Ellington

On the episode following Mr. Tim Russert's testimony in the Libby trial, where Cathy Martin revealed the Bush administration's tactics to manipulate the media, Mr. David Broder of The Washington Post came on "Meet the Press" Sunday and said: "I was struck at a conversation at the last Republican Convention with Haley Barbour, the former party chairman, now governor of Mississippi, who told me that he had taken (Rudolph) Giuliani to Hattiesburg, Miss., and he said he was like a rock star in Hattiesburg. I figure if he can make it in Hattiesburg, he can make it almost anywhere."

I would like some proof that this happened. I find no record of it in the local newspaper, I'm waiting for them to reply, and upon asking my Republican parents if Giuliani had ever been to Hattiesburg, they said, "No."

If Giuliani does decide to come to Hattiesburg, (neither Bush nor Kerry stepped foot in Mississippi when campaigning in 2004), I would suggest that he speak before the assembly at Central Baptist Church, who have displayed 100 crosses alongside Highway 49 dedicated to the victims of abortion, and have Giuliani explain to them that his flip-flop from being a pro-choice advocate to anti-abortion has nothing to do with his desire to seek the presidency.
— Scott Tyner, Hattiesburg

Nudity or Nicotine?
On Jan. 13, 1964, my dad died. Emphysema caused by smoking painfully aborted his young life. Regretfully, dad probably stood in line for free cigarettes during WW II.

On Jan. 11, our U.S. military decided to relieve Staff Sgt. Michelle Manhart from duty pending investigation for her pictures in Playboy. I must confess I've not bought a Playboy since my exploring, fatherless teen days.

Please search your mind or the Internet for a Marine Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller. I remind you that Miller's 2004 picture in Fallujah manifested the pain, suffering and fatigue of an aging 20-year-old at war. Ironically, the only clean part of Miller in that picture was the Marlboro hanging out of his mouth.

Miller's picture was an immediate icon, with many newspapers printing it on the front page. The U.S. Marine recruiting office in Miller's hometown of Pikeville, Ky., even chose to hang up an oversized copy of their Marlboro Man. Miller, from a humble holler near Pikeville, displayed true grit by rejecting the bloodstained loot from Philip Morris to exploit him for their unhealthy gain.

Tobacco is predicted to kill 1 billion this century. Nudity? Uncle Sam, cigarettes killed my dad, not Playboy.
— Mike Sawyer, Birmingham, Ala.

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