The American Spectator

Reader Mail

AVOIDING VICTORY, TOO
Re: Stefan Halper's Avoiding Disaster in Afghanistan:

What a sad, sad article, Mr. Halper.

It demonstrates clearly the depth and breadth of the new foreign policy of Cloud Cuckoo Land and, even more painfully, the new diplomacy.

Perhaps the Cko-in-Chief will go again to Russia, begging, hat in hand, teary eyes averted, voice tremulous, for help in Afghanistan, as he just did for help in Iran.

Not only must we change the Constitution to require a candidate for the presidency to have read the Constitution at least once (all the way through, mind), but also to have read at least one book on diplomacy. (Anything but Alice in Wonderland, which this administration seems to have mastered.)

Obama makes me long for the heady, wacky, muscular diplomacy of the Carter administration.
-- A. C. Santore

To our collective chagrin, the attempt to bestow the blessings of liberty on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan has led to the election of hard-left Democrats and reduced liberty in the U.S., and the trend seems further downward.

The question, then, is: Why should Iraqis and Afghanis value freedom when the Americans themselves -- the Americans! -- discard it so readily?
-- David Govett
Davis, California

CLUB RULES
Re: Matt Bowman's Sebelius and Kmiec Catholicism:

Irrespective of what people such as Sebelius, Kmiec, Kennedy, Pelosi or Biden may elect to call themselves, they are not, repeat, not, Catholic.
-- W. B. Heffernan, Jr.

People of good will can, and do, disagree about when life begins. But just as the United States has only one president at time, the Holy Roman Catholic Church has only one Pope at a time. He has been given the responsibility to decide basic and fundamental issues of what is acceptable in the Catechism and what beliefs are mandatory for members of good standing in the Church. According to the Holy See, life begins at conception. This dogma does not allow for exceptions; that is the very nature of dogma: no exceptions! To the faithful followers of the Catholic Church, killing a human being is a mortal sin. The age of the person is an irrelevant factor; shooting a nine year old with a gun is different only in degree from gassing millions in Nazi Germany; killing an embryo with saline solution, again, is different only in methodology but not morality.

Maybe Sebelius and Kmiec can be transparent in their beliefs and come up with a catchy name. Instead of Pro-Choice Catholics, why not just be straight and call themselves Catholic Murder Company. It's catchy. It's up front. But it ain't Catholic.

I don't belong to the club, but I understand the membership rules.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

THE GAME CONTINUES
Re: Peter Ferrara's Obama's Fantasy Budget:

Mr. Ferrara writes, "This is not George Bush's deficit," which is, in fact, the truth, but what does truth have to do with economics and politics when dealing with a willfully blind electorate and a highly biased media? Remember pinning a tail on an elephant is easier than on a donkey. As with the deficit, size matters.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

THE GOP ISN'T CROSSING THE RIVER
Re: Lisa Fabrizio's Crossing the Delaware:

We now live in a target-rich environment. Secretary of the Treasury Tax Cheat testifies that the Obama Administration plans to punish the tax evaders. I nearly split a gut laughing, although there were no guffaws in the hearing room. We were told that the market would crash without TARP. It declined upon passage of TARP, and has crashed (to late 90's levels even below the early 00's decline) under Obama's continued plans to bail out the incompetent and punish the productive. If out-of-control spending, high taxes, and onerous regulations were a solution to economic decline, California would be leading us out of recession rather than functioning as the premier beggar state. If throwing money at K-12 education were a solution to American illiteracy, innumeracy, and drop-outs, Washington D.C. would be the showplace of educational achievement. If socializing medicine were a solution to high costs and system inefficiencies, people wouldn't be fleeing the "free" Canadian system to pay good money for timely, effective care in the U.S. And hasn't the United States really shown government's ability to manage efficiently in the fine work of the U.S. Postal Service? Maybe our hospitals could shut down for two days a week to save money! If you are about to die on a Sunday or a Tuesday, well, try to hold on until the next day! We can stimulate the production of wind energy that cannot be effectively stored or transmitted to replace the coal we will not be allowed to dig, the oil we will not be allowed to tap, and the nuclear we will not be allowed to build. This is the "Animal House" economy to be run by buffoons, whose antics are so farcically hilarious that no movie satire could ever hope to capture all the humor.

When Hayek noted that government bureaucrats had insufficient information to replace the market in management of the economy, he didn't know the half of it. Not only does this administration have insufficient information, it also pays no attention to the information it does have.

So, how in this target rich environment does the stupid party conduct itself? Well, the RNC Chairman allows himself to be baited into taking on one of the few important media personalities who is actually talking about all the nonsense. And the party allows spokesmen like Eric Cantor to carry the flag, although he was co-opted into supporting the first TARP bill, and now looks like either a very stupid man or an opportunist. Was it really okay when Bush did it? And important governors like Charlie Crist serve as accomplices to the plunder of the productive. What a crew!

Republicans, you may think that America will turn to you after Obama has accomplished his goal of destroying our capitalist economy, but you are wrong that you can simply wait for disenchantment to set it. You need to let the people know that you do hope Obama fails in his socialist program, that you have alternatives that have always worked to improve economic conditions (low taxes--especially on capital and on the productive--low regulation, sound money), and that you have spokesmen that are more believable and popular than the sorry pols you have chosen to front the Republican message.

Since you are so often the stupid party, I fear that you will not heed this advice, any more than you heeded the advice to act like Republicans when you controlled the government. How sad for all of us.
-- Stephen Zierak
Kansas City, Missouri

CUE RUSH LIMBAUGH
Re: Tony Marsh's The Audacity of Cynicism:

At which point will Obama's rhetoric meet reality?

Never. It can't, by definition of him who speaks out of both sides of his mouth and stamps everything he says with an expiration date.

And who will report it to most Americans or even comment on that? The advocacy/adversary print and broadcast media that are his shills and shillettes? Liberal/leftist academia? Hollywood and the liberal/leftist so-called entertainment industry?

Who?
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia

I'LL DECIDE, THANK YOU
Re: Jeremy Lott's Kid Conservatism:

It has been my experience that when someone says they are doing something and "it's for your own good"...it never is.
-- Michael Skaggs
Murray, Kentucky