The American Spectator

AMONG THE BOO-BIRDS
Re: The Washington Prowler’s Cheney Town:

Re: Cheney at Yankee Stadium — I was at that game at Tuesday night, and from where I was sitting, I was one of the few people cheering. I was kind of shocked, actually, at what a terrible reception he got.
— Alexander Lycoyannis
New York, New York

NO SWEAT
Re: H. W. Crocker III’s Metroland:

Mr. Crocker states that only the patriotically deluded think Washington, D.C. is a great summer vacation spot. My family begs to differ. Late September is a better time to visit D.C. (with kids in strollers), but now that our kids are in school and in various travel soccer and hockey programs, our only family vacation window is July and August (spring break is reserved for rugged skiing out west, when we allow the kids to miss a few extra days of school over spring break). The mall is a great place for active families, since there is a least a half mile hike between each destination. And our children love the Metro (all flyover country kids do), but we try to avoid the rush hours. I recommend visiting D.C. in August, when the rest of the city is on vacation — just don’t try to enter the Beltway on the last day of work on Friday afternoon, like we did last year. We were “landlocked” in six lanes of traffic for a few hours. It was like hundreds of thousands of college kids leaving at the same time for spring break, but only they were driving BMWs and wearing office clothing instead of beat up old vans and beachwear.

My wife and I have also noticed the nation’s obesity problem, hence the overindulgence of our children in competitive sports as a preventative measure to a life of inactivity and marathon seat sitting. However, the obesity problem has taken an even uglier turn at Walt Disney World, where “hippos” enjoy the latest technology called “Amigos,” or electric wheel chairs, which allow middle aged men and women to continue eating huge portions throughout their lives without exercise or losing their mobility. Some of these “Amigos” have a sense of entitlement that is displayed in their reckless driving (our children were nearly run over several times) and their demands to go to the front of the lines and demand handicapped seating, even if they have to delay all of those behind them while they maneuver their hefty machines into place.

To be fair, there were many polite elderly and genuinely handicapped people that used the Amigos to enjoy their technology-aided mobility in the open spaces of Disney World, but they aren’t nearly as noticeable as the rude ones. As we were leaving Animal Kingdom on the long trek to find our car in the vast parking lot, we noticed an elderly lady moving slowly with a walker towards her car. Even our children expressed their admiration of her reluctance to use electric transport, after being nearly run over several times by stampeding Amigos. It was then that I expressed my desire to my children to shoot me before I could ever sling my overweight body into an Amigo, unless it was for genuine medical reasons other than extreme obesity. When my teenage son asked what weight limit over which I should be shot (I am sure he was joking), I quickly withdrew my request. I am beginning the South Beach Diet this weekend, just in case he was serious…
— Mike Spencer
Midland, Michigan

One of the nicest vacations my family has ever taken is in Washington, D.C. We stayed in a hotel new the main embassies and there were many delightful restaurants nearby, owned by immigrants. The art, history, and science museums are fabulous and the historical sites and monuments are all a must see. We saw the Marine parade, an amazing presentation. I even enjoyed the train, though we stayed off during rush hour.
— Michael Bergsma

H. W. Crocker III puts it this way: “I’m over six feet tall and built like a wide receiver — and I wish I lived in a country where the women were smaller than I am.”

Obviously, Mr. Crocker has been unable to find connecting trains to the Jersey Shore. Sorry, I can’t seem to find the schedule at the moment…
— Mark Hessey
Belmar, New Jersey

I’m a former (two-time) resident of the D.C. area and expect to return eventually to Federal employment there. (I’m in grad school right now, working towards a Master’s.)

I was last in the D.C. area in 1987; even before then, I strongly recommended that prospective visitors avoid the place until the Fall — late October in Washington can be lovely — or, better still, wait until cold weather before or after school holidays.

I greatly enjoyed Triumph, and hope to use it some day as the text for a Church history class. It’s the best work on Church history that this adult convert has ever seen.
— Elizabeth Whitaker

Mr. Crocker: Come on out to the West, but hold the horse. I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the Hippos have arrived here as well. And look out! They wield their posteriors to the barcolounger of a 3 ton SUV in most cases. So the species we have out here is much more deadly when aroused. It’s also the only carriage to which they will fit.

We suffer through 1-2 hour commutes on roads built during Lyndon Johnson’s largess. Only to be exacerbated by L.A. copycat high speed chases just before the rush hour. Watching some maniac attempt a 3-lane change to get to the airport with only prayer beads for guidance.

The ole saw about how many Texas Rangers it takes to stop a riot does not apply to rush hour — they are not to be seen. Which gives rise to the term the “Wild West” in modern terms. Today the equalizer is not the number of cylinders in your gun but the number under the hood of your vehicle.

The humidity is not too bad out here tho, I just saw it wash out half of the Six Flags amusement park this week. But that should not dissuade you one bit. The lawyers out here will be glad to take your case against the park for a percentage; cowboy boots, hat and all.

Well, I better close. I see the fellow in front of me is slowing down to 80mph. I think he is changing his DVD movie. Wish you were here!
— John McGinnis
Arlington, Texas

LET US NOT PRAY
Re: Mark Goldblatt’s Coalition of the Wild-Eyed:

Mr. Goldblatt is dead-on in his analysis of the Democratic Party and their precipitous fall from sanity. What happened to the Zell Millers and Sam Nunns of the Democratic Party? However, the same argument could be made about the right, which seems to have lost its way as well. The amount of spending by the current Republican Congress is unacceptable and more than a little curious. The most troubling aspect of the current Republican Party is the abdication of responsibility for public policy to the evangelical community. We’ve replaced Newt Gingrich and Warren Rudman with Rick Santorum and John Ashcroft. The theocracies in the Middle East aren’t working so well — maybe we should stay away from the Christian version of that.
— Ben Berry
Washington, D.C.

BLOOD RITES
Re: Paul Beston’s Blood for Power:

If the left is making a conscious effort to win the presidential race with the “blood for power” political play, then the logical conclusion is — they are traitors to the country and should be treated as such. Thank you.
— Jerry Bell

Excellent piece. All I can say is, thank you sir. Truth is so powerful. God bless this country. I know, not PC. To Hell with that. Good job.

Keep up the good works. It matters.
— Tom
Greeneville, Tennessee

What a spot-on article about Mr. Kerry, his silence and the if-it’s-bad-or-catastrophic-for-America-it’s-good-for-us mindset of at least the leadership of the Democrat Party — if not substantial numbers of rank-and-filers.

But will anyone who needs to read the article and ponder its message actually do so? I’m guessing not, and that’s a crying-out-loud shame because Mr. Beston writes what definitely needs complete exposure.

He tagged Mr. Kerry about his silence about “Fahrenheit 9/11.” When pressed, he may give a tortured, incoherent, persnickety answer. But maybe he’ll be silent, putting whatever response he might have said with other prominent silences on his political shelf.

That F 9/11 silence would join the one that would’ve refuted and rebuked Michael Moore or Wesley Clark calling President Bush a deserter.

Or the one would’ve demanded that flibbertigibbet Al Gore to put a sock in it, after having publicly apologized to Mr. Bush after accusing him of betraying America.

Or the one that would’ve condemned MoveOn.org for having the Bush-Hitler look-alike contest and then publicly disassociated himself from the e-group.

Or the one that would’ve also condemned and them demanded an apology from George Soros for equating Mr. Bush and his administration to Hitler and the Nazis.

Or the one …

But should anyone be surprised?

If, for instance, Mr. Kerry cannot or will not resolve his own personal and public opinions about abortion — or if he cannot muster the wisdom or good sense to cross a picket line in Boston to address the nation’s mayors, rather than offend organized labor (and that which is paid well) — isn’t it delusional to expect him to suddenly have the courage and character to stand up for anything that’s right?

Who knows, though? Maybe he’ll find the backbone to stand up and say how utterly despicable and seditious it is to root, overtly or covertly, for the defeat of the U.S. and the death of some of its soldiers because of and in that defeat-or for some domestic economic or racially motivated catastrophe-just so an election can be won. Nah.
— C. Kenna Amos Jr.
Princeton, West Virginia

AVALANCHE
Re: The Washington Prowler’s The Kerry-Moore Connection (Hillary at Bay) and Barry Mandelkorn’s letter (“Tall Tale”) in Reader Mail’s Wings of a President:

It seems to me that Hillary Clinton’s claim to have been named after Sir Edmund Hillary may simply have been an inept attempt to lie about her age — she having forgotten (perhaps in her desperate search for those missing billing records) that her age was already a matter of public record.

And if it wasn’t a crime for husband to lie about sex under oath, what could possibly be wrong with her lying about her age when she wasn’t under oath? Didn’t it used to be almost /required/ that a lady lie about her age once she gets “up there” in years? And being of her generation, I’m betting “up there” was achieved at 30. At which time, of course, lying was to be expected because one could never trust anyone so old.
— Kevin McGehee
Coweta County, Georgia

JUST SAY NO WAY
Re: George Neumayr’s War on Judicial Review:

Regarding George Neumayr’s article, my take is that the President should simply ignore any and all outlandish court decisions which infringe upon his constitutional powers to conduct war and foreign policy. This should be announced as the new policy of the executive branch effective with the court’s decision of last Monday granting confined terrorists and combatants the right to sue the very country they previously fought to destroy. Such a court ruling is so legally and logically absurd it should not be controlling. And the President should not permit such bone-headed judicial dictates (as in dictator) to strip him of his constitutional powers. If this action creates a constitutional crisis, it will be because of the Supreme Court has steadfastly trampled on the constitutional authority of the other branches of Government.

And, this arrogant Supreme Court majority of five deserve nothing less. They cavalierly ignored long-established legal principles and substituted their judgment for that of the President in the conduct of war and foreign policy - matters solely within his constitutional authority. Such naked, dictatorial, judicial “law-making” is deplorable, and is just the most recent example of un-elected judges inexorably usurping the powers of officials from the other two branches of our government.

So, if the court declines to defer to the President, and to trust he will properly and legally execute his constitutional duties in the conduct war and foreign policy (which is clearly the underpinning of their decision), why should he accept or trust inexplicable and grotesque court decrees which ham-handedly usurp constitutional powers of the executive and legislative branches. In fact, speaking of trust, it seems clear the Federal judiciary is currently the least trustworthy of the three branches of Government.

In sum, it is time for this judicial activism to stop, and with this current crop of Federal judges, the only way for this to happen is for officials from the other branches to refuse to comply with their goofy court decisions. Thus, the President, based upon his powers under the constitutional, should just say “no.” If the Congress doesn’t agrees with him, they can impeach and remove him from office. That is the remedy under the constitutional for a President who exceeds his authority. Similarly, if the people disagree with him, they can vote him out of office. That is the ultimate remedy of the people.
— A. A. Reynolds
Chula Vista, California

LOSING IT AT THE SEQUELS
Re: John Tabin’s Fahrenheit’s Facts:

Regarding John Tabin’s excellent treatise on the amazing effluent from the darkmindroom of Michael Moore (or less), I have the following to add: Will Fahrenheit 9/11 have a sequel? I propose the following:

“Foresight 9/11”
(Documentary on the failure of Republicans to be clairvoyant)

“Hindsight 411”
(…reality TV show searching for contestants with cute butts.)

“Foreignsite 7/11”
(…failure of Republicans to get convenience store clerks to speak English)

“Farfegnugen 311”
(…a profligate Republican road trip in a classic Porsche roadster)

“Fairandwhite 12/11”
(…an allegedly all white Republican non-PC X-mas party with snow on the ground)

“Cronkite 6 and 11”
(Old Walter comes out of retirement for a series of evening/late-night news segments on how members of the vast right-wing conspiracy need to be put in concentration camps, and you were there.)

“Intolerance 101”
(Documents irrefutable evidence proving that only people that agree with Michael Moore have enough sense to speak. It also includes an additional 11 minutes documenting the scientific proof that tolerance does not include kindness toward Republicans.)
— Newt Love
Annapolis, Maryland