My letter to the editor of the Oregonian

[gratuitous]

You can read today's editorial here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1119607129304840.xml&coll=7

And my letter to the Oregonian is:

To the Editor:

It was nice to see that the Oregonian has finally cottoned on to some of the tactics of the rabid right, even as it adopts them. ("The low bar for Guantanamo", June 24, 2005 editorial.) The editorial repeatedly references Sen. Dick Durbin's remarks as "stupid" or "foolish," but fails to quote Durbin at all as an example of this alleged stupidity or foolishness.

Sen. Durbin quoted a passage from an FBI report on its investigation of the conditions at the Guantanamo Bay prison opened, operated and maintained by the Bush administration. After noting some of the egregious treatment of the prisoners there, Sen. Durbin opined that if someone came across this description without any other context, a reader might conclude that these persons were being incarcerated by some mad regime -- certainly not the United States. In fact, these prisoners are being held by our government in our name, and their mistreatment is being meted out and paid for with our tax dollars.

It's certainly shameful to know that the United States had joined the despicable mad regimes of the 20th century in maltreating persons, holding them without charge or due process, and subjecting them to torture. I fail to see what is "stupid" or "foolish" about objecting to this. Unless, of course, the Oregonian is siding with people who think that chaining prisoners to the floor until they piss and shit themselves, or tear out their hair in their extremity, is in keeping with our nation's image and traditions.

I look forward to your further explanation.

gratuitous

[Parche]

1. editorial

You know that the idiotic right wing fool David Reinhard
will downplay the torture and say its for National security.

[gratuitous]

2. Oh, but of course!

I can't even stand to read a "Room Temperature Reinhard" column; too often it looks like it was scrawled with a red crayon. But this was an editorial and presumably the consensus work of the entire editorial department.

But the editorial revealed that the Oregonian finally recognizes that the mighty Republican Wurlitzer exists and smears its targets without a basis in fact. The Oregonian then proceeded to call Durbin's remarks "foolish" and "stupid" without going to the trouble of quoting what it thought was foolish or stupid. A curious oversight, which I invite them to correct.

They finally took one step in the right direction, or at least a step not in the wrong direction. I'm encouraging them to follow up.

[me b zola]

3. Great letter

It needed to be said, and I'm glad that you did,thanks:)

[CatWoman]

4. A gratuitous kick

:kick:

for a good letter

:D

[Arugula Latte]

5. Great letter, well-written and logical but ...

don't expect it to be published. I've gotten three letters published in the last year but have been shut-out four times in the last two months because I took on the Oregonian's refusal to take seriously the DS minutes.

Durbin told it like it is. And, I too was disgusted with the editorial, despite its criticism of the Bushies.

Are you in Oregon?

[gratuitous]

6. Yup, Portland

I don't expect it to be published, which is why I used the words "piss" and "shit" in the last paragraph rather than the more genteel "urinate" and "defecate."