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Re: Re: Bob Graham was right, April 11.
Martin Dyckman is dead wrong in his April 11 column, just as Bob Graham was dead wrong.
He asserts that the Iraq situation is a scandal of immense proportions for which President Bush deserves impeachment. That may be the opinion of certain persons whose reason is clouded by their intense hatred of this president, but it is not grounded in fact.
The media frenzy that has erupted in recent weeks is an effort to convince some people that President Bush was incompetent and could have done something to prevent the terrorist attacks. This has been aided and abetted by a news media generally committed to seeing President Bush defeated in the November election. It may sell some books for Richard Clarke and increase the TV news channel ratings, but it is simply not believable.
The 9/11 commission hearings have degenerated into little more than a political platform for the committee members, a result that could be foreseen from the beginning. It is astounding to any reasonable person to listen to the assertions being made that the present administration was negligent in combating the terrorists in the eight months before 9/11 and that Bill Clinton's administration made it the top priority in the preceding eight years!
I strongly resent Dyckman's insinuation that President Bush may have lied about intelligence to justify the Iraqi war. The intelligence may have been incomplete but it was convincing enough to all those who reviewed it, including all the Democratic members of Congress who voted for the war resolution. Some of the rhetoric from Democrats, such as Ted Kennedy, is certainly giving aid and comfort to the enemy and borders on treason, in my opinion. Dyckman's column falls in this same category. His assertion that the administration's record in Iraq is one of gross incompetence is not shared by the majority of Americans. Real progress is being made there but we're mostly getting the bad news because that is what sells papers and increases TV ratings.
In spite of all the hand-wringing and finger-pointing and second-guessing going on about Iraq, it is this writer's opinion that President Bush has done an outstanding job of leading this nation through a very difficult time and will continue to do so for another four years. He has not forfeited the nation's confidence but is rightly seen by most of us as a man of courage, principle and integrity - traits that are sadly lacking in the senators from Massachusetts.
Re: Bob Graham was right.
I've stopped going to comedy clubs and likewise quit spending my hard-earned money on comedy CDs. Now, I'm simply reading associate editor Martin Dyckman's commentaries in the Times and getting all the laughter I can stand.
Last Sunday's column was surely an example of Dyckman's sense of (unintended?) humor: In paragraph two he soberly observes that "impeachment [of President Bush] is not a realistic prospect in a Congress controlled by intense loyalists of the president's party."
No kidding!
Sen. Bob Graham should know. After all, Senate Democrats voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on a straight party-line vote in 1999 despite very convincing evidence of Clinton's perjury in grand jury testimony, and a continual pattern of lies and half-truths while serving in the White House.
The above-referenced commentary doesn't indict Bush nearly so much as it does Graham. But Dyckman either doesn't see it or chooses to ignore it.
Re: Bob Graham was right.
Martin Dyckman's column in last Sunday's newspaper is one of his best. He seems to have hit the nail right on the head.
His description of the administration's record on Iraq as one of gross incompetence is accurate and justified. In fact, I would dare say that the Bush administration's leadership of our country in all areas would fit that bill.
George W. Bush is definitely not anywhere close to being one of our better presidents. Even though he likes to emulate former President Ronald Reagan, he will never ever come close to the leadership of the great communicator.
Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney remind me of Charley McCarthy and Edgar Bergen.
Re: Unproven missiles stir fears of renewed arms race, April 11.
David Ballingrud writes about a "renewed arms race" as if that's necessarily a bad thing.
Frankly, I would much rather have our national nuclear strategy based on shooting something heading toward us out of the sky - as opposed to a national strategy that really boils down to one thing: taking a hit, and blowing the bejeebers out of each other.
Expensive? Yep.
Will it work? No guarantee. But it's worth trying.
Re: Campaign reform as gag rule, April 11.
I take issue with Robyn Blumner's column belittling the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law. It may not have accomplished its goal completely, but it was a step in the right direction. The concept of using money as free speech may be legal according to Supreme Court rulings, but it certainly has left the effect of disenfranchising the great majority of us low- and middle-income citizens.
I personally cannot afford to support all the candidates, issue advocacy groups and other worthy causes I wish to in a meaningful (money) way, so my only recourse is to write letters, make phone calls and sign petitions regarding the issues I care about.
In a perfect world, every candidate, advocacy group, citizen initiative, etc., would be given an equal amount of media time/space regardless of their funding ability. But alas, this is not the case in our present day "money equals free speech" atmosphere. Hopefully in the future this mind-set will change for the better and we will see fit to have government funds underwrite the cost of these campaigns.
I am truly amazed by the story about PCL Civil Construction company. The company has been linked to four foulups, which have newly built bridges with cracking columns, bridges falling down, and now bridges swaying in a 50 mph breeze, with boat traffic stopped as a cautionary measure.
The state of Florida is considering not letting the company bid on future construction projects. Give me a break. Even in Canada: "Three strikes and you are out."
Some 3,000 years ago, Romans cut and stacked some stones and then dropped in the keystone to hold up their bridges. Some of those bridges are still standing today!
This Canadian outfit, PCL Civil Constructors, can't seem to put something up that will stay up long enough for the "Grand Opening."
I think it's time to find some company that knows what it's doing rather than the current "trial and error" school of engineering.
Re: A church grows in San Angelo, April 11.
What a wonderful story this was by Bill Maxwell - and appropriate for Easter Sunday. Sure, these determined, unselfish Greek Orthodox women had an amazing dedicated leader in the Rev. Elias Greer, but the church could not have been built without the women. I almost missed the great picture of the church on the front page of Perspective. We hope Mr. Maxwell will write a followup.
And Margo Hammond deserves praise for her timely review of the "God hunger" books - especially for her appraisal of Karen Armstrong's religious views in The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness. It was particularly revealing.
Re: Sunshine on my shoulders.
In a world that today seems steeped in global conflict and suffering, I thank you for the joyous pleasure of reading Michael Kelly's April 11 article.
As a writer myself, I am in awe of his ability to use simple words so powerfully and make powerful statements so simply. The monologue his 4-year-old son provided became a dialogue in print: a young child's curiosity, fear and awe captured and answered by a father's skill, and mind, and heart.
Michael Kelly made the world a better place for his having been on it. I grieve his loss in Iraq, and I will not forget his words. He left a legacy of love for all of us.