America: The global view
. Perhaps the most thought-provoking letter I've received since opening the blog came today from Pedro, a Brazilian who posts regularly at Billmon: Although The Yorkshire Lad may have overstated the case against the United States, I would like to say that, [Orcinus]

A very interesting perspective. I would submit, though, that the view of Americans he has is a stereotype that, while true in many ways, does not represent the views of a large number of Americans. The difficulty is that these views are not easily seen in the major media or many other corporate-driven entertainment machines. They are views that have not had a cohesive polish put to them but there are people in America who do value diversity and do not want to make everyone just like the US. IBut these voices do not make it overseas very often, in ways that allow others to hear, just as so many of the voices from overseas are not heard correctly here. We need to find a way to connnect these groups.  11:06:57 PM    

Collective Punishment. Another fun letter to the editor. What a day!

Executions would halt killings

We can stop the murders of American soldiers in Iraq by those who seek revenge or to regain their power. Whenever there is an assassination or another atrocity we should proceed to the closest mosque and execute five of the first Muslims we encounter.

After all this is a "Holy War" and although such a procedure is not fair or just, it might end the horror.

Machiavelli was correct. In war it is more effective to be feared than loved and the end result would be a more equitable solution for both giving us a chance to build a better Iraq for the Iraqis.

- EMORY METZ WRIGHT JR., M.D.

[Eschaton]

What kind of editorial staff would think this is a worthwhile letter to take up column space? Who thinks that randomly killing civilians is a useful policy? The romans used to do that, killing every tenth man, thus the word decimate. How many people want to travel down that path? This is a newspaper as talk radio. Be devisive. Not rational but divisive.  12:26:04 AM