Letters to the Editor
uptoolate
Published Letters: 77 Editor's Choice: 2
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The “Right” to Cripple Your Own Kids
[Read the article: The veil vs. French values]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I live in a city in the northern United States that receives relatively little sunlight, like many cities in France and other European countries, and that has a growing population of Muslim immigrants who also wear hijab. As a feminist I am uncomfortable seeing women dressed in this way, but as a mother I am outraged seeing what happens to some of their children as a result. Rickets, that is, which comes from feeding at the breast of a covered and cloistered woman who not surprisingly is severely deficient in Vitamin D.
Just a few months ago, in my neighborhood park, which is frequented by women in hijab, I observed two little boys, a toddler and a preschooler, struggling to cross a distance of a few yards, on legs in the shape of parentheses. It was my first time ever to see children afflicted by this cruel disease, but considering the size and growth of my cloudy city’s hijab-wearing population, I am sure it won’t be my last.
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It's Actually Another Word He's Saying ...
[Read the article: George W. Bush: "Awesome!"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Maybe the drawl is altering the pronunciation.
The word is "uhsome." You see, he got tired of saying simply "uh" every third word, so he added the "some" suffix to, uh, spruce it up.
Extra drama can be created by emphazing the first syllable, as in, "UHsome!"
This guy's more creative than we knew.
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Fascinating subject
[Read the article: Why "placebo" is not a dirty word]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How cool it would be if there was some way that more of us, more of the time, could take advantage of the placebo effect.
And no, this wouldn't necessarily mean we were "rubes."
I read somewhere that susceptibility to hypnosis bears no correlation to a person's general level of suggestibility. If what I read is accurate, I suspect the same would hold true for susceptibility to the placebo effect. The distinguishing factor probably lies deep down in the neural synapses and has nothing to do with the garden-variety gullibility that leads some people to believe, say, that Iraqis were responsible for 9/11.
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Neither Substance Nor Style
[Read the article: Barack Obama's purpose-driven gamble]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So here we have one of the biggest events of the political season, with three powerful men, grown men, serious men, on the national stage, in almost-matching dark suits, pastel dress shirts ... and no neckties.
It's tacky when Bill Gates does it, but at least he has the excuse of being a nerd, often with an audience of nerds as well.
But for these guys, in this setting, it just looks sloppy.
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Oh, God, Not Those Two Again
[Read the article: Sandbagged at Saddleback]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Abortion and gay marriage, that is.
I have never been able to figure out why the reality-based community fails, over and over again, to state the blatantly obvious: "If you oppose abortion, then you should also oppose sex (and marriage) for STRAIGHTS, not GAYS. You should support 100% abstinence for straight-on-straight sex, whether single, married, supposedly infertile, or whatever; encourage all the straights you know to become gay; and so on. Then and only then should anyone consider your concern about abortion to be even remotely sincere."
But for some reason nobody ever says this. They just parrot the idiotic pairing of (opposition to) "abortion and gay marriage," without missing a beat.
Do people not know where babies come from, or what?
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HOW to see these speeches on the Web?
[Read the article: Bill Clinton shows -- and gets -- the love]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry to be a little OT, but can anyone tell me how I can see the Dems speeches on the Web? I'm out of the country and don't have U.S. channels on my TV, plus I'm down with a bad cold, so I can't invite myself to the home of someone who does have them.
I have googled everything, tried to access the videos through the Convention website, to no avail.
Is there some sort of blackout enforced by the networks?
I'm angry to have missed Hillary's and Bill's speeches -- and I still want to see them -- and especially I don't want to miss Barack's tonight.
Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks.
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Thank You, Xrandadu
[Read the article: Bill Clinton shows -- and gets -- the love]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]CNN didn't do it, but CSPAN did. Am watching Hillary now, will watch Bill after that, then hopefully Barack live later.
Kind of weird that Google isn't bringing up that source.
Anyway, thanks again. Happy viewing, everyone!
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McCain’s VP Pick: Brilliant
[Read the article: Who is Sarah Palin?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1. He’s widely considered a doddering old fool ... she’s an energetic young go-getter. (And drop-dead gorgeous, to boot.)
2. He’s despised by the wingnut base ... she’s got ’em knotted around her pinky. (And no way they'll judge her "family values" as a mother leaving her four-month-old Down Syndrome baby to hit the campaign trail. As another poster pointed out, the wingnuts always make exceptions for their own.)
3. The 317 PUMAs still holding out in a bunker somewhere? Icing on the cake.
Oh yes, and does any sentient being honestly think that Republican voters give a FF about her education, experience, leadership ability, foreign policy creds, etc? These are the dimwits who put George W. Bush into office TWICE, people!!
Dems need to be afraid. Be very afraid.
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@LoriW87, I wish I could agree with you ...
[Read the article: Bush, Cheney to skip Republican Convention]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]when you write,
The majority of the American people are smart enough to see through the absurd and opportunistic posturing of the Bush/Cheney/McSame gang.
Unfortunately, recent history tells us just the opposite--that when it comes to GOP presidential politics the majority of the American people are not smart enough to see through a goddamn thing.
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The birth story: Help me out, please
[Read the article: Obama statement on Palin pregnancy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm out of the country and cannot get U.S. teevee. Can someone please post a link where I can read the "authorized" version of how Gov. Palin came into labor and gave birth to little four-and-a-half-month-old Trig?
Because, frankly, I just don't understand.
I keep reading here about her water breaking, flying 10 hours to Alaska, driving to a small-town clinic ... and then "going back to work" THREE DAYS after giving birth to an infant with a known serious health problem.
If this was the behavior of a kid, a first-time mom, we would consider it selfish and dangerous. But it's not. It's the behavior of a fortysomething grown woman, already a mother several times over. WHICH MAKES IT SHEER FUCKING LUNACY.
So, uh, perhaps it's not true? Or what?
Can somebody post a link, please?
Thanks much.