Ptooey!

These are continuations of the back and forths from August 2005.


September 2005

IN-KIND RESPONSE TO NASTY LETTER

I’ve heard it’s not cool to get good grades in school anymore, but this is the first time I’ve seen an adult try to slam someone for having a decent vocabulary. The three-monkey attack mode of KR is becoming boring.

I quote, "People with money have it for a reason." That’s true. Halliburton has it because of cronyism and awards without bids; Enron had it by stealing from little old ladies, GWB has it despite running companies into the ground because Daddy’s friends the Saudis always saved his potentially bankrupt butt. It is the height of naivete to believe that only ambitious people have money. KR should try reading a book now and then; I suggest "Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Making it in America." It’s in the Gooding Library.

KR claims she is no economist but that doesn’t stop her from making pronouncements in the area. Can she even add? KR states the left wants to give to the poor without accountability, whereas the right likes to help people help themselves. That must be why all programs designed to help people without resources to better themselves have been cut by the GOP. Don’t these poor people believe in Bush’s "pie in the sky?" Well, that’s about what they’ve received in the southern disaster sites for the first five days. It wasn’t enough to keep all of them alive, though.

If she is so concerned about giving money without accountability, why doesn’t she apply the same rule to company welfare or the reconstruction money that has disappeared in Iraq "rebuilding?" I quote Albert Einstein: "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." KR doesn’t.

While I am thrilled that Ms. KR has medical insurance, the number of Americans unable to afford the ever-rising premiums continues to increase. I do hope her benefits include counseling for the time when Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Rove, et al, are charged with war crimes and treason.

Whoever educated KR about her responsibility to take care of herself and her family shouldn’t have stopped there. Manners and empathy would have been positive additions. The next time she submits a letter to the editor, it would be nice if she discussed the specific issue(s) raised instead of calling names. But then, I can’t imagine her actually listening to anybody else.

AN
Gooding, ID


War crimes against Bush? Get real

A couple of friends of mine asked me why I bother to even respond to the far-left nutty propaganda which inundates The Times-News letters section. I mainly do it because some of the people who respond are so eminently tweakable and it's amusing to see the almost palpable hate that is hurled at me via their letters. One can imagine the spittle spilling from the corners of their mouths as they pound on their computer keyboards.

I, perversely, find that highly entertaining. I also love the whining. The hard left is just so darn good at it. I actually feel sort of sorry for my normal and moderate Democrat friends having to watch their party being hijacked by high decibel histrionics.

And now it appears, to my delight, that I have become the nemesis of AN (Sept. 13). Now I'm a New nemesis. Ms. AN's letter is the same rehashed diatribes filled with quotes and half-truths which seem to be the mainstay of this fringe group. (Moveon.org has done one heck of a job at brainwashing.)

Of course, her letter was very personal against me and that means hysteria and, in turn, lack of credibility. But of all the outrageous statements she made, the most glaring was her statement that the president, vice-president and several cabinet members will be charged with war crimes and treason. At that point, I almost felt sorry for Ms. AN but that empathy only kicked in after I picked myself up off the floor after collapsing from paroxysms of laughter.

A clarification, Ms. AN. You had a point about my boorish references to thesauruses. I was crudely referring to someone misusing polysyllabic words making (her) prose unwieldy. It was petty of me, but when in Rome ...And then Ms. AN wants me to discuss issues with her? I'm supposed to seriously discuss the issues with someone who actually believes that the arrest of the president of the United States in imminent? Now how nutty is that?

KATHY ROONEY
Gooding