Letters to the Editor about Jeff Jacoby's Web exclusive columnPage 6 of 13 -- Michael Barry Medford
Good Afternoon Jeff Jacoby, I read your column this morning with great interest. Your selection of the term "slander" to describe Senator Kennedy's recent remarks led me to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Slander: n, a false report maliciously uttered and tending to injure the reputation of a person. If I am to believe the stories recently published in the Globe and other newspapers, torture has been practiced in the Abu Graib prison by members of the U.S. military. The Globe recently published a story reporting on the conviction of a U.S. Army sergeant related to the abuse of prisoners under Army control. Should the Globe launch an investigation into the facts that lead to the conviction? The general commanding the Abu Ghraib prison has been suspended from her position. The general commanding all forces in Iraq has been removed. Are you suggesting that the Pentagon has overreacted to the situation? Are you suggesting that Senator Kennedy's remarks are false, that torture did not occur in Abu Ghraib? Who is guilty of slander here, Senator Kennedy or Jeff Jacoby? Has torture occured during US military control of Abu Graib? If torture has occured, then Senator Kennedy and the Globe are accurate in their description of what happened. If torture has not occured, perhaps you have had an extremely narrow focus in your column. You should have included the Globe, the New York Times and other papers in your column this morning. John E. Dineen Ashland
Kudos to Jeff Jacoby ( the only guy with guts at the Globe) for his brilliant editorial on Teddy`s latest rant. Ted continues to amaze us all with his ridiculous thoughts and ideas, yet, there`s no doubt that he`ll be re-elected with 80% of the vote in 2006. We get what we deserve in the state of Massachusetts. Jim Melanson Kingston
I expect the Globe could easily find a more effective representative of the American right wing than Mr. Jacoby. Readers of all political persuasions benefit from thought-provoking, intelligent analysis by persons who have political views that differ from their own. Strong writers and representatives of this tradition exist on the right (for instance, William Kristol on foreign policy, Allan Bloom on Education, or Bjorn Lomborg on the environment). Unfortunately, Mr. Jacoby rarely steps up to the plate. His most recent column concerning Ted Kennedy’s remarks on the Iraq prison scandal were par for the course. As usual, they were unconvincing, inflammatory, trite, and ultimately boring. Rather than writing in a way that engages intellectual questioning of the reader’s own viewpoints and/or a meaningful exchange of ideas, he merely reinforces the obvious and wide chasms that already exist in the American political landscape. Stephen Bird Continued... |
