Dear Manny,
Hello, Kuya1 Manny. May I call you Kuya Manny? You feel like “Kuya” to me: Whenever you fight, my other Filipino American friends and I light up our Facebook feeds with pugilistic patriotism for our parents’ homeland. You feel like ours. Your wins are our wins.
But today my friends had a lot of names for you. “Bigot” and “idiot” were their favorites. I keep looking inside me for some anger at you, but, weirdly, I just can’t find it. Instead, I find that I just want to talk to you.
Well, Kuya Manny, I have to say, first: I’m glad it turns out that you don’t want me to die. I believe you when you say you haven’t read the Book of Leviticus yet.
But I have read Leviticus, Kuya. I’ve read it too many times. When I was in Catholic high school, and I couldn’t help but...
Lifestyle
Dear Greek Brothers,
It’s been an agonizing year for us. Violence abounds both within chapters and against those who trust us. Hazing has continued and had led to the deaths of a Sig Ep pledge at Clemson, a Kappa Sigma pledge at West Virginia, and one of my PiKapp brothers at Cal State-Northridge. Everywhere I turn – from The Atlantic to just down the road from me in Baltimore – there is evidence of rape committed and covered up on our campuses and within Greek Life. Though some may point to the “discrepancies” found in the sensational Rolling Stone/UVA rape article as proof that this situation is overblown, Mother Jones and Vox tell us that violence is alive and well. A “boys will be boys” culture of violence continues on campus and needs to be uprooted. Only when we grow up to be...
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Dear Mr Breslin,
A number of recent articles have appeared in connection with an apparent tip-off which you received from the NYPD advising you to attend the Feb. 21, 1965 rally at the Audubon Ballroom and at which Malcolm X was assassinated. These disturbing reports raise a number of concerns.
(See http://www.frostillustrated.com/2015/was-jimmy-breslin-tipped-off-about-malcolm-xs-assassination-50-years-ago/
and http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/did-nypd-know-malcolm-x-would-be-assassinated-and-tip-off)
At point 1:28 of this video a graphic appears of a February 1965 New York Herald Tribune article penned by you and in which you describe the NYPD’s arrest of two suspects in connection with the Malcolm X assassination–only to have the story later altered to...
3,156
Dear Senator Leahy,
We felt compelled to write to you regarding your recent call for the formation of a “Truth Commission”. According to your press comments, this Commission is supposed to look at the following:
the politicization of prosecution in the Justice Department
the wiretapping of U.S. citizens
the flawed intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq
the use of torture at Guantanamo and so-called black sites abroad
These are serious allegations of criminal activity by certain members of the Bush Administration. While we applaud your initiative in looking into these matters, we feel this approach is wrong.
As the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, you already have the responsibility and legal authority to investigate matters relating to federal criminal law...
2,086
Dear Conservatives:
In a few weeks, thousands of us will gather in Washington, DC, for CPAC. For three days, friendships will be rekindled, and new ones formed. Strategies will be developed.
It is a cliché that the Conservative Movement is a “Big Tent.” Well, clichés are sometimes true. Our movement is filled with people who have their individual approaches to improving our country. Economic conservatives want to cut taxes, national security conservatives want to maintain a top-notch military, and social conservatives want to strengthen America’s moral roots. All make valuable contributions.
This conservative coalition guided the nation through the tough economic times of the 1970s and early 1980s and into the prosperity of the 1990s and early 2000s. We gave America her backbone...
2,308
Dear Mr. Tenet:
We write to you on the occasion of the release of your book, At the Center of the Storm. You are on the record complaining about the “damage to your reputation”. In our view the damage to your reputation is inconsequential compared to the harm your actions have caused for the U.S. soldiers engaged in combat in Iraq and the national security of the United States. We believe you have a moral obligation to return the Medal of Freedom you received from President George Bush. We also call for you to dedicate a significant percentage of the royalties from your book to the U.S. soldiers and their families who have been killed and wounded in Iraq.
We agree with you that Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials took the United States to war for...
3,009
Dear William Hague
Quakers in Britain are deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine, particularly Gaza. We know that you share our concerns for the region.
We welcome your statement (8 July 2014) in which you call for all sides to do their utmost to act with restraint and to address the underlying causes of conflict and instability in Gaza.
As Quakers we say the violent loss of every life diminishes us all. Death by rocket attack, air strikes or brutal murder is equally appalling. As a Religious Society, we believe every life is of equal value.
Quakers in Britain recognise your endeavours on the world stage and urge you to fully employ your resources as Foreign Secretary to ensure that all sides are heard. We ask you to encourage those involved to...
2,427
Dear "kiwi",
What a ride it's been! New Zealanders young and old gathered around TV sets and radios and innovative online platforms this week to hear you triumph over the hated Australian dollar and achieve parity. "Ninety-nine point-seven-eight cents!" gasped the nation as one, wiping the perspiration from their brows with the green-hued alpine scene on the beloved $20 note.
It wasn't to be. On Tuesday the koala roared as the Australian Reserve Bank defied predictions by leaving interest rates unchanged. Their dollar tacked like Jimmy Spithill, it swung late like a Mitchell Starc yorker, and we were back to 98c. Yet you held your head high, New Zealand dollar, as your delicate skin was soaked with the ignoble, Juicy-Fruit-flecked phlegm of a Brad Haddin valedictory.
But you did...
1,874
Dear Secretary-General,
I am writing concerning the situation in South Sudan. Like you, we have been following the country’s descent into civil conflict with growing dismay and concern. Crisis Group has been greatly encouraged by the calls you have been making for a decisive international response to this critical development.
It is the position of Crisis Group that the current violence in South Sudan could both broaden and deepen, with greater ethnic underpinnings, indeed that it is arguably already doing so. The consequences for the country are extremely serious and could turn catastrophic. The fighting also has taken on regional implications, including through the presence of Ugandan military in South Sudan and Sudan’s interests in oil producing areas reportedly controlled by the...
2,113
Dear Prime Minister,
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to you. I can no longer stay silent in regard to your stance on the issue of man-made climate change.
I write as a mother of a 13-year-old son.
Like every parent, I want the best for my son and I worry about his future and for the future of all children.
My generation, like yours, has been incredibly blessed. Born as late baby boomers or early Gen X’ers, we have lived in a time without world wars and extraordinary wealth generation, something which our grand-parents could only have dreamed of.
We want for nothing. Our generation is one of the most blessed in the history of human civilisation.
With that good fortune, comes responsibility to do the right thing, not only for our own children and for their...
2,175