Postmarks
Our readers talk back.
Fri., Aug. 25, 2006
It Is the Time for Reason
Dear Editor,Re: "Page Two," Light and Darkness [Aug. 18]: I myself tangled with Austin Bay almost three years ago, in the editorial pages of the San Antonio Express-News.
Taking him to task for a column about the "flypaper strategy" of ambushing terrorists in Iraq, I debunked and refuted his boastful surrealistic assertions in a point-for-point analysis.
But in the face of unyielding unwavering "faith," what is reason? "Force shites upon reason's back," so said Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanack.
Too bad, then, for all of us. When we turn our backs upon reason, when we opt for the unassailable, we narrow the paths that lay before us, until only one remains, one lined with tragic and bitter memories: Manassas, Bull Run, Gettysburg, Little Rock, Selma, Chicago, Kent State, Seattle, and New Orleans.
As awful as it sounds, it may indeed be necessary some day to defend reason literally at the point of a gun. If those who hold power destroy the country all the while ignoring, or worse, cracking down on the "unbelievers," what recourse will there be, except that which fits into the magazine chamber of a rifle, shotgun, or semiautomatic?
The crucible of history isn't limited to the grand stage of world events. It also burns in the moments of decision faced by ordinary people. And if the "faithful" (of any stripe) come bustin' down doors someday, new leaders may emerge, not necessarily in the mold of a Cindy Sheehan. They just might be ordinary folks aiming for center of mass in the midst of throat-clutching fear and lots of screaming.
It's not too late to switch the track, folks. And that means reckoning with reality, and with each other – respectfully, decently, and most of all, honestly.
I don't know about anybody else out there, but I'd rather try to work out differences with someone over morning coffee as opposed to sighting them over the bore of a rifle.
Gus Gonzales III
Ventura Comes Off as a Dupe ...
Dear Editor,Michael Ventura is one of my favorite novelists and a brilliant columnist when his Bush Derangement Syndrome goes into remission. It pains me to see him descend into nut-ball territory in his most recent "Letters @ 3AM" (A Middle East Notebook) [Aug. 18].
Whenever Ventura writes about current affairs, he supports his arguments with snippets of information from the mainstream media, most often The New York Times. But countless blogs can persuasively demonstrate the anti-Israel bias in mainstream coverage of the Middle East. Does Ventura know about the staged news photos of the supposed Israeli massacre of civilians at Qana on July 30 (www.eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/08/corruption-of-media.html)?
Or that the mainstream media falsely blamed Israel for the deaths of Palestinians at a Gaza beach on June 9 (www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/Gaza_Beach_Libel.asp)?
As for the UN outpost in southern Lebanon (Ventura says Israel bombed it to send the message that "If [the UN] didn't want unarmed UN observers to die, best shut up about Israeli war crimes"): Hezbollah practically used it as a motel (www.michellemalkin.com/archives/005611.htm).
And Ventura's "clearly marked ambulances blown off the roads"? They were quite possibly old, junked vehicles, resurrected by Hezbollah for propaganda purposes. On close inspection they certainly don't look like they were hit by missiles (www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2006/08/more_propaganda.html).
Ventura can dismiss the bloggers as hack journalists and conspiracy theorists if he wants, but their allegations stand on more evidence than Ventura's assertion that Israel destroyed Lebanese infrastructure to eliminate "a local economic rival" for tourism and trade. For someone whose best work always challenges his readers to question authority, Ventura comes off as a dupe when the authority is the mainstream media.
Ben C. Cohen
Arrogance of Rep. John Carter
Dear Editor,Rep. John Carter seems to have forgotten he is the elected official of the people of District 31. It is not his decision whom he should debate but ours. The 2006 election is about a government that has lost control, and we deserve answers and an actual plan for correcting problems at home and in Iraq. His arrogance in refusing to attend any candidate forum since the primaries and his refusal to debate Mary Beth Harrell on the local PBS station proves he is out of touch with America and especially Texas. John Carter should lose the arrogance of the privileged and respond to his constituents by appearing at the debate.
Steve Whichard
What Is a 'Boutique' School?
Dear Editor,Regarding an item in Naked City, [News, August 11]. What is a "boutique" school, and why does AISD have eight of them? Forgive me, but this sounds like eight beauty schools to train Botox technicians and fashionistas. No disrespect is intended to Ann Richards, but why is her named school "for Young Women Leaders"? Is there a boutique school for "Young Men Leaders"? I would think it is the function of all AISD schools to educate young people to become tomorrow's leaders. As has been documented, some AISD schools have failed their students. How do "boutique" schools address that problem? Trendy designations should be avoided lest we be misled that something is actually being done to improve the educational system. Thank you.
Saralind Mings
Loves Love Still
To the Editor,In the mid-Sixties, Love was the house band for a little place on Cosmo Street in Hollywood, called Bido Lido's. Arthur Lee was not only a riveting performer, but an artist with something to say. Love had what it took to be legendary ["Page Two," Aug. 11].
When Forever Changes was released, Arthur and the band, along with everyone in the L.A. music scene, knew it was a masterpiece. When the album didn't skyrocket, Arthur was crushed. He felt he was being overlooked or, worse, purposely ignored because he was black and into rock & roll, instead of R&B or funk. His friend Jimi Hendrix had made the right decision and gone to England, where the novelty of being a black rocker seemed to work in his favor. Only after his European success did America begin to accept Jimi's music.
But there was only room for one black man in the arena of rock, and Arthur soon realized that Jimi had won the spot. The industry couldn't figure out how to market a "second one," so Love was seldom asked to tour. Though it nearly broke his spirit, Arthur persevered and continued to believe that in the end, he would be given his due.
Two years ago, I had the great luck of seeing Arthur and a band of wet-behind-the-ears musicians play a concert at UCLA's Royce Hall. Arthur began the set a little shaky and off-pitch, but by the third or fourth song, the wild energy of the crowd suddenly transformed him into the Prince of Bido Lido's once again, hitting even the high notes of his most challenging songs. It was glorious … and without a trace of bitterness.
Upon hearing of his death, I thought back on that concert and felt a sense of joy and satisfaction that Arthur had been able to have that Holy Communion with his fans before taking his rightful place with Jimi and the other rock legends.
Still a fan,
Marsha Mann
Please Reconsider 9/11
Dear Editor,Louis Black, I empathize with your feelings of despair and outrage concerning the state of affairs in our country ["Page Two," Aug. 18]. I am also concerned with the apparent contempt you have for those who question our government's version of the events of September 11, 2001. I know that to even contemplate the complicity of powerful U.S. citizens is a gigantic mental hurdle, whose crossing may plunge one into a further state of fear and sleeplessness. Realizations that may follow hardly bring a sense of order.
It has already been said that 9/11 is the Kennedy assassination for this generation. As you indicated, most are inclined to believe official USA government reports. All it seems to take is saying it over and over ... lone killer ... Osama bin Laden ... lone killer ... Osama bin Laden ... acted alone ... hates freedom.
To me it seems that you confronting the chaos of reality is acknowledging the determination of our country's enemies and the horrid political landscape that their attack created. I, on the other hand, see this reality as one created by those who profit from continual warfare, where more and more money is just not enough to satisfy a spiritually devoid appetite, and murder accompanied by outright treason are not accompanied by evidential smoking guns.
Your dinner-party partners may not have had what it takes to change your mind. Do the actions of our government, which lately seem to resemble that of a dying beast, have a better chance of doing so?
Sincerely,
Ben Kleiman
More on Bike Helmets
Editors,The bike helmet ordinance should only be passed if there is valid scientific evidence that properly wearing the device will reduce head injury ["Bicyclists Collide in Helmet Law Debate," News, Aug. 4]. Thus far, the evidence suggests the standardized helmet will fail at speeds above 14 mph, or on impact with irregular, spherical surfaces. In designing for minimum weight and maximum ventilation, the manufacturers have failed to insure their customers' safety. No party involved so far seems interested in creating an actual safety helmet that is comfortable, affordable, and profitable.
What to make of Professor Goetz's curious letter ["Postmarks," Aug. 11]: Is it a primer for "How to Lie and Dissemble Statistics"? ["Postmarks," Aug. 11] His CDC rationale conveniently overlooks "other transport," which shows only a 2% brain-injury rate; shouldn't this be our proverbial silver bullet instead of bikes? Further, Goetz fails to specify that the leading causes of the other 77% of brain injury are falls; struck by/against; assault; unknown; other; other transport; and suicide. By extending a complex question into cyclist cliché, Goetz proposes that since motor vehicle and pedestrian head injuries are proportionally more than that of bicycle head injuries, everyone but bicyclists should wear helmets. Is the public to believe that bicyclists value helmet ventilation and style above personal brain function? Nationally, bicycling as a mode of transportation is less than one-half of 1% of traffic; automotive use is 88% of that equation, so being at the upper end of injury reports shouldn't be viewed as evil incarnate. To put it at the Goetz level, since hunting is three times less fatal than bicycle riding, shouldn't we be weaponizing our cyclists? Did I mention that Goetz's CDC Web site citation has a prevention page that specifically calls for anyone riding a bike to wear a helmet?
Sincerely,
Ricky Bird
Bastrop
Many People are Now Skeptical
Dear Editor,NBC reported the following very interesting information: 1) The British authorities wanted to wait and gather more evidence on the alleged plotters on the plan to blow up as many as 12 airplanes in route from England to the U.S.; 2) the American administration pushed the Brits to act before all the evidence was gathered; 3) the alleged plotters had no plane tickets, and some of them did not have passports.
This is just one of many "alleged" terrorists' plots that have been exposed over the last couple of years (maybe more). How many times has a video of Osama bin Laden been drug up, always three months after he taped it, to remind us that he is going to attack the U.S.? It seems, too, that we are bombarded by reports of very scary terrorists' plots each time someone in the Bush administration wants us to take our minds off Iraq, the Middle East, the economy, Bush's incompetence, or his plummeting approval ratings. Each time, it seems that Bush's folks feel the need to remind us that Bush is keeping us safe.
Many people are beginning to be skeptical. After this most recent "alleged terrorist plot," many people said "I do not believe it." Now, that is scary: that the Bush administration has cried wolf too many times and now the sheep are beginning not to believe it.
Mary Patrick
Not the Sixties but the Seventies
Ms. Moser,If the early Sixties was the time to be here, why did everybody that you mentioned leave ["General Jackson," Arts, Aug. 11]? My vote is for the early Seventies, when people started staying here. Remember what Sir Doug said, "Fast talking guys with strange red eyes, put things in your head, start your mind to wandering." Franklin says it's a wurlitzer.
Chuck Waldrep
[Margaret Moser responds: I presume you are referring to the Jackson piece and my reference to the California migration.The Sixties was a good time to be in Austin because the cultural and political changes in the nation affected Texas, as they did everywhere else, and no more deeply felt than in the colleges and universities. For example, the 13th Floor Elevators' Tommy Hall sought UT as an institution of higher learning and found in the nascent community components of psychedelic music.
Why then leave for California? I dunno, I wasn't here in Austin in the mid-Sixties. But even in the relative utopia of Austin, Texas overall was still ruled by very conservative values that made the pursuit of personal freedom difficult, especially if you had long hair or espoused nontraditional values. And by all accounts, California was the land of milk and honey for the young. There was a nationwide trek to California then, not only by Texans, but by other disaffected youth. And in the end, California, especially the Bay area, profited handsomely from Texpatriates, who founded the Avalon Ballroom, Rip-Off Press, and played large roles in the emergence of KSAN radio. All of those institutions radically shaped the world we live in, even now.
Does this help?]
More on Oppel Vs. Chomsky
To the Editor:Sincere thanks to The Austin Chronicle and writer Michael King for publishing "Oppel vs. Chomsky" [News, Aug. 11]. It was a breath of fresh air.
As Chomsky states and Oppel denies, many Americans are beginning to realize the imbalanced treatment of Middle East news, which favors Israeli interests and, some of us believe, undermines U.S. long-term interests.
The Statesman is one of the Cox newspaper chain's papers. Oppel has said Cox makes every effort to be objective. But the following was recently posted by journalist Alison Weir (www.ifamericaknew.com):
"John Wheat Gibson, a former journalist who worked as a reporter and journalism instructor for a number of years before finally leaving for a different career, found a similar pro-Israel climate at Cox newspapers, one of the nation's top newspaper chains, with 17 daily newspapers, including the Atlanta Constitution and 30 non-daily papers around the country: 'As a journalist in the 1970s,' Gibson recalls, 'I found that a rigid bias against objective reporting and in favor of Israel was a prerequisite for employment with a daily newspaper in the Cox chain.'"
Gibson is a Texas resident and can confirm this opinion.
Clarence Prince
Openness Gives Her Hope
Dear Editor,Thank you for bravely putting the facts out on the table about the Israeli bias of the Cox enterprise ["Point Austin," News, Aug. 11]. And for showing up the editor of the Statesman for being less than honest. Such openness gives me hope. It was a well-written article. I hope to see more from you. Keep them coming!
Moneta S. Prince
Uninformed or Misinformed?
To the editor,Seeing as how the Middle East crisis is more than 2,000 years old, and that the Jew vs. Arab battle of historical accuracy and religious value of the land is more than 1,500 years old, I find it insufficient that The Austin Chronicle would allow the fight to transpire into its "Postmarks" and "Point Austin" [News, Aug. 11] sections by inferring that this is as black-and-white an issue as a con-lib tax debate, especially in light of the false information coming out of the area. I mean, if it's been proven that Jenin was not a massacre, that photos printed by Reuters out of Beirut have been doctored, and that the Israeli Navy did not shoot a torpedo at a family of picnicking Palestinians, isn't it possible that there wasn't a doctor kidnapped (or abducted) out of the West Bank just before Hezbollah started shooting rockets into Haifa as Mr. Michael King insists to be true?
But without getting pathetically hyperbolic (or, as I would like to coin the term, hyperpathetic), I would like to point out the simple fact that this battle in the Middle East is not so much a question of Palestinian autonomy (which has been offered by Israel and turned down by the Palestinians as late as in the year 2000), but rather over the belief of Israel's right to exist at all. After all, those who are attacking Israel and Israelis – organizations like Hamas, the Party of G-d (Hezbollah) and Islamic Jihad, as well as the ruling governments of Syria and Iran who have brazenly announced their desire to destroy Israel via nuclear war (and, for that matter, Mel Gibson's dad) – happen to insist that all of Israel is occupied Palestine. They also happen to insist that World War II never occurred, that the only reason for a Jewish state in Israel is Western guilt (and not the 3,000 years of archaeological evidence), and that the No. 1 ranked Jewish shrine (the Western Wall) pales in comparison in importance to the No. 3 Islamic shrine (the Dome of the Rock). Knowing all of this, shouldn't the onus be placed on those who have consistently started these attacks rather than those who find themselves defending against these same attacks?
Mark Twain once said: "If you don't read newspapers, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you are misinformed." I wonder what Mr. Twain would have said about glorified gossip rags.
Sincerely,
Asher Garber
PODER Working to Defeat Toll Roads
Dear Editor,Re: "More Toll Road Tremors" [News, Aug. 18]: Mike Heiligenstein, director of CTRMA, used our tax dollars to make dopey commercials (Hey kids! Tolls are great!) to coax and lull people into accepting tolls. Drawbacks, such as rising costs of goods and services caused by tolls, traffic snarls caused by drivers avoiding tolls, or that it's a misdemeanor (with all the costs and penalties that implies) to drive on toll roads without paying are "conveniently ignored" by Heiligenstein.
In 2004 Heiligenstein said it would take a gas-tax increase of $2 to $3 per gallon to avoid toll roads. CAMPO's estimate was that it would take 2 cents per gallon to avoid them. The power and money CTRMA will have in the future hinges on how many toll roads Heiligenstein can sell. Contrast his motives with those of PODER – working to save East Austin's poor and working class from financial hardship.
PODER didn't "conveniently ignore" anything. There is a disproportionate number of freeways being converted to toll roads in east Travis County. TXDOT, CTRMA, and CAMPO are components of a toll-road machine started by Rick Perry. They never even tried to think of other ways to meet our road needs. There are viable alternatives, but this machine is powerful and money-driven. Grassroots toll-opposition groups are not Luddites – we are trying to keep our tax-paid transportation infrastructure from being a revenue source for private interests.
During the meeting, CAMPO's chairman Gonzalo Barrientos bullied PODER's speakers until one man was roundly applauded for saying he wasn't going to take Barrientos' disrespect anymore. Let's see a report on that in the Chronicle.
Fancy Fairchild
Elgin
Women Be Subservient to Men?
Dear Editor,This just in from that zany bunch of Christers who subscribe to the doctrine that women should be subservient to men. According to CNN, the First Baptist Church in Watertown, N.Y., has fired a Sunday-school teacher who had taught there for 54 years. Her offense? She's a woman.
You see, according to 2 Timothy, women cannot instruct men. Never mind that every man alive who is fortunate enough to have had a mother and has learned many valuable lessons from that woman. Never mind that the authorship of 2 Timothy is in dispute within the academic community, or that the content of the Bible was put together by a "committee" of men. Baptists will be literalists, whenever it suits them.
I predict that eventually, Baptists will come out in favor of gun control, when they've shot themselves in the foot enough times.
Ben Hogue
Despair Is the Proper Response?
Dear Louis Black,I recently read your piece Light and Darkness ["Page Two"] in the Aug. 18 edition of the Chronicle. Well spoken! You seem to have captured the spirit of today's political discourse here at home and around the world. Unfortunately this mean, selfish spirit is not confined to our country alone – religious fanatics of all stripes have similar attitudes, and they aggressively impose their self-serving attitudes whenever and wherever they can. Despair is the proper response to this rise of selfish egotism in politics and religion. Perhaps cosmic forces are at work here?
Keep up your insightful articles.
Yours,
Louis Landesman
Open-Minded People Will Find Conspiracies Are Real
Dear Editor,In response to Louis Black's "Page Two," Aug. 18: The Tower of Babel is not a "shrinking violet"; it is par for the course with today. The very foundation for political discourse is warping because the truth is not acceptable. Louis Black should know that massive frauds have been perpetrated on history by hands of the powers that be. Letting it go is to participate in the fraud. Yes, more than our intelligence is what is put into question here: that we have created an enormous machine that is killing its own not to mention hundreds of thousands abroad to satiate its equally enormous appetite.
Conspiracies are real. Truth is findable – let's hope that "smug certainty" doesn't get in the way of one finding it. I don't have enough words to go through these many, many more-than-circumstantial evidences of a cover-up, but think about what happened and realize that this is reality and not TV. You don't need to be a conspiracy archivist to find these telling signs, these smoking guns. What did they stand to gain? Totalitarian reign to do what they've always done best: war for profit.
But you know what? Do the research, and prove it to yourself that your country wouldn't do this to you. Look at both sides like open-minded people do, and prove that your country is free of involvement in the murders of 9/11, and then you can feel right in your acceptance of the status quo. Until you open up to the possibility enough to do a little balanced research, you'll be partially blind to the starkness of reality.
People must feel really confounded right now. I do not take joy in this, but reality must set in sooner or later, and it'd be better done by our own hands and head than by the force of Mother Nature or God.
Drop the pride, and pick up the picket sign. Voting is not enough for a free society.
Daniel Cioper
More Senators Should Be Challenged
Dear Editor,I really liked the basic message of Light and Darkness ["Page Two," Aug. 18], Louis, but the second paragraph was far wide off the mark. First the small stuff. You may not regard Arlen Specter as a moderate, but not a moderate by any stretch of the imagination, c'mon. "[T]ax cuts for the rich" is inflammatory liberal jargon, the exact sort of stuff you are railing against. And why was Specter attacked by his own party while Lieberman was attacked by some in his party?
I don't believe that the problem today is that there are too many extremists. The problem is that too many people today are classifying those with opposing views as extremists. People with extreme views simply widen the debate. People classified as extremists may be dismissed out of hand, their words discredited simply by pointing out who uttered them.
Joe Lieberman has long been in the forefront of those attacking the irresponsible people who criticize the president. He was demonizing you and I and Ned Lamont long before he ever heard of Ned Lamont.
For the record, three senators are getting serious primary challenges this year – [Daniel] Akaka, [Lincoln] Chafee, and Lieberman. Frankly, the United States Senate can use improvement, and I am happy to see mediocre senators such as Akaka (challenged from the right) and Lieberman, both of whom would have easily been re-elected in the general election, have to defend themselves before the voters. I only wish Texas Republicans would consider an alternative to John Cornyn.
Raymond C. Heitmann
Moser's Piece a Fitting Tribute to Jackson
Dear Editor,Your eulogy to Jack Jackson, "General Jackson" [Arts, Aug. 11], written by his close friend Margaret Moser, is a fitting tribute to the late artist and historian. Moreover, it is a generous gesture by your publication to address Michael Ventura's article written several years ago, which jeopardized Jaxon's credibility as the respected artist and historian he had become in Texas. Thank you for stepping up to the plate with Moser's article, which suggests the fallacy of some of the assertions printed earlier, and also to point out the ongoing professional relationship Jaxon shared with your paper. Moser's article helped heal a wound, albeit posthumously, and extended an olive branch to friends and family of the late Jack Jackson. Kudos to you for revisiting this issue through a different lens.
Robyn M. Turner
Ultimate Tragedy of the Same Spirit
Dear Editor,Our unfortunate heirloom is that we do not dive deep enough into the crashing tides of our political concerns. We do not see that we are everywhere else other than here, trying to establish a government for a population that has been wrapped in barbed wire for decades. We are bleeding for their right to protest. We are falling so they can stand up. We are fighting so that they can fight for a government that they deserve, for their people and by their people. We are encouraging a beautiful idea, but we are not encouraging this same idea here in the U.S. Here in America, we contradict the very efforts we hope to establish and emulate for other countries to admire. If we stand up against our political strong arm, we are condemned, discouraged, and for the most part, mocked. Blame Bush? Nice try. How about yourself? We have successfully sold an image and an idea, but clearly we are not the consumer. When the rest of the world burns the patriotic colors, they burn what they see and what we refuse to acknowledge. We are simply too busy. We have become the residual accumulation of inability, unable to convene, converse, and communicate. We are guilty by association.
How can we sell democracy in one country and simultaneously deny it in our own? Where is our revolution? Where are we? Where are you?
If not a partner in societal progress, a giant thorn we become in our own flesh. I have learned that the best representation of the human spirit is the ability to adapt which can also be the worst representation and quite possibly, the ultimate tragedy of this same spirit.
J.B. Milton
Build a Fence Around the Whole Country!
Dear Editor,Between now and November, every member of Congress and a third of the Senate will be face-to-face with voters and will learn firsthand of the anger their constituents feel over the arrogance of Washington to ignore the consequences of massive illegal immigration.
I think the president and his corporate cronies know the tide is against them; they know if they don't pass an amnesty now it could be a while before they have another chance. The business community wants their own amnesty, and now!
So they have come together on the Pence Plan, which may be worse than the Senate bill. It turns immigration policy over to corporations and for three years allows an unlimited number of foreign workers to come into this country and take our jobs – long enough, I suppose, to replace most all of us.
President Bush, Sen. Kennedy, and The Washington Post have made positive comments about the plan. We should contact our representatives again and tell them "No" to Pence – it will destroy America. Demand Washington build a fence and begin prosecuting those who violate our laws, if they want to stay in office.
Gerard Kern
Vance Knows and Tells Us
Dear Editor,Louis Black's "despair" in his Aug. 18 "Page Two" Light and Darkness piece exposes chaotic moral "uncertainty" drenched in nihilism and pretentious indignation.
Notwithstanding Mr. Black's self-righteous negativity and disquiet, in the post-September 11 world rational people must focus on the crucial social priority of perpetuating the U.S. model of cultural freedom. Because we are the last defense from Islamist fascist barbarism, we must unambiguously champion positive American exceptionalism. This is our role as everyday citizens in helping to defeat Islamist fascism. For if we do not proactively defend ourselves and the U.S. is not victorious, humanity will be condemned to genocide, torture, and crushing tyranny.
None of us can remain aloof from these realities – including Mr. Black. We are in World War III. It has been formally declared against America and the free world by al Qaeda, the Iranian Sharia theocracy, and their devoted SS-like automaton forces. Yes, the Nazis have been reincarnated; only this time they are Islamist fascists.
While I am certain Mr. Black intends no harm, his "despair" represents a loser mentality. And worse, his attitudes are representative of the appeasing neo-leftist Michael Moore Democratic Party. Because they lack grounded moral clarity and courage, they are incapable of comprehending the danger humanity faces from Islamist fascism. This allows the Islamists the crucial edge in this great mortal struggle. As a result, the defeatist Democratic Party cannot be allowed to wield political power and control national security. Otherwise, the free world will be in grave existential peril.
So Mr. Black, quit your pompous "uncertainty" and plastic "despair." Reject neo-leftist appeasement. Embrace the noble cause of American victory over Islamist fascism. If not, you become an unwitting useful idiot enabling the genocidal Islamist fascists in their efforts to enslave and tyrannize humanity.
Vance McDonald
[Louis Black responds: What I'm in despair over has nothing to do with neo-leftist appeasement, but rather it has to do with folks like you who are willing to sink the Constitution and destroy what makes this country great in order to "save" it.]Who Was That on TV This Morning?
Dear Editor,Hey, I haven't been paying attention or I've been out of the country or I've just come down from a whirlwind six-year acid trip: Who is the idiot I saw on the TV this morning? They said he was President Bush? How could that monkey be president? And my favorite part was that he answered every question (yeah, even the one about "how was he doing") with "terrorists." Absolutely amazing. How can this guy be president? He talked for at least a half hour and didn't say anything. How much longer folks? How much longer till Rove, Rice, Cheney, and yeah, the Bushster are all gone? A couple of years? I sure hope we're all still here to see it 'cause that bunch of crooks needs to be gone! Man, how the heck did that fast-talking East Texas moron get to be president? I simply can't believe it. And if you want to tell me I should have respect for him – uh, well ... I don't think so. Help us, each and every one.
Art McMillian
Bush Administration Incompetent
Dear Editor,After five years of utterly failed foreign policy, you would think that Bush would start listening to military advice from, um ... perhaps, military experts?
Twenty-two former generals and high-ranking security officials came forward and demanded that Bush immediately reverse his current direction and engage in immediate, unconditional talks with Iran, North Korea, and terrorist groups to negotiate a solution to the crisis that is quickly getting out of hand.
Apparently, after five years, these military experts have seen that terror can't be bombed off the planet and that we can't invade everyone all the time, as much as we'd like to.
However, as Bush only reads Highlights Magazine and Garfield comics, he most likely won't see that article. And no one in his cabinet would bother to tell him, as he might throw a temper tantrum and invade, oh, I don't know ... Paraguay?
For the love of God, someone give Bush a blow job so we can impeach his sorry ass. It's unfortunate that incompetence, lies, criminal activity, and the dismantling of the Constitution just aren't enough.
Mike "Dub" Wainwright
