Mailman, bring me no more blues

I have an ongoing (mostly one-sided) dialogue with the Denver Post. Their letters section is typical newspaper fare, boring beyond words, absorbed in politics and sniping from the two permissible viewpoints: Democrat and Republican. I send in letters now and then, but it’s a big city, so the odds are long anyway, but beyond that, my letters don’t fit within the proscribed framework.

I do occasionally get a call saying that my letter “might” be printed, and then it isn’t. That tells me there is some sympathy in the lower levels there for my words, but that the editor, typically someone who ascended the ranks due to predictability, vetoes it.

Anyway, here’s the latest, and for this one I can assure you that there will not even be a perfunctory phone call and a “might.” This one crosses three boundaries: It violates D/R; it criticizes the Post, and it is disrespectful of American journalism.

President Obama’s visit [to Colorado] created a flurry of press coverage, as intended.

Obama is doing what any politician would do given leeway. He professes devotion to high ideals while working against them behind the scenes. His public words and private actions do not square up.

Example: His administration is in court in New York attempting to preserve the executive power to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens without formal charges or even a day in court. This attack on habeas corpus started with President Bush. Obama has flanked Bush’s right wing by extending it to American citizens.

The Post is all over his stump speeches. We need to know about his real activities. It’s called “journalism.”

A politician can speak in favor of any high-falutin’ notion while running for office. But speeches are not governance. Actions are what matters. Journalists need to report to us on activities, and not just words.