Winning the war
I don't know if is the congressional vote on the Iraq spending bill, the impending presidential veto, the Democratic debate or the phases of the moon, but I received three e-mails this morning, all with similar sentiments, all submitting that the newspaper is purposely keeping people in the dark:
One: You print "SENATE PASSES IRAQ WITHDRAWAL BILL"....should have read "DEMOCRATS VOTE
AGAINST TROOPS IN IRAQ" (hoping that we are defeated and they could possibly gain the White House in 2008, if we have enough uninformed people go to the polls).
Two: A copy of Lt. Col. Joe Repya's 2005 "I'm Tired" letter expressing disappointment with the lack of public support for the war.
Three: A question why we don't run more photos of demonstrations in Europe calling for violence against all who don't support Islam. (Photos attached.) The writer of the original e-mail -- forwarded to me by a local reader -- suggested that Americans are in the dark about the threat to our freedoms. The local reader added: I think it would be nice for the American people, not only Greensboro, to frequently see these types of photos to remind them of what really goes on in the world and how it can happen here just as easily. But, since it might give the president a positive showing in the war on terror, I would not expect to see that in your publication.
These aren't official letters to the editor for publication, but personal e-mails. Three objecting to our coverage of the war wasn't unusual during the 2006 election season, but I haven't gotten three a month this year. It may only be a coincidence and not a trend, but it is curious. And I believe the people who read the newspaper are smarter than that.
Comments (2)
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To paraphrase Mark Twain, readers are entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. The bill contains enough in appropriations to support the troops quite adequately through the fiscal year. What it doesn't do is appropriate money to give the president an open-ended license to keep troops in Iraq when a large majority of Americans want them out within a year. If the writer wants to frame that as saying a large majority of Americans are betraying the troops, that's the opinion to which the writer is entitled.
Posted on April 29, 2007 9:57 AM
Repya's letter includes the claim that antiwar protesters show up at funerals of the troops who died in Iraq. Um--the only protesters at troops funerals that I know of are members of Fred Phelps' congregation--and they're anti-homosexual activists, not anti-war. And they've been condemned by everybody.
What is Repya talking about?
Posted on April 30, 2007 6:58 AM