I made my trip by my mailbox this afternoon, and saw a small letter with handwriting I didn't recognize and no return address. I soon found out why - the anti-Obama smear campaign has reached the mail in small-town Maryland. A scan of the letter and more reaction on the flip...
The envelope seemed innocent enough - my and my wife's names, and our address, in nice cursive handwriting. But no return address. Struck me as odd. It was an Easton, MD postmark, which meant it was mailed from somewhere else on the Eastern Shore. Probably a thank you note for a gift from one of my daughter's friends, I guessed.
Nope, I opened it, and here is what I found...
I couldn't believe it. In nice, pretty cursive handwriting, was an anonymous note asking me to check out what is undoubtedly a lie-filled hate site against Barack Obama. Emboldened, I took a peek.
Wish I hadn't.
I was greeted by a banner with Osama bin Laden on one side, and the smiling portrait of Arthur Ochs (Pinch) Sulzberger, Jr on the other. It gets worse from there. Lie after lie attacking...
"Islamic radicals and their supporters on the left have made systematic efforts to numb the United States and its allies to the threat of radical Islam. They have done so by invoking the specter of Islamophobia, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Haditha and other thorny issues to fool the public into thinking that America is the aggressor in the world war against Islamic Fascism."
Alrighty then.
Seriously, this is what our political opponents are reduced to? Sending handwritten anonymous notes with website addresses? Who would spend the hours needed to sit down and hand-write all these notes to be mailed out at first-class postage rates?
I'm so glad the letter writer took the time to note that not only is the "source" of information a "retired U.S. Army intelligence officer" but that he's Catholic, too. Because a Protestant retired U.S. Army intelligence officer wouldn't have been good enough, I guess?
BY the way, give the fact the copyright on the web page is listed as
© copyright Beckwith 2007
the aforementioned officer is presumably supposed to be Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith. Problem is, he died in 1994. We're dealing with someone who's making himself available for "Morning Zoo"-type shows under the name "Beckwith." I'll not give this charlatan anymore publicity than he deserves, with would actually be a negative number. Suffice it to say, I can find no first name for this radio creation, and seriously doubt he's served a day in our country's military, let alone as an officer or in U.S. Army Intelligence.
It distresses me that in the year 2008, we still have people in this country afraid of those they perceive to be unlike them. In Obama's case, it's a compound mistake - not only does he share the childhood poverty of many who would attack him, but also the lack of privilege throughout his life. John McCain was born the son and grandson of an admiral, and married an heiress worth $100 million at age 42 (after his infamous divorce, of course). He has 8 houses and 13 cars. The Obamas own one. Yet we're told Obama is "not like us."
If this is what the people on the Right are doing with their time this election season, we're in better shape than I thought. Go Obama!
UPDATE: Forgot to mention one salient fact - the address used my NINE DIGIT zip code. Someone's using a purchased mailing list, I'm guessing, because the phone book doesn't have that.