Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor Kerry Lacks Knockout Punch Your assertion in Comment ("Bush on the Ropes," July issue) that "it now seems likely that George W Bush will be a one-term President" is,...
...From there the shit flowed downhill...
...You quote Republican Senator John McCains derisive comments about his party's appalling record of fiscal irresponsibility but fail to mention that McCain is a solid Bushie, out on the campaign trail doing everything he can to get the President reelected...
...The rest of that bumper sticker, I learned from their website, says, "What have your people done since Arabic numerals...
...Andrew Samet Roselle Park, New Jersey As a columnist for a small weekly, I understand editors exercise their perquisite to write the headline on a piece...
...That The Progressive would allow them to hawk such slogans in your pages is surely not what you intended...
...Sam, who died in 2001, was definitely there with us in spirit...
...That's not putting the incumbent "on the ropes...
...The rest of the Comment, including poll results, suggests the election could go either way...
...soldiers to pull out...
...The fact is, Kerry voted for the Iraq War, voted for the Patriot Act, and has failed to articulate anything resembling an alternative position on these issues...
...For updates, more information, and a petition demanding that the restrictions be lifted and Vanunu be allowed to leave Israel, visit www.vanunu.com or www.vanunu.co.uk Felice Cohen-Joppa Coordinator, U.S...
...Christopher Reynolds Bradford, Pennsylvania Ugly Ad I just received my July issue, and my jaw dropped to see the ad on page twenty-three...
...The challengestickers.com ad cannot possibly meet your editorial standards...
...That the purchasers of the ad have a right to print such bumper stickers is beyond question...
...Young, nonviolent prisoners are routinely raped by hardcore violent prisoners...
...He is, in essence, surrendering the most important issues in this election...
...If anyone believes that only a handful of those incarcerated are abused in the American penal system, look here: The Iraq and Afghanistan abuse scandals are the tip of a much, much bigger iceberg that exists right here in the U.S...
...Former Progressive Managing Editor Sam Day worked tirelessly for Vanunu's release for many years...
...It is estimated that 20 percent to 25 percent of those incarcerated in American prisons are sexually assaulted...
...David L. Steinhardt Rochester, Vermont The Editor responds: Because of our bedrock principle of free speech, The Progressive has long had a policy of allowing advertisers to say whatever they want short of libel or other potential illegalities...
...While we celebrate Vanunu's release from Ashkelon Prison at the end of his eighteen-year sentence, we must also continue to work for his total freedom...
...However, no matter how much we would like to think so, it is no "slam dunk," as Bush was told on WMDs, that Kerry will defeat Bush...
...You state that "a plurality of Americans actually want all U.S...
...Paul Nossiter Bass River, Massachusetts Culture of Abuse The article by Anne-Marie Cusac in the July issue, "Abu Ghraib, U.S.A.," mentioned many of the abuses of prisoners by guards, but it didn't bring up the most prevalent form of abuse: rape by prisoners preying on other prisoners...
...Little is being done to stop it...
...Surely this fell through the cracks...
...Walter Bourdot Escondido, California The Liberal Position To those liberals who are considering not voting for Kerry because of his position on Iraq, Howard Dean had the perfect answer in your fine interview with him (by Matthew Rothschild, June issue): "Sometimes from the point of view of the activist, the perfect becomes the enemy of the good...
...The scenario you present looks more like "Rope-a-Dope" to me: one fighter letting the other swing away, knowing he can't land a knockout blow...
...Prison rape and violence need to be addressed, not ignored...
...Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu Tucson, Arizona The editors welcome correspondence from readers on all topics, but prefer to publish letters that comment directly on material previously published in The Progressive...
...While it is apparent that Bush is losing support, it is equally apparent that the presumptive Democratic nominee, John Kerry, has thus far failed to capitalize on the President's failures...
...Lawyers with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel are representing him in an appeal of the restrictions to Israel's High Court...
...Finally, near the end, you begin to see the light on Kerry: "He needs to make an affirmative case for himself, and he has been slow to do so...
...On questions of race, education, women's rights, the environment, the economy, health care, and almost every issue except Iraq, Bush is far worse than Kerry...
...Israel has imposed oppressive restrictions on Vanunu, including not being able to talk to the foreign press or to leave the country...
...Do liberals want four more years of the Rumsfelds and Ashcrofts and others that run the government...
...We have more citizens incarcerated than any other nation, and the majority of them are nonviolent or drug offenders...
...When a fighter is on the ropes, it means he's on his last legs, about to be knocked out...
...As Dean said, a vote for a third party candidate is essentially a vote for the incumbent...
...A split decision, at best, and we know how the last split decision went...
...This institutional sexual abuse is cruel and unusual punishment, forbidden by the Constitution, yet until the recent Prison Rape Reduction Act, it has either been ignored or been the subject of bad jokes...
...In particular, the partially visible one that says, "Hey Muhammad...
...However, Senator Kerry is not advocating such a course...
...Prison administration and staff need to be held accountable for those they have in their control, custody, and care...
...What are the long-term results of placing millions of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, husbands, and wives of Americans in a revolving-door prison industrial complex that offers few, if any, rehabilitation programs and is a huge financial burden...
...And remember, Karl Rove may be preparing for a grandiose "October Surprise...
...Matthew Rothschild Vanunu Freed It was great to see the photo of Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, just released from prison, in your July issue ("On the Line...
...with an ugly, stereotyped drawing of an Arab...
...The American people have got to, at some point, ask themselves why their tax monies are being spent, at both the federal and state levels, to keep imprisoned more than 2.1 million men, women, and children...
...William Bryan Sorens Livingston, Texas Having just finished reading "Abu Ghraib, U.S.A.," I would like to add some thoughts, mine being from a very specific perspective, inside looking out...
...Letters may be e-mailed to: editorial@progressive.org Please include your city and state...
...All letters may be edited for clarity and conciseness, and may appear either in the magazine or on its web page...
...Please, let's not lose because of overconfidence...
...Jeff Copenhagen Washburn, Wisconsin As a Texas prisoner who has suffered severe retaliation for writing articles for publication, I can tell you that Abu Ghraib was born in Texas...
...We trust our readers are sophisticated enough to recognize the distinction between what we publish as editorial matter with our imprimatur, and the advertising we carry, some of which, like the ad in question, we, too, find loathsome...
...Do they want Bush to appoint two or three Supreme Court judges...
...There is no other position a liberal can take than to vote for Kerry...
...It is clear the Bush Administration recruited barbarians to build and implement his incarceration policy for terrorist suspects, starting with Texas-ex prison official O. L. McCotter and Texas-ex Senior White House Counsel Al Gonzales...
...Letters to the Editor Kerry Lacks Knockout Punch Your assertion in Comment ("Bush on the Ropes," July issue) that "it now seems likely that George W Bush will be a one-term President" is, unfortunately, not supported, even by your own arguments...
...Yikes...
...I was in Israel on April 21 as part of an international delegation of more than eighty people from more than ten countries who were there to welcome him to freedom...
...The Christian fundamentalists are surely a major factor because they are voting with the new messiah...
Vol. 68 • August 2004 • No. 8
