The American Spectator

home
ADVERTISEMENT
The Nation's Pulse
Print Email
Text Size

The Nation's Pulse

Why Vulgarity Matters

By on 3.9.12 @ 6:08AM

A reading from the Book of Charles Murray.

I take my text this week from the Book of Charles Murray, Coming Apart, Chapter 17, “Alternative Futures,” page 286, where he invokes the great historian Arnold Toynbee in analyzing the decline of civilizations.

Murray, as you may know by now, thinks we are in big trouble because the “single-mother” culture that has so dominated and handicapped African Americans over the last several decades is now spreading to the white working class, where marriage is no longer the norm and up to 50 percent of children are now being born out of wedlock. (I review this book in the upcoming April issue of The American Spectator.)

After laying out his case from social statistics in appallingly complete detail, Murray pauses toward the end of his book to make a few broader observations. The puzzle he poses is this. If anybody in American society is good at preaching “cultural relativism,” a lack of standards and the idea that if anybody wants to do anything we should just go ahead and let them do it. Thus it’s a rare person in the educated upper middle class who’ll be willing to tell anyone in the lower middle class that their best route to prosperity would be to stay in school, get a job, and wait until they’re married before having children. Yet the amazing thing is that upper-middle-class people do these things themselves. The first third of his book is dedicated to showing how people in communities where almost everyone has a college education are working harder than they did twenty years ago, getting married later, divorcing far less than the rest of society, and living practically free of crime. So why won’t they preach this road to success to everyone else?

In his last chapter, Murray believes he finds the answer in Arnold Toynbee’s great work of the 1930s, A Study of History. Particularly from Chapter 18, “A Schism in the Soul,” Murray summarizes Toynbee as follows:

The growth phase of a civilization is led by a creative minority with a strong, self-confident sense of style, virtue and purpose. The uncreative minority follows along. Then, at some point in every civilization’s journey, the creative minority degenerates into a dominant minority. Its members still run the show but they are no longer confident and no longer set an example. Among other reactions are a “lapse into truancy” — a rejection of the obligations of citizenship — and “surrender to a sense of promiscuity” — vulgarization of manners, the arts, and language — that “are apt to appear first in the ranks of the proletariat and to spread from there to the ranks of the dominant minority, which usually succumbs to the sickness of proletariatization.

That’s certainly not a bad description of what is happening to American culture right now.

Perhaps the most notable trend in the arts over the last 20 years has been the rise of pointless vulgarity. We haven’t quite gotten to the point of full frontal nudity or open sexual intercourse on daytime television yet, but we’re getting awfully close. And if and when it happens, you can be sure there will arise a chorus from the liberal intelligentsia saying it’s just “freedom of speech” and anyone who is opposed to it is either “prudish” at one extreme or “fascist” at the other.

I’ve heard things chanted on rap radio stations that I would be embarrassed to read on bathroom walls. And this is music that can be recited line-for-line by 13-year-olds. Now anybody who ever hung around a black neighborhood or a working-class neighborhood knows that there has always been a level of vulgarity that was not native to middle-class neighborhoods — at least not 20 years ago. American culture had a level of decorum that was expressed on television and in newspaper headlines and in political speech. What happened was that upper middle-class people decided that they weren’t tough enough or didn’t sound black enough or hip enough and so the way to sound real and authentic was to adopt the vulgarity of people poorer than themselves. And it was often people poorer than themselves who were embarrassed by all this, but nevertheless it has all now been done.

Unfortunately, I think Rush Limbaugh succumbed to this himself in his recent outburst with the Georgetown law student. It certainly is ridiculous that she wants the college to subsidize her sexual adventures and Rush is right for calling her down on it. But it’s not an excuse for vulgarity. And of course in calling her a “slut” and so forth, he only defeated his own cause and embarrassed the Republican Party as well. And it should be noted that Limbaugh is not alone in making this mistake. The New York Post is probably the worst offender in the land. Sometimes it seems it is impossible for them to write a headline without making a juvenile allusion to some swearword or body part.

But does all this really make any difference? Is it really necessary to risk being prudish in order to restore American values? Does public vulgarity really have an impact in fostering the culture of welfarism and social irresponsibility?

I think it does and for this it is only necessary to invoke a dear departed member of the pantheon who died only last week, the great James Q. Wilson. It was Wilson and his colleague Richard Herrnstein, you will recall, who finally broke through the liberal smokescreen about “victimless crimes” and the supposed uselessness of “wasting police time” on activities such as prostitution and drug dealing that ultimately led to the end of America’s long crime wave, initiated in the 1960s by the fatuous morals imposed on the country by the U.S. Supreme Court. Wilson and Herrnstein made a simple observation: public perceptions matter. If people sense an atmosphere of lawlessness in “broken windows,” to use their apt metaphor, or graffiti or public drunkenness or generally antisocial behavior that goes unchecked, then they are tempted to lawlessness themselves. Who would have ever been able to persuade an academic — particularly of the tribe of criminologist, who all believe that punishment has no deterrence and that crime waves are controlled by demographic patterns alone — that cracking down on turnstile jumpers or squeegee men could be the first step in lowering crime rates in New York City and ultimately the entire country by more than half?

So it is with public vulgarity and the constant open discussion of sex and pregnancy and abortion and what have you on soap operas and daytime television eventually leads young people to believe that there is nothing private about sex and no act of moral omission that can’t be talked out with Dr. Phil or argued before Judge Judy. And so if you get your girlfriend pregnant and decide you don’t want to marry her or she doesn’t want to marry you, how does that differ from any of the tawdriness and indecencies that parade before you on the screen every afternoon and evening anyway?

The reason I say all this is because it appears the Republicans are about to nominate a candidate for President who is going to be hectored and ridiculed throughout the campaign as a “straight arrow.” And indeed he is. And there isn’t anything to be embarrassed about in that. When countries like ours find themselves in such straits, it is very common to reach back to some fundamentalist group that has maintained standards no longer supported by the mainstream. The Mormons are such a subculture. Ever since giving up their detour into polygamy in the 19th century, they have reformed themselves into a highly moral and family oriented religious denomination that is a bastion of traditional values. (If you want to trace your own genealogy, ask the Mormons.) As someone said on a blog the other day, “Mitt Romney doesn’t preach traditional morality. He’s lived it.”

And that’s going to be part of this election. Economics and gas prices are going to be an issue but moral values are going to play a part as well. Liberals will hate it. Janeane Garofalo will spew every known obscenity over the radio and produce positive proof that all Mormons are secret pederasts or libertines — just like us! It’s going to be important not to stoop to their level. There’s going to be a lot at stake.

About the Author

William Tucker is news editor for RealClearEnergy.org.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (190) |

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.9.12 @ 6:20AM

Debauchery is the first step to tyranny.

Kenny| 3.9.12 @ 6:52AM

Yes, vulgarity degrades the person using it and society in general.

And as you say, it leads to tyranny for a people that can't control themnselves in speech or manner are not capable of governing their country. Ergo, a strong man will do it for them.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.9.12 @ 7:11AM

From The Old Guard, a monthly journal dedicated to the principles of 1776:

"whenever tyrants desire to rob the people of their liberty, their first step is to corrupt the populace, by bribery and venality."

One if by land...| 3.9.12 @ 10:45AM

Awesome. Thanks for puting that on here.

scotchieguy| 3.9.12 @ 10:36AM

John Adams said a republic can only work with a moral and religious people. That horse left the barn years ago. Ever taken your kid to a sporting event?

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 11:04AM

So did Locke, Montesquieu, and A. Smith.

Maybe they were on to something.

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 6:24PM

"From The Old Guard, a monthly journal dedicated to the principles of 1776"

1776?
You are living in the past, as commies live in 1848.
Again, you are correct life is coarse, vulgar-- but it has always been that way.

We just didn't have the Web, and long ago there was no TV.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.10.12 @ 8:18AM

But there has always been bribery and venality. In fact, you are a perfect example.

Alan Brooks| 3.10.12 @ 4:41PM

you are desperate- I never took a bribe in my life. Either way you lose next November: if you get one of your RINOs in the saddle- you lose; get Obama re-elected- you of course don't want that.
It is lose-lose for you.

Bob Grant | 3.10.12 @ 5:18PM

What do you mean WE chief? ...you lose as well!!

h.w. meehan| 3.10.12 @ 5:10PM

AFTER READING

ALL 165 COMMENTS

IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE

MANY OF THE READERS

OF AMERICAN SPECTATOR

NEED TO TAKE A

REMEDIAL COURSE

IN BASIC CIVILITY.

THE BOORISHENESS, COARSENESS, AND DISCOURTESY OF THE POSTERS

ON THIS SITE MAKE ME ASHAMED TO BE A CONSERVATIVE.

Sorry I had to shout in all-caps.

"To the hard of hearing, you have to shout, and to the almost blind, you have to draw large and startling figures." Flannery O'Connor

Thank you Mr. Tucker for addressing the subject of vulgarity. Please do it again. Many readers of AmSpec can benefit from reading more on this important but neglected topic. At least I hope they can benefit. I don't know. Looks to me like they may be too hardened in their barbaric ways.

Bob Grant | 3.10.12 @ 5:20PM

Instead of going on an ALL-CAPS screed, grow a pair and give us some examples. An no, Timothy and Clint don't count. I'll concede them.

Tempest| 3.10.12 @ 10:58PM

H. W. Meehan, your point is well taken. There are easily 40 posts below that one would say just cannot be coming from the keyboards of grown American adults. But -- these comments are from many over the ages of 40 and 55.

Barbaric? Yes, well said. I agree in full.

And the truth is they are so weak of character that they would not dare utter same amongst strangers or mixed company. Yet here? Here on the internet they think it hip and and acceptable.

Unlike THKrupp who tells us otherwise in his life, I measure a man by his equanimity in all situations. Adults imitating chameleons? Immature, stuck-on-stupid, their word choices reveal volumes about their inner selves. They are as useful as aged TP.

H. Meehan, your post is correct. We'll need Mr. Tucker back with another article before we get to the start of May.

These readers need lots of remedial training.

Bob Grant| 3.11.12 @ 11:28AM

Examples please. And be specific. Otherwise, your comments are just as worthless as the ones you have problems with.

numbatdog| 3.9.12 @ 9:06AM

Vulgarity is not necessarily only a product of the left although they have of late made it their calling card. One can see vulgarity by simply reading some of the comments here today.
I believe it's largely a matter of lowered standards and poor examples by those in authority. Whether they be parents, teachers or government, those in authority set the tone of behavior which others follow.
Lets examine the current example being set by the Federal government. Openly corrupt, bankrupt, disfunctional, self absorbed, failing the country in almost every sphere with no plan except for squeezing the population harder. Is it any wonder citizens regard the law as an impediment to their well being and begin to circumvent it?
The fact is there are not enough policemen to make everyone obey the law if people have stopped believing in civil discourse and interaction. And a stressed population rapidly becomes the vulgar one we have today.

Ernest W. Parker| 3.9.12 @ 1:41PM

Conservatives are not what they used to be.

I hope Mr. Tucker does not read the appalling comments on his rationally persuasive, lucid piece on the negative impact of unrestrained vulgarity, so common in today's world.

Having just finished reading this forum's thread, I am aghast at the vicious, hateful rudeness and the . . . stupid vulgarity of many of AmSpec's readers.

I can't believe the rude posters-- who sneer and mock Mr. Tucker and others for wanting to create a move civil climate-- are representative of conservatives as a whole. If they are, God help us!

Why such anger? Bitterness? I thought surely the readers would agree with Mr. Tucker and appreciate his point of view. But no! They themselves are too crude, too--here's the word again--too vulgar to comprehend the importance of civil discourse.

Time to sweep the trash off this blog!

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 6:18PM

America has always been vulgar, now it is high tech vulgarity- that's all. Some of you romanticize a time that never existed. Now, for v. short periods, perhaps things improved. In the '50s there were mini-eras-- say 1954-'55-- when life was more wholesome.
But even then, it was a veneer, in back of the veneer were the Vito Genoveses, the clap-ridden libertines, the back alley abortions, alcoholics on the Bowery, the skid row homesless staying off and on at flophouses.
King of the Road was always there, lurking in the background.

WFB and Goldwater were true conservatives; many of you aren't even true sentimentalists-- for what yoiu are nostalgic for didn't even exist in the first place. I know you have to sell your magazines, but the rags are not worth it anymore, though they were in WFB's day.

James - Longdrycreek Ranch, TX | 3.11.12 @ 2:27PM

I was born in 1935. The strong Protestant work ethic and morality was not veneer. Perhaps if you lived in the Northeast or in a major city, what you describe occurred. However, in the South the languag was not course or vulgar. Of course, you will point to the oppression of the black population.
Where I grew up in a small Texas town, the black people worked and were respected until they got out of line, violated the law that was for all citizens.
WFB and Barry Goldwater [The Conscience of a Conservative] made clear conservative principles are more than about money. Conservative principles are about morality as well.
You claim nostalgia that never was. I assume Alexis de Tocheville's "Democracy in America" never was an accurate description of America, or Phillip Schaff's "America."

Edward White| 3.9.12 @ 6:49AM

Hear, hear, Mr. Tucker! Well said.

It seems to me that the word "vulgar" has lost its meaning. You rarely hear it used anymore because our aural and visual landscapes have become steamy swamps of vulgarity, and everyone seems to take it for granted.

But there is more to vulgarity than just tasteless and unrefined sexuality. It encompasses all things common (socially), indecent, and obscene. Not a day goes by that I am not inundated by it.

Vulgarity has been a part of humanity and class distinction since the very begining. One reason it seems so apparent today is because society as a whole is censoring less. Anything goes.

All anyone has to do is cry freedom of speech, and their words, actions, creations, and gestures are out there for the world to hear and see.

An by the way, Mr. Tucker, you fail to mention that a sizeable number of contributors to the comment threads on American Spectator are repugnant in their use of vulgar expressions, profanities, and obscenities.

Have you ever read the rants of Timothy L. Pennell? Talk about vulgarity! The man is dirt common, as are many others who contribute their potty-mouthed posts on a daily basis.

The next time you lecture us on vulgarity, be sure to include AmSpec's expert practitioners.

Derek Leaberry| 3.9.12 @ 8:33AM

Very good point. It would be good if the American Spectator had some sort of editor to take down all vulgar posts. A lack of manners should not be rewarded at a conservative web site.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 8:51AM

I trust you had your Pinkie Finger up, while you were typing this.

Let me tell you something about Vulgarity, you stupid POS.

This President is Vulgar. His Wookie looking Fat *ss Wife is Vulgar. Every one of his Leftist Czars is Vulgar. Timothy Geithner is Vulgar. Valerie Jarrett is Vulgar. Hillary Clinton is a Lying C*nt!

Harry Reid is Vulgar. Nancy Pelosi is Vulgar. The B*tch from Florida - Wasserman Schultz - is Vulgar. That MFer from Illinois - Dick Durbin - who never misses a chance to go after our Men and Women in Uniform, is Vulgar. That Slimy POS - Chuck Schumer - is Vulgar. And that C*cks*ck*r at Justice - Eric Holder - is Vulgar.

Running Guns to Mexican Drug Cartels is Vulgar. Using innocent Mexican men, women, and children as Cannon Fodder for new Gun Control Legislation, is Vulgar. Not passing a Budget in going on 4 YEARS, is Vulgar. Turning down the Canadian Pipeline was Vulgar. Establishing an ILLEGAL Drilling Moratorium despite two rulings from a Federal Judge, was Vulgar. And on, and on, and on, and on.

Stick your Superiority Complex up your tight *ss. I'll say what I want, Where I want, when I want, HOW I want. I've earned my rights.

"The man is Dirt Common."

I wear that as a Badge of Honour. This Country was BUILT by the Dirt Common. The Revolution was won by the Dirt Common. King George III, the Barbary Pirates, the Kaiser, Hitler, the Soviets, the North Koreans, Saddam Hussein, and the Taliban, were all either Defeated, or Pushed Back, by men and women who were DIRT COMMON.

I Spit on people like you.

Or as a great man once said: I Sh*T bigger'n You.

Now, GFY Scumbag.

joojoo fang| 3.9.12 @ 10:01AM

He would have had his pinkie up, but his arthritis prevented it. Ed White is a old, old tea-sippin' faggot who lisps every word he types.

Richard| 3.9.12 @ 10:43AM

Sir, you are a disgrace.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.10.12 @ 7:32AM

And, you are a Dick.

Can I call you a DICK, Richard?

One if by land...| 3.9.12 @ 10:49AM

Fantastic!

Seek| 3.9.12 @ 11:10AM

And they say the Left is ugly! Spitting on people seems to be your specialty.

Tucker is right: Conservatives should hold themselves to a higher standard.

Stan Redmond| 3.9.12 @ 3:12PM

In theory I would disagree. But seeing as how the country is going to hellp in a handbasket with Obama merrily skipping with the basket, we need some fighters that aren't scared to get dirty in the political filth liberals live in. There's a few but not enough.

Doctor Right| 3.9.12 @ 1:45PM

The Turbo-Dumb machine speaketh...

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:34PM

Yes, you did. And, surprisingly well, for you.

Richard Blaine| 3.9.12 @ 8:36PM

Bravo!

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 9:14PM

"I wear that as a Badge of Honour. This Country was BUILT by the Dirt Common. The Revolution was won by the Dirt Common. King George III, the Barbary Pirates, the Kaiser, Hitler, the Soviets, the North Koreans, Saddam Hussein, and the Taliban, were all either Defeated, or Pushed Back, by men and women who were DIRT COMMON."

And the nations who will eclipse America someday will use their DIRT COMMON men and women to beat your descendants at the zero sum game, Tim.
Your descendants will have less; theirs will have more.

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 9:15PM

...btw, notice how Tim left out N. Vietnam?

Anthony M| 3.9.12 @ 9:56PM

As a matter of fact and of history the USA never lost a major battle against the NVA, the VC had virtually been elimimnated as a fighting force and with a small amount of American troops to keep the peace millions of human beings could have been saved from the misery of communism. There was, however, a determined number of people in the USA who undermined our war effort and our soldiers and managed to bring about the withdrawel of all American troops after which South Vietnam fell. The US was not defeated and the men who served there did a fine job fighting with one arm tied behind there backs.

Alan Brooks| 3.10.12 @ 9:25PM

So then Tim ought to include Vietnam in his list?

I heard that though the enlisted guys did their best, the colonels were telling the generals what they wanted to hear,
and the generals in turn told LBJ what he wanted to hear.

Trent| 3.9.12 @ 10:39AM

Mr. White, I also agree with you. Thank you. There is no maturity in using vulgarity. Never. Drackman and Pennell are some of the worst but by no means the only ones. How shallow their lives must be. They spend endless hours here trying to prove? Not sure what. Any good points they make seem lost in their lusts for all too frequent obscenities.

See how even here today they attempt to lampoon someone who says -- what should be said -- that vulgarity just does not have its place. Surely not on a news and commentary web site that wants to take itself seriously.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:47PM

When you're done kissing yourself in the mirror, and straightening out your Crown,you might wanna reflect on the dumbsh*t that you posted.

First of all, don't lump me in with Dumb*ss Drackman. He's a Dumbfck Plant, who's only objective is to muddy the waters.

You, on the other hand, seem to be the kind of Pompous Ass, who is bettor suited to the Frank Rich/Thomas Friedman/Frank Rich Publications.

"How Shallow their lives must be."

I'm an Air Force Vet. Married to a Gal who you could only dream about. I have a Big House, and two Fantastic Kids.

You sound like you might be having doubts about your own Gender, have little to offer anyone, and would cut off an arm, just to be something, to someone.

I've had a life you could only dream of. I'll say whatever the fck I wanna say. if you don't like it? Go the Fck someplace else.

NOBODY will even know you were ever here.

Vulgarity DOES have its place. MEN are vulgar, by nature.

At least, the REAL ones are.

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 9:18PM

Reagan and WFB were not vulgar. Goldwater was- but you have to be in the Southwest. Tuscon and Yuma aren't anything like Copenhagen and Oslo.

Bill| 3.12.12 @ 9:25AM

How do YOU know you're married to a gal he could only dream about? Maybe he's Jodie.

Emily| 3.9.12 @ 6:58AM

"The next time you lecture us on vulgarity, be sure to include AmSpec's expert practitioners."

Thanks for the laugh, Edward. Great to start the morning with a delicious bite of sarcasm. Goes well with my espresso.

Now, off to work . . .

Roscoe| 3.9.12 @ 7:00AM

Bitch.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 7:42AM

"Goes well with my espresso."

Slut.

Appleby| 3.9.12 @ 6:59AM

P.J. O'Rourke calls this Toddler Liberation: the overwhelming urge to take off your pants in public, scream "poo poo head!" in church, and shove everything in your mouth. It used to be that by the age of 3, real toddlers were clear on the folly of this kind of behaviour. Now there's nobody home who knows this is folly, and parents think it's "cute" when Junior curses at the priest and Susie's daycare teaches pole dancing. And it's not helped at all by the Code Pinksters marching against war by yelling, "Bring our BOYS AND GIRLS home!" (In the first place, it ought to be SEND them home; in the second place, someone who goes to war to defend his or her country is a MAN or a WOMAN, not a tot.)

As I have pointed out before, it's all there in "Brave New World". If you can't read, it's available in audio format; and if you can't pay attention longer than five minutes, flip to the speech Mustapha Mond gives to John Savage outlining succinctly every scintilla of today's society and exactly how Huxley envisioned it would work out. Turn everybody into toddlers, give them drugs, sex, entertainment, and indoctrination by endless repetition of slogans they can chant without understanding them, and isolate the people who design and build and operate the engines of the world. Then sit back and keep that wheel on course and you get what we have today.

Tina B| 3.9.12 @ 8:15AM

And the modus operandi? Compulsory Public Education. See John Taylor Gatto and Charlotte Iserbyt. Try search engines and youtube for both. Then become part of the solution.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 9:13AM

You've got to understand Appleby's train of thought. He believes that only the College Educated have any worth. Only they can discuss the goings on in the World, around the kitchen table. Only they can Contribute to the Greater Good of Mankind, due to their Immersion in the Liberal Arts.

He's better than us, don'tcha know. And, he's got the Sheepskin to prove it.

Oops. I farted when I went to scratch my crotch. Now, where was I? Oh yeah.

Guys like Appleby seem to forget that most of the things we enjoy the most, came from people with No College, or little in the way of Formal Education.

Bill Gates didn't Graduate from College. Neither did Steve Jobs. Abraham Lincoln didn't go to College. Did Sam Walton go to College. Did the guy that started Fed Ex finish College. (I know that he got a "D" when he submitted his Plan for the Shipping Company, as his College Thesis.) Did the Wright Brothers go to College. Did Mr. Hershey or Mr. Woolworth go to College?

I'm not saying that Appleby is a bad person. I just want you to know where he's coming from.

Uh oh. I farted, again.

I shoulda went to College.

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 9:58AM

In the event anyone else doesn't clarify, Appleby is a lady.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:14PM

I know he is.

Appleby| 3.9.12 @ 7:18PM

Not only a lady, but a woman. An educated woman, and a graduate of John Robert Powers (charm school) to boot, although Daddy said that they made me leave by the back door so nobody would know I had attended there. Timothy, are you feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the fact that you didn't study in school or out of it, and are you feeing inadequate in our august company? Or are you just rude? Abraham Lincoln was largely self-educated, and so was my Daddy and many of his contemporaries who grew up during the Depression. Daddy could recite the entire United States Constitution from memory, as well as most of the founding documents of the United States, and he never stopped educating himself all his life long. He, like you, had no use for the college educated although he worked hard to put two of his four daughters through university; in later years he said that everyone should have both a profession and a trade, so that s/he could always make a living. I found that, and the prodigious memory I inherited from him, to be helpful.

Joojoo Fang| 3.9.12 @ 7:46PM

" . . . the prodigious memory I inherited . . ."

My, my, my--aren't we special!

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.10.12 @ 7:55AM

You spelled: "FEELING" wrong. There's an "L" in it.

You ask me if I feel "Inadequate in the august company" of someone who can't spell "Feeling", and, apparently, is too Arrogant to use the Spell Check App? And then you say that, like ME, you're wonderful Dad (And, I'm sure he was a good Man. I can hear it in your words.) "Had no use for the College Educated".

Obviously, your Dad, like ME, knew that they all think that their Sh*t doesn't stink.

College is not what it used to be. And, I KNOW that if your Dad was alive today? He would be with me, on this one.

You sound like a nice Lady.

Be well.

Appleby| 3.9.12 @ 7:18PM

Not only a lady, but a woman. An educated woman, and a graduate of John Robert Powers (charm school) to boot, although Daddy said that they made me leave by the back door so nobody would know I had attended there. Timothy, are you feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the fact that you didn't study in school or out of it, and are you feeing inadequate in our august company? Or are you just rude? Abraham Lincoln was largely self-educated, and so was my Daddy and many of his contemporaries who grew up during the Depression. Daddy could recite the entire United States Constitution from memory, as well as most of the founding documents of the United States, and he never stopped educating himself all his life long. He, like you, had no use for the college educated although he worked hard to put two of his four daughters through university; in later years he said that everyone should have both a profession and a trade, so that s/he could always make a living. I found that, and the prodigious memory I inherited from him, to be helpful.

Joojoo Fang| 3.9.12 @ 7:48PM

Appleby (has an ass like an apple, no doubt) makes us read about her Very Special Family twice, as if once were not enough to make us head to the toilet to upchuck.

Company Commander| 3.9.12 @ 9:58AM

William Tucker and Edward White, both queers, would really snuggle up close to Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

They're all three SISSIES who make me sick. I'm with you Timothy. Enough from these fags. So farrt on, fart on, fart on.

Von Mises Jr.| 3.9.12 @ 3:46PM

Commander, I've noted before that Tucker "puckers" up for Mitt. He has a man crush. I don't remember teenage girls being so infatuated.
I don't gert this positive sterotype with Mormons. Romney is either the most fickle of men, or a liar with all his flip-flops. He has run two of the most nasty and brutal campaigns in history. He is a stuffed shirt with no sense of humor and a fake laugh. He seems to have made a faustian bargain with the GOP establishment.
The two other Mormons that come to mind are Harry Reid (don't ge me started) and Warren Jeffs. I am sure their are many good Mormons, but the one's in the limelight don't impress me. Why is being Mormon so virtuous?
Granted they are not Marxist like Obama, but I don't see why Romney is assumed to be a nice guy?

Convoy| 3.9.12 @ 8:43PM

Did you take a look at the fancy scarf Tucker is sporting around his neck? Only a fag would wear that shit.

Doctor Right| 3.9.12 @ 1:47PM

There's nothing clever OR interesting about being shocking.

Dim-wit level IQ-types do it all the time.

Stan Redmond| 3.9.12 @ 3:15PM

The difference in Huxley's distopia is people were happy with their lot in life. Even though you were assigned everything by the upper crust, you were happy. Even the laborers were happy. Our liberal democrat overlords aren't happy with that. Everyone must be miserable with their place in life and hate eveyone else not in their group. How else can they win elections?

Alan Brooks| 3.9.12 @ 9:21PM

"in the second place, someone who goes to war to defend his or her country is a MAN or a WOMAN, not a tot.)"

If you have a strategy for the war going in, and win the war, and win the war without having it drag out for several decades and spending trillions.

Mike Hawk| 3.9.12 @ 7:07AM

Rush embarrassed nobody except the twit Fluke. She is the one who was vulgar in blathering about her behavior and demands. Last I knew the word 'slut' was not a vulgarity. Seems now it is if used by a Conservative instead of the vulgar leftist 'funny guys'.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 7:56AM

If only he had called her a C*NT.

That seems to be an acceptable Description of Females, on the Left. Or a TW*T? Or a PIG? Or a STUPID B*TCH.

I still believe that WHORE is the one that fits her best.

Don't you?

Tina B| 3.9.12 @ 8:18AM

I think the S-word and the W-word are interchangeable, both involving indiscriminate sex and no financial exchange. Just pure wantonness. There, is that clean enough? You're welcome.

Frank Drackman| 3.9.12 @ 7:09AM

Oh yeah?
Well go F-word your F-Wording A-word, N-Word.
Me thinks thou doth protethest tooest much-est you Eff-eth Homo-eth.
OK, when I was 10 I went to a Twins-Red Sox game.
No, not in Fenway Park, Minnesota.
Thats where we used to go in the Summer, Minnesota, which was nicer than where we lived, North Dakota.
And this was 1972, when there was only 1 TV game on a week, pitchers still had to bat, and the ball was still made out of horses.
Well before the game I snuck down to the good seats in left field, where several of the Bosox outfielders were playing long toss.
One of the balls got away, and I won't say who he was, except his last name started with "Yas" and it ended with "Ski".
He ended up barely 50 feet from me, and I pleaded, begged, implored for him to toss me a free ball.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID TO ME!?!?!?
well, nothing, it was 1972, and players didn't curse out annoying 10 yr olds asking for free balls.
But the LOOK he gave me...it said "F-You" in that haughty New England Accent.
And for the next 10 years, no matter where I was, Saudi Arabia, Budapest, Opelika Alabama, whenever I caught a Red Sox game, I'd cheer lustily for there opponent, EVEN THE NEW YORK EFFIN YANKEES!
and if Bin Laden had been called out of the bullpen I'd have cheered for ole O-Sammy.
And I like to think I played a small part in the Curse.
America's as foul mouthed as it's ever been, just now its 10 yr old Jewish Girls tellin me to suck there D****.
Even in the Oval Orifice, have you heard of Hairy Truman, Richard Nixon(even his nickname was a sexual organ) LYNDON EFFIN JOHNSON.

Now go try and right something better you Homo.

Frank

op ed| 3.9.12 @ 7:19AM

The above poster is typical of the anger you find on AmSpec.

In my opinion, most of the posters' vulgarity is part of their anger and political paranoia.

Frank Drackman| 3.9.12 @ 7:29AM

Ah C'mon,
Hating your Enemy's as American as making fun of (Woo Woo) Indians.
I know, they were here first.
They had Reservations....
Seriously, when the Injuns caught Custer at Little Big Horn, did they give him a Do-Over? Make it best 2 out of 3? Nope, they scalped him just like anyother Pale Face, would have been insulting to do otherwhise.
And be honest, who here doesn't get a warm & fuzzy from watching the Zapruder Film
I hope nobody, that's too sick even for me.
Frank

Mike Hawk | 3.9.12 @ 8:40AM

If you want vulgarity, I suggest trying to find some audio of the Hildebeast if it exists. Apparently fro those who have been around her, she has the vocabulary and speechifying of a muleskinner.

Willis| 3.9.12 @ 8:41AM

Mr. Tucker, do you tutor? One of our posters needs some private instruction, preferably with simple words.

joojoo fang| 3.9.12 @ 10:04AM

Yeah he tutors. He tutors queers on how to be mor posh, more mannerly.

He's a shithead and so are you Willis.

Willis| 3.9.12 @ 10:56AM

OK, two of our posters. Could be a business opportunity here.

Alan Brooks| 3.10.12 @ 9:32PM

Carl Yastrzemski!

Frank Drackman| 3.9.12 @ 7:16AM

You know who else didn't throw me a ball.??
Mr. All-American-Good-Values-Himself,
STEVE GARVEY.
And good thing this was before we knew he was balling every ball-girl in the National League, lucky guy.
And when he had to wear that rediculous San Diego Padres Uniform in his twillight days, I couldn't help but think about that B-Word Karma...
You know who DID throw me a ball?
Reggie Jackson, go figure.
OK, it was after 20 minutes of me razzing him about his soupbone of a throwing arm, and it was more AT me, than to me, and it wasn't autographed,
still got it, if anyones interested.

Frank

blank| 3.9.12 @ 7:20AM

No one's interested, believe me.

Frank Drackman| 3.9.12 @ 7:24AM

My Good Fellow,
Please don't extrapolate your Wife's dis-interest in your astonishingly poor Sexual Game onto the World at Large, it's a logical Fallacy.
And you bugger little boys.

Cheerios,
Frank Drackman (Esq)

I.M.| 3.9.12 @ 10:46AM

I second it. Blank it right; no one is interested. It was nice to not have your here for most of this week. Your absence made this a better forum. 49?

Brian Mc| 3.9.12 @ 7:18AM

The lack of morality is akin to a scab on the body of this Republic that liberals scratch at with filthy nails due to the fact that it 'feels' good.

Richard Baker| 3.9.12 @ 7:55AM

I was always taught that profanity was the outward sign of a tired mind. Boy, some of Rush's critics must be exhausted.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 8:55AM

Mitt Romney is not as straight as an arrow. He's as Unbelievable as a Clinton, or that Mulatto, in the White House. He's a LIAR.

He is not a Conservative. Everything he did in Massachusetts, confirms that. He's a Single Payer Guy. He's a Glaobal Warming Guy. He's a Go along to Get along Guy.

He likes big Government. He likes to dole out the goodies. He likes the Trappings of Power, and he uses his Wealth as a BLUDGEON, against his foes, slandering them in an onslaught of negative Mud Slinging.

"By any means necessary."

Last I looked, that was a LEFTIST way of doing things.

Nice Scarf, bythe way.

POST American| 3.9.12 @ 8:11AM

"--Understand, ONLY men who've had their manhood removed find the need to project
themselves on other men chasing a ball."

In this, the 11th hour of the CFR
Globalist RED China handover,
TREASON and FINAL EUGENICS op
---------------UH----------------
could we have a moratorium
on the capstone & rectum worshipping
sports/porn 'CULL--T---your'?

Again ---THANKS!

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 8:59AM

Does this mean you won't be in attendance if we set up an AMSPEC Bloggers day at a Nationals game this summer?

Mike Hawk | 3.9.12 @ 9:26AM

If there is a full moon at the same time, he'll attend.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:30AM

He seems to be the dodge ball type.

Fyou| 3.9.12 @ 10:07AM

"Sports/porn cult"

Love it, POST American! Very perceptive!

How 'bout the All American Sports/Porn Cult?

Tomper| 3.9.12 @ 8:18AM

Why use Wayne Rooneys picture with this article?
He's a great soccer player.

Barrack hussein would've been better.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:41AM

Wayne Rooney's antics are choir-boy like compared to what goes on in American professional sports.

Rincon| 3.9.12 @ 10:56AM

No, they are not. His antics are abysmal. Routinely. Wayne Rooney is vulgar, impish, the poster "boy" for eternal immaturity. There is nothing refined or admirable about him or in him. He makes millions of pounds, squanders millions, is drinking himself into oblivion.

He has no idea how graced his life is and how he could use it for good. Like so many athletes now he is cheered by the cult-like fans because he scores. And like so many athletes he does not know that his value to these "fans" will dissipate forever about 3 or 4 seasons after he leaves the game. In twelve years he will barely be an asterisk. The only thing that will briefly resuscitate interest in him will be when he dies in his mid 40's.

You see, his only slightly redeeming quality is that he kicks a ball well. As if that were a skill that his neighbors, his city, his country, and mankind need.

His picture symbolizes this very well; he is vulgarity.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 11:22AM

His seems to check his brutish behavior at the tunnel to the soccer pitch...for the most part!!! Soccer dictates that your head must be in the game at all times so there's really not much time for time killing antics that distract from the game - the prevailing modus operandi on this side of the pond.

That's not to say he'll ever make it into the Sportsmanship Hall of Fame.

Sure, he may very well drink himself into oblivion after he leaves the sport but I doubt seriously you'll ever read about him killing his pregnant girlfriend, being involved in a drug trafficking ring, carelessly handling weapons in public, or other reenacted scenes from American Gangster.

tonypal| 3.9.12 @ 11:06AM

As a Man Utd. supporter, I was also puzzled.

LindaF | 3.9.12 @ 8:55AM

Morals matter. Funny how you can get the average person to admit that a moral system that does not tolerate littering is OK, but that a moral system that does not tolerate drunken hook-ups is beyond the pale.

And, yet, the drunken hook-ups (and the consequences of them) contribute to the degradation of our society on a scale that dwarfs the impact of some litter.

Company Commander| 3.9.12 @ 10:09AM

Drunken hook-ups?

Last time I had a drunken hook-up it was with two women. Man, do I get off on seeingtwo women gettin' it off together.

Kreola| 3.9.12 @ 10:24AM

Don't you mean "gettin' it ON together"?

Moron.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:49AM

Depends on what those gals were doing. I won't, however, request a followup comment.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:50AM

...to find out.

Lucus| 3.9.12 @ 6:47PM

Littering shows a lack of civility.

Civility=Morality

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 8:57AM

Once upon a time there were adults. They were not an ivory tower elite, but they knew how they were supposed to behave in front of the children, and how the children were supposed to behave, and what needed to be done to ensure that the boundaries were maintained. Vulgar behavior was not proscribed, but public celebration of it in front of the children was frowned upon and discouraged.

There were representatives in all races, creeds and cultures. Whatever bounty they had achieved, their overwhelming characteristic was a sense of responsibility to ensure that society and its values were respected, and its weaker members were protected until they grew strong enough to take over and continue the traditions.

Unfortunately, the last few generations wished to ignore the boundaries of good behavior and enjoy the bounty sooner, but didn’t wish to take on the responsibility that came with being one of the grown ups. The result has been the cultural collapse we are witnessing. The way to begin to reverse it is most likely contained in that two word command to the spoiled and whiny child: “Grow up”.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 9:28AM

whats a "Creed"?

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 9:39AM

Shorter than writing religion

Tim the Enchanter| 3.9.12 @ 10:42AM

He was Rocky's opponent in the movies.

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 11:05AM

Only in the first two, then Mr. T as Clubber Lang followed by Dolph Ludgren as the Russian guy.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 11:27AM

Yea, I remember him. Wasn't that

Rocky III - The Apology

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 12:06PM

I seem to recall it as "Rocky III The Revenue Stream Continues", but that might have been one of the later ones.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:14AM

Along those lines, the idea of Noblesse oblige is also forgotten among the more fortunate.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 9:07AM

I'll say what I want also. Those who HAVE to use vulgarity in every other phrase suffer from an inferiority complex, or are impaired in their pseudo-sexual development, and I dare to include figures like Patton in the mix. Not everyone who was valiant on the battlefield of valor for freedom derived from "dirt", as one person asserted above. It takes much more resolve and discipline to refrain from any use of vulgarity than it does to display it. I have worked around people who used to say it is bad to withhold passing gas, but somehow over the course of my 58 years I have never done it in public(and even rarely, at home). Windbags will be windbags. I remember well in basic training 38 years ago our drill instructor at Lackland asked if anyone had any objection to profanity. One guy raised his hand(no, it wasn't me!), and the D.I. replied "That is just too G.Damnned bad. Sometimes it is necessary". That comes closer to my philosophy than the all too familiar pedestrian use everyday many of us out here are tiring of.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 9:25AM

Lackland AFB. 1975. To Chanute. To McGuire.

How's it hanging?

From the sound of your comment, I'm thinking you were Section 8'ed, out of the ranks. Of course, for all I know, you're a Chick.

I'm guessing you weren't out on the Flight line.

That's a Goddamn shame. You missed a lot of good sh*t out their. Good times. Those guys were some of the best MFers I've ever been around in my life.

Son of a B*tch.

THKrupp| 3.9.12 @ 9:26AM

I agree. Manners were a major part of my upbringing. It does not mean that I cant cuss like a sailor but I know when and when not to use vulgarity. I find that this skill has helped me navigate many different layers of society. This has helped me professionally as I can seamlessly change from redneck to professional almost instantly. There are times when vulgarity is needed but if vulgarity is used all the time then it tends to lose its punch. It becomes useless at that point.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:17AM

The Oprahfication of our society dictates that we must "be ourselves"...and talk about "being ourselves" 24/7. If cussing like a sailor is who we are then we must be true to ourselves, regardless of time, place, or context.

THKrupp| 3.9.12 @ 1:07PM

If thats how you want to be I have no problem with it. How a person acts is completely up to the individual. However you must also recognise that actions have consequences. I know many people who have limited what they can accomplish simply by the fact that they are rude and distasteful to be around. Why let something as simple as manners and vocabulary stand in your way of achieving what you want?

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 10:49AM

Air Force??
thats not the REAL Military,
unless you flew fighters or bombers, or the helicopters that rescued them...

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:22PM

And, of course, everybody knows that those Aircraft never need repairs, and can Fly forever, without any Maintenance. Everybody knows that the Munitions just put themselves on to the Wings, and in to the Bomb Bay.

What a Stupid Fck, you are. What a disgrace to the Armed Forces.

But, you already knew that, didn't you?

MikeG| 3.10.12 @ 12:34PM

Timothy
Drackman is not a vet. He is a wannabe.

henry| 3.9.12 @ 9:34AM

Let’s get back to Toynbee. He said three processes heralded the end of a civilization.
1 The growth of the public sector. By the time the Roman Empire collapsed two out of three Romans worked for the state. Job creation, anyone?
2 Massive inflation. What price petrol today?
3 A process called mimesis, whereby one section of the population mimics another. For six hundred years the Barbarians had given their children Roman names, listened to Roman music and assimilated Roman culture. At the end this all changed and the Romans started to behave like Barbarians, dress like them, talk like them. Sound familiar? How about some nice rap?
None of this helped, though. The dark ages still came about.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 9:37AM

Mr. Pennell, I have an Honorable Discharge dated from August 1977 that proves you wrong. From Lackland I went to Sheppard, then finally, March in California. I worked in Hospital Administration, becoming E-4, or Senior Airman, and volunteered to leave 8 months early on the Palace Chase program, after which I went on inactive reserves up until 1980. And yes, I met some of the finest people ever while in the Air Force, but most I were around with maintained a sense of decorum at times, only occasionally uttering a profanity or two. Since you took it upon yourself to call me an S.O. B. I will only call you an ALGERNON, and if you don't know what that means I guess you can look it up. The only person who I let know how it's hanging is my wife(and I sure as hell never need Viagra!).

Miss manners| 3.9.12 @ 10:13AM

No need to trigger an image of your humongous penus, somnolance. Very ill bred of you.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 10:52AM

an E-4 Hospital Administrator??
Jeez-us, even as an O-4 Navy Doctor I only worked in hospitals, not Administrated them...
and don't tell me what "Palace Chase" was, I don't want you to have to kill me..

Frank

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:31PM

"Hey Drackman. I told ya to empty these BED PANS! Get your head outta your ass, and get this Piss outta these Pans!"

How's that, Douche Bag? Bring back the memories?

He sure sounds like a "Doctor", doesn't he?

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:25PM

You sound like a real Pussy, if ya ask me.

You're just what I said you were, at 9:25 AM.

A Nurse.

Pathetic.

Cuffs| 3.9.12 @ 9:42AM

Thank you, Mr. Tucker for a very cogent
piece. Popular "culture" has become so vulgar,
I religiously avoid it. The Rush dust-up pointed
out that vulgarity in comedy is not a problem, i.e.Bill Maher. Really? The job of a comedian
is to be funny. Does Obama think Maher is
funny? Rush did not mean to be funny; he
meant to emphasize an absurdity. It wasn't too
long ago that the left called Limbaugh an
entertainer, now he is the head of the Republican
party(?). Which is it and if he is an entertainer, then what is Maher? What is good for the goose
is not necessarily good for the gander. We not only
live in a vulgar culture, we are surrounded by
liars and fanatics.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:07AM

I"m more interested in determining the point at which vulgarity become acceptable in society at large.

Vulgarity's always been around but underground, just like prostitution, drug abuse, sex abuse, and other undesirable activity.

I think a primary strategy for those on the left is to normalize the behavior by arguing that those undesirable activities have always been mainstream, HOWEVER, there's a little thing called YouTube to prove them wrong.

Just look at any MAINSTREAM commercial, sporting event, television show, talk show, news cast, movie, ...or song from 25 years and beyond and you will notice a sense of decorum, politeness, thoughtfulness, restraint, respectfulness, and class that you simply do not see today.

I believe the critical point occurred in the mid-80's, about the time when 24 hour cable news, shock radio, talk radio, insipid day time talk shows, and Music Television were unleashed on society and in a race to attract as many viewers/listeners as possible resulting in the lowering of our cultural standards.

Anna| 3.9.12 @ 10:29AM

How right you are, Bob Grant.

I am astonished at the number of parents in my neighborhood who allow their children full rein over the TV. Television, in my opinion, is becoming more crude and vulgar with each passing day. And what shocks me is that so few watchers complain.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 11:08AM

Most people are afraid to stick there necks out and/or support those who do for fear of being labeled a hater, judgmental, bigot, not hip, quaint, out of touch, or...God forbid...old!

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 10:36AM

Two important points stand out along the continuum. In "Blazing Saddles", the baked bean scene introduced flatulence on the screen (instead of the seats) to moviegoers. The other is Norman Lear introducing the flushing toilet in "All in the Family".

I strongly support vulgarity in its place, as among my peers in private I can be one foul-mouthed M----r F---r. In front of my children, I try to set a different example, because I require different behavior from them.

Unfortunately, once the genie is out of the lamp, it rarely goes back in. I seemingly can't see a movie rated above G anymore without a fart joke, and unlike Mel Brooks' scene, most aren't that funny.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 10:53AM

Those were two good isolated examples.

I still hold that society wasn't beaten over the head with vulgarity, 24/7, until the information explosion occurred during the mid 80's.

Seek| 3.9.12 @ 11:15AM

There were no fart jokes in "Hugo" or "Shutter Island."

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 11:37AM

check out "Canterbury Tales"

albert constantine jr.| 3.9.12 @ 12:04PM

I will have to take your word for it, as I didn't see either.

THKrupp| 3.9.12 @ 1:29PM

Well I think that what is important is context. My father never swore around my mother or in mixed company that I can ever remember. When we were working on the farm he swore all the time. It all depends how you use it, where you are and who you are around. I enjoyed blazing saddles as much as the next person. I laugh at vulgar jokes depending on the situation. What people dont understand today is that there is a time and a place for that sort of thing. If it becomes overused it becomes borish. Vulgarity has been around since the beginning of society. Shakespheres plays demonstrate it at times and as Frank said the Canterbury tales. At times there is a fine line between what people find acceptable and unacceptable. Many comedians have crossed the line and have had to apologize. Many have lost their jobs and revenue due to it. Calling a woman a slut is not funny. The things that Bill Mahr says are not funny. What David Letterman said about Sarah Palin's daughter was not funny. A comedy that is primarially fart jokes gets old very quickly. The scene from Blazing Saddles was hilarious. Jokes about Gerald Ford being accident prone were funny. It all just depends on the context and circumstances. That is what people dont seem to understand anymore.

Linkjet| 3.9.12 @ 2:20PM

"It all depends how you use it, where you are and who you are around. I enjoyed blazing saddles as much as the next person. I laugh at vulgar jokes depending on the situation. What people dont understand today is that there is a time and a place for that sort of thing."

And this is why you are single, will remain so, and why no self-respecting, good lady would have the slightest thing to do with you.

THKrupp| 3.9.12 @ 2:34PM

Im sorry I dont understand your point. What is it about that statement that would turn off a woman?

LOL In my opinion there are better reasons for a woman would reject me than that. To be honest I have no desire to get married, but thanks for your concern and feedback.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 11:02AM

It means I worked as an enlisted technician in the Registrars Office at the base hospital, working with coding, typing up narrative summaries from medical records and chasing down doctors like you to get signatures. I also went down to the flight line plenty of times in the ambulance for air evacuation patients transferred from other bases around the world to process the paperwork, etc. I worked with the ER and base legal services with all accident reports, and outside insurance companies with 3rd party liability. Nice try at usurpation, doc, but I enlisted to have at least a sense of serving my country, that is all. I went all gung ho with enthusiasm, saw a lot of hypocrisy related to fraternization concerning enlisted with officers(I toked a few back in the day with officers of your rank, doc) at parties during off-duty hours, etc. I only find it humorous that you are still TRYING to pull rank.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 11:26AM

So you were a REMF! Don't be ashamed, not everyone can be lucky enough to serve on the front lines...

Frank

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 11:09AM

Drackman, tell that to the millions who served in the USAF in support roles. I avoid people like you in order to PREVENT myself from becoming sick.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 11:29AM

I know, they also serve, who clean toilets in stateside bases during peace time...

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 11:15AM

To Miss Manners: Dear, there is a fine line between adequacy and tumescence. Have a nice day.

Miss Manners| 3.9.12 @ 11:35AM

i blanche. (or should that be blanch?)

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.9.12 @ 4:27PM

It's blanche.

Bob Grant| 3.9.12 @ 6:07PM

Timmy,

Blanche, as in Truly Tasteless Jokes by Blanche Knott?

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.10.12 @ 8:05AM

I don't get it.

Bob Grant| 3.10.12 @ 10:23AM

Nevermind :)

Simon Templar| 3.9.12 @ 11:37AM

The problem here is you do not know what true vulgarity is. Like simple minded dualistic thinkers, you can not see the difference between using a "bad word" in an attempt to make a point or accurately describe someone and the actual vulgarity of the behavior itself in question and the accuracy of that accusation itself.

I will tell you what real vulgarity looks like and is...
It is organizing a Slutwalk and proudly calling yourself a slut, using the word as a badge of honor, celebrating it. It is doing this and then turning around to others and telling them that you can not use this word ever, in any context, telling them they have no right to a contrary opinion or values other than what they dictate, that they only have the right to make judgments on anything, and then using that word as an insult to those you despise and seek to control and destroy for no other reason than they are conservatives and conservative women.

That is vulgarity.

Then there is also another kind of vulgarity that is wrapped in stupidity. That is accepting this double standard and actually carrying water for it.

Formica Topp| 3.9.12 @ 5:25PM

"I will tell you what real vulgarity looks like," says Simon Templar.

Hello?

You're looking at real vulgarity when you read this tedious thread!

Mr. Tucker, you did us a real favor by writing about vulgarity, a behavior I detest. Disturbingly, though, many readers were infuriated by the suggestion that vulgarity is bad for them. In fact, evidently they want to wallow in it.

Tempest | 3.10.12 @ 11:08PM

Today we see the real Timothy Pennell break out.

Time for a psychologist to post here and tell us how much $$ he'd make charging Penenell by the hour to try to straighten out a rather crooked life.

I agree, Formica Top, however, the decent posters are also here. Just overshadowed (a bit like real life) by the mouthy ones who are long on words, short on wisdom, big on themselves -- and they let you know it, over and over.

Have they ever read, "The words from a man's toungue reveal the treasure of his heart."

A pretty important man said that once.

Take heed.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.11.12 @ 9:59AM

Ladies and Gentlemen. I believe we owe "Tempest" a debt of gratitude.

It's not every day that one gets such an Illuminating Glimpse of what 10lbs. of Sh*t, in a 5lb. Bag, looks like.

Oh, and you spelled Penenell wrong, genius.

But that's just because you're so long on wisdom.

Idiot.

Simon Templar| 3.11.12 @ 11:24PM

Just what was it you objected to in my comment?
I am not adovocating the use of the profane, the vulgar, or the obscene and wholeheartedly agree that the author is correct that this society has degraded culturally. The Left has seen to this degradation and has injected the profane, the vulgar, and the obscene into every facet of American life including political discourse.
They authored the politics of destruction, the politics of political correctness, the politics of smear and viscious personal attack, politics of historical revisonism....
They authored the introduction of the profane into the lexcon from the days of Lenny Bruce to Bill Maher.

I think what people are objecting to is the double standard and straight jacket that conservatives unwittingly place on themselves when it comes to dealing with the onslaught of the vulgarity thrown at them from the Left and its media complex.
They object to those that seem to think that we have to sit there and take it without fighting back or pointing out the vulgarity and slander that is being used on us daily. They object to their speech being controlled by a cabal of liberal hypocrits that seem to think that they, the most vulgar, have some right to judge and determine that which is vulgar and that which is not.
Using words that are coarse, uncommon, or crude is not in and of itself the sum total of vulgarity and the end of the world.
What is vulgar is too much preoocupation and obsession with the use of coarse language and the shallow and fake outrage that often accompanies it while overlooking that which is truly and disastrously obscene and vulgar and does more greater harm and damage than merely being coarse.
It is not the words in themselves that are necessarily vulgar it is their intent, their objective, and the inherent lies that underlie these words when they are spoken in untruth.

Yes, we certainly do not want to stoop to their level and just what is that level? That level is calling someone a racist without any proof of it. That level is calling people all sorts of descriptors when those names are slander and falsehoods and do not fit them. Those descriptors come in all shapes and forms and are used to destroy people.
The Left makes up new ones every day...teabaggers, ring a bell for ya?

We will not walk on eggshells and we will not cower under them telling us what can be said and what can not be said while they freely say whatever they want without consequence or standard.
So, if they are actually raping, we will call them rapist, if they are acting like thugs, we will call them thugs, if the are filthy and trashing our streets we will call them pigs and filthy.
We will damn not sit there anymore with our little finger wagging, silently protesting and grimacing while we sanctimonously pat ourselves on the back for being good girls and boys that never used a "bad word" that the Left has defined today should never be used by a conservative and is now punishable by political death. A word that they have been using and sometimes with pride and gusto.

As WFB said, "call me a fascist one more time and I will come over there and smack you right in the jaw..."

BackToBasics| 3.10.12 @ 11:10AM

Good point, ST. It is not usual for Rush to let out a mild torrent like that but it was just a gut-reaction to the incredible foolishness of Fluke and the left over this contrived contraceptives "crisis." If any public figure on the left had shown such humanness as Rush did, they would have been praised by the left for just that, being human.

BackToBasics| 3.10.12 @ 11:16AM

Of course in reality if such a mild torrent had been spoke by a leftist public figure would be considered so mild as to not be noticed. If anyone dared to speak about it they'd be called out for trying to impose their religious values on everyone else and be reminded of the right of free speech.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 11:59AM

Drackman, there have been many civilian workers in the military who have saved the backsides of many in your profession from malpractice lawsuits "while they were cleaning toilets". Your stupidity is appalling.

Bancroft| 3.9.12 @ 2:27PM

Somnolence, you are correct. However, there is no helping a 49 year old lost soul like Drackman. Don't bother responding. It feeds some sort of twisted inner he has.

You are right. The true heroes and best are often found literally behind the scenes. They move the cogs, do the work where there is no glory. They are the ones that make it happen -- even when denigrated. Rather hard to believe he deserved a commission. 'cept the military is always hard up getting docs -- if he really is one -- they take anyone in that profession.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 3:51PM

@ Bancroft, watta ya want?, I thanked whats his name for his Rear-Echelon-Peacetime-Service...
And I love the little guys, somebody's gotta cook my Quarterpounder and fries, too bad its increasingly becoming a Jose, Juan, or Hey-Zeuss...
And I'm 50 BTW, but thanks, 49 sounds better.
And nobody "deserves" a Commission you (Smith Barney Voice) Ehhhhhrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnn One.
And of course the Military's hard up for Professionals, low pay, danger, and now they don't even have the Homo-Free Workplace like they used to.
But I would have joined even if they hadnt paid for my Med School, cause its the only way someone with -4.5 diopter myopia can get to ride in a jet fighter...
And I know, there were Homos back then, but nobody knew who they were, except for those light n' the loafer REMFs...

Frank

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 3:55PM

Oh yeah??
Well Military Physicans CAN'T BE SUED FOR MALPRACTICE!!!!!
not for treating active duty anyway, its called the "Fairys Doctrine" which doesn't have anything to do with Fairys.
Who's Stupid now, Stupid?

Frank

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 12:10PM

And who did Oprah cultivate in her midst? Why, none other than Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, and Doctor Phil, all who continue to inflict deliberate malfeasance and malfunction upon society by putting everyone in everyone else's mind, bedroom, and bathroom. Jerry Falwell used to ask, "what killed America"? The aforementioned contributed greatly to her demise.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 12:26PM

Dante, Chaucer, Reubens, Bosch, and Voltaire among other writers and artists were no so much dealing in vulgarity as they were just simply being ribald. There is quite a difference between the two. Now, James Jones had no problem with being vulgar, and neither does Judith Krantz.

Timothy L. Pennell| 3.10.12 @ 8:07AM

Spoken like a true TITLESS WAF.

Paul L. Raymond| 3.9.12 @ 12:29PM

You had me until you got to the Mormons. That is not a culture and certainly not a belief to emulate. I'd rather have Obama in the White House than Mitt Romney.

SUBVET| 3.9.12 @ 8:36PM

A muslim in the WH.........and a mormon what is the difference. Paul you need to move to a 3rd world country.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 12:37PM

Funny, I can say the same thing about the Methodist Church or the Episcopalians or Catholics. I am a Methodist and I say long live the Church Of LDS, and at the same time the Israelis can nuke Mecca for all I care. I won't join it of course, since I refuse to give up coffee or cola. But Donnie and Marie, Bay Buchanan, Mitt Romney, and Laraine Day are O.K. in my book.

cowgirl| 3.9.12 @ 12:57PM

Great review of Murray's book. Just finished up reading it - A must read for everyone.

Dave Trowbridge | 3.9.12 @ 1:51PM

If the general level of stupidity, ignorance, and vulgarity displayed in the comment thread here is any indication, the "left" has nothing to fear from soi-disant conservatives. Which is too bad.

Also, I was amused to read that "... Rush Limbaugh succumbed to this himself in his recent outburst with the Georgetown law student." Rush Limbaugh has made a career out of yahoo vulgarity--he has nothing else to offer.

And the very next sentence in the essay is a peerless example of the "echo chamber:" "It certainly is ridiculous that she wants the college to subsidize her sexual adventures and Rush is right for calling her down on it." Fluke said NOTHING about "her sexual adventures" or, indeed, about sex at all, as anyone who bothers to read the transcript could see. Really, I would hope for better from The American Spectator than mindless repetition of "conservative" talking points.

Petronius| 3.9.12 @ 2:29PM

I have the book in waiting. The last time he weighed in was his think piece titled Prole Models in the WSJ. But The Spectator of London was first to strike with their lead essay Rank Ignorance in 15 July 2000 issue. It's all too true and the primary reason we are ruled by a collection of uncivilized trash who are on a mission to drag the rest of us into their cultural sewer.

Resist We Much! | 3.9.12 @ 3:13PM

The next time that any Prog starts screaming that Sandra Bell is a “private citizen” so it is diiiiiifffffffferent, here ya go:

She appeared at the “Catholic Students for Women’s Health” press conference on 9 February 2012 at the National Press Club where she expressed support for Obama’s contraception mandate.

She waived any “private citizen” claim she might have had long before she “testified” before Maerose Prizzi’s kaffee klatsch.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/304345-1#

Blue Indigo| 3.9.12 @ 3:57PM

Excuse me, please, while I go take a shower.

I have read all the comments so far (it's now 3:57), and I feel like I am covered with dirt--toxic dirt.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 4:30PM

I said "civilian" (meaning GS workers), and once again, Patch Adams and Gregory House both look genuinely professional (can't stand Adams, and yeah, House is fictional) when compared to your childish rants. Like I say I hope you contain your comments to this board, because you might find yourself in mixed company sometime with those REMF's you like to belittle, and you might hit the floor with a thud, dude.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 4:33PM

There are some loopholes in the Feres Doctrine that allow for malpractice suits filed by former or retired military personnel as well as civilians who might be treated by an active duty physician. I worked with retired personnel and GS medical records all the time as well as active duty. I know what I'm talking about, so keep shooting off at the mouth, doc.

Frank Drackman | 3.9.12 @ 5:04PM

Thats why nobody likes to treat retired military or Sandcrabs, I mean GS "workers"...
You work with retired personnel and GS medical records??
Talk about someone with a depressing life...

Frank

cicero| 3.9.12 @ 5:03PM

In most societies, it is the women who exercise the civilizing effect on the culture. When the women give up their high ground, the low ground comes up to hit that society in the hindside.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 5:35PM

"Worked", Drackman, past tense, past life. I'm retired and don't envy your DEPRESSING life as a truss healer.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 5:51PM

Parting shot at Pennell: Are you sure you didn't work at the Flight Surgeon's Office on the Flight Line as part of the keester patrol? I just had to respond as one good turn deserves another, chump.

somnolence| 3.9.12 @ 6:08PM

Comedy of the day from Frank Drackman: "nobody knew who they were". The Navy was crawling with them in the OFFICERS as well as enlisted ranks and always has been(Navy, especially notorious). B-1 Bob Dornan even addressed all that 25 years back on the House floor.

POST American| 3.9.12 @ 10:30PM

-------------------BOTTOMLESS LINE---------------------

"---Only men who've had their manhood removed----"

albert constantine jr.| 3.10.12 @ 2:04PM

Question: if we've been emasculated, why do we need porn?

martin j smith| 3.10.12 @ 7:43AM

Mr Tucker, when you and your ilk got after the most absurd vulgarities of the LEFT that you appear in your self righteousness about Rush then I would take you seriously. Until the. Who cares what you think.

Jacob R| 3.10.12 @ 9:14AM

The problem with your simplistic view is that, unfortunately, rich people do commit crimes and do help ruin society.

Hitler never once used vulgarity and his party was the healthiest group in the civilized world, more morally committed than any other group.

Vulgarity is a problem, sure. But I find that it is as often the real problem as someone is simply using someone else's vulgarity to excuse and cover up their own often worse sins.

Miss Fluke didn't use vulgarity. Yet her beliefs result in a horrific society and tens of millions of innocent deaths. Rush is full of vulgarity, as well as sensible ideas about the moral decay that most certainly is alone responsible for societal decline.

Che Bella| 3.10.12 @ 10:17AM

I had rather be in a room with Miss Fluke (although she makes me sick) than Rush Limbaugh anyday.

Rush is a hateful ultra-right-wing bigot, who has given conservatism a bad name.

Mike Hawk| 3.11.12 @ 9:27AM

Obviuosly you only know what your leftist hate-mongering buddies tell you and you have never listened to Rush.

Ronald Ackenberry| 3.10.12 @ 9:59AM

I don't think Mitt Romney will be accused of being a pederast, although I wouldn't be at all surprised some of his fellow Republicans might be rightfully branded as such.

On the contrary, I think Romney will be accused of being aloof, superior, better than thou, self-righteous, holier than thou, cold, arrogant, distant, detached, robotic, isolated, unapproachable, unfriendly, unconcerned, mechanical, fake, affected, hypocritical, two faced and so much more.

But, not pederast. No, that's not him at all.

Regardless, we are learning there is a lot to not like about Mr. Romney. The polls show it, too.

2323| 3.10.12 @ 10:19AM

And there's a lot to dislike about so many of the commenters remarks on Mr. Tucker's post.

somnolence| 3.10.12 @ 11:47AM

Well, it looks like Timmy Boy and Frankie both are still hopelessly, in their fifties, trapped in the addictive world of juvenile name calling. If not that, they need constant reinforcement, artificially of course, that they are real males. Excuse me while I puke at any source extolling male camaraderie, especially from some unhinged vomitmeister like Timmy, whose first odd question is "how is it hanging"? That certainly tells me ALL I need to know about him. A good woman and a mutt, or maybe a cat, is all I need for my positive reinforcement, not the diatribes from Timmy or the quack, Drackman.

BcdErick| 3.10.12 @ 12:13PM

A good essay. Enough said.

somnolence| 3.10.12 @ 12:22PM

I'm as politically conservative, pro-life, as you can get, and whether it is Rush, Maher, Dice Clay, Ted Nugent, etc. they all are guilty of going over the top when it comes to vulgarity. I've pretty much settled on Dennis Prager, Neil Boortz, and Laura Ingraham as being my favorite radio commentators at the moment. Hate to call it quits, Rush, but I guess baking in the Florida sun and the 30 dollar cigars have just gone to your head.

Bob K.| 3.10.12 @ 9:13PM

You don't seem to have any problems with the vulgarities that the Publisher and Editors of this American Spectator website allow in the comments section though.

BackToBasics| 3.10.12 @ 2:12PM

I'm not for vulgarity in public but Limbaugh's true sin for the left was calling out a leftist woman; as distinguished by calling Sarah Pailn, and her children, all sorts of truly vulgar names.

It was a mild gut-reaction outburst where, more mild than Harry Truman's many outbursts.

BackToBasics| 3.10.12 @ 2:14PM

miskey - here, more mild..... not where

Lloyd Miller | 3.11.12 @ 11:02AM

But you pointed-out the upper class HASN'T lapsed into truancy! They just encourage the lower class to do so!

Lloyd Miller | 3.11.12 @ 11:23AM

Vulgarity has its place. It should be the exception for a crisis situation. Rush wasn't really so far out of line except that he should have realized he was under Media Matters scrutiny and the context would be lost. Rush doesn't wallow in vulgarity as a general rule.

somnolence| 3.11.12 @ 12:56PM

Bob K. you have to be kidding if your comment is directed at me. Why do you think I have spent any time at all trying to throw back decent answers mainly at two specific detractors in this comment section? Those two are coarse above and beyond belief, and though we are called not to pass judgement, when someone like Tim uses all the vulgarity he can muster plus fictional characterization about my job classification in the Air Force they need to be put in their place. Note that I haven't used one word myself that is in the vulgar realm. So, once again, you have to be kidding.

Bob K.| 3.11.12 @ 4:36PM

Somnolence,

My point had a larger target than yourself. Specifically the Publishers and Editors of the American Spectator.

I understood you to say you will no longer listen Limbaugh because he is vulgar. Why then bother to come on to this website where the publisher and the editors allow much more explicit and, as you have observed, coarse vulgarisms on a daily basis?

I to0 find it unprofessional, demeaning and ultimately boring. I find I am spending less and less time here. I did not renew my subscription and I was a subscriber since the days this magazine was published in Indiana as a tabloid.

When I get a letter from Mr. Tyrrell asking for money I throw it in the trash because of the way that he and his colleagues have contributed to the decay of this magazine because of their lack of oversight.

I do still listen to Limbaugh part time and intermittently but I never did listen to him on a daily basis because I am quite aware that no one knows everything or is right about everything. But I will state that he is the best talk show host in the country if only because he is the only one with a sense of humor and a genius for popping the swollen egos of those self important tyrants in the institutions controlled by the left.

gazinya| 3.11.12 @ 5:40PM

The article mentioned 'Mormon geneology'. When I saw my first video of a 'flash mob' looting a Wal-Mart my mind wandered to 'what the hell would their parents say?" Of course that is a 60yr ago question. 'Thier parents' don't exist. I wondered, considering what I have read and heard, how far back can these children go geneologically and how many of these children have no recorded geneology? I would think it is worth the effort of those that do these type of things to see what effect a generation of children not knowing their parents and grandparents would have on that community.

Schools have lost the ability to teach history. They have lost the ability or decided that a connection to our nations founding is detrimental. It's probably the latter. Since teachers are taught by teachers who have no connection to 'Roots' then it is not a stretch to see failed schools like failed communities have a direct correlation to the break down of families and with that the absence of morality. Ergo: Flash Mobs.

POST American| 3.11.12 @ 10:31PM

----------------BEYOND BOTTOMLESS---------------

"Eros is relation."
-Sigmund Freud

"Sexual 'liberation' is a capstone con-job.
'Sexual liberation' REALLY means
-------Elimination via SEX------"

SO, a s we were saying ---
-'Only those who's manhood has been removed."

W Krebs| 3.11.12 @ 11:37PM

One little detail needs to be corrected. James Q. Wilson wrote the Broken Windows article with George Kellling, not Richard Herrenstein. Here's a link, if anybody missed it: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/web.....Theory.pdf

somnolence| 3.11.12 @ 11:56PM

Post American: Sigmund Freud was a cokehead with an anal fixation. Not exactly a reliable source for reliability about the topic at hand, Sigmund Fraud isn't.

Bo Darville| 3.12.12 @ 10:25AM

It seems that the left's assault on our subgroups based on ethnicity, religion, charity, and fraternity, have resulted in this chaotic walmartization of the culture. People now act as though their cultural choices are defining them and thusly there are no negative consequences for letting down an abstract concept. Being proud of what you are is now considered to be ethnocentric.

Joe D.| 3.12.12 @ 1:34PM

I beg to differ Mr. Tucker. Just because you are in bed with him to win does not mean he will. None of the candidates will reach the magic 1,144. So he will not will. The convention will decided and they will not get to pick Romney.

POST American| 3.13.12 @ 4:45AM

--------------------------------------FINAL WORD

'ONLY men who's manhood has been
removed---'

--BORDERS

--------LANGUAGE

----------------CULTURE

such are the emblems of your manhood.

--------------------THEY'RE GONE---------------------

More Articles by William Tucker

More Articles From The Nation's Pulse

My Generation’s Disease

May 17, 2013 | Benjamin Brophy

The Seventeen Year Itch

May 15, 2013 | Lisa Fabrizio

Consternated Conferences

May 13, 2013 | John Tabin

Transsexual Flights from Reality

May 3, 2013 | Mark Tooley

Sweet Sounds Way Out Yonder

May 2, 2013 | Bill Croke

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/03/09/why-vulgarity-matters

ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Headlines

Not Ready for Primetime Players

Daniel J. Flynn|84 comments

Assessing a Week of Scandal

Matt Purple|113 comments

Oops, Maybe Government is Tyrannical

Marta H. Mossburg|50 comments

Soros Funds Anti-‘Torture’ Report

Mark Tooley|92 comments

Treasure State Treasury

Bill Croke|3 comments

My Generation’s Disease

Benjamin Brophy|49 comments

The View From the Other Side

George H. Wittman|14 comments

USPS: Radical Surgery Needed

Peter Hannaford|19 comments

The Spectacle Blog

If Only the Tsar Knew!

F.H. Buckley | 11:14AM

Low-Level IRS Staffer: No, We Didn’t Mastermind This Entire Thing

Matt Purple | 5.17.13

UPDATED: IRS Acting Chief Apologizes, But Defends His Actions

Kaylin Bugos | 5.17.13

Voter Fraud Affected Election Results in Missouri

Kaylin Bugos | 5.17.13

Purple Privacy Push Persists in House Drone Hearing

Luca Gattoni-Celli | 5.17.13

IRS Director: ‘Some People Call Me Maurice’

Kyle Peterson | 5.17.13

Laughing to Keep From Crying

Ross Kaminsky | 5.17.13

What Does Consequence-Free Sex Cost Us?

Benjamin Brophy | 5.17.13

SPONSORED LINKS

FLASHBACK TO: 1995

Clip of the Day

Most Popular Articles

The Liberal Union Behind the IRS

Jeffrey Lord | 5.16.13

My Generation’s Disease

Benjamin Brophy | 5.17.13

Not Ready for Primetime Players

Daniel J. Flynn | 5.17.13

Pick Obama's Brain

Paul Kengor | 5.16.13

Assessing a Week of Scandal

Matt Purple | 5.17.13

Pray and Grow Rich

Christopher Orlet | 5.16.13

Oops, Maybe Government is Tyrannical

Marta H. Mossburg | 5.17.13

From Bimbos to Benghazi

Jeffrey Lord | 5.9.13

ADVERTISEMENT

Home |About |Contributors |Advertise |Donate |Privacy Policy |Contact

The American Spectator Foundation is the 501(c)(3) organization responsible for publishing The American Spectator magazine and training aspiring journalists who espouse traditional American values. Your contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Each donor receives a year-end summary of their giving for tax purposes.

Copyright 2013, The American Spectator. All rights reserved.