Years ago, as a police officer in Texas, I lived by one very simple rule (as do most police officers) when I stopped someone for a traffic violation. I either wrote a ticket or I bitched at the person for being stupid. But never both.
I've found this is sound advice in life. So while I understand the giddiness of the winning populace after the election, I do not understand the vitriol that has been thrown on the Bush administration after this wonderful win.
We should be celebrating a victory for democracy, not chasing the last administration out with insults and jeers. As Plato said, "Every form of government tends to perish by excess of its basic principle." Whether the excesses of the Bush era will show him as the "worst" president ever or not, it's not really for us to say. The fact is that the terrorism that put a stranglehold on this country a few months after Bush took office required action. There is no way to know how excessive that action was, or whether a different course would have produced different results. The one thing we do know is that our new president inherits a country that has had no terrorist acts on its soil since 9/11, and only 10 percent of voters polled at this year's election thought it was even an issue.
Let's let the last administration be. We voted. We wrote a ticket. That's enough. Celebrate history, and then move forward.
Because yes, there's a lot of work to be done.
Bob Heruska
Cambridge
Out with the old
Regarding "Obama Redraws the Map": with Rahm Emanuel's appointment to White House chief of staff, it appears Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean's "50 state strategy" is kaput. The congressman from Illinois was adamantly against the Dean strategy, and was party to a shouting match with DNC apparatchik Donna Brazile in the halls of the DNC around the concept. Emanuel felt money should be targeted to certain needy states only. Others, including former Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman Phil Johnston, opted to roll with Dean's point of view — a spread-the-wealth thing. You go, Rahm; yes, you can!
Jeffry McNary
Cambridge
Scary, indeed
I'm surprised "The 25 Scariest Conservatives" is in the "Talking Politics" section, it really ought to be in the humor section. This whole article is a joke, and at the same time a glowing endorsement for every person mentioned here. In fact, the higher up the list, the more I am going to pay attention to them. This kind of trash is the reason why liberal newspapers and news stations are losing money out the wazoo. It's no coincidence that NBC had to cut $500 million from the budget. Something must be turning people away from watching NBC and MSNBC. Hmm . . . can you say Keith Olbermann? David S. Bernstein, if you keep writing stuff like this, your next big line will be: "Would you like fries with that?"
James Litvak
Charlotte, North Carolina
Fill up your dance card
Great article, Chris and Sara! The Lindy Hop community loves getting attention.
There are, in fact, a bunch of other opportunities to get out swing dancing in Boston in addition to those you listed. They can all be found on havetodance.com.
See you on the dance floor.
Adam LaMontagne
Framingham
