The American Spectator

Reader Mail

European Airs

10.6.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 5)

From the beginning of our New World experience, Europe, and most particularly Britain, have always treated America and Americans with rude contempt. For an eye-opening example, read about John Adams' experiences in London. That attitude has never diminished over time. Even when we were saving their country in two world wars, they mocked us, our ways, and our strengths.

They have always believed that they know better than we do about everything. A feeling of superiority breeds contempt, even -- perhaps especially -- when the superiority is imagined rather then real, as it is in this case.

They are also suffering from the relative success of American democracy and capitalism, as well as our military strength, since and beginning with the Revolutionary War.

Finally, they believe the far left media and blogs partly because that's mostly what they are fed, and partly because that's exactly what they want to believe.

Barack Obama as President would provide vindication for their beliefs economic and political, and restore their notion that they are, or should be, co-equal partners with the U.S. -- or better, our masters with us as puppets.

If they couldn't have Jean Francois Kerry, they'll happily take an even more malleable stooge -- Barack Francois Obama.
-- A. C. Santore

"Europe presumes." That head rolled in 1776.
-- David Govett
Davis, California

KIND OF ONE-SIDED
Re: Lawrence Henry's Both Sides of the Financial Crisis:

Just a note to say how much I enjoy your articles. I met my wife while she was waiting for her second kidney transplant-and immediately proposed. Our 3rd anniversary was in August. Best wishes.
-- Dennis Morris

I am sorry to have to say this, but there is only one side to the current financial crisis. That is total government incompetence bordering on, if not in fact, criminal negligence. There is no one else to blame. Government policies created the situation that led to the credit meltdown. It was political influence and protectionism that allowed it to continue to the point that literally trillions of dollars in investment have been lost in the private sector. And now governmental corruption continues as the Congress and the administration strive mightily to cover-up their incompetence, negligence and possible criminal behavior. And in so doing, they are going to cost the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars directly and an unknown amount indirectly as their actions deepen and perpetuate the recession that we are entering.

Who do you vote for to represent your interests? How do the people protect themselves from their protectors? When we look to Washington, we are akin to Diogenes. And lo, there is not an honest man to be seen. This is just another failure of government in a long list of failures in the last three decades. And there are no strong leaders on the horizon to look to. So let's go to the polls and vote. There may be some conservatives running for Congress who are, as yet, uncorrupted. If you can find one vote for him, or her. As for the Presidency, we have the choice between an aging liberal populist and a young Marxist-Leninist. I suppose one is better than the other, but not very much. If the citizens do not take control of this country, then we will all be working for minimum wage; except for the politicians and a few of their good friends. But, at least we will have free housing.
-- Michael Tobias

Mr. Henry tells us Wall St. got snookered by their own computer models. Those damn computer models, why, next thing you know, they'll be predicting that global warming is man made! Mr. Henry is correct, this stampede over the cliff of fiscal irresponsibility was started and promoted by those congressional cowboys in chaps, (think Barney Frank & Chris Dodd, talk about the Village People) who now seek to place blame elsewhere. The New York Times has one of the greatest financial scandals under its nose, but writes nothing because it will land at the feet of Democrats who created the monsters Fannie & Freddie. Henry Waxman is set to hold hearings in October (imagine that) but you can bet all of Al Gore's carbon credits that neither members of Congress nor Messrs. Raines, Johnson and Mudd will be placed under oath.

The McCain campaign is genetically incapable of blaming Congress. His membership in Club Senate precludes blame upon the political class. Just as he did after the Keating 5, when McCain blamed the system for corrupting pure and innocent public servants rather than their own greed and avarice, McCain & Co. look everywhere else but in the mirror. In the debate, Gov. Palin made five references to greedy Wall St. and only at the end, an oblique reference to Washington and Fannie & Freddie. Despite her outstanding performance, standing toe to toe with professional pol, numero uno, Joe Biden, McCain will likely lose this election because the "maverick" won't admit that Congress is corrupted by the disease of incumbency. If McCain/Palin lose, she needs to get back to the clean air of Alaska ASAP before toxic Washington gets into her system.
-- A. DiPentima

Lawrence Henry fails to state two important things: one, as long as the media remain in the tank for Barack Obama, Americans will never learn the truth about the scope of the Democrats' involvement in this mess; two, in a country where half the people pay no income taxes at all, "free" houses are a "natural" extension of the entitlement mentality.

If Ann Coulter is accurate regarding the Clinton administration's decision to use welfare payments and unemployment insurance as income sources, why isn't such insanity front page news? See numbers one and two above.
-- Arnold Ahlert
Boca Raton, Florida

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Foreign Policy, Education, John McCain, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mainstream Media, Business, Global Warming, Hollywood, Movies, Constitution, Law, Military, Russia, Alaska