...more recent posts
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2001
September 25, 2001
Sparring
I've been having a running debate with a buddy in Spokane. (There, I got the OneLap travel theme into a piece.) He's Jewish, I'm a recovering Catholic. He's a Bostonian, I'm ex-Texan. We both claim to be independent, but I lean more to the left than him, and I have much more of a "Question Authority" bent. We bring different perspectives to the table, and hash out our thoughts. This friendly sparring helps bring some clarity to my thoughts about recent events. I highly recommend the exercise.
Here's a recent email I sent to him ...
In response to my criticism of Bush, you asked me if Gore could do a better job. Here's a better question, how did we get to a point where the choice is two guys like Dubya and Gore? To deal with the problems of the new world order part II, I'd take Dole or McCain in a heartbeat over any of the presidents of the last 40 years. Those two men have intelligence, integrity, the ability to communicate, and have conquered personal hardships few could imagine, a rare combination in recent presidencies.
-Mark
September 25, 2001
Letter to Feinstein
In the tradition of Lazlo Toth, I like to send letters to public officials from time to time. I realize that the addressed official never sees my letter, and even the staff member may never get past the subject line before sending a form letter reply. But it can be cathartic.
Here's a letter I just emailed to Senator Feinstein ...
Hi Diane,
These are tough times, so hang in there. I have a favor to ask. Can you use your influence to get Bush to tone down the "With God on Our Side" rhetoric?
First he calls for a "crusade against terrorism." I fear that the dear man must have slept right through that chapter of world history if he thought "crusade" was the right word.
By the time of his address to the joint session, he had dropped the offending word, but still had to embellish his speech with references to God and Allah. Oh, that's good, let's have the erudite Mr. Bush lecture the world on Islam. Then, to top it all, the administration picked the phrase "Infinite Justice". Very smooth, indeed. Can we just leave God and religion out of this issue? Trying to work God into the cause plays _directly_ into the hand of the ememy.
Do you have a PR person you could loan to the administration for the duration? Perhaps you have a secular humanist, Buddhist or Muslim on your PR staff who could help the administration produce prose that doesn't harm America's cause.
thank you,
-Mark