The American Spectator

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Power Outrages

3.4.04 @ 12:01AM

NO ORDINARY JOE
Re: George Neumayr's Kerry's Dirty Diplomacy:

I'm an Ohio native who attended college in Massachusetts and have resided here for three decades now in spite of the dreadful political climate. As follow-up to your column of Tuesday, March 2: Perhaps you're aware of the brewing debate and dispute here over the disposition of John Kerry's Senate seat in the event (heaven forbid) of his election to the Presidency. The wildly Democratic state legislature is considering legislation to block Republican Governor Romney from appointing an interim successor to the Senate seat, as the state constitution allows. And further: guess who is the current favorite among Massachusetts voters, according to a new survey, to succeed Kerry should his seat become available? Why, the moronic Joe Kennedy! Yikes and double yikes!
-- M. Young
Westborough, Massachusetts

HARD TO SWALLOW
Re: Shawn Macomber's Bitter Pill:

The California courts condone illegal acts by the mayor of San Francisco but punish those who follow the law. In order to comply with the ruling of the California Court and to stay true to Catholic beliefs, Catholic Charities could eliminate their health care benefit plan for all employees and provide each with a monthly payment equal to its present contribution to the plan. Using this money plus their own contribution, if any, the employees could enroll either in private plans as individuals or band together and seek a group rate from a health care provider.
-- E. Patrick Mosman
Pleasantville, New York

I agree with Shawn's article, although, I would like to take it a step further. We truly are on course to a state-imposed religion -- self gratification. This is a capitalist nation with employment at will; therefore, if you do not like the health benefits provided to you by your employer, then GO FIND ANOTHER JOB! No one says you have to work for a company that does not provide birth control pills free of charge. I find it absolutely reprehensible that any judge can order churches, religious organizations, or any company to provide benefits that are against their beliefs. What's next? That the Catholic Church is required to pay for abortions? I am beginning to think that the constitution, both federal and state, is a figment of our imagination. How else can you explain this flagrant disregard for the First Amendment?
-- Jennifer Johnson

As a Catholic who accepts all of my Church's teachings, I am appalled by the California Supreme Court's decision to force Catholic Charities to offer contraception coverage as part of its prescription drug benefit. I say: the Church needs to "just say NO!" Come and get us if you dare! If the goons of our nascent dictatorship come after us with guns, then I say we have every moral right -- indeed the duty -- to defend ourselves, our families, and our properties in like manner as these [so-and-so's] come after us. They shoved us into a corner, then we need to shove back, and get into a knock-down brawl if necessary.

The usurpation of power by the courts all over this nation these last 30 to 50 years constitutes a slow-motion revolution by the Left. And I do mean revolution, in the sense of a forcible power-grab. My feeling is that it's way past time to start a counter-revolution. For starters, let's ignore the courts: the executive and legislative branches need to reassert their co-equal status within a government of three branches.

Private citizens and organizations such as Catholic Charities need to commit multiple, massive acts of civil disobedience. Judges' homes need to be picketed; they and their families need to be confronted by vociferous, angry citizens wherever they shop, or go to school, or (gasp!) go to church or synagogue. The aggrieved leaders of the Catholic Church need to speak up, take out ads, march in picket lines, and preach that the Church WILL NOT OBEY these illegal diktats from the robed Caesars. We must be prepared to go to jail for our beliefs. We will NOT knuckle under to the robed dictators any longer! The judges themselves are outlaws and ought to be arrested and jailed for betraying the Constitution. Who sits in judgment of the courts? It's time that WE THE PEOPLE did!

Unless and until the leaders of the Church learn to shove back at these [so-and-so's] on the courts, they are just going to keep pushing and shoving us until there won't be any freedom left in America.... All conservative Americans have a stake in this battle, because all believers who don't want to hide their faith under the mattress will one day be in the same situation. Indeed, such is already often the case when it comes to open practice or showing of religious faith in the America of AD 2004.
-- John G. Boulet, M.D.

BEN IS RIGHT
Re: Ben Stein's Riefenstahl Madness:

I just read Ben Stein's article mentioning the recognition of Leni Riefenstahl at the Oscars. I too was thoroughly disgusted. Having spent five of my teen years under German occupation (1940-1945) while living in Norway I was probably too forgiving of the gaffe. I attributed it to youth and short memories. I am almost 82 years old and the memories of those years are nothing to memorialize, except as the scary lesson that if we do not learn from history we are bound to repeat it. I do not hear much about the fact that we are fighting WWIII.
-- Edith S. Payne

While I can empathize with Ben Stein's howl at Riefenstahl's recognition at the Oscars, I had a different reaction.

This was an uncharacteristically honest moment for Hollywood. Yes, Riefenstahl's politics were abominable. (As is the case for many current stars.) But not only was her filmmaking effective, it was seminal. The dirty secret in Hollywood is just how copied Triumph of the Will is. Including her in the salute was almost a tacit admission of how influential she still is. Just because you're on the wrong side of history doesn't mean you don't know how to use your medium.

To see Hollywood admit in public how important Riefenstahl is to them was, in a perverse way, refreshing.
-- Craig Good
Emeryville, California

LOOK WHO'S TALKING
Re: James Bowman's Repression Night:

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Health Care, Television, Religion, Abortion, Hollywood, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Immigration