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DUH, SCOTT!
As Christopher Cox's Libertarian opponent in the 47th Congressional District, I have to say that R. Scott Moxley's observations are hardly surprising (“Clintonesque Cox,” Sept. 29). Moxley alleges that Cox released his report on U.S.-Russian policy to make Al Gore look bad and thereby help the George W. Bush campaign. Well, duh! It's an election year, and that's how the game is played. Of greater concern is Cox's continuing aggressive support for the failed war on drugs. Just this week, he posted a statement on the Internet that includes the following remarks: “Our goal should be not simply to decertify Mexico as a partner in the war on drugs but in fact to fully certify them, to bring them to the point where they are in compliance and to bring the United States' efforts up to par, where we will not have to admit honestly to ourselves that drug use among adults has gone up every year in this country since 1992, the first sustained increase since the 1970s; where we will have to no longer admit to ourselves that marijuana use among teens is doubling.”
Oddly enough, the DEA and other drug-war hawks claim that drug use is declining, thanks to their heavy-handed efforts. So either they're giving us a load of horse manure or Cox is. But what the hell: this kind of rhetoric plays well with the neofascists who are willing to waste billions of dollars, imprison millions of people, destroy the Bill of Rights, and get the U.S. involved in a war with Colombia. And Christopher Cox wants their support.
David F. Nolan
founder, Libertarian Party
congressional candidate, 47th District R. Scott Moxley responds: How odd. Libertarians usually don't shrug and say “duh” when an ambitious congressman wastes tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a worthless and blatantly partisan government “report,” election year or not.NO, HE HATES HUMANITY, TOO
RE: Letters, Sept. 29: Will Swaim's compassionate, diplomatic response to Ezell's widow reminds me of John Lennon's line from his song “I Don't Wanna Face It”: “You wanna to save humanity, but it's people that you just can't stand.”
Linda Grant
via e-mailWE'RE NO. 17!
I note that at George W. Bush's Little Saigon rally, Tom Fuentes, head of Orange County's Republican Party, asserted that we are “America's most Republican county” (“Yeah, We Want Bush” by R. Scott Moxley, Sept. 22). Based on the only sensible standard—actual election results—the statement is wildly inaccurate. Consider 1998 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Fong, who won Orange County but whose margin of victory was greater in 16 other counties. This would make Orange County the 17th most Republican county out of California's 57. Well, maybe it all depends on the meaning of the word “most.”
Donald B. Delano
via e-mailWE MAKE HER RALPH
Rebecca Schoenkopf's coverage of Ralph Nader's visit to Cal State Long Beach did a very great disservice to Ralph Nader (“Is This Thing On?” Sept. 22). She somehow missed the main event at CSULB on Sept. 13, reporting only on the general-education class Nader met with in the morning, making it appear there was little interest in him here, and furthermore, she wrote that interest in Nader is ebbing in general. I arranged for Ralph Nader to visit CSULB and introduced him at our three events. I have also been volunteering on his presidential campaign since last January. Interest in his campaign has grown steadily, attracting more volunteers every day, and the major media (e.g., Tonight Show, Meet the Press, C-SPAN Live) are increasingly providing appearance opportunities to him. At his main CSULB event, we had an overflow crowd of at least 1,100. Local press coverage was terrific, with front-page stories and pictures in the student newspaper and the weekly community newspaper (which referred to Ralph as the “People's Candidate”) in addition to Long Beach's major daily, the Press-Telegram, which carried a front-page picture and a Page 3 story. Also in attendance were an AP photographer and a feature reporter from the Riverside Press Enterprise. Several radio stations, including KPFK and KLON, taped the event.
Saundra McMillan
Long Beach Rebecca Schoenkopf replies: I'm sorry you think I did Nader a disservice by pointing out that his numbers are ebbing—badly. The sad fact is that a lot of people are hopping onto the Gore train because with the Democratic Convention, Gore finally managed to get himself on television. As for your other problems with my story, I pointed out that Nader is enjoying rock-star-sized crowds of college students in places like Portland, where more people (10,000) turned out to see him than have turned out for any other candidate this election cycle. Student enthusiasm remains high: I predict Nader will single-handedly reverse the appalling trend of nonvoting among the 18 to 24 set—meaning Nader votes aren't votes for Bush because they're being cast by people who wouldn't have voted in the first place. And while I'm sure the student newspaper and theRiverside Press Enterprise are FANTASTIC periodicals, the fact remains that the major press outlets are ignoring him as diligently as they ever have. Take it up with them, not me. I had a house party for him.THE BLIND AND THE LAME
Jim Washburn's comment that the Reverend Fred Phelps is the most misunderstood performance artist of all time is rich (“Sweatin' to the Oligarchy,” Aug. 25). It almost makes up for Buddy Seigal's image, still stuck in my mind, of Ray Charles beating off (“Stop Or You'll Go Blind,” June 2).
Phillip Cox
Lakewood
