|
|||||||||
Posted August 3, 2002
Start Screaming
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column, " "The Fix Is In,":]
Keep up the great f*cking columns. More than just the braided set are dead-set against putting it on the line for that chickenhawk "amen corner" you speak of. Ritter, General Rose they belong at those hearings, no question. The whole damn country's gotta start screaming, and fast.
Marr
I write as a contributor, published participant, and reader. I speak fondly when observing that no one serves a steamier cup of bile than Justin Raimondo.
But Mr. Raimondo's catty swipes at Phebe Marr undercut a valuable column, and demean the writer and his subject.
Phebe Marr is an academic, an honest one, and one all the more rare for her genuine appreciation of the Arab world. She has pursued her studies at no small risk to her career and reputation (see http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/121784/841217008.html). With her knowledge, comes awareness of complexities, and with her rapport for the peoples of the region comes concern for all at risk in the debate.
Yes, the Biden witness list was stacked as ludicrously as Pamela Lee. But Dr. Marr's appearance represented a glimmer of hope. And yes, she's aged Mr. Raimondo; so have I and all-too-soon so shall you. So shed a tear, but for the core, not the surface, and save your ridicule and anger for the deeper ugliness of the world.
(The Phebe Marr citation references a Susan Taylor Martin column. I recommend her work to you -- http://www.sptimes.com/columns/stm.shtml. Her reports from Iraq, Israel, Palestine, and Pakistan are exemplary; her too infrequent pieces from England are pure fun. Read her appreciation of Ernie Pyle to understand why she does what she does.)
~ Drew Hamre, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Backtalk Letters
...Reading the Backtalk section I have come to the conclusion that you only make public the letters praising you or those coming from people to the left of Raimondo....
The Backtalk editor replies:
Backtalk primarily functions as a forum in which those who agree with Antiwar.com's mission can criticize, praise, debate and communicate. Many of such people could be considered "to the left of Justin Raimondo."
Leftists Will Stab You in the Back
I'm pretty much getting tired of reading crap from left wing nutballs. I've written on this before so I'm going to beat this dead horse again. Left wing nutballs ... simply want the guns under their control so they can order people around to their liking. Furthermore, most leftwing nutballs lie. They like to lie because, whilst they declare that anyone who is not one with the Borg cannot use any means to achieve an end, they believe their goal is so Holy, so righteous, so important to the betterment of mankind (personkind) that they can do anything they wish in order to achieve it.
...This ain't the '60s anymore. Perhaps Dr. Rothbard found some principled lefties to deal with back then, but they don't exist anymore. I have dealt with university debate coaches who are hard core leftists. They use tests that they know have been debunked in their debate arguments. They justify this by saying that the issue is too important to not argue what they argue, and, that what they are arguing must be true, they just don't have the time to get a text together to prove it. One of the arguments he still uses is the "study" by those two "economists" who "proved" that increasing minimum wage increased employment.
I've noticed the increasing tendency that you assume the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The left is not my friend. It should not be yours. Lefties will stab you in the back the moment that someone they favor is in charge of the police state. I don't understand why you don't get this.
Trial
After reading Justin's column on Iraq, "The Fix Is In," I now have a better handle on what happened during Christ's trial by Caiaphas and his Pharisaic Priesthood. Same thing here -- make a judgment and then justify it by backing into it with false testimony and manufactured evidence. Bring in a bunch of experts (I use that term reluctantly) to speak of the danger posed by the convicted (er, I mean the defendant) and the deed is done. Conviction -- publicly and unanimously.
They say history repeats itself and Satan is alive and well. From what I see, it looks like he has taken up residence in the minds of our political leaders. The guilty go free and the innocent are condemned. What a sad state of affairs in our country.
Bureaucratic Failures
Thank you for including a link to Mr. [Brendan] O'Neill's article ["With Friends Like These, Iraq Needs No Enemies"]. His logic is always impeccable.
...Wouldn't it be easier to invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" in altruistic projects in your own country and let the world admire the U.S. for its works than to expand an already bloated bureaucracy to "shape an image abroad"? Besides, when you create an image, you have to worry that it does not fade, so you have to keep working at it (and spending millions).
Creating and expanding bureaucracies to correct bureaucratic failures or vices does not work -- only makes things worse.
Why Neocons Want War
I've been enjoying your site for a couple of years now, thanks for all the work you do in defense of liberty and promotion of the truth. It occurs to me that your "Today's Spotlight" should be Wanninski's 7/31 article, "Richard Perle's Puppet Show." I've been struggling with the question, why do the neocons want war with Iraq so desperately? Jude filled me in.
~ J.H., Texas