Letters to the Editor
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I don't recognize this particular namesake
Well, I was never a fan of the BeeGees, unless my memory is worse than I think. Perhaps there's more than one of us.
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Venice Berkeley Santa Barbara
Does that strike a chord?
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The Unforgivable Sin
On a purely psychological level
Broder strikes me as the sort of person who probably had a traumatic childhood or experienced something traumatic early in life, that made him prone to actively avoid all meaningful conflict or divisiveness...
hmmm, yes, I see. he's pathologically peaceful. let's see here...maybe Wikipedia can shed light on his disease. BA, MA University of Chicago, political science. Good school....must be smart. did a three year stint in the Army when he got out of College, '51-'53. Good for him. The old civic duty--wore the uniform. Got married! He and the lovely Mrs. Broder, her name's Ann, have 4 kids, grown. Gosh, he's now 77 years old. Perhaps he's senile...maybe that's it yes, highly suspicious. Let's see...6 books authored, Pulitzer Prize. hmmm. Clearly unstable. Let's see...honorary doctorate from De Pauw. National Press Foundation Distinguished Contributions Award. Oh dear, he's got a whole stack of award here. Just wondering--do you have a Pulitzer laying around the house Kovie? How about a Wurlitzer? Anything like that? Well, keep writing. You never know. But, back to Broder....Let's see, what else...oh, he teaches--Grad. Class at Maryland. Bet that's fun. Keeps the old batteries charged, I'll bet.
Let's see, what else do we have here. Oh, some quotes from Broder. Let's see what whacko stuff he has to say....hmmm, here's one....
"Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office"
Yes, clearly he's off kilter...what else is here...oh, here's another one...
"[The] way we cover news is to dig for facts in hopes that they will yield an approximation of truth." What the hell kind of insanity is that.
Oh, wait, somebody said something about him...Hendrik Hertzberg--fabulous writer for the New Yorker--really top notch. What's Hertzberg say...ah, here it is... "relentlessly centrist".
Well, there it is, isn't it? He's guilty of being relentlessly centrist. The unforgivable sin.
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Get real
I have no objection to it in principle. But please spare me your this isn't a democracy hysteria. Look at the results of the last election.
Ah but you do object. You have doing so now for a good portion of the day.
I see, you think things are generally going well. What with the people's representatives now doing the people's bidding and getting us out of Iraq, undoing the PATRIOT Act, and proceeding with impeachment hearings in order to rightfully oust one of the most maniacal leaders the world has ever seen. I see your point. "Democracy" in action. All is well. I am hysterical, obviously.
I would like to make a deal with you - on the rare occasion I post a comment I would appreciate you not responding to it in any way. I will gladly extend to you the same courtesy. Agreed?
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I'm sure Broder thinks he is centrist....
Well, there it is, isn't it? He's guilty of being relentlessly centrist. The unforgivable sin.
-- casual observer
All these pudits think they are centrist. They say so constantly. I suspect Broder believes it too. These people are so isolated in their little beltway world that they can't understand that our current government is not centrist, but a paranoid authoritarian cult.
Bush is at 30%, so Broder is centrist compared to what? Not the American the people, that's for sure, but Broder doesn't care about the people who supposedly hold the power in this country. He wants to make sure the people don't "trash the place, and it is not their place".
It is time to replace these rich elitist pundits with people from the real world. They are far too close to the neo-establishment and it shows.
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Yep.
Nancy? Hard to tell from the handle. But God, the BeeGees? You tryin' to ruin my rep, or what? Somebody's gonna think I ran around in a white suit or something.
Ah, well, I've hogged enough of this thread already. If it's you, glad to see you've kept the faith. The nature of which, as you can see, is a matter of contention with the younger generation at the moment.
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The BeeGees?
WT, please say it ain't so. You didn't do the disco thing, surely. And you ain't that much older than some of us, grampaw.
So, nancerich, what other good stuff do you have on him?
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Not Agreed
Adnoto, I believe you've misunderstood me -- perhaps I've also misunderstood you. The word at the heart of it seems to be force.
Be that it as it may, I'm afraid I can't agree not to comment on anything which appears here -- it's a forum after all. I can promise you, though, that any comments of mine will be directed to the substance of the comment, and not to the person making it.
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It was the first album..
and he thought they sort of sounded like the Beatles.
Hilarity ensued.
Bill was an existential hero in his youth. He taught me about Southern Populism and Tom Watson.
He is one of the nicest, kindest and talented people I have ever met.
Listen to him. He is good people.
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adnoto, you remind me of my cousin
You're a lot more articulate but yes, you are hysterical. I don't call my cousin who was always like a brother to me any more because all he wants to talk about is how everything is falling apart, the country is a complete shitheap run by crooks and thieves and no one, no one can get a fair shake or a modicum of justice and it's just gonna keep getting worse until the lid blows off. I can't talk to the guy.
As we sit in our dens and offices, typing on our computers, living in the richest country ever, where people of all stripes have more access to justice and security than ever before anywhere -- maybe not as much as in some perfect paradise, but read the history books, man -- it's interesting and even important that we discuss the issues of the day. I have teenage children and of course I worry about the world we're going to hand them. I don't know if it'll be better or worse than what we were handed; I do know it'll be different and one day my kids will worry about what they're going to pass on to their children. Or maybe they'll all die in a plague or the seas will boil or a dictator will arise who lines them up at a wall and shoots them. Maybe. Or maybe something else, something nice. Who the hell knows the future? But there are plenty of possible outcomes that aren't apocalyptic.
So by all means, let's talk about things that matter; if enough people talk about things that matter, we're more likely to get them right, make the road ahead a little smoother and a little straighter. But let's not get nuts. It's bad for the blood pressure.