The American Spectator : Where Credit Is Due

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Where Credit Is Due

8.12.09 @ 6:01AM

More reactions to Ben Stein's Expelled II. Plus FreeScore, John Hughes, Linda Douglass and more.

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THE KRUGMAN STANDARD
Re: Reader Mail's Cancel My Times Subscription:

Reader Anthony Deutsch's advice that Ben Stein "shouldn't do commercials for cheesy free credit report outfits" seems in retrospect to be spot on. If Stein had followed Paul Krugman's lead, and limited his ties only to such business stalwarts as Enron, perhaps his position with the Times would have remained secure.
--Glen Hoffing
Shamong, New Jersey

DISHONEST VIRTUES
Re: Jeffrey Lord's When a President Lies: Why Linda Douglass Should Resign:

Why should Linda Douglass resign? She represents fittingly a president who should have another "middle" name: Mendacious.

Curious, though: If she's so willing to publicly lie so for the president, what possible moral underpinning would compel Douglass to resign? Clearly, allegiance to the man wins over allegiance to her conscience.
-- C. Kenna Amos Jr.

KIND OF WONDERFUL
Re: Andrew Cline's John Hughes: American Rebel:

I saw a quote from John Hughes somewhere that went along these lines: Over the years, his characters went from adults to teens to babies, and that he figured he'd be working with microscopic characters before long. When I hadn't heard of any recent work from him, I figured he dropped below the line of visibility to the naked eye.

Actually, I haven't seen all Hughes's movies, but the ones I have, I enjoyed, and usually a lot.
--Robert Nowall
Cape Coral, Florida

As a fan of motion pictures, I was not that big a fan of John Hughes, having only seen Ferris and Some Kind Of Wonderful. However, he was far better than the directors giving us the stuff we are seeing today. To be in his films he had a different requirement for his actors, it was called "talent". You knew when you went to the movie theater, it was going to be a quality project and John Hughes was going to deliver the goods.
-- Michael Skaggs
Murray, Kentucky

SILENT LAUGHTER
Re: Lloyd Daub's letter (under "Not to Die For") in Reader Mail's We're Becoming Venezuela:

I have never considered Steve Martin (or Jim Carrey) to be funny. Hyperbolic, overbearing, crass, and rude? Yes. Funny? No.
-- David Shoup

JUST WORDS
Re: Peter Hannaford's Illusions and Delusions About the Uninsured:

The 46 million represent scads of illegal aliens who already receive equal or better medical care than U.S. citizens in places such as California and Arizona.

Besides, what's a little embellishment or two for the Obama administration?

And if they don't like the numbers, they'll just change them and pretend that they never gave earlier estimates, in the same fashion Obama denies what he's said, even if it's recorded in print and video.

Words, just words, according to Dr. Obama.
-- C. Kenna Amos Jr.
Princeton, West Virginia

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Letter to the Editor View all comments (10) | Leave a comment

frost| 8.12.09 @ 7:20AM

Apropos of nothing, except for some recent radio listening, may I insert the topic of Michael Savage? Once was a liberal; now a certifiable nutcase. Seems some people will do anything for a buck, even make a run for president, kinda like Mike Gravel, erstwhile Senator and would be Quick-Buck-Artist. Dr. Michael Alan Weiner was/is Michael Savage’s real name. Like many others, myself included, he came up the hard-way: was a busboy -- a lifeguard. Has big and legitimately impressive background in botany; did a very good job with his books on herbal medicine and homeopathy. While brilliant, he’s scary. Totally.

With terminal Delusions of Grandeur, combined with extreme paranoia (changing where he sleeps at night so the bad-guys don’t find/kill him, a’la Saddam Hussain or Osama binLaden?), he gets incensed because he’s ignored by Limbaugh, Hannity and O’Reilly (and, presumably, others in the media) while calling them names like Gordo/golfer, Leprechaun, etc… How petty can he be, constantly accusing those other guys of stealing his ideas and some other presumed travesties…? He has, incidentally, mentioned the fact that he’s considered suicide on at least two occasions...

BUT, Savage/Weiner was apparently just scheming to get attention by threatening to run for president in early ’08. He dropped that after a while = short attention-span... Now he’s trying to capitalize on the UK’s 86ing him from any entry, along with terrorists/killers; he’s insulted. Of course more attention for him means more money – as he pleads for “free-speech” funds in his court-fights with Islamic creeps, Great Britain, et al. This while he’s probably worth a few mill.

Here’s some irony though – he advocates “free speech,” or, so he says. BUT, no, Michael Savage is also very sympathetic with the old Hayes Office, when movie censorship stifled the free expression of anything not deemed “proper” by one fascist-thinking guy. He wanted the writers/producers of a fun/silly horror flick (Hostel II) tossed in jail – as he insists on HIS OWN freedom-of-speech; a prime example of gross hypocrisy.

One accused him of: “he says nothing he means and means nothing he says.” Don’t know about that; I detect sincerity, yet unbalanced goofiness – and tons of the aforementioned pettiness/paranoia. That someone so obviously brilliant should be as nutty isn’t, I guess, so unusual – but it is disturbing.

Anyway, given the major (and justifiable) focus on the media, Savage was someone who I felt compelled to mention. He loves the attention, his ego is humungous, so he may not mind.

Your witness…?

jim| 8.12.09 @ 9:00AM

Yes, I have had many of the same thoughts about Michael Savage as mr. frost, but, learning to listen between the rants of a brilliant mind is an art, and I would caution mr. frost to take the time and listen for the real message!

frost| 8.12.09 @ 10:23AM

The real message is there, quite obviously, and I have no problem with Language, Culture and Borders. It's those other thoughts that seem a tad extreme.
Face it, he may be a brilliant egomaniac, BUT he's also a very disturbed, extremely petty, thin-skinned paraniod who seems as if he won't make it thru the week (before launching himself off the Golden Gate or popping a bullet into his head); his name-calling of other broadcasters, utter boorishness, teeth-gnashing and Terminal Angst sometimes becomes quite tiring...
It's all about HIM, and the rest is peripheral. Or so it seems. I fear he's nuts.

David Govett| 8.12.09 @ 11:49AM

If Savage appears half-made, it is because (1) he is an entertainer and that is his shtick and (2) he contrasts so highly with the dogmatic dementobots of San Francisco.

frost| 8.12.09 @ 12:55PM

Half-MAD ??? How'bout 78.2%? 86.4%?
As a former broadcaster, may I say that if that's his shtick, it sure ain't working (you don't call attention to your competition unless you've got a serious problem; makes no sense)...
Doesn't seem to work either. No longer a legitimate #3 (although he continues claiming same), having been overtaken by GlennBeck, nah, not working any too well.
Sez he detests SanFrancity-By-The-Golden, but remains...?
That's sufficient.

anon.| 8.12.09 @ 1:11PM

Talk about No Class - - calling Glen Beck "Clarabell-the-Clown," and someone else (I know not of whom he speaks) "The Hemorrhoid" does not bespeak of much couth, 'til true. The guy's an unsufferable jerk. Brilliant? True, but quite goofy. And that really ain't show-biz.

anon.| 8.12.09 @ 1:54PM

'tis true..... ooops

Geoff| 8.12.09 @ 2:18PM

On the subject of broadcasting, television this time, I'm usually with Fox, except to escape from the cutsie, schmarmy, smart-ass Shepard Smith for Lou Dobbs.
Never thought I'd admit ever watching CNN again, and I do wonder why CNN has Dobbs still on their propaganda machine -- he's quite contrary to all their other programming....

jordan 6 rings| 8.12.09 @ 8:31PM

He learning to listen between the rants of a brilliant mind is an art, and I would caution mr. frost to take the time and listen for the real message!

anon.| 8.12.09 @ 8:45PM

Good evening Jordan. The guy named "frost" apparently got the message, but I'd wager you didn't see his earlier post of 10:23 or so. Yes, brilliant, but very strange, a polite way of saying nuts.