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Thank you for your kind (and unkind) letters from America, Canada, Britain, France, the Netherlands and Israel. 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 a roll fo 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 a selection of recent hate mail, see Mailbox Extra.
Letter of the Week
A 'CARE-FREE' INSTITUTION
I enjoyed your article on S-Chip and I suspect that there is something a little dodgy about the poster boy and his family. As an American living in London I know full well how dangerous socialised medicine can be - the National Health Service here might be more aptly named the National Death Service given the number of people who catch MRSA or C.Difficile and die or are disabled permanently. Alas the private hospitals are not much better - I know 4 people who went in for relatively minor treatments only to pick up MRSA. They came out worse than they went in. One of the most bizarre cases in the press involved an actress who broke her hip during 'energetic' intercourse with her husband. The hip has healed apparently but the MRSA left her wheelchair bound. But hey. The NHS is a National institution - 'care' free at the point of delivery.
That said, while you are less likely to be killed by your hospital of choice in the US the cost of medical insurance for many self-employed people is prohibitive. Doubly so once you've claimed for something serious like, say, a heart condition.
Do you reckon there's some kind of happy medium?
Alex
London, UK
Re: Squeamish on the use of force
Shouldn't we temper our disdain on that story of the lack of support from Nato members with the knowledge that aside from the US, Canadian, UK, some Dutch soldiers and a few brave Eastern Europeans, our erstwhile NATO members aren't “engaged” in Afghanistan anyway. Maybe the overburdened taxpayers of France, Germany and Italy to want to flip the bill for an extended vacation in scenic Northern Afghanistan, where their soldiers can meet with the occaisional tribal council and spend their days sipping sweet tea and...(oh wait, that was another story creeping in).
Andrew Brickley, CFA
TIME IS NOT ON THEIR SIDE
Whose side is time on?
In an e-mail post to you, Carl Sommer poses the question - is time really on our enemy's side?
I think that is a better question than anyone realizes. Because what our enemies - and yes, ourselves - consistently underestimate is the amazing propensity of the American polity to hold a grudge. Once you make an enemy of the US, you've made an enemy for eternity. And usually, the enmity that you have inspired comes back to visit you in some really nasty way in the end.
Examples: We have destroyed Cuba's economy via the embargo that we have remorselessly maintained against the Castro regime, for decades; we wore down the Soviet Empire until it finally collapsed - a fifty-year endeavor; Saddam Hussein earned our ire in 1991, and well over a decade later found himself on gallows, due entirely to our own efforts; the North Korean regime remains a basket case, partly for the same reasons as Cuba above; Taiwain remains free and secure only because we refuse to acknowledge China's claim to rule there; for a more ancient example, the Ku Klux Klan was able to reform itself several decades after initially being smashed by US Grant in the 1870's - only to be smashed again several decades later, this time forever (yes I know they still exist, but only as a despised and pathetic rump of the monstrous force they once were).
Our enemies perceive us as weak because we have retreated from places like Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia. And maybe we were, and are, weak in a sense. It may well be that
in these cases we retreated in error.
But there is another sense as well. In the fullness of time, the retreat from Vietnam proved be a tactical retreat, not a strategic surrender. Likewise the collapse of Northern will in the face of Southern white supremism referenced above. But in each case, the basic conflict endured, and ultimately America struck again - at a time, and in a manner, of our own choosing.
My point is this: The mullahs in Iran are learning the wrong lessons from history. They are fixated on Vietnam when they should be fixated on the Berlin Wall – and Saddam's gallows. No matter what the outcome in Iraq, the Iranians - and the like of them around the world - are going to hear from us again. We rarely forgive, and we never forget.
Unless they change their ways.
Dennis P. Chapman
Falls Church, Virginia
THIS RELATIONSHIP’S GOING NOWHERE
I think the message that the European countries are sending regarding Afghanistan is good in that it shines the light on the true nature of the relationship. It is increasingly clear that NATO is a one-way street – there to defend or engage in operations that are to the benefit of Europe (regardless of the interests of the US). It is a clear example of what is known in economics as the free rider problem…other countries benefit from the security provided or threatened to be provided by the US without having to pony up. We keep expanding NATO which means expanding our obligations to others without any evidence that the bulk of NATO nations would do anything but provide verbiage in the event that the US was in need.
These other countries are acting like someone who is asked to bring dessert to a dinner party but show up without it, bring three guests, act obnoxious and drink the all of the best wine. Do we really think we can rely on them in a time of crisis? I think it is time to shrink NATO to exclude the free riders, not expand it.
Randall Brown
Rye, New York
HAVE A NICE LIFE, EUROPE
Right on. You know the Russians, Chinese and Al Qaeda are watching this. Maybe we should pronounce to the world that due to our crushing debts, we simply cannot afford to be the world's protector any more and begin making plans to withdraw all our troops, build really large fences and plan on simply protecting our mainland. We can immediately pull our troops from Germany, Korea, Spain and other various locations. We'll make a declaration at the U.N. that Al Qaeda can have Europe, Iran can have Latin America, and China and Russia can split Africa. Then we'll wash our hands and walk away..."shake the dust off our feet" of the world community.
I'm exaggerating, but not entirely. Our problem is that these other countries have no skin in the game. How safe must Canada feel snuggled up to our northern border? I'm surprised they have any military at all. For what purpose? Europe as well. Now that most of Europe's defense is performed by NATO (ie. US), why do individual countries need to worry about messy external threats, when they can critique our performance. If we haven't been searching for a way to give some of this responsibility to our allies (??), then need to start. They can walk away from this because they know we'll pick up the slack, but we cannot do it much longer.
I think THAT will be the true challenge of the next president...convincing our allies and the rest of the world of who really are the good guys and bad guys and doing something about it. Criticizing from the distance isn't going to garner a seat at the table any longer. Foggy bottom has to be turned upside down and begin communicating outward, rather than inward. (sorry, I'm finished ranting now.)
I love (!!!!) (o.k., maybe that's too strong....greatly appreciate) reading your thoughts on these topics in the corner. Thank you.
Jim Murphy
Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
BENDING REID
You say "When Democrats complain that Iraq is a distraction from the real war in Afghanistan, it's worth remembering that's just a shell game."
Last night on Brit Hume, Harry Reid said he was not going to continue funding Bush's war that has gone on for 6 years. I had no idea we had been in Iraq for 6 years. Oh right, we shouldn't be fighting the war that started in Oct. 2001. Glad to see the Senate leader go on record in support of Islamic destruction of American cities.
Jonathan Mercer
BLOOD FOR OIL IN WWI
I was reading Siegfried Sassoon's 'Memoirs of an Infantry Officer' last night and was astonished to read the following: "Markington had gloomily informed me that our aims were essentially acquisitive, what we were fighting for was the Mesopotamian Oil Wells." It's 90 years later and the left hasn't changed a bit.
Boyd Leeson
Duarte, California
ENEMIES ARE EXPENSIVE
Squeamish on the use of force.....and don't forget that according to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi 40 days of costs in Iraq would pay to ensure 10 million children under SCHIP for one year!
Such a bargain! If you have no enemies in the world then healthcare CAN be free.
A reader from CATHIN END OF THE WEDGE
To go along with your NRO blog, every argument that can be made about the US getting
out of Iraq applies to Afghanistan.? Think about it:
- A civil war
- No end in sight
- Unstable part of the world where our presence just makes things worse
- Billions spent and many American lives lost without much to show
- Tribal loyalties that weaken central gov't and make it hard to operate
- Different ethnics groups that don't get along
- They have been and will continue to kill each other and we cannot make things better.
It is only a matter of time, once they force a pull out of Iraq, for the Dems and the press to recycle their same articles and speeches substituting the word "Afghanistan" for "Iraq". Think about it, in 2005 and 2006, the Dems were arguing that we need to beef up the troops in Iraq in order to succeed, blasting the President for running a war poorly. Once they won the 2006 elections and the President adopted their approach, they changed.?
Its only a matter of time.?
Darren Pohlmann
AMERICA ALONE
Vis a vis Afghanistan and Iraq: it strikes me that it may be time to re-align the geopolitical landscape to include the United States as a “Western Nation”, and, well, who else?..
Hmmm -- maybe unilateral policies are the only ones appropriate.
Tim Sousley
Columbia, Tennessee
Good news
SHOP SNOTS
Why in the world do you suppose the writer feels it's relevant that the butcher knives were bought at Wal-Mart?
Just wondering.
Mike Zimmerman
Milwaukee
KNIFE DIG
Did you notice the article also got a "dig" in on Walmart. Yep, just had to mention that the knives were purchased at Walmart. Ugh.
David W. Smith
Kansas City, Missouri
SUPERSTORE SNOB
RE the Miami Herald's tale of non-terrorism: Off the subject, but why does the reporter feel the need to mention that the two butcher knives were bought at Wal-Mart? What difference does that make to the story?
Bill Cook
THE SHOP OF CHOICE
On a side note, why does it matter where he bought the knives?
Is this a snide attempt to show that Wal-Mart is the shop of choice for terrorists?
Mark Wilson
Re: No Smoke without Fire
WE HAVE LOST OUR MORAL COMPASS
Multiculturalism, relativism and political correctness are intellectually redundant and morally vacuous. How we bend ourselves into a pretzel to accommodate other cultures is not only astounding but patronizing. It insults me to no end to be told that my Canadian-ism, if I can be permitted to use an ism-um, is superfluous and more to the point, iniquitous. If exceptions and double standards can be justified to accommodate other cultures then why is it not reciprocal, what is good for the goose is it not good for the gander? We have lost our ethical compass and we reap what we sow. Sorry for all the clichés but we have for the worst, followed an ideology that espouses that all western culture as corrupt and racist when historically without over simplifying is the contrary. Now the big question is how do we reverse this movement? As you pointed out in Etobicoke, Ontario all those running I presume for federal office is Muslim. Who are these people and why are political parties so fervent to place or approve them as a representative of the party and or district. Does anyone ask what is wrong with this image? Are these approved candidates screened like major companies screen or do background checks on their prospective employees? I think not, that would be Islamaphobic or better yet racist. It should not be adequate that they are signed onto a major party just on the notion that they are outstanding” members, or better yet my favourite , a “pillar” of their community. The inequality of so to speak equality in Canada speaks volumes of the state we have placed ourselves to continue down the path of multicultural ideological suicide. We see this daily although more parochial in the province, excuse me the “nation” of Quebec where the francophone “de souche” the “nous” under the guise of “cultural inhalation” in Canada and especially the big bad USA can forbid the English culture. As stated by the “Partie Quebecois” when they were last in power, the then Minister of Culture stated that Ontario had no culture. We are not as bad as Europe but we are not far behind. I can only be pessimistic with our direction when we cannot learn from history which is also another one of our failures but fail to recognize what is actually happening in the present in front of our eyes across the pond.
Gheri Celin
Montreal, Canada
WHOSE CULTURE IS IT?
This would be the time for some serious citizens' rights group to pick up the ball, which has clearly just been fumbled on the one-yard-line, and try to score again. They should literally demand, in this many words -- that native Canadian citizens be granted the same rights immigrants are granted. The thing being decided here is -- whose culture is it?
I'm not a smoker except for the occasional pipe or cigar, and that's a few times a year at home, outside (my choice) or at a friends' house (who do about the same thing I do).
If a restaurant is too smoky for me, nobody is holding a gun to my head forcing me in to the restaurant. I can just chose not to go. If there's a demand for smoke-free restaurants, they'll start cropping up on their own. My own town here in the U.S. of A. has recently banned smoking in restaurants and bars. But I think you can still do it on sidewalks.
This all goes along with Things I Know #5 . Multiculturalism = No Culturalism
Phil
MAKING WAVES
Mark, great column. How did the West get to this point? You are right that Islam will make many waves before they are a majority. Here in the US, gays make up about 10% of the population and I don't mean to compare these good folks to Islamists, but that 10% has quite a voice. Islam will be equally strident, if not considerably more so.
Europe, en route to full Islamisation, is doing as Canada does, which is two-tiering society. One tier is the tolerant nanny-state multiculti, and the other is intolerant Islam. Islam won't accept the West's multiculturalism, so we will leave them alone and provide exemptions such as the hookah loophole. However, Islam, as its demographics start to kick in, will accept the nanny-state goodies, thank you very much.
Will this happen here in the US? According to the latest footbath-installation count, absolutely. We're just a hop, skip, and a jump behind Europe and our northern neighbors.
John Hursh
Weston, Connecticut
SOBERING
In regards to your column, NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE
This is by far your most sobering column so far. I thank God your voice is being heard throughout the world.
Kelly
OhioRe: I have returned
EATING OUT IN AUSTIN
According to this article
Montreal has only the sixth highest number of restaurants per capita (1 restaurant per 744 people), behind Austin, Texas (1 per 634); Louisville, Kentucky (510); Madison, Wisconsin (506); Wichita, Kansas (488); and Dallas (469). (These numbers are the inverse of restaurants per capita, but the author calculates that, too.)
The article says that many cities claim to have the most restaurants per capita, and I'm sure your recollection was of this claim from Montreal. Of course, the validity of the claim you recall has
nothing to do with the validity of your main point, which is, as usual, spot on.
Bruce Goldman
Richmond, Virginia
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MONTREAL
I kinda resent your makin' fun of our "orientation" up here, Mark. You obviously have no idea of the number of tourists we get ...just to "watch the sun set in the north". Huge attraction.
We love being different up here, Mark...as you know. A few other things Jonah might learn about us should he extend his stay:
* We are the ONLY big city in the free world where you can't shop for a new car on a Saturday. ( "Hey, our employees have families, too, ya know".)
* If Jonah is NOT a fan of American football , he might get a kick outa our 3-down variety....if he likes a lotta punting. You see, even in sports we try real hard to be different. Get this: in *1980, the U.S. had Carter (Jimmy) running for office...so, big deal - I remember a 1980 Expos game, late innings, where we had Office (Rowland) running for Carter (Gary). How do ya THEM apples, folks?
*Or how about grabbing a bite in a "brasserie", where you have to pay TWO people - the person who serves the liquid , THEN the person who serves the food. (That cute little system might have changed since my last visit a few years ago).
*Or how about going to a Habs game, waitng in a long line to get a hot-dog...only to to discover that if you wanted a soft drink with that, you'd have get into ANOTHER line. ( That, too, might have changed since my last visit).
Apart from that stuff, and a lot of other things which would take up too much space, the Montreal area is still a great place to live...especially in the outer 'burbs.
Still givin' ya the full Monteregie,
John Gross
Beloeil, Quebec
THE BEST-LOOKING CHICKS IN THE WORLD
Big fan, Canadian, currently living in Holland.
You are 100% correct that the best looking chicks in North America live in Québec, good for you for pointing it out to the world.
I grew up in Ottawa (born in Montréal) and had (cough) access to several French girls.
The ladies here are not bad either of course, but (after having been back this past summer) your point was confirmed.
Keep up the great work.
Alan Gorenstein
The Netherlands
YUP, THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL
I drove to Montreal from Maryland in July. It took me an hour after I entered the city to find the Ritz Carlton. It took me an hour to get out of the city in broad daylight.
Maps didn't help. Now I know why. Ridiculous.
Also: I remarked to several friends when I returned home that I have never seen more beautiful women in my life. It's really quite extraordinary. It almost made me want to move there. Briefly.
But the most impressive aspect of Canada: the bread. I thought I knew good bread. Thought.
Keep up the great work, you freaking meanie.
Michael A. Lagana
DESIRABLE DECLINE
I felt the same way driving around the suburbs of Detroit, where my sister lives. Wow, compared to Herndon, Virginia, Farmington Hills, Michigan is nice! No traffic, lower cost of living, lower housing prices... all I'd need to do is find a job... anyone?
Anyone?
Hello out there?
Similar situation: high unionization, and a lot of people headed out.
Thomas Joseph Marier
BUFFALO, WHERE THE LIVING IS EASY…
Re your remarks on Montreal in the Corner...
I live in Buffalo, NY, which has had a serious population decline since the steel industry went away. And there are upsides, at least for now, just like you said: according to a recent study, we have the second-lowest commuting time in the country (behind Omaha). And houses are cheap. Parking is easy.
I think we should adopt the slogan: "Buffalo: plenty of space for the few of us who are left".
Of course, if it continues, and NY State gets tired of subsidizing us, it won't be so fun anymore.
As far as I know, there are no foreigners moving in the take up the slack. If it ever does occur to them, we could become "Dearborn East".
Matt Bartle
BEEN AND GONE
Reading your work, I know you are fan of anecdotes that illustrate larger points. Here's one about my family that demonstrates how quickly populations can fall, though this is due to economic reasons rather than birthrates.
I was born in 1980 and raised in Western New York. My home town is on the Niagara River (Grand Island) between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
My maternal grandparents were born outside of WNY (Italy and Pennsylvania) and moved to the area.
Their three daughters (my mother and two aunts) were born in WNY and stayed their
entire lives.
Their four grandchildren (myself, my brother and two cousins) were all born in WNY. We all moved away in our 20s (to Manhattan, Missouri and Maryland). We all moved for the usual reasons: jobs and taxes.
This story is repeated endlessly among WNY families. If you told my grandparents this in 1965, they'd never believe Western New York would fall so far so fast. But it happened within their lifetimes.
If it happens to us because Big Steel went away, it can happen to nations too, if babies go away.
Michael Lucinski
DODGY CARAVAN
I live in Utah and drive a minivan (the minivan part is redundant, but relevant).
My Dodge Grand Caravan was made in Windsor, Ontario. I think it must've been made with Montreal-driving in mind, because the handy-dandy digital display, that indicates the outside temperature and the direction I'm driving, is clearly 90 degrees off! When I'm going south it says I'm going east, when I'm going east it insists I am northward bound.
I have owned the van now for about a month. Funny thing is, I only noticed the compass discrepancy yesterday, before this subject came up on the Corner.
Michael Britton
Utah
THE SUN RISES IN THE SOUTH
You say of Montreal's streets
“in fact, east is more like north and west is more like south.”
but it depends on what you mean by "is".
Put it this way: in Montreal THE SUN RISES IN THE SOUTH AND SETS IN THE NORTH. This
is especially noticeable on St Lawrence Blvd itself. Driving north along that street on a June evening the setting sun can be really blinding. The sunrise is magnificent viewed from the Lookout atop the south slope of Mount Royal.
Lionel Albert
Knowlton, Quebec
YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE
I feel your pain. State College is in the easternmost edge of the Alleghenies, in a part of the chain known as the ridge-and-valley Appalachians. The mountains are in long, parallel, continuous ridges very close together running from NE to SW, and the roads are parallel/ perpendicular to the mountains. So all of the roads here are askew. What was unsettling about moving here was finding that locals don't understand that directions are, well, directions. North to these people is nothing more than a letter on a street sign. We live about five miles west of town (that's west as in west), yet because the "N-S" main artery through town comes out right down the road, this is known as the "north" side of town. And getting directions? Ha! "Just go to the next light and turn east," so you go to the light, but if you turn east, you end up in somebody's front yard. I swear to God, I'm sure I could find a lot of people here who'd insist that the sun rises in the south.
Proud Member of the Pirate Fleet:
Banned by China, Pakistan, and Daily Kos!
www.rightwingnation.com
www.radiobs.net/thebluestateconservatives/
CB
Re: Da Boss
and Soldiering Off
APPOSITE ACRONYMS
When I was deployed to Afghanistan, we used to joke that ISAF stands for "I suck at fighting".
Mark the rot goes much deeper. Back in the 80's we used to say NATO stood for "Needs Americans to Operate"
John Stotz
US Navy (retired
THE REAL TERRORISTS
Can't the MH identify a real terrorist? A real terrorist is evangelical Christian that commits an act of terror and hate by asking why gay people should have special rights or a soldier that happens to think his country and countrymen are worth defending. Chant 'Death to America' and you are a patriot engaging in free speech.
Greg Saltis
THE SPECIAL FORCES VERSION
The other acronym (from a Special Forces buddy) is "I so ain't fighting."
Mary McLemore
Pike Road, Alabama
REALLY?
Having viewed you on TV a lot, you seem like a good recruit for the ISAF.
Victor Lamas
THE CASE FOR ACRONYMS
Just a minor point from your most recent post on NRO, but when -- and why? -- did acronymns like NATO become lower-cased to Nato?
Just a thought.
Bryan Johnson
Clancy, Montana
WHO NEEDS YOGA?
You know how 'laughter yoga' is all the rage because apparently some people forget or don't have time (or whatever the case may be) to laugh? Well, if you wrote your articles in Shawinagese, NO ONE would EVER have to attend a laughter yoga class again!! You never disappoint.
Rhonda S
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
HEAVY LIFTING
You say in your recent column:
“ In fact, under the cover of various "liaison" programs, Canada had more men in Iraq than many full-throated paid-up members of the "coalition of the willing."
I would be interested in hearing more about this. Canada has done more heavy lifting in the war on terror - the US and UK excepted - than anyone else and I think the sacrifices of our brave troops should be more well known and appreciated..
John
Re: Real crossfire
NICE TO MEET EWE
I liked your column on Christopher Dickey's Newsweek article. It's curious that Dickey has been quoted as saying that "Deliverance" ruined his family's life. Maybe, but a look at some of his father's poetry seems to indicate that "Deliverance" wasn't all that was a little nutty. How about this poem about bestiality, called The Sheep-Child:
Mark Reynolds
New York, NY
THE HILLBILLY BANJO PLAYER
I am a big admirer of your writing. Your Crossfire vs. Crossfire column was simply excellent. Regarding the Deliverance metaphor, who do you suppose might play the part of the Hillbilly banjo player in the tree? Bin Laden? Harry Reid?
Tom Griffo
ROGUE AGENTS
In your editorial "Real Crossfire" you came so tantalyzingly close to something I've been saying for years that I feel obligated to add it to your perception of the War on Terror.
The irony of this war for someone like myself who's impressionable years were the 1970's is that in the movies of my adolescence the villains always turned out to be a rogue elements of the CIA. Now we're fighting a war where the villains have turned out to be rogue elements of everybody else's CIAs. Turkey al-Faisal, ISI anyone?
Alec Dale
New York City
LIFE IS NOT A MOVIE
Christoper Dickey would do well to listen to the advice of the late novelist Walker Percy, who stated: "never forget[] that the living of one's life is not to be found in books, either the reading of them /or the writing of them/" [italics mine].
As a college English professor, I find this sort of intellectual laziness all the time. For example, I recently screened the 1999 film version of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus directed by Julie Taymor. I presented my class with this astonishing bit of political correctness from Taymor regarding the villain of the play--Aaron, the African Moor:
Julie Taymor: "Aaron, he's just phenomenal when he tells it like it is, and a lot of people can identify and recognize that character...in any ghetto. Yet you root for him. He's powerful and you understand how potentially he became that way. It's not like Iago in Othello where you go "What the hell makes this guy such a bastard? Where did his hatred come from?" Whereas with Aaron... let's question why a man then turns into this kind of monster."
Taymor forgets that life is not a movie--or rather, her movie allows her to fantasize that Aaron may be found ONLY in the ghetto--far away from her Upper East Side world. In reality, however, Aaron may be found in many places; he undoubtedly thrives among Osama bin Laden's suicidal minions. September 11, 2001 ought to have reminded us that they, like Shakespeare's Moorish villain, will perform unspeakable acts without remorse...
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things
As willingly as one would kill a fly,
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Unlike the movie or play, however, Aaron now has many apologists in Hollywood & on the Left--and so he is often given a pass to "do ten thousand more" dreadful things while Bush/Hitler is ceaselessly pilloried as the "real threat."
Thank you for allowing me to share--and above all for your intellectual rigor. There's a reason why I always refer to you as "The Inimitable Mark Steyn" on my blog <.
Kurt Schreyer
HOW CAN ANYONE BELIEVE THAT CRAP?
I am a Vietnam veteran and a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant. I wish to compliment you on a thoughtful and insightful article. Back in the day, when I used to see the movies that people produced about Vietnam, I used to wonder how in the hell anybody could believe the crap they were seeing on the screen. Granted, as a movie buff, I can appreciate the art of cinema, so-called "film-making." "Apocalypse Now" immediately comes to mind. Great film-making, lousy history and political science. Your article dredged up some of my initial feelings I had when I would view Hollywood's portrayal of us "ill-educated conscripts."the dupes of a nutso officer class."
As time has passed and fewer and fewer members of the American electorate have any experience of military service, I have watched it get worse and worse. It has become a denial of reality for most citizens, who seem to have lost their sense of what being a citizen is all about. While there were still millions of members of "The Greatest Generation" and there were Korean veterans who were not "The Manchurian Candidate" and Vietnam veterans who never saw anyone play Russian roulette or wantonly kill innocent civilians, there was a modicum of resistance to the fantasization of the real world into a televisual and metaphorical soap opera.
But the numbers of "The Greatest Generation" are dwindling and the sh eer overwhelming volume of ill-informed nonsense at best and outright lies at worst seems to be "re-educating" many of my fellow Vietnam veterans. I guess we have been told we are combat-fatigued "Rambo" losers for so long that we are starting to believe it. A case in point is how some Vietnam vets who should have known better rallied to support John Kerry against the Swift Boat Veterans.
Fantasy has trivialized reality. Video games where one can experience the carnage of warfare; modern or ancient, historical or fantasy; and then hit the reset button to return to a warm hearth and a bowl of Fruit Loops leaves too many of our future electorate with a lack of understanding of life and death struggle. As you described, motion pictures as a diversion from the realities of life are just a diversion from harsh reality that we can afford because "A Few Good Men" choose to stand on a wall. (Forgive my reference to a portrayal of "ill-educated conscripts.the dupes of a nutso officer class.")
Once again, my compliments and best regards.
John A. "Jack" Cook
CMSgt, USAF, Retired
Re: Bourne to run, and run, and run
LOVE YOUR BIG BROTHER
Can you explain the observable trait that has those who appear to think the government is a conspiracy e.g. from the Kennedy "assassination cover up" to the "9/11 was an inside job" are generally pro big government and statist in their outlook.
Dr. J. William Stinde, PhD, CFM
Gardena, California
TERRORISTS WILL BE TERRORISTS
I remember my immediate reaction on hearing of the September 11 attacks while I was on a tour bus on the west coast of Ireland. It was outrage at the CIA and our other intelligence services. I had believed that "terrorists will always be terrorists if you let them", so it was difficult to get outraged at them; I had long internalized and therefore diffused through my head my attitudes toward the bad guys; that was a well-established given.
So this author perversely has a point. Our anger about September 11 should be inner-directed at our own failed institutions and political class of weak leadership which led to the attack.
Ken Nordtvedt
Re: Special of the day
THE BEST PART OF ENGLAND
Thank you for posting a link to Dad's obituary in your 'The Corner' column of October 13th
I'm especially tickled that you, in particular, cited Dad's obit as I think your obituaries in the Atlantic were the best part of the magazine (with occasional outbursts from Christopher Hitchens sometimes winning by a nose, or coming in a close second).
I've looked at the many blogs, columns and articles that reference the Telegraph obituary itself, and your link to it, and I'm thrilled that Dad has found himself “famous overnight'”and only wish that, like Byron, he could have awakened for the experience!
As the eldest of David Muffett's three children, and the one who remembers life in Colonial West Africa quite well, I can testify that every word of the obituary was true. I'd also like to say that Dad lived the rest of his life, right up to the end, with the same senses of gusto, honor and humor that came through in the obituary (although part of his oft-quoted statement that he was a "High Tory [who] fears God and honours the King" is never completed in any of the newspaper reports. The family knows that the rest of that goes " . . . and if I think I'm right, I bloody well say so!")
But, as you noticed, the story that grabs everyone's attention is that of Tigwe the Tax-Collector-Eater, which I remember at the time it happened. I must say, however, that I've been recently perusing Dad's as yet unpublished memoirs, and I can't help wondering if he ever had second thoughts about locking Tigwe up, given the habits and proclivities of some of the UN officials Dad met at the time. (Some things, apparently, never change.) And although I'm sure that Dad agreed, along with Flanders and Swann, that "Eating People is Wrong!" he might have made an exception in this case. Alas, we shall never know.
Dad was the fifth of six children. The oldest (Uncle Arthur, who turned 100 on July 14, 2007) and the youngest (Aunt Pat, who is 85) are the only two still living.
Uncle Arthur, who celebrated his 94th birthday with a ride on a Honda Goldwing Motorcycle,
remembers his mother taking him to a 'tea' for the Anzacs who had been at Gallipoli and was so impressed by the soldiers that he made a lifetime study of the campaign and is recognized as something of an expert on the subject. He is also an alumnus (perhaps the oldest living?) of King Edward's school in Birmingham, as was JRR Tolkien, and, I believe, a certain Canadian-born writer you may know.
Aunt Pat is the sort of madcap English maiden aunt that all children should have. She taught small children all her life, and receives literally hundreds of Christmas cards from all over the world, from them each year. At the age of about 70 she wore me out touring Washington
DC, at one point disappearing into a bush to strip and take off her undershirt, announcing that it was 'MUCH TOO HOT.' (I think it was about 70 degrees . . .) She is a fervent Aston Villa supporter (the Muffetts have had season tickets for the Villa since the 1920s at least), and she greatly enjoys talking to the youth of the day at the football matches. ("I met a LOVELY boy today, he had BLUE HAIR, you know, all spikey, and safety pins in his EARS, an absolutely CHARMING boy, he told me all about his PET RAT . . .) etc.
Oh, how sister Mandy, brother Alec and I hope that we are chips off those old blocks!
And how I wish we had fully appreciated, as children, growing up in a family that veered in character from Trollope to Monty Python at a moment's notice.
In that spirit, Dad's funeral was a rousing send-off that I think he would have liked. We included The Battle Hymn of the Republic in the service to celebrate his American experience at Harvard and Duquesne Universities, and the short period he spent attached (if that is the right word?) to Mark Clark's US Army when it marched into Rome.
And at the Crematorium, when the curtain closed and the casket disappeared on its final journey, we stood for a triumphal, loud chorus of Rule, Britannia!
I think a part of the best part of England died with Dad. We will miss him.
Thank you for mentioning him.
Louise Zbozny
Re: Song of the Week
PROCEED WITH WHAT YOU’RE LEADING ME TO..
Mark, I am an avid fan of your political writing. Your insight and observations are more accurate than any other political observer writing today. Until recently, I've always bypassed the "Song of the Week" portion of your site, thinking (wrongly) that your musical observations would leave me flat. How wrong I was. Your latest essay, regarding the Sinatra classic "Witchcraft", is classic! My question is; As learned as you seem to be regarding musical history, is there any chance we may see a future tome regarding music?. Perhaps a combo piece tying music in to the political mood of the given era? Get to work!
Malcolm Cloud
White Bear Lake, Minnesota
I LIKED IT SO MUCH, I BOUGHT THE SHEET MUSIC
Love your website. Hey, I love musicals, too and I'm straight!!
Ann Richards (the singer, not the late Texas Governor) sang this wonderful tune called "I Gotta Have You" that I found out came from a musical. The name of the musical escapes me. I just thought you might like the song. I've never heard anyone else sing it. Very catchy tune. I loved the music so much, I got a copy of the sheet music. And it wasn't easy getting it! This was during the early years of the internet, but digging deep and often I located the publishing house and called them. Yes, we have the music here. No, it's no longer in print. Sure, we'll mail you a copy for free!
....But then after looking it over, I thought Ann Richard's version was much better!
Gary Futral
Houston, Texas
by way of Chicago, Il
SORRY, WAIT FOR THE BOOK
I've just discovered "Song of the Week" via a link from some other website. Is there a place where all the SOTWs are archived as I'd love to read them all?
Thanks and I have long admired Mark's columns when I've seen them linked to at other sites such as Instapundit.
Peter Tietjen
LET’S HEAR IT FOR PAT SUZUKI
In these troubled times, we could use a little bit of Pat Suzuki singing "I Enjoy Being A Girl".
If Miss Suzuki had recorded more than four albums, and starred in more than one hit
Broadway musical, she would be as famous and highly regarded today as are
contemporaries such as Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, or June Christy. She really was
that good. Her versions of several "standards" rival those that are considered to be definitive.
That fascinating and delightful show-stopper from R&H's "Flower Drum Song" endures as a hit. As recently as October 2005, Miss Suzuki performed the song at a classic Broadway revue in New-York, "Broadway Originals!".
Pat Suzuki is one of our nation's great musical treasures, and she - and her signature tune - deserve a week in the sun.
Thank you. You are the greatest.
David C. Alan
Washington, D.C.
P.S. Enjoying "Passing Parade" - thanks for the signed copy.
GOO-GOO-GOOGLE
Since readers sometimes complain about you picking too many of the songs you write about from the same time period (a bum rap), how about going back to the 20's and writing about a song my dad used to walk around the house singing? He'd sing, "Barney Google, With the Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes" -- and that's the ONLY line he'd sing. Is there more to the song?
Larry Eubank
Bloomington, Indiana
FORTHCOMING TRIBUTE TO KERR?
With your limitless knowledge of all things music and movies, I surely hope you intend to write a properly eulogy for the great Deborah Kerr, someone I'll always remember from my youth as the graceful singing English lady (although it wasn't her voice) bringing Western (British) culture to the royal family of Siam. How politically incorrect these days!
LTC Dave Armstrong
Eldersburg, Maryland
SKELTON STORY
Hi there - if you're considering doing a column on Red Skelton, I hope you can find the story that I have been unable to relocate. I thought I had originally read it in Reader's Digest a long time ago - but no luck searching back issues or the internet.
Skelton did a show, and noticed a guy who sat there impassive through the whole thing. Something in his face was quite - ... touching.
Afterwards, I think Skelton approached the man, and found out that he was planning to take his son (?cancer) to see Skelton, but that his son had died, and that his son before dying had told him to go to the show anyways.
Skelton apparently stayed and talked to the man for a long while.
I can't recapitulate the emotions evoked by the piece, but suffice it to say that it has stuck with me for many years.
If you know it or find it, it may be good to include.
Cheers from a regular reader,
Erik Larsen
Calgary, Alberta
Re: Campus in the Clouds
THE PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS
I posted a bit of your Columbia U Iran column up on my international law blog - well, quite a lot, actually - well, probably violated copyright law, to be honest - and received the following quite serious response back in the blog comments. (See below the asterisks.)
I am big fan of yours - something which caused a senior editor of ... well let's just say a very important book review to shake his head and say, "Ken, you have almost such exquisite taste, but you have this weakness for Mark Steyn" and, he added, "and AA Gill." Quite. All best.
Kenneth Anderson
Anonymous said...
"Mark, I must be a little older than you. First of all, I remember the persecution of homosexuals in the US right into the 1970's. And, being a San Franciscan, I remember the national outrage at my city's adoption of gay culture in the 1980's. That wasn't so long ago, Mark. And now an Iranian leader from a different culture is mocked for not recognizing homosexuality in Iran. You know, it's quite possible he just doesn't know any.
"I can tell you this, Mark. I lived in Iran in 1975. Its people are in many ways the same as the rest of the world. Its culture is different, but there are a good many people there. The nation has suffered the trauma of a revolution and then had a terrible war inflicted upon it for eight long, bloody years. Iran is easily criticized from afar, from a Western perspective. But Mark, until you've visited a land and its people, preferably living there for a spell, your criticism is merely the passing off of opinions generated by the words and writings of others, many times told from the vantage point of bias and special interest.
"By the way, Mark, have you ever heard Ward Churchill speak in public? I've heard him speak at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco's North Beach. Again, all you've done here is recycle a quote you've read from sources other than your own. When you sit and listen to Mr. Churchill, you gain an understanding of his personal perspective. You may not agree with him, but that's an insight you would make first hand.
"My advice is to gain some firsthand knowledge before simply regurgitating opinions on subjects that interest to you."
Kenneth Anderson
Washington DC
MARK REPLIES: Your commenter's a twit. He "remembers the persecution of homosexuals in the US right into the 1970s"? Okay, how many homosexuals were executed in New York or San Francisco or even Salt Lake City in the 1970s? That's what happens to homosexuals in Iran: they get sentenced to death. The inability to distinguish between "persecution" US-style and Iranian-style is a sign of a moral frivolity that would shame anyone who gave it a moment's thought. Oh, and by the way, Iran-wise, I have plenty of hands-on experience.
Re: America Alone
DYING IN A GOOD CAUSE
Hi Mark, Caught an interesting tidbit regarding ancient Sparta that made me think of you. Only two people were allowed to have headstones on their graves. A soldier killed in battle and....a mother who dies during childbirth. Both were considered dying for the State.
Richard Palmer
San Francisco
REGRESSION THERAPY
Sure not to be picked, but my entry for caption contest 119 at the New Yorker (two women looking at a man sleeping in a cradle, sucking his thumb) was "It started after he read 'America Alone'."
Ilan Levine
South Bend, Indiana
BELGIAN BREAD
In your book America Alone on page 86, you refer to "...white-bread Belgian...". What do you mean when you use the term "white-bread"?
sawennlund
Mokena, Illinois
AN UNPRECEDENTED ERA OF SELF INTEREST
I came across this video game in my travels around the internet. Its description sounded mighty familiar:
"It is the golden age in mankind's evolution. For the first time in history, countries with significant resources have united under one World Union. In this utopian society, ‘survival of the fittest’ takes its next inevitable step. Only the elite are deemed worthy to live under the World Union banner - the smartest, healthiest, and wealthiest. Forsaking the altruistic tendencies that have crippled individual development and economic progress in the past, the World Union has ushered in an unprecedented era of self-interest and fulfillment. Prosperity is a science, sex is entertainment, disease and capital crime are non-existent, and the future has never looked better."
Seems awfully similar to a growing reality. Self-interest, fulfillment, sex as entertainment: these all sound not just like the obvious European Union, but increasingly reflect American policies.
I thought this may interest you. Your backwards columns (i.e. the silly way they ended up being printed) in the Western Standard will be very much missed by my family and myself. I purchased your book early this summer. It was fascinating.
Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Nicholas Romyn
Flamborough, Ontario
LONDON CALLING
Though you might be interested
Paul
A VIOLATION OF ISLAMIC LAW
Subject: Hijab is a violation of Islamic Law.
I received you name from McMaster Univirsity today; I was there to protest regarding
* There is no Such word HIJAB in the Holy Quran
* Hijab is a Violation of Islamic Law, Said Chief Justice of Kabul.
* There are no Ten commandments in Islam.
* Allah is Idol according to Quran
Daniel Charles.
GOOD NEWS FROM EUROPE?
First of all, brilliant book. As a piece of political comment I am yet to find anything quite so engaging (or indeed terrifying). As a proud Englishman, Tory, and man who, at 19 years old, will have to deal with the repercussions of what you say head on, it particularly struck a chord. Congratulations on a fabulous work, despite what some of our dear friends in the liberal media say.
A couple of ideas though. You addressed the demographic trends in a wider European context, but didn't go into what’s happening at a lower level. By this I am thinking primarily of the fact that the absolutely overwhelming majority of Muslims live in cities, and cities within only certain areas of countries at that. Furthermore, they are showing no inclination to move into the still wholeheartedly English countryside, or indeed whole counties and towns (a rule which can be applied to most European countries in some way). What do you think the potential ramifications of this are? Rather than outright civil war, could we see national fracture, for example, in the same way that occurred in India, with only implicit and relatively short lived civil conflict?
Secondly, Europe is beginning to get it's act together, however slowly, and while cries such as "Babies, not Indians" from the Governor of Bavaria are not the best rallying calls, they do seem to be having an effect. One province of Russia, for example, now has a regional holiday with the exclusive purpose of encouraging people to try for a baby, which is having a noticeable effect on the birth rate, and similar campaigns are cropping up across the Western World. Multiculturalism is being dropped, whether it be quietly (here in England) or with great fanfare(Sarkozy in France). The Europe of the future categorically will not be what it is now, but parts of it could still be recognisably Europe if such moves work. Will they work in time, or is it too little too late?
Anyway, thanks very much for your time, and I await eagerly you future columns (and maybe a speaking tour?!). Let us hope that you, and I, and millions across the West like us are proved wrong. Though I somehow doubt that that will be the case.
Simon Hodge
London/Oxford, England
DEATH IN GLASGOW
Male life expectancy in North Korea: 60 years; Bangladesh: 58; Yemen: 57; Gabon: 55; Calton, Scotland: 54 years. Middle-aged Torontonians live with their parents but middle-aged Glaswegians live with their ancestors.
Article on Scotland.... that 54 years figure for Scotland is on the lowside by about 24-25 years at least.
Needs more research and to be corrected. Try Google.
M. Taub
Jerusalem, Israel
MARK REPLIES: What I wrote was:
"Male life expectancy in North Korea: 60 years; Bangladesh: 58; Yemen: 57; Gabon: 55; Calton, Scotland: 54 years."
As the sentence makes clear, I was referring to the district of Calton in Scotland not the kingdom of Scotland as a whole. For the district of Calton in Scotland, male life expectancy is 54. Instead of scoffing "needs more research. try google", you're welcome to call the public records office in Glasgow, who will be happy to confirm the figure.
IRELAND IS SAFE, OR IS IT?
In response to Margeurite Conway & others from the Irish Republic who don't anticipate the same sort of problems Britain & France might have in the years to come. Ireland is am enthusiastic member of the EU - a free movement area. Ireland & Britain are free movement areas regardless of the EU – British citizens can vote in Ireland. London & Paris 300 miles or so from Dublin are amongst the most multi cultural cities in the world. The world is not as yet a free movement area but it may as well be.
Do you really think you can escape this? If the US can't bolt the gates Ireland certainly can't.
This is one area where the EU really ought to be working together, urgently.
Royston Tichelli
London
FUNNY AND FRIGHTENING
I just finished your book. I wish I hadn’t. It was that good. Funny, incisive, frightening. I was struck by the clarity with which you described the decline of a once great culture. Still. I really loved “Broadway Babies Say Goodnight.”
Damn, Steyn -- you really are one of the most interesting writers around.
Tim Minear
Los Feliz, California
BRAINS BUT NO BABIES
In line with your excellent posts on the demographic future of Western Civilization, NASA is publicizing the accomplishments of two fine role models:
The punch line:
Melroy and Whitson are married to scientists, and neither has children.
Just a little FYI for your files. Keep up the great work.
Jim Grove
HORMONES AND STERILITY
Love your stuff. Keep it coming. I'm a math weenie so I love the statistics.
I hope this isn't moonbattery: to help my wife understand potential options, I've been reading about hormone replacement therapy, including the scare stories of side effects and long term damage. I also saw a news story this week about a middle school that is offering contraceptives at their health center, in part because 3.7% of their student population indicated that they were sexually active. Then there's the widespread use of hormones in food production, &c.
It's likely not an original thought, and you may have already explored it in your writing - but could it be that some populations are declining because their members are inherently less fertile due to the effects of hormone use/overuse, perhaps even damage that doesn't appear until the sexual maturity of the hormone user's offspring (as some would suggest)? Some populations would not permit the use of chemical contraceptives (and perhaps not even procedural contraceptives), and would not suffer this degradation of fertility.
Or, it could be a deliberate plot to dominate the world via reproduction. The comedian Joe Rogan has a bit where he postulates a world of decaying infrastructure without "smart people". He suggests that the dumb ones just out-reproduced the smart ones. He suggests that the dumb ones did so to compensate for feelings of inferiority/inadequacy, and the smart ones were too busy doing what smart people do, to bother reproducing.
Ken Garrido
Harleysville, Pennsylvania
ALMOST AT THE END
I'm finishing up "America Alone". Excellent book with great insights – and more than a bit disturbing, of course.
Keep up the good work. I really enjoy your columns as well.
Randy Astle
IT’S SCARY AFTER THE SHOW
I have taken 1/2 hour of my jass show, and converted it to talk. Common Sense conservative talk is like speck on a very large opaque liberal window at the University of California Santa Barbara. Only because I was a lawyer have they allowed me to continue for almost two years. Fear is a great motivator. Certainly the radicals of Islamism agree.
My point is I totally agree with the contents of your book "American Alone" On my show I do not call the mid east thingie a war, but the 10th Crusade. Since Mohamad took Mecca the other world has had to knock down the bad boys grown out of Islam's petri dish, many times. This is the 10th.
It may be that the only group which can save the free world will once again be the Scots, of which I am a warrior descendant. You should hear me play the Great Highland Pipes.
This Friday, TOMORROW, I will feature your book and give you all the plugs I can.
Think I will get a concealed weapon permit. My hair crawls when I leave the station after the show. "All alone so Very All Alone"
God Speed.
Rooster
Jassdom Hall
KCSB.org 91.9 University of California at Santa Barbara.
Fridays 10 am to Noon
Re: Ideologically beside the point
A STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
Mark - Excellent work, as always. Your point that the government hasn't produced a comprehensive strategy (at least as far as we know) like Kennan's Long Telegram is well-taken, but it's not true that one has not been written; Steven den Beste laid out the strategy concisely back in the summer of 2003, in one of the most talked-about blog posts of the decade.
Now, I know a blog post is still not on a par in terms of influence with a guy like Kennan, who had been to all the right schools and knew all the right people within the diplomatic and foreign policy community as it then existed; I'm fairly certain that some important people in the government have read den Beste's post, but not the way they would have accepted an official analysis.
But it does, in point of fact, lay out a fairly coherent strategic view that's actually reasonably consistent with what Bush has been doing.
The Baseball Crank
Re: The Cold Civil War
PREPARING FOR CHANGE
On the "cold civil war" - your observation that conservatives tend to secede from the system is interesting, but I think you've missed something. There is at least one respect in which, like liberals, we're paying close attention to 01/2009 and preparing for a change on that date - we're buying lots of guns.
David
UNCIVIL DEBATE
I really appreciated your Cold Civil War article in MacLeans. The sentence "The common space required for civil debate has shrivelled to a very thin sliver of ground" rings especially true. I grew up and live in the Great Plains states, but both my father and my brother are university professors. There has always been a huge contrast between the somewhat isolated, dependent on government funds, culture of college towns and the more self-reliant culture of fly-over country farther away from campus. However, since the 2000 election I find it almost impossible to have a civil conversation on political topics. The conversation rapidly devolves into an argument about the basic facts of the issue with completely separate data for left and right. I'm extremely frustrated that we never get to discuss differences regarding the size and role of government because we can't agree on the problems.
As an example, my friends on the left and I, a somewhat libertarian leaning Republican, could agree that the US needs to be less dependent on oil for transportation. However, I can't accept man-made global warming and suburban sprawl as the underlying problem and they can't accept that radical Islam is at war against us. We could probably agree to require flex-fuel ethanol and methanol capability in new cars, reduce taxes on imported ethanol, gradually increase CAFE limits, relax emissions limits to allow more diesel engines, and offer tax credits for plug-in hybrids, but we don't know how start the conversation. The potential common ground on government actions to reduce dependence on oil involves the upper limits of government action I'll accept and the lower limits of government action the left can accept.
George Bednekoff
Plano, Texas
YOU'RE QUEER BUT NOT GAY
Your recent Maclean's article (The "cold civil war" in the U.S.) refers to an email you received where "Mr. Funkhouser" suggests that you are, "probably queer too!"- a comment you took to be about your sexual orientation.
I have no interest in your sexual orientation and would rather suggest that you are queer, as in "to twist".
As a homo and a queer myself I would invite you to think about the different means of the word queer and how you might actually be what he says you are.
Being a writer, a thinker you do twist, you do choose alternative vistas from which to see reality, you do not spend your life pandering to be let in by the middle, all these factors- if I can be so bold- make you queer.
Gay is how you are born, Queer is how you choose to live. Thanks for your time.
Ted Kerr
Edmonton, Alberta
Secretary, Exposure: Edmonton's Queer Arts and Culture Festival
www.Exposurefestival.ca
Re: Death to Steyn!
OUTPOURING OF HATE MAIL
After reading your article on SCHIP and the numerous hate mail that ensued (more than I’ve ever read in your Web site), I've come to the conclusion there are 3 types of people in this world: 1) INDIVIDUALISTS--those who wish to be self-sufficient free from government regulations and harassment under any situation, even during times of economic hardship; 2) CARETAKERS--those who are wealthy or lucky enough not to worry about medical expenses or any other adverse hardship, yet they eagerly wish to help their fellow man in need; and 3) DEPENDENTS--those who are incapable, unable or unwilling to take care of themselves.
Of the three groups, which one do you think is the most venerable? The PC club would of course say the last group, the DEPENDENTS. They have become our saints in a secular world. But in my world, I would place the groups much differently: The INDIVIDUALIST is head over heels above the rest. He sees himself neither beneath nor above his fellow man. He is a true egalitarian who respects his neighbors’ intelligence and freedom. These are the people who you can count on to help a neighbor since they have no understanding of government meddling. The last group, the DEPENDENTS, many of whom are kept in a constant state of struggle by the very same policies that were implemented to help them, i.e. welfare, are wasted, yet far more admirable than the last group. Ah, the last group! Those CARETAKERS who seek to serve their fellow man through a monstrously bureaucratic government without getting a trace of dirt or blood on their finely manicured fingernails, and with no concern whatsoever about the disastrous long-term effects of their policies. When you see the Left’s policies in action, it becomes clear the Left is about as compassionate as a rotweiller clenching its teeth into a poodle.
Mario
Chicago, Illinois
mexicanamericanadonis@yahoo.com
Re: Doom if Saint Al loses carbs
MANDATORY VIEWING
My son called me from college and told me that he had to watch Gore's neo-Marxist ecoshit in his--of all strange places--U.S. History 201 class. My son still has no idea how the film fit into their studies, but does it really matter these days?? As long as it perpetuates the dream for Marxist revolution in the United States, who cares if it's not instrumental to the course! But there's good news. My son, who came out of the closet his senior year in high school and I feared not that he would contact AIDS but that he would be gobbled up by the Left Wing devils, told me he asked the professor if there would be a debate about the film’s content—the professor looked at him as if he were nuts. Debate? Debate what? the professor inquired. Isn't that what college is for? my son asked. He then told the professor only in church is debate a no-no. Well apparently the class had a good laugh over this comment, even the eco-socialist professor, and my son will not be suspended for refusing to tow the socialist party line—at least not this time! But he was asked to not breach the topic of Gore or "global warming" during class again. Remember when Lefties used the slogan "Question Authority"? Well, interestingly, that's okay as long as it's not them you are questioning. I’m damn proud of my son! Hey, if a gay American man in his late teens can reject Marxist rhetoric, anyone can! There's hope yet!
J. Hannu
Minnesota
NEW POWERS TO HELP THE PLANET!
Mark, since you're Canadian you may already be aware of this British Columbian nonsense but I only stumbled across it accidently. The province plans to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of measures including "carbon neutral" requirements for all government travel and, my favorite: "new powers for municipalities to waive development charges as a way to promote 'green' developments." I guess heretofore this "power" to waive fees did not exist – sort of, the government's power to tax shall not be abridged...
It's a silly concept before even addressing the reality that any new construction at all, even 'green' construction, will not advance their cause of reducing emissions by 30%.
Ray Niemiec
Dallas, Texas
Re: Cheap date
PONY UP, HARRY
Ain't that the way it is? Rush sees a good cause, and is willing to pony up his own money. Reid is a politician, and his first impulse is to support it with somebody else's money.
Russ Petti
COLLEGE FOR CHILDREN OF THE FALLEN
How about Harry Reid bundling together a few pork projects and redirecting the funds to a bill which would authorize the payment of college education of all the children of our fallen military?
In the 1960s, my parents started a very successful charity that supported the family of policemen, firemen and state troopers killed in the line of duty (paying college education for the kids, helping with overwhelming financial burdens, etc.). After years of struggling to make it a go, the charity really took off and suddenly all these politicians wanted to associated with it. As my mother laconically remarked, "Why didn't these politicians take care of this before? This is something our government should have been doing in the first place."
It'd be great to see even more made of this issue. The families of all our fallen soldiers, policemen, firemen, state troopers, and first responders killed in the line of duty should not be made to egregiously suffer financially when they've already taken such an emotional hit. And a lot of these families are living day-to-day, literally.
Keep up the good work. We've been long-time fans of yours and really miss you in the Speccie..
Irene Bernhard
PITIFUL PIPSQUEAK
That pipsqueak won't even go on Rush's show to debate the issue! Pitiful.
David Hill
The Bronx
Re: China dolls
GET THOSE GUYS A WIFE
Mr. Steyn, if you are looking for outsized gender imbalances, no need to wait for future China. Middle Eastern polygamy undoubtedly contributes to that region's unrest. For every Arab man with four wives, there must be three single, frustrated and angry Arab men. While this is not the cause of the regions dysfunction it must make things a lot worse.
Dave Lundry
THE GIRLS GO FOR WESTERNERS
What we should really worry about is when the remaining Chinese girls decide to go for other guys who are not Chinese. How pissed off will they be when the girls marry or date or sleep with foreigners first?
I am not bragging [yes, I am] as an American guy who has been to China a number of times, and has had the ladies all over him, the girls go for Westerners first, and not just because they have cash, because I sure don't. For dudes that are hard-up, Chinese guys still don't treat the girls with respect and don't know how to please them in the sack, and the girls now know this. If my women were doing that, I'd be totally pissed off..
BB
Re: The real war on children
TOO MUCH BOXING DAY CHEER?
In your "The Real War on Children" piece in the OC Register, you say:
"As Gerald Ford likes to say when trying to ingratiate himself with conservative audiences,......"
Uh, shouldn't that be likeD, as in past tense, as in GF sleeps with the fishes? Did we miss that one, Mark? Perhaps a little too much Christmas cheer last Boxing Day and it slipped past you that Pres. Ford has made the transition?
Israel Lipschitz,
Rosemont, Pennsylvania
OLD FOLKS AT HOME
The irony of Nancy Pelosi's exaltation of "the children" is that she comes from a district that doesn't have any.
Michael Kalk
Austin, Texas
CANADIAN STYLE HOSPITALS
Sorry, but that scenario is starting to occur in the US as well, because of the pitiful reimbursement rates private managed care is imposing in certain parts of the US. In Maryland, hospitals are reporting great difficulty in getting general surgeons (appendectomy
performers), ENTs, etc. to be on-call.
Stephen Johnson
INANE ENTERTAINMENT
Re: 60 Minutes interview with Nicolas Sarkozy
I would like to take this moment to persuade the producers of 60 Minutes to relocate their show to Cuba or Canada or some other Utopia. They have succeeded in entrenching in the minds of Frenchmen that American TV news really is nothing more than inane entertainment for the unwashed masses.
Jon Studowski
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
HOW EMBARASSING
60 Minutes, long past its usefulness, reached a new low when it turned itself into nothing more than a tabloid. How embarrassing for Americans to be made to look like fools before the French people due to the shallowness of the producers of the most watched TV news show in the United States. When you have the president of France before you, I would think a more pressing concern would be the Middle East, a deteriorating welfare system, assimilation of immigrants, NATO, etc. rather than who his ex-wife is sleeping with. Leave it to American journalists and Leslie Stahl to waste a golden opportunity to ask serious questions to an international leader. Although no fan of France, I have to side with the French president this time. He had every right to be angry and storm out of the interview. The interview was a huge waste of time for everyone, not just Sarkozy's. How much lower can the U.S. media get?
V. D'Souza
Memphis, Tennessee
THE ONCOMING BATTLE
Steynonline, reference to Jenkins on Euro Christianity
I wish I could be as optimistic as Jenkins in viewing Europe. However.
This "Christian re-awakening", if it is in fact happening as Jenkins describes, is occurring in response to the times, a time of smug, Brussels-centred, secular elites, disruptive thuggery on the streets, and a rising and self-confident Islamist immigrant population.
It sounds to me like some Europeans are 'girding their loins' for the oncoming battle.
Heather McFarlane
Whitehorse, Yukon
NO CLICHÉ UNTURNED
Archbishop's Abortion Oped In The Guardian
The jist of the oped is that "the fundamental convictions about humanity that inform not only our responses to crisis, but our routine relationships with one another" have been eroded.
Just check out the comments. I've extracted the best ones at this freerepublic thread. There is no leftist cliché left out.
Ninja Pirate
Pirate Cove, Havana, Cuba
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION
Matthew Parris recently wrote, “We are not hugely interested in constitutions. That’s why we don’t have one.
What is this poison that drips incessantly into the public veins?
John Adams, a U.S. President and drafter of the American Constitution, called the English Constitution the most stupendous fabric of human invention in all history.
OF COURSE THE BRITISH PEOPLE HAVE A CONSTITUTION.
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION IS PLAINLY VISIBLE IN THE COMMON LAW established by Alfred the Great in 871 and developed by British people for the next thousand years. The Common Law incorporates the Charter of Liberties (1100), which makes the Sovereign subject to the Common Law. It incorporates the Council of Westminster (1102), which ended slavery in England. It specifically states that any slave who sets foot in England becomes instantly free (Cartwright, 1569). It defends property rights and the right to be secure in one own’s home (his home is his castle). It plainly states that judges are to be guided by stare decisis, "standing by things decided" the rulings of previous cases.
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION IS PLAINLY VISIBLE IN THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT, 1701, which states that the Common Law is the Birthright of the people and may never be taken
away. . .
For more see here. Catherine
PRO-AMERICAN PAL
Thank you for being such a pro-American. There are few people in the public eye who are--mostly for their own political or economic gain. I'm sure if you decided to jump ship and join the "I hate America" club along with the likes of Green Day, Rosie O'Donnell, and Oliver Stone, you'd probably become as rich as they are. Thank you for standing by your convictions and refusing to sell out for a quick buck. We all know anti-Americanism is far more lucrative than being pro-American. For some reason singing praises of capitalism just doesn't come off as well in songs and poetry and books as does the glorifying of socialist collectivism. In real life, however, there is no system more egalitarian and peaceful than American-style capitalism, despite the erroneous images perpetuated by our ideological enemies, who are, unfortunately, rather numerous—and, oddly, most of them have already made a fortune off the American system itself. Maybe we need a psychologist to tackle this one. But in the meantime, it's nice to come across someone's views in the media that actually reflect my own. It's refreshing.
Tonio Cerelli
Crofton, Maryland
READ A REAL JOURNALIST
I used to enjoy reading your columns in the Irish Times, especially as you generally turned out to be wrong about everything from Osama being dead to the war in Iraq being over. I would often wonder what your qualifications to comment were, why anyone should pay you any heed. I see from your website you are an ex-diskjockey. That is...interesting. I wonder if you read The Great War for Civilisation and what you made of it? I hope it dosent hurt too much to read a real journalist, who goes and risks his life to find out the truth, whose opinion is valued because of what he’s seen, who hes talked to and the new information he provides and the analysis that springs for that? Maybe the contrast makes you feel a little uncomfortable, as you sit on your arse and blindly accept received wisdom from your friends in high places? I think maybe you should think long and hard about what it is you do, and what it means to have cheered for a war where women and children and young men die so that you can feel important, and coin a snide comment.
Jim Mannix
Ireland
MARK REPLIES: Actually, I haven't read The Great War For Civilization, and I'll bet you haven't either. Because it's 1,136 pages long and all but unreadable. Still, feel free to buy it and give it to friends so they can not read it, too. After all, its sales could use a bit of help - compared to certain other tomes we could mention.
ASKING FOR HELP
The BBC was interviewing residents in California today, breathlessly inquiring as to how the Federal Government had let them down, either that or variously helped them because CA was rich as opposed to New Orleans.
Some individuals said that the government wasn't helpful, and their neighbours were more reliable, such as asking if horse trailers were needed to move animals away from danger.
I just don't understand how people would think that the federal government would have horse trailers at the ready to deploy across the nation in case of national emergency.
People do not think any more.
People are not self-reliant.
This has been facilitated not only from the institutionalization of aid, as you have mentioned, but also the urbanization of society. I think this latter aspect of demographic change has been underreported.
Nearly everyone in my grade school class was the grandchild of farmers. Now? Who knows a farmer???
Erik Larsen
Calgary, Alberta
FACT-BASED FANTASY
I'm a huge fan and I thought you might be interested in this. Terry Goodkind wrote a series that will be complete in November called "The Sword of Truth". A central theme to the series is the inexplicable refusal of people to think for themselves. Book 8 is devoted entirely to the subject. The entire series, all eleventy-billion books, are fantastic if you're a fan of fantasy epics...a little alliteration for an accomplished author. Anyway, keep up the excellent work. It's gratifying to read well-articulated clear thought.
Godspeed and God Bless,
Stephen Miller, USCG
Fort Pierce, FL BWO Blue Ridge, Georgia
WARTIME CONTRIBUTIONS
I just wanted to write a brief note of thanks to you for what your profoundly significant contribution to what I think of as "The War for the West". Even though I have come to the sad conclusion that this fight will end as Wagner's Ring Cycle did with the giants and trolls victorious in the rubble and chaos, I am still very glad to be on the side graced by your good works and heroism.
I wish you and your family all the joy and love that this world will hold and look forward to making your acquaintance in heaven at a hopefully distant date.
David DeLeonardo
CHUTZPAH AWARD
Thought you might be interested in this news story from the BBC:
It's a late bid for the Chutzpah 2007 award, but I think he'll walk it.
Rob
UK
THE DIXVILLE NOTCH BLUES
Mark - any thoughts on New Hampshire going "Blue"?
"New Hampshire Blues" - Wall Street Journal:
Chris Dennison
SONG OF THE FJORDS
More news from Norway. Another arrow for your quiver.
Christopher Petrie
Norway
LET’S ABOLISH COLLEGE
Events of this week sponsored by David Horowitz have brought home the question, "Why do we sponsor universities and colleges at all?" What do they contribute today, and what purpose do they serve other than as instruments of social and political oppression? I for one would like to see the system replaced with a simple set of board exams and competency examinations. If a person wants to be certified as a teacher of Croatian, for example, let him simply take a rigorous, objective test of his knowledge of Croatian grammar, history, culture and language. Why do we spend billions a year on a system that produces people who emerge from the system more ignorant and irrational than when they went in? If people want education, let them seek it out where it is available...but why the state should sponsor it, or why employers should seek more than some objective evidence of educational achievement, is quite beyond me at this point. The entire system is one whose time seems to have passed, and to be a growing cancer on society. Am I missing something here?
Ezra Marsh
REMEMBERING JOEY BISHOP
Remembrance of Joey Bishop and Rat Pack Culture
Mark, Joey Bishop was my next door neighbor in the 1970s. Once, he and his girl du jour saw my new springer spaniel. His girl du jour cried "Oh, what a cute puppy!" My shy puppy began wagging her tail. Joey said "Look at her tail wag!" When I bent forward to look at the puppy's tail, Joey pointed to his girl du jour and said "No, not the dog, . . . her!"
I wonder if I miss that kind of humor. But I love your columns.
John Berresford
Arlington, Virginia
THE MISSING MARX BROTHER?
Hello mark, trivial question today....
When you were in Australia, did you ever happen to come across the word "Seppo"? I ask because there is a (very tiresome) tempest in a teapot about this word in an on-line forum I hang out in. I don't want to bias you in any way, so I'd rather not say what the fuss is about, but any comment you might have on the word & how it is used in Australia would be most welcomed.
Glen Hoban
Winnipeg, Canada
SEPARATED AT BIRTH?
Is this person your brother?....you certainly think alike. (That's Good, Very Good)
Roger Hutflesz
STOP SAYING THAT!
Hugh Hewitt podcast
"The fact of the matter is ..."
Mark, Just between us, I think you repeated the sentence "the fact of the matter is ..." about 15 times on the latest Hewitt podcast. That is not particularly annoying but you may want to avoid an easy parody. Apart from that, your writings are all fantastic (can I have a free "Passing Parade", please?)
Jean Savoye
Paris, France
YOU’RE REPEATING YOURSELF
Subject: The Fact of the Matter is...
Like...like...like...
I'm a fan, but "the fact of the matter is" n't.
Violetta
Maine
MARK REPLIES: Well, the fact of the matter is I was unwell last Thursday (as Bill Bennett noted earlier) and probably should have canceled, like, you know.
UNNECESSARY AND DISTRACTING
Mark, I love your stuff, read you every day, listen to on Hugh's show. So I say this with great affection: please stop saying "the fact of the matter is . . . " It's unnecessary and distracting. You will not be surprised to learn that I am a retired professor with a lot of free time.
I've lent America Alone to more people than I can remember, they all loved it.
Joseph G. Louderback
Seneca, South Carolina
EATEN UP
The West's World Historical Gamble -your lecture in Boston, Nov. 7
In universityized Boston you could be eaten up. I hope you have a phalanx of security people. Please, Mark, take care of yourself..
Arnold
Alpharetta, Georgia
THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY
I'm not sure if I'll sound like I have nothing interesting going on in my life, but I must tell you that your segment on Hugh Hewitt's radio show has become the highlight of my day. I catch you right after 5:00PM here in Minneapolis on my commute home from the office. I find your opinions / observations insightful and compelling and your take on current issues always carries a fresh, unique perspective. I love your humor and think you are one of the most intelligent, thoughtful voices out there today. Thanks so much for your contribution to the enlightenment of the American public. At the risk of sounding like a groupie, I just adore you, Mark Steyn.
Lori Sharbono
Minneapolis, Minnesota
LAST WORD
Subject: LATEST PHOTO
Ok, Mark, we've always loved you for your mind. What's with this new photo used in the "Outsourcing the Future" ad. Are we now to think about additional things to love? I sent the ad to one of my pals and we've concluded that you have, indeed, passed the senior citizen (that's us) test for hunk of the year! We'll let the younger set speak for themselves.
Lynda Calhoun
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