Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 151 Editor's Choice: 9
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No one was telling Hillary to wait her turn.
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They were telling her she wasn't the best candidate to win the White House. And in my opinion, along with that of a majority of Democratic voters, that was true.
She ran a good campaign. She got on the Democratic ticket. She won a lot of votes. She debated with other candidates about the issues. But at the end of the day, she simply wasn't the strongest choice in the eyes of the voters.
To bend the reality of that situation into a narrative along the lines of "she was definitely the best candidate, but people told her to wait on the sidelines because we're not ready for a female presidential candidate" is ridiculous. Nobody ever "made it about gender" except for idiotic TV pundits who have never mattered and will never matter.
If the odds had been as against Barack as they were against Hillary several months ago, I'd like to think that he would have done the noble thing and withdrawn in the name of party unity, the way she did. And when he did that, I would hope that his supporters (myself included) wouldn't bandy about the idea that he'd been made to step down and "wait his turn" because we're not ready for a black candidate.
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I agree.
[Read the article: Will the GOP's negativity produce a backlash?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The difference between Palin and Biden is obvious. Obama chose Biden as a solid back-up player, someone who would strengthen the solid messages and ideas he's put forth. McCain chose Palin to distract voters and the media from his complete lack of creativity and vision.
So, if Sarah Palin is going to be the new Republican standard-bearer, she needs to be attacked as viciously as if Karl Rove himself were on the ticket. I don't want to see her gently chided on a few issues here and there. I want her so severely annihilated that she regrets agreeing to be McCain's running mate.
The Democrats have an obligation here not to make the same mistakes that the Kerry campaign made in 2004, or that Gore made in 2000. Both those losses were unbearably tragic not just for America but for the entire world; look at the chaos the leadership of this country has created in those eight short years. And don't tell me that ignoring attacks and refusing to be equally vicious in response is somehow a nobler strategy. The nobler strategy is what wins the election and gives America the chance to rebuild itself rather than sink further into ruin.
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She's a perfectly valid model...
[Read the article: Wanna be on top?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Look at the modeling industry over the last 10-15 years. Do you see a lot of traditionally feminine women in the mix? Nope. It's become a haven primarily for boyish, stick-framed, blank-faced young women. If there's a reason that Isis doesn't "fit in" to the modeling world, it's because she looks too much like a woman.
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Agree with Tracy
[Read the article: "Ugh" of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]She goes to such great lengths in the song to emphasize that she is LIKE, TOTALLY NOT A LESBO OR ANYTHING that it's kind of disgusting.
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You're ****ing right it'll be a step backward for women.
[Read the article: Sarah Palin and the glass ceiling ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If not for ANY OTHER reason (and there are millions), then for the fact that a woman's right to choose will be seriously in question. Look at the goddamn facts. We're one Supreme Court justice away from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. McCain/Palin may very well have the chance to appoint that justice. And when that happens, IT'S OVER. If you get pregnant, you're having the baby or you're a criminal.
So you tell me, Governor Palin, how much control does the government need to have over a woman's body before she can be considered to have taken a "step forward"? Maybe female equality won't be truly achieved until America institutes female genital mutilation as well.
You know, there IS something to be said for the fact that she lives so close to Russia. She would've been a great lieutenant for Stalin.
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I hate the question...
[Read the article: What small-town America is saying about Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Is America ready for a black president?"
I mean, for fuck's sake.
Why not just ask the REAL question -- are a plurality of voting Americans too racist to vote for a black president?
We both tolerate and enable willful ignorance by couching the issue in such safe language.
Instead of asking why our schools are failing, why not just ask if elementary students are ready for two and two to equal four?
Instead of asking why sexual assault runs rampant on many college campuses and military installations, why not just ask if rapists are ready to stop raping?
Does no one crack a history book anymore? When has progress in America come simply because people were "ready" for it? Slavery was ended by an executive order. Civil rights reform was imposed at gunpoint. We live in a country full of laziness and inertia. People are ready for something when you TELL them they're ready for it. Wait around for their approval and you'll be waiting forever.
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Just saw him last night in L.A.
[Read the article: Diagnosing Chuck Klosterman ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've only read Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and some of his Esquire columns, but I've always enjoyed the hell out of Klosterman's writing. At the same time, there was something frustrating about it -- the nagging idea that there was nothing real behind all his clever prose and facile insights.
So when I saw him speak in person, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would the facade be lifted, exposing a guy who was witty without being smart, interesting without having a point?
Yes, the facade was lifted. But fortunately, there's a genuinely sharp and thoughtful guy beneath it. And his new book sounds terrific.
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@DixieDigital
[Read the article: Tina Fey crushes Sarah Palin again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Continue supporting a dangerously unqualified candidate if you must, but you can't tell me with a straight face that the SNL sketch was more than a half-step removed from reality. That's what makes it so brilliant.