Europe Needs to Speak Up The Europeans won’t be heard when their statements about not wanting this “war on terrorism” to expand into Iraq are spoken cautiously and without serious threats. There was hesitation in Europe to engage in military “solutions” in Afghanistan, but, when the US refuses to budge, Europe, like a humble servant, goes along. Will the Iraq question show that there can be no opposition to the US? If Europe wants to promote different agendas, it needs, like the rest of the world, to be more assertive. The more objections to US intervention that aren’t followed up by serious protest, the more Europe will remain outside of the administration’s vision. Georgette L Wirth
Re: “Bush’s European Blind Spot”
01/24/02
What is anti-Americanism? Todd Gitlin’s charge of “anti-Americanism” almost defies comment. What Mr. Gitlin is saying is that not only should citizens not call for analysis of the reasons for the 9-11 attack, but they should not even criticize the government. This is beyond belief, especially coming from a “scholar” in a democratic society. The Constitution is an American document, and it calls for freedom of speech and assembly for the specific purpose of discussing issues in a crisis. So, for a person to use the label “anti-American” to describe someone using his freedom of speech is absurd. I have admired Mr. Gitlin in the past, but I will have to reevaluate my admiration based on the shameful writing in his article. Randy Murrell
Re: “Blaming America First”
01/24/02
The Milken Mistake The biggest mistake made in the last 20 years was allowing Michael Milken to cop a plea. His involvement with the S&Ls and our politicians was never understood by most Americans. We are still paying for it today. It opened the gates for the Enrons and the absolute corruption of our political system. Elder Bush passed the S&L mess to the taxpayer. The people who ripped the system off are the wealthiest unpunished group of criminals in our society today including Milken and the Bush clan. Paul Mcquillen
Re: “No Assurances”
01/16/02
A little blame should go around to all the distributors of annuities who did not do their due diligence. As a broker for a major Wall Street firm, I sold these insurance products. I pitched them as a “safe” place to put money and avoid paying taxes in the near term. Think about that, a tax advantage product. Who authorized that one? The federal government, of course.
Ed Escoffier
