The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Now, Seriously

11.18.03 @ 12:01AM

NO KIDDING
Re: Enemy Central's The Mighty Wind:

Please do not use the word "paleoconservative" to describe the mainstream conservatism birthed from the forehead of Frank Meyer and others, when describing ourselves. This word is a rhetorical device invented by big government/national greatness neoconservatives and is designed to marginalize those whose fealty is to the limited government/no foreign entanglements vision of the Founders. Thank you.
-- Jameson Campaigne
Ottawa, Illinois

DINNER TALK
Re: David Hogberg's Hillary's Clean Plate:

A lot has been written in the last few weeks about the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner, but one thing that unfortunately eludes even the most intelligent conservative thinkers is the hypocrisy inherent in the Democrats' veneration of Jackson. Doesn't it seem strange that the party that tries to claim the moral high ground on matters of race relations honors the president who ordered the Trail of Tears, arguably one of the worst cases of genocide ever to occur on this continent? Or maybe that's why FDR decided to add Jefferson's name to the event -- despite the fact that Jefferson espoused an ideology of small, limited federal government in favor of state's rights. In light of all this, why do the Democrats seem puzzled when they are accused of having no coherent ideology and no clear heritage or unity?
-- Nick J
Chicago, Illinois

THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS
Re: Brandon Crocker's Lev el With Us, Please:

Well done, Mr. Crocker. The factual unemployment rate is much lower than that reported by FEDGUV. When employers eliminate positions -- not lay employees off (which implies they are subject to recall as is occasionally the case with labor union employees but not the rest of the work force) -- many enterprising workers start their own businesses as "off the books" sole proprietorships and do not report their earnings to the government. These individuals have not become "too discouraged" to seek employment by others. They are sufficiently resourceful to employ themselves and haven't the slightest desire to pay their "fair share" of punitive taxes.

Having owned an employment agency and an executive search firm for some 15 years I know whereof I speak.
-- Allen Ross Warmington
Olmsted Township, Ohio

WHEN PUSH COMES TO SUV
Re: Jim Henley's Muscle Cars:

Jim, your analogy is cute but your logic is flawed. Most of the exigencies you cite can be dealt with perfectly well with a selection of all -wheel-drive passenger cars, such as Audi Quattros or Subarus. They would do as well as or better than SUVs in ferrying emergency workers during a D.C. snowstorm. They handle better, ride better, stop much better, and are much more efficient. They are also much less stressful and tiring to drive and spend time in, as the ergonomics incorporate the latest design features. Throughout Europe, people tow trailers with VW Golfs, and the like. For that minuscule number of people who haul trailers all the time, an SUV is fine, But most usage of these vehicles comes nowhere near the circumstances you speak of. Let's face it, an SUV is a lifestyle statement and nothing more, usually a statement by posers.
-- Jeremy Nahum

Sorry, I don't buy it. Mr. Henley's justification of suburbia's SUV obsession is a weak case. The main complaint by SUV critics is that there is too much power in the vehicles, and not enough fuel efficiency. Mr. Henley proceeds to ignore this argument and discuss all-wheel drive and towing capacity. Even these arguments are weak. SUVs aren't the only vehicles with all-wheel drive, many vehicles are all wheel drive and have engines with 20+ MPG efficiencies (e.g. Subarus, Audis, Volvos). SUV's are also not the only class of vehicles that can tow large loads (e.g. diesel powered VWs). Plus, towing is a torque-related spec, not horsepower-related spec. Most critics of SUVs ask for emission standards and fuel efficiency requirements to be raised. You can have all the desired features consumers want in an SUV (high torque, all-wheel drive, storage space) and make it a lot more palatable to the greenies/safety conscious (lower bumpers, low emissions, high fuel efficiency). They wouldn't even know the difference.
-- Shane Mullen
Staff Engineer

CAPTURE THE FLOG
Re: Heather Roscoe's Killer Deal:

I am against the death penalty but for rigorous punishment. What's wrong with life imprisonment and daily or weekly floggings? Allow the families of the deceased to wield the whip. Cruel? Unusual? Not in light of the crimes.
-- Fred Z.
Calgary

What infuriates me is the "costs more to execute" argument. The left loves that one, except they miss an obvious point: if the ridiculous appeals process were changed it wouldn't cost more. And if these really guilty, really heinous criminals were put to death, perhaps the death penalty would be a deterrent to violent crimes. I have a feeling, like most of the repeat offenders of all crimes realize, that the system is a joke, and true punishment almost never fits the crime. Why isn't it a deterrent? Because these really bad guys always get to appeal their way out of the ultimate punishment they deserve.
-- William H. Stewart
Boston, Massachusetts

In some ways I have come to regard life in prison without parole as worse than Death Penalty Lite (lethal injection). The only hope is that recipients of this sentence get a small cell. No TV, no books, no magazines, no correspondence, no visitors, no variety in their food, no work or activities and no possessions, nothing but day after day spent in crushing boredom and meaninglessness. Some of the compassionate existentialists might call this a death penalty, of sorts.
-- Robert Gaber

My heart goes out to the families of the victims of Gary Ridgway in Seattle. The justice system has failed the families, the victims and the community in which he terrorized for years. Is it not ironic that we rely on the prison population- the very criminal element that we put behind bars for heinous acts, to set things right with these poor unfortunate victims? Gary Ridgway, like Jeffrey Dahmer will not last long in prison. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth that the dregs of society has to do what should be done by the judicial system in America today.

Letter to the Editor

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