Family Resemblance - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
Family Resemblance
by

ACCENTS OF OUTRAGE
Re: Marilia Duffles & Jeffrey Lord’s Why Hillary Talks Like Bill:

If she walks like a Clinton, talks like a Clinton, is she a Clinton? It does not matter how Hillary Clinton is packaged and what American dialect she is speaking that week, America knows who Hillary Rodam Clinton is.

Many of us still remember her, “I ain’t gonna bake no stinking cookies” episode during her husband’s first four years in office. It was not so much that she slammed the institution of marriage and the American wife, it was the fact that she said it with so much vitriol and disdain, a person could see the Toll House cookie dough oozing between her clenched fists.

The outright hatred and anger that Hillary Clinton displayed as the First Lady for eight years is what many Americans remember. The forced smiles, the frozen amateurish attempts at showing any affection towards her philandering husband, speaking in various American dialects that made Hillary utter the phrase of her desire to be the, “First multilingual President.”

How does Hillary Clinton expect to convince us to vote for her when she openly mocks us and the common language that we share? It is not multilingual, it is English and this is the language of Americans. By all appearances this disdain for her fellow Americans that Mrs. Clinton lets slip through from time to time when she strays from her scripted speeches is not something that she has learned recently, but rather a seething rage that she developed many years ago and this rage has been kept in check for her lust for political power.

If Hillary Clinton is elected President, what or whom will keep this anger in check? Will it be Bill? Not likely because she will no longer have a use for him. Will it be Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid or the rest of the Democrats in Congress? Probably not because they’re thirst for power is as insatiable as Hillary’s. There will be no one to protect Americans and especially conservatives from her wrath and vindictiveness to settle old political and personal scores.

Close your eyes for a moment and visualize the scene of her inauguration night, and the glow of Washington D.C. in the night sky. But this glow isn’t from the various balls that will adorn our nation’s capital, but rather the Washington D.C. skyline will resemble the Atlanta skyline during the Civil War as it was burnt to the ground. This is what awaits Republicans and Conservatives in Washington D.C., there is no Presidential honeymoon in Hillary’s itinerary only political revenge and the beginning of her march to the sea to settle old scores. This is what Hillary Clinton seeks and desires no matter what American dialect she speaks in.
Melvin L. Leppla
Jacksonville, North Carolina

Speaking as a person who spent accent-formation years in outside of Southern and Southern-influenced venues. I am thinking it is more than the senator being patronizing to certain audiences; there appears to be a concerted effort at accent modification to broaden her appeal beyond Park Ridge, Illinois, I can understand why that nasal, strident, suburban Chicago dialect can have an effect on people — I got teased about it from a shop teacher when the family moved to Colorado, and I am pretty sure it influences my student-feedback ratings now that I am teaching.

Is Senator Clinton seeing an “accent coach”? I recently saw and heard her speak on TV with that Southern-affect accent people are talking about, and I am thinking she is talking that way Cook County.

The problem is that of actor John Ratzenberger portraying the character Cliff Claven from TV’s Cheers. The accent was believable to me, but it made people who grew up in New England cringe. I am thinking a half-baked Southern accent is worse of all outcomes. It will be interesting to listen to how this attempt at accent modification evolves.
Paul Milenkovic
Madison, Wisconsin

“Females, in turn, are biologically programmed to be impressed by the antics in this arena for one reason: to ensure good genes for their offspring.”

Actually, females in many mammalian and avian species have a different reason for selecting “dominant” mates: they are dependent on the male for support during reproduction, and dominant males control more resources. Human females fall very much into this class.

As Lorelei Lee said in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: “Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty?”

Male dominance is sexually attractive in its own right,
but life is replete with women pursuing feeble rich men.
Rich Rostrom

It’s simple: Mrs. Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, etc. are self-serving ass kissers. No difference between them and the effeminate males that make up their party. Gender bending is alive and well on the left.
Michael Tomlinson
Jacksonville, North Carolina

INTELLIGENCE FAILURE
RE: George Wittman’s Intelligence Directors and Other Whiners

George Tenet’s head should have been on Bush’s desk, on a silver platter, Sept 12, 2001.
Pete Chagnon

Remember the intelligence director in 1977? Who does?

The low stakes make all the more pathetic Mr. Tenet’s efforts to enhance his legacy.
David Govett
Davis, California

BRAVO!
Wilma Smith
Virginia

NOT THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Re: Hal G.P. Colebatch’s Aid and Comfort

It seems there is no end or means the left won’t go to undermine the President and the war effort with no concern for the consequences of either their actions or words. Just this morning I drug myself through a column in the Wash Times from the useful idiot Nat Hentoff, horrors of horrors the miserable, murderous, human debris that are being detained at Gitmo are on a hunger strike in protest. Well how about that! Mr. Hentoff cries boo hoo for these “detainees” as if they are just some poor shmoes picked up by Capt. Renaud in a sweep of the “usual suspects” when in point of fact those still at Gitmo are the worst of the worst.

We are talking about hardened ideological killers who would think nothing of slitting Mr. Hentoff’s neck, or strapping on a bomb and walking into my kid’s high school. He wants to them Mirandized, supplied with free legal counsel, and to go to court and face some Bill Clinton judge who will excoriate the U. and set them free to kill again.

But God forbid we take steps to protect ourselves, God forbid we report or highlight successes, God forbid we actually support our fine men and women in harm’s way. Better to prostate ourselves to international opinion, better to seek the forgiveness of Allah and Amnesty International. I mean after all who do we think we are?!?

We have met the enemy and he is us.
Stuart Reed
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan

Jessica Lynch may not be a hero, but the SEALS who rescued her are (one of her rescuers died fighting terrorists in Afghanistan). Pat Tillman was heroic and though his death by friendly fire was regrettable it does not diminish his heroic service. During a three-year period in the 1990’s more than 3,000 troops died in training accidents, because of inadequate funding and the Commander-in-Chief “loathed the military.” Why weren’t the American people ever informed about these pointless deaths that made training in the U.S. more dangerous than combat in Afghanistan or Iraq?

The Iraq war is filled with heroes — from the resolute Commander-in-Chief who refuses to bow to public ignorance and reward victory to murderous religious fanatics (unlike his immediate predecessor) to those who volunteer to defend America during a time of war.

One such volunteer was Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Jason Dunham who threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow Marines. How many Americans know of this heroic Marine from the frauds in the media?

Unfortunately, the dissemination of Iraq falsehoods is a daily occurrence in the media and Congress. The result is that the American people are ready to embrace an unnecessary defeat that will imperil American lives and national safety for years if not generations to come. While the military “getting the story wrong” or embellishing the facts could be bad the former is potentially deadly for thousands of Americans and millions of Iraqis. Which is worse?
Michael Tomlinson
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Winston Churchill said that in war the truth had to be protected by a bodyguard of lies. His statement was put into practice with Operation Bodyguard which was designed (it worked very well) to protect the Normandy invasion by misleading the Germans to believe that the invasion force was heading for the Pas de Calais. Imagine a politician now saying the same thing as Churchill – he would be mauled to death by the media before his lips stopped moving. Not only is the use of misinformation decried, the media believes that its duty is to expose actual secrets.

Damaging your own cause by blurting out the truth used to be regarded as tactless, dangerous stupidity of the worst sort, but now it is seen as a sign of high intelligence and ethical purity, when it is neither. Terrorists don’t imperil their operations and their lives by advertising their secrets on the front pages of newspapers, so why do we? Grossly muddled, false morality that excuses such irresponsible and reckless behavior is a real impediment to fighting terrorism and it is hopeless to expect success while it prevails. One of the most important leadership tasks is to expose dangerous practices and insist that people exercise responsibility, common sense and discipline — like keeping your mouth shut about things that don’t concern you. It’s called adult behavior and adult behavior is essential for success in any task that is dangerous, demanding and risky. One of George W Bush’s many failures is that he does not understand the need for responsibility and discipline and does not care to enforce it in his own administration, let alone the public at large.
Christopher Holland
Canberra, Australia

GRADING ON A CURB
Re: Doug Bandow’s Chuck Colson’s Short Circuit and letters (under “Religious Left Behind”) in Reader Mail’s Giuliani Jitters:

When Circuit City announced layoffs, Chuck Colson chastised them, pleading morality, while Doug Bandow trashed Colson’s rebuke, citing economics. Several redoubtable TAS readers discussed the retailer’s
conflict between moral and economic considerations. While every comment was thought-provoking, they all ignored the aspect of consequence to me: their stores are nightmares.

If Circuit City is downsizing after moving too few TVs, perhaps it’s because they drive customers away through countless tiny inconveniences.

Start with the labyrinthine parking lots full of hairpin turns around gratuitous curbs that make them virtually unnavigable. Select your shopping cart, the one with that lone wheel which refuses to align with its three partners and either rattles or doesn’t turn at all. Half the store is devoted to giant TVs, but you didn’t come for a TV so you wander around. Stand in line to ask a floor employee where to find the MP3 player you want, then learn that he only knows about game software. Repeat the process with three other employees who are experts on digital cameras, computer cables, and memory cards, but not music players.

When you finally find the one who knows I-pods, you wait again while he searches for the key to unlock the cabinet. Eventually he hands you the prized device, and you head to the single open checkout lane among a half-dozen that are not staffed. At least one customer ahead of you has a difficulty the cashier can not resolve, so you wait some more for the supervisor to arrive. Just as you reach the register, they open another checkout lane for all the customers behind you. Your cashier scans your merchandise and insults your intelligence by trying to sell you a ridiculously overpriced extended warranty on each item.

She rebuffs your attempt to hand her your credit
card, and points disgustedly at a card reader only nominally facing you. You swipe your card, restore it to your wallet. and wait until an illegible LCD screen inquires whether the total is correct; you have no idea, since the detail of prices and taxes was visible only to the cashier.

You touch the OK symbol, wait for it to display a signature line, and try to scribble your name across the scarred plastic screen. At this point, the cashier demands to inspect the credit card “for security purposes”,
forcing you to dig out your wallet again. She returns your credit card, along with a receipt festooned with advertisements, discounts, and rebate offers which disguise the actual amount you just spent, and shoves your bag of goods at you just as you are fumbling with your card, receipt and wallet. You manhandle the crippled shopping cart back to its corral and head for the exit, where you are embarrassed by an alarm generated from the antitheft chip the cashier improperly defused.

Sound familiar? Make it a nuisance to shop there and customers won’t shop there. No customers, no employees needed.
Jim Bono
Midlothian, Virginia

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS
Re: Abe Grossman’s letter (under “Here’s Hoping”) in Reader Mail’s Giuliani Jitters:

Abe Grossman demonstrates that just not watching TV isn’t enough. Whatever he is reading should require one to be put in a re-education camp or whatever he prescribed “anyone who intentionally listens to the likes of Rush Limbaugh for information”. Mentioning Frank Rich in polite conversation should get Abe a slot down at Guantanamo where he could use his impressive powers of reason negotiating a peace treaty with our enemies. A little time with Abe would be more effective than water boarding without all the international torture accusations. I agree that President Bush has many pitfalls and frankly only looks good when compared to Senators Gore and Kerry.
Clifton Briner

To a certain extent, I agree with Mr. Grossman. The war in Iraq as conducted by President Bush has been mishandled from the first. What was needed from the day that heavy military actions ended was a saturation of American Troops, a rooting out of terrorist insurgents, and a closing of the borders, especially with Iran and Syria. Bush failed in ruthlessness and we now suffer for it. Strong violent people know no deterrent other than strong violent action.

As for Mr. Grossman’s assertion that the MSM has let us down by not presenting the real “state of affairs”, I can only surmise that he is having us on. This is one of the drollest statements I’ve ever read, and that includes three Joseph Heller novels. Yes, the MSM do not tell anything concerning this administration that is true. The point is, that if they did, Bush’s position would have been strengthened rather than weakened. A good example of this is the record high Dow, near-record low unemployment, and low prime rate of interest.

These would have been hailed in 20-point headlines during the Clinton presidency. Now they are virtually ignored, or are cast as negatives because they won’t last.
Joseph Baum

A MATTER OF PRIORITIES
Re: Letters (under “Coalition Crackup?” and “The GOP’s Choice”) in Reader Mail’s Giuliani Jitters:

Again, looks as if your readership/respondents are far sharper than the original columnists, at least in the cases of Tuck, Christopher Lay and Congressman Sessions. They’ve justifiably taken to task the stance(s) of Tracy Mehan and John Tabin, illustrative of what the extreme, “professional social conservatives” view as important — Rudy doesn’t measure up to their exacting standards.

Talk about misplaced priorities — no, the hard right is so wrapped up in the cloak of anti-choice, anti-gay stuff and wishing to outlaw the Morning After pill while looking into bedroom windows, they fail to see the #1 point — we need a strong, kick-butt guy who’s not afraid to actually WIN, ‘n maybe break a few things in the process of making this world a tad safer than it is today.

Pardon the vernacular, but, as usual, their priorities suck! If we fail to get a “take-no-prisoners” kinda guy as president, all those hardline religious types won’t matter at all — they’ll be targets for beheadings and stonings just like the rest of us.

In fact, anyone who’d place ANY topic ahead of national security (and our incumbent president has done an absolutely miserable job with his pathetic leaky borders, “Amnesty-Lite,” lousy choices of McClellanist generals; not actually winning in Iraq — caving in to Political Correctness and the like) has gotta be nuts and totally unworthy of my vote. I’ve read, seen and experienced sufficient wishy-washy Pabulum Puke to last several lifetimes, thank you.

And, maybe Rudy Giuliani isn’t the guy? But, as of now, he appears to be the only one with the brass cojones necessary to right the wrongs of Dubya, Nancy, Trent, Teddy, Harry and the Blah Bunch presently in Washington.

Reemphasizing, the only thing the bad guys understand and fear is STRENGTH, period. Today, I see no other choice. None.
Frost

IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, BUT I LIKE IT
Re: Jon Lindquist’s letter (under “Me and My Guitar”) in Reader Mail’s Giuliani Jitters:

Regarding Jon Linquist’s critiques of Stratocasters and other things rock ‘n’ roll:

Lawrence Henry so aptly pointed out the Stratocaster and Fenders in general are more “percussive” in tone, and can require selective note picking. My Fender “strat” is a reproduction of how they used to make ’em with the old technology and it stays in tune just fine. It did take one after-purchase trip to a good guitar tech for fine tuning, and now it is wonderful. The guitar and tech adjustments totaled less than $700.00.

As far as going for the jugular of rock’s other identifying characteristics, I’ll meet Mr. Linquist halfway; my love of Jack Daniel’s has evolved to more flavorful single malt scotch. If you must smoke however, who in rock-dom smokes “low tar” cigarettes? Marlboro Reds are your only choice.
P. Aaron Jones
Huntington Woods, Michigan

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