Letters to the Editor
orbitboy
Published Letters: 1203 Editor's Choice: 100
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Wow, that was really great!
[Read the article: Anderson Cooper in jail?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And I thought times were tough when I graduated from J-school 20 years ago!
Speaking of the state of "journalism," something struck me last week that I can't quite get over. I was listening to Newsweek's Michael Isikoff on a radio talk show the other morning, and he said something in passing that I find extremely revealing, very depressing and highly maddening. He was commenting on the Abramoff scandal, and its potential scope and depth, and he prefaced one of his points with, "Normally I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but..."
So my question to him is, "Why the hell not?" Dude, you're a fucking JOURNALIST! It's your JOB to be a conspiracy theorist. In my mind, the job of a journalist is more like that of a prosecutor, rather than a jurist. And a lot of these guys in the media are acting like defense attorneys, which is the LAST thing they should be doing. There are no checks and balances in our system of government at the moment, so the media is our last hope, and last line of defense. And they're worrying about whether they're being seen as "conspiracy theorists," or not. Man, we are so fucking doomed..... You can easily make the point that had the Bush Administration been "conspiracy theorists," they could have prevented the 9-11 attacks. But no. Instead you have Condi "no one imagined they would EVER fly planes into the twin towers" Rice and the rest of those idiots.
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I'm Disappointed in Salon's coverage of this issue
[Read the article: Was the 2004 election stolen? No.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I wish Salon would assign some of it's other writers to weigh in on this issue, rather than Farhad Manjoo having 100% of the say. There are other recent stories of lesser importance, i.e., JT Leroy and Barry Bonds, that have been covered by more than one writer. As a subscriber, I feel cheated. Maybe Joan Walsh, the editors, and the other political writers agree with Manjoo. But I'd rather not guess, and I'd really like to know what they have to say. Call me nosy.
Manjoo's mind was obviously made up a long time ago, and seems to only see this issue from one point of view--someone who basically trusts the current Republican leadership. As far as I'm concerned, Manjoo can't prove to me it DIDN'T happen. When you take all that this administration has been up to over the last six years, I have no reason whatsoever to trust them. The stuff on Blackwell is all I need to hear, frankly. Also, Kennedy and Miller have only told us what they have been able to find. God only knows what was sucessfuly hidden and or destroyed. And stealing the election is no more astounding or hard to swallow than lying about going to war in Iraq.
In my mind, we are way past the time to be giving the Republican party the benefit of the doubt on this or any other issue. And I wish Farhad Manjoo would apply the same level of skepticism to both sides of this story.
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This is not a court case...
[Read the article: Was the 2004 election stolen? No.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]where the theft of the election has to be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Nobody's trying to put John Kerry in the White House this summer. The stolen election CAN'T be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. There will never be a smoking gun with this story. But that doesn't mean a crime wasn't committed!
We have to look at the preponderance of the evidence, factor in that you have an extremely motivated group of suspects who have the means, access, and a history of ethically scandalous behavior... I'm not sure what else you need to be fairly sure that something awful went down in Ohio and other states as well. What is it about Karl Rove, Kenneth Blackwell, et al. that makes anyone think that they wouldn't do everything in their power--legal and illegal--to ensure Bush's victory? If nothing else, they were motivated to keep themselves out of jail!
Manjoo and other doubters remind me of the defiant OJ Simpson jurors who claimed that the prosecutors never proved his guilt to their satisfaction: maybe so, but that doesn't mean OJ didn't commit the crime.
Remember people: It's not illegal if the president does it and God told him to.
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RE: Another thing RE Feingold
[Read the article: Which way to the White House?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Can we get confirmation on that divorce story? If it's true, I think that's a huge deal breaker for a lot of voters, unfortunately. Dang, and I was really behind him! I personally couldn't care less about his personal life, but I think that this is the same thing that would/will kill Guiliani's chances.
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I support Feingold, too
[Read the article: Which way to the White House?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]but keep in mind that if he runs and loses, he doesn't have to give up his senate seat. He's not up for re-election until 2010.
The other thing about his marital status is that "conventional wisdom" dictates that a single man can't win the white house. I guess there is no "conventinoal wisdom" on how it affects a female candidate. I would think less so, though.
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Huh?
[Read the article: Which way to the White House?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I like Feingold fine, but he's ANOTHER Northeastern liberal senator!"
On what map of yours does WISCONSIN appear in the northeast? Did you graduate from high school? If so, how?
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To Ned Tandem
[Read the article: Which way to the White House?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Don't be stupid. If Feingold were the Democratic nominee for President, he'd be running on corporate dollars to some degree whether he likes it or not. The man has a spine, for sure, but he's no fool. Don't let other letter writers put words in his mouth.
Mr. Tandem, "the left" is only irrelevant in your own mind. And your insistence that they "continue to insist on living in the stars of ideology and refuse to EVER face reality" is a perfect description of the religious right, the controlling arm of the REPUBLICAN party.