Letters to the Editor

Letters posted here are associated with the following article:
I'm grateful for Barack Obama My sappy Thanksgiving post got more serious as I watched the Mumbai tragedy unfold.
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  • If one can't perceive one's own foolish folly

    I figure they don't have a fuck of a lot

    In which to feel all that jolly

    Fools are found

    Left and right

    You seem to suggest some kinda shit

    With no grey areas

    Just all's dour in black 'n white

  • dust1969

    Obama's campaign rheteric was highly focussed on Pakistan.

    Okay, a bit of background:

    India and Pakistan have been sort of hostile since the two states seperated, with several wars between the two. It is what sparked the nuclear arms race between them - and one of the reasons the rest of the world was kind of worried about it.

    One of the issues with Iran's nuclear arms race is that the rest of the world doesn't want to face the same issue with Iran and Israel as it already faces with Pakistan and India.

    Now, the hostilities have a religious dimension, Pakistan is a Islamic country and India is Hindu, which means that these attacks may well have an impact on relations between the two countries, which essentially still don't like each other and still have nukes.

    A war with Pakistan may well have been what the Deccan Mujahideen was aiming for, because once this shock has worn off, well you remember how America reacted to 9/11.

    Bush is a diplomatic disaster area, Obama has the gift of the gab. Not only that, but Obama's attention was already on Pakistan back when the elections started, and thus he should hopefully be familiar with the issues affecting at least half of the problem.

    Obama may still fail to deal with the issue effectively, we don't know how well he will do because he is not in power yet, but the hope with Obama was that he would be able to use finesse to achieve goals rather than force, and thus hopefully be able to tackle problems like this more effectively than McCain could.

  • Finesse is best

    The use of brute force

    Usually produces resentment and distress...

  • Klytus

    Fools are found both left and right

    And clowns are often fools

    But claiming one extreme cannot laugh

    Is generally the act of tools

    (IE: The whole argument over whether the far left or the far right have senses of humour at all, tends to forget that a sense of humour is often a symptom of paying attention to politics - which leads to strong opinions on both sides.

    The right often seems humourless from a leftwing perspective, particularly the far right, but it would be more accurate to say it has a different sense of humour, which is currently less popular, rather than that it is incapable of laughter to start off with. The same with the far left from a rightwing perspective.

    Also, the facts just don't follow the hypothesis that leftwingers are humourless, as I pointed out, there are a lot of leftwingers whose bread and butter is making people laugh, and a lot of them are pretty far on the left.)

  • A poster merely mentions

    That some are too serious about themselves

    And you kick up a righteous ruckus

    Like a busy collective full of militant tree elves

  • Shit man

    Did I lose my membership to the revolution?

  • Klytus

    Some perhaps and many not

    But the statement came off

    As claiming it was the lot

    And all of us strict or not

    It seems in our ability to laugh

    Our politics matter not one jot

  • Did I lose my membership to the revolution?

    Nah, I am mostly just joking with you. I have a strange sense of humour that includes coming off a lot more seriously than I really am.

  • I think people who are too strict

    Are way too uptight

    Livid pricks

    But that's just me

    If you feel different

    We can beg to differ

    And disagree

  • Sec Gates

    Again, more people bitching about Sec Gates.

    Imagine, I once thought Salon was a site for Liberal pragmatists, now I realize that it is a site for ideologues.

    Sec Gates is not at fault for Iraq, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, etc. He was brought in by GWB to fix the mess he has created and so far he has done a great job.

    Especially by giving a kick in the ass to the Army and Air Force about which priorities to focus on. He is the best man for the job and must be retained.

    To rest of you who oppose Sec Gates you know not of what you speak. So keep your mouth shut to avoid sounding foolish.

  • Klytus

    And sometimes the biggest pricks

    Are the ones who call both sides dicks

    (IE: You get humourless people in the middle as well as on both sides of the political debate. Enjoying a joke isn't really about whether you are "Strictly" left or rightwing.)

  • In life, there are exceptions to every rule...

    And no rule to all exceptions!

    ..............................................................

    *Thank you Joan for the Thanksgiving shout-out!*

    (You made my Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

    ..............................................................

    And here's a Quote for Thanksgiving:

    "Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."

    -- Peter Ustinov

  • I am grateful for McCain not being elected!

    Had McCain been elected, we would have likely gotten a response completely unrelated to the terrorist incident (e.g. attacking Iran) which would have made the problem of terrorism much worse.

    Obama, on the other hand, will hopefully deal with terrorism the way it should be dealt with; with cool headed police and intelligence work and by creating the political conditions that will help dry up the sources of terrorism.

  • appreciation

    i want to say thank you Joan for your articles .I first knew about you in the closing months of this elections ,when you made frequent appearences on Hardball .i have always listened carefully to what you had to say and have have been gravitated to your articles eversince.Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

  • Grateful

    I'm grateful for obama for being pro abortion if we are ever going to be able to keep the violence down in this country, abortion is the way!!! Abortions are predominately performed on blacks and everyone is aware of the fact that blacks are 12% of the population but commit 75% of the crimes in this country. But we can not dare stat the facts or we are Racist!!! I'm not a Racist!!! I'M JUST HONEST!!!! AND NOT AFRAID TO STATE THE FACTS!!!!!!!

  • Grateful for your forum

    Thank you, Joan. May you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

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