Far From the Tree - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
Far From the Tree
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MORE ACORN TROUBLE

Re: Jeffrey Lord’s What Do You Do With a General?

Regarding Christopher Buckley, we must remember that when the acorn falls from the Mighty Oak, it can roll…evidently quite some distance.

Reid Bogie
Waterbury, Connecticut

Mr. Lord’s remarks on ex-General Powell are timely and accurate. This is the general who said, in the midst of the first Iraqi war, “we are not in the killing business” while letting escape Saddam’s army from the encirclement by the allies. This remarkably idiotic spirit permitted another 10 years of Saddam’s mass murders and terrorist training and financing, leading to the present second war in Iraq. What statemanship!

By the way — there is also “fear” of the so-called “Bradley effect” where the hidden white racism may well defeat Obama. On the other hand there is no discussion of the black racism in the fact that 100% of blacks will vote for Obama just because he is half black — well, with the possible exception of Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and Alan Keyes.

Marc Jeric
Las Vegas, Nevada

A HEALTHY FEAR

Re: David Catron’s The Fear We Need:

David Catron writes: “Arguably, the most consistently successful stratagem ever devised by the Democrats is their perennial campaign to frighten the elderly into voting for them by loudly accusing the GOP of plotting the demise of Social Security.” I guess Mr. Catron believes everyone has forgotten W’s and the Republicans attempt to “privatize” Social Security. I doubt there are too many people who are sorry this never came to fruition.

Continuing, Mr. Catron treats us to a painful dissertation about all of the supposed chicanery being perpetrated by the Obama campaign concerning Medicare. But, instead of arguing this point by point, let’s cut to the chase. The far right hates the government programs that the vast majority of Americans view as part of our social safety net. To the right these programs are nothing more than socialism and their agenda is to abolish them. The problem for the right is too many Americans support these programs.

For whatever dishonesty there is from the left on Social Security, Medicare, et al., it pales in comparison to that of the right which must hide it true agenda in the pursuit thereof.

Mike Roush

This, after all, has consistently been the socialists’ methodology over the decades I have watched their insidious rise to prominence. Step one is always to proclaim that certain unique, individual human beings in fact comprise a group suffering victimization by others. Step two always involves inflammatory rhetoric designed to supplant the clarity of rational thought amongst these individuals with the more-easily manipulated mind-set of emotional thinking. Step three is, of course, the most important one — the podium-pounding offer of salvation from victimization: “vote for me and I will end this outrageous violation of your human rights.” Step four =- wealth distribution =- used to involve handing them someone else’s money. Now-a-days, it’s more likely money borrowed from the Chinese government.

What remains unsaid regarding the real success of this stratagem as it pertains to health-care is that the socialists have already won the argument. Completely absent from our national discourse is any mention of principle pursuant to the constitutionality of governmental involvement in health care in the first place. Even at a time of economic crisis seemingly no one even questions the fiscal insanity of increasing this debt by deficit-spending our way further down the road of socialized medicine. They don’t, of course, because the creation of Social Security long ago conditioned us to improperly view government as our nanny. Amazingly, the irrationality of sending a government money, which then extracts administrative costs before returning what remains as a “benefit,” seems preferable to just saving the entire amount for ourselves as we once used to do. How any rational, thinking human being considers this, or socialized medicine, as a “benefit” or form of “security” is beyond me, but it brings to mind the saying “that there are none so blind as those who will not see.”  Fortunately, for the political elite the blindness of the average American voter of today is reliably steadfast..

I, for one, reject socialized medicine in its entirety. For that matter, I would vote for the first politician who vowed to repeal the Social Security Act and apply my money instead to the national debt. You see, I have no fear of my impending old age nor do I fear of suffering, either physically or economically, if that should one day prove to be my fate. Many have suffered before me so that I might live in freedom. What I do fear, however, is the judgment of my grand-children, whose future we have mortgaged through our selfish desire to live better lives at their expense. To me, it is shameful and immoral for the generation of Americans now living to burden with indebtedness those as yet unborn. 

Each time I bounce my grandson on my knee, I can’t help wondering what his son will think of me when his history professor one day informs him that the Age of Freedom ended because Great-Grandpa failed pay his bills. 

Thomas Donley

PUNISHINGLY NIHILISTIC

Re: James Bowman’s review of Burn After Reading:

The Coens’ movies at times evidence a nihilist view of existence (always an absurdist view). I found Burn After Reading to be punishingly nihilistic. A bitter disappointment after the great No Country for Old Men. I also found the Coens to have no affection or respect for their characters in this movie, settling on one dimensional and unbelievable traits and actions. Only Ted’s character rises above, and Richard Jenkins does such a great job that McDormand, Pitt and Clooney are left far behind in showier, yet empty roles. And Malkovich sings one note only. His character quickly became tiresome and predictable. Who cares what happens to any of them? The Coens never give us a reason to care. Madcap comedies work when the characterizations are sharp and the characters are likeable, even if flawed or villainous. In the end, this “comedy” commits the unforgivable sin of being not funny.
Roger McCrary

WE’RE SUPPOSED TO THINK THEY’RE BETTER?

Re: Larry Thornberry’s Did I Hear That Right?

The media has me a little confused… I’m supposed to vote against McCain because George Bush has been a failure… On the other hand, I’m supposed to vote the Democrat Congress back in and increase their numbers, even though they’ve been in control for the past two years, and even though things were fine before they took over, and even though their approval rating is around 10%…Help me out here, media.

G.Gonzalez
Loreto, Texas

RESPECT UNEARNED

Re: H.W. Crocker, III’s How Would Jefferson Davis Vote?

Jefferson Davis was morally blind.

A practicing Christian, he could read the words of Jesus but could not see the evil that was at the heart of his rebellion.

Jefferson Davis through his actions bequeathed to this nation a legacy of sorrow for both white and black Americans from which we have yet to be delivered.

He is the embodiment of how supposedly rational men do evil.

Davis deserves neither our respect nor in any way our admiration.
Ed Morrow

OH, TO BE OLD AGAIN!

Re: Frost’s letter (under “The Betrayed”) in Reader Mail’s Surprise, Surprise:

Re: world traveler frost’s departure date, tickets in hand — will he be voting in the next election, as an ex-pat?

I could be a world traveler, too — and it wouldn’t cost me a dime: as a retired airline employee I have unlimited passes. I prefer staying home, caring for my 6 year old grandson as I did the ones before him and sharing with him whatever befalls our country. Farthest I have been south of the US is several lovely vacations in Barbados. Alas, when there I spent all my walking around money giving it to the little professional beggars — my husband called me the one woman Lend-lease plan: Lease a villa, pay the calypso singers to stop sing “Marianne.”

And for the record, it was not Clinton’s being an ass that I objected to. Not even his sexual dalliances. I call the bombing of Twin Towers in 1993, Khobar Towers and the USS Cole in Yemen, where 17 of our navy men lost their lives and more wounded considerably more than George Bush has ever done in eight years to hurt anything but frost’s portfolio. George Bush has seen to it we have not had another 9/11 — that means a lot to me and the future of my grandsons, aged 6, 15 and 21 than where the Dow is today. We all have sons and grandsons. It would take more than an election to make me desert them for a life of ease.

Lucky 74 year old frost — his Social Security Check from the U. S. Treasury can be forwarded to him to be spent in another country.
Diane Smith

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