Dispatches from Dubya’s America
Via AmericaBlog and Atrios. These letters from “red America”—received by the founder of USAToday, Al Neuarth, after he suggested that the U.S. should bring its troops home from Iraq “sooner rather than later”—have to be read to be believed. You’d think that offering an opinion on the war in Iraq amounted to high treason.
Here are some highlights.
Jerry Martin, San Francisco, CA.: “Yet another self-defeating fool with a large bank account shoots himself in the foot. Their dissent equals treason. The terrorists got him just like all the other rich liberals who side against our victory. They forget that wars end, and then the country takes stock of who was where. I encourage the fool to keep mouthing against our victory over the Muslim jihad, he’ll pay the social price in the end.”
Joe McBride, Fort Dodge, Iowa: “Mr. Neuharth, thanks to you and your ignorance the terrorists are probably booking their flights to the U.S. now! If we pull out of Iraq with the job unfinished the terrorists will be bombing McDonalds, and blowing up malls and schools here, killing our innocent men, women and children.”
Duggan Flanakin, Austin, Texas: “Neuharth should be tried for treason along with a lot of other blowhards who should be spending their energies condemning the barbarism of our enemies, the same people who destroyed the Twin Towers. Evidence is pouring in that Saddam financed Al Qaeda with Oil for Food money, and that puts Kofe Annan into the line of fire as well for blame for September 11th.”
Mel Gibbs: “The Patriot Act will put both of you (Al Neuharth and Greg Mitchell) on trial for treason and convict and execute both of you as traitors for running these stories in a time of war and it should be done on TV for other communist traitors like you two to know we mean business. This is war and you should be put in prison NOW for talking like this. Who the hell do you people think you are? You give aid and comfort to our enemies and aid them in murdering our proud soldiers. You people are a disgrace to America. Your families should be put in prison with you, then be made to leave and move to the Middle East …You two guys
are evil bastards…This is a great Christian nation and god
wants us to lead the world out of darkness with great leaders like
President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Communists like Al and Greg will soon be in prison and on death row for your ugly papers. We won the election and now you are mad. We own America and all the rights, you people are trash, go back to Russia and Africa and take your friends with before we put you on death row after a fair trial.”
These are the people who have your president’s ear; the people he’s beholden to; the people who put him in office. However, above the din, a tiny voice of reason can just barely be heard:
Justin Iovenitti: “We seem to have forgotten the value of discourse. His opinion piece urging the quick return of troops from Iraq is nothing more and nothing less than that: an opinion. There are Americans on both side of this issue, but neither can be disregarded as unpatriotic. The only way we betray our soldiers is through apathy. Unfortunately, we are more apt to hear he who yells loudest over the less audible voice of reason.”
My guess is that it’s this “less audible voice” will be drowned out or ignored.