The Olympian: Readers respond to fake letter from Iraq

[Newsjock]

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20031014/frontpage/123578.shtml

The Olympian received dozens of e-mails from readers nationwide after publishing the story about soldiers' form letters. Here is a sampling of some of the letters:

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Regarding the story "Many soldiers, same letter, newspapers around U.S. get identical missives from Iraq," all I can say is HOW SAD! It's time to really support the troops in Iraq by bringing them home alive and calling it a day in Iraq. That our government is resorting to such distortion to sell their misguided policies which we're paying for is grounds for impeachment in my books. Support the troops -- bring them home, now!

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... So, you say that many letters from the front appear to be alike. So what? Your stories are all alike. All of them. Is anyone complaining?

If you read about Iraq in your paper, or the NYT or the LAT, or the WPost, or the BGlobe -- you are all saying the same thing. So what?

We know that you all "think" alike -- that you all "dislike" Bush, and that you all have forgotten about 9-11. So be it.

more

[jcgadfly]

1. The American Sheeple speak!

They've made up their minds. Facts will only confuse them.

That or they're still coming to grips with Rush being a "hillbilly heroin" addict. They've lost the one who thinks for them and they don't know what to do.

[mandyky]

2. Wow, drove the freepers crazy!!

Obviously the freepers fall for the shrubby end of things. When will these people wake up? Some good letters from our side, though. :)

[Cha]

3. Gawd ...the fucking stupidity! I was going to start calling them

politically ignorant..but now they're just fucking stupid.

Glad I don't know anyone like those people who say "so what" "remember 9/11?"

[chaumont58]

4. This is a local Olympia, Wa, paper and the three replies...

supporting the astroturf are from Morgan Hill, Ca, from Nebraska and from Tennessee. Just inside the Olympian's normal circulation area. If you believe that, would you be interested in a bridge?
Could it be that the pro-astroturf campaign is itself another astroturf campaign?

[DemoVet]

5. And read this:

"What you and the rest of the Democrats and liberal left politicians are doing is called treason. My husband is a retired USAF colonel; he has fought for this country since the Vietnam era, and I resent all this garbage being spread around.

Joan Harding, Lascassas, Tenn. "

I'm finding it harder and harder to take being called a traitor just because of my honest political beliefs. It's no longer a joke, not when it's becoming part of the national lexicon due to the efforts of Ann Coulter and proBush.com. This sort of thing wouldn't have been so out-in-the-open even a few years ago, before this crew came to power.

Being called a traitor is no joke, in my mind, but becoming a personal slander on my citizenship and my allegiance to my country, which is no less than any so-called "patriot". It's also potentially dangerous, as those of us who demonstrably disagree with this regime may find ourselves physically harmed (as Coulter advocated) because we show this with a statement or a bumper sticker. Is it time to begin exploring the notion of a class-action suit against some of these demagogues? The legal criteria for treason seem to be pretty clear-cut. If legally feasible, it would seem to be a slam-dunk against them: in order to prevail against such a suit, they would have to prove that each and every liberal and democrat had actively betrayed this country, a standard that would be impossible to attain.

BTW, Joan Harding of Lascassas, TN, I also fought in the Vietnam war, leaving all of one leg and part of another there. I consider myself to be a Democrat and a liberal. Would you call me a traitor, to my face? Are there others in your town who would call me a traitor to my face?

Bring 'em on.

[wabeewoman]

6. Well said DemoVet!

BTW the Olympia area is quite liberal. Its home to Evergreen State College which is a pioneer free thinking college. I too read the location of the writers with interest. I think you should send your comments as you've written them to the Olympian. They may print it and we need to start saying it LOUDLY every time the repugs call us traitors.

[onebigbadwulf]

7. 9-11?!?!

Why the fuck do people keeping mentioning 9-11 when Iraq comes up?!

Idiots. Everywhere. I swear to gawd...:freak:

[fknobbit]

8. Why ask why?

vocabulary/cognitive limitations:
9/11
Clinton
9/11
Clinton

[beyurslf]

9. My local paper

the Wichita Eagle doesn't print letters to the editor with name and town. I can't imagine them printing a letter like that from someone out of their reading area. The only letters from out of towners are the ones that are saying good things about Wichita or a nice story of something that happened here. Occassionally, maybe a "I was in Wichita and this is what was bad" letter may get in. The letters section should be the opinions of the READERS of that paper.