THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505190009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
In her very last speech given on the day she died, Mary Bingham, member of an elitist newspaper-publishing family in Louisville, Kentucky had this to say: ``The mass media - newspapers included - are destroying public men and our political system with self-righteous pomposity and their sneering and contemptuous coverage of all public figures. . . .''
Clearly an example of this was the Commentary article ``Right-wing catalysts?'' (May 7) by staff writer Alex Marshall. Without any evidence whatever, Mr. Marshall has concluded that people ``like Limbaugh are linked to people like Timothy McVeigh (the alleged Oklahoma bomber) in their refusal or inability to distinguish between good government and bad government.'' Well, now, who decides what is good or bad government? The writer?
Who is determining what is right, what is left, what is moderate and what is extreme? I bet it's the same print and TV network media that apparently feel the American public is nothing but a bunch of bozos who haven't a clue as to what is going on.
By the way, neither Newt Gingrich, a candidate for demonization by the media, nor Rush Limbaugh need me to defend their actions; they can do that adequately without my help. However, if Mr. Marshall is looking honestly for a logical connection with McVeigh, he should try Janet Reno, the FBI, Waco and perhaps President Clinton.
JAMES M. WHILEY SR.
Elizabeth City, N.C., May 10, 1995 by CNB