Letters to the Editor
Bill Owen
Published Letters: 508 Editor's Choice: 6
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"Serious Contradictions" are not Enough
[Read the article: Newsweek catches McCain in a serious contradiction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So McCain met with some guy or did not meet with some guy and then he might have done him some favors... yawn. WTF? Who cares?
Oh sure, we do, I do, and those who follow the slow descent of America into corruption do. But for the average American it's all about nasty oral sex and polluted blue dresses. None of this stuff about lobbyists and corruption matters at all to Joe Yank or Mary American.
We are not going to get rid of Bush and his loathsome ilk by catching him with his hand in the till, or his finger on the trigger. We have to catch him with his pants down. Now that's an "outrage" that the Puritans - the base, will understand.
Since Bush seems to have no desire other than to kill and kill, that's not going to happen, not to Bush. He's a genocidal maniac, but his penis is in his pants, so he is still a "good man".
McCain on the other hand is vulnerable on this issue. Is it hypocrisy to go after him on this given all the complaining the Dems did about Clinton? Yeah, sure it is. Should we keep pressing on the sex thing? Absolutely. These people have to be stopped. I don't even care if the entire story is a fabrication from beginning to end. You have to fight Rove with Rove.
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"Blown" out of the water
[Read the article: Newsweek catches McCain in a serious contradiction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not 19%, more like 33% but hey who's counting? http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm
Congress seems to be at around 22%. Perhaps you are confusing Bush with Cheney? http://thinkprogress.org/2005/11/03/cheney-19/
Buhs is as low as he is for a plethora of well known and well accepted reasons.
Clinton on the other hand as a result of the scandal suffered terribly during the investigation and he was impeached. McCain would be similarly distracted, and that is a good thing.
And Clinton was actually at 66% the day he left office. On the day of his impeachment (12/19/98), when supposedly regular Americans were disgusted by his actions, his approval rating was even higher. It was 72%. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/big-media-lie-people-l_b_6171.html
The reaction of liberals to sexual peccadilloes can only be contrasted, not compared, to the reaction of the Republican base. The base does not care about financial scandal, it does care about sex. Comparing the reactions of the two audiences is apples and oranges. Does anyone think that a sex scandal would not hurt McCain more than some abstruse financial shenanigans?
How's that water?
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Hydrazine
[Read the article: Does the satellite shoot-down video really show a hit?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable, especially in the anhydrous form. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
"Symptoms of acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of hydrazine may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma in humans. Acute exposure can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liquid is corrosive and may produce dermatitis from skin contact in humans and animals. Effects to the lungs, liver, spleen, and thyroid have been reported in animals chronically exposed to hydrazine via inhalation. Increased incidences of lung, nasal cavity, and liver tumors have been observed in rodents exposed to hydrazine." - Wikipedia
Nonetheless the idea that the tank would have survived reentry is ludicrous and Manjoo should know these things or a least be capable of discovering them. There is a reason Farhad that the shuttle and other reentry vehicles have elaborate defenses against the hellish heat of reentry.
Spy satellites are not designed as reentry vehicles, there fuel tanks even less so. A real reentry vehicle enters the atmosphere are the proper angle to reduce heat as much as possible. In contrast, USA 193 would be tumbling and the angle of descent would likely be high. According to the defense department's press release, the fuel tank contains about 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms) of hydrazine, a hazardous chemical related to ammonia.
Hydrazine's effect on people depends on the dose, duration, and manner of exposure, according to a 1997 fact sheet released by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Pure hydrazine is unstable in air and quickly decomposes, generally within minutes to hours. In the extremely unlikely event that the hydrazine tanks survived reentry and landed, leaking in a populated area, there is almost no chance anyone would be injured. Manjoo sells himself as a tech guru, this article puts the lie to that. Two feet off the Apple he has nothing to say.
If I want Pentagon talking points, I will go to the Pentagon web site. If I want intelligent informed analysis about "cruise missile" shootdowns, I will go anywhere but here.
And no, no goddamn video "proves" anything, not anymore, and not for a long long time if it ever did. Sheesh! Silly silly question.
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@ Kitt Hey 1 out of 3! That's not bad!
[Read the article: Newsweek catches McCain in a serious contradiction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not bad, 1 out of 3 are correct!
So is Cheney at 19% or Congress?
None of this has anything to do with my argument at a good sex scandal would hurt McCain more than a financial one. I am basically on your side...
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@Kitt Dark Side vs the High Road
[Read the article: Newsweek catches McCain in a serious contradiction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am not sure that bush is where he is because of Rove. It's more like Iraq, followed by Katrina and on. Essentially the fear wore off and the American people started thinking again.
In general, I agree with you that the high road is better than the low road, but these people terrify me. McCain with his 100 more years in Iraq comments, McCain who is best buds with Lieberman, and Guiliani. McCain would be as bad as Bush. And that means more wars.
So if this legalistic yawn of a story will take him down, then by all means let us pursue it. But if takes a trip to Cheney's "dark side" to stop McCain then I say let's do it - up to a point. In my opinion this contest goes far beyond a presidential race, it's about planetary survival.
Having said that, none of this may be necessary, assuming that the Secret Service allows local police to search crowds for weapons - Obama will beat McCain handily. Hilary is history.