Letters to the Editor
DevilDawg
Published Letters: 41 Editor's Choice: 2
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Patriotic American
[Read the article: American war culture in a nutshell]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Does someone like Kagan, who is always quick to deride Democrats and well the majority of Americans, as unpatriotic for not supporting the "troops" (neo-con speak for Bush's Iraq War), recognize the irony that he makes a statement that ultimately does not support the troops? How can someone who calls into question the patriotism of Americans who question the administration and the current plan in Iraq by using the generic, "You don't support the troops and give the enemy greater will", turn around and blame the troops for not winning the war they were sent to accomplish - for the troops to come home they should, "win the war we're fighting." Seems like he isn't supportive of the current efforts of the troops to fight in a quagmire they didn't make.
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Narcissism?
[Read the article: Bill Maher: "Don't show me your tits!" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't think (or at least this is my interpretation) the point was that mother's who breastfeed in public are narcissistic. I think Maher was indicating that the subsequent action of voicing her displeasure to management that their request for her to "cover up" as violating her rights was the narcissistic action, not the breastfeeding itself. It was that a mother who was asked to be discreet about a private act decided to make the issue one that affected the public. The mother was apparently carrying a copy of the breastfeeding law in her bag. On its face it appears that the mother is more interested in testing the willingness of an establishment to comply with the law, not simply a mother simply feeding her child at a moment's notice.
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AKA Smith
[Read the article: Bill Maher: "Don't show me your tits!" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"So what if she was? Understanding one's rights and expecting others to respect one's rights is how rights get protected. It would be pretty silly to encode something as law and then never use it as law."
I have absolutely no problem with the mother understanding the law and using it to her advantage. I was only stating what I interpreted to be Maher's reason for implying that breastfeeding mothers were being narcissistic. That is all.
The issue is not about the free speech of the Applebee's manager. This issue is discrimination.
To understand discrimination law, understand this: It is against the law not to serve black people. It is also against the law to make them feel discriminated against as black people when they are seated at served. The wait staff cannot hand them a plate of food and call them the n-word and claim freedom of speech.
Wow. After reading some of your other posts I am surprised at this quantum leap in logic. Somehow you equate a restaurant manager asking a mother to "cover up" or "be discreet" when breastfeeding in an Applebee's to Jim Crow era discrimination. How did you convince yourself that the two are even comparable? At best, the Applebee's request was disrespectful or unreasonable, but not discriminatory. She was not denied service. There appears to be no prejudice laid against her. I would say that her experience was similar to a manager asking a group of drunks to quiet down and stop using profanity because some other customers children are nearby. To even attempt to liken this situation with discriminatory practice from the Civil Rights era is laugable...at best.
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If you fool me...you can't get fooled again.
[Read the article: Quote of the Day: Jenna Bush on condoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I don't think so ... Abstinence is important; if you don't want any chance of getting a disease, then don't have sex. But if you're HIV positive and you have sex, you must always use a condom. You can't talk about being a teenage mother and stopping the spread of AIDS without talking about condoms."
Like her father's talking points, Jenna's response is completely nonsensical. If you don't want to contract HIV then abstinence is the only solution, but (apparently) teenage mothers and people who have already contracted HIV are incapable of not having sex. Huh? Her entire response is as clear as mud.
I imagine her prose is equally elegant.
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Idiots
[Read the article: Bill O'Reilly explains the African-American]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Although none of O'Reilly's condescending and patronizing attitude regarding his discussion of race relations in America is surprising, it is riduculous that he feels the need to provide this "charming" anecdote to exemplify his tolerance. Of course, his amazement at the respectfulness and non-commotion he witnessed in a black restaurant simply exhibits his bigotry.
However, probably the most offensive sentence out of his mouth was, "I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They're getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out: 'Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it.'"
To think that O'Reilly truly believes that black people have not thought for themselves, but are rather simply participants in mob mentality, is pathetic. What a small, pathetic man.
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In addition..
[Read the article: Bill O'Reilly's double standard]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...to the contention that other news reporters wouldn't give the President a fair shake in an interview, those reporters would also pose questions to the President that didn't ask about his feelings, whether he is getting enough credit, or where the true fault in Iraq and other policy mismanagement lies. Just a sampling of the hard-hitting questions given to Bush by those at Fox News:
"How do you feel?"
"You have got a great economy. You're trying to protect the American people, try to prevent another 9/11. You have succeeded at that in the five-plus years since. You're not getting a lot of thanks for that. Do you ever think about: I can't wait until, I don't know, mid-afternoon, January 20, 2009?"
"You know, your vice president was saying that Laura Bush (search) would be an excellent presidential candidate. Do you think she would?
"Do you think that the focus on Michael Jackson has hurt you?"
O'Reilly is right. Any other news organization would destroy Bush no matter what his reponse to the Micael Jackson question was.