Attack Lacked Any Trace Of

Fact Or Evidence

To the Editor:

I read Brendan Duffy’s latest letter [“Unabashed Optimist Responds,” July 25] with great care. I examined each phrase for even the slightest hint of a fact, or the tiniest trace of evidence. There were none. I could find no fact, no piece of evidence, nothing at all to support anything he had claimed or refute anything I said. There were only silly personal attacks. Next time perhaps (in the spirit of cooperation) I will include a photo of myself so he can say, “Oh yeah, you’re ugly too!”

Since Mr Duffy apparently decided not to refute any of the facts I presented, my initial letter [“Optimism Vs Reality,” July 18] stands as written. I authorize The Newtown Bee to release my e-mail address to Mr Duffy so he can reply directly and save the people of Newtown the anguish of reading any further correspondence.

Mr Duffy closed his last letter by saying the Constitution of The United States of America protects the rights of me and Ms Lerman to express ourselves. If Mr Duffy had bothered to read The New York Times (anytime in the past eight years) as Ms Lerman suggested, he might have learned that during the Bush administration the Constitution and the rights that it guarantees have been shredded. That includes the suspension of our most basic right, habeas corpus, which only recently has been at least partially reinstated with much outcry from the right wing. The only other time in our nation’s history that habeas corpus has been suspended was by President Lincoln, during the Civil War. That, however, was legal; this time it was not. So Mr Duffy, you are incorrect; the rights you take for granted are not just in doubt but also in grave danger.

Let us abandon optimism and everything else that this government has put on a bumper sticker in an attempt to fool people and embrace reality, honesty, and integrity, things we haven’t seen in a long time.

As a lifelong Marxist, I would like to conclude with one of the most profound quotes ever attributed to my idol, Marx: “Outside of a dog, a book is Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

That Marx is Groucho, of course.

By the way Mr Duffy: Don’t call me Bob.

Sincerely,

Robert Karnoff

66 Great Ring Road, Sandy Hook                                   July 29, 2008