Democrats Find Many Big Donors Cutting Support

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/us/politics/30dems.html?_r=1&dbk


From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 7:08 AM
Subject: re: Democrats Find Many Big Donors Cutting Support
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   In this new era of unrestrained fundraising, many Democrats are reluctant to get into a dollar for dollar footrace with America's corporations. The conclusion is foregone and the lesson comes at high cost. Many also feel that a Democratic leadership that continues to ask for money as the system is being destroyed, instead of working at deep campaign finance reform is too dumb to use the money well.

Barry Levine

Insurgent Group in Iraq, Declared Tamed, Roars

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/world/middleeast/28qaeda.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=insurgent%20group%20in%20iraq&st=cse

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From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 8:07 AM
Subject: re: Insurgent Group in Iraq, Declared Tamed, Roars
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Anyone who is surprised at a resurgence of violence in Iraq hasn't been paying attention. When general Petraeus armed and empowered ethnic militias to patrol their own turf, he tamped down the monthly bloodshed. He did not move us towards a peaceful Iraq. Rather, each ethnic group took the opportunity to retrench and waited for U.S. troops to leave.  President Obama is working hard to get out without giving the signal to resume the Iraqi civil war. It may prove impossible. That should be no surprise.

Barry Levine

U.S. Wants to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html?_r=1&hp

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Subject: re: U.S. Wants to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   When the general counsel for the FBI says "We're talking about lawfully authorized intercepts. We're not talking expanding authority", she deserves a serious hearing. She is, after all our public servant, executing the electorate's will. The request comes however against a backdrop of lawless behavior by our own public servants. In the only case to go to trial, judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the NSA's wiretaps of al-haRamain violated the 1978 FISA statute.  We still don't know how many illegal wiretaps were placed, or against whom they were placed, or indeed if they are still ongoing.  In the end, Congress may pass the legislation that the FBI is asking for. It would be foolish to do so before we have learned how existing authorizations have been trampled.

Barry Levine

Secrets Cited in White House Effort to Block Suit

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world/25awlaki.html?scp=1&sq=al-awlaki&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 8:05 PM
Subject: re: Secrets Cited in White House Effort to Block Suit
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    The assertion of "State Secrets" has been advanced to quash many things since the Reynolds case; the courts have usually shown great deference.  It is not however an absolute trump. When it is advanced to justify killing a U.S. citizen with neither a trial nor even criminal charges, any legitimate court must reject the argument.  To acquiesce would be to concede that none of our Rights are in fact Rights, but that we enjoy them only when our absolute Executive doesn't object.  That's not the system our president and judges have sworn to protect. That is not my America.

The Responsibility Deficit

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=the%20responsibility%20deficit&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 9:24 AM
Subject: re: The Responsibility Deficit
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   I had to read this one twice. A professional pundit--a veritable priest of the Political Class--presumes to tell us what to be angry about, because the Political Class doesn't have our interests at heart. David Brooks has grown into a caricature of condescension. If this is populism, it is the populism of a salon inside the beltway, interested in the people only to manipulate them.

Barry Levine

Chief of Staff Pick Would Offer a View on Obama’s Strategy

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/us/politics/23bai.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=chief-of-staff&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 8:38 AM
Subject: re: Chief of Staff Pick Would Offer a View on Obama’s Strategy
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    In the last twenty months, president Obama (formerly of the U.S. Senate) and Rahm Emanuel (formerly of the U.S. House of Representatives) can point to some signal legislative achievements.  In that same time however the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the U.S. has failed to end discrimination in those Armed Forces, and our Chief Executive has failed to enforce our treaty obligations with respect to torturers. If professor Obama can't remind president Obama how the Separation of Powers works, perhaps a new Chief-of-Staff can.

Barry Levine

Lawsuits Accuse Megachurch Leader of Sexual Misconduct

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/us/22church.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=accuse%20megachurch%20leader%20of%20sexual%20misconduct&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Subject: re: Lawsuits Accuse Megachurch Leader of Sexual Misconduct
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    To bring a lawsuit, bishop Long's accusers have to identify themselves in a court of law. That is done in fairness to the accused. I would expect a newspaper to hold to a different standard. The victims of rape deserve anonymity in the press; no legitimate end is served by publishing the names of bishop Long's victims. Rather, the publicity is likely to deter other victims from coming forward, and justice is not served.

Barry Levine

The Angry Rich

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/opinion/20krugman.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=krugman&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 11:25 AM
Subject: re: The Angry Rich
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. famously said "I like paying taxes; with them, I buy civilization".  Alas, his level of mature responsibility has never been common. A generation of brats now hold the levers of wealth and power in this country and seem as eager to sequester the nation's wealth in their private bank accounts any swaggering third-world dictator. No one knows how to raise up an electorate as wise as justice Holmes. We do however know how to empower these brats.  As long our representatives in congress spend every day courting donors, they will socialize with donors and they will represent donors.  Only when their campaigns are financed with federal tax money will they be free to represent the electorate.

Barry Levine

U.S. Debates Response to Targeted Killing Lawsuit

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/world/16awlaki.html?_r=1&sq=charlie%20savage&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1284656450-WndI5KvvvwJ2JoN3xQCdvw

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From: barry levine 
Date: Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Subject: re: U.S. Debates Response to Targeted Killing Lawsuit
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    Barack Husein Obama has vast power has President of the United States of American and Commander-in-Chief of her Armed Forces. Still, this power has limits, even in war-time.  As an American citizen--even as an alleged traitor to his country--Anwar al-Awlaki can be deprived of life, liberty or property only by the due process of law. Even if Mr. Obama were a duly-constituted court of law, he couldn't impose a death sentence without first charging, trying and convicting Mr. al-Awlaki.  Professor Obama knew and taught this.  If he or members of his administration are now maneuvering to obstruct the workings of our justice system, he is doing it in violation of his oath of office.

Barry Levine

U.S. Debates Karzai’s Place in Fighting Corruption

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/asia/15corruption.html?_r=1&hp

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From: barry levine 
Date: Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Subject: re: U.S. Debates Karzai’s Place in Fighting Corruption
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    If President Karzai can't be trusted to participate in the prosecution of corruption in Afghanistan, it is not worth the life of a single American to keep him in office. The U.S. has a long history of propping up corrupt regimes abroad. I can't think of an instance in which this has ended well for us. Rather, we have seen again and again that corrupt regimes are toppled and their backers earn a reputation for imperialist interlopers.

Barry Levine

Boehner Plays Central Role in Democratic Ad

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/us/politics/14boehner.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=boehner&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 12:35 PM
Subject: re: Boehner Plays Central Role in Democratic Ad
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Until we enact comprehensive campaign finance reform, congressman Boehner will be representative of both the Republican and the Democratic parties in our Congress. As long as our legislators have to be raising money for the next campaign all year, all the time, they will be disproportionately responsive to their donors at the expense of the rest of their constituents.  For the majority of Americans who aren't big campaign donors, there is a better way. If only we could  get the ear of our Legislature...

Time for This Big Dog to Bite Back

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/opinion/12rich.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=time%20for%20this%20big%20dog%20to%20bite%20back&st=cse

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 2:31 PM
Subject: re: Time for This Big Dog to Bite Back
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    President Obama needs to remember what professor Obama taught: the power of the purse if vested in the Legislative branch. As head of the Democratic party in the U.S., he has a bully platform from which to cheerlead, but he does not hold the levers of power to tax or to spend or to stimulate.  As commander-in-chief of our Armed Services he has the power to end Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell today, as Truman ended segregation in our military. As President of the U.S. he has the power to prosecute torturers--as our statutes and our treaties require--today.  Likewise, he can enforce our constitutional guarantees from unreasonable (i.e. warrantless) wiretaps.

   Next month, we will send new representatives and senators to Washington to wield Legislative power. On some crucial issues, we're still waiting to see the president of the United States wield Executive power to deliver the Change we voted for.

Barry Levine

Court Dismisses a Case Asserting Torture by C.I.A.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/us/09secrets.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Subject: re: Court Dismisses a Case Asserting Torture by C.I.A.
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

  In ruling that an assertion of National Security can preclude a trial--rather than just limit what evidence is admissible--the Ninth Circuit court has eroded a precious pillar of American self-government. If we enjoy due process of law only by grace of our Executive, then it is not a guaranteed right.  By this same logic, any other of the rights ostensibly guaranteed by our constitution can be waived at the Executives say-so.   We look to our Supreme Court to reverse this decision. If it stands, our republic falls.

Barry Levine

You Ain’t Seen This Before

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/opinion/01friedman.html?_r=1

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Subject: re:You Ain’t Seen This Before
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Eight years ago, when Thomas L. Friedman was banging the drum for war in Iraq, it was because toppling Saddam Hussein was going to bring us peace in the Middle East. Now Saddam is gone, and mr. Friedman sees that peace in the Middle East is still a difficult project. Perhaps he had other motives for leading Americans into war. Or perhaps he's growing up.

Barry Levine