The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Palestinian Problems

3.21.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 4)

Tabin closes thusly: "Still, it would be nice if one of our potential leaders would give us some hint that there are part of our lives that the government has no business interfering in."

Here he puts his finger on what bothers many conservatives and libertarians about the current zeitgeist. We have no assurance that those who hold the reins of government recognize any aspect of American life that is clearly private. When everything becomes political, there is no life outside the umbrella of the State, precisely the fascist model advocated by Mussolini, Wilson, and their intellectual brethren. From the inception of the Progressive Movement of the late 19th century, the United States government has gradually morphed into something that was never intended to exist by the Founders, although it would take them only a few minutes to recognize it for what it is, for they offered warnings of the most explicit kind in the historical record.

The Founders key insight was that government is the ultimate blunt instrument, regardless of the holder of power, and that the only sure way to constrain the damage it does is to severely limit its scope and create internal tension within its structure to make it less capable of sustained over-reach.

Perhaps this explains in part why some are attracted to the smooth demeanor and lyrical rhetoric of a gifted speaker such as Sen. Obama. The superficially pleasant public symbol allows them to more easily avert their eyes from the irreducible brutality of the underlying mechanism.
-- Bud

CLOWN CARS
Re: Eric Peters's Smart Shoppers and Michael Tomlinson's letter (under "Don't Outsmart Yourself") in Reader Mail's Dumb Cars:

While it is easy to find fault, the Smart car does have benefits. One flaw of small cars is that they have been built for small people. The Smart has been designed with normal-sized and even large people in mind. His arguments in favor of other small cars are valid only for those who can fit in these cars. Although I don't like the thought of giving up my back seat, I must admit it has been more than 8 years since I've had more than one other person share my sedan.

With regard to the gas mileage, cost, and lack of a diesel engine in the U.S., these factors are partially the result of U.S. regulations. While it is easy to point out that previous VWs have had higher gas mileage, new regulations make these numbers harder to achieve -- just our government looking out for us. Also, you must consider that the EPA has a new way of determining mileage and the Smart's 41/33mpg translate to 46/39mpg on the old system. Comparing mileage determined using two different systems is dishonest (the 2000 VW New Beetle Diesel gets 44/35 on the new rating system). This section comparing the value of a new car to that of a decade-old used car is laughable. Of course if we were frugal, we'd never buy a new car, and everyone in the world would drive either a 10-year-old Camry or a 10-year-old Civic.

While there is a top speed of 90mph on U.S. models, this is dictated by software. I first took the Smart seriously when one passed me on the autobahn when I was doing 180kph (about 110mph). As far as safety goes, any small car is going to be more dangerous than an SUV; however, the steel cage built into the Smart probably makes this safer than most. Remember, this is a car designed by Mercedes. Because of my height, the nearest competitor I can fit into comfortably is a Civic costing 40% more. Is the back seat worth this premium? Doubtful, but I do like the thought of a back seat and may need one in the next eight years.
-- Gordon

I am in total agreement with Mr. Tomlinson's second paragraph.

There in lies a question. We have a Strategic Oil Reserve. Why not a policy of Strategic drilling in ANWR and off the coasts as well as building refineries and reactors? I view this as a national security issue and as such I believe the President may be well within the powers of his office to issue an Executive Order to the energy companies already holding leases and rights to get on with it.

Of course the Libs and enviromentalists would howl, but don't they do that on a daily basis anyway? The economic and job growth aspect would be beyond their powers of reasoning, although I believe some Union guys might get it. Investors with 401k's and IRA's, quite a few of we the people, would get it.

W might as well leave office with a bang rather then a whimper.

As to the Smart Car, BMW? built something similar several decades ago: the entire front opened for ingress and egress, popular in Europe, not so here.
-- Jim Woodward
Midvale, Utah

I'm afraid you have missed the point of marketing Smart cars in the U.S. In Europe, where I lived for 17 years, they are popular because (a) they are cute and small and come in crazy colors, (b) you can park them anywhere and (c) Europeans love gadgets, which is what a Smart car is.

But the reason they are going to be wildly popular here is reflected by the reaction of the 18-year-old best friend of my nephew when he first saw one several years ago in Germany: "Whoa! What a chick magnet!"

Letter to the Editor

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