article: Goodbye to Audiofile]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Audiofile is one of the things I've come to depend on at Salon -- things I can't get elsewhere. Surely there are better candidates for termination, e.g., Videodog. What's next, Tom Tomorrow?
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Do this level of critique on a Bill Gates product
[Read the article: An iPhone surprise: Opening-day sales were slow]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It continues to amaze me that all sorts of journalists seem to have a life mission in dissing the iPhone.
I bought one for my wife. Is is perfect? No, but it's much closer to perfect than anything ever created by the Wintel boys.
It's hard to remember back this long ago but the first iPods created similar waves of praise and criticism because they were gorgeous, expensive and iTunes downloads couldn't be played on non-iPod devices. iPods are now the de facto standard for portable music players.
Steve Jobs creates very high expectations and the media buzz around the iPhone inflated those expectations to a level that nothing could meet. Multi-function phone devices all sacrifice being the best at everything to be, if well designed, pretty good at many things. From what I've seen so far, the iPhone is pretty good at everything and great at some things. And, unlike the Wintel boys, if there are problems, Apple will fix them rather than leaving the hapless consumer to spend hours trying to find a fix and hours more trying to make the fix work and hours more trying to undo the new problems created by the fix. We need more products as "flawed" as the iPhone.
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New TSA Motto
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The TSA's motto should be "Vaguely Communicated, Inconsistenly Enforced." Everyone who travels even a little bit is angered and confounded by this idiotic and humiliating "screening" process. When the liquid rule was imposed, I emailed TSA asking if I could fill small containers with my own products. Three months later I got an email from TSA suggesting I check their web site for the answer to my question, which of course I'd done before emailing them in the first place.
Mr. Smith brings up my personal pet peeve. Why after all these years can't we devise a way for people to undress, unload their bags, reload and redress in a way that isn't a risk to health or property (i.e., laptops)? Also, how does one "keep your boarding pass out," as you take your shoes off, take your jacket off, pull your laptop out of your briefcase and continue to move in a line?
I travel on business an average of once a month. When I feel especially frustrated or angry, I recall the news story about the man in Dallas who had the $300 key to his new Audi confiscated because it was a "switchblade device." Gee, return home and have to go to the Audi dealer to buy a key before you can get your car. It's like Bogey's line in "The Maltese Falcon." You'll take it and like it (or else).
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Disappointing look at Buddhism & His Holiness
[Read the article: Seduced by the Dalai Lama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Dalai Lama is a man, not a god. He is a boddhisatva -- one who has forsaken enlightenment in order to guide others in their paths to enlightenment. He is firmly committed to non-violence, a value in very short supply in our world. He should be commended for this and his many other qualities rather than criticized for his inablity to meet misguided and non-Buddhist standards for how he should or should not conduct himself. The Dalia Lama may not be the political leader Tibet wants but he is most certainly the leader Tibet needs.
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Get a voice
[Read the article: Rush Limbaugh was right]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This reads like a bad attempt at channeling Christopher Hitchens.