The American Spectator

p> Justin Obodie’s comments are priceless — The American Spectator couldn’t have a better straight man, or the Left a better spokesman. The United States has indeed exposed itself for the entire world to see: The world can see that the United States is guilty of acting in support of her ideals, in removing an evil regime in two countries, and in trying to give the benefit of democracy to a part of the world that has known only repression and tyranny for the past two thousand years. The United States is also guilty of believing that freedom is a gift from God to all humans, and that governments derive their power from the people and not the other way around. Finally, America is guilty of making actions speak louder than words-something we have been guilty of for the majority of the 20th Century. It is easy to make a speech (as did President Kennedy with his “Pay any price” speech), but it is much harder to act on ideals, especially when belief in the ideals costs the lives of our young men and women. br> — Paul Melody br> Gainesville, Virginia /p> p> ONE SHOT ATTICUS br> Re: the “Atticus Finch in Hollywood” letters in Reader Mail’s Intended Consequences : /p>

I must correct the correctors correcting the incorrect account of Atticus, Scout, and Jem Finch (and Dill Harris, the child-avatar of none other than Truman Capote!) discussing To Kill a Mockingbird, book and movie, the Maycomb jail, and a death sentence for a rabid dog.

The last shall be first-the rifle used in the movie (which I rejoice to own on DVD) is not a Springfield 1903, sporterized or not, it is a Krag-Jorgensen, most likely the government issue carbine, but perhaps a sporterization, the rifle of the Spanish-American war and the Filipino insurrection, in which it largely gave acceptable service, but the Springfield 1903 which replaced it loaded faster. The loading gate on the side of the weapon is unmistakable; its caliber is .30 U.S., now known as the .30-40 Krag, quite accurate and powerful. Sheriff Heck Tate (one of the heroes of the book, an honest, decent lawman with the priceless virtue of flexibility) bade Atticus take the shot since it involved the use of a high-powered rifle on a street with a great many civilians within range of the rifle’s bullet. Atticus lived up to his “One Shot” sobriquet and Tim Johnson (the dog) never knew what hit him.