Please proof/critique my latest LTTE (Letter to the Editor)

[NewJeffCT]

Thanks

>>>
In 1993, when the US lost 18 soldiers in Somalia, outraged Republicans in Congress forced President Clinton to remove troops within six months, and that was negotiated because Republicans originally wanted an immediate withdrawal. Now, in 2007, we have lost nearly 4,000 soldiers in the quagmire of Iraq and all reports indicate we are less safe because of Iraq. However, few in Congress are challenging the president and demanding a timeline for withdrawal, despite overwhelming support of both Americans and Iraqis. Meanwhile, the media uncritically celebrates President Bush for sticking with an already required drawdown of troops in the summer of 2008. In that time, another thousand or so Americans will die by Iraq next summer, thousands more will be wounded and still more will be forever changed by the experience. How many more widows must be made for all of Congress to stand up and tell our President that enough is enough?

[BulletproofLandshark]

1. Nice

It would also be worthwhile to add that the first President Bush put those troops in Somalia 1 month before he left office to leave a mess for President Clinton to clean up.

[CTyankee]

2. Hi Jeff, Great letter and I'm glad you contrasted Clinton with Bush.

Is there any way you can break up your long paragraph into 2 or 3 small paragraphs. I think people find it difficult to follow a long paragraph with long sentences. We're so used to sound bites now. The last sentence is so powerful, it could stand on its own as a zinging finish to the letter.

Is this being sent to The Hartford Courant?

[NewJeffCT]

3. I should submit it to the Courant

In which case, I would add a few words into it and break it up into paragraphs.

[CTyankee]

10. Hope you don't get hate mail from Clinton haters. I did when I dared

to compare what Clinton did with the economy vs. shrub in a letter to the NH Register. I got a crudely written, anonymous (of course)letter filled with sexual innuendo in the mail. As a man, you may not get that kind of letter. These RWingers are just so obvious in their mental illness...

[NewJeffCT]

11. Last year, when I had a letter on the George Will "Jim Webb is a boor" column

I had pointed out how Will - in proclaiming Jim Webb to be a boor - had conveniently ignored Bush's actions (as reported in Will's own paper, the Washington Post) in taunting Webb when reporting Webb's terse response to Bush. I had also added in the comment about Bush saying "pussy" when asked by a Courant reporter what he discussed with his father. (I had said, "used a vulgarity" and not actually used "pussy" in my letter - the Courant LTTE person said he had never heard the story, but looked it up to verify.)

A person called me up around 10pm on Sunday night (it was published in the Sunday Courant) and first asked me if I was the person that had written the letter, and I said it was me... they then asked if I knew the real Jim Webb. I hung up.

[hisownpetard]

4. LTTE? n/t

[BulletproofLandshark]

5. Letter To The Editor

[hisownpetard]

17. Thank you!

[11 Bravo]

6. Letter to the editor n/t

[hisownpetard]

16. Thanks!

[11 Bravo]

22. You're welcome.

And welcome to DU. You're going to love it here!

:hi: :toast: :hi:

[hisownpetard]

24. Thanks so much. I already do, and have the carpal tunnel to prove it! n/t

[NewJeffCT]

7. welcome to DU

I changed the subject line to make it clearer.

[hisownpetard]

12. Yes, saw that. Thanks! And thanks for the welcome, too. Love it here! n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Only One Thing I Noticed, Jeff

In the last or second to last sentence, you wrote "In that time, another thousand or so Americans will die by Iraq next summer,..."

I think you meant IN Iraq, not BY Iraq.

Other than that, i've got nothing but praise.
The Professor

[NewJeffCT]

9. thanks - good catch

I had originally typed "by next summer" and did a crappy job of editing it when I reworded my sentence. Good thing I posted it here before sending it on...

[Ilsa]

13. It is a wonderful letter, but IMO, it places the onus on

Congress, not Bush*, for holding the troops hostage in Iraq.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Right now, Congress is our only hope

If Bush has his way, the troops will still be there on January 20, 2009. And, I'm guessing it will probably be at least 130,000 of them.

[RebelOne]

15. Very good. The only fault I find is the same as another poster caught --

"by Iraq" instead of "in Iraq." I'm a copy editor, so I am qualified to say it is a well-written letter.

[EFerrari]

18. Great letter, Jeff! Go get 'em!

:applause:

[w8liftinglady]

19. Great Letter jeff,and if you want to see it printed elsewhere...

[e-mail]
he is very fair,and I think he enjoys the cloud stirred up between the few liberals here and his massive fundie base.

[bluethruandthru]

20. It's great Jeff...

But I'd love to see something in there like: Were congressional Republicans so anxious to leave Somalia because there's no oil there?

[NewJeffCT]

21. I doubt that was the reason

They did it because CNN showed the bodies of American soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and they had an easy way to bash Clinton and make him look weak on defense - nobody seems to remember that it was the Republics - with John McCain one of the leaders - who demanded the pullout (along with some conservative Dems like Sam Nunn)

[bunkerbuster1]

23. One small correction

Change "How many more widows must be made..." to "How many more widows, widowers, and orphans must be made..."

Not only does it acknowledge the women who've perished in this horror, it reminds that there are children being left without a dad or a mom.

And, rhetorically, it's always good to have three of something.

Otherwise, good stuff, and thanks for reminding the knuckle-draggers about their hypocrisy about Clinton.

[NewJeffCT]

25. I was trying to keep it under 150 words

so, I did not include widowers and orphans, but I agree 100% with your sentiment.

[Netbeavis]

26. no changes here. Nice job.