It's a busy AM, thus the LTE's are a bit later than normal. Have at 'em.
Not surprised
Somebody has to say it.
I'm not surprised at all by Rupert Murdoch's troubles — that people who worked for him are being accused of and are likely guilty of phone-hacking and bribing police officers and other officials. I won't be surprised if the trail of crime leads directly to the top, Murdoch himself. Anyone who insists that his propaganda TV network use the slogan "fair and balanced" while it spends so much time and money distorting the facts isn't really interested in fairness or balance; he's interested in ratings and money.
I know that Fox News has a lot of people in this country brainwashed. It feeds their prejudices and tells them what they want to hear. It makes them believe that their bigotry has some kind of merit. I hope these followers will be brave enough to follow the coverage of Murdoch's employees' violations on some channel besides Fox, which has already started to paper it over. Maybe they'll learn something about what "fair and balanced" really means.
JOSEPH HAILEY
Winston-Salem
Immigration proposals
The writer of the July 17 letter "In such trouble" refers to what Sen. "Cotton Ed" Smith proposed about immigration, which was to "shut the door." He goes on to recommend the "punitive measures" (his words) that other states are now using.
Most of your readers are probably unfamiliar with "Cotton Ed" Smith. For the uninitiated, some excerpts from a Time magazine profile (from Aug. 7, 1944), should be illuminating:
"He never tried to overcome his horror at the thought of a Negro voting. He had two ideas: 1) keep Negroes down, 2) the price of cotton up. On this platform Cotton Ed was kept in office as a U.S. Senator for six terms, long enough to become the dean of the Senate.
"He walked out of the 1936 Democratic Convention in high dudgeon because a Negro preacher read a prayer. He was a drag-end isolationist. He was a believer in poll taxes; he was never heard to protest a Southern lynching; and he stood prepared to filibuster to the end against an anti-lynching bill."
I really don't think I care what "Cotton Ed" Smith has to say about immigration, nor do I care what the letter writer has to say about immigration.
WESLEY HINES
Winston-Salem
Embarrassing actions
Are our U.S. senators and representatives not embarrassed by their actions concerning the debt ceiling and deficit reduction? The simple fact is that many economists who comprehend the seriousness of the economic consequences better than our elected officials indicated that we could plunge our frail economy into a much worse situation than we are already enduring by not raising the debt ceiling. This situation needed to be resolved months ago instead of waiting until the last minute, creating the economic uncertainty we are experiencing now.
All budgetary matters begin with Congress, which would include raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Where is the leadership? When did ideology become more important than what is best for the citizens of the Unites States?
McConnell, R-Ky., just wants to avoid his budgetary responsibility as an elected official by suggesting giving the power to raise the debt ceiling to President Obama. He, like every senator and representative, should vote whether to raise the debt ceiling and let the chips of blame fall where they may for the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Politicians getting elected again is not as important as their constituents.
PATRICK MILLER
Deep Gap
Somebody has to say it.
I'm not surprised at all by Rupert Murdoch's troubles — that people who worked for him are being accused of and are likely guilty of phone-hacking and bribing police officers and other officials. I won't be surprised if the trail of crime leads directly to the top, Murdoch himself. Anyone who insists that his propaganda TV network use the slogan "fair and balanced" while it spends so much time and money distorting the facts isn't really interested in fairness or balance; he's interested in ratings and money.
I know that Fox News has a lot of people in this country brainwashed. It feeds their prejudices and tells them what they want to hear. It makes them believe that their bigotry has some kind of merit. I hope these followers will be brave enough to follow the coverage of Murdoch's employees' violations on some channel besides Fox, which has already started to paper it over. Maybe they'll learn something about what "fair and balanced" really means.
JOSEPH HAILEY
Winston-Salem
Immigration proposals
The writer of the July 17 letter "In such trouble" refers to what Sen. "Cotton Ed" Smith proposed about immigration, which was to "shut the door." He goes on to recommend the "punitive measures" (his words) that other states are now using.
Most of your readers are probably unfamiliar with "Cotton Ed" Smith. For the uninitiated, some excerpts from a Time magazine profile (from Aug. 7, 1944), should be illuminating:
"He never tried to overcome his horror at the thought of a Negro voting. He had two ideas: 1) keep Negroes down, 2) the price of cotton up. On this platform Cotton Ed was kept in office as a U.S. Senator for six terms, long enough to become the dean of the Senate.
"He walked out of the 1936 Democratic Convention in high dudgeon because a Negro preacher read a prayer. He was a drag-end isolationist. He was a believer in poll taxes; he was never heard to protest a Southern lynching; and he stood prepared to filibuster to the end against an anti-lynching bill."
I really don't think I care what "Cotton Ed" Smith has to say about immigration, nor do I care what the letter writer has to say about immigration.
WESLEY HINES
Winston-Salem
Embarrassing actions
Are our U.S. senators and representatives not embarrassed by their actions concerning the debt ceiling and deficit reduction? The simple fact is that many economists who comprehend the seriousness of the economic consequences better than our elected officials indicated that we could plunge our frail economy into a much worse situation than we are already enduring by not raising the debt ceiling. This situation needed to be resolved months ago instead of waiting until the last minute, creating the economic uncertainty we are experiencing now.
All budgetary matters begin with Congress, which would include raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Where is the leadership? When did ideology become more important than what is best for the citizens of the Unites States?
McConnell, R-Ky., just wants to avoid his budgetary responsibility as an elected official by suggesting giving the power to raise the debt ceiling to President Obama. He, like every senator and representative, should vote whether to raise the debt ceiling and let the chips of blame fall where they may for the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Politicians getting elected again is not as important as their constituents.
PATRICK MILLER
Deep Gap
LTE1: So, FNC is a threat to the nation and all of Creation? A bit hyperbolic, I should think. Movies and other TV have rotted far more minds than Fox could have in the LTE writer's most fevered imaginings. Ditto to Deb's closing sentence in her post, " . . . and may the truth prevail." Yes, the whole truth.
ReplyDeleteLTE2: I recall hearing a song called "Cotton-Eyed Joe." Any kin to Cotton Ed Smith? I'd say citing Smith re immigration is as valid as citing David Duke re integration. Not very persuasive.
LTE3: Yes, this debt/deficit "debate" is indeed embarrassing. Poster O. T. Rush elsewhere has commented that other countries must wonder at our out-of-control government. I agree. It would be more useful if the legislators on both sides would take to jalopies and go play "Chicken" on a deserted stretch of road. Instead they are taking unwilling passengers on a ride that could be more perilous. While both sides are culpable, the Republicans appear to be the most intransigent and immovable. Politics is the art of the possible, it is said, and the possible requires compromise, a la the Gang of 6 plan. OTOH, McConnell's proposal is a copout and a half, IMO.
The reference to "Deb's closing sentence" is to Deb Phillips' comment in today's Readers Forum, and is a result of hasty copying and pasting.
ReplyDeleteThe author sort of gave himself away when he cited Cotton Ed as one of his role models.
ReplyDeleteAn amusing article about Cotton Ed from Time Magazine, 1944.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886159,00.html
Interesting and amusing the article is, a good read.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of good reads, Leonard Pitts' column on today' print edition editorial page is a good read, as his columns frequently are. As can be imagined, I don't always agree with the gent, but enjoy his commentary regardless.
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Murdoch's troubles don't surprise me either. It also wouldn't surprise me to see other tabloids come under fire for similar behavior. After seeing news channels devolve into tabloids that treat facts as opinions and opinions as facts, i've refrained from watching them.
LTE 2: I looked up the referenced LTE and one sentence stood out: "Others, like me, seek to preserve America as our Founders intended it to be." Of course during the times of the founders, it was a society by and for white males only. I'm in agreement with Mr. Hines about the validity of any immigration comments by "Cotton Ed" or the referenced LTE writer.
LTe 3: It's beyond embarrassing what's going on in DC. Not sure of the mechanisms for pulling it off, but I'd really like to see a recall election of every member of Congress. There is no excuse for them not to increase the ceiling so that obligations that have already been budgeted for and count as spent can be paid. This is as fundamental an issue as you can get, and for Congress to put the economy on the brink of disaster to score political points tells me none of them deserves to be up there.
I've always been a big fan of Leonard Pitts.
ReplyDeleteHi dotnet!
ReplyDeleteRe your 1:27pm: I wish I'd said that.
Roblo58 posted the following comment onto an older thread at 1:24pm. I am pasting it so it can be part of this current thread:
ReplyDeleteOn the debt ceiling, imo it should be raised enough to cover things thru the end of year, and spend the time till then working out a workable deal. We must reduce and control spending. Govt spending is out of control. When Clinton was prez the national debt increased by $547 Million per day, under Bush the national debt increased by $1.6 Billion per day, under Obama so far the national debt has increased by a whopping $4.1 Billion per day. When Obama took office the national debt was $10.5 Trillion, presently it is $14.3 Trillion an increase of almost $4 Trillion in 2.5 years and he is wanting the debt limit increased $2+ Trillion to cover the next 16 months. That will bring the national debt to over $16 Trillion dollars, an increase of some $6 Trillion dollars during his 4 years in office. The previous $6 Trillion dollar increase in the national debt took some 19 years! The national debt at EOY 2008 was $10 Trillion and it was $4 Trillion in 1992! Obama and the democrats will have done in 4 years what previously took 19 years!
Rob, your first sentence is a pragmatic response, and may well resemble what is done. It might be just as well to "kick the can down the road," to use an overused cliche', closer to elections, the proximity to which might encourage intransigent legislators to come to some more permanent resolution. This has gone on for quite a while, through one election, to be sure, but the electorate is more aware of the pushing and shoving, and is, I believe, losing patience.
ReplyDeletestab, thanks for posting to the correct day!
ReplyDelete