Letters to the Editor
cestmoi123
Published Letters: 221 Editor's Choice: 8
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Let's put polemics aside
[Read the article: The NRA view of school shootings, in pictures]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1. Had Virginia Tech not been a "gun-free" campus, there's a real chance that fewer people would have been killed on Monday.
2. Had Virginia Tech not been a "gun-free" campus, it's very likely that quite a few people would have died on _other_ days, when brawls/shouting matching escalated, or drunk students played "is this thing loaded."
On balance, I think the death toll from #2 is likely larger, but no honest assessment of the situation (i.e. one not taken through "all guns are evil" or "the 2nd Amendment allows us to own anti-tank missles" blinders) could deny that both 1 and 2 are true.
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You just don't understand
[Read the article: Keeping secrets -- or not]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What's classified is defined by the executive branch, which reports to the President. Hence, the executive branch CAN'T, by definition, mishandle classified material, since if the executive branch doesn't deem it classified, it's not. Convenient, huh?
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four posts by the same poster
[Read the article: From Russia, with regression analysis]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Spacecabooie, if you're going to post four straight times on the piece, at least do them all under your own name.
Andrew, what's up with giving that first piece a star? It's barely coherent, much less insightful. Your standards are usually better.
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Short Version
[Read the article: At her majesty's pleasure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was a total jackass on the plane, partially because I got drunk and then took pills that I know amplify the effect, although it's pretty clear I'm an unpleasant jackass when cold sober. I was then shocked when I wasn't treated differently than other criminals, in spite of the fact that I'm American and white and the rules shouldn't apply to me.
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One Little Problem
[Read the article: Dick Cheney's least favorite TV show?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]""Heroes" may also be a better guide to where the thinking of the young, post-Bush generation [than 24]."
Only problem is, younger people are notably more likely to support the Iraq war than older people (48/45% support/oppose for 18-29 year olds, 28/67% support/oppose for 65+).
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/politics/18web-elder.html?ex=1180670400&en=f66faa9d7240c0a9&ei=5070
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bgrasso, you're missing the point
[Read the article: Lead, follow or get out of the way]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Certainly, dedicated war opponents aren't going to say "well, the Dems have failed me, so I'm voting for Sam Brownback!" What they will do is what bgrasso and Robert Franklin state/imply in their posts: stay home.
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oops, I meant kickstarts and Robert Franklin
[Read the article: Lead, follow or get out of the way]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]my goof
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Kind of funny
[Read the article: Cashing in on extreme poverty]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Microfinance (i.e. very small loans at very high interest rates to very high risk borrowers) is applauded outside the US, but condemned (Payday loans) in the US.
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There has to be some sort of limit, though
[Read the article: White House refuses to comply with subpoenas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There have to be some areas where executive (and congressional) privilege extend. After all, it wouldn't be appropriate for the Atty General to put out a subpoena for all email between Conyers and his staff members and other members of Congress in regards to the US Atty firings, would it?
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Their paper, their call
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As soon as you agree to let me decide what topics you cover in your blog, you'll get the right to decide what books newspapers will review. It's their call, it's their newspaper? Don't like it, don't buy their newspapers.
Frankly, this whole post was almost unreadably whiny: "why aren't they paying _attention_ to me?" Short answer - they don't have to, and it's not your right to complain, any more than you have a right to complain that someone hasn't bought your book - you have no standing. If you owned stock in WaPo or NYT, and thought it was a bad business decision, you'd have a right to complain.
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Sindvik, math correction
[Read the article: If it smells like peak oil, it probably is]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]$120MM in daily savings would be about $43BN in yearly savings, not $3.8 trillion.
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Plenty of hypocrisy to go around
[Read the article: Three Stooges strategery]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Both sides are guilty of this - when my opponents are using the filibuster to block something I want, it's a crime against the Founding Fathers, but when I'm using the filibuster, it's a key protection for minority rights to slow an oppressive juggernaut.
The Reps are being hypocritical by using a tool they condemned a couple of years ago, and the Dems are being hypocritical by condemning a tool they used a couple of years ago.
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There is some hypocrisy on Edwards's part, however
[Read the article: The Politico sewer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He's advocated for rolling back the Bush tax cuts - does he voluntarily pay the taxes he would pay if those tax cuts were rolled back? If not, he's a hypocrite, benefiting from policies he denounces.
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Let me get this straight
[Read the article: Hackers make the iPhone pay-as-you-go]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Data's incredibly expensive, and visual voicemail and YouTube don't work. So, basically, the hack allows you to use your iPhone without any of the real benefits of using the iPhone. Why bother?
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The offer is a joke
[Read the article: Google's $4.6 billion plan for an open wireless Internet]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Offering $4.6BN is like offering $0.99 - it's well below the low end of what this auction will produce. Spectrum tends to be priced in Mhz-POPs (equal to one Mhz covering one person). The US has ~300MM people, so the 22MHz Google is talking about is equal to about 300*22=6.6BN Mhz-POPs. Google is offering, then, at least $0.70 per Mhz-POP. Given that, in the last spectrum auction (AWS, in 2006), less attractive spectrum sold for more than $1/Mhz-POP, Google's offer is a non-starter. If they offered to guarantee at least $2/Mhz-POP ($13.2BN), that would be a real statement.
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The offer would reduce the $ spent
[Read the article: Google's $4.6 billion plan for an open wireless Internet]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Google has committed to spend $4.6BN only if the FCC puts requirements on the auction that would sharply lower the value of the licenses. This is the equivalent of saying "I'll commit to buy that Porsche for $30k, so long as you agree to paint it hot pink and cover it with Nazi symbols before you put it up for sale."
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Is there actual data?
[Read the article: He votes with Democrats, doesn't he?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I know that there's data on how often Supreme Court justices vote together - is there comparable information for Senators? I'd be interested to know how often Lieberman votes with, say, Teddy Kennedy vs. how often he votes with Sam Brownback. I would bet, in the aggregate, that he does vote far more often with the Democrats than with the Republicans.
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TimHowe, Not Going to Help The Fox Biz Channel
[Read the article: The Murdoch Street Journal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]CNBC has WSJ content locked up for television purposes through 2011, so Murdoch isn't going to be able to use the WSJ to help Fox Biz for some time. That being said, he takes the long view, and will likely be happy to announce the rebranding of the "WSJ Channel" in 2012.