The American Spectator

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The Foley Follies

10.9.06 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 5)

It is interesting that some people in this country either don't care about, or actually hate the military, who, ironically, would willingly fight and die to protect their right to irrationally hate them. It is also "interesting", how some who seem to "hate" the battle in Iraq and question whether there really needs to be a "war on terror" at all, also seem constitutionally unable to understand that the military, the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines, are what stands between us and the enemy, this time the Islamic extremists who would either totally subjugate us and take away all the bounties of our citizenship in the greatest country on earth, or if they can't do that, would kill us all.

The debt we owe these extraordinary people can never be fully repaid, especially for those who sacrifice body parts or even their very lives. They can never be honored and thanked enough (and it is amazing how seldom they actually are, even after the sad experience of the returning Vietnam vets, of which I am one). Unfortunately, one only sees the outpouring of gratitude in numbers when there is a military funeral. I always make it a point to approach every person I see in uniform -- without fail, whenever and wherever I am -- to thank them for their service to their country.

One thing we should give priority to and work assiduously for, is to assure that such people, such heroes, in addition to receiving the daily honor and respect they are due, more concretely, are provided with benefits concomitant with the sacrifices they have made -- for us -- so that they can go on to be a part of the American dream as well, either by continuing in the service, or not.

On behalf of my son and his bride, I thank you for your kind words and your moving recognition of the importance of our military in maintaining and protecting your opportunity to live the American dream, your (our) way of life. I wish that more (all) of our citizens, whether they agree with the mission or not, were at least as motivated to demonstrate such gratitude overtly and without waiting for a military funeral.
-- Michael Fields
Columbia, Missouri

Attaboy, Ben! Tell it like it is. Maybe the gay pros and cons will lighten up now. The problem with Foley isn't his sexual orientation, it's his particular lack of moral fiber.

A Member of Congress is presumed to have a modicum of knowledge about what is legal and what is not, but without the guts to stand up to his or her anti-social leanings, all the intelligence in the world isn't going to keep those leanings at bay.

As an aside, I think your short but delicious cameo in The Mask is far more apropos to Foley than Ferris Bueller. "We all wear masks, Mr. Ipkiss." Well, now someone has ripped the mask from Pholey's phiz, so why don't we all move on now?
-- Bob Johnson

I just read about Mr. Stein. First, through a slightly fabricated email, but as always, I checked Snopes.com and found that the central meat of the letter was factual. I decided, then, to read further about him via this website, and ended up at The American Spectator. My parents would love your articles. I am still a bit awestruck at Mr. Stein and how eloquently yet simply he expresses views that are among the most controversial of our time. THIS man is who is brave, ranking right there among our soldiers and the families who support them. THANK YOU for putting these words into print. THANK YOU for daring to say what has become so politically incorrect to say. Mr. Stein is right when he points out that Hollywood wouldn’t dare to proclaim such truths as who the real threat to human decency is. They are afraid of being literally cut down for it. THANK YOU for saying what I am afraid to say a loud as well in too large an audience. You are an inspiration to me. And I am sure many others. Sincerely,
-- Kacee

I read that the House Ethics Committee will open an investigation into former Rep. Foley. That's interesting. As I recall, when Tony Coelho and Jim Wright resigned from the House in disgrace, Republicans asked for an ethics probe in their cases. However, the then Democrat-controlled body rejected the calls, saying that since both had resigned, the House no longer had any jurisdiction or authority to conduct such an investigation.

Did that rule change? Or is this yet again the double standard?

Just wondering.
-- L. Pettifogger

Regarding Ben Stein's article and the firestorm that followed. We have heard from the "gays," who stole a perfectly good word to describe homosexual and invented "straight" to describe the rest of the male population. Maybe that's what initially got them so whacked out about the Boy Scouts -- the creed part where they promise to be morally straight. That was long before "gays" had co-opted the word, and it meant only straight-arrow or true. Even now we say "Damned straight" meaning damned right. We don't mean damned heterosexual. Ah, but if you only speak Castro-ese, it's difficult.

But this is as good an argument as I have ever heard for the Boy Scouts not wanting homosexual men "leading" boys (or following too close). It's the "just in case" clause. Who knows where it would lead?

Maybe Willie Nelson needs to write a new song.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be page boys
'Least not in Congress, where the "closeted" roam
They're safer, much safer, if you jus' keep 'em home
So, Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be page boys,
Let 'em play baseball or go hiking back-packed
There's a better chance they'll come home, their virtue intact.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Business, Islam, Hollywood, Constitution, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, NATO, Nuclear Weapons, Alaska, Oil, Unions