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emdee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-17-05 11:16 PM
Original message
Opinions on this Letter?
This letter was printed in today's paper......

WAAAH - WAAAH - WAAAH
Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander recently came to the aid of the Boy Scouts of America in their struggle with the uncivil Union-ACLU who are hassling the BSA with million dollar lawsuits for using the term, "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and suing them for using State and Federal lands for camp sites. Hopefully now the BSA won't be hassled as much. Just maybe they won't be bothered for helping little old ladies cross the street.

The many letters to the editor crying and complaining the blues reminds me of a scene from Hee Haw where four grown men are setting on a couch wailing their blues away over a hound dog that just wouldn't hunt or a milk cow that had dried up or the loss of the only mule he owned, or another whose hens had all quit laying, remember? OOH! Gloom, despair, and agony on me, deep despair, excessive misery! If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. OOH! Gloom, despair and agony on me. WAAAH, WAAAH, WAAAH, WAAAH

{name}

How is this response (and grammatical errors or corrections appreciated):

Your first paragraph discusses the Boy Scouts of America and the ACLU. Your second paragraph complains about people "crying and complaining the blues" (your words) and goes on to describe a comic routine from Hee Haw. I'm confused. I haven't seen a letter to the editor that complains about Boy Scouts helping little old ladies cross the street as your letter implies. Forgive me if I've missed it, however. And, please, carry on, nice Boy Scouts.

I can only guess that you are responding to recent letters discussing current events even though you don't address any of the current events I've seen in the letters section lately. If so, I must take issue with your form of debate. I've been taught that debate is an exchange of facts representing dissenting viewpoints without personal attacks or name calling.

For instance, recent letters have addressed the huge deficit, high gas prices, heath care costs, the Downing Street Memo, Medicare, Social Security, job losses, and war, just to name a few. The Bush administration has had huge negative effects on each of these issues.

I remember much "crying and complaining the blues," as you say, during the Clinton years. Were you among that group? However, when he left the White House, these issues where in better shape than when he entered office. Bush will leave much debt and chaos to many future generations to come. At least Halliburton has seen record profits.

Why shouldn't concerned adult citizens be able to discuss these issues without personal attacks and name calling? If you see me "crying and complaining the blues," it's because personal attacks are so uncalled for. These tactics are not a good example for our children. It takes very little research to simply deride those with differing views. It's much harder to search out the facts and know the truth, but it's worth it to do so.

If you want to have a name-calling, insult-throwing contest, I concede. You win. If you'd like to debate current events, I'm all ears and have listed many valid issues of concern.

Thank you,
{my name}
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oscar111 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-17-05 11:32 PM
Response to Original message
1. points...
hi,
i would recommd..

make your main point in the first sentence.

shorten the letter

never repeat the arguments of the opponent, if possible.

Use sub-headlines

offer a good headline, too {did i miss that? sorry, scanned really fast}

dont spend time listing what issues that they did print, .. no more than three. Avoid all tangents.

Dont let my criticisms discourage you. Keep writing the editors! Overall, i liked your draft a lot.
PS put in a plug for AAR too. Plug in the readers to a continuing source of LW news. Plug the url for DU as well. Oh, ... plug AAR via the URL and frequency.
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oscar111 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-17-05 11:44 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. A diff focus
a more persuasive letter would
tackle one issue and give reasons to convert to the dem point of view.

you could then lambaste the opponent for name calling, in one or two sentences.

I suspect readers will be converted more with this approach, than with the focus you now have, which is to end the RW's use of slurs. Both goals are good, but i just submit that issue-focus will work more in bringing readers to our side on voting day.

Keep writing! and always plug readers into a continuing source of LW news. ALWAYS.
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emdee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-18-05 12:00 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. Thanks to both of you...
Edited on Thu Aug-18-05 12:01 AM by emdee
I will work on it a bit more. It has to be in by Friday 5pm.

One thing I have never done that you suggest is to include a LW source for info. Great idea!!

This guy prints letters regularly - one of which stated that liberals should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town. After that one, I contacted the editor and told her that she shouldn't print letters like that - they are no better than something from the KKK. She agreed that she would make him tone it down - I guess being on Hee Haw is better than tarred and feathered!

Thank you and more would be appreciated too if anyone else has ideas,
emdee B-)
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emdee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-18-05 12:04 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Well, duh.....
"both of you" is just "one of you"! Sorry 'bout that!!
And, thanks again,
emdee
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