It Was A Mandate

As usual, Knute Berger wrote an excellent and insightful column [Mossback, “Manchurian Mandate,” Nov. 10]. One quick comment, though, referring to the Republican “mandate.” No and yes. No, it wasn’t any kind of mandate by the definition of a mandate! Unfortunately, yes, it was a substantial mandate when you consider just how much Bush has screwed things up in the past four years and that he won the election with a bigger gain than the 2000 election! If a Democrat had screwed up that badly, he would have lost by a landslide. There is a trend here, and a very significant one, which should not be trivialized—we should not underestimate the opposition. Saying it wasn’t a mandate is ignoring the relative context of the situation.

Lewis Stockill

Seattle

Prepare for 2006!

“If you’re not with them, prepare to man the barricades . . . they’ll be coming for us long before 2008” [Mossback, “Manchurian Mandate,” Nov. 10]:

How about preparing for 2006, instead? We have congressional races. We have many local and state races. I suspect there are even some races next year. You don’t build an organization that can win elections overnight. If we start now, we can have a winning team in place in 2008, and we can keep the Republicans busy in the meantime so that they don’t get everything they want.

Dave Baldwin

Jacksonville, FL

Postelection Vitriol

Reading the multiple letters to the editor in response to the election results was both saddening and shocking [“Red vs. Blue: The Aftermath,” Nov. 10]. From individuals who supposedly hold a liberal philosophy, the verbiage was vitriolic, condemning, and insulting to those fellow citizens who happen to hold a different view. There was no indication of any attempt to understand another point of view; the total intolerance exhibited illustrated a very illiberal philosophy. The extent of the negative emotionality—especially the anger and lack of respect—will only lead to a continued divisiveness within our country and an inability to work together. Until we learn to accept the fact that others hold differing views, democracy will not work. In fact, the anger and hatred I sensed in these letters would more likely result in violence than reasoned problem solving.

I am not a Bush fan and did not vote for him.

Bill Criddle

Seattle

Loony Left Lets Loose

Reading your election letters section did my heart good [“Red vs. Blue: The Aftermath,” Nov. 10]. There were the usual elitist, condescending references to “NASCAR Nazis” and the self-delusionary nonsense about evangelical Christians winning the election for Bush (59 million evangelicals)? I don’t go to church much, but the last time I went all I heard was talk about love, forgiveness, and charity. In fact, that same church was supporting five doctors in Africa. I guess this is considered a threat to many liberals. But then again, they’re much too busy supporting groups who feel OK about ripping the heads off of babies in their ninth month of development. Those same libs long for the good ol’ days of Saddam and his two cut-up (literally) sons, their rape rooms, and bonus payments to the parents of 12-year-old Palestinians who blow up Israeli children on buses. By the way, I don’t own a gun, hate NASCAR, and kinda like the ACLU except when they dabble in partisan politics. But hey, if you still don’t get it, that’s OK, keep up the good work. Every lefty demonstration turns the red states into a deeper hue of that color and lightens up the blue shading. Also, I beg you, let Nancy Pelosi and Michael Moore continue to define the Democratic Party so that more Republican presidents, senators, and congressmen will get elected until the loony left is relegated to the trash heap of history, a fate it so richly deserves.

Don Hukle

Shoreline

Blue Whiners

For goodness sake, Democrat-supporting Americans, stop your mindless whining and accept the majority decision [“Red vs. Blue: The Aftermath,” Nov. 10]. Your childish reactions in this publication make this Australian glad that adults continue to head the free world. When the exit polls suggested a Kerry landslide, there weren’t tantrums from the other side of the aisle. Grow up, sore losers.

Bernard Slattery

Geelong, Victoria,

Australia

Spunky Lassies

Oooh, not only are the little ladies wielding power tools, some of those liberated gals are actually buying houses themselves, instead of waiting for Mr. Right to buy one for them [Turf for Women, Nov. 10]? Wow, what else are those spunky modern lassies going to do, as we head into the amazing world of the 1970s??

Tara Gallagher

Seattle

My Thai Mistake

I have not seen Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, so please excuse me if I have missed some strange film quirk [“Bridget Behind Bars!” Nov. 10]. Please observe that the Taiwanese come from Taiwan, a small island disputedly belonging to China. People from Thailand are called Thais. I am part Thai and have had to listen to this common mistake throughout my life. What gets me is that an alternative newspaper in a cosmopolitan city would make as ignorant a comment as my relatives from the Louisiana backwater.

Daranee Oakley

Seattle

Laura Cassidy responds: In my review of The Edge of Reason, I inadvertently referred to a Thai sex worker as a Taiwanese sex worker, and to a Thai prison as a Taiwanese prison. I very much regret these errors.

Gay Intolerance

I find it interesting that the homosexual community demands “let the people speak” and “put it to a vote,” yet when the people speak against their ploy, they become enraged, file lawsuits, and blare the call to arms for “equality,” as witnessed in “Mr.” Steve Wiecking’s writing [Small World, “One Nation, Under Me,” Nov. 10].

The homosexual community preaches tolerance, yet is the first to exhibit intolerance towards the rejection of their ploy. The homosexual community is not without civil rights. All are guaranteed the right to “the pursuit of happiness,” not to marry. Furthermore, the U.S. government has no vested interest in a homosexual arrangement, as it cannot produce offspring without surgical manipulation; therefore, no tax benefit is granted. The government has a direct interest in a heterosexual union, as it provides the only conduit necessary to produce tax-paying citizens naturally, hence the favorable nod.

I do not view homosexuality as conventional, nor must I be tolerant of the homosexual bombardment and attempted brainwashing through various media outlets, the public school systems, and university ilk. I afford everyone respect as a human. I am tolerant of self-expression. Yet, do not lecture that I am intolerant as I refuse to surrender and accept homosexuality as customary.

Are the terrorists tolerant? Thought not! Enough with the bovine excrement! The majority has spoken. Next!

Rodney High

Raleigh, N.C.

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