Letters to the Editor
-
security vs. human rights
I dunno... I think Richardson may not be that far off. America is a great country and all, but it's not infallible, as we're all discovering. We can all see that trying to increase security in order to protect human rights isn't working. Maybe it's time to try it the other way other.
-
RE: Richardson
Of course Human Rights are more important than National Security!
What happened to "Give me liberty or give me death!"?
Sure angry people may destroy bits of American real estate or property and take some lives but only by betraying the principals and ideals that make America 'AMERICA' can we truly destroy ourselves.
Anyone who sacrifices American ideals in order to hopefully prevent a terrorist attack is a coward and truly is handing the terrorist a victory.
-
Neocon Salon.com!
Wow -- this attack on Richardson comes from a coldhearted realpolitik place a neocon would know well. If national security trumps human rights, then we should INCREASE ethnic profiling, torture anyone we deem might have useful intel that won't come out any other way, etc., etc.
-
sounds like Richardson's my man
Because human rights _are_ more important than national security. Look, some 3000 people died on 9/11; that's horrible, but it's not justification for compromising individual freedoms and rights. I mean, we can save more lives by funding preventative medicine than by going after enemies; the military reaction to being attacked is illogical and primitive.
-
Richardson was fine
Richardson did NOT say that security was unimportant. He was suggesting that by example (not assaults on others), we can change the world. That's valid and far less destructive than what we've had to witness the last 8 years. However in a world of simplistic commentaries, republicans will ccompletely distort him.
-
WTF?
Human rights not more important that national security? Well, Hitler would probably agree with you.
May I suggest a few civics courses for Tim? I like his writing, but he just made a fool of himself.
-
"Biden scores"
And he's been scoring pretty much everytime he opens his mouth, but no seems to pay any attention. Its a sad comment that this is really a vapid popularity contest between people who shouldn't be in the race to begin with.
-
I hit that note last night, Tim
"But then, this comes from the same man who declared, at a gay and lesbian-focused forum earlier this year, that sexual orientation is 'a choice.'"
I wrote on Joan's blog last night:
"But after he couldn't even respond to Melissa Ethridge's absolute T-ball question a month ago at the Gay Lesbian Q.and A. of whether or not sexual orientation is a lifestyle choice or genetic, he came off as a flubber."
-
No, Tim, YOU don't get it
There is, and should be, tension between national security and personal security. They are not the same. National security is about the safety of the state, not necessarily the citizens. The bill of rights addresses this - defending personal security against the state.
Richardson was right. How much are we supposed to give up in the name of national security? Security in our homes? The ability to travel freely?
The nation is most secure when the people are completely helpless against the state. After all, the people are a primary threat to national security. Hint - check out "revolution" on wikipedia.
-
A whiff of sanity!
Jeez, let's think about it for a minute. Do you think we can ever be secure enough? Isn't there already too much of that kind of bandwagon uber-security rhetoric from both sides of the aisle?
Bill's my kind of candidate - the one who speaks truth to the electorate and hopes they're intelligent enough to grasp his meaning. Not that the electorate has shown much intelligence in the past few election cycles, of course.
-
What happened to the Salon I used to read?
I could not disagree more with this statement "We're not sure which office Richardson is seeking these days, but he came pretty close to disqualifying himself from either of them last night when he insisted that human rights are more important than America's national security."
Richardson is not my choice for president, but his answer was the right one, and he appears to be the only one who gave the correct answer. What has happened to the USA when we forget the principles upon which we were founded? I am so grateful that Henry, Franklin, Paine, Jefferson, et. al., are not alive to see what has happened to this country.
And what has happened to Salon? Joan Walsh's stewardship continues to drive it into the sewer. I hope Joan is having fun with all of Hardball appearances!
Oh, and Biden always sounds great yet the media keep claiming he puts his foot in his mouth. He is the best choice for president (due to how important fixing our foreign policy is right now) but he seems to have no hope thanks to the media's decision to ignore him.
-
I'm confused...
What made Richardson's comments so outrageous? Human rights, basic human dignity, why shouldn't maintaining those things be every elected official’s number one priority? Isn't that the very essence of security, ensuring that we are able to sustain our basic human rights? Given the nature of our current definition of "national security," I'll take "human rights" any day. Tim, you sound like one of Glen Greenwald's dreaded GOP tough guys. And by scrutinizing what is ultimately a matter of wording, you're simply playing into the nonsense that makes politics so excruciating.
Someone help me out here. Again, how was that statement a blunder?
"Oh my god did you hear what Bill Richardson said? He thinks human rights are more important than anything else! What a nutter!"
-
The Bill of Rights is, in fact, a suicide pact
Mr. Grieve-
You have in one paragraph lost all credibility with me and exposed yourself as an establishment realpolitik democrat, the sort of which the country has had quite enough.
This country was founded on principles of universal and inalienable rights. It is without question that human rights trump national security in America. That is what defines us as an nation. The second we pretend otherwise is the moment we stop being America. As such, human rights ARE our national security.
Persons such as yourself, who believe otherwise, should, in all seriousness, emigrate to some other country. You don't deserve your citizenship.