After a long pause from writing Letters to the Editor (LTE) I jumped back into the fray last week. The occasion of my return to poking local conservatives was being directly challenged by a local columnist. It seems even my on-line comments are enough to annoy our conservative writers.
In my first post of 2009, I want to wish all our loyal readers a new year filled with good health, happiness, and prosperity. I won’t wish anyone a new year filled with excitement and interesting times as I think most people have enough of that already. Not the good kind.
Another month gone, disappeared just like our money on Wall Street. Summer is past, Fall is starting and the leaves are already almost gone. Back when I was growing up my parents used to tell us that “money didn’t grow on trees.”
I wish they would have told that to the kids who grew up to be Wall Street Bankers.
It’s been a fast summer here in Virginia. Between my new job, boating, working around the house and other summertime stuff, There’s been very little time or energy for me to write. So consider this a catch-up posting for the last two months.
This weekend was a two boating-day weekend. Saturday I spent the afternoon bouncing around the Potomac between Occoquan and Quantico, and at anchor in a quiet cove over on the Maryland side. It was a nice afternoon (any time on the water is nice, actually) even though the water was a bit rough. Sunday I went out again with friends as a two-boat rally, which turned out to be a bit of adventure.
The Republican Smear Machine has already started cranking out their nonsense in all its finest glory. Some of it leaked out into our local newspaper editorials section of “The Potomac News” on June 15, about Senator Obama allegedly breaking his promise to not take Lobbyist money. With this letter, I decided to officially become an “activist” and get clarification directly from the Obama campaign.
I’ve been a bit slow in re-posting my monthly Letter’s to The Editor (LTEs) for June and July. As I’ve mentioned before, last July I made it a goal to get at least one letter per month published in our local newspaper The Potomac News.
I’ve actually met that goal so far, having one letter per month published since last August, and one column under my byline. With everything else I’ve been doing these past couple of months, I’ve been a bit slow republishing them here. So here is my June LTE.
Winnie loves to grow things. Calling her a “natural gardener” may be a fair statement even though she did grow up in a small farming village. Having seen the village she grew up in with it’s wonderful small vegetable plots surrounded by hundreds of acres of rice fields, I’m not too surprised she’s good with plants. But she really does love to grow plants and work in gardens.
She is also extremely resourceful.
It’s the 4th of July again. Just another great day for kicking off the summer season with fireworks, Bar-Be-Ques, picnics at the parks or beaches, or just hanging out with family and friends. Oh, and it’s also the day we celebrate the official birth of our nation.
Changing the Tone of Discussion
Back on December 28, 2008, I had my latest letter to the editor (LTE) published in our local newspaper the Potomac News. This letter was a rebuttal and answer to our local columnist James Simpson. Mr. Simpson subsequently promised a rebuttal to my answer, and this week he did just that.
Not much of a surprise there, but what did pleasantly surprise me was his tone. He actually wrote a respectful response laying out his opinions without any hint of mocking me.
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James Simpson Letters To The Editor LTE Politics Potomac News