Posted on 05/27/2004 1:40:03 PM PDT by jmstein7
Young man, you are posting to fellow defenders of the conservative faith! We have proved our rhetorical skills in verbal jousts with liberals, commmies and other assorted wackos! We know how to communicate in pithy ways and God knows we know how to persuade our fellow citizens w/o a form letter!
My good sir, we are not dolts!
Y'all can't have it both ways. When I post an item without samples, I get blasted by people who would like to participate, but don't have time to think-out a letter.
When I do put samples, I get blasted for dumbing-down FR.
I just can't win in this paradox.
No, we're not "dolts," but we know about time management...and NOT reinventing the wheel....thanks, jmstein7...
Number 4 sent to the Memphis TN paper!
Any possible way we could avoid go positive FOR Bush instead of negative against Kerry. I've always viewed negative politics and personal attacks as liberal tactics. We wouldn't want to stoop to that level, would we.
I was going to write a letter to our useless local rag anyway (it's summer - school's out), so I'll compose a couple and post them for y'all. Thanks again, guys! Gotta get the word out!
My brain's going faster than my fingers - too much coffee, I guess...
In early 2001, for the first time in a decade, our economy was heading into recession. Quickly after his inauguration, President George W. Bush passed a massive $1.9 trillion tax-cut package, which has translated into massive economic benefits. Sure enough, this year alone nearly 1 million jobs have been created, and unemployment has dropped to Reagan-era levels. Inflation is nearly nonexistent, less than half of a percent, and interest rates are at a 30-year low. The GDP is growing at a tremendous pace, and our economy is in full recovery mode. Even better, the full supply-side benefits of the Bush tax cut have yet to fully take effect.
After 9/11, the specter of Islamic terrorism faced our country with a rigor never seen before. President Bush swiftly and strongly acted, and within months the terrorist-harboring Taliban was destroyed and al-Qaeda, perhaps the biggest terrorist threat and culprit behind 9/11, was decimated. Libya, another major terrorist threat, was so frightened by our decisive actions in Afghanistan, they immediately ceased all terrorist activity, and ended their biological and nuclear weapons programs, opening their borders to UN inspectors and befriending the US, without a shot being fired.
The war on terrorism did not stop in Afghanistan, however. After trying for a year to get a UN Security Council Resolution condemning Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime passed and failing, President Bush took action without the UN, fulfilling President Clinton’s 1998 Iraqi Liberation Act and a more recent resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq (both passed by overwhelming majorities in Congress). Within weeks, coalition forces (representing nearly 15 countries, with many more sending aid and approval) had toppled the most brutal, extremist, tyrannical regime since Hitler.
Saddam Hussein had brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people, funded terrorist operations (including al-Qaeda) and presidential palaces using oil-for-food money, and clearly defied UN Res. 1441, refusing UN inspectors access to much of Iraq. If Saddam did not have WMDs, why would he not allow inspectors to confirm this assertion?
Regardless of the liberal rhetoric being spread, the occupation since has been a smashing success and casualties minimal. Transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi-controlled government is still on schedule for the end of this month, and our Army is training an Iraqi security force to take over police duties. In two years or less, Iraq will be a free, democratic country and the war for its freedom a historical anecdote.
Polls show overwhelmingly the three issues most important to voters this election season are the economy, the war on terrorism, and Iraq. The facts clearly show that President Bush is doing a superb job on each. President Bush is a great man and a great leader, and four more years of his leadership would be the best thins for this country. Your vote, especially here in Florida, is essential.
Joshua R. Simmons (not affiliated with the Bush campaign)
Lake City, FL
This is the letter that I just sent to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, [Jacksonville] Florida Times-Union, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Palm Beach Post, Gainesville Sun, Pensacola News Journal, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Tallahassee Democrat, Lake City Reporter, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. Since I only subscribe to and read the Reporter and Times-Union, I'd much appreciate it if fellow FReepers would keep an eye out for it (and if you read the Times or Post, you have my pity...). I doubt it will be published in all 16 newspapers, but it never hurts to try.
FReepers are given full rights to the above material and unconditional discretion in editing it to their personal tastes (just don't use my name with it ;)). I suggest you not send a letter similar in phrase and structure to the above-mentioned papers (as surely there would be cries of "conspiracy"), but PLEASE write letters to your local papers.
If you have a different letter you want to send to these Florida papers, you can FReepmail me for the full list of e-mail addresses.
Keep on FReepin' on!
Your letter really sums it up, Klavg. Very good.
There are many small towns throughout the country that are very eager to publish letters, even if the author is from another state. One such paper is: www.leaderherald.com, in upstate NY. Even though I don't live in the town, they have published almost every one of my letters.
Does anyone know of any other small town newspapers that tend to publish most of the letters they receive?
Remember, the presidency was won by only around 275 votes in Florida. Why knows? It could happen that way again in Florida or any other state.
We should also call talk radio shows - both local and national.
I would like to send a response to a letter to the editor listed below. I cannot, because they only allow one letter a month, & I just sent one. If anyone is interested in tackling this, or even sending a "generic" letter and including the website www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.org with the letter, please visit www.leaderherald.com & click "letter to editor."
Here's the letter:
Administration misled citizens on war in Iraq
Thank you for your fine article, "Crosses at shrine honor fallen soldiers."
Veterans For Peace recognizes the honorable intent of our servicemen and women currently in Iraq. However, we do not believe this war is in legitimate defense of our country. We feel the American people have been misled by a failed administration in Washington. We clearly support the troops. In their support, we say, "Bring them home, now." We are dismayed by our government's attempts to deny the cost of this war, our sons and daughters, by trying to hide the deaths of so many of our young from the American public. Perhaps if more of the current administration had actually served in the military rather than having "other priorities" when their country called upon them, they might have proved more competent in handling foreign policy and avoiding a pre-emptive war with a nation which had no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to al-Qaida and that did not attack us.
There is also one correction in the article I feel honor-bound to make. I did not serve in Vietnam. I served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1965 to 1969 during the Vietnam era. After attending a Vietnamese language school in 1966, possibly in 1967 at El Torro Air Station in California, I put in for assignment, likely to be sent to Vietnam, but was sent to Okinawa instead.
I thank God for that very good fortune. I would also add by way of explanation that the crosses we used at the shrine are not modeled after Arlington. The concept for this memorial comes from a Veterans For Peace ongoing display in Santa Barbara, Calif., where VFP Chapter 54 has modeled its crosses after Arlington. This project is named Arlington West. For more information about Arlington West or Veterans For Peace, we have an excellent Web site at www.veteransforpeace.org. Thanks again for your fine local coverage.
JOHN AMIDON
Albany (New York)
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