The American Spectator

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Sticking It to the Clinton Appointnik

7.21.03 @ 12:01AM

GET YOUR MOTTO RUNNING
Re: E Unum Motto Pluribus:

Concerning Happy Feder's "E Unum Motto Pluribus" article from the 17 July section of your website, I should remind everyone of Virginia's motto: "Sic Semper Tyrannus" -- and let it be a warning to overzealous judges, and others, who choose to ruin our history and infringe upon our right to publicly air non-PC viewpoints, be it on a license plate or wherever else we choose.
-- John McConnell
Herndon, VA

An entertaining speculation but Mr. Feder should be careful -- he just may have given some lawyers and judges ideas for their next assault on America.

Judge Duval is an excellent example of why judges, especially federal ones, should not be lifetime appointments; this was one of the Founding Fathers' biggest mistakes. Recall, elections for retention, reconfirmation at 10-year intervals, or being subject to removal by the states within their jurisdictions should be considered.
-- unsigned

In the article titled "E Unum Motto Pluribus" the question was asked whether U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval is a Clinton appointee. I can confirm that he is. Here is the source:
-- Ed

I think your writer (Feder) misses the point in his "E Unum Motto Pluribus editorial.

The state government administrations' issuance of designer automobile license plates as a vehicle to impose additional de facto taxes is already an end run around the fact that most states' constitutions grant the power to raise taxes to their legislature, and is abhorrent on its face.

That said, the government should not put itself in a position of supporting one viewpoint by offering official plates that advocate it, while withholding the option of plates that present the opposing view.

A more reasoned conclusion would have been that the state government constitutions almost certainly provide no authority for the state to offer sanction of any political viewpoint on a fee basis, and that all of the advocacy plates were unconstitutional.

To put things in context, would Mr. Feder similarly reach the conclusion that state-sanctioned license plates advocating drug use were acceptable when none counseling non-use were offered? I think not.

The fact is, the states need to charge the simple requisite fees, issue standard no-message licenses, and let citizens exercise their own free speech on topics of the day without government interference.
-- John Mercer

I really enjoyed Mr. Feder's suggestions for politically correct state mottos to be placed on personalized license plates. I have long agreed that to defeat a stupid idea, such as politically correctness, humor is the best weapon. Humor really highlights just how stupid a stupid idea truly is. This is why tyrants cannot abide satire and sarcasm sent their way. Can anyone imagine a Castro, Hitler, Stalin, Mao or a Clinton laughing at a joke about himself (or herself)?

I note that Mr. Feder resides in Ashland, Oregon -- my home state. Ashland is a lovely little community but I cannot stand the hot summers. My wife and I attended the Oregon Shakespearean Festival there and roasted in the twilight heat during a performance in the outdoor Elizabethan Theater.

I look forward to more from Mr. Feder.
-- Al Martin
Depoe Bay, OR

Happy Feder replies: Thank you Mr. Martin, and you will appreciate the following anecdote. Stalin attended a circus performance one evening and perceived anti-Stalinist ideas in a particular clown's skit. He had the clown shot on site, surprising no one but the clown. But Stalin was able to rise above the average, petty, spiteful tyrant---he had the audience members who had laughed at the clown skit executed beneath the big top, too. Were he still alive, I'm sure the clown would have found a certain dark Russian humor in that action.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Satire, Constitution, Law, Founding Fathers, Russia