ON THE GREEN
Re: Wlady Pleszczynski’s Goosen in a Groove :

About criticism of Mickelson’s 3-putt, let him who hasn’t missed a 2-foot putt cast the first club.
— Charles Iley
Altamonte Springs, Florida

IN A COMMA
Re: Kelly Jane Torrance’s Jots and Tittles:

My favorite sign is located outside a firehouse in Springfield, VA. It
reads “Support Mothers Against Drunk Driving Programs.”

You know, I think I can get behind that campaign.
— W.L. Roughton
Fairfax Station, Virginia

THE WAGES OF POLITICS
Re: Patrick Hynes’ Send in the Lions:

One thing that the author left out, maybe he was unaware of this, is that Democratic politicians go to African-American churches and speak from the pulpit all the time. I know this because I see it on the news. Here in Memphis our mayor, a Democrat, will speak in front of these churches, so does Harold Ford, as has Al Gore. Never is there an outcry about this direct violation of the separation of church and state. These politicians actually give campaign speeches in front of these churches. In the past when a Republican has done this, which is rare, the church in question has had its tax-exempt status revoked. For proof all you have to do is check the archives of the local paper here or one of the local television stations news archives. They don’t even try to hide the fact that they are violating the law. This is another example of the hypocrisy of the left.
— Randy
Collierville, Tennessee

A great article. However, “the state does not supersede its Creator” may be a misnomer. If you haven’t noticed, the Federal, State, and Judicial systems are working constantly to remove the Creator from all parts of government, our schools, our little league baseball games, scouting, and our lives in general. Church goers have arrived at one ultimate truth: Democrats = Liberalism and Liberalism = Anti Theistic Laws and Legal Behavior, to be read as “diverse” in Liberal jingo. After God has been sent packing why not tax his subdued followers? Taxing believers and congregations will be the moral equivalent to feeding them to the lions, sending them to slave labor camps, or hanging the churches on a Dogwood “T” (T for Taxation) shaped cross.
— Louis Jenkins
Shelby, North Carolina

When is Barry Lynn going to have a fit over liberals like Al Gore using black churches for a political forum?

I always thought that churches got tax exemptions because they give more than they get in a social context. Perhaps such confidence in such calculations of intangible cost versus benefits is no longer possible in this age of moral relativism.
— Danny L. Newton
Cookeville, Tennessee

NOT SO QUICK
Re: Jacob Laksin’s Putin for Preemption:

Isn’t it comforting, Mr. Laksin, that we so fortunate to have our pre-emptive wisdom receive the blessings of a man who is man enough to run the KGB, instead of having to contend with a “hollow obstructionist” (our mind “springing fleetingly” to someone who might, for example, fritter away post-graduate time vacationing in the Mekong Delta instead of doing the work of a real man learning how to have his strings pulled in the National Guard) ?

It pays to hang with the right crowd.
— Paul Frey

UNSPARING
Re: William Tucker’s Spare the Women:

William Tucker once again hits one over the fence. However, a few points need to be added to his analysis:

1) Islam is very successful in its ability to control the impulses of surplus young men by promising them in the afterlife what they’re not getting here: 72 virgins for becoming a shahid.

2) Western society has bought into The Girl Project utterly and completely. Despite their protests to the contrary, women have unprecedented levels of economic and political power, so much so that our journalists now almost universally have adopted the obnoxious practice of exclusive use of female pronouns –particularly in reference to positions of power and authority.

3) The ascendancy of female economic and political power has resulted in a situation in which large numbers of young women now squander their precious most fertile years competing with men rather than starting families. Ironically, even as women in non-Arab Muslim societies have achieved top leadership positions, Muslims are keenly aware that they can win the war on the demographic front. The chief topic of discussion on some of their websites is when sharia will be imposed in France, Britain, Scandinavia, and the Benelux countries — 2050 or 2070?

4) Anyone who thinks Islam is a problem now should look more ominously toward the future when we face a China where a generation of young men has come of age without the possibility of finding mates. The Chinese cultural preference for sons combined with draconian population control policy has resulted in the infanticide and abortion of huge numbers of their sisters, for which the West will pay the price.

If Tucker’s analysis is correct (and I think it is), then perhaps it is time we start asking openly whether feminism is a luxury we can no longer afford.
— Howard Hirsch
Dayton, Nevada

NOT SO JOLLY OL’
Re: Jed Babbin’s Vague It Up and Paul Kotik’s letter (under “England Too?”) in Reader Mail’s Natural Appeasers:

Secretary Babbin’s rants against Europeans are now becoming seriously tiresome. Although it is perfectly clear he believes the sun shines out of Tony Blair’s anatomy, Blair is the most egregious of European integrationists. He consistently says he’s on the side of “the people” and then does everything he can to advance the cause of integrationism by stealth. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, has said that national sovereignty is “very important,” forgetting that it’s not the Swedes who pay his wages. They only care about Britain as a vehicle for their own ambitions.

Not that the undisciplined and unprincipled losers of the Conservative Party are any better. The modern Conservative Party (who lost this voter at the European elections two weeks ago) will do and say anything to achieve power, as evidenced by Michael Howard’s massive backtrack on a referendum for said Euro Constitution after losing a huge portion of his vote to the UK Independence Party. The Liberal Democrats are no better. The most shocking statistic of that election was that in the West Midlands of England, the fascists of the British National Party had a vote a full quarter the size of Labour’s, a result which has been completely swept under the carpet by the decision of the media not to report any of that vile body’s doings. But, as Mark Steyn has said repeatedly, if the respectable parties do not reflect the views of the people, the unrespectable ones will.

As for Paul Kotik’s paean to Old England, might one remind him that a not insignificant proportion of Brits are not English? And if he’s interested in a view of England that might not be so familiar to Paul Johnson and Petronella Wyatt, he might visit the Liverpool housing scheme that was the first home of England’s most famous Englishman of the moment, soccer prodigy Wayne Rooney? From what I’ve seen of it, living in Southeast DC looks more attractive.
— Martin Kelly
Glasgow, Scotland

CARING FOR KERRY
Re: Sanford Futterman’s letter (“Rational Choice”) in Reader Mail’s Natural Appeasers:

This is in response to — Sanford Futterman

I do not for a minute believe that this man is a swing voter. I have been reading many blogs and articles and opinions over the years, and one thing that I always see lately by those who are totally ensconced with a party is that they try to raise their credibility as being fair and balanced by stating that they vote the man, they voted for so and so, then go into the typical party mantra.

If Sanford really felt that way about hate and lies, where is his discourse about the modus operandi of the Clinton administration, the politics of person destruction. Remember the White House Travel scandal, where the people who were there were dismissed, slammed by the Clintons, been investigated and subsequently exonerated, yet they still lost their jobs and reputations. This type of attack was the standard means of slipping out of scandals.

As to voting for the best candidate how can you really feel that Kerry is that person? He has shown contempt for the common man in his actions, but he is right on one account, he said he serves his constituents best by not actually doing what he was elected for. He has missed most of the votes in the senate this year, yet collects all the pay. Yeah, he would be the best man for the job of President, so long as he served in the job of President as he is currently serving the Senate.

You state that you believe in religious freedom but also believe in the separation of Church and State. Where has Bush done anything that is eroding that? He acts from his belief and his moral understandings, that does not equate to the Taliban. I see a real concern that is growing in this United States where religious beliefs and freedoms are being stepped on under the guise of separation of Church and State. In the guise of fairness, we do not allow bibles in schools, (where is the freedom to practice your religion in that?), we do not allow people who want to pray to do so in school for it may make unbelievers uncomfortable. I see no evidence of any State run religion, which is what the separation of Church and State is all about, I do see a disturbing aspect in the abuse of groups that are looking to stamp out religion who call it separation of Church and State.

You talk about bringing the pendulum back into balance, yet this country is just starting to come back from the left leaning stance it has had for years.

Stem cell research can be done with adult stem cells, and it has been with some very promising results, yet we hear about how much better it would be using embryonic stems cells and Bush is bad because he wants that research to have limits. Yet, it has been shown that embryonic stem cells are problematic in that the host typically rejects the embryonic cells and many times form into tumors.

Vote for Kerry, good for you, it’s your American right to vote for whomever you want, but don’t say it is because the Right Wing are serving up lies and hate. If you really are concerned about lies and hate look at the things that Ted Kennedy and many in his party say about President Bush. Look at the things that Kerry has said, then didn’t say, then said again.
— Jim Nelson
New York

… The clueless Mr. Futterman wants to equate the Taliban to right wing Christians. I suppose this is an example of what a tolerant fellow he is. This demonstrates an ignorance of what went on in Afghanistan under the Taliban. One has to work hard to be this stupid. I hope at least his business is prospering and his 100 hour weeks explain such statements. If Mr. Futterman wants to see something in America that takes a baby step in the direction of the Taliban, he should visit a college campus and witness speech codes and reeducation camps (freshman orientations). See how speakers that don’t buy into the socialist orthodoxy are shouted down, physically menaced or dis-invited. He will also meet almost exclusively Kerry supporters. I don’t think he should tell them what he does for a living or he may be paid a visit by enforcers from the Department for the Prevention of Vice and Protection of Virtue.

Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush (until 9/11) have little to be proud of with respect to Islamo-Fascist terror. Clinton and Bush the younger witnessed an escalation that makes them both seem guilty of almost criminal wishful thinking. Hindsight is 20-20 however and now we know we are in a war with some really bad characters and not involved in some sort of ineffectual law enforcement action. Well most of us know this. It seems that Mr. Futterman’s man John Kerry seems ambivalent on this matter as with almost all matters. He seems to yearn for those days of waiting to play perpetual defense. Mr. Futterman, you voted for President Clinton twice. These are enough mistakes for a lifetime. Vote for your country. Vote for Bush.
— Clif Briner

Sanford Futterman, It’s not that anyone keeps complaining about Clinton except for the fact that he won’t go away. Clinton is here and there and everywhere sucking the O2 out of the Democrats and otherwise just being annoying. If he would go away, nobody would talk about him.
— GMS
Media, Pennsylvania

NERVOUS TIME
Re: Colby Cosh’s Torybook Ending?:

So in other words Harper does not have a chance and just like the States it took a long time to get rid of the liberals. I hope Harper wins, but there are too many Moonbats walking around making policy like jailbird votes etc. Well, good luck.
— Maurice Fowler