Letters to the Editor
Picko
Published Letters: 265 Editor's Choice: 11
-
@ akira1
[Read the article: We'll take that as a "no"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well, there is some persuasiveness to your argument. I think most of the Democrats in congress have this attitude that the system is only a little broken, that all they have to do is counter some of the excesses of Bush and everything will be OK. I still don't think many of them fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem. And whenever someone stands up and says the obvious - that the emperor has no clothes - everyone runs away and distances themselves from the truthteller. Like when Russ Feingold was trying to censure the president. They couldn't find the nerve to censure a president who openly admits to having broken the law, and then they turn around and censure Moveon.org for exercising their right of free speech. You're right - the democrats could have all the votes in the world, but if no one is willing to lead, it doesn't really matter.
-
From wikipedia on Ben Nelson
[Read the article: For Nebraska's Nelson, Mukasey is the trifecta]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"An April 2006 poll by Survey USA found him to be the most popular senator in the country, with a 73% approval rating from his constituents. In their most recent poll, his approval rating was 68%."
I hate to say it but I think we might be stuck with the Benator.
-
Trial lawyers
[Read the article: "I'm not going to paint a caricature"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think one of the most overlooked moments in the debate was when John Edwards was tearing into Hillary Clinton for taking money from special interest groups, and then one of the other candidates pointed out the money that Edwards receives from trial lawyers, and Edwards just crumpled, saying something to the effect of "None of us up here is pure."
Yes, John Edwards is a trial lawyer who has made millions of dollars. Isn't that just a statement of fact? If that can be construed as a caricature, it's because the public at large has a caricatured idea of trial lawyers - if they didn't, they wouldn't support tort reform. Trial lawyers actually do a lot of good in our society - they're often the only means to keep corporate malfeasance in check when congress and the executive branch won't. For instance, congress and the executive branch refused to do anything about asbestos - because they were in bed with the asbestos manufacturers - and it was the efforts of trial lawyers that proved to be the biggest curb on this public health hazard.
So maybe John Edwards should stand up for trial lawyers. Maybe he should take Obama up on his offer. It might not only help his campaign, but help dispel some of the myths about how our legal system works. When conservative politicians dismiss "trial lawyers" and call any litigation that threatens the corporate bottom line "frivolous lawsuits," maybe people need to be reminded that when you've been fucked by government and by big business, sometimes the best thing to do is call in a few good trial lawyers.
-
Al Regnery's response
[Read the article: Conservative authors: "Help, we're being oppressed!"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If anyone still cares, he're a response to the lawsuit on the American Spectator blog:
http://www.spectator.org/blogger.asp?BlogID=9109
-
How many people were in that poll, 5?
[Read the article: For Nebraska's Nelson, Mukasey is the trifecta]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But how many people are in Nebraska, 5?
I know it's a terrible thing that there are Democrats who vote like Republicans, but I would rather him be a Democrat inasmuch as it influences who controls the Senate.
Now if there was a chance to get a real Democrat in there in Nelson's place, that might be another thing, but the people of Nebraska seem to like this guy, and if he wants to put a (D) next to his name and as a consequence we get to control the Senate, I'm willing to make that trade. Too bad the Democrats aren't as good as the Republicans at enforcing party discipline. It seems to me that a lot of those "moderate" Republicans became pretty pliable to the Bush agenda after only a little arm-twisting.
It's much more scandalous to me when a state like Connecticut, which should have been able to get rid of Lieberman, didn't.
And all I have to say is, God bless you, Rhode Island, which had the good sense to get rid of a senator they actually liked - Lincoln Chafee - because they recognized that the fate of the country was more important than their loyalty to an individual politician.
-
Wait a second.
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"And Obama's supporters, yes, you too are incredibly annoying, with your accusations of Clintonian Republicanism and your whiny little cries about how you're going to take your ball and run home if your candidate doesn't win the primary."
Wasn't it reported a couple days ago that 25% of Clinton supporters were threatening to vote for McCain if Obama was the nominee (with a smaller percent - 10% - of Obama's supporters threatening to do the same if the converse was true)? Why are Obama supporters being smeared as traitors to the party? Is it worth pointing out that it has been the Clinton faction that has been actively pushing this defection rate in arguments for their own candidate's electability?
-
MICKI
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But it seems to me that if Obama supporters were all just caught up in a cult of personality - as the Clinton faction tirelessly repeats - we would be more likely to refuse to support his opponent if she were to win the nomination. Yet the poll cited a couple of days ago found the opposite to be true - that the Clinton supporters polled were more than twice as likely to vote Republican if Obama was the candidate.
-
By the way...
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is it my imagination or was Alex's posting of this bit of "wisdom" just a sort of passive-aggressive way to tell his readers to fuck off?