“Since history isn’t taught very well in this country ... “ Had Mr. Hoffman begun and ended his tome with this line, I could think of nothing more ironic. His entire reasoning is ripe with irony, the shame being his utter ignorance of the fact.

“McCarthy “was simply asked to investigate the presence of Communists in the military and State Department. He found many and later Kremlin records prove he was right about their existence.”

In fact, McCarthy found none; nada; zilch; nothing. He started his ranting right after Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury before the House Un-American Activities Commission. The Moynihan Commission reasoned that bits of the VENONA project were leaked to him, and he started his crusade. The VENONA project had found evidence of spying in the State Department and the Manhattan project. As a result of McCarthy, some who should have been prosecuted were never brought to justice.

“The heavy pressure and constant criticism pushed McCarthy into hard drinking which eventually killed him.” McCarthy was thoroughly drunk the night he gave his equal time reply to the Murrow show which exposed him for a fascist and an idiot. He didn’t become an alcoholic in anticipation of the event; unfortunately he was already an addict. On that point at least he deserves our sympathy.

“This is what liberals do: character assassination.” Does anybody remember Swiftboat.com? These were guys who, for the most part, never served near John Kerry but absolutely turned his record upside down.

They derided his purple hearts, his courage, and his leadership when what really bothered them was his politics. Every enlisted man with whom he served (bar one) thought him a brave soldier and a good leader.

In the end, the guy who avoided Vietnam completely by using Daddy’s influence to get in the National Guard came out on par with a guy who was at least willing to go. Throw in a Willie Horton or two, a Watergate break-in and you have a GOP with a history of dirty tricks.

The most striking aspect of Hoffman’s half-truth campaign is the way in which it mirrors so well the institutions he extols. Talk radio and Fox News as representative of current conservative information, I believe, says it all.

Mr. Hoffman used the word “liberal” 16 times. Like talk radio and the talking heads on Fox, he never tells us what a “liberal” is. Instead, like measles or the clap, I guess we’re supposed to know when we have it, and it ain’t good. In reality it is an exercise in anti-intellectualism. It’s those guys over there. They’re the enemy.

Here’s the problem: One party has controlled the executive and legislative branch of government for the past three years.

In that time they have prosecuted a war and occupation, the reasons for which have varied, but most of which have turned out to be patently untrue.

The country is running record deficits in its public spending with seemingly no end in sight.
The useless war saps our actual power, our moral authority, and our willingness to stand up to actual threats that currently exist.

Two top aides to the president and vice president may be so petty that they violated U.S. law in order to undermine a vocal administration critic.

There is currently a U.S. citizen being held in violation of the writ of habeas corpus. If the government thinks it can exercise such power over one of us, it could certainly exercise such power over all of us.

The Constitution says that everyone deserves to understand the charges and evidence against them, to have a speedy trial, and have the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law.

I cannot understand how people can be so slavishly devoted to one party that they cannot question the policies of that party. Pavlov should have named his dog “Republican.”

Timothy J. Parker
Peachtree City, Ga.