I just sent a Letter to the Editor....

[emdee]

My local paper is small and published weekly. The Letters to the Editor column can have anywhere from zero to three or four letters each week. There is supposed to be a limit of 350 words but if they don't have others to print they will go over a bit. This letter needs to cut about 40 words but considering that I started with 698 words, I just decided to send it anyway. I should have posted it here first for input but I didn't (sorry) - if there is much that needs changing, I can always send a revised email.


Three More Long Years

Currently the National Debt stands at $7,848,210,313,169.51. Bush was handed a surplus of $5.6 Trillion and went through that within a year. The Washington Post called it "the swiftest plunge in the nation's fiscal health in a half century."

In 2004, Bush released an ad that insinuated higher gas prices under a President Kerry. During the 2000 campaign with Gore, Bush said that Clinton should "jawbone OPEC members to lower prices." Is he "jawboning"?

Health care costs are rising at four times the rate of inflation. In the last two years of the Clinton administration, 2.3 million people gained health insurance. Over 3.8 million have lost it under Bush. Special interest paybacks are given to the pharmaceutical industry. His Medicare plan is healthy only for the pharmaceutical industry.

It is claimed that Social Security is in a crisis rather than health care. Social Security, however, is not "broken." Raising the upper limit on the amount in which Social Security is collected can extend the life of the plan - give it a "cost of living" raise, as most plans usually require.

The jobs lost by this administration can only be rivaled by Hoover. Benefits are given to American businesses that take jobs overseas. Jobs are lost by hardworking Americans. Outsourcing is not always a bad thing, but our government should give benefits to those who stay not those who leave.

This country was attacked by Osama bin Laden - not Saddam Hussein. The whole world backed us as we went into Afghanistan to bring Osama out "dead or alive." Now, Bush says he isn't "too concerned" with bin Laden. When the course changed and we were led into Iraq, it suddenly became un-American to question Bush's motives or proof; both of which are lacking. When Joe Wilson debunked Bush's yellowcake uranium claim, his CIA-wife was outed by Karl Rove; an act of treason. Last year, Bush stated, "I will fire any individuals involved in the Plame affair."

Now we have the Downing Street Memo. Bush supporters: how many lies are OK? Questioning an administration's lies - lies which affect us all personally - is absolutely American and Patriotic.

How many more people must lose their job, health care, retirement, and even their very life for the lies of this administration? We cannot take three more years: Impeach Bush, fire Rove, and demand that American integrity be restored!

emdee

[MASSAFRA]

1. Your letter

should focus on one subject. That would help you cut it down. If you want to focus on the debt then you don't have to mention Osama and the Downing Street Memo. If you want ot focus on the lies that took us into the illegal invasion of Iraq, you don't have to talk about health insurance for children and the debt.

Maybe write a number of letters on specific subjects.

[NoSheep]

2. You raise many good points. I agree with MASSAFRA in that most

letters should focus on one subject. It really is hard to root out one crime from another in the case of this administration. It's the "How Much is Enough?" plea. I encourage you to send your letter to your paper AS IS to see what happens. Larger papers limit word count to 200-250! I think it would be great if your letter was published because the public needs to consider all the points you make. Perhaps a smaller paper would print the entire letter. Most will edit it for clarity no matter what.
Check out the links to other media outlets if you feel like editing it down and submitting it to other papers - but save the text so you can refer to it to compose future letters. That HUGE number in the first sentence kicks ass all by itself. Thanks for your time to help us bring these boogie men DOWN!!!!!! :hi:

edited to correct MASSAFRA!

[emdee]

4. Thanks to all of you who read and comment!....

This is really a small community. The paper is printed weekly and there are very few Letters, normally. There is a local Democratic group that has begun utilizing the moveon.org suggestions and are getting vocal in the paper. Our county went for Kerry in '04 but Reps around here are of the die-hard type. I go to church with many and my little church printed an article that forced me to write my first Letter to the Editor about what makes Reps more Christian than Dems (answer: nothing). Within about six months I had three letters printed and got many phone calls and positive comments from those who think they can't write well enough to write themselves (they could, of course).

Long story short: in this paper the reason I try to focus on as many issues as possible is because if one has a letter in each publication, that person is deemed "the county kook", ya know? There was one Rep who used to write in a lot with messages such as "liberals should be tarred and feathered and run out of town" - I complained to the Editor over that one and told her that it was nothing shy of what a KKK member would write and she promised to make him tone it down. Another was one sentence, "I agree with Michael Savage, liberals are insane." The Moral there: complain if the conservatives get too violent in their letters and the Editors will listen.

There are so few letters and most of the die-hard Reps around here watch Hannity for their news and that's why I try to focus on several issues as an example of one of the empire's downfalls (this one, I tried to focus on "lies"). With a bigger audience and a daily paper, I agree with the one subject rule.

One that I have in mind for later - and I may wish I had done it this time - is "This is Karl Rove" as a title and then just list all of the known creepy facts about him such as the fact that he was fired by Bush41 in 1992 - I didn't know that until today, it was posted at DU.

Anyway, sorry to be so long-winded! I appreciate the comments - I always learn much at DU.
emdee

[wli]

3. impeachment is not enough

He must stand trial at a war crimes tribunal.

[emdee]

5. I agree but we are living in strange times....

I don't think that Nixon could get impeached today. These are strange times. Any way at all to get Bush out of office would suit me...(without having Cheney to step into his place) (and I'm not advocating any violence by citizens). But, I do agree with you in that he should face a war crimes tribunal.
emdee