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Vic-tor-eeeeee!!!!
Oct. 21st, 2004 01:39 pm( Tunnels are no match for the awesome power of my process of elimination )
In other news, William Safire is a BASTARD BASTARD BASTARD. Yesterday, his column in The New York Times pissed me off enough to make me write them a letter for the first time ever. Most of the time, I read the first paragraph of his column then skim the rest for outrageable things, then move on to better ones. This time, however, he went too far. He not only lambasted Kerry for launching a campaign of fear to win the Presidential election (thus proving that Safire, like Dick Cheney, was clearly in some sort of bunker ever since 9/11 and missed the color-coded alert system courtesy of Ashcroft and the Bushies), but he tacked on to his article a mention of how terror is leading to the erosion of liberties, heavily implying, though not out-right saying it, that Kerry and his cronies are to blame. The case he cited was this poor Times reporter who's been sent to jail in contempt for refusing to name her sources (a fact made worse for the fact she never wrote the article that generated the witch-hunt for a leak in the government).
I was flabbergasted. Safire loathes the DA in Chicago or wherever for doing this, says he, too, will uphold his journalistic integrity and never reveal a confidential source if asked, forgetting that his, being an opinion column, counts far less than the average writer's does. He equates his own journalism to this case and brings it back around again to the terror thing, saying that if there wasn't this paranoia running rampant in the country, honest journalists wouldn't have to worry. Oh, and, duh, like the average Times reader isn't going to make the parallel he draws? He only EVER mentions John Kerry as the wager of a campaign of terror, a 'fearmonger.' So, naturally, who is to blame for paranoia ruining journalistic freedom? John Kerry, of course, because clearly a senator in the minority party has complete control over First Ammendment rights, whereas the poor President and his fucking cronies have no say whatsoever and never, ever scare people into voting for them?
When it comes down to it, which is worse? Being scared into believing that Social Security might vanish (which isn't a possibility, it's an eventuality with the current system) or being told that terrorists are planning to strike America somewhere, sometime, for some reason and to fear and report anyone who has a vaguely Arab look to him or her? Which is worse? Telling people that Bush is going to re-instate the draft (which he's partially done already--believe the hype, people, a 'back-door draft' is very much in effect, so the line from that to a draft is blurred and poked full of holes) or telling people that if you don't vote a certain way you are going to be blown up?
I'll let people know if I hear back from the Times about the letter. I'd love to tear Safire a new one. I ought to just e-mail him directly. Kill kill kill...
In other news, William Safire is a BASTARD BASTARD BASTARD. Yesterday, his column in The New York Times pissed me off enough to make me write them a letter for the first time ever. Most of the time, I read the first paragraph of his column then skim the rest for outrageable things, then move on to better ones. This time, however, he went too far. He not only lambasted Kerry for launching a campaign of fear to win the Presidential election (thus proving that Safire, like Dick Cheney, was clearly in some sort of bunker ever since 9/11 and missed the color-coded alert system courtesy of Ashcroft and the Bushies), but he tacked on to his article a mention of how terror is leading to the erosion of liberties, heavily implying, though not out-right saying it, that Kerry and his cronies are to blame. The case he cited was this poor Times reporter who's been sent to jail in contempt for refusing to name her sources (a fact made worse for the fact she never wrote the article that generated the witch-hunt for a leak in the government).
I was flabbergasted. Safire loathes the DA in Chicago or wherever for doing this, says he, too, will uphold his journalistic integrity and never reveal a confidential source if asked, forgetting that his, being an opinion column, counts far less than the average writer's does. He equates his own journalism to this case and brings it back around again to the terror thing, saying that if there wasn't this paranoia running rampant in the country, honest journalists wouldn't have to worry. Oh, and, duh, like the average Times reader isn't going to make the parallel he draws? He only EVER mentions John Kerry as the wager of a campaign of terror, a 'fearmonger.' So, naturally, who is to blame for paranoia ruining journalistic freedom? John Kerry, of course, because clearly a senator in the minority party has complete control over First Ammendment rights, whereas the poor President and his fucking cronies have no say whatsoever and never, ever scare people into voting for them?
When it comes down to it, which is worse? Being scared into believing that Social Security might vanish (which isn't a possibility, it's an eventuality with the current system) or being told that terrorists are planning to strike America somewhere, sometime, for some reason and to fear and report anyone who has a vaguely Arab look to him or her? Which is worse? Telling people that Bush is going to re-instate the draft (which he's partially done already--believe the hype, people, a 'back-door draft' is very much in effect, so the line from that to a draft is blurred and poked full of holes) or telling people that if you don't vote a certain way you are going to be blown up?
I'll let people know if I hear back from the Times about the letter. I'd love to tear Safire a new one. I ought to just e-mail him directly. Kill kill kill...
