The American Spectator

Current Wisdom

Current Wisdom

From the May 2009 issue

(Page 2 of 3)

(April 2009)

New York Times Book Review

More evidence of intellectual torpor at the moribund Times as filed by Philip W. Bennett, whistleblower?

To the Editor:

With reference to the musical talents of the Wittgensteins, your reviewer did not mention the prodigious whistling talents of Ludwig, the philosopher. It is reported that Ludwig could whistle the entire parts of string quartets along with those playing instruments. When he visited the United States in 1949 as a guest of Norman Malcolm of Cornell, Malcolm reports, Wittgenstein whistled whole symphonies on the drive from New York City to Ithaca.
Philip W. Bennett
Hamden, Conn.

(March 22, 2009)

The New Republic

Another sad effort at humor from one of the New Republic’s legendary teacher’s pets laboriously improvising under the fanciful title “The Lesser-Known Think Tanks of Washington”:

Heritage Foundation RAW The new home for policy recommendations too crazy conservative for the Heritage Foundation. Rejecting the sissified scholarship of “Red” Roger Ailes and “Comrade Kristol,” Heritage RAW’s all-white, all-decrepit roster advances an outlandishly reactionary platform in rooms so smoke-filled it is said that members can only identify each other by their hacking coughs. At a recent meat-and-potatoes breakfast meeting, resident scholars discussed abolishing the minimum wage in favor of a “suggested donation,” erecting a 700-mile fence to secure the U.S.-California border, and a visionary plan to privatize the House of Representatives.
(April 1, 2009)

New York Times

More repulsive effusions from one of our nation’s lunatic fruitarians:

To the Editor:

Re “Obama to Eat Local Produce (Really Local)” (front page, March 20): The Obamas’ organic vegetable and herb garden will result in several things: First, the Obamas, along with the countless others inspired to plant their own organic gardens, will be eating fresher, tastier, better for the environment, healthier food while saving money at the same time.

They will experience one of the most powerful ways of connecting with, and developing a love for, the natural world, an experience that has been largely lost to modern society. And they will contribute to reducing our country’s greenhouse gas emissions, as less produce would need to be shipped great distances.

But as one who grows heirloom apples in central Massachusetts, I would encourage the Obamas to make a more permanent imprint on the White House lawn as well, by planting an orchard. Shouldn’t our president’s home be graced with America’s first named apple (the Roxbury Russett, from the 1630s), Washington’s favorite apple (the Newtown Pippin) and Jefferson’s (the Esopus Spitzenburg)? Is there anything more American or more beautiful than an apple orchard?

Letter to the Editor