The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Tough Talk

9.26.06 @ 12:01AM

THE MISSING "IC"
Re: The Prowler's The No Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:

What a pleasure to see an article about the Democrats that does NOT use the term Democratic. They are far from being democratic, unless you agree with every thing they say.

I am enjoying watching the Democrats open mouth, insert foot, and bite hard.
-- Elaine Kyle

Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a "founding member" of the KKK; those misworthies were 7 much lower-ranking Confederate veterans who met in Pulaski, TN (named after a foreign-born Revolutionary War hero, a fact which I hope galled the nativists). He did apparently become Grand Dragon of the organization, and at one point did thusly order its disbanding, but the general take of historians on Forrest's Klan tenure is that he but nominally headed up a very loose-knit group indeed in Reconstruction America. Some idea of how loosely knit is that many "klaverns" throughout the South simply ignored Forrest's call for disbandment and claimed embarrassment over his own former membership.

Some further measure of Forrest as a man is given in a biography of him from about 10 years ago by Jack Hurst. Forrest there is described as actually publicly sorry for his racist deeds, and as in attendance by way of some penitence at various picnics and assemblies held by black church groups and political organizations, at which he supposedly even admitted to "so liking the ladies." Not the sort of public atonement for his own past that one could ever expect from Senator Robert Byrd, now is it?
-- Richard Szathmary
Clifton, New Jersey

It just had to be said...your picture of Nancy Pelosi is as sinister looking as Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate.
-- Judy Beumler
Louisville, Kentucky

IF IT BE REAL
Re: Jed Babbin's Islamic Brownshirts:

Jed Babbin's writing about the threat of Islamic fascism always offers a welcome rush of pride and anger (not to mention astute analysis), something that is sadly lacking among even many supporters of the "war on terror." But like other "respectable" conservative commentators, Mr. Babbin shrinks from openly stating the true implications of his position.

What, for example, does he mean when he says that people (radical Muslims) who do not embrace our Constitution and renounce the supremacy of other law (sharia) are "not welcome" in this country? What does he mean when he says that the rest of us should heap "scorn, contempt, shame, and disrespect" on these people? If by this he means nothing more than we should not be friendly to these people and shouldn't hold our tongues when speaking our true feelings about terrorists and their supporters, then I am afraid that Mr. Babbin's tough talk is not so tough at all.

The real questions are, should we continue to permit immigration from Muslim countries that support extremist ideologies (which is every Muslim nation on earth)? Should we permit extremist Muslims already here to remain in our country? Should we close down mosques, schools, and community organizations that spread Islamist ideology? Should we censor Islamist propaganda? Should we prohibit Muslims who do not take loyalty oaths from participating in the political process? Should we repeal antidiscrimination laws that, on their face, protect Muslims from any such treatment? And should we amend the Constitution, which prohibits the government from treating Muslims, whatever their beliefs, differently than non-Muslims?

If the threat posed by radical Islam is as dire as Mr. Babbin and others believe, then only stern measures, like the ones suggested above, will prevent in this country what is happening in Europe, which daily gives in more and more to Islamic demands -- not just out of cowardice, but also out of the logic of its multicultural democratic system (which we share). Recall the Danish politician who recently stated that if Muslims vote to adopt sharia through the democratic process, then the people will have spoken. Is Mr. Babbin willing to state that Muslim citizens' democratic rights must give way if they seek to promote an anti-American ideology? If not, then he doesn't truly think that the threat posed by radical Islam is as serious as he claims.

When two irreconcilable ideologies, two opposing worldviews, come into conflict, one must give way -- usually through violence or intimidation. We experienced this in our own country just 150 years ago. Europe is experiencing it today. Mr. Babbin and the other commentators who lament what is happening in Europe clearly take the position that accommodating ourselves to extremist Muslims is, in effect, to let our civilization give way to radical Islam. Yet Mr. Babbin, like so many others who sound hawkish on this issue, does not want to accept the difficult implications of his own analysis. For if the Islamic threat is real, then we must do much more than simply heap "scorn, contempt, shame, and disrespect" on radical Muslims. If this is too much for Mr. Babbin to stomach, then he should stop criticizing Europe.
-- Steven M. Warshawsky
New York, New York

Oh boy, what a beauty is Jed Babbin's "Islamic Brownshirts." I have just finished writing to you in connection with your readers' responses to "Enough Is Enough Already!" by Jackie Mason and Raoul Felder. In it, I lamented the freedoms we used to know in this country of ours and look on with envy at those freedoms still enjoyed by the U.S. I recently took some visiting relatives from overseas to view Sir Winston Churchill's grave, nearby, and I recalled wondering where our next modern day Churchill is. I have to look to the U.S. these days, although like Jed Babbin, I do wonder about Mr. Bush. However, he has been mis-underestimated before. Tony Blair is being squeezed out by his own ideologically hamstrung party and the latest opposition leader is certainly no Maggie Thatcher and probably no, nothing else. If ever the free world needed a wake up call, it is Islamic Fascism. This truly is a fight of civilization against barbarity.
-- Graham Constable
Oxford, England

As I read the latest article by Jed Babbin, two thoughts occurred to me. The first was that, as is usually the case, Jed has again hit the spike squarely upon its big flat head with maximum force. Our immediate response to virtually all pronouncements of outrage emanating from the Islamic world should be that the truth hurts doesn't it. Then we could add that, if you mend your ways, we will mend our opinions of you. I just simply want to scream each time that someone offers an apology for their own or other's words.

But the further that I read in the article, the more another thought intruded itself on my senses. That thought was how very similar are the responses from the Islamic world and from the political Left. Note that as soon as anyone on the right dares to criticize any policy or pronouncement of the left, the left screams about nastiness, dirty tactics, lies, and mean-spiritedness, and demands an apology. Of course said apology in never quick enough or sufficient enough or specific enough or something.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Religion, Islam, Abortion, Books, Constitution, Law, NATO, Socialism, Fascism, Immigration, Oil