Scheer’s Hatred for the Bush Family

Re ‘Making Money, the Bush Way,’ Commentary, Feb. 19: The hatred Robert Scheer has for the Bush family must keep him awake at night. His latest column attacks Bush Sr. and yet does not lay a glove on him. Scheer starts by noting that he took $80,000 in Global Crossing stock for a Tokyo speech in 1998 that grew to a value of $14million. Now that Global has gone belly up he suggests that maybe Congress should investigate to see if Bush sold any of the stock before it went south. Not that he did, but just to see if he did. Not an accusation, just a thought. Now warmed up, he notes that Bush is a highly paid consultant to the Carlyle Group and that they are so well connected internationally they invested funds for the Bin Laden family. He assures us that the son, the bad-seed son, was not involved and then he goes on to tell us who that bad seed is as if we didn’t know. But in telling us this he links Bush to the black sheep. Last year, Scheer goes on to say, the elder Bush was welcomed along with his Carlyle Group when they went to Saudi Arabia to sign a new oil contract. This, according to Scheer’s convoluted thinking, was payback for saving the sheiks’ bacon in the Persian Gulf War. That is the war that was over eight years ago. Another cheap shot. The venom that drips from Scheer’s pen has become old hat. My advice to him is to let it go. Relax.

Fred Schenck

Westminster

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Scheer is a fine, often provocative columnist. But he goes too far in writing that ‘Bush the senior had saved the sheiks’ bacon and now they give him a slice.’ Scheer should know that the word ‘bacon’ is almost blasphemous in Islamic cultures, which forbid the eating of pork. No sheik would be caught giving anyone a slice of bacon-really or metaphorically.

Ajay Singh

Beverly Hills

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Every week I read a new poll that shows 85% of the American people support President Bush and the way he is handling the war and the country. The reports say that the American people are pleased with the direction that our country is headed. Then I read your letters to the editor and I realize that these numbers have to be false (Feb. 20). Apparently the pollsters have their numbers reversed. It seems from the letters that are printed that only one out of every 90 people support the president and the war on terror. Keep up the good work in presenting the thoughts of the community (and in case you didn’t get it, that last part was called sarcasm).

Allen Covert

Los Angeles