We welcome your feedback.BRANDON ON THE IRAQ SITUATION Letter to Editor:
Shame? Shameful!!! How could you so easily dismiss the actions of these soldiers (Re: "Shame" this issue's homepage --N)“Can we blame her? Can we blame any of them? Of course not. I love how the "superiors" thought the prisoner abuse was funny enough to take pictures of.”
Lynndie England passes the buck to her “superiors” and we are suppose to excuse her. Maybe some of the photos got overlooked, because the laughter, joking and pointing was not under distress from a superior officer. Can I blame her? Hell, yes! And her superiors for doing such a piss poor job of training and educating our troops. (And yet, under "direct orders", what was she supposed to do? Start whistle-blowing thousands of miles away from home? --N)
“So far, there is nothing in this criminally insane war that has made the first ounce of sense to me, and it just gets worse and worse."
Huh? Did you watch the decapitation of Nick Berg? This is exactly why we are there. This is the terrorism that is IN Iraq. These are the same monsters that align themselves with the killers of 9/11. (The decapitation of Nick Berg was supposedly in retaliation for the above-mentioned prisoner abuse, HOWEVER, the Berg case is extremely controversial and the reasons for his presence in Iraq and his subsequent detainment are under investigation. ---N)
Abu Ghraib was notorious for the death and torture under Saddam, which elevates the deployable acts of judgment by Ms. England, her comrades and their immediate “superiors.” We again send the impression to the Islamic community that we are no different.
Likewise, our media continues to mull over the photos, but won’t run the execution footage. I found it hard to digest, but paint the whole picture. (The video won't be shown as it's considered a "snuff flick" which violate the networks' broadcast standards and practices [except for the annual run of the Kennedy assassination, of course]. The photographs of abuse of the Iraqi prisoners can be selectively censored. i.e, no nudity, etc. While this could be construed as bias, I'm not sure the networks received many complaints regarding viewers' frustration over not being able to see the decapitation footage. The vid-caps of hooded thugs standing over Nick Berg seemed to convey the scenario.---N)
I know this is a lifetime presence in the Middle East, and as I said before, I think it’s the right thing to do. This isn’t just about oil, but also the establishment of diplomacy and peace. (Funny, I thought it was about Weapons of Mass Destruction.---N) The financial support of the country from the Saudis alone is in the trillions, so don’t easily discount the situation.
We can’t just turn and run. Again. Like we have how many times before. It’s a shame we get our passion and enthusiasm in a frenzy when it's safe and convenient to do so.
The next set of arguments will be that the soldiers abusing prisoners are gay, making homosexual gestures or we need to excuse them because of their poor, inadequate upbringing. (Yeah, I heard that rumor that Lynndie England was a lesbian and was gleefully taking out her man-hatred on male prisoners. I laughed it off. She is butt-ugly tho, totally opposite America's sweeheart, Jessica Lynch.---Nolan)
We are better than that! We are Americans, dammit! We don’t do it and we don’t tolerate it!
Brandon Jones
STEVE ASKS "WHEREFORE ART AIR FLORIDA?" AND THE NAME OF A VENUE Nolan,
I love these aviation pieces by Will ((Re: The last few "La Floridianas" on Commuter Airlines in Florida--N). But I have to ask.....where is my old standby (excuse the pun)...Air Florida? When I began flying with them in 1975 to Miami, the airfare was only $25.00 (roughly)! Does it not count (by commuter standards), or has he not gotten that far yet with this fantastic article? (Will says it's coming up in a future installment.--N)Steve
P.S. Wasn't Desperado's turned into Confetti's towards the end? (Re: the last few lettercols recalling the names of Tampa music venues. YES, the building Mike Smith started talking about several issues ago was recalled by several readers alternatively as Big Daddy's, The Level III Lounge, and Desperado's. Later, reader Count Poffula remembered it as having a crashed airplane gag out front, but I couldn't remember which name that was under. And now I remember....Confetti's. I'm sure that's the last music venue incarnation of that building and the one with the airplane gag! Thanks, Steve. ---Nolan)
To send an email to Letters to the Editor write to: Crazedfanboy1@aol.com. Any emails sent to this address will be assumed intended for publication unless you specifically instruct me not to. I can and do respond privately, if that is your preference. Frequently, it's both ways.---Nolan