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Letter of the Week
HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED
Looking at the Sydney Morning Herald this morning and saw an item on what you would
call a "bold" "transgressive" "artist". This particular artist, Luke Temby, has an
exhibition in Newtown where he has made soft figurines of major religious figures.

Joan of Arc is listening to a (melting) Walkman. L Ron Hubbard, the Queen (in her
guise of Defender of the Faith), the Goddess Kali and of course Jesus are there.

Naturally I read down to see if He Whose Name Cannot be Given to Teddy Bears Except
on Pain of Death was there. And I saw the following paragraph:

There is no Allah doll because "you're not allowed to represent him, and I thought
I'd better not".

Aah. Of course.

The full article is here.

Dominic Puiu
Bondi, Australia
 Re: The Christmas Wars
INOFFENSIVE MUSH
You remind me of a speech I heard opposing prayer in schools by a devout
churchgoer.  Roughly remembered:

But what kind of prayers?  Nondenominational prayers, of course. 
Unspecific, gentle, inoffensive prayers.  Ambiguous, tentative
mush that is an offense to anyone who thinks God is really worth talking
to.

I'd credit it, but he has quit giving the speeches as he came to feel he
was politicizing his religion.

God bless,

Samuel Mize

PS Merry Christmas

HALLELUJAH
I received an irreverently (THANKS!) copy of your "Passing Parade" book for my
husband just a week after ordering it. I can't wait to see him tear the
carbon-footprint causing, Wal-Mart purchased paper around our holiday/family tree as
we recognize the birth of a homeless child on December 25th. This gift will surpass
the travel mug with a picture of our cat in an elf hat he will also receive.
As an aside I wanted to tell you that here in Indiana we still have CHRISTMAS
programs in our public schools and our daughter attends a large "urban" high school
that has a tradition of including the Hallelujah Chorus( simply beautiful!) as a
finale. She has one more year in orchestra before graduating  so I hope the PC
police or ACLU don't find out because I bragged /blabbed to you. I can tell you that
more than one father is seen wiping his eyes or blowing his nose after hearing these
kids perform. What a shame more parents can't feel the same joy at hearing talented
kids perform such a beautiful traditional piece of music.

Have a blessed CHRISTMAS and New Year

M Woolf

YOUR WAR-ON-CHRISTMAS NONSENSE
I don't know where your kids go to school, but out here in West Michigan
it's a Christmas Concert and they sing about Christ, OK?.  God help
anyone who would have the nerve to challenge it.  What offends me is
their need to put some stupid Hanukkah song in to try to act like they
are being ecumenical.  There has never been a good Hanukkah song and
their pandering doesn't make me (or my family) feel any better.  This
war on Christmas nonsense gets really tiring, so why don't you just give
it a rest.

 Frederick Clowney

YOU CAN’T SAY THAT IN PUBLIC SCHOOL
Gratefully in our recent school winter concert there have been religious
Christmas songs, but about 4 years ago we went to the upper elementary
school where there was mention of everything but Christmas. This caused
me to write the following ditty:

(sung to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Ramadan, Kwanza, Hannukah too
We wish you a Merry... Shh! You  can't say that in public school.

Sincerely and with Merriest Christmas Wishes,

Glen Shipley
Moorestown, New Jersey

ELEMENTARY PRECAUTIONS
Maybe this will buck you up a bit.  I shan't mention my city or state
lest the ACLU swoop down on me, but:

I think it might have something to do with high schools vs. elementary
schools.   The "winter shows" at my kids' grade schools were dreadful
drek.  But when they can really sing, the teachers bring out the good
stuff.

 At my kids' public high school the Christmas show included:

 Hark the herald angels' sing

Carol of the Bells

Glory to God in the Highest

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

Etc.

It ended with alumni of the (very good) choirs coming onstage and
singing the Hallelujah chorus, followed by the entire crowd singing
Silent Night.

And the Republic still stands.

Merry Christmas,

Paul Strasser
Re: Hugh Hewitt
NRO GRINCHES
I really can't believe what I am reading on NRO these days. Huckabee
isn't necessarily my first choice for the nomination, but he is a
Baptist Minister, for goodness sake! Would you expect a minister to NOT
run on the fact that he's a Christian? As for his Christmas ad, I think
you're going WAY too far to call it this brilliant wedge issue. And if
it is, how sad. As Andrew pointed out, Christmas is nothing but the
celebration of the birth of Christ. I think that the only calculation
that came into that statement is to say "Hey, I'm a Christian, and I
remember what Christmas is really about, just like many of you."

I think that the fact that NRO is blowing this into a big deal says more
about the writers on NRO than it does about Huckabee or the GOP
electorate. I love you all, and think you're all brilliant, but you
really need to get off of the coasts and into "flyover America" more
often. Sheesh.

Brian Kay

NOT AFRAID TO OFFEND
The religious stuff is usually like a dog whistle to me.

However, I hope his being OK with offending the people who aren't going
to vote for him anyway is indicative of how he'll handle foreign policy.

Michael

HUCKABUSH
You write of Mike Huckabee, "he's culturally conservative and fiscally
populist."  Isn't this what the current Bush is?  Conservatives, by and
large, seem to have been fine with him on these fronts.

 Sean Moran

IT GIVES ME THE WILLIES
I'm sure the Christmas wedge ad is brilliant, but I've seen it before from the Coors beer 
guy and our local furniture-chain-owning family, and local TV news. 
The idea that vast numbers of poor saps (like my sister) are going to 
take that ad seriously just totally gives me the willies. I think 
that everyone in this country should attend media awareness classes.

cw

PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE
I heard your analysis of the Presidential race on Laura Ingraham today, and read
your Corner post on the same topic. I agree with most of it (and thought you were
great on Ingraham's show), but I have to disagree about Thompson's Iowa fixation. He
really has to focus on Iowa at this point. He pretty much shot himself in the foot
in New Hampshire when he didn't show up for their debate (one his dumber decisions),
and by the time South Carolina rolls around, Huckabee (Iowa) and Romney (New
Hampshire) will have all the momentum. In my opinion, he has to focus on Iowa, and
pray for a miracle. Of course, that's my opinion, and my opinion is hardly
infallible. I was, however, correct on the issue of Giuliani's chances of getting
the nomination. I never thought he would, and it looks like I was right. (Of course,
I was wrong on a lot of stuff, but I like to think positive).
 
Daniel Ruwe

CLOSE BUT NO DEGREE
At NRO's Corner today you say that you can't see what might stop Huck in Iowa.  How
about a revelation that he's been passing himself off as having a graduate degree
(M.A.)  that he in fact does not have?  His bio at WAPO (among other places) states
clearly that he received an M.A. in 1980.  He has in the past few days been forced
to qualify that by saying he has about 46 hours in graduate studies (Rick Warren was
apparently a classmate) but no degree.

This is no small matter, especially to those of us who have earned the degrees we
say we have.  It evidences a corruptible character for whom truthfulness is a
disposable virtue. 

I can't believe that Drudge and the rest of the blogosphere isn't all over this.
there is a sputtering thread on it at Free Republic, and that's about it.

Kevin Probasco

WHO ISN’T?
I'm getting sick of the whole Mormon/Romney/Huckabee thing at NRO.

So what if Huckabee made a comment that implied he was doubtful about Mormonism! Who
isn't?

Only fools at the NR think Romney can win a general election. Mitt is dodgy,
wooden... and Mormon. 

Romney's judgment/character is also suspect.* Pro-lifers are kidding themselves about Romney's marketability to the rest of us.

JD

P.S. I'm no Huckster. Still, I'll take a closer look.

* 1) threw Larry Craig under the bus,
  2) 'sanctuary' mansion,
  3) sleazy campaign ads

THE SECOND COMING
By my count, Romney wants the federal government to combat teen
pregnancy, conduct "economic development", subsidize agricultural
products, and conduct alternative energy research. But he wants to do
it efficiently, damn it!, so he's a conservative. Honestly, I think he
will be the second coming of George W. Bush. With a better haircut.
And yes, the flip-flopping bothers me.

Way to betray the conservative movement, National Review. McCain at
least has the cojones to come out against ethanol subsidies. Thompson
has a good head on his shoulders. Are you so enthralled to the
establishment that you can't endorse a candidate outside the top
three? Disgusting.

The world needs a magazine for conservative conservatives. That's
repetitive, I know, but institutions like yours call themselves
"conservative" and I really don't know what it means anymore.
"Conservative conservatives" are people that aren't willing to
sacrifice a movement to win an election.

DISGUSTING.

Jacob Lyles

DIM BULB
Please appropriately lambaste Huckabee's insipid comments.  Does that dim bulb fail to comprehend that he will face a candidate named George W. Bush neither in any primary election nor the November, 2008 general election?

What a staggering non-sequitur.  Here he has low-hanging fruit, generously offered by the Democrat party--raising taxes (oops, a Huck weakness), open-border immigration (oops again, Huck must keep his mouth shut on that one), self-inflicted high energy costs, appeasement foreign policy, and potential destruction of U.S. health care.  But, what does Gov. Huckleberry deign to broadside? Pres. Bush's successful foreign policy!  Bush's foreign policy has effectively NOTHING to do with Gov. Huckabizarre's primary candidacy, as I see it.

David Stassel
La Canada Flintridge, California
SPAM SONG
Does Senator Obama have a campaign song yet? Perhaps he could license
Monty Python's Spam song and if he doesn't wish to be too specific in
regards to which changes he wishes to change he could just change the libretto.
Lovely Chaaange! Believable Chaaange!
Fundamental Chaaange! Wonderful Change.
Cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-nge
Cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-nge
Cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-nge
Cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-nge
Real Chaaange! (Lovely Change!)
Authentic Chaaange! (Lovely Change!)
Chaaange, Chaaange, Chaaange, Chaaange!

James Honey
Vancouver
MCTHINKING
I love this article and your sense of humor.

If it is this easy, I may run for president myself!  The slogan of my winning
campaign shall be: “You want fries with that?”

Obviously, the American people are well qualified to select the leader of the free
world!  The McThinking of America! 

Is there any doubt western Civilization is in decline?

Keep up the good work!

Ed Beehler
Forest, Virginia

DON’T FORGET PAUL
You state at the end of your excellent Washington Times article that, "I am
in favor of a free market in religion and a free market in housing, but
right now I would like a conservative candidate with a clear-headed
commitment to both."  There is Ron Paul, of course.

Christopher De Vere
UK, Ireland, South Africa

SUBTLE
The marvelously Clintonesque aspect of Hillary's "Vote Present" attack strategy is that she does not suggest how she would have voted!

Bruce Brakel

NAUGHTY AND NICE
Subject: Hill's & Bill's "political smarts"..

...I've always thought were inexplicably and unsupportedly over-rated.  Her
Christmas card - oops.. Happy Holidays card - to America ...is the dumbest
idea I've ever seen from ANY candidate for pres EVER.  Saint Hill is comin'
to town, and she'll as naughty and nice as it takes to get here.  She sure
gave one BIG gift to her Nov. rival (if she gets that far).

John Gross
Beloeil, Quebec

Re: Be fruitful
and Family Friendly
NAUGHTY BUT NICE
Nasty. But I'm rolling on the floor laughing!

 Carl in Jerusalem NOT ANTI-HUMAN
Your latest column on the anti-natalism of the environmental was dead
on, as usual, except for one thing. Alan Weisman's The World Without Us
doesn't promote the extinction of humans.  In an NPR interview a few
months ago (I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact date) he very clearly
resisted the interviewer's leading questions in that direction.  Indeed,
he waxed rather poetic about how his research for the book had led him
to the opposite conclusion. He argued that human extinction would be a
great tragedy because humans, unlike any other species, produce so many
beautiful things, tangible and intangible.  He mentioned poetry, art,
concepts of justice and love, among other things that humans and humans
alone bring to the world. He also pointed out that humans are the only
species ever to consciously preserve another species and argued that the
extinction of other species would accelerate without humans acting as
caretakers.  Weisman made no references to the Bible or God in his
interview so I won't speculate about his religious views, but his
argument sounded very much like the Genesis based view of environmental
stewardship on which I was raised.

As I said, your column was a timely reminder of the deeply anti-human
views underpinning the current environmental movement. I just hate to
see Weismann's work lumped in with that crowd.

Sarah Adams
Asst. Professor
English Department
Azusa Pacific University

CRAMPED LIVING CONDITIONS
From the USA Today story on America's rising fertility rate

"What matters is that the U.S. is probably one of very few industrialized countries
that have a fertility rate close to or at replacement level," says José Antonio
Ortega, head of the fertility section at the United Nations' Population Division...
"What is paradoxical is that the U.S. doesn't have those (family friendly) policies
and it has higher fertility," Ortega says.

"Paradoxical"? If by "family friendly" policies you mean Euro-lavish entitlements,
they're part of what's killing fertility. If the state assumes all the
responsibility of the family, why bother having one of your own?

With respect, sir, I think the real reason why European birth rates are so low vs
the US might be a simple issue of space. I know I've seen it mentioned in the corner
before but there's a lot of room to raise a family in North America. It's incredibly
cheep to grab a 3 bedroom house with a yard here versus in Britain or Germany. It is
no wonder that couples living in their small apartments in Berlin or London may not
be interested in adding a child to their cramped living conditions. My own humble
opinion: Europe has long been due a population decline and they can get some
breathing space. Of course that'd require that they control their immigration but
that's a different matter.

Jeremie Finck

SOME LIKE IT EMPTY
In your books and articles that deal with demographics and falling birth rates in
the West, I don't remember reading your opinion on the pros and cons of population
increase.  You do talk about the problems with a rapidly falling population but seem
to ignore the problems with population increase.

In the U.S., population grew from 200 million in 1967 to 300 million in 2005 (not
sure if illegal immigrations are counted in those totals).  Is our quality of life
improved as a result of that population growth?  I think not for a thousand reasons,
including the consumption of arable land, the need for workers to commute ever
further, to greatly reduced ability to fish, hunt, or whatever people enjoy doing on
empty land, and yes, maybe even to impact on global warming.  I struggle to find
benefits of U.S. population increase above the 200 million level--I have come up
with one--it allows government expenditures that are fixed in nature (and defense is
one of the few) to be spread across a larger base.

Would we not be better off, if in 1960, we had decided to stabilize population at
200 million, and limited immigration, and used tax policy to achieve that goal?  Or
today, should we do the same thing to stabilize at 300 million?

I notice you choose to live in bucolic New Hampshire, instead of New York City,
London, or Montreal--so maybe you don't appreciate that increased population?

Bruce Beaudin
Hendersonville, North Carolina (not too crowded yet!)

HE WANTED ME TO EAT HIM
Read your most recent column about saving future generations by not having
future generations and couldn't help thinking of the story a few years back
about the German (or some other Euro-dude) who was convicted for killing and
then eating a new "friend."  The Euro-dude's defense was: this is what the
new friend wanted - to be canabalized.  Isn't this an even better solution
to the ecoloons' worries about the looming eco-catasrophe than women having
abortions  Anti-natalists should really step up and submit to being served
up as dinner.  Of course, this future food source should fatten up on
nothing less than organic feeds and, to accommodate every taste, a few might
live their lives in the wild and thus be served up as free-range, - er,
meat.  That would be the ultimate statement of commitment to the
environment, woud it not?  Come on, Al, you yourself satisfy the hunger of a
medium-sized Sudanese village.

 Whaddya think, Mark?

 Bob Svoboda

OOPS
Why are you so hard on the Spears clan when they are trying so hard to solve your
demographic dilemma?  Their trailer park numbers of offspring is an effort to be
applauded.

Chuck Loncon
Savannah, Georgia

MARK REPLIES: I don't think I have been hard on Jamie Lynn, have I?

IT’LL MAKE YOU STERILE
I was listening to Rush's show the other day in which he played a segment of a Bill
Moyer show with some female professor of journalism going on with the all too usual
drivel about sexist men being afraid of a strong woman candidate.. yadda yadda..
when a most curious comment escaped her lips "I mean they used to think that if you
taught women to read they would become infertile.." (from memory but better than
close). What an interesting insight. If a correct representation of how men felt a
hundred years ago it explains much about the West's demographic decline, except that
it isn't that education made women infertile, rather it made them unfertile.

Dick McCracken
Chicago, Illinois

JUST DOING MY BIT
I emailed you the point about hispanic population increase in the U.S.  a few weeks ago, my 4 little hispanics and my 7 nephews and nieces making up some portion of that increase, so I was very interested to see that the Derbs graph confirmed my suspicion.

Why though, do I get the feeling that the Derb is not planning on sending my wife and I a thank you note for contributing to that high U.S. fertility rate.

Merry Christmas

Greg Marquez
THE SEVEN-KID PENALTY
Mark, I think Ortega is referring to the money the state provides you per
child. I know quite a few Europeans with regular jobs who make 30,000 at
their job, and 30,000 on their children, because they have 9 children.

The American couples I know with 9 children don't get 30,000 from the
government per year.   In fact, if you have more than 6 children and make
somewheres around over 80,000, the AMT kicks in.  So I think those with 7 or
more kids in fact start to get punished here as soon as they hit that AMT's
beginner level.  Europe, as far as I know, and have heard, doesn't punish
large families like that. Plus, as I mentioned, you get a lot per kid per
year. It adds up.

But I could be wrong.  I've not checked the tax code carefully.

Alexandra Glynn

THE FERTILITY SECTION
So, Senor Ortega believes that lower taxes, virtually open borders, and
full employment aren't family friendly policies.  Who knew?

 Personally, I'd be embarrassed to be known as the head of the fertility
section at the United Nation's Population Division.  That's just wrong
on so many levels.

 Charles Austin

TRULY FAMILY FRIENDLY
High growth, relatively low income taxes, high home ownership, relative autonomy
(for now) in child rearing - these are the truly family friendly policies. 

Anthony Letai
Department of Medical Oncology
Harvard Medical School THE PARADOXICAL POINT
You missed the paradoxical point when the author wrote that the U.S. does not have family-friendly policies – I suspect he meant anti-family tax policies, redefinition of the family, abortion
choice, etc.

Mark Salley

TOO DEPRESSED
I don't think you quite have the causal chain right. I think the 
ultra-nanny state basically stifles initiative, which leads to a 
certain joylessness. Without a happy life, you don't want kids.

It's not that you no longer need kids to provide or you; it is that 
you don't want kids because your life is dull and stupid.

john

HISPANICS HELP OUT
If you take time to actually read any of the primary documents on
fertility rates, such as this , you'll see that the high US fertility rate
is primarily due to our increasing Hispanic population.

"In 2005, a total of 4,138,349 births were registered in the United
States, a 1 percent increase over 2004. The total number of births has
generally increased since 1997. The number of birth declined slightly
for non-Hispanic white women, but increased for all other race and
Hispanic origin groups between 2004 and 2005.

"The 2005 crude birth rate for the U.S. was 14.0, unchanged from 2004.
The general fertility rate, increased slightly between 2004 and 2005,
to 66.7 live births per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years. Fertility rates
were essentially unchanged for non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic
black women between 2004 and 2005; the rate increased 2 percent for
Hispanic women and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) women, but
decreased slightly for Asian or Pacific Islander (API) women.

I hope you will acknowledge this in an update to your National Review posting.

Peter Rogers

EARTH TO EARTH
Optimum population would be Fewer, to save the planet, therefore abort more children.

Genocide in Darfur is now Green?  Who knew?

Joe Doakes,
Saint Paul, Minnesota

WELFARE WORKS
Hi Mark - you've got it exactly backwards when you say that "Euro-lavish
entitlements" are "part of what's killing fertility." Riddle me this: why are
European total fertility rates (TFR) highest in those EU nations such as France,
Norway, Sweden and Iceland that provide the most generous tax credits, child care
credits, etc for new parents and parents of small kids?
  
It's a mystery to me why self-described conservatives are so hostile to Ben
Wattenberg's mantra, "Help the puppies, not the yuppies", especially when targeted
state intervention for working families is, as every parent knows, a huge boost to
anyone struggling to care and provide for kids.
  
Also, could you please retire the idiotic moors-at-the-gate, "Eurabia" meme? Some
key facts:
  
  1) fertility rates for Europe's leaders-- Iceland, Ireland, France, Norway and
Sweden--are higher than those for Iran, Algeria, Turkey, and Tunisia, each of whom
has seen its fertility rate fall off a cliff in recent decades, from the 6-8 level
seen as recently as the 1980s to below 2.0 today.
  
  2) Fertility rates are plunging throughout the muslim world, about one-third of
which is now below replacement rate. Even Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are down below
4 now, which represents a 50% fall in the past generation, a decline which is
accelerating.
  
  3) This trend, driven mainly by urbanization, is even more pronounced among Muslim
immigrants in Europe, who in any case represent a tiny minority of Europe's
immigrants.
  
  On that last point, one of the most ridiculous assertions you and the other
Eurabia-mongers make has to do with the makeup of Europe's immigrant population.
More facts: Spain has about 0.7m African Muslim, mainly Moroccan, immigrants,
compared with about 2.5m immigrants from Latin America and about 1m immigrants
from Moldova and Romania. Of Sweden's 1m or so first- and second-generation
immigrants, 0.4m are from Finland, 0.2m from Denmark and Norway, and another 0.2m
from the Balts, Poland and the rest of Europe.
  
Enough with the Eurabia bullshit, Mark. And here's hoping you'll join the "help
the puppies, not the yuppies" crusade.
  
  Merry Christmas,
  
  Tom McLaughlin,
  father of two
  San Jose, California

NOT CELEBRATING YET
Love your columns and enjoyed your book.

And I agree, in general - in its cultural effect - on the welfare state.
But there's a hole in that part of your thesis - which my more lefty brother
noticed too - in that it's the more northern European countries with the
MORE developed welfare states, specifically with family policies, that have
the higher fertility rates.   It's the more traditionally catholic Southern
and Eastern Europe where the fertility has really crashed.

Furthermore, the white fertility in some of the northern European places
isn't too different than it is in the US.  (1.60 versus 1.85 is my rough
estimate.)   The US simply has a larger minority population - especially
high fertility Hispanics - versus their high fertility moslems.

It seems to me that the biggest factor is simple modernity - high inputs to
children, versus "return";  desire for life to be "rewarding", etc.   This,
of course, in part the welfare state issue that the "return" to kids does
not include counting on them for your retirement.    And then there's the
religiousity angle.    But the difference in tax rates and religiousity and
more open space, lower housing costs (in some places) that favor the US all
seem to be worth about .2 or .3 kids per white woman.   Not nothing, but not
huge.    (Lower taxes and housing costs would certainly help.)

I look at those fertility stats - broken down by ethnicity and legitimacy - and I
don't think we're in great shape either!

We ain't in Europe's dire straits, but until I see the fertility of college
educated white women at 2.1, I'm not celebrating.

 Jim

IS SHE A FAN?
You know what we need...a great Steyn editorial on how Britney Spears
little sister (Jamie Lynn Spears) took your demographics concern to heart and decided to do
something about it.  By God, she's a Hollywood liberal on the outside but closet conservative on the
inside...

It would be classic...maybe in poor taste...but classic, nonetheless.

Garhett Rittenhouse

OOPS …
Why are you so hard on the Spears clan when they are trying so hard to solve your
demographic dilemma?  Their trailer park numbers of offspring is an effort to be
applauded.

Chuck Loncon
Savannah, Georgia

MARK REPLIES: I don't think I have been hard on Jamie Lynn, have I?

BABIES’ BABIES
Don't blame me.  If my proposal requiring the sterilization of all childhood stars
had been adopted, this whole Jamie-Lynn-Spears-is-pregnant thing could have been
avoided.  We would still be cursed with child stars, but there would be far less of
them.

John Fagan
Lemoyne, Pennsylvania

Re: Mark’s Yuletide movie vault
BEST OFFICE PARTY
Very funny!

Although, I think Die Hard with Bruce Willis is the clear winner for Best Office
Party.  I can't think of any Christmas movie that has more explosions or machine gun
fire.

Matt Gilbreth
Laguna Hills, California

BRIT BADDIE BLOOPER
Were you referring to Alan Rickman's character?  Jeremy Irons, to my
knowledge, wasn't in Die Hard.  Is it possible that I have corrected
the great Mark Steyn on a matter of the arts (loosely speaking)?  Be
still my heart!

Paul (a fan and a physician, who just watched Die Hard Saturday night on cableDIE SOFT
Boy, are you going to be hammered by e-mails.  Jeremy Irons was not in "Die Hard",
not even in "Die Hard 2", but in the lame "Die Hard 3".  I wouldn't want to be your
inbox right now (and yes, I see the irony of helping to fill that very same inbox.)

David Johnson

KILLED OFF BEFORE THE TITLES
I think the widower angle was just because it's easier to create the
"great love story" than if the Bill character was already married.
Remember the Hillary character was a 3 namer (Sydney Ellen Wade), a
smart successful career woman (which they try to convince us Hillary is)
and well, I'm sure Annette Bening didn't pick that haircut herself.

Charles Neely

FIRST LADY NO MORE
I'm sure you have or will get many of these, but in Independence Day,
the First Lady was dead before the movie begins.  You point remains
valid, however.

 Rodney Waites
Alabama

Re: Away with the manger
PALLIATIVE PROCREATION
Away with the Manger reminded me of  the last scene in "Seven Beauties" (the Wertmeuller film
from '76) wherein  the hero (Giancarlo Gianinni) proposed to marry a preteen
prostitute and procreate like crazy as the only way to survive the horrors of post
war Italy.  Who knew?

Keep up the good work - I enjoy it very much.

Rick Johnson
Baldwin, Maryland

A CHRISTMAS TRADITION
Thanks for bringing back your great take on Hillary's and Gore's ridiculous comments on the birth of the “homeless child”.  I kept your original article, Turning Water into Whine, and still break it out to read every Christmas.  Keep up the good work.

By the way, like your new picture you're using next to your column in the OC
Register.  Notice it has you from the side with your head turned to the Right.  Just
a coincidence huh?

Bill Ginnett
Los Alamitos, California

AND THEY VOTED DEMOCRAT
Jospeh and Mary weren’t only homeless they were swarthy, illegal immigrants!? Or so says Neil Steinberg.
Good thing the Sun Times decided to become "the Progressive, Independent Conscience
of the City" (and purged their pages of any conservative not named Novak) so we can
learn the true meaning of Christmas (amnesty for all!).

bjhippx2

Re: Tough time for satirists
TOO STATUESQUE
Are we going to have to subject the Statue of Liberty to breast reduction surgery?

Barton Jacka

KITTY RAMPANT
If the Swedes can't accept a penis on a heraldic lion, they should take
the mane off as well. They can't have any signs of masculinity on a
lion - it will become a heraldic pussycat.

Steve Zell
West Hartford, Connecticut

A LION, NOT A NEUTER
With apologies to Yip Harburg ...

Yeah, it's sad, believe me Missy
When you're made into a sissy
Without the proper tools
But I'd be a straight-shooter,
Be a lion, not a neuter
If I had my family jewels

Steve McIver
Bothell, Washington

PIECES MISSING
Of course, the story misuses the word "castrated." What would the 
correct word be ... perhaps "Bobbitized"?

Mike Zimmerman
Milwaukee

SABLE AND CASTRO
Are you familiar with any of the standard terms of heraldry?

This could be a first: a heraldric device which requires the use of the word
"castro" (castrated).

I think the standard nomenclature for the Nortic Battlegroup's coat of arms would be
something like "vert, a lion sable, castro, salient to the dexter, bearing a sword".

Paul Stinchfield

FIERCE NORTHERN PEACEKEEPERS
Who knew Sweden had an army? Learn something new every day.

Noel Pixley

WILLY OR WON’T HE
FREE WILLY!!!!

Jim Rudolph
Boise, Idaho

IT’S ALL NEUTER ME
How could you, of all people, have missed the appropriate metaphor (as the story is
teased on your website posting)? 

This story (about the Swedish military's heraldic lion) demonstrates NOT that
PC-ness imposes a "strangehold" on speech, thought, etc., but neuters it!

Grant Dorfman
Houston, Texas

Re: “Secular New Hampshire”
NOT GOD’S COUNTRY?
I'm E mailing this from Grants Pass Oregon. I'm curious why you think Oregon is so
godless?

Mike

TWO STATES IN ONE
You noted on the Corner that “I think godless Oregon's the national champ”.
As a one time Oregonian (teaching at the UofO business school 20 years ago),
I would be very surprised if this were true.  Oregon is two separate states
in one.  The godless part is much better known, the populous section or the
state between Portland and Eugene.  But there is a very religious backwoods
part of Oregon with lots of Assembly of God churches.  The first time that I
learned about this was the 1986 Republican primary, when first-time
candidate Rev. Bob Lutz held Sen. Bob Packwood to 57% in the primary, long
before the other issues about Packwood emerged.  (see here, all with the
appropriate caveat).

It was quite a surprise that a sitting Senator challenged by a Rev. Bob
would have a close race.  It is my impression that a Rev. Bob challenger to
say snarlin’ Arlen in the fairly god-full state of Pa. would not get over
40%.

Cole Kendall
Washington, DC

A STATE DIVIDED
I disagree-having spent a lot of my career traveling the length and breadth
of the state, I would say that about half the state, especially Portland
proper and the college towns (Eugene, Corvallis, etc) are S-P
heaven-however, the rest of the state is basically conservative.

 In fact, you will find right next to the SP city a sister town (for Salem,
you have West Salem, for Corvallis, Albany, for Eugene, Springfield) that
are traditional in nature-as is all or most of the central and eastern part
of the state.

Call Oregon either hard-left or hard-right, with no in-between.

 Frank Strazzulla
Dove Canyon,  California

Re: Steyn’s Song of the Week
YOU'RE DOING FINE, CENTRAL REGION
Either there's an atypical mistake in your nice column on Paul Francis Webster, or
I'm counting wrong. You mention that he holds the record for Best Song Oscar
nominations at 16, but I think he might have been beaten by Sammy Cahn's 23: here and here.

The list of his Best Song nominations is interesting: "April Love", "Secret Love",
"Thee I Love", "A Very Precious Love", "A Time For Love", "Strange Are The Ways Of
Love" and more, plus a "Love Theme From..." and a "Love Song From...". It was good
to see a different side in your column. I hope you can run more general pieces on
lyricists in the future.

Several weeks ago, you did a great piece on the song "Oklahoma!" Any chance of
re-running a column about the show that was in the New Criterion some years back? It
went on to discuss American exceptionalism and explained why England has never
produced a show called "Suffolk!" (or something like that). I lent that article to a
friend and never got it back, and would love to see it again.

Keep up the good work! This is my favorite column of yours, and that's saying a lot.

Gary Perlman
Tokyo, Japan

WILLSON TRIVIA
Great column on the song Til’ There Was You. Here are a few other interesting
titbits regarding the play, music and Meredith Willson, the composer.
  
He also composed the fight song for the University of Iowa.
  
Because the play is set at the turn of the century, Willson makes dozens upon
dozens of references, in spoken word and song, to now obscure but then well known
items of the time, as well as many allusions to classical literature. If one
Google's the exact phrase "The Music Man Dictionary", the first search result is
a wonderful compendium of these references, with an explanation.  See here. 
  
Dovetailing on this, it makes the performance that Robert Preston gave, especially
with the song Ya Got Trouble, even more incredible. In that one song alone there
are a multitude of obscure, tongue tying, non-lyrically mellifluous words and
phrases that must be sung at a very fast tempo. To anyone in the 1960s or even
today, large chunks of that song are the most disjointed, unnaturally sounding
gibberish when spoken, let alone sung. Yet Preston pulled it off flawlessly, and
had to night after night. How he didn't descend into madness is surely a mystery
for the Ages. The other element that Preston brought to the part was that he had
that perfect conveyance of oily, smarmy, snakey used car salesman. One of the
greatest tragedies ever in movie and theater was to cast boyish, milquetoast,
Matthew Broderick as Professor Hill in the remake. The contrast could not be more
stark. Just as Rex Harrison was made to be Prof. Harold Higgins in My Fair Lady,
so to was Robert Preston  made to be "Prof." Harold Hill.
  
  Ron Johnson
  New York, NY

ONE OF THE GREAT SOUNDS
Thanks for your column about Meredith Willson and "The Music Man."  Although
I had not yet quite been born when the show opened on Broadway, like your
father I have spent a lot of time over the years listening to, humming and
(atrociously) singing "The Music Man" to myself when out of earshot of my
Wife - who also is not too crazy about my whistling.  Robert Preston's voice
on that original Broadway cast recording is one of the great sounds of
American popular culture, and of course he is wonderful in the movie
version, too.  I imagine that Preston's career (and Willson's, as you noted)
never quite achieved what each man might have hoped for himself, but still
as long as they are putting on shows someone on a stage somewhere is going
to be imitating Preston's delivery: "Either you are closing your eyes to a
situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the
caliber of disaster . . . ."

Looking forward to your take on the Johnny Depp "Sweeney Todd."

John Bennett

THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOOB
I really cringe at the clueless people who sing "The Little Drummer Boy"
as a solo.

Larry Eubank
Bloomington, Indiana

NUTS
Respectfully, the very best Christmas song of all time is Yogi Yorgesson's "I Yust
Go Nuts At Christmas."  See and listen here.

John Klein
Jupiter, Florida

THEY'RE OUT ALREADY
A minor quibble:

You say that Adam Sandler's Hannukah Song outed "famous but closeted 
Jews."  But to quote Jerry Seinfeld (from the "...not that there's 
anything wrong with that!" episode), "How can I be out when I was 
never in?"

As a member of the Tribe, I found Sandler's List a bit disappointing, 
since the names named were all widely known to be Jewish.  I was 
hoping for some surprises.

Mark Lake
Redding, Connecticut

WORLD WAR II CHRISTMAS
The famed Holiday Inn was released in 1943. In Halifax Nova Scotia 1943 the entire
Royal Canadian Navy and many ships and personnel of the Royal Navy were based at the long
established Naval Base (1749). The film opened in the classic Famous Players Capitol
Theatre on Barrington Street just up the hill from the historic harbor.  But Holiday Inn
played at the Capitol Theatre during Christmas Week 1943 -the theatre was packed
of course mostly with Navy and Merchant Navy people and their ladies. Halifax (HX to the
Navies) was in the Battle of the North Atlantic War Zone. As the showings
of the film progressed through the week leading up to the New Year the
huge audiences started singing along with Der Bingle when he sang "White Christmas"
which became an instant hit and a Christmas icon never to be forgotten. In fact on
Christmas Day 1943 a US Liberty Ship was torpedoed just off Portugese  Cove, near the Atlantic entrance to Halifax Harbour. Her Captain skillfully grounded the ship, which it was later
discovered was full of K rations and other food stuffs ,plus tires for the US Army
in Europe. Most of the cargo was saved and a lot ended up on the dinner tables of Halifax homes which hadn’t seen canned Cling Peaches and Fruit Cocktail since 1938 - we got a few K
Rations with their 8 Cigarettes to a package, canned food like Lima Beans with Ham -
Instant Coffee and Khaki Toilet paper. I will never forget "Holiday Inn" at the
venerable Capitol Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia .

Merry Christmas

Jack Macleod
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Re: Honor killing is our export to Canada
HOW TO DEAL WITH AN IRKSOME TEEN
Mohammed Ellsamary of the Canadian Islamic Congress says that the killing of
the Muslim teenager by her father is not to be taken as a Muslim issue or an
immigrant issue.  It's a "teenager" issue. 

Presumably, the so-called honour killings, stoning and lashing of grown
women in Pakistan and elsewhere are not Muslim issues - they're "sibling"
and "in-law issues".  And that unpleasantness with the teacher and the teddy
bear - that's just a "teacher" issue.

Brent Mainwood
Calgary, Alberta

‘HONOR’ IS ALL THEY HAVE
The Washington Post headline does seem inadequate, given what's behind
it.  Ironically, however, there is some (accidental) truth in it.  The
girl, after all, had died wanting to be Canadian -- or free, for that
matter.  In any event, something like this was inevitable.  If you ask me,
it was all too predictable.  And, as one Toronto Sun columnist speculated,
it may not be the first and we don't know if or how many get sent back to
their homelands to be dealt with.

I do think culture has a lot more to do with than religion here.  And this
culture of "honor killings" isn't just limited to Pakistani tribal area, as
you've noted - you'll be hard-pressed to find tribal Pakistanis in the
vast pool of Pakistanis in Toronto - it's in fact observed all across the
Indian sub-continent, though comparatively/exponentially less as you head
eastward.  In most cases, regardless of religion, the perpetrators are
poor, illiterate or partially educated.  They form a closed and isolated
social circle of their own, whose so-called "honor," however ill-perceived,
is all they have and is non-negotiable.  You lose that and you lose your
standing in that already marginal society.  That's why a 57-years old
cabbie, having reached the zenith of his professional life, is so jealously
maintaining the family "honor," which got compromised not so much by his
daughter's refusal to don the hijab, but, if true, when she left home to
live with friends instead.  Lord, the horror!  The horror of being looked
down upon at the mosque or temple; people talking behind your back -- can't
control the women of the house, must not be much of a man; failed as
parents; wife's female friend's always reminding how their daughters are
better behaved, better in general; full-of-hormones-yet-sex-starved society
friends of elder, full-of-hormones-yet-sex-starved brothers painting lurid
pictures of the runaway sister; elder, otherwise turned-into-eunuchs-by-parents
brothers helplessly and belatedly feeling sorry for the poor mother; the possibility
of the news traveling to homeland where the you stand to lose more, just by
association.  Well, you get the point.

What troubles me is the fact that the 1st and 2nd generation Muslims with
lesser-educated immigrant parents from the Indian sub-continent,
particularly from Pakistan, are the least educated, by choice.  I've seen
it as a student in high-school as well as in university, in Toronto.  The
urge, the dedication, the sense of desperation -- all that drive the
students from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh -- are virtually
non-existent both amongst students and parents.  Most joined 2-year
community colleges after grade-12, not bothering with OAC/grade-13, thereby
foregoing university.  Those few that did make it to universities -- all
males, though it's changed over the years, I hope -- had dismal success
rate, spending more time at the ISC, running prayers services, etc.  What
scares me most is the fact that Imams and leaders of mosques ( that are
frequented by sub-continental Muslims) are drawn from this group or just
brought in from abroad who have undeniable 'Colonial baggage,' as quoted by
an African-American Imam on a recent PBS documentary.

Quite frankly, I don't know of and can't imagine any other culture where
there is so little emphasis on furthering education, gaining
knowledge.  This has been endemic since the British colonial days -- may be
even dating back to the Mughal days -- when Hindus, Buddhists, Christians
and just about every other group, leapfrogged over the Muslims in terms of
education.  We've never recovered, possibly never will.

Wasim Altaf
Boston, Massachusetts

TEEN TACTICS
Thank you for pointing out that I need to move to Canada when my
daughters hit their teenage years.  I love that pater familias thing and
it's good to know that Canada has my back.  Or do I have to convert to
Islam to get away with it, since, after all, pater familias sounds
vaguely like a dead white European male power construct?  Whatever,
right?

BTW, you may not have realized the best part of the Montreal Gazette
editorial:

"It seems, however, that her behaviour could well have led
to her death."

Isn't that blaming the victim?  Try this sentence:

"It seems, however, that her behavior could well have led to
her rape." 

How long before the hoards of feminists would be at their doorstep
demanding somebody's head?  Of course, if the perpetrator were Bill
Clinton then they'd be OK with that sentence.  Anyway, thanks for giving
a damn about what happens to our friends to the North.

Andrew J. Macfadyen
Pediatric Critical Care
The Children's Hospital of Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska

CULTURE ‘CLASH’
I'm as beheading-averse as the next guy, so I can sympathize with the CBC's dancing
around the Aqsa Parvez case.

Today, the incomparable Anna Maria Tremonti is talking about it:  are Canadians as a
whole responsible?  The schools?  One of her guests at least hinted that if a guy
named Muhammad wants to kill his daughter (or take the fall for his son, the
infamous Muslim brother) then there's not much you're going to do about it, but Anna
Maria failed to follow up on the idea.

The preferred slant was that "young women from different cultural backgrounds often
clash with their families."  (In poor Aqsa's case, of course, this was quite a
"clash".)  They were able to justify this broad-brush analysis by invoking the cases
of a couple of Sikhs who killed a daughter.  Oh good!  Radical Muslims are no worse
than a community who openly celebrate the murder of 329 people!

Rick Bonsteel
London, Ontario

FATHER KNOWS BEST
From the post in the Montreal Gazette:

"Few are the fathers, of any faith or none, who have not clashed with
their adolescent daughters over something..."

Why, just the other day I heard something about this Jewish dad busting
a cap in his daughter's head about her nose ring; and then there was the
Presbyterian who dropped a concrete block on his little girl's skull
when she came home with a tattoo; and then there's that Mormon father
whose uppity daughter was holding hands with a boy, for God's sake! Is
it any wonder he cut her head off? And then that poor Atheist father
whose daughter refused to wear a Piss-Christ T-Shirt... Well, I'd have
run her down in a car, too. Wouldn't you?

Michael Talcott
Boston, Massachusetts

THE GREAT BRAINWASHED
Who are the elected (and some non) pandering to?  Is this a significant voting
block?  Don't think so.Perhaps it's 40 or so years of brainwashing the rest of the
electorate who agree w/the white-washing (sorry about that - not a very PC phrase!)
of a murder of a child by her father?  No one I speak w/agrees w/the MSM's stance.
Maybe all my friends are just old enough to be able to think clearly - for
themselves!  P.S. LOVED    your "caps lock" answer!!

Diane Williams
Granbury, Texas
ISOLATED INCIDENT?
Regarding your post in The Corner on the murder Aqsa Parvez, the
Montreal Gazette is correct that “Few are the fathers, of any faith or
none, who have not clashed with their adolescent daughters over
something...”  But the Gazette didn’t mention that fewer still are the
fathers, brothers, or uncles who are not Muslims who kill their
daughters, sisters or nieces over such clashes.

While the Gazette may be correct to conclude that, “To judge a faith
and a culture on this one squalid incident is absurd,” I wonder how
many of these incidents have to occur before the Gazette would allow
any judgment to be made?  I remember reading somewhere years ago that
one of the largest groups of women in prison in Jordan was there to
protect them from being killed by family members and it struck me that
a faith and culture that condoned the murder of young women to preserve
some perverse sense of honor was a faith and culture utterly devoid of
an understanding of the term.

Jonathan Canedo

JUST OBEYING ORDERS
Surely it is hate speech to suggest that the defendant was guilty of 
murder for following religious dictates. Shame on you for repeating 
the libel.

Good luck on your fight with these idiots.

John

FAMILY ISSUE
On the same line in that in France it is "youths"  not Muslim youths that riot the
same can be said in this article in which the Canadian Muslim conferene states that the killing of a 16 year old girl
by her father for not wearing a hijab is a family issue not a Muslim one.

P.S.  Loved you speech two weeks ago in Philadelphia

Robert Dager
Lafayette hill, Pennsyvania

Re: Goodbye to Chicago
FAILING UP
I have a suggestion for you. Please keep track of the executives who ruined
Hollinger and are responsible for the incredible decline in value. (Also the key
prosecution witnesses.)

It is not unusual for people to fail up.

It would be interesting in a year or two to see what the geniuses that turned the
business into a personal cash cow are up to. And if any of the stock holders have
the presence of mind to notice what happened at Hollinger. The pattern may repeat --
to much acclaim. Or maybe their karma will get them . . .

Anyway, it’s worth a look.

John
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

WHAT LAWS DID HE BREAK ANYWAY?
I've just tried to discover what laws Conrad Black has been held to have broken.   I
found myself in a morass of material deriving from the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).   It was apparently designed for use against the
Mafia.

I won't go into detail, but the entire structure of it looks to me (and I'm a
retired lawyer) like a labyrinth of draconian rules and devices calculated to make a
criminal out of anybody whom a prosecutor thinks ought to be a criminal because he
has engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity"..

I tried to discover what it meant by  "pattern of racketeering activity".    Then I
narrowed it to "racketeering activity".    And then to "racketeering" - and this
last step left me scratching my head.    At one point I came across a few sentences
by Justice Marshall when he said - "....the Copeland Committee, found that the term
and  the associated word "racket" had "for some time been used loosely to designate
every conceivable sort of practice or activity which was either questionable,
unmoral, fraudulent, or even disliked, whether criminal or not...."

And then I noticed that Black wasn't convicted of racketeering, but of three counts
of "mail fraud" even though, so far as I can see, no  fraud of any sort had been
proved - plus one count of  "obstruction of Justice" that involved Black doing no
more than moving some of his own paper records, in Canada yet not even in the U.S.,
from one place to another - with no evidence whatsoever that he either destroyed any
of it or even hid it.

   I gather from reading about the operation of RICO that a conviction for "mail
fraud" can be obtained even on the basis of charges of fraud that a person has
been tried for and found Not Guilty.  

The whole thing reminds me of reading in - I think it was Gulag Archipelago - of how
Stalin's show trials convicted people on the basis not of anything they did, but of
what they merely had the opportunity to do.

"J'accuse"  comes to mind.    My hope is that Conrad Black's conviction will
eventually be seen as a scandal quite as bad as that in the case of  Alfred Dreyfus.

Herbert Thornton
Victoria, British Columbia

SOMEONE’S HAPPY
Subject: 6 1/2 years for your butt buddy Lord Black, Yippeee!!

Jude Wynn

jwynn@mississippimanagement.com

DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR
Please convey my best wishes to your friend Conrad Black. This is a sad day
for him and for the judicial system of the USA, but for him especially. He
does not deserve this and I wish him well - and his family.

He doesn't know me any more than you do. I am just one of those little people
who have read his papers over the years (good job) and followed this
disgraceful affair. I have hoped and prayed until now that justice would
prevail, but clearly it won't.

 I have read your reports of the affair whenever you have published this side
of my horizon and I have shared your anger. You must be choked. My best to
you, too.

Jill Gunsell
England

THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT
Now that Conrad has been given a lengthy reprieve so that he can focus on
authoring several more bestselling books I anxiously await said tomes. What
of you Mr. Steyn? When can we expect a definitive account of the People v.
Conrad Black?  I have not been able to follow all your blogs and columns on
this trial. I would certainly purchase your book should you choose to write
one. Please do.

Douglas M. Baum
Ottawa, Ontario
 
Re: Oldham Park Perverts
A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS
I was on holiday in England last summer with my daughter and
niece.  Naturally, I took some photos of them, whereupon a tour guide
informed me that British Law forbade photographing children without express
written permission, and the guide added that the law was meant to hinder
pederasts.

Surely, I said, pederasts could be better hindered by preventing abductions
rather than photographs.  And anyway, I added, if I have to give written
permission before anyone photographs my daughter, who the hell is operating
all those surveillance cameras that the morning's Telegraph said make
Britons the most photographed people on Earth with something like 235 images
per day?

At that point the guide, an unsinkable British matron-type, threw up her
hands and said, "Yes, we've become a police state."

Well, police enough to prevent parents photographing their kids, but still
not police enough to lower ... what's it called again? ... oh, yeah, ...
crime.

Ted S.

PARTNERING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Mark: Outrageous post in the Corner, but in addition to the crazy rule about taknig
pictures, the casual reference to the gentleman and his "partner" having a "family"
day jumped out at me.  I assume someone twenty years younger than me would not even
notice things like that, but I still do.

Eric Schumann,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

IT WON’T BE A STYLISH MARRIAGE
"Steve Brook and partner Mandy Smith were having a family day out with
11-month-old Rebecca when the council worker swooped."

Dear Mr. Steyn:

Amazing how many articles reference British "partners" with kids.  Doesn't
anyone in the UK get married (the old-fashioned boy-girl kind, I mean) any
more?

Thanks for all your wonderful work.  Your line about the Judean census being
implemented in California and Massachusetts was absolutely hilarious.

Merry Christmas,

Jason McNamara

Re: America Alone
STABBED FOR HIS STUDIES
I don't know if this has made it into the English-language press yet (see Swedish press
here, here and here) but Fuat Deniz, a lecturer at Örebro University in Sweden
was just stabbed to death. His area of research was the massacre of the Assyrians
by the Turks. It looks like the murderer got away, but it is considered likely
that the motive was political. His Swedish colleagues who study the
same genocide are claiming that they have been threatened as well.

David Jessup

Dan
Naperville, Illinois

INTERFAITH SCHMINTERFAITH
You have to see this story if you haven’t already. I thought it was amazing.

 Also note the comments section that follows the article. The StarTrib has a
very liberal readership.

I appreciate your writing and enjoyed America Alone.

Patrick Marcotte
Hutchinson, Minnesota

HIPPY HEAVEN
Thanks for the link at the corner...I'm a big fan and incidentally, the guy
who persuaded the local library to order in a copy of “America Alone” which,
in a small rural town rapidly filling up with aging hippies fleeing Toronto, is no mean feat.

As always, death to *"healing crystals"*

neo aka john d.

THE GREAT SCHISM
I'm wondering why the U.S. Episcopalian split with the Anglicans in Africa, Canada
and Britain has received very little coverage here in the Great Satan and abroad. Do
you think it could have anything to do with the Left Wing media being forced to actually
say something positive about the United States, such as a large religious element in
the devil’s den is actually less homophobic than in the rest of the world, including
precious, wonderful, saintly, never-engaged-in-violence Euroland? I
didn't read anything from the BBC's Web site, but I can only imagine. Perhaps in
Europe they are being told the U.S. split is part of a greater America conspiracy to
take over the universe by duping people into thinking they are “nice”? There was a
British columnist (can't remember the bugger's name) who actually used that line
when trying to explain away why Americans are such hospitably kind people…. It’s
because we’re EEEEVVVVILLLLLL!

Dabney O'Toole
Ames, Iowa

DID YOU LIKE KNOCKED UP?
Don't know if you've commented on these films before.....but Seth Rogan's "40 Year
Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" both have very conservative themes.  Both are hilarious
(in my opinion) albeit a little vulgar.......but I think they get a good point
across.  Wanted to know what your take was/is on both of them.  Thanks.

Trevor Wilt
Charlotte, North Carolina

KILLED OVER CHRISTMAS CARDS
Where in Montreal are you from? I'm from NDG.

This reminds me of the article you wrote on the M.Lepine December massacre. The MSM
conveniently never mentioned his real name. In regard to this story of the killer of the Seniour delivering Christmas cards is that the killer went on an Anti-Christian, Anti-Christmas rant before he killed.
We heard from a witness that day and then we never heard another word about the
reason he killed. CTV, Global, CBC and all print media never mention the reason he did this.

Alex Condie
Toronto, Ontario

FROGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN
Mark, what's with all the French? Sometimes I feel like I'm reading the
political commentary of Humbert Humbert.

R. Norman
Norman, Oklahoma

MARK REPLIES: Moi? Quelle horreur!

NEW RECRUIT
I discovered you through NRO...thank you for your contribution there and your larger
body of work as well. You are a consistent source of joy.

Jeff Miller

YOU WERE FUNNIER THEN
I see you had a poll there recently about which journal/newspaper you
should return to.  I really enjoyed your writing in The Spectator some
years ago.  The fact that your articles were considerably longer than
the ones you used to write for other publishers meant that they were
both more indepth and a lot funnier.  I remember with particular
fondness your (bi-weekly?) articles in the build up to Gore-Bush 2000.

I thought it would be good fun if you returned there for the upcoming
election.  I see they've even taken Toby Young back so there must be
some hope for you...  Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

Cian O Suilleabhain
Dublin, Ireland

A BIG PICTURE KIND OF GUY
I was wondering why you have taken up blogging at NRO's "The Corner"?  You had
previously observed in "Mark's Mailbox" that the task of blogging was urgent, short
little observations directed at right now - and you were a big picture, long-haul
type of guy.

Did the siren song of the blogosphere draw you onto its shoals?  Does it help or
hurt your column writing?

Not that any of this matters - you've got a one-way ticket to a re-education camp
deep in the Yukon.  The only blog you'll have is a concrete wall in your cell to
etch your initials and camp number into.

Exercise your wit while you can my friend.

Scott Salvato
Valley Stream, New York

AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU …
I hear you did not graduate high school.. Now it makes sense.

“outorsafe”

LAST WORD
I hate to bother you but I have a question for you regarding Guy Lombardo
and his New years Eve celebrations from New York.  For some reason I thought
he broadcast from the Astor Hotel in Times Square but then on checking
found that he broadcast from the Waldorf.  I cannot seem to separate the
hotel Astor from those tv broadcasts.  I guess my question is, Did Guy
Lombardo ever broadcast directly from the Astor or was there some sort of
feed from the Astor back to the Waldorf.  I am sorry to bother you with this
but it is bugging me. Thank You.
 
By the way you happen to be my favorite political/social commentator of the
day.  Mr Mencken would be proud.  Good luck in your battle with the forces
of darkness.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
 
Michael J. Riordan

MARK REPLIES: To the best of my knowledge, it was always the Waldorf
Astoria, to use the full name - which may explain the confusion.