The net that shall enmesh them all
Edited, Written, and Published by Josh Nossiter
Friday, June 6th, 2008
PO Box 7802
Merrifield, VA 22116
Dear John McCain,
Thank you for yours of May 12th. You write that you “are in the most important fight of your life” for the “core principals of individual freedom, small government, and unflagging dedication to defending our nation” and ask for my financial support. Before I send a check, I ask that you clarify a few points about your policies and beliefs. Forgive me for relying on Michael Tomasky’s excellent piece in the New York Review of Books, Who is John McCain, but you appear to have changed your mind so many times about so many things that I needed Tomasky’s help to keep it all straight.
How do you reconcile your ideal of small government with your pledge to fight a global war without end against shadowy enemies without borders? In Iraq alone we will spend three trillion dollars according to economist Joseph Stieglitz. The gigantic government-military-industrial bureaucracy required to fight an open-ended world war makes small government impossible. Our war of choice in Iraq has weakened our military while greatly strengthening our enemies in Iran, Syria, and Al Qaeda. How will remaining in Iraq for another five to ten thousand years, as you have recommended, help defend our nation?
You have championed campaign finance reform but your own campaign has been run by professional lobbyists. And although you have been the Republican nominee for many weeks, it is Senator Obama who pledged to eschew PAC and lobbyist money. He has been the Democratic nominee only since last Tuesday.
You voted against Bush’s tax cuts for the rich and now you want to make them permanent. You said you would not support the repeal of Roe vs. Wade but now you say its repeal wouldn’t bother you. You challenged the Bush administration on torture and then supported the Military Commissions Act, which invalidates the Geneva Conventions. You supported comprehensive immigration reform and now you support a militarized border. You called hate-mongering charlatans like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson agents of intolerance and now you seek and obtain endorsements from them and their colleagues.
How do you square your belief in individual freedom with your support of warrantless wire-tapping? Frankly it makes me highly uneasy that, given your approval of such intrusive illegality, you have my name and address.
I hope you have utterly compelling explanations for each of the above points. Otherwise, rather than my sending you a check, you should pay me. It will be some compensation for this appalling public record of dishonesty and hypocrisy.
Sincerely,
Josh Nossiter
©Joshua C. Nossiter, 2008
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A NOTE TO READERS ***Update***
Another three week plus hiatus, from April 30th until May 23rd, again due to Yahoo Geocities dismal service.
There was nothing new at The Nossiter Net between March 3rd and April 26th, 2007, nearly eight weeks. The reason: tech sabotage. Yahoo Geocities, the host for this site, denied access for the entire period. At one point, they even managed to lose all the files. In many discussions with Yahoo staff, no clear explanation was forthcoming. No one seemed able to fix the problem. Ruling out the possibility of Dubbya’s revenge, I finally wrote to Mr. Terry Semel, Chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Inc and described the ordeal the page had undergone since the beginning of March. A week later, a helpful Yahooo engineer named Jason called. He had my letter before him. Though he couldn’t do the repairs on on the spot, he promised a fix by the next day. That was April 26th, nearly two months after shutting me down in the first place.
The Nossiter Net apologizes, which is more than I can say for Yahoo Geocities.
