The American Spectator

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Gentlemen's Disagreement

12.30.04 @ 12:01AM

ALL STAND
Re: Ben Stein's Riefenstahl Madness:

The denigrating comments Ben Stein made about Gregory Peck struck me as so incorrect that I had to write. Gregory Peck was my father, and Mr. Stein does not know what he is talking about.

Specifically, my father not only played a fighter for the cause of civil rights in To Kill A Mockingbird, but he fought the good fight throughout his career. I may have to refresh Mr. Stein's memory as to my father's civic achievements. Does Mr. Stein forget Gentleman's Agreement? That was a daring call at the time. Beyond his well documented political activism for civil rights and liberal candidates, dad worked for civic organizations such as the Inner City Theater in Los Angeles, and for civil rights issues and for the arts on the national level as well. He turned down roles at the peak of his career so that he could concentrate on public charities, and campaigns. He was a founding Board member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and a founder of the American Film Institute. I will not list more causes. His family noted with pride, though, that they were generously cited in his many warm and overwhelmingly admiring obituaries.

The point of the article to which I object was Mr. Stein's cheap shot about shallow actors. Perhaps if he did some research then his memory might be corrected in regards to one great American artist.

Mr. Stein, stand up when you talk about him.
-- Carey Peck

Ben Stein replies:
What are you talking about? I didn't make any mean comments about your father. I said he played a man risking his life for civil rights in a movie. I don't think you can question that, can you?

Was he really Atticus Finch? Did he really face a lynch mob? Did he really shoot a rabid dog with open sights at a great distance?

I have no doubt that your father was a fine man. I had the honor of meeting him at Norman Lear's house. I am a huge admirer of his talent and civic achievements. With the greatest possible respect, all of the achievements you list of his do not make him into a freedom worker in the deep South.

Calm down. No one is attacking your father.

P.S. Now that I think about it, it was Scout who faced down the lynch mob in TKAM.

But, again, my comments were not in the slightest denigrating to your father, a genuinely fine man and great talent. And Gentleman's Agreement was a fabulously powerful movie.

ONE DAY AT A TIME
Re: David Hogberg's Incremental Conservatism:

It seems that David Hogberg does not get the "vision thing." His plea for incrementalism ignores the desire for fairness and moral clarity on the part of the electorate.

One reason to eliminate the home mortgage deduction is as part of a trade off to save Social Security. That is a big issue where the voters might consider making some compromises. The home mortgage deduction goes exclusively to homeowners. Those who rent or are saving to buy their first home get nothing. Is that fair to the younger generations who already are charged with supporting Social Security? NO!!!

But why do anything with housing? Because the best place for the timid to put their personalized Social Security funds is into their own homes. That is the investment they know best. It is likely to be the largest investment they will make in their lifetimes. And it is a tangible asset that has real palpable worth. They do not need to withstand the vagaries of Wall Street. Let the mortgage brokers do that.

Letter to the Editor

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