American Politics Journal

We Get Letters!

NOTE: Looking for the controversial Dowd e-mails? Click here!

From: Ken E.
To: Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Re: Coulter

You are so absolutely right about that psychotic bitch, Ann "I refuse to take my Thorazine!" Coulter. You know, peroxide must do something funny to the brain.

However, do not despair. Here's the deal -- absolutely no one in America even knows who she is!

Not long ago, I decided to do an experiment. I was so freaked out by some crazed rant or other of hers that I went around and asked anybody and everybody who I thought might possibly know of her, what they thought about her. NOT ONE PERSON even knew what I was talking about! NOT ONE! And by the way, these were not a bunch of stupes -- some of these people were political junkies, others were highly intelligent and highly educated, a couple had genius-level IQ's. It made no difference. NOT ONE person knew anything about her.

At first I was stunned speechless, but soon I started to laugh.

In spite of endless, countless appearances on cable "news" shows, chat shows, writing articles, appearing in George magazine, endless outrageous comments, and practically nightly appearances on Rivera Live during "Monicagate", it all added up to a big fat goose egg.

Nobody knows who the hell she is -- or cares!

From: Richard D.
Re: Coulter's attitude
Date: Feb. 12, 2002

Ann Coulter attitude is not out of line for her political beliefs.

Remember, in an earlier War, innocents were murdered at Kent State to quiet the liberal radical antiwar movement. I heard many contend making a killing field at Kent State and Jackson State stopped the campus protests of the Vietnam War. It does not matter if the homicides really ceased campus protests; many conservative believe it did and believe it was a successful tactic to use.

Further, fundamentalist Christians believe they are persecuted and belittled because they believe in Christ. These individuals do not conceive they are being criticized for the inhumane intolerance of their fellow man. Although they can pervert Biblical scripture to make their point, Christ would not recognize them as believers of his philosophy nor be welcome in their midst.

From: Kal Palnicki
Re: Coulter, Walker Lindh and the right wing
Date: Feb. 12, 2002

I went along with Coulter and took it a bit further:

Inasmuch as John Walker is a right-winger, I suggested we take all right wingers, regardless of religious belief, and shoot them all.

This would scare the liberals as nothing else ever could. Now there is a lesson that the liberals would take to heart.

From: Tom R
To: CNN
Re: Hiding Poll Results
Date: Feb. 12, 2002

Why would you take away the results of the recent "Quick Vote" poll which conveyed the public's desire for a Special Prosecutor for the Enron debacle?

I believe it's because you don't want campaign finance reform to become popular, which, if enacted, would severely limit your election ad profits.

The fact that you yanked it so quickly conveys a much more accurate story than the results of the "Quickie".

I call it a "quickie" because it is about as meaningful as that sex act which the word also describes. It's also interesting to note that it's very apparent that you engage these "quickies" in an attempt to sway opinion more than report it. At the end of the day, they are more demeaning to the pollster than those being polled.

The only thing, is, that when your "quickie" didn't get you the results you'd hoped for, you had to "yank" it!

The Internet is a wonderful; thing, though. It's a tremendous source for quality in the news (like the BBC online and many, many others), and guess what? These news sources are catching on LIKE WILDFIRE. You guys are on the brink of losing ALL the marbles due to the obvious lack of journalistic values you've pursued over the past ten years.

We both know that Fox News Channel is the "Shock Jock" of TV. Nobody takes them seriously.

So is Greta's face job more newsworthy than the fact that Bush has forgotten his ol' buddies Kenny Boy and Osama?

Did the CIA have prior knowledge about 911?

Was it just a fluke that CIA's "Buzz" Krongard was the head of the company that profited from the 911 "put" options?

Did George Bush violate SEC laws?

Are either of these stories less newsworthy than Gary Condit's affair?

I don't buy it. And the public doesn't either.

Hey, don't take my word for it, try conducting a real poll (not a "quickie") about the public's faith in American news media.

From: Chris D
To: CNN
Re: Hiding Poll Results
Date: Feb. 11, 2002

Will you please announce the results of your survey: Should a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate Enron?

I know CNN doesn't like the results of the poll, but it would be the honest thing to do. Or did the Hitler Youth folks censoring the news threaten to fire everyone for telling the truth. Hmmm. And we thought institutionalized Nazism died in 1945. Not as long as the Censored News Network is alive and kicking! Guess I'll just have to block CNN on my TV - wouldn't want my children to be exposed to fascist propaganda.

CNN's boilerplate response to Chris:
"Thank you for contacting CNN Interactive with your criticism concerning our Quickvote/poll features.
"Our goal is to present the features on our site in the best format possible. You comments have been forwarded to the producers for there review and consideration. Please continue to send your comments on this and all other areas of our Interactive web site.
"Thanks again for your interest and keep your browser pointed to http://cnn.com.
"Sincerely,
"The CNN.com Community Staff"

Forwarded by Mimi Adams
From: NAME Withheld
Re: Precedence for Impeaching Bush (as well as others in his admin)
Date: Feb. 10, 2002

I was reading some information about impeachment, and in the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton wrote:

The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.

Then here's a gem that sets out a clear precedence that appears will apply to many in the current administration. Scroll down to item 3, "Employing the Power of the Office for an Improper Purpose or Personal Gain". Read this excerpt:

Six impeachments have alleged the use of office for personal gain or the appearance of financial impropriety while in office. Secretary of War William W. Belknap was impeached in 1876 of high crimes and misdemeanors for conduct that probably constituted bribery and certainly involved the use of his office for highly improper purposes- receiving substantial annual payments through an intermediary in return for his appointing a particular post trader at a frontier military post in Indian territory.

...and here's a little more...

In drawing up articles of impeachment, the House has placed little emphasis on criminal conduct. Less than one-third of the eighty-three articles the House has adopted have explicitly charged the violation of a criminal statute or used the word "criminal" or "crime" to describe the conduct alleged.

So the argument that no crime has been committed doesn't mean that G.W. and other top officials are in the clear in regards to Enron. I think worse than the fact that Enron was instrumental in their energy policy and Ken Lay was able to choose appointments is the California energy crisis. It will become clear that Enron gouged California and with the explicit help of the Bush administration. They enabled Enron to screw the people of California, and if that isn't a violation of public trust, then nothing is.

Then when you see other things developing -- the pre-September 11th Afghanistan pipeline discussions between the Bush team and Taliban, the Halliburton scandal -- it all adds up to a pretty good case.

Behind the scenes, despite the spin by Ari, the Bushies are sweating bullets, and for good reason!

From: Elaine Supkis
Re: Rising tide of fascism
Date: Feb. 10, 2002

In 1968 I was sent to Germany to go to school. That spring we had rather fewer classes and I spent a great deal of time running around Europe in Germany and France and Austria and...Czechoslovakia.

The students were full of energy and desire and we laughed and we rioted and we mocked the fascists and the totalitarians, it was a glorious spring and a beautiful summer.

On July 31st, I went to Nüremburg to because we were going to have a celebration of the freedoms the Czechs had just won. That evening I sat on the stone wall high over the city, the walls of the great castle there that was now a youth hostel. With me were three Czech medical students, two young men and a young woman. We split a bottle of wine and we laughed as we talked excitedly about my impending visit to East Germany that was finally arranged. I was going to go through Prague to Leipzig. A huge black cloud rapidly approached and the hot still air became charged with energy, rumbles of thunder. We saluted the storm and ran inside. Lightning and howling rain plummelled the citadel, the thunder was nearly continuous.

I grew pessimistic. Told everyone that this was a bad omen. They laughed. Life was such a joy.

I never made it. The border guards would not let me pass. They let the students back into Czechoslovakia but I was turned away. I told them I would cross illegally through Austria but was arrested and quickly deported.
The Russians invaded.

My father was in the OSS and the CIA. I suspect the State Department wanted to get me out of there but watching the students die on the BBC was very upsetting. I wonder if my new friends survived.
I remember tanks in the streets in Europe. I remember the reactionaries crushing the student rebellions.
What is different now? I see no hope. No sense of life is a joy. None of the happiness, the love, the sex even, that permeated the summer of '68. We were singing and dancing and laughing.

My son and daughter are at two universities. Everyone is grim. Scared. More like Russia in '68. A feeling of doom. I wish it were different but alas, we are not the energetic open people we pretend in the news. We are scared and lonely and coldly self serving. Like Russia in '68.