Who's On God's Side?
Re: With God On Our Side? by Paul Waldman
Bravo! Finally, somebody says it! I've decided that I won't continue to show up for a fist-fight with conservatives, only to find that they've brought knives. Or guns. I'm going to turn their vicious bullshit around on them and call it like it is: Republicans hate America. I wear a shirt that says that and I truly enjoy the looks I get (no one yet has made vocal comment).
John Hall
Current estimates are that there are approximately 25 million fundamentalist Christians in the United States. They do not represent a majority, but their leaders get all the press. Our time of political and economic unrest, the rise of international terrorism, global recession and fear, have many seeking simple answers and literal interpretations of scripture that promote nationalism and a world view that demonizes all others who perceive the situation differently.
Pat Robertson, Jerry Fawell, Hal Lindsay and other Christian bullies worship a punitive God who demands obedience at all costs and seeks to build empire. These fundamentalists demonize women, gays, science and deep thought. All faiths contend with fundamentalism, and there is a battle raging within Christianity under the radar screen of the media.
It is up to moderates and progressives within each path to confront and reject the hijacking and misuse of their religion by those seeking political gain, power and control. Sojourners is a rapidly growing grassroots community of peace and justice Christians who contend that war and poverty are the moral issues of our day, not monogamous gay couples and stem cell research! When the media wakes up and covers the other side of Christianity, the times will change for the better.
Eileen Fleming
Spoiling The United Nations
Re: U.N. Reform: Bolton The Spoiler by Fatema Abdul Rasul and Scott Paul
I was shocked and very upset when I read your by article Fatema Abdul Rasul and Scott Paul. While I do feel that Bolton is totally unqualified to be our U.N. pepresentative, I am appalled you would endorse any of the proposals of Bush and his gang in Washington. Every single so-called reform that was proposed by the U.S. was designed to exploit all those Third World countries and their resources. I generally enjoy what I read from Tom Paine, but I am still sitting here with my mouth open in shock at the notion that you not only believe that Bush and his filthy rich cronies have the good of the nations of the world at heart, but that those same nations who stand up for their sovereign rights are in the wrong. Hopefully this article is just an aberration or one-time lapse of good judgment, or I may have to reevaluate my need to read and support Tom Paine.
Sheila Malone
[From the editor: In Bolton The Spoiler, the authors referred to a set of proposals put forth by the State Department that more closely reflected the Scowcroft-Annan proposals for U.N. reform. When Bolton arrived, his first act as ambassador was to gut these proposals and re-open settled issues for last-minute negotiations. While the State Department's original proposals were not ideal, we feel they did represent improvement for the U.N. One case in point was the "right to protect," a major reform that did get agreed to at the Summit, which is an historic victory of human rights over sovereignty, a story we presented the same day.]
Bolton's performance at the United Nations was exactly what the administration wanted. He was hired as a spoiler, not a troubleshooter. Bush's hands reman publically clean. We have the government we deserve.
Joseph Stans
Emotion-Free TV?
Re: Must-Cry TV by Richard Bradley
This is one time the author got it all wrong. I've listened to Anderson and I find it gratifying that an "objective" reporter has a "human" side. When we become so demonstratively "objective" that we're not touched by the humanaity of the reporter, we've lost a lot.
Thurston Doler
I couldn't agree with Richard Bradley's comments more. Media coverage was less than objective—and in some cases helped contribute to some of the hysteria that we were witnessing on TV.
At one point Geraldo Rivera interviewed and agreed with a New Orleans Police Superintendent who was ranting and raving about problems at the convention center. He was virtually out of control and it occurred to me that if he and his men were actually doing their jobs, the situation at hand might not have been as bad.
While I realize that there was a great deal of frustration but when local leadership doesn't exhibit some degree of control or professionalism, how can we expect others to take directions?
Jay Rettaliata
Would you prefer the bland non-questioning approach of the media which supported the administration's lies which led us into a preemptive war in Iraq with no exit strategy in sight? I saw Anderson Cooper interview Sen. Landrieu and couldn't believe my eyes and ears, but I applauded him. After the Cooper interview, I started seeing other reporters get away from the media pap approach and start to question why this was happening in New Orleans. Yes, I prefer some good old investigative approach, but it has been more than five years since we have seen the media do much of anything but report the Rove/Cheney/Bush/PNAC propaganda and spin, and look at where this administration has taken us with the facilitation of a muted press.
No thanks. I still applaud Anderson Cooper and hope the awakening of the media to report news not spin will not slumber after the images of the victims in New Orleans fade from memory—that is, if they ever do.
Nancy Reynolds
I suppose, in general, I would agree with you. Or perhaps, more accurately, I once would have agreed with you.
In part, this is because I am sick to death of the so-called "neutral," "objective," "he said-she said," stenographic reporting that passes for journalism today. Public officials are virtually never never questioned, challenged, or held accountable.
It's also because emotion seems to be the only thing that gets through to the sizable portion of our populace that appears to be smug, self-satisfied and unconscious. Little question that the use of emotion contributes to the clout of the Hannitys, Limbaughs, O'Reillys, and Scarboroughs on the right. The problem is that progressives, who tend to be more cautious and rational don't make a dent on the consciousness of many viewers.
So...while in an ideal world, I would tend to agree with you, this isn't an ideal world. Progressives need to penetrate the spin and officials need to be held accountable. If this involves getting confrontational or emotional on occasion, I'm not terribly offended.
Lynne Rustad
Mr. Bradley's "Must Cry TV" article was right on the mark. What's the matter with some people in the media, can't they just report the news, or the issue, or the tragedy without emoting for the cameras? Good grief!
Barbara Coulson
Reading all the latest publicity on Anderson Cooper, one would get the impression that the poor guy is in tears 24/7. As someone who has watched his incredible coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster from the beginning, I can report that he has gotten mildly choked up exactly one time. One time! And so what? These reporters are witnessing and experiencing things that those of us not in the Gulf can only imagine. A little humanity is bound to seep in. Even the late, great Peter Jennings came close to losing it on 9/11. No, we don't want our journalists morphing into Oprah, but a little spurt of righteous anger here and a touch of compassion there isn't going to destroy the profession. That was already done years ago.
Stacy Adams
Here Comes The Sun?
Re: Sun Rising Over New Orleans by John Wasik
While I am in complete agreement that the rebuilding of New Orleans offers a great opportunity to build an energy efficient community, I hold no illusions that it will happen. The federal and state incentive to install solar systems, passive or active, are woefully inadequate, especially concerning photovoltaic systems.
The cost of solar generated electricity is beyond any hope of recapture via savings on the cost of conventional electricity. I recently priced out a system for my own home, average in size and consumption. For a "grid tie" system that covers my home's needs, the cost of the photovolatic (solar electric) panels came to more than $136,000. That's for the panels alone, it does not include the control system, wiring, batteries or installation costs.
With my electric bill averaging about $100 per month . . . well, do the math. For a wealthy person with an environmental conscience, that may not be a hindrance. For a person of average means, even one with a green soul, the cost of panels must come way, way down, or purchase and tax incentives must go way up.
Joseph Acquisto
There is a lot of merit in this article. But it is absurd to state that we must rebuild New Orleans "to ensure that the insecurity and injustice uncovered by Katrina do not return" without including rebuilding so that the nation's number-one per capita homicide rate does not return. Is that not also a social concern? Or does Mr. Wasik believe that the New Orleans homicide/drug/rape rate is generated by the people who live in the Garden District? He implies that if we just give people new/free housing, all those problems of poverty will go away. It's a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid.
Don Broussard
Politics And Promises
Re: The Bush Paradox by Robert Reich
"Politics First- Competence Last"—What a good sound bite to use and enhance in the elections to come!
Ruth Knoblauch
Could this be the same Mr. Reich who worked for years in the Clinton administration? It seems he is projecting based on his experiences there. How many terrorist attacks did we endure from 1993 to 2001? What was the response besides a few cruise missiles in the dead of night? Name a hurricane disaster on the scale of Katrina that was responded to quicker in the history of the United States. Do the Democratic mayor and governer bear less responsibility before a predicted hurricane than the president? Governer Bush dealt with four hurricanes in two months effectively last year. Should President Bush then get credited with that? Mr. Reich is an embarrasment in that he thinks people are too dumb to remember the recent past.
Eric Jennings
I couldn't agree more with Robert Reich. He nailed it right on the head. When will there be a call for a full invesitgation on the cronies, and when will the Impeachment Special Investigations begin? Never in my 66 years, have I ever been so frightened for my life, health, family and grandchildren, as I watch this goverment allowed such incompetence. If the rest of America fails to defeat all of these guys in Congress, and the Senate and especially the presidency, then, unfortunately, we deserve to suffer and be punished for allowing cheap political machines steal our votes. When Bush won by the Supreme Court vote and not the popular vote, I knew then, we had engaged on hell on earth.
Judith Dodd
Not About The Money
Re: America's Third World by Frida Berrigan
You ask: Where is the money to come from? That is not the question. What are we to give up that requires available labor and resources in order to recover from the damage? We will recover, whether we mortgage the future production of resources and available labor, or pay for it by doing without some of the things we now take for granted. Money is only a medium of exchange that motivates commerce and oils the exchange of labor for goods and services. Money does not exist as a supply of labor and resources. Money exists in order to attract labor and resources to produce products needed or desired. When we determine which are required, which are needed but could be forgone, which are not needed and should be forgone, and what are not needed at all, we will find the labor and resources to repair the damage by assigning priorities.
Frank Goodman
