Is it just my hometown paper that get the idiots writing to the editor?

[LynneSin]

My hometown paper, The Wilmington News Journal, tends to lean to the left and the letters to the editor have constant criticisms against Bush. But I swear once a day they find the biggest dingbat letter and make it a point to publish it.

Example:

Someone in our paper today criticized our governor for calling a state of emergency in Delaware since the eye of the storm pretty much bypassed our state. Mind you only 3 days early 4 towns in New Castle county were wiped out due to excessive flooding from one of our 3 swollen rivers PLUS the southern part of our state did get hit pretty bad with flooding, damage and power outages (Reader was from North Delaware).

We had a write once complain that all of Delaware will rot in hell because we're selling booze on Sunday (I mean, we drunks in Delaware can drive 20 minutes to the MD or PA border and buy it there - so why not keep the money in our state?)

And a doozy from a few weeks ago (try not to gasp too loudly on this one). The writer said that the reason our soldiers are dying in Iraq is because God is getting his revenge for all the abortions committed in our country.

Anyone else get interesting letters in their paper? Can we administer IQ tests to anyone interested in writing (must be above 60 to have your letter published)

[Catherine Vincent]

1. I guess even "idiots" have that right to write to their local newspaper.

[Javneh]

2. A little perspective perhaps

Not that I agree with dingbat letters, but they do serve to contrast the more sane views. The only problem is when the dingbat letters seem to outnumber the sane ones. As for asking God why soldiers are dying in Iraq I never get an answer (never have gotten an answer from God on anything) but my best guess as to why is that we invaded them and some folks just take that personally ;)

[Archae]

3. Every local paper has it's share.

The most common writers that have their heads up their ass are the "holier-than-thou" fundy Christians.

Around here they constantly whine about being "persecuted," (translation: they can't force their faith on everybody) yell about "evilutionists," and one yo-yo who claims Christian rock music is "Satanic."

I wrote an answer to to the last guy that he should try listening to Black Sabbath or death metal for "good, wholesome music." :-)

[SmileyBoy]

7. They claim that CHRISTIAN rock music is Satanic????

That crap with the sappy lyrics and music trying to pass itself as mainstream pop????

DAMN, that is ONE MESSED-UP fundy!!!!!

[boxster]

4. That seems to be a universal problem.

We had a woman write a letter to the editor claiming that she shouldn't have gotten a speeding ticket, because the officer who wrote the ticket wasn't the one who saw her speeding (one car was manning the radar gun; another was flagging down the speeders based on input from the first car).

Ok, by that stupid logic, I can rob a bank as long as a police officer doesn't actually see me do it. Uh, huh.

The bad thing is that the paper actually published this idiot's letter.

Though, I am in the reddest of the red states, so it's not terribly surprising.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. It's the same almost everywhere....

Before the war, we had a woman write and ask, "By what right, do these people have to stand on street corners and voice their opinion?" She was very upset with anti-war protesters. Someone wrote back and explained the First Amendment to her!

[Atlant]

6. Idiocy is ubiquitous. (NT)

[TrogL]

8. Same problem up here

Out here in "dreadful valley", they deliver the Edmonton Sun, and some of the letters to the editor have to be seen to be believed. It's a rabidly right-wing paper, but even the editor takes some of them with a grain of salt.

[DrGonzoLives]

9. Oh, lots

Plenty of Bush apologists, creationists, etc.

[trof]

10. Opal Glass

Opal is a regular contributor to the Foley (AL) Onlooker, our local bi-weekly paper. Sometimes she signs herself "Opal Boutwell Glass", I guess because there was a state politician of some reknown several years ago by the name of Boutwell. Maybe she's a cousin and proud of it. Who knows? (Who cares?)

Opal is dead set against any government proposals. Any. If it comes from an elected official, she's agin it. All politicians, all the time, everywhere are crooks. No exceptions. At least she's consistent.

She also figures if you'd just read your bible and obey god's laws everything will be OK.

go opal

[renie408]

11. Idiots are everywhere

Somebody posted a thread on a horse related website about Anne Graham basically saying that 9/11 happened because we as a nation had allowed god to be removed from our schools and that we were no longer beating our kids and listening to child psychologists who touted another method of discipline. I went APESHIT and said that I thought that it was an ignorant viewpoint and inappropirate material for that site. I offered statistical information proving that the Graham's had built a rather large personal fortune being in religion (which has to make you wonder) and that I didn't think that they were the ones most likely to get a direct fax from god.

HOLY SHIT!! The whole website went nuts. I was pretty much branded a shit starting atheist who was not fit to play with the good christians.