The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Hanging Juries

2.25.02 @ 12:20AM

(Page 2 of 3)

GOVERNMENT CHEESE
Good article by Ryan H. Sager. What if somebody took a portion of his welfare money and put it in the collection plate of his church? Isn't that an even closer analogy? Surely the government couldn't object to that.
-- Martin Andrucki
Bates College

WASHINGTON PROWLERS
Is Zogby being fair? Remember, Zogby's been showing up on talking head shows griping about profiling of Middle Easterners. He's been recounting some of his own experiences. Looks like the aftermath of 9/11 has struck a nerve and he can't resist an opportunity to stick a thumb in the administration's eye.
-- J. Lawrence

Your story about NPR and CPB was terrific! Please follow up, keep an eye on 'em!

As a (finally retired) radio DJ/PD/advertising consultant/Manager/talk-show host who did-it-all (except engineering) quite successfully -- and having witnessed the stupidity of their operation, wow! Your exposé may have been a bit overdue, but we need more exposure on the cantankerous, sanctimonious policymakers there. A sad joke.

Good work. More, please.
-- Geoff Brandt
P.S. Wouldn't it be terrific if they did try to go "independent" (go "public" with an IPO) at NPR? It'd be fun. And I'd almost pay to watch them flop.

TO BE ABSOLUTELY FRANK
Regarding Francis X. Rocca's "Love Is All You See": If you want some great commentary on a DVD, rent "This Is Spinal Tap." There is commentary by the "band" itself, and their dissection of this film is hilarious. In a nutshell, they hate the film.
-- Paul Strasser
Lafayette, CO

ADMIRAL SIR JOHN FISHER
Regarding R. Emmett Tyrrell's "Stomping the Barbarians": Isn't that what Hitler did in the Balkans during WWII? Unfortunately for the local populace, it worked effectively, and unfortunately, it worked.
-- Duncan MacLachlan

HELLFIRE, NO BRIMSTONE
An excellent piece of work by Jed Babbin.

We do not train our honorable warriors to do the dirty "wet work" that our intelligence services should be doing. The ethics of being a professional Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine preclude the nastiness of assassinations and political intrigue, and rightly so.

There is a revisionist trend to blame Jimmy Carter for the decline of the CIA, but it was the abuses of the Nixon administration, and the enthusiasm of the bureaucracies involved to please the boss that caused the fang pulling. These excesses, if left unchecked, would have been the end of our democracy, and the secret police could easily be in charge. The CIA does need more field hands, and a .22LR from a silencer is much cheaper than a cruise missile. I think the current administration understands this, and is acting accordingly.

Responsible leadership is the key. I can only hope that the threat to America is taken seriously by the people of the USA to make sure that responsible leadership becomes the norm.
-- Lamar Johnson
Beaverton, OR

Jed Babbin replies: Responsible leadership is the key now, as it almost always is. It really doesn't matter whether you blame Nixon or Carter: I blame Frank Church, whose Senate Committee took the CIA apart. But you're right that the current administration seems to understand what needs to be done. Ain't it great to have grownups in charge again?

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY
The problem Ben Stein doesn't address is the tendency of the plaintiffs' bar to bring these cases even where there has been no wrongdoing. Defendants (typically, their insurers) almost invariably settle the cases rather than risk having an inflamed, utterly confused jury award huge damages. Everyone involved knows it's a racket, and the law was quite properly amended to raise the bar a little -- but not nearly enough; strike suits continue to abound, and are of no benefit to society.
-- unsigned

Note to my hero, Ben Stein: In your reasoned response to Patrick R. Sullivan, who only tended to prove the old adage that "Figures don't lie, but liars sure figure," I'd suggest that you might have added a comment to the effect that the changes in litigation since the passage of the PSLRA show how adept trial lawyers are at adapting to changing ground rules in their relentless pursuit of the buck.

Perhaps they could "Win [some of] Ben Stein's Money"?
-- Robert E. Johnson
Attorney at law, retired (and tired)

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Trade, Business, Law, Iraq, Iran, North Korea