The American Spectator

Reader Mail

MOTHER EARL
Re: Mark Goldblatt's Mother's Day Confidential:

What a wonderful Mother's Day piece! I hope Mark Goldblatt gets many more stories from his mother -- and shares them with us!
-- Jenny Woodward
Bloomington, IN

MEET THE BIAS
Re: The Prowler's Sweating the Dems:

The "Meet the Press" show you refer to was not only an enthusiastic meeting of deeply committed Democrats, it was also a triumphant endorsement of the status quo. Al Hunt, Bob Woodward, Tim Russert and Caroline Kennedy are smug, middle-aged millionaires whose notion of political courage conveniently coincides with their liberal agenda and celebrity status. What about the old idea that journalists are supposed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable? Was there ever a gathering of more comfortable people than these three journalists?

The program reeked of hypocrisy. Everybody knows that John Kennedy didn't write Profiles in Courage. Yet they based their discussion on the unchallenged premise that he did. And if JFK was such a courageous politician himself, why didn't he vote to censure Joe McCarthy? Whether or not Kennedy was a good President may be debated, but there is small evidence that he was particularly devoted to his wife and children, yet Al Hunt and the others were allowed to ramble on and on about what an exemplary father and husband he was. Russert turned that edition of "Meet the Press" into Democratic propaganda.

What's most discouraging about it is that few people seem to care. Your comments in protest were all that I've seen. Media bias is alive and well.
-- unsigned

Yes, indeed, the lovefest for the Kennedys was in full array with the three rascals, Porky, Deep Throat, and Al the Hammer. They displayed their insipidness in soliciting whether Lady Caroline would ever run for office. To my dismay, she declaimed, if so, if only she could be half the public servant her uncle is! You know, the besotted one from Hyannisport who likes to grope stewardesses, et al.
-- Edward Del Colle

IN RE: Tim Russert's lovefest with Caroline Kennedy and "Profiles in Courage": It was brought to my attention last week that JFK did not actually write Profiles in Courage, that a ghost writer did. Is this true? If so, this makes the entire homage of last Sunday even more ridiculous.
-- Julie in South Carolina
God Bless America

PRAY FOR ISRAEL
Re: Jackie Mason & Raoul Felder's American Jews and Israel:

Mr. Mason and Mr. Felder have asked questions that I myself have voiced numerous times. It does not make any sense for American Jews to be so sold out to the Democratic Party who only takes them for granted. It has been the Republicans who have historically supported and funded Israel's existence. As a long time supporter of Israel, I urge all who read this to do as the author of Holy Scripture so many hundreds of years ago did, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Pray, and keep passing the funds and the ammunition so that they can continue to defend themselves.
-- J. Adams
Milford, NJ

EDWARDS HITCHED
Re: Wlady Pleszczynski's John Jimmy Edwards Carter:

Despite the Hotline quotes, that Hitchens piece is going to be very important for Edwards. Hitchens is held in very high regard by a certain group of media-types. Think Chris Matthews, Don Imus, Mo Dowd, etc. They will see the normally skeptical Hitch embracing Edwards and think it's now safe to start liking him. Hitchens has made it safe to tout Edwards. A big psychological boost, and Vanity Fair is read by deep-pocketed Dems on both coasts, so open up the checkbooks as well.
-- K.

FASCIST FAVE
Re: Jed Babbin's Why I Hate Hollywood:

Marvelous piece by Jed Babbin on the Chomskyites in Hollywood. Ole Noam and his ilk have been up to this nasty business of America-bashing in particular and Western civilization-bashing in general for going on 35 years or so now. One would wonder how Chomsky, a noted linguist at MIT before beginning his new career as a fabulist and propagandist, has time for serious academic work. As an apologist for the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Chomsky and Edward Herman deserve to be haunted by the spirits of those millions of dead souls for the rest of their miserable lives. It is interesting to note that in the context of the current Mideast troubles, Avram Noam has now surfaced as the fave American intellectual of the British Fascist Party. You don't have to take my word for it, you can read it for your yourself on the party's website.
-- Bill Harrison
Arlington, VA

GRAY AREAS
Re: George Neumayr's Governor Shakedown:

Gee, didn't Al Gore teach us all that it's illegal to fundraise out of government buildings? If this story is true and can be corroborated, then where's the FBI and where's Attorney General, Bill "I'll lick Gray Davis' boots" Lockyer.
-- Adam Sparks
San Francisco, CA

ARAFAT: FINAL ROUND
Re: Reader Mail's Arafat in Trouble (Again):

A short reply to Mr. Babbin's reply [last time]:

Taking any politician at face value poses dangers, as I'm sure Mr. Babbin knows well. I do not know whether Mr. Arafat meant what he said after Tuesday's pool hall bombing in Israel, I only reported it. His condemnation of further terrorism is, after all, a public matter. So, of course, is his veracity and goodwill, or lack thereof.

Mr. Babbin reiterates his belief that negotiating with Arafat is delusional, because he is not the master of his fate. Without the presence of the "war-making" Arab nations(Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya) or the supposed moderates(Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan) any negotiation, he writes, is simply incapable of reaching any peace.

He then writes that the Arab nations are not allies, nor can they be looked to for help in these matters. With whom then does Mr. Babbin think negotiations should be conducted?
-- Paul Kellogg
New York, NY

Jed Babbin replies: Mr. Kellogg's point about negotiations is premature. Peace is reached when people are ready for it, and negotiations before that time are pointless. When the Palestinians -- and the Arab nations -- declare: (1) that Israel has a right to exist; (2) an unconditional cease-fire; and (3) that the so-called moderate Arab nations will take responsibility for the peace, then and only then can negotiations actually begin. We should make it clear to those moderate nations that they are not only a part of the negotiations, but responsible for making and keeping the peace. Until they take this responsibility, I propose we follow the advice given by Henry Kissinger for situations like this: sit back and let them fight it out. Meanwhile, we need to get back to business and topple Saddam. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is not the main event.

THEY ALL SOUND ALIKE
Re: Enemy Central's A Flavorful French Fish:

I couldn't hold myself back. Keep your targets in sight, but I think it was Clemenceau [not DeGaulle], who said the U.S. was "the only case of a people who'd become decadent without ever going through the stage of being civilized." Ecrasez la gauche, viva la USA.
-- Edward Del Colle

BLOG ON
Great website -- excellent content and well designed.
-- MJC

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