Letters to the Editor
bdop4
Published Letters: 225 Editor's Choice: 10
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Apples and Oranges
[Read the article: Lee Hamilton denies Michael Mukasey's claim about 9/11]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"We knew that there has been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went."
I see nothing figurative in the above statement, which is declarative. The prior statement about "the" call was in regards to not needing a warrant (which you don't) when someone in Iraq calls someone in the U.S. To recap:
Officials "shouldn't need a warrant when somebody with a phone in Iraq picks up a phone and calls somebody in the United States because that's the call that we may really want to know about. And before 9/11, that's the call that we didn't know about.
I see these statements as addressing two separate issues. How can you not know about a call (the figurative example) while also knowing about a call (the declarative example) and say they are the same thing?
He may be trying to link the two, but saying he meant a declarative statement was figurative is ludicrous, especially for a highly respected judge who is now THE TOP ATTORNEY IN THE COUNTRY.
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Shooter Makes It Sound Sooo Hard
[Read the article: Lee Hamilton denies Michael Mukasey's claim about 9/11]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's only hard if you don't know what your doing. That's why they're called professionals. Of course, hearing Mukasey, it makes you wonder.
Don't forget, they can go forward without a warrant and have 72 hours to file a request. For agencies who have been dealing with FISA for decades, I would hope there are clearly defined criteria which allow knowledgeable professionals to act quickly once baseline criteria are met. If not, then we're in deeper shit than I thought.
Given that only a few warrant requests have been rejected in FISA's entire existence, I don't think the process is as mind boggling as shooter would like everyone to think it is (or maybe it's just shooter). :)
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WWII / Korea Bullshit
[Read the article: McCain's century-long problem]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I want to puke every time some cretin cites U.S. Forces in Europe, Japan and S. Korea as justification for a permanent military installations in Iraq. Those situations were completely different from what we are facing now. The U.S. was completely different as well. I want to know from the pro-occupation posters when they think Iraq (and by extension, the Middle East), is going to be "pacified." I got news for you: the countries of the Middle East will NEVER accept a long-term presence in Iraq.
What needs to be debated today is this long-held belief that somehow the United States has to "protect" the world from itself and that no global solution is possible unless the righteous, omnipotent and omniscient Amurricans show everyone else what "true" freedom and democracy is. The fact is that none of the global problems will be solved unless a common interest is found among most countries to fix the situation.
As an international entity, America needs to stop acting like its shit doesn't stink and engage in some real diplomacy for a change. We've got bigger problems at home and while the U.S. should be a major player, it's going to have to truly cooperate with other nations, which includes not having its way from time to time. Sometimes leadership (and patriotism) mean admitting when you're wrong.
Oh, and BTW, there is a country that the U.S. withdrew from that isn't falling to pieces: Vietnam. I recently read that Oaktree Capital, a U.S. investment firm, announced their intentions to develop a $5B resort complex in Da Nang. Why there? Because it's closer to where the real money is.
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@ Obi-Wan
[Read the article: The United States is not occupying Alabama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Foreign governments buy US government bonds and invest in American companies because they know that if they lend money to America, America is good for it in the long term. With the dollar as the reserve currency, with oil traded in dollars, America has been a brilliant bet for foreign investors for decades.
It *their* treasure, you just borrowed it. Japan bought about $100B of government bonds last year, China did the same, India's not far off. The government spend it, or give tax breaks.
There's nothing sinister about this - it's a system that suits just about everyone"
So it sounds like you think this situation is just peachy. Yeah, let's continue to fund a defense budget larger than the rest of the world combined through borrowing money from the people we're supposed to protect. That's just fucking brilliant.
No wonder the "party of fiscal responsibility" has no qualms in running up trillions of dollars of financial debt. It's all just a game of fiscal MADD, and in the meantime, defense and private contractors get to bill the shit out of the american taxpayer!! What's there not to like about that?! I mean, we're never going to pay the interest, and if a country makes any real fuss, we'll just bomb the shit out of them.
Healthcare, education and poverty, those are just peripheral issues anyway, and don't affect "real americans."
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Good News but . . .
[Read the article: Have Republicans given up on FISA and telecom amnesty?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'll believe it when I see the rhetorical corpse of telecom immunity lying at the side of the road. As always, we must be ever vigilant.
The WSJ article was encouraging simply by the fact the WSJ published it. While offering nothing new, it served to validate many suspicions which many have relegated to the "lunatic fringe."
I can't imagine that true conservatives can feel good about the observations made in that piece.
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No Historical Perspective
[Read the article: Responsibility for the last seven years]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It continues to amaze me how our society has a complete lack of historical perspective, from governmental institutions down to the individual citizen. The GOP and people like McCardle exploit this condition, confident they can say anything regardless of what they may have previously written or done. It's how John McCain can portray himself as a moderate while shamelessly pandering to all variety of extremists. And no one challenges it because they can't remember what happened in 2003 (or last month, for that matter).
Without media scrutiny, these people do anything they want without any repercussions. Until now.
Good work, Glenn!
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I can only hope the same
[Read the article: In the market for a used Attorney General?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]for Condi Rice, David Addingtion and the rest of the Bush Cabal.