The American Spectator : Keeping Our Word

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Keeping Our Word

8.27.09 @ 6:01AM

Ted Kennedy's passing. ACORN's retreat. The shrinking church. A clunker of a government. Plus more.

FINDING NICE THINGS TO SAY
Re: Jim Antle III.'s The Face of Liberalism:

Despite the somewhat labored efforts by Mr. Antle to find good things to say about Ted Kennedy (a monster in my estimation) I suppose it is proper when someone dies to document the good and minimize the bad in the immediate aftermath of the demise. In that spirit I will list all the good things about the senator in my view. After reflection of his long and sordid history (the shenanigans about cheating in college, his problems passing the state bar exam, his God-awful behavior in the Clarence Thomas and Judge Bork hearings, not to mention the avoidable death of Mary Jane K., his treatment of women including his first wife, Joan, the list goes on and on) there just are none to list.
-- Jack Wheatley
Royal Oak Michigan

Whatever Kennedy has done for the people of Massachusetts, he can't do anything for them now. And who his successor will be seems to be an open question at this moment -- I see nobody lining up for the seat at the moment. Once the tears dry, it might be a good opportunity to regain lost ground.
-- Robert Nowall
Cape Coral, Florida

You got it backward. "Failure Rewarded" should have been the title of the Kennedy article. The article said, "Ted Kennedy always kept his word." That was the problem.
-- Michael Skaggs,
Murray, Kentucky

SPIN DOCTORING
Re: Barry Goldwater Jr.'s Health Care? The Government Can't Even Run a Railroad:

Mr. Goldwater got it right. In the last few weeks we've seen the capabilities of this country's government vividly demonstrated in managing just a tiny fraction of a SINGLE business transaction. It's called the Cash for Clunkers Program. According to printed estimates, some 625,000 cars were sold under the auspices of this program. In the same few short weeks, dealers across America were bailing out of the program because the Government could not disburse the funds. In this case, Past Performance IS an Indicator of Future Performance. They get an F.

Imagine if you will, some very, very large multiple of that number of claims being processed DAILY. Waiting for an appointment with a Doctor would be minimal beside the delay in getting a claim processed. But while you wait, the spin doctors will make you feel really good all the way to the grave.
Kind regards,
-- Greg Mercurio
Vacaville, California

Barry Goldwater Jr. is right about Obama and health care, but when is he going to condemn the Earmark King -- Ron Paul? If we're ever going to get our fiscal house in order then porkers like Paul have got to quit spending the taxpayers money for the marketing of wild shrimp....It would be nice if Paul would be more like fellow Texan Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin who asked for 0 earmarks in Obama's porkulous spending bill.
-- Michael Tomlinson
Jacksonville, North Carolina

STICKING IT TO THE MAN
Re: Mattew Vadum's ACORN in Retreat:

ACORN has failed to learn a very real but paradoxical lesson: one can survive almost anything but success.

While ACORN has done great damage for many years, it was not able to deliver important and central victories. As long as they were coming up short, they could cry oppression and blame "The Man," which was a particularly strong selling point when collecting donations. Now they are (or own) The Man, and they are finding that when standing in the white, hot spotlight, all flaws become visible. ACORN was able to survive because they were generally perceived as insignificant, if they were perceived at all. Right now they are wishing they were invisible again.

Please excuse my smirk as ACORN goes down the drain, but the Schadenfreude is irresistible.
-- I.M.Kessel

I think they are being temporarily slowed down but not in retreat.

1. Obama is still POTUS
2. ACORN is still scheduled to be a big part of the 2010 census under Obama's direction.
-- Mike Zeldis

STICK TO THE FACTS
Re: Jeffrey Lord's Honey, Jim Wallis Shrunk the Church:

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Letter to the Editor View all comments (5) | Leave a comment

Appleby| 8.27.09 @ 7:06AM

Since I would rather talk about Harry Potter than Ted Kennedy, I am glad to see this old topic reborn. I agree with those who praise used books with writing and underlining; in fact, I have a book in my own library called 2081, by Arthur C. Clarke, a nonfiction book in which he attempted to predict life in that year, and I go back through it and post dated comments on his predictions which are fun to go back and read from the far future. Most of his predictions have already come true. However, he assumes in that book that people will still smoke heavily and people will still consider a dark tan both healthy and a sign of affluence in the future. Interlining a book is a privilege of ownership. (In fact, one of my sisters borrowed my Shakespeare for school use, and her liner notes are sometimes hilarious.)

The writer of that petulant screed quoted above is still thinking of *punishment* as the smack on the nose with a newspaper stuff meted out to toddlers. The wise person comes to recognize that punishment can come long years later and see clearly where he or she went wrong back in the day. My neice turns 19 next week. Her mother reflected today that at this age she herseelf had entered her first disastrous marriage, and the very thought now makes her knees wobble as she looks at her daughter. Punishment can be a lifetime sentence, whether you are Harry Potter or a random Muggle. The older you get, the more you figure that out.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 1:02PM

Ted Kennedy always kept his word:
when marijuana and cocaine dealers would ask him to send a gofer to drop off the dough and pick up the dope, the gofers would be there punctually.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 1:05PM

Ted always kept his word to purchase dope with untraceable cash.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 1:09PM

Ted knew how important organic produce is; he always purchased organic marijuana.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 4:27PM

Ted was a troubled man who couldn't help snorting a little, well, you know, the sort of powder that looks very much like um... confectioners sugar. Ted liked to go to bed with women other than his wife-- but don't we all? Why just last night I was in bed with an 18 year old girl; it was great. Best I ever had. But I was so drunk I don't remember much. Let's stop being so judgmental. Larry Craig, though, is someone I don't approve of, the queer... not that it's wrong, but...he just rubs my fur the wrong way... in a manner of speaking of course.
I'm not gay!
not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course. But Craig did the Tinker Bell Two step in a public lavatory, and that is silly. But not Ted,
Ted is ... was, um, uh, normal, I mean he had a few ... problemoids, but don't we all. Look, Ted is just a human being like the rest of us, like Jacko and Roman Polanski. By the way, you touch my kid, then I take a steak knife and turn you into a woman. I'm no pushover. But I'm very forgiving, as long as you don't step on my toes or look at me the wrong way. Ted was a decent guy who was better than you, you rightwing flyover resident! Who in the Hell do you think you're dealing with? My attorney paid twice as much to go to law school as your punk lawyer did, you republikkkan troublemaking homophobic Larry Craig-forgiving ..."