Posted June 14, 2002

No Dots Connected

Justin Raimondo ["Age of Malarkey"] has a future in comedy writing. I haven't laughed as hard since "Mary and Chuckles the Clown" or "Lucy in the Chocolate Factory". If the mainstream media don't get the joke, then we can be sure that they are brain-dead. I looked back at the links to ABC News and the Chicago Tribune and detected no dots being connected. Has the American sense of humour been lost completely along with the Constitution?

~ Ralph H., Canada

Enduring Freedom

I wanted to express my appreciation of ... [Justin Raimondo's] most recent pieces (June 10, June 7 and June 5). I would consider myself closer to Chomsky or Cockburn in sentiment, but always find your commentaries thought-provoking and agree that it looks like it's going to require a "coalition" of left and right to stop the Bush Administration (whose actions bring a whole 'nother meaning to operation "Enduring Freedom").

I suspect you've already seen the CNN article linked on Antiwar.com's front page (as of June 11). I find it most intriguing (and not a little frightening) that apparently the right to a trial by jury has been suspended for US citizens, that US citizens may be detained without trial (not even a military tribunal) until after the "war on terrorism" ends (and how would we know when it's ended?), and that "officials at the consulate were suspicious, wondering why a man with the name of Padilla was hanging out in Pakistan, and they asked other agencies to check into him." (What if his name had been Smith? Would that have been okay?)

~ Jason C., Michigan

Few Kiras

[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of June 10, "Living in a Soviet America":]

I can't tell you how thrilled, and I mean thrilled I was in reading your latest post. There are indeed few Kiras in this world, whereas there are a seemingly infinite supply of people who would sell their souls for 10 cents on the dollar.

This country is in truly dire straits, and it's not from Al Qaeda, or Philippine terrorists, it's from people who would shred our Bill of Rights and Constitution, and then act like they've done us all a favor. People will rue the day they allowed an unelected President to take power, while uttering barely a peep in protest. Bushbaby came in promising to restore "honor and integrity to the White House" but no one seems to remember that people who have honor and integrity don't take what doesn't belong to them and don't take that which they have not earned.

I personally thank god that you exist, that your website exists, and that there are others out there who are unwilling to let all this stand. We are going to have to stand up and be counted.

~ Ken A.

Libertarian Party/Green Party

Kudos to Justin Raimondo ["Turn Toward the Left"] for coming to grips to what the Libertarian Party and its associated groups have become. ...

Here in Colorado, where the Libertarian Party has historically had large support (compared to the rest of the country), has seen its support dwindle. It appears to me that those on the left have jumped to the Green Party and the rest of the Libertarians have taken a sharp turn to the right.

In addition to Libertarians joining the war party I've also noticed a similar shift. Those that follow the ideology best represented by FreeRepublic were, during the bombing of Bosnia and the bombing of Serbia, one of the most vocal antiwar groups out there. But now it is quite clear that their opposition was just because those were "Clinton's wars". But now that their boy George is in charge they are cheering for the total annihilation of everything Arab and/or Muslim. Perhaps the antiwar stance of many Libertarians changed for similar reasons.

There are many of us on the left that are not socialists, communists, elitists, mush heads or what ever else those on the right claim. Many of us would readily support the agrarian society free from governmental and religious coercion, much as Thomas Jefferson envisioned in many of his writings. But, alas, there is no leadership, no voice in this direction. ...

I believe that liberals and libertarians have much in common and that the Libertarian Party could attract liberals except for three very important issues. The first is the presence, either real or imagined, of the conservative religious right within the ranks of the Libertarian Party. The second is the preservation of public lands and environmental protection in general. The third is the issue of social justice. But, unfortunately for the Libertarian Party, it may be too late. The sudden rise of the Green Party may have already captured the hearts and minds of those on the left who might have otherwise had sympathies for the Libertarian Party. The Green Party has a much greater appeal to the left than does the Libertarian Party. The young anarchists and the anti-globalization activists can find a voice within the Green Party where there is very little in the Libertarian Party. The Greens have stayed true to their antiwar stance unlike some Libertarians.

And, in a very real way the Green Party seems to be better organized and their platform thought out to a greater extent than the Libertarian Party. ...

~ Edward H.

Prolong Distinctions

Regarding M. Cerritelli's June, 10th letter:

I agree completely that peoples' original customs have changed throughout the ages of history. For instance, Europeans were predominantly Pagan before Christ, and now most are, of course, involved in some denomination of Christianity.

Here are two brief quibbles, the second of which we will probably have to agree to disagree on. For one, your statement that genetics are similar in all races is right on. However, you must also take into account that genetic structures are also very similar between humans and monkeys, or even other mammals. Secondly, you assert from a source that "...this pattern of diversity is largely accounted for by human evolutionary history." Well, I'm a firm believer in Creationism, not Evolutionism, and I believe the reason so many intelligent creatures have similar genetic make-ups is because they are all designed by one designer -- God. God made separate nations for separate people, and I believe we should maintain that distinction. But that is another topic, unrelated to this forum.

In short, while I understand it's not realistic to think people can sustain all their historic traditions, it's important we prolong our distinctions and unique traits. A combination of cultures doesn't enhance civilization -- it weakens it. If there is no straightforward path, there is confusion and disillusionment. And we should all know how easy it is for a growing government to march a herd of disillusioned souls to the drumbeat of imperialism and tyranny.

~ Kevin G.

Dirty Bomb

Re: "U.S. Detains Alleged Dirty Bomb Terrorist":

Boy, is the government ever trying to hype this story. Yet, Paul Wolfowitz admitted in his news conference no real evidence exists that a plot was in motion, or that Mr. Padilla was trying to make a dirty bomb. At best, all the government has is some hearsay from its "sources" that Mr. Padilla discussed hypothetically making a dirty bomb among other types of attacks against the US. Notice that Ashcroft waited more than a month to announce this arrest, and he did it from Moscow, Russia, no less. What did he want to divert attention from? The "Bush knew" story which has been the rage for the past couple of weeks? Bush's proposal for a 170,000 person strong domestic spy agency -- the Department of Homeland Security? Or was it something else even more sinister? Notice also Ashcroft's denial of an American citizen's right to counsel and attempt to put Mr. Padilla before one of the government's unconstitutional military tribunals. We are heading toward a police state. No doubt about it.

~ GM

Bull's-Eye

I must say that Patrick J Buchanan has hit the bull's-eye in his recent essay published on WorldNetDaily, "What Price the American Empire". In his own words, "The price of empire is terror. The price of occupation is terror. The price of interventionism is terror." The source of Imperialism has always been War. Interventionism and Occupation are bullish words to begin with, for what they actually describe is Conquest.

America's foreign policy behaves like a beast, snorting and stomping like a bull, as if the earth is its own pasture and the intercourse of nations are cherished cows for the taking. America acts like a greedy, horny bull. It is not just hated; the beast is terrifying . Is it any surprise this ravenous bull of military conquest snorts in the language of a bull's excrement, marking out its bovine territory in the grotesque lies and deceptions of its monstrosity and vile stench? Bull's-eye!

~ David d'Apollonia, Nova Scotia, Canada