The American Spectator

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Indecent Appeasement

5.28.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 6)

This is an extraordinary essay that sheds much light on both Senator McCain and on Chris Matthews. The problem is that most left leaning people who read it will quickly dismiss John McCain as one who earned our respect for his valiant behavior as a prisoner of war during the Viet Nam conflict, but who is woefully inadequate to become president of the U.S. Few, however, will come to the obvious conclusion that Chris Matthews is a commentator not only to be disbelieved, but also to be ridiculed.

If this man, Chris Matthews, purports himself to be a student of History, yet believes that Neville Chamberlain's only fault, or even greatest fault, was the surrendering of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, he is as much a student of History as is Mr. Bean, the famous British intellectual. For anyone who has taken even the most cursory look at the History of the period between world wars, it is obvious that Chamberlain's willful ignorance of what Adolph Hitler had planned for Europe and the rest of the world, and what was supported by copious evidence, was the sin of this chief of the appeasers. In fact, Chamberlain, Baldwin, and the others who participated in this disgraceful showcase of "diplomacy" either deliberately ignored or foolishly discounted statements from Hitler that clearly revealed his impending gambit. Steel puddlers and door to door salesmen were able to accurately predict the coming war. The signs, so obvious in retrospect, were just as obvious at the time.

Today, virtually hourly, in the newspapers and on television, we listen to and see people like Obama, McDermott, Pelosi, Reid, and the other mini-Chamberlains repeating the past in their mad rush toward appeasement and surrender. The scariest part of this is that half the nation seems to comfortably believe these lunatics who apparently accept the idea that Islam is, in reality, the religion of peace, and that those millions of murderously red-eyed fanatics are just funnin' with us and will, when push comes to shove, be controlled by the vast majority of friendly Muslims who want only to live in peace and harmony with the rest of the world. You know, like they are trying so hard to do in the Middle East, with Israel

Was it Rush Limbaugh who first stated that liberalism was a mental disease? I used to think that that belief was over the top. Now, I'm not so sure. What does one say about someone who looks down the barrel of a loaded gun, listens to the holder explain how he is going to pull the trigger, and blithely says, "Don't worry, he doesn't really mean it"?
-- Joseph Baum
Garrettsville, Ohio

First, let me admit to not being a history buff concerning World War II, so I do have a question about the subject of Mr. Lord's article.

I saw the same "Hardball" show in which I heard Matthews repeatedly ask the question of his guest, and when the guest couldn't answer, Matthews' finally answered his own question by saying, "Chamberlain gave half of Poland to the Nazis, and that is why he [Chamberlain] is called an appeaser." All commentary I've seen on that particular show refers to Czechoslovakia, not Poland. Did Matthews' misspeak or was he wrong about his history? Or did I not correctly hear Matthews.

It is amazing to me that that was first time I can recall when a liberal actually argued the facts of something with a Republican or conservative, and it made big news. When the conservatives make the liberals look foolish on their facts or history, it is not big deal. The Republicans are going to have a hard time winning this November with the media so blatantly on the side of Democrats.
-- David Tomaselli

Jeffrey Lord replies: If Matthews had said "Poland" I would clearly think he simply misspoke. Poland was invaded outright, a year after the negotiations between Chamberlain and Hitler turned Czechoslovakia over to the Nazis. It was the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, that officially kicked off World War II.

ROSIE SCENARIO
Re: Paul Chesser's More Biofuellishness:

The states headlong rush into the "Climate Change" arena is something akin to the movie, The African Queen, where Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn are hacking widely in every direction with a machete through the steaming dense jungle undergrowth making little or no headway and with no specific direction that will free them from the tangled morass.

This is the Climate Change philosophy that North Carolina is getting ready to adopt. NC State Legislatures are lining up behind each other and handing Governor Easley the ceremonial golden machete to start hacking into the Climate Change jungle with no specific attainable goal and tangle North Carolinians with higher fees and taxes that will provide little or no climate benefit for years to come.

Below are excerpts from an article written by a leading economist Dr. Roy Cordato of the John Locke Foundation a policy think tank in Raleigh, N.C.

"The climate change commission in North Carolina is considering 56 policy proposals developed by the Climate Action Plan Advisory Group. At the request of the John Locke Foundation, Beacon Hill Institute, the research arm of the economics department at Boston's Suffolk University, researchers tested eight of the proposed policies. Those tested include a cap-and-trade program for CO2 emissions, a surcharge for high-emission vehicles, a California-style vehicle emission standard, and mandates for utility companies to spend money on energy-efficiency and demand-management programs. "The Beacon Hill Institute details what it calls 'serious methodological flaws' in the documents used to justify these new tax hikes, artificial price increases, and increased restrictions of consumer freedom."

It doesn't matter what state or the level of government that enacts "Green legislation," with falling revenues that flow into government treasuries, states legislatures are eager to grasp any type of revenue generating vehicle that will balance their budgets for the short term. So when a politician with a sardonic grin proselytizes that their state is going green, be sure to ask them specifically what green they are going after, the environment or your wallet because the Climate Change vehicle that NC Legislatures are jumping into definitely falls under North Carolina's Lemon Law?
-- Melvin Leppla
Jacksonville, North Carolina

Our family lives in rural northern Iowa -- home to ethanol plants and biodiesel plants. I have a number of "reservations" about the ethanol plants, one of which is, so I am told, that for every gallon of ethanol produce, 3 gallons of water is required. In time, I fear that I will have to drill a deeper well as water tables are lowered. Funny, you never, ever hear talk of this fact when a new plant is on the drawing boards. You may also note that a nearly new biodiesel plant in southern Minnesota and a new biodiesel plant in Algona, Iowa are not in operation. Why? According to my farmer-sources, the price of soybeans is too high for these plants to economically produce biodiesel. I wonder if that factor was firmly entrenched in their business plans?

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