The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Unnaturally Selective

10.21.05 @ 12:01AM

OUT OF THIS WORLD
Re: Peter Suderman's Spaceships and Small Governments:

I really think that Peter Suderman is on to something here with his article on Serenity versus Star Trek. I am a life-long Trekker and newly minted "browncoat" who buys the multi-ethnic message of the Trek franchise whilst rejecting it's big government/post-money economics. Yet I had not seriously considered the political message of Serenity (and Firefly).

Serenity resonates with me on several levels -- I don't suppose that Suderman has ever read any of Jerry Pournelle's "CoDominium" stories, has he? And oddly enough, the best-selling geostrategic book The Pentagon's New Map talks about a rich and prosperous "Core" and a cruder outside world that the author calls "The Gap." And in Joss Whedon's "verse," the Alliance dominates from The Core against the Rim. Hmmmm.

Well done.
-- D. Grant Greffey
Springfield, Virginia

GAS GONZOS
Re: Doug Bandow's Pumping Prices:

Interesting piece by Mr. Bandow. I agree with much of his analysis concerning the factors responsible for increases in the end cost of a commodity and for his argument against price controls. I would caution against rushing to the defense of the oil companies, however.

The Windfall Profits Act was passed for a reason. During the Oil Crisis of the late 1970's some oil companies posted net profit percentages two to three times as high as those posted just prior to the oil shortage. It may be helpful to remember that the Oil Crisis, at that time, was caused by OPEC restricting oil production. This would increase costs to the industry at all levels that would be passed along to the end user. Following a classic economic model, the profit margin of any level of the distribution system should not increase significantly. In this case, though, it did for the refining companies (i.e. Exxon, Amoco etc.). Hence, the passage of the WPA.

Now, it is unknown if oil companies are reaping windfall profits from the current disasters, at least at the present time. We will know the answer to that when quarterly profit and loss statements are published. Then we will know if the prices paid by consumers at the pump were simply increased business costs passed on or an attempt to gouge the end consumer for greater profit. Depending upon what information is revealed in time, it may be necessary to revisit the WPA.
-- Michael Tobias
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

When my friends start complaining about the gas prices, I tell them to go thank a liberal environmental nut.
-- Elaine Kyle

BAMBURGLED
Re: Reid Collins's Michelle MaBelle:

George Bamberger and the LPGA official need to get lives. The time to make a ruling like that was when it occurred, not some 28 hours later on a deserted golf course. That's like the NFL still conducting replays and overruling officials' calls at 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday. There has to be a time when the game is over, warts and all.
-- Gilbert R. Ohlson
St. Joseph, Missouri

WILLING WARRIORS
Re: Christopher Orlet's Martial Stupidity:

The left has discovered that the primary difference between Vietnam and the Gulf war is that the military is voluntary military service. With a voluntary military you are not dragging people who don't want to be in the military to fight in a war, and thus have eliminated a whole group of probable anti-war supporters.

The encouragement of the left to "draft" people is an attempt to reinstate the unpopular practice on those who are not anti-war.
-- B.W. Peek
Ft Lauderdale, Florida

Perhaps a different focus. The Founding Fathers were too old to serve in the military when the time came. But what's wrong with the logic that the most important matters of politics concern our defense against real enemies, and that such matters are best understood by those who have been trained for war.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Economics, Business, Environment, Movies, Law, Founding Fathers, Military, Conservatism, Oil