Demography is King

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/opinion/29brooks.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin- Hide quoted text ----------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 11:51 AMSubject: Demography is KingTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: David Brooks correctly identifies our problem of a nation flying apart into enclaves of voters who share no common ground. Senator Edwards has been sounding this alarm for years now. These tensions have always been with us, but were checked for decades by a public school system in which the son of the janitor studied next to the daughter of the banker. What is new in Mr. Brooks' analysis is the implication that this is a Democratic problem. When Reagan promised to dismantle the department of Education, was he pursuing a Democrat agenda? Was it the Democratic party that campaigned to create non-mixing social, religious and ethnic enclaves through school vouchers? Mr. Brooks has free rein to mix revisionist history into his political analysis, but this newspaper would do well to present a counterpoint to such a screed.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549

Self-inflicted Confusion

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/opinion/25krugman.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=krugman&st=nyt&oref=slogin- Hide quoted text -

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 9:36 AMSubject: Self-inflicted ConfusionTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: We all look forward to seeing the tangible programs that will give form to senator Obama's message of hope. To contrast his campaign to the "no nonsense" offered by senator Clinton however is risible. "Nonsense" is the mildest word I would use in describing her sniper-dodging exploits in Bosnia. At this stage in the campaign, neither candidate has to vie for the media attention. It is time that they share with the electorate their programs for the next administration.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549

In Justice Shift, Corporate Deals Replace Trials

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/washington/09justice.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=lichtblau&st=nyt&oref=slogin- Hide quoted text -

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 9:39 AMSubject: In Justice Shift, Corporate Deals Replace TrialsTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: When news of the crimes at Enron broke, we waited to see if this was the anomaly, or merely the first of a pattern of corporate crime. Now we learn that the extent of corporate malfeasance has been deliberately masked by our own Department of Justice. In keeping with this administration's fetish for secrecy, the public was shielded from the results of our own public investigations and investors were blinded to the actual behavior of companies we were funding. It is overdue that our Department of Justice got back to enforcing the laws duly passed by congress. Instead, it has enriched GOP loyalists as monitors of DPAs, skirted the law, and kept the public in the dark.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549

Cleric Suspends Shiite Militia's Fight in Basra

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/world/middleeast/31iraq.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin- Hide quoted text -

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 8:53 AMSubject: Cleric Suspends Shiite Militia's Fight in BasraTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: Accustomed as we are to daily news reports of crises and successes that mean nothing, Americans sometimes don't perceive a real existential challenge when it arises. Iraq's government faces such a challenge right now. If it grants Moktada al-Sadr the broad amnesty he seeks, it will embolden other thugs to extort amnesty for their crimes. If it does not negotiate with him, it will be pilloried as a puppet of the American occupation. The weak leaders whom Washington favors cannot deal with such a challenge.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549

Pork Barrel, by a Softer Name, Remains Hidden in U.S. Budget

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/washington/07earmarks.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ron-nixon&st=nyt&oref=slogin- Hide quoted text -

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 4:17 PMSubject: Pork Barrel, by a Softer Name, Remains Hidden in U.S. BudgetTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: Merely tallying earmarks--be they "hard" or "soft"--on face value gravely underrates their impact on our legislative process. If a few paltry millions can bring a key lawmaker on board, a bill worth billions may pass, which should have failed on its merits. In this way, the damage done by earmarks may be under-estimated a thousand fold. Worse, that bad bill may cost more than dollars. Matters of war and peace, our civil liberties and our system of government is in the hands of these lawmakers. They have more important things to do than to scramble for the pork barrel.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549