Letters to the Editor
Jeff Bowles
Published Letters: 111 Editor's Choice: 12
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About that Sedition Act...
[Read the article: Forefather knows best]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The first song of "1776" includes this chorus:
CONGRESS:
Sit down, John! Sit down, John!
For God’s sake, John, sit down!I agree that the major blunder of his administration, the Sedition Act (that expired as he left office), was awful. It was a moment when the Congress and the President worked as a unit, against the Constitution, and the Court was not yet strong enough to invalidate the law. How much of a blunder? Well, here's what the Supreme Court wrote in 1964 (Sullivan v. New York Times)....
Although the Sedition Act was never tested in this Court, the attack upon its validity has carried the day in the court of history. Fines levied in its prosecution were repaid by Act of Congress on the ground that it was unconstitutional....Jefferson, as President, pardoned those who had been convicted and sentenced under the Act and remitted their fines, stating: "I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image."
Nonetheless, I believe that the world would be a far lesser place, had Mr. Adams not lived.
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perhaps, but working moms will certainly help workplace issues...
[Read the article: Do childless women make the most productive lawyers?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Randvek pointed out that using billable hours is misguided.
It seems to me that the question might be, "are childless women the most focused lawyers".
And, like any generalization, there's gonna be exceptions.
I don't know if single women are the most focused, but I think that there's a good argument that a working mother is going to be very good at disarming child-games at work. She might seem less "productive" but might also help others in the workplace to be more productive. I don't know how to measure that.
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A great way to catch up.
[Read the article: Everything you were afraid to ask about "Battlestar Galactica" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I caught the first two years of Battlestar Galactica, and fell behind. This article is a terrific catch-up, so -- thanks!
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Oh, and ...
Please don't ask me to compare the five-year relationships of "Babylon 5" to the tough struggles of the "Battlestar Galactica" folks.
Celebrate that these stories are being told. J.M. Straczynski (Babylon 5) and Glen Larson (Battlestar Galactica) are, first-and-foremost, guys who can write. They can tell stories that capture us.
We don't need to have a competition. We should have a celebration.
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And we turn to St Gerard of Herman for guidance...
[Read the article: Act like a man (who knows what that means)!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And we find it, in the holy books (circa 1984) by St Gerard of Herman:
I want you to pick up that piece of toast like a man!
Think of this as
Masculine toast and Masculine butter,
Ready for spreading by a Masculine hand.
Pick up that knife and make believe it's a machete.
It'll take all your strength and steady nerves
For hacking your way through the cherry preserves.
Think of John Wayne, and Jean Paul Belmondo.
Think of the Legionnaires and Charlemagne's men.
So like a stevedore you grab your cup
And if God forbid that your pinky pops up,
You can climb back up the mountain once again.
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"Promise, but don't deliver."
[Read the article: Rove willing to testify -- except when he's not]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Welcome to the most visible part of Rove's political toolset:
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"Promise, but never deliver. After all, the promise got you what you wanted."
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"Use the players for the roles they engender. A reporter loves getting sources, and can be manipulated in lots of fun ways by their sources." See the plot to the Hitchcock film, "I Confess", for the blueprint to the Valerie Plame manipulation of the media.
- "Tell the media what to focus on. The easiest way to sell your message is to flood the media with propaganda hidden in 'exclusive stories'." (Look on youtube with the query, "Paper Moon five and ten", to see examples of why the media doesn't bother to remember the screwups that happened last week, last month, last year. There are too many things for them to see.)
For example:
- The moving goals in Iraq. My favorite is the "we will produce a report promised in September" that turned into "well, it doesn't have to say anything if it's a report, just so long as it comes out in September."
- The religious-folk liked the idea of a White House office for religious stuff, so they were promised one. The appointee was shocked (to the level of talking openly to the media about it) that the environment was one of "goddamn" and "motherfucker" and so on.
- No one understands "plausible deniability" like a political operative who was a Young-Republican under Nixon's Administration. The recent tap-dance about "was there a torture meeting." It is clear that there was, Cheney was there, and Bush was told "what he needed to know" afterwards. (It is also very, very clear that the room was full of "24" fans.) One wonders if it was similar to the Iran/Contra meetings that his father was sometimes un-invited to, to have such "plausibility deniability."
You have to ask what the heck the reporters are doing, paying attention to him as if he's a king-maker. Power is often taken, not given, and he is happy to take as much power as the media will give him.
So...
Is it any wonder that he'll promise to testify under oath, but won't deliver on that promise?
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