THE WAYS OF HOPE
Re: Lawrence Henry’s Summer
Stock:
I can remember the thought of some of my friends and family
members who are invested. The towers were down but the markets were
active (though not where they wanted them to be) and not many of my
friends chose to pull out of the markets. We had hope.
Then the bookkeeping irregularities were exposed and heads
started to roll and corporations started to do the fandango to get
out of trouble as politicians and CEOs lined their pockets — but
investors who knew what they were doing kept doing what they had
confidence in. We had hope.
We are smarter and more informed (and more opinionated) than
ever before, and it is my opinion that this country’s citizens may
not have the best people representing them in government and they
may not trust the heads of corporations but they have hope in a
country that opens its borders to everyone (including terrorists —
theological, political or corporate) knowing that one day, the
truth will be known and our country will return to stability that
grows in the midst of turmoil.
— Stu Margrey
Denton, MD
ROCKY SHANGRI-LA
Re: Bill Croke’s The
Thorofare:
I have lived in New York State my entire life. I used to feel a
sense of pride to admit that, but I’ve grown to almost hate this
state. The taxes, the crowds, its ever-increasing liberalism and,
of course, Her Royal Clintoness. There was a time when I would have
fought the good fight, but I’ve grown tired/selfish, especially
ever since discovering Bill Croke’s columns on Wyoming. Wyoming may
be mostly worthless sagebrush, but Mr. Croke makes it sound like
heaven. Keep his columns coming.
— Kitty Myers
Painted Post, NY
CONSIDERATE FRIENDS
Re: Jed Babbin’s Mr.
Blair’s Dispensation:
Hear, hear!
— Lee D. Lowrey
J. Babbin is great.
— unsigned
Re: Babbin’s quoting Eleanor Clift, who says Tony Blair is “merely
Mr. Bush’s Smokescreen, his speech an intended diversion from
‘uraniumgate’ … “
Eleanor Clift is merely a squawking, incompetent, left-wing hag,
who would never have made it beyond office girl if mainstream
journalistic practices were basis on value of product.
— Carl Gordon Pyper
Monett, MO
There are days when we read and can’t believe, read again and have
a laugh. Courageous Jed Babbin … the people of the United States
must rejoice in the fact that he was and is no more
Undersecretary of Defence — his vision is that of a blindfolded
mole with dark sunglasses in a heap of coal dust.
For one thing, there’s little hate in European governments for
the American and British leaders, but serious concern
about policies that have the potential of doing more damage than
good. And that concern is shared by an ever growing number of
American citizens. But let’s leave the silly tit-for-tat babble
apart.
Here’s what really strikes me: For many years we have
experienced a belligerent Islam worldwide, we know that in many
Mosques the superiority of that religion is spread in loud words.
We know that, just for example, in Shiite circles “dogs and
infidels — among many other things — are impure and must not be
admitted to a good Muslim’s home.” We know that Sunnite money has
fed conflicts everywhere (including the war between two cultures
formerly living peacefully side by side in southern Ex-Yugoslavia),
and still there’s no clear word from any of the “tough” Presidents
and Prime Ministers and Chancellors to silence all Imams
who don’t show absolute respect for the most basic human rights of
self-determination. “Freedom of religion above all” has become so
obsolete, and still no one in the top ranks dares dispose of it.
No-one discards the Jewish claim for the “Holy Land” as bogus, even
though, if that right was applied to other cultures and other parts
of the world, we would see an insane reshuffle of populations, and
an endless stream of fugitives. Neither Bush nor Blair nor Chirac
nor our terribly soft-spoken Swiss government hits out against the
bloody Hindi caste system on the Indian subcontinent. No, our
“leaders” are proud to tell everyone how they pray to God every
day, and downplay THE SECULAR FOUNDATIONS AND VALUES OF OUR STATES,
DERIVED FROM ENLIGHTENED PHILOSOPHIES, ESSENTIAL FOR ANY FREE
SOCIETY.
For men like Jed Babbin it’s still a game of “the good guys
against the bad,” it’s bombs and rockets and guns, it’s pounding
his breast with hard fists and sneering at considerate friends. He
should, just for a couple of minutes, think about the Jesuits’
conviction: “Let us educate young persons until they’re fourteen,
and they will live according to our rules for the rest of their
lives.” With a bit of luck, American troops can “take out” a
criminal like Saddam Hussein, but it takes years and years of hard
action against “religious leaders” as well as relentless,
uncompromising re-education at all levels to change the mindset of
hardcore believers — and they come in the hundreds of millions.
Then, maybe, we will see the rise of new democratic societies
living in peace with their neighbours.
— Kurt Schori
Biel-Bienne, Switzerland
Jed Babbin replies:
I always love it when the girly-boys of Old Europe tell us what we
Americans are thinking. Better to read and not believe, read again
and laugh, and read a third time — for comprehension.
I’m so glad that there is concern about American and
British leaders among the European governments. We reckless cowboys
deserve much minding, especially when we’re saving the necks of the
EUnuchs. Again. What Mr. Schori preaches is the destruction of what
he thinks is a few dangerous religions. “Silence all Imams who
don’t show absolute respect for the most basic human rights of
self-determination”? The bloody Hindi caste system? Discard the
bogus Jewish claim to the Holy Land? Freedom of religion is
obsolete? I thank God and my parents that I was born in the United
States, not Switzerland or anywhere else that such neo-Nazi drivel
can be taken seriously.
It is — and always will be — the good guys against the bad
guys. At least we can tell the difference, and it’s a pity (as it
has been since before 1776) that Mr. Schori and his ilk can’t.
“Considerate friends,” Mr. Schori? Tell it to the Marines.
HIDDEN AGENDAS
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.’s Lack
of Intelligence:
An excellent commentary. Media folks who bemoan fractional
estimates in this war on terror and attempt to track down every
uttered sentence have no difficulty in accepting wildly
overinflated AIDS estimates with no hard evidence to back up any
projections at all. It is simply amazing to me, given the fact that
New Jersey has more doctors than all of sub-Saharan Africa, that
any of these utterances are accepted as fact — unless, of course,
we figure in “the agenda” factor which is at work throughout the
national press.
— Ginny Yanyar
BARBS AT BERKELEY
Re: George Neumayr’s Soak
the Middle Class:
What do you expect from liberals? Intelligent behavior? Logic?
No, you should expect idiocy and stupidity and emotion. Our grand
daughter graduated from an accredited HS to UC Berkeley and as you
know the constitution of the state requires UC to take anyone with
a B average or better. Her average was A!! Did she get in? With a
name like Seana Berry (as Irish a name as you can get) the answer
was NO. She is Oriental, and adopted, two strikes right
there.
Diversity is not their goal, control is! Control of the outcome
of elections. Diversity of ideas is definitely not what they want.
Just put out a conservative pamphlet on the UC campus and see how
long it takes them to steal them all….
— Richard Travers
Elko, NV
Did you do the math on the large number of students who don’t get
punished with a surcharge? Whatever you can call the middle class
is the real minority in the California college system.
— John Wilson
Chicago, IL
MAKING IT COUNT
Re: The Washington Prowler’s :
The Democrats do not know how to count, they think that two plus
two add up to five; maybe that is why they still think Al Gore
really won Florida — fuzzy
math!
— Cari Gravellinini
Cambridge, MA
I am now convinced after recently reading Ann Coulter’s
best-seller, Treason, Democrats and media liberals are
traitors. Also, we have found weapons of mass destruction which are
Saddam’s two sons, Uday and Qusay.
— James Boney
NOW AND THEN
Re: John Corry’s A
Historic Blunder:
One of the numerous problems I have with John Corry’s latest
analysis of the Iraq war, “A Historic Blunder,” is that his present
rationale for attacking the decision to invade Iraq contradicts one
of his earlier key reasons for opposing the war.
In a March 5 column also devoted to attacking the decision to
eliminate Saddam Hussein’s regime with military force, Corry’s
final argument was that the 9/11 devastation “would pall compared
with the havoc al Qaeda could unleash with weapons of mass
destruction. It is a supreme irony now that in an apparent attempt
to prevent that from happening we may, in fact, be bringing it
about. If Saddam Hussein knows his regime is ending, all
constraints on his behavior will evaporate, and he may give al
Qaeda what it wants. After all, he no longer will have anything to
lose.”
In his latest piece, Corry, echoing the usual Democrat carpers,
says that no weapons of mass destruction have been found and no
Saddam Hussein links with al Qaeda have been discovered and
therefore “the stated rationale for invading Iraq has collapsed.”
So on March 5 Corry emphasized that invading Iraq was too dangerous
if Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Now he says the war
can’t be justified if Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction.
Which is it, Mr. Corry?
If we cut through the wind and ink now being expended on the
rationale for the war, the available evidence indicates that in the
Bush Administration, the decision to invade Iraq was a slam dunk.
It appears that within a few days after 9/11, the final decisions
had been made to (1) take out the Taliban and al Qaeda in
Afghanistan, and (2) take out Saddam Hussein.
The Army began training the Georgia-based 3d Infantry Division,
(which I was in for 16 months) to fight a desert war within a very
few weeks after 9/11. What were they training for if not a war in
Iraq? An invasion of the Australian Outback?
— John Combellick
Oshkosh, WI
