From Friday’s New York Times:

A letter I wish I’d been bright enough to write:

To the Editor:

Upon hearing of the death of Terri Schiavo, President Bush issued a statement in which he said, "The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak."

This is the height of hypocrisy from a president whose "culture of life" apparently does not encompass the at least 12.9 million children under the age of 18 who live in poverty, a number that increased by 800,000 in 2003 alone.

The nearly 45 million Americans who lack health insurance may well wonder whether they fall within the president's vision of the strong protecting the weak.

If Mr. Bush truly believes in his stated principle, then he might wish to re-evaluate his administration's unrelenting drive to undermine the social safety net that protects the weaker members of American society while continuing his drive to cut taxes for the strongest and wealthiest 1 percent of the country.

Eliot Brenowitz
Seattle, WA, March 31, 2005

What can I say? I should plagiarize this and send it to my local paper. I may.