The American Spectator

Reader Mail

UNION-BUSTING
Re: G. Tracy Mehan, III's My UAW Story:

As the self-appointed czar of the American automotive industry, my first action shall be to invest a few tens of billions to acquire controlling interest in Honda Motor. Then I shall slap GM, Ford, and Chrysler badges of Hondas. At a stroke, I shall please not only American drivers and shareholders, but, more importantly, American taxpayers.
-- David Govett
Davis, California

The way I see it is this: the auto industry bailout package is nothing more than a precedent for yearly American auto subsidies. The auto industry and the UAW have absolutely no plan to become competitive, they are determined to defy market forces, even if it destroys the domestic auto industry completely.

Here is how I know (the bailout) is a subsidy. Any business that makes 1 million a year and pays out 1.5 million a year is either:

A) Going to "find money" somewhere, every year, to cover the difference (a subsidy)

OR,

B) It is going out of business.

There can be no exceptions!
-- Ralph C
Charlotte, North Carolina

AGGRESSIVE CAROLING
Re: Robert Stacy McCain's Musical Humbug:

Right on, Mr. McCain.

Thanks for sharing my personal 'aggressive' carol preference: "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen!" Belt that one out in the middle of a bunch of Muslims...! Oh, and may I offer some more superb "Christmas" material, from Georg Friedrich Handel and his incomparable "Messiah."

(Sang that magnificent oratorio once again last night, for the 67th annual West Union, Iowa "Messiah" chorale, so it yet echoes in my head).

Listen to "Glory to God"...and the saccharine 'holiday' "Christmas" once again becomes the (First) Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-- Dave Hanson
Fayette, Iowa

To the United States Armed Forces: Thanks
Because you are watching out for me, I am safe and warm today.
I embrace the joy of this special time because you are far away.
I sing the carols of Christmas in a church just over the way.
I marvel at the twinkling lights that shine each bustling day.
Family and friends surround me with season's greetings and good cheer.
I am receiving and sending gifts. I am blessed with loved ones near.
I am safe because you are guarding me, and although you are far away,
You are close to my heart, each one of you, today and every day.
-- Mimi Evans Winship

YES, BUT THEY CHEAT ON PHILOSOPHY TESTS TOO
Re: David N. Bass's Generation Cheat:

"It took one generation, the Baby Boomers, to upend the social fabric of America and pave the way for political, economic, and social disaster

Not so fast Mr. Bass.  It took the so-called "Greatest Generation" to flush America's superior values down the tubes by not sticking up for us after WWII:  Roosevelt gave away Eastern Europe to Joe Stalin.  Truman lost Korea after it was won.  Johnson fouled up Vietnam.  While politicians were busy messing up government, the baby boomers' misnamed "Greatest Generation" parents were busy spoiling, coddling, and encouraging their kids to avoid the draft, avoid paying for the consequences of their behavior, and avoid every other kind of hardship.  They put that womanizing prima donna Jack Kennedy in the presidency.  Many of them voted with their jaundiced boomer children to put the Bill and Hillary in the presidency.  And I'm amazed at how many of these "Greatest Generation" types voted for the latest disaster to get into the presidency.  You do have a valid point.  When "influential" people refuse to stand on principal, and are otherwise lying and cheating and thieving; outsider people tend to do the same thing in their own ways.

Incidentally, I've been doing substitute teaching lately (rural schools), and am very heartened by the attitudes and practice of teachers and administrators regarding basic values of honesty and citizenship.
-- Carl Gordon Pyper
Monett, Missouri

I think the problem is "Thou Shalt Not Steal" is foreign to the young. "'It's your rule, not mine, and it doesn't have anything to do with me." And somewhere along the lines, parents, schools, and society have failed to integrate the philosophy with the child.
-- Robert Nowall
Cape Coral, Florida

SAFETY NET: THE POOR
Re: Doug Bandow's Extortion in Chicago:

The extortion in Chicago and Michigan is particularly galling since the "taxpayers" footing the bill for the dispossessed auto and window workers may in fact have no health care coverage of their own. What a dichotomy: those without health care bailing out the unions, whose record of worker abuse would surely raise some eyebrows, were they broadcast. The future indeed looks bleak in Obama's America.
-- Robert Mandraccia
Ft Myers, Florida

DR. DASCHLE
Re: Philip Klein's Daschle's Long March:

Daschle is one of the most snakey passive-aggressives I have ever seen, even worse than Mitchell. Reid doesn't come close to this viper with a smile! Of course we all know who is going to get stuck in this deal…Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer…we patients.

The docs saw this game coming: They've chosen to stay asleep while the dollars kept going into their bank accounts. They will stay asleep if such continues. Stop their bucks and their heads will appear quickly in front of television cameras denouncing the terrible reality of American healthcare! Ahh, those dangers that lurk just behind the white curtains!

Mr. Insurance Man has had this game planned for some time now. He knows how to get Mr. Taxpayer as the person of last resort. Playing "musical chairs" and with a final game of "hot potato," Mr. Insurance Man will direct our congress in the ways it wants to go.

Of course, now that Mr. Business Man has thoroughly trashed his image, don't expect our "medical entrepreneurs" to come forward with solutions generated from the "working for profit" community! They are presently being heavily tarred and feathered!

God forbid we design a new 21st century medical services model that takes into consideration all technologies, the vast expansion of certified medical personnel from simple staff to doctors, and employ a division of services readily available like the old corner store or gas station as entry level medical attention centers and providers!

Nope, let the government run this game for they are so good at what they do! Mommy and Daddy are here to help for your entire life!

This is what you reap when most so-called leaders in government are those who have gone to law school. Just read Plato's thoughts written over 2300 years ago on this group!

The prescription is what will kill the patient in this case! Don't call me in the morning…
-- R. Philips
Corrales, New Mexico

LINGERING FEELINGS

Sarah Palin thought for about ten seconds before accepting John McCain's offer of the vice-presidential candidacy. I still wonder why she didn't think a little more before she accepted. Did she imagine she could do the job, and believe she deserved it?

It reminds me of the old Mike Douglas interview show once when Spiro Agnew was the guest. When the host asked the former vice-president why he kept climbing the political ladder as high as he could, Agnew didn't say he thought he'd be good at the new position, or that he'd be helpful to his constituents.

No, he just felt it was his obligation to those who surrounded him to rise as high as he could, even though he had no plans for what he'd do when he got to the new job.

The Illinois governor is the latest to craft his own version of this blinding blind ambition. His drive came from the combination of a natural desire for a proper influence over the choice of an Obama successor, and the less natural appetite in the American psyche to always 'Go for the gold!'
-- James Gavin
Orefield, Pennsylvania