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Thank you for your kind (and unkind) letters from the Canada, America, and Britain. Mark reads all the letters, but especially enjoys the vicious ones. Drop a line to Mark's Mailbox and if you're chosen to be the one and only Letter of the Week you'll join our roll of winners from four continents and receive a copy of Mark Steyn From Head To Toe. It would help if you could indicate your city or town, or, at least, your state, province or country. Failing that, your continent or hemisphere would do. For letters on GM, see Mailbox Extra.
Letter of the Week
RATIONING CARE KEEPS COSTS DOWN NICELY
You write in The Corner: "The central point about socialized medicine is that restricting access is the only means of controlling costs."
Precisely! The defenders of single-payer public healthcare constantly parrot the fact that Canada spends fewer dollars per capita than America for healthcare as though it were a virtue and a sign of efficiency. The lower per capita spending in Canada is not the result of greater efficiency; it is the result of Government rationing of healthcare products and services (much like the scarcity of toilet paper in the former Soviet Union - the infamous queues for that precious commodity dispelled any notion that it was due to either a freakishly high rate of constipation or to one of its design bureaus engineering a super-efficient method for wiping one's buttocks). The higher per capita spending in the relatively open American market is a better indicator of the real demand for healthcare services and the dollars which individuals, when free to do so, will choose to spend to take care of themselves. And what of the additional economic and commercial activity an open and free healthcare market would create here in Canada, such as a vigorous medical and pharmaceutical R&D sector? But that's dirty business for the socialists, who always forget that wealth must first be created before you can even contemplate
redistributing it. This explains why the objective of socialism, or at least its outcome, is better described as the redistribution of poverty.
A quick point on the ethics of universal public healthcare. The opponents to the introduction of private healthcare in Canada love to frame the issue in moral terms to place themselves on the side of the angels, i.e. access to healthcare is a fundamental human right which should not depend on a person's ability to pay. Well, here's a moral question for you: is it moral for a government to make it illegal for you to spend your own resources to take care of your health and that of your family? That is the situation in Canada, an ostensibly free and democratic society where the government has forcibly (yes, legislation is force) removed its citizens' right to choose how to look after themselves and their loved-ones. What happened to that human right? Could I complain to my provincial Human Rights Commission?
Fred
New Brunswick, Canada
Re: Dead cat swing
And Ein Reich, Ein Yolk
EQUALLY INCOMPETENT
"As Andrew has also pointed out, many of Europe's new and thriving neo-nationalist and quasi-fascist parties are (in line with the Goldberg thesis) broadly ‘left-wing’ on the economy. No doubt most of them would prove entirely incompetent wielders of the levers of power."
Um, as opposed to the vast competence of the Establishment-approved parties?
James Perry
IT WAS ONLY A YOLK
The German equivalent to the English version of "people" would be "Volk", not "Yolk". Yes, I am stoned, but anyway, it matters somehow.
Kind regards,
Stefan Leiner
HANNAN FOR PRESIDENT
David Hannan said today on the Sean Hannity Talk Radio show that he doesn't have the 'looks' to be Prime Minister (Britain).
So let him come here and be president. Certainly, he has the looks to be a U.S. president.
And it doesn't matter where he was born because he doesn't need to prove it, as Obama/ the Dems/ the courts have shown for more than a year now.
Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan (U.S. House of Rep) would also be a good presidential candidate (see videos below):
Youtube; Fox News; John Batchelor Show 1; John Batchelor Show 2; John Batchelor Show 3
Using xenophobia in the non-topless beach scenario you mentioned.
I think these results are just one more reason why Republicans should not make their party more like the Democrats. As these results confirm, if people believe both parties are just slight variations on a theme, they are going to end up shopping for one that is truly different and who knows what they will find. But, they will find someone that will take their throw the bums out vote.
Tom Ludden
ATTEMPTING RE-ENTRY
I may walk across the bridge to pick up a copy of Maclean's simply to get my money's worth out of this passport I gotta carry around now. I'll let you know what happens the first time I unintentionally misplace my passport and attempt re-entry. Some of those gentlemen's clubs are quite dimly lit. I bet they send me back regardless - they do still actively exclude undesirables from their country.
Johnny from Niagara Falls, NY
Re: Go with the flow
A MASSIVE FRAUD ON THE TAXPAYERS
I loved your column on government-rationed health care. That bit about "life-spent-outside-the-bathroom expectancy" was priceless. And you're right about apathy. Everyone's asleep.
little vignette for you: The Anonymous Hospital of Ottawa calls me. It's their billing department. They tell me that at my recent visit to the Emergency room, they swiped my card but the receptionist forgot that the expiry date on a Quebec card has to be entered manually -- they won't be able to bill RAMQ (Quebec Health Ministry, for your US readers), without it. I say they better not charge anything: I spent a few hours in the waiting room, but left without being admitted to the inner waiting area; and I made sure to tell the receptionist I was leaving. "Uhm, I guess I'll enter an amendment on the file," says the clerk, obviously squirming, and hangs up.
In what other area of life are fallen human beings trusted to provide services to Party A, then send the bill off to third-party B, without A so much as seeing the amounts and services being billed for? If you were devising a way to encourage wholesale fraud of the government, this system would be hard to beat. Except in the case of a clerical screw-up like that of the Queensway Carle--, sorry, the Anonymous Hospital above, where some inept accountant accidentally spills the beans to the ratepayer, this kind of fraud is virtually undetectable. Not that anyone seems to be trying hard to detect it. Has a RAMQ auditor ever called you to confirm that you actually received the services they were billed for?
This would be a great joke on Party B (those silly bureaucrats, haha), if the whole party weren't ultimately being paid for by us, the A-is-for-Apathy taxpayers.
Somehow I still laugh, but it's a Soviet-waiting-in-line-to-buy-bread kind of laugh. Pass the vodka.
John
SO, SUGGEST AN ALTERNATIVE
It's all well and good to take a position against state-run health care, but what do you propose instead, to solve the current problems in US healthcare? The common complaint about the Canadian system is that there is no economic incentive for providers, care is limited or delayed, you can't get an appointment, etc.
I live in Boston, and I can't get an appointment, either. My mother-in-law has suddenly developed kidney problems, in addition to her heart trouble. She has to wait 2/1-2 months to see a kidney specialist. A lot of organ damage --expensive damage--could occur in that time. Stateside doctors don't have an economic incentive, either. They are working under a crushing paperwork load, imposed on them by the insurance "industry" [read: racket].
Not long ago, a doctor's office would be staffed with a doctor, a nurse, and a secretary. Now, it has a doctor, a physician's assistant, and FIVE staffers who do nothing but fill out insurance forms and fight hassles with the insurance companies. Doctors are also affected, and get as little as 5 minutes to see a patient. Hardly time for a thorough history and exam. 1/3 of every US healthcare dollar does not go to actual healthcare: it goes to insurance paperwork That's hardly an efficient system.
Medical insurance in the US has become nearly as complicated as the IRS rules; it is not humanly possible for anyone to actually comprehend and understand all the rules.
I am hardly a liberal, but I think there IS a place here for regulation. Keep insurance private, but insist on ONE, universal claim form. If the insurers want to multiply paperwork excessively, let them do on their OWN time and their OWN dime.
We could set standards for care: small, medium and large. Let's say, for emergencies-only; routine care + surgery; and no-expense-spared, including elective surgery. Insurers could price the plans accordingly, as they see fit. Eliminate the insurance rigamarole and game-playing, and we will have either an immediate 1/3 increase in dollars available for actual medical care of people, OR, an immediate 1/3 cost savings, or some combination of the two. It's about time.
We are spending far more dollars per person on healthcare in the US, than other countries with similar living standards. And they cover a greater percentage of the population than we do. Even when they SMOKE a lot more than we do, which is statiscally very harmful and increases medical complications.
To improve the system, we need to be more than just "against socialized medicine". We need proposals to improve the current system. What would you propose? Beyond "more of the same" ?
JA
Winthrop, Massachusetts
PISSING IT ALL AWAY
Think about the environmental impact. 3 years x 365 days x 12 trips/night x 2 (ballparking an avg. gallons/flush. Of course, I should probably convert that to liters, but oh well) = 26,280 gallons of water wasted per incontinent Canadian. Socialized medicine is bad for the environment!
Hastings Walton
DOWN THE DRAIN
Plus, Canadian toilets don't have the same flow restrictions as American toilets as I seem to recall. That's WAY more water going down the drain.
Michael Roberson, PT, MBA, ACOEM
Phoenix, Arizona
NOT GETTING BEHIND IT
I'm a long time reader, a big fan. You're always writing about the US and Canada HC system, so I wanted to make sure you caught this little tidbit. It’s priceless. It’s from the WSJ - Middle Seat from today, maybe halfway down. Airlines' response to the ruling has sparked controversy. Canada's largest carriers, Air Canada and Westjet, decided in January to require a doctor's note, complete with derriere dimensions, to prove disability before a passenger is given a free second seat. The Canadian Medical Association has complained that the required form "shows a disregard for the use of scarce medical resources."
Scarce medical resources? At least the CMA admits it.
Samuel M. Berger
New York
COMING SOON, RESTRICTIVE PROTOCOL
Love all of your work and especially when you guest host for Rush. I am a big Dog the Bounty Hunter fan. I was just reading the news section from his website and I came across a great story about a kid from Alberta who won the Great Kid Award in Alberta.
You must be wondering how this relates to health care. He won the award because of "his big-hearted campaign to present other child victims of the disease [cancer] with scrapbooking kits." His wish was to meet Dog. What is interesting is what the local Canadian newspaper mentions.
"Carmen said Brody was able to hand the kits out to the Hawaiian children himself, which he can’t do in Canada because of more restrictive hospital protocol."
Maybe you could enlighten all of us fans of yours about why Canada would restrict a child from giving sick children gifts?
Thanks and enjoy your work so much,
Andrew Copeland
Mountain View, California
Re: June is bustin’ out all over
COUSIN AMANDA
Dear Mark Steyn, whom I adore,
In the version I heard of Memphis in June, a great song, the name was cousin Amanda. I like Amanda better than Miranda which sounds heavier on those notes than Amanda does. Was the version I heard wrong? I love your "Mark Steyn Sings the Oleander Song Book." You are spectacular. It reminded me of when you sang on an NR trip "Out on the briny with Sean's trio and Mark Steynie." I also loved, in your discussion of the Age of Aquarius, your "the age of a scary us."
But I love everything you write and say. What a national treasure you are and thank you for living in New Hampshire so I can call you our national treasure.
Janet Cantor
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DISAPPOINTING OMISSION
I'm disappointed that you failed to mention Ralph Rainger's "June in January". Great Dean Martin version, apparently a cover of a Crosby original.
Jeff Spradlin
PICKING OLEANDER
I have an oleander song for you. It's Tompall Glaser's "Oleander", written by Shel Silverstein. Tompall Glaser was in the Glaser Brothers singing group who sang the delightful harmonies on the classic Marty Robbins album "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs". Later on, Tompall became a noted record producer in Nashville and recorded several albums on his own. A couple of his albums featured almost exclusively songs penned by Shel Silverstein, who was actually quite a prolific country music songwriter. One such song is called "Oleander" and is probably the finest of their collaborations. Anyways, hopefully we can get this oleander compilation up to at least 12 songs.
Keep up the interesting work,
Nate Sparks
INSTRUMENTALS INCLUDED?
Not lyrics, per se, but a quick search of my collection reveals two Oleander titles (both instrumentals):
Ralph Towner's “Oleander Etude” from his album “Time Line” and Thomas Newman's “Oleander Time” and “White Oleander” from his score for the movie “White Oleander”
John Hudock
http://commonsensewonder.com
BRIGHT AND EARLY
You mentioned "early bright" usage in your column on "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
Professor Longhair of Louisiana jump blues fame used the phrase "I'm out here in the early bright" in his classic "Ball the Wall" from a long way back - 40's or 50's.
Norv Clontz
Re: Czar vs Tsar
A TSAR IS BORN
What are children of the Cztsars called? Cztsardines.
Dennis Kent
IT'S ALMOST CZARTAIN
Woody Allen has a great bit in one of his books where he writes that the communist revolution was triggered by mass rioting after the peasants discovered that the tsar and the czar were in reality one and the same person! :D
When, by their sheer numbers, the czars become too unwieldy, will we then need a czar for the czars? A czar czar?
James Pliny WhitneyHEALTH PROCONSUL?
"What variations will be left for the Canucks and Aussies when they embrace the czarist model?"
Well, they could always (d)evolve the word back to the original Caesar. And after that, I guess they could go with Caesar's title of Dictator, but that's probably too scary-sounding. Maybe they should go further back to Proconsul. I can see it now; "Due to the recent forest fires, PM Stephen Harper appointed Mr. Maple Leafington to be Forestry Affairs Proconsul..."
Chad Chandler
Greenville, South Carolina
COMING UP: COSSACKS
One thing that I have always wondered about was why "Czar"? How about Caesar, or emperor, or Il Duce? What is it about pre-Soviet Russian monarchs that inspire confidence?
Noel Pixley
ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
The Romanovs, like the Hapsburgs, were trying to position themselves as the new Caesars, the rightful heirs to the legacy of Rome.
"Kaiser" is, obviously, the German version of "Caesar." "Tsar" is, too, but the root is more apparent when it's spelled "czar."
That's why I think "czar" is a better spelling.
John Leavy
Austin, Texas
IVAN ANOTHER ONE
That's good. Thought of you this morning when I saw that Obama will soon be appointing a "Special Master for Compensation". Seems they have exhausted the use of Czar!
James P Garvey
TSAR SPANGLED
Love your stuff and I'm a big fan so I apologize in advance:
I wish I was alive at the beginning of the 19th century. I'm a bit of a policy wonk and I'm sure I could have been appointed to a Jefferson Tsarship.
Again, truly sorry. Enjoy your weekend.
Andrew Wright
Chicago, Illinois
THE EMPRESS OF EMPATHY
What about a Puerto Rican female czar -- Latina Czarina?
Sean Brearcliffe
15 AND COUNTING..
Re: I have a request of you (and maybe even Rich Lowry).
You are the best, most interesting and entertaining political writer in this country...you and Mike Ramirez do outstanding political commentaries, each in your own way...always a "bulls eye!" (Your dry humor is hilarious!) We read your commentaries each Sunday in our local paper, The Orange County Register, we being my daughter and her family – even her 15-year old son enjoys you. Now, my reason for writing you: "Czars" – America's Newest Government Power?
I wrote to the Register's three editorial editors yesterday, asking them to do a series on Obama's "czars" and wondered why no one in any media is delving into what I consider a power grab by this "ruler!" The only story I've seen was by Neil Cavuto last week on his Fox News "Your World" show. I'm appalled that there are 15 "czars" in place, five more in the works (including a pay "czar!") and all have total autonomy, reporting only to our dear president. These appointments bypass any congressional confirmation and oversight – I wonder how this has been allowed? Looks like a treacherous dynasty forming, doesn't it?
Will you please expose this new creation of this government's invasive control, who these 20 people are, their backgrounds, experience (and lack of,) salary, perks, retirement benefits, if any, and term length! The ramifications of this new power is so dangerous to our democracy...I truly don't understand how Congress has allowed this. "Czars" do not belong in this country!!!
Colleen Campbell
Westminster, California
Re: The Muslim World
PAGLIA’S FEAR OF THE ‘OTHER’
The only real problem I have when liberals tell us to eschew bigotry, prejudice, and “fear of the other”, is that I see no liberal actually practicing such high mindedness. Today's example, Camille Paglia critically reviewing Obama's Cairo speech:
"But the president missed a huge opportunity to speak with equal force to doubters in his own nation, where suspicion of Muslims has sometimes turned ruthless and paranoid. For example, while driving recently on the New Jersey Turnpike, I was passed by an SUV with a U.S. Marine Corps sticker and a black-and-white decal that said: "What do you feel when you kill a terrorist? RECOIL." For "terrorist," of course, substitute "Muslim" -- a scenario where a person without a military uniform can nevertheless be instantly targeted for slaughter and where the executioner, wrenched far from his native land, has deadened himself to feel nothing but the kick of his own rifle."
It's only her mind who thinks “Muslim” when she read's terrorist. It's obvious she knows little if anything about the military and in her ignorance she displays serious bigotry, prejudice, and “fear of the other” which she supposedly decries. Exactly what would she want a soldier or marine to feel when terminating the kind monster we see through out “the Muslim world”, the kind who saws heads off reporters and bakes children in ovens as their parents watch. Remorse?
Isn't there some journalistic ethic against reporting on topics you know nothing about? It's clear Paglia knows nothing of the military if she considers volunteer soldiers deployed abroad as “wrenched” or mistakes professional humor with cold-blooded-ness. She must know little of Americans in general either. I'd rather have professional soldiers abroad killing terrorists than a dozen grief counselors on call to help me with loss of my family to a terrorist bombing. Only the cold-blooded hippies wouldn't.
Aodhan Hoffman
CFR’S OBITUARY FOR AMERICA
The Committee on Foreign Relations is not a strong force for ongoing American strength, and many, if not a majority, of its members are One Worlders. So it is not surprising that Leslie Gelb, its President Emeritus, is ready, willing, and eager to write an obituary on American power and internal vitality. That is what the CFR and its associates at the Trilateral Commission are about.
Unfortunately CFR members are, and have been, legion in every administration since the 1960s, much to the detriment of our country. Their disloyalty is never reported and should be, but since their meetings are secret and not reported in the press, their lack of allegiance to America goes largely unnoticed.
I would like to see you help expose these two groups and their members for what they really are.
I loved your book, "America Alone". Keep up the good work.
John Jenkins
Dallas, Texas
DON’T LET THIS GO UNCHALLENGED
In re: 'The Muslim World' on NRO
You quote Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, as saying, "The country's economy, infrastructure, public schools, and political system have been allowed to deteriorate. The result has been diminished economic strength, a less vital democracy, and a mediocrity of spirit."
Absent the reference to a mediocrity of spirit, I've noticed this talking point (apparently much circulated in Democratic circles) as a foregone conclusion, serving as a subterranean critique of the Bush administration--a critique which avoids the necessity of mentioning W, so as not to spoil the peace of the day. I found it especially prominent during the so-called stimulus debate, in rebuttal to the fiscal irresponsibility the splurge of spending represented - as if there had been a moratorium on spending increases during the Bush years. It strikes me as a jeremiad that must not carry forth unchallenged - not in order to defend Bush, but to prevent such frivolity from attaching itself to the cultural narrative - that first draft of history as written by journalists and other commentators.
Forbes Tuttle
New York, NY
SO IRAN DOES, BUT AMERICA DOESN’T?
My brother sent his thoughts to me this morning. RE: Drudge headline - Obama says Iran has a right to nuclear power. Forget the Iranians. How about the Americans? Do they have a right to nuclear energy?
"According to the US Dept of Energy, the last reactor built was the "River Bend" plant in Louisiana. Its construction began in March of 1977, (a full two years before the Three Mile Island incident.) The last plant to begin commercial operation is the "Watts Bar" plant in Tennessee, which came online in 1996."
So if I have this straight, we are afraid of nuclear power plants but we are not afraid of Iran.
On Sotomayor:
It occurred to me this afternoon that Sonia Sotomayor will receive more scrutiny for her nomination to the supreme court over the next 2 or 3 months than the $700 billion bank bailout, the $800 billion economic stimulus package, the $410 billion spending bill, the quadrupling of the federal deficit, and the forced bailouts of Chrysler and GM combined. Sotomaypr will probably get more scrutiny than the man who appointed her got in 20 months of campaigning. Yes a supreme court justice serves for life and we must be careful. However, Obama indicated yesterday in his remarks about the GM bankruptcy that the government's commitment would extend indefinitely into the future, which is to say for many Americans' lifetimes.
Stuart Goodfellow,
Charlotte, North Carolina
VERY MEDIOCRE
"That last is the one to watch: A great power can survive a lot of things, but not ‘a mediocrity of spirit.’ "
The very fact that Obama, a person of very short accomplishments, can be elected to the presidency of the US even if by surreptitious means, which is hardly the case since his history was known or could have been easily researched by the vast majority, proves to me that the US does now has a very mediocre spirit. Our large cities and population centers are controlled by the underclass, the ignorant, and the unachieved. If you did not know and want to find out who built the US and once ran it, go to TV and watch the history channel, the military channel, AXE MEN, DEADLIEST CATCH, ICE ROAD TRUCKERS, MEG MOVERS, MEGA CONSTRUCTION, FORENSIC FILES and if you want to know who runs the country now go to just about any TV program on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and their affiliates. That says it all.
Richard Allen
RICH SLIPS
Re you comment in your recent column to "esteemed editor." I understand you completely. Not only Rich (one of my favorites), but also David H., and some others have tripped and slipped (temporarily, I hope) on the very scurrilous demagoguery of The Chosen One. Egads! I thought David (also one of my very favorites) had ben inoculated for life, but it appears that he, too, is susceptible to snake charms!
DB (kindred soul)
THE CHILL OF COOL
I love your columns and always try to catch you on TV. One item in your column about BO's Cairo speech communicating weakness struck home. The part about the coolest president ever. Yes, the “cool” thing is very interesting. Obama campaigned on being “cool.” Carter tried his hardest to be cool. Clinton went out of his way to be cool. All the mainstream media consider themselves way “cool,” and appreciate any politician who will pander to the “cool.” Ditto college students, who practice “cool” as a religion. I think one of the reasons Bush Derangement Syndrome spread like anthrax is that Bush never attempted to be cool, could have cared less, and did not pander to the cool. He and Cheney, who were too preoccupied with KEEPING US SAFE to even think about being cool, were decent human beings and serious adults with adult preoccupations and responsibilities. “Cool” is an indulgence only entertainers can afford, those responsible for governing our country can’t and should not. I am a Mac user and was appalled to learn that, as such, my college-age and adolescent family think I am “cool” because of my laptop choice. I am using this as an opportunity to teach them that appearances can be deceptive. Thanks for all the pleasure and 'aha!' moments your columns deliver.
Angela de Rocha
CORDOBAN HISTORY GAFFE
Mr Steyn, apologies if this lastest gaffe from TOTUS has been spotted on your side of the Atlantic and you are already aware of it; I have just this minute picked it up from the front page of Madrid's El Mundo.
In his speech, His Obamaness couldn't resist this grovelling tribute to something he called Islam's "proud tradition of tolerance", which, he added: "We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition". Now seeing THAT would qualify as some kind of miracle of discernment, since the Califate of Cordoba was on its last legs by 1031, and the Inquisition (not, oddly enough, run by a Heresy Czar) did not get under way until some 440 years later, 1478 in fact.. '
Derrick Hil
WHATEVER GOD WE PRAY TO
POTUS - Pagan Of The United States.
"Sing, goddess, the anger of Gore and its devastation which put pains thousandfold upon the OilProducers."
I'll leave the rest to Iowahawk.
Name Withheld For Reason of Ritual Sacrifice and Saturday morning grocery
shopping
Re: What might have been
SCREWING UP THE SCREW-UPS
“The above vignettes are from a new book called When The Lights Went Out whose revisionist author tries to argue the case that the decade that marked the (to date) low point of the post-war era actually had a lot to recommend it. I like this attempt to look on the bright side of three-day weeks, uncollected garbage piling up in the streets, early-evening TV closedowns to save electricity, etc.”
The disruption wrought by strikes and inflation and oil crises, and by the lights going out, proves that politics was 'more obviously connected to everyday life”.
Funny that you should print that quote. Just last night I was reading "The Law" by Frederic Bastiat. On page 24 (bnpublishing edition, 2007) (heading - The Answer Is To Restrict the Law) he says, (talking about univeral suffrage as an example of a hotly debated political issue standing in for any hot political issue) "... if law were restricted to protecting all persons, all liberties, all properties; if law were nothing more than the organized combination of the individual's right of self-defence; if law were the obstacle, the check, the punisher of all oppression and plunder - is it likely that citizens would then argue much about the extent of the franchise?"
Or, the more govt. gets involves in personal life and screws things up, the more people want to get involved with politics just to defend themselves from being screwed up by the govt.
Sigh. We haven't learned much since 1850, have we?
Arthur Kimes
Re: The limits of Sotomayorian empathy
and Empathy vs activism
EMPATHY AND KANT
Not to ruin a good joke but empathy in judging comes straight from Kant and finds its most recent proponent in the work of Hannah Arendt (who was, if not a true conservative, certainly of the conservative tradition). There is a good link here (please review Section 7 on Thinking and Judging).
I'm not an Obama fan by any stretch of the imagination but the use of empathy in judging has a long, proud place in the Western philosophical cannon (including with such conservative luminaries as David Hume).
Thank you.
Shahen Mirakian
Toronto, Ontario
Re: A Headline to Ponder
THEY DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT
Just now reading over some reaction- muted though it may be- to the piece in The Washington Examiner about the "directive" on oral communications about stimulus package(s) from The White House.
Mark- this is chilling. This administration removes pieces- even chunks of our liberty every day without a whimper from the "loyal opposition". Why isn't this all over the talk shows this morning? Why aren't hurried press conferences being called and outrage expressed by our representatives? What the HELL is happening to the republic?
If not for your post and one I found on Free Republic I wouldn't have known about this.
The fog is creeping...
Deb
Re: Three Wheels on my Waggoner
DO YOU HAVE ONE IN RED?
Is there a dollar figure per capita on what we are "lending" GM? I'm thinking it's more than the price of a GM car and that I'd like a tricked out 2009 Chevy 3500 Duramax Diesel. What do you think?
A fan in Oklahoma, Jean Johnson
Re: It’s about time
U-SPEW
I will likely never form a rock band, but if I did, I would call it Chunder-gat.
Matt B. from NC
HAPPY BARF DAY
I kind of like the (obvious) name Chunder Thunder, as in "OK. Things are getting out of hand here. Bring out the Chunder Thunder."
John
VOMIT COMET
Chunder-storm
Monty Kahlon
SHINE ON
I'll take "technicolour yawn" any day... I often do.
Thanks for all the wonderful writing! You "shine out, like a shaft of gold, while all around is dark". (It was one of Wilde's)
Dave
Re: An idea whose time has come
DEAD MAN WALKING
C'mon, he's a half bind guy with someone shouting "Dead man walking" when the PM goes to the podium. Seeing the ambitious brought low is not really much fun, when it's just another pol of the usual sort, not too crooked or malevolent. To reach your goal and be crushed by circumstance, that should count as at least a small tragedy.
Getting soft in my middle age.
Michael J Menz
BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME...
Mark -- A million thanks for posting the link for your WGN interview by Milt Rosenberg.
Well worth the two hours.
Fascinating and fabulous.
Also, I noticed during Obama's speech at Normandy this weekend, that -- once again -- he did not fail to insert himself in the WWII narrative with his comments about what his family did to contribute to the WWII victory. I swear, his speech writers clearly demonstrated their amatuerisnness and he demonstrated his by clearing ignoring the premise of it all: "It's about them, stupid." The American, the French, the British, and the Canadian warriors who were there in 1944 and still there on June 6, 2009. It said it all when, during his speech, the camera panned to one aging and uniformed American veteran leaned forward in his chair with elbows on his knees and head in hands. I could only think what he must have been thinking:
"What the hell is He doing here?"
Dan Ward
Oklahoma City
GRATING
Word in Berlin is that Obama is starting to grate on German nerves. Chancellor Merkel can't buy an invitation to Washington while Obama has already visited Germany once for the NATO Summit and is coming again in June, not on Merkel's invitation but on his own. On top of that, after an all night negotiating session with the U.S. Treasury Department on splitting Opel from GM, the German government came away with nothing after Washington surprised them with last minute cash demands. I haven't heard such public German critisism of the U.S. since the Iraq war, only this time it's more serious; Germany stands to lose jobs.
Name withheld
Re: Empathetic regular old guy in coach
RIGHT-WING MORONS, ETC
Would that be the same Clarence Thomas that GHW Bush and John Danforth sold to the American people on the basis of his "empathy" and "perspective" based on his "background?"
To wit:
GHW Bush: "[Thomas] is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor."
John Danforth: "His empathy is with the disadvantaged people of this country. He would bring a perspective to the Supreme Court which nobody else brings."
And would that "empathetic" Thomas be the same judge who was said to be the "most qualified" in all the land for the Supreme Court by GHW Bush?
Oh, but I guess it's okay to sell a candidate based on their "empathy" and special "perspective" as long as he/she shares your particular ideology - and you think that everyone else shares your lack of
historical perspective and/or is a moron like the typical mouth-breathing right-winger.
In any case, as always I enjoy the hypocrisy and self-delusion I find on NRO.
Again though I feel compelled to ask, do you really believe your own bullshit?
Or are you just lying in support of a losing case?
Steve Hach
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MARK REPLIES: Actually, I was just passing on a heartwarming anecdote. Maybe, before reading, you should make yourself a nice cup of herbal tea. That'll do the trick.
HE FOUGHT BACK
Here's a man who suffered the "house nigger" treatment from the Left .. over many more years, and to a much greater degree, than did "Cautious" Colin Powell. The difference is, of course, Justice Thomas fought back. As I said at the start of this note, here's a man!
John Gross
Quebec
Re: Speak softly and caryy a big teleprompter
SOMETHING MISSING
Want to see something incredible?? After reading your article today I thought, "I wonder if you can see Pyongyang on Google Map's satellite view. In fact, you can. You can see it up to the "100 feet" indicator/measurement. A helluva lot closer than you can see my hometown on their satellite view.
Try something --- look them up and tell me what you can't see when you zoom around the city. It won't surprise you, but it's almost breathtaking to see it firsthand sitting on your computer in Anytown, USA.
(For comparison purposes, I did Google Maps satellite view for Milwaukee out to "100 feet" just to make sure I wasn't accidently missing something. There really is something absent ...)
Brian
Re: Waltz me around again, Willie
OUCH
According to the header, it's not just news -- it's BREAKING news.
Can't argue.
God bless
Samuel Mize
CANADA CAN’T AFFORD IT
You may find this piece of interest as it touches on demographics and debt issues in Canada.
Derek Fildebrandt
HE’S SORT OF GOD, MAN
Hmmm
Paolo S
HONORED WITH A VISIT FROM HIS MAJESTY
More proof that forelock-tugging is in again...
"I'm nervous, excited, honored," said Andre Holland, who plays character Jeremy Furlow, before the show. "It's like in Shakespearean times, when the king would come to the show."
Brian Warner
Blaine, Washington
THE TIES THAT BIND BIDEN
Hezbollah just can’t quit Biden. They quite literally go back decades...
Omri
WHY CALIFORNIA IS BROKE
La city council clinging to stunning perks and pay
Jgrig563
NO WORRIES
I would love to hear your take on Bernanke being laughed at by the Chinese students when he tried to assure them that they have nothing to worry about regarding US Treasuries. I believe USA Today mentioned it within one of their articles within the last few days.
Potential title: "Bernanke's Assurance - A Laughing Matter"
David M. Boone
Lake Mary, Florida
FREEDOM: AN ENDANGERED SPECIES
I plan to fly my Flag upside-down this 4th of July in protest of what BHO and the dirtbag Democrats are doing to my country.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free" - Ronald Reagan
We are very close to the tipping point.
Don Allison
Buellton, California
COLDEST IN 40 YEARS
Where did global warming go to?
I live in Palm Springs, CA. Usually it's between 105-115 degrees in June. For the past two weeks its been in the mid 80's and barely scraping 90 degrees. It's predicted to stay the same way for another week at least. I have lived here 40 years and never seen anything like this. Where did global warming go?
Tim Milauskas
Palm Springs, California
GETTING WINDY
Don't worry, Dorothy and Toto . . . wind speeds in the Midwest have fallen 10 per cent. . . oh, and yes, my little pretties, it's due to global warming.
So, now, science has conveniently come to the rescue of those who have pushed for wind farms and are now trying to downplay them. Gosh, golly, Auntie Em, we better just talk about wind farms some more, say till the end of the century when the planet collapses due to global warming, and not actually employ them. The global-warming zealots are starting to tie themselves in knots as they block their own alternative ideas. It's transparently all about carbon taxes . . . now, there's a concept that works even when wind speed drops off.
Bob Strauss, Jr.
Greenwood, South Carolina
BUREAUCRATIC PERMAFROST
As an admirer of your writing, I rather hoped you would find the flavor of the above piece from the Buffalo News to be to your liking. It tells of the travails of a young entrepreneur's attempt to navigate, figuratively and literally, the snares and tangles of running a business in a town where you may not pedal wherever you wish to peddle your wares.
Being the wordsmith that you are, this story screams for ice cream...err, screams for the storied "Steynian treatment." The bullying nanny-state taking bribes..err, "licensing fees" from state-approved, respectable commercial interests whilst keeping the damned proles sequestered to scratch a living off their bare rocky roads. Heavenly hash, but I'm just about writing this "Steynpost" for you! I suspect you can improve upon my feeble attempts at wit.
I'm a former resident of Buffalo and miss it terribly, but I never would pass up on an opportunity to point out why its economic doldrums and demographic decline have been persisting for...oh, the past forty or fifty years. While in college, I'd even created a cheeky board game that bemoaned its lack of economic dynamism. As you bill yourself as a demography bore, I'm something of a land-use economics troll. "Lordz of the 'Hood", my version of monopoly in the inner city, clearly could not make zoning and land-use enjoyable even when one is able to perform criminal activities upon those spaces!
Anyway, the Creamcycle piece captures this issue in a more frozen fashion that I'm sure you could make more entertaining still. While I have no doubt that many weightier matters press on your mind, I hope you'd find the article amusing and the heavy-handed role of the state in squashing the looming economic threat of ice-cream pedalers/peddlers to be shameful. Or, at the very least, I'd hope you'd find this to be something worthy of mocking in your own, inimitable style.
Paul Beres
Denver, Colorado
CRANKY OLD MEN
It seems to me that Dave is following in George Carlin's footsteps: a great comedian becomes a politically outspoken (and much less funny) crank...
Thomas A Johnson
LAST WORD
I'm a massive fan of yours.
Thought you may be interested in the attached pee taking email which I recently sent to our moral guardians at the Optimum Population Trust. Enjoy.
Tim Mirsadeghi
*To: 'rmcd@optimumpopulation.org'
*Subject: How many?
To: Policy Director Rosamund McDougall
Dear Rosamund.
My wife has just become pregnant with our sixth child, and although we're over the moon, we have noticed that we're beginning to get some funny looks from some of our neighbours when we load up our two family cars with the kids and their nanny. It got me thinking. My understanding was that it was appropriate to feel environmentally guilty for having more than one child if you were white and middle class, but that if you could identify as an 'ethnic' then you could procreate at will with the blessing of our climate guardians at the OPT. Well, I'm happy to say that I'm half Iranian, so should I feel half as guilty? Or not guilty at all? Or would it be better if I was part African? Or perhaps Papua New Guinean? The etiquette of moral self righteousness and judgmentalism is so confusing these days, I really don't know where I am. Thank heavens for the OPT to keep us on the straight and narrow!
Sorry to see the earth's climate not warming as you'd hoped, Rosamund, but there's always next year.
Many thanks for your time, and I look forward to finding out which level of guilt you and the OPT feel it is appropriate for me to feel.
Kids, hey? Little rascals, you've got to love 'em!
Tim Mirsadeghi
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