Tom Tomorrow says 'You're welcome'
Wow. Thank goodness This Modern World was on the same page ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1). Rather than bang my head against a wall, I can only hope Otis and all his family have the honor of supporting Bush by going to Iraq and prevailing in the Middle East. Alan Weidel
Orcutt
The U.S. government should stop screwing around
How fitting that Otis Page's "opinion" ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1) should be on the same page as This Modern World, especially given the timely topic of Tom Tomorrow. Mr. Page is hopelessly out of touch with reality, again.
The only view our military needs of Iraq is in their rearview mirror as they are leaving. The argument that ramming a makeshift democracy down the throats of the Middle East by gunpoint makes absolutely no sense, period. If America wants to be free of dependency on the Middle East, let's push for an "Apollo" type energy plan to develop alternative energy sources. Let's inspect all incoming cargo containers with radiation monitors. Most importantly, let's get our political leaders to stop meddling in the affairs of foreign nations that have no capacity to harm us, stop propping up military dictators, undermining legitimate democracies that may have a somewhat left-leaning government.
Perhaps if our government would stop screwing around where it shouldn't be, "they" wouldn't "hate us" quite so much.
Bob Lyon
San Luis Obispo
Are you scraping the barrel?
New Times must be scraping the bottom of the barrel to give Otis Page a full page to rehash his Vietnam-era excuses for the need to continue to waste American lives in Iraq ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1). Otis demonstrates his total disregard for our military personnel by supporting the contrived reasoning for our involvement in Iraq.
Although I feel that the top officials in this administration are nothing more than criminals and should be prosecuted, I also feel that those who continue to spur on the lies condoning this misadventure the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Reillys, and yes, even the relatively unknown Pages are just as culpable in the slaughter, maiming, and ruined lives for many of our American troops and their families. All for nothing.
As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does," so Otis, you better check your facts and make restitution because when you go to meet your maker to explain your life, ignorance will not be an acceptable excuse.
Terry Mohan
San Luis Obispo
This argument doesn't hold much water
There are too many holes in Otis Page's recent opinion piece on the war in Iraq to cover all of them ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1). Suffice to say that if Otis' argument was a circular one (and it is) then it would be a sieve.
That said, I would like to applaud Otis for his call on citizens to "lay aside their transparent near-term political baggage, past disappointments, and personal bias and objectively assess the complex cauldron in the Middle East." We wouldn't be in this situation now if only the Bush administration had followed that advice before launching the ill-advised invasion in the first place.
I also want to thank Otis for clearing up the reason for the invasion. This is the second time that Otis has used the pages of New Times to float the specious argument that the invasion was all just a ploy to scare Iran into giving up its nuclear ambitions. As I stated the last time Otis made this spectacular claim, not even Karl Rove could have come up with that one.
At least Otis no longer clings to the canard that Saddam was behind the 9/11 attacks and was in league with Al Qaeda. He does, however, make a new claim that Iraq was cooperating with Iranian terrorist activities through Syria. Otis, my man, do you forget that next to the United States, Saddam's secular Iraq was No. 2 on the Iran/Al Qaeda hit list? You said it yourself, Otis: Saddam was a cynical secular dictator. His Iraq was the only country in the Middle East not in the hands of, or beholden to, religious extremists. Thankfully, that situation has been resolved. Whatever form the government of Iraq takes in the future, whether it is democratically elected or not, Sunni or Shiite, you can count on the fact that the laws will be largely based on the Koran. Way to go, President Bush!
Patrick Mallon
San Luis Obispo
These must be good disguises
Re: "Here's why we must prevail In Iraq" (Feb. 1):
Oh, I see. We invaded and must stay in Iraq because: A. It wasn't Iran who took over the American Embassy in 1980, it was actually Iraqis DISGUISED as Iranians.
B. It wasn't Al Queda who committed atrocities in Lebanon and New York, etc. No! It was again Iraqis who infiltrated that Saudi-based group!
In fact I'll bet it wasn't blue-eyed, blond-haired, lovable Timothy McVeigh who bombed the building in Oklahoma City, it was actually Iraqis DISGUISED as a blue-eyed blond guy. So that's why we have to stay and increase troops during Iraq's civil war. Makes sense to me.
Gary McAuley
Templeton
Otis forgot the punch line
What a classic work of satire ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1). Otis Page is a genius. All that is missing is the punch line: "If you believe this you are an idiot." But I guess that was implied.
I love his closing argument: We must endure or "the United States will suffer a humiliating defeat." Oh god, please no. We can't lose face. How funny is that? We are already the laughingstock of the free world because of Shrub's shameful and belligerent attics. Humiliated? I don't think so. Humiliation implies someone has enough sense to know when they are wrong.
I guess that was Page's whole point, that Shrub doesn't have enough good sense to be ashamed of what he has done. Good job.
Jeanne Z
San Luis Obispo
We're doomed to an endless war
Otis Page has it partly right ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1), but his statement should read, "The name of the game is to protect the commercial interests of the United States in the Middle East." The real reason we are there is to protect our oil interests so that Chevron, Shell, etc. can have a free hand in that area.
Unfortunately, Bush and the neocons failed to take into consideration ethnic and religious rivalries not to mention the history of Iraq and so have doomed the United States to an endless war in Iraq, and perhaps Iran as well.
Terry Brown
Avila Beach
I love you, Otis
Otis, frequent contributor to the New Times opinion section, now has a full length "commentary" about Iraq and the Middle East ("Here's why we must prevail in Iraq," Feb. 1). Whoopee! Let's drop the big one on Tehran. As a Christian, I am commanded to "love my enemies." Sooooo, I love you Otis.
Don Wagner
Paso Robles
I'm tired of hunting in the Estuary
I am physically exhausted from being awakened at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays by shotgun explosions. It's impossible to go back to sleep because when you do, suddenly, you are jolted by another "POW!" with its echo ringing off the Sandspit. This is not my idea of how to let go of a stressful week before I have to start another.
This is the plight of us 35,000-plus humans who sleep next to the Morro Bay National Estuary. We are forced to put up with this sleep disruptor for a quarter of the year, November through January.
Youth can hunt on their own weekend in February, extending this disruption to the communities.
Forget moral and intellectual reasons against hunting on the Estuary. I'm tired, and I have a right to sleep undisturbed in my own home at reasonable times and not be disturbed by the powerful sounds of exploding guns before the sun or I get up.
Why are hunters not obligated to the same civil rules of noise abatement people recreating in a city or county must legally observe? Because they are in the wilderness? The Estuary is a lake in the middle of a city!
Betty Winholtz
Morro Bay
Kudos to the new president
Compliments to David A. Sanchez, a kindergarten teacher, for being selected president of the California Teacher Association. I have been a member of the CTA since 1960. I particularly liked his comments regarding Bush's excessive testing program: "If I had my way, I would stop testing kids in a language they don't write, read, or speak." Bilingual Spanish/English should be accepted and encouraged in a community that's 60 percent Latino.
Bill Denneen
Nipomo
The 'middle' group doesn't fit with housing
To the Tribune: Nice work with today's (Feb. 5) editorial, "Housing issue should be a SLO budget priority." This has to be a higher priority than it was given and, I certainly don't find myself agreeing at all with Councilwoman Mulholland. There certainly is housing available for those who can afford it, and there are admirable efforts taken in the community to house those in poverty (but way less than needed).
But the group we seldom hear about is the so-called "middle." This group is priced out of the high end but doesn't qualify for the low end, and I have to believe there is a sizable number in this group, who do have decent jobs, work hard, care about their communities, but can't find a financial fit. We lose these people this resource first.
Lee Ferrero
Los Osos
We have a hand in this mistake
As news from Iraq continues to be bleak and the President's plans for success sound downright silly, remember that George Bush, Sr. foresaw the foolishness of attacking Baghdad at the end of the first Gulf War.
"W" came to the White House as a politician, not as a military strategist. In fact, his own military service was cut short by his request to join campaign politics instead, which is hardly an interest level that suggests a future commander-in-chief. His rush to this war on Iraq was reckless, indeed. But the blame cannot fall completely on the president, for without reckless voting, he would never have had the authority to choose this war. We should all remember that we bear responsibility as voters for the choices we have made, and that George Bush is one of them. If attacking Iraq was Bush's biggest mistake, perhaps voting for him was ours.
Jim Ringley
Atascadero
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