Letters to the Editor
New Deal Democrat
Published Letters: 210 Editor's Choice: 43
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Environmental hysteria
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As a non-scientist, I have no way of knowing whether or not we're on the brink of some sort point of no return when it comes to the environment. 95% of the rest of the people reading this article or seeing the film are in the same boat.
What I do know is that the current debate about environmental issues is full of wild-assed guesses and feel-good sentiments. Much of what is propagated should be taken seriously only to the same extent as Hollywood stars, who individually probably use more energy than great masses of people in the developing world, lecturing the rest of us.
For example, why is population control off the table? Whatever gains may be realized by better technology, conservation, etc., they'll all be rendered moot by continual increases in human population. Yet both the left and the right have essentially agreed that it's not politically correct to ask people to reproduce less. Several months ago The Nation devoted a whole issue to the environment, and there wasn't one article dealing with population questions.
So what you have is a highly selective "debate" that is careful not to offend the sensibilities - or the consumption patterns - of the privileged preachers of environmental virtue. Thus, it's okay for Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio to tell you to take public transportation, but they're gonna fly private jets no matter what. (For the record, I take the bus to work virtually every day.)
I'm not saying that any of us should be cavalier about pollution or consumption. I've simply noticed, however, that people define themselves by how they consume. This is true of both liberals and conservatives, and would appear to be endemic to human nature. Good luck changing that.
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Today's Democrats just as hostile to civil liberties as Republicans
[Read the article: Are Democrats really so lame?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've always been a Democrat, but the party completely lost me with its recent vote to give the executive more untrammeled power. More wiretapping, allegedly toward foreign communications, but with a big gigantic loophole that will essentially allow the government to eavesdrop on whomever, whenever it likes. And little to no judicial oversight. Please tell me what's "progressive" about that.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid could have stopped that legislation in its tracks. They control Congress. But they didn't. They allowed it to pass, and it got a substantial number of Democratic votes.
I'm not interested in supporting a party that doesn't care about the Constitution. I'm sorry. I can agree or disagree with people on any number of issues, but the Constitution is sacrosanct. Once you start giving away the people's liberties, there'll soon be nothing left to fight for.
I'm going to work for the defeat of any Democrat who supported that execrable bill.
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A perfect example of American ignorance and xenophobia
[Read the article: Ari Fleischer's misleading message]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The only way so many people, especially in the military, can continue to believe that Iraq and 9/11 were somehow connected before the terrorist attacks is if they knew absolutely nothing of Muslim/Arab religion or politics, and have studiously ignored learning anything about it since.
Only if you regard all Muslims as "ragheads" or "camel jockeys" can you equate Sunnis with Shiites, or secular tyrants like Saddam Hussein with religious fanatics like Al-Qaida.
That ignorance and xenophobia, combined with a messianic idea of America's inherent superiority to any other country, is what got us into this mess, and despite all the dissastisfaction with the Iraq war, I don't see those fundamental assumptions changing much in the mind of the average American. Iraq is now unpopular because we're losing. That's all.
Empires - and imperial thinking - die hard. Our educational systems don't permit questioning of fatuous assumptions or encourage real learning about other cultures except at the advanced levels. Those who don't go on to college - like many in our nation's armed forces - are fed a steady diet of "patriotism" and highly selective facts about our country.
People like the young veteran featured in these ads, whatever their selfless sacrifices, are dupes for a regime that cares nothing about either freedom or the welfare of the average American. It's about the power and money of a few, and those few are going to maim and kill as many people as they have to, by any means necessary, to maintain their hold on power.
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If Larry Craig is gay...
[Read the article: "Jiminy God!": The Larry Craig story]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... then I desperately want to be straight. If these nasty old Republicans keep getting outed, it might produce more recruits for those "ex-gay" groups. Sign me up.
Absolutely no sympathy from this bona fide gay guy, however. Craig and his ilk are cowards and charlatans of the worst order, and I hope he suffers greatly for his complicity in making life difficult for gays and lesbians everywhere.
Before anyone feels sympathy for Craig, perhaps that person should think about a gay or lesbian teenager in some godforsaken town in Idaho who's terrified to come out for fear of being disowned or even murdered. Or the teenagers who kill themselves because they think they might be gay. That's the world Craig has helped to perpetuate. A pox upon him.
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Craig hasn't suffered nearly enough
[Read the article: Craig to cop: "I'm a respectable person"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We're all witnessing a slow-motion meltdown of the vast hypocrisy and vicious double standards of an odious right-winger. If anyone ever got his just desserts, it's Mr. Craig. Keep it coming.
Do you think Craig would have one iota of sympathy for a homeless gay teenager? Or, say, a gifted Arabic-speaking linguist kicked out of the U.S. Army because he's gay? No, he wouldn't. He'd just utter some drivel about having to protect our culture from the "gay lifestyle" and let the unfortunates rot. And the idiots who vote for him would think he's a "good Christian".
Well now the lie is out in the open for all to see, and I won't apologize for enjoying it. He deserves it all and more. The fact is, Craig helped create a culture that demonizes gays and lesbians, and also encourages "vice squads" of precisely the kind that ensnared him. He's caught in his own noose, and I hope he hangs.