Guns and Butter
TOM DONNELLY AND VANCE SERCHUK rightly argue that the United States needs to strengthen its military (“A Bigger, Badder, Better Army,” Nov. 29), but they make a huge error by deriding Republicans who “would rather emphasize a domestic agenda,” such as entitlement reform. Instead of seeing it as an obstacle, they should consider entitlement reform a necessary step toward building the military they envision.
The reason why the United States cannot allocate as big a share of its budget to defense now as it did during the Cold War is that mandatory spending (mainly on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) currently gobbles up more than half of the budget. This will only get worse as a result of the rising costs of health care, longer life spans, and the retirement of baby boomers.
If the American government does not curb the growth of entitlements, within decades the nation will start to resemble European welfare states that are so burdened by social spending that they cannot adequately fund their defense forces.
Philip Klein
New York, NY
The Sick Men of Europe
I WANT TO THANK Gerard Baker very much for his scintillating article on the decay of European society (“Bush’s European Itinerary,” Nov. 29) and his suggestions for President Bush’s itinerary on his upcoming trip to Western Europe. Baker’s perspectives on U.S.-European relations are an invaluable contribution to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
Steven Rothberg
Bellevue, WA
Campus “Diversity”
AS THE SCRAPBOOK (Nov. 29) points out, the study by Santa Clara University professor Daniel Klein finding that Democrats outnumber Republicans at least seven to one among faculty members nationwide in the humanities and social sciences comes as no surprise. Various sources I’ve seen indicate that the faculties at most major American universities are at least 85 percent liberal, anti-Bush, and pro-Democrat.
Ironically, these same universities talk about their “diversity” programs as if diversity were a campus religion. But apparently one must look in their special academic handbooks to understand their definition of the word.
In academia, “diversity” does not imply a meaningful political dialogue which allows for conservative students or faculty to have an equal voice on campus. Instead, it means tyranny of the liberal majority.
Jim O’Brien
Maitland, FL
Useful Idiots
THE SOLEMN IDIOCIES of David Remnick in praise of Yasser Arafat that THE SCRAPBOOK quotes (Nov. 29) are a reminder that Arafat’s most spectacular achievement was to win the support of liberals everywhere for his manifold acts of terror.
Yes, he pioneered airline hijacking. Yes, he murdered Israeli schoolchildren and brainwashed Arab schoolchildren to become suicide bombers. Yes, he slaughtered Olympic athletes. Yes, he machine-gunned passengers in airline terminals.
But his greatest triumph was that he understood and exploited Western liberals’ unwillingness to recognize the existence of evil: that is, their compulsion to view terror as reasonable, explainable, and even (in some cases) admirable. It was Arafat who taught the liberals at the New Yorker and the New York Times and NPR to think that the more barbaric the act of Palestinian terror, the greater the guilt of its victims, the Israelis.
Our “learned classes,” ever in hot pursuit of root causes, have applied this same logic to the terrorist massacres of 9/11.
Edward Alexander
Seattle, WA
The Master Terrorist
MARIO LOYOLA offers a refreshingly true assessment of the pathetic Yasser Arafat (“Arafat’s True Legacy,” Nov. 22). Arafat squandered opportunity after opportunity to leave behind a legacy as a statesman and peacemaker. Instead, he chose a path of terrorism and mired the Palestinian people in poverty, violence, despair, and hopelessness.
Jed Soifer
Mays Landing, NJ
After Arafat
ROBERT SATLOFF’S prescription for post-Arafat U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians (“A Democratic Palestine,” Nov. 22) unfortunately fails to account for the most crucial aspect of the problem: the culture of anti-Jewish hatred that the Palestinian Authority regime continues to promote in its official media, schools, summer camps, speeches by PA officials, and sermons by PA-employed religious clergy.
Just look at the photograph, on page 29 of THE WEEKLY STANDARD’s Nov. 22 issue, of a Palestinian child brandishing an automatic weapon. They are raising their children to hate and kill.
If there is to be any hope for a meaningful and durable peace, the PA regime and its culture of hate must be completely dismantled, in a manner comparable to the de-Nazification process that the Allies imposed upon Germany after World War II.
Morton A. Klein
Zionist Organization of America
New York, NY
Don’t Forget Mormons
IN PAUL MARSHALL’S excellent “Fundamentalists & Other Fun People” (Nov. 22), he outlines several religions and religious movements that do not have exhortations to jihad. But he failed to mention the movement founded by Joseph Smith: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons).
The Mormons follow a religious principle outlined in the 11th article of Faith written by Smith. It states: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”
Al Issa
Apex, NC
George W. Truman?
THERE MAY BE SOME parallels between presidents Harry S. Truman and George W. Bush, as David Gelernter argues (“Truman Beats Dewey! Again!!” Nov. 15). But there are even more striking differences. President Truman did not try to destroy the New Deal programs that helped to lift so many out of poverty; he didn’t tamper with Social Security for our elderly; and he made sure that returning veterans continued to enjoy the GI Bill, with education, housing, and other benefits which helped that great generation achieve its true potential. President Truman was also the uniter who integrated our military. He understood fiscal integrity and didn’t cut taxes during wartime. The list goes on and on.
Say what you will about the results of this election, but I remember Harry Truman, I knew the work of Harry Truman, and believe me, George W. Bush is no Harry Truman!
Joan D. Levin
Chicago, IL
But Siriusly Folks . . .
AS A CHARTER SUBSCRIBER to Sirius Satellite Radio, I was more than a bit dismayed to read Victorino Matus’s full-page advertisement for XM Satellite Radio (“Satellite Saved the Radio Star,” Nov. 15). A fair and balanced presentation would have included a mention of Sirius, XM’s only competitor.
I think that WEEKLY STANDARD subscribers should know Sirius Satellite Radio offers everything XM has and more, including those NFL and college football games so beloved in the “red” states.
David D. Begley
Omaha, NE
VICTORINO MATUS’S glowing and enthusiastic description of XM radio is entirely at variance with my experience. My XM came with a new car. I prefer “classical” music but there are only three channels dubbed “classical” on XM, one of which is “Pops” and another of which is strictly vocal (“Vox”). XM features 24-hour traffic and weather on one channel, but the voice on the traffic report sounds like a robot. I usually cannot understand the report, and when I can it frequently is wrong about the route I am traveling. I often get a “No Signal” reading, which is not helpful if you are listening to something of importance.
I looked into buying a home receiver, but was told by one of XM’s technical support people that it probably would not work unless put in a room with windows looking out in the right compass direction. XM boasts of the quality of its sound; my CD player is better. XM boasts that it is commercial free; yet they play commercials.
For ten dollars a month, XM ain’t worth it! If I continue with my service it will be solely because I can get Fox News Radio.
Bill Owens
Boston, MA
Buttiglione Brouhaha
I WAS DISAPPOINTED WITH Christopher Caldwell’s “Sins of Commission” (Nov. 15). It could have been a great introduction to the successful smear campaign against Rocco Buttiglione, originally chosen to be the European Union’s justice commissioner. But it fell far short of this.
First, I thought Caldwell treaded too lightly on the issue of Europe’s growing anti-Catholicism. Stronger words–and additional information–should have been used to talk about the crude opposition to Buttiglione and the growing intolerance of European bureaucrats and interest groups toward religion in general (and Catholicism in particular).
Second, and perhaps more worrisome, Caldwell’s piece contained one glaring factual error that could have (should have) been easily caught. Buttiglione did not found the Catholic lay movement “Comunione e Liberazione” in 1968. Rather, it has its roots in another movement started in Italy in 1954 by Luigi Giussani, a Catholic priest known around the world. The name Comunione e Liberazione began to be used in 1969.
Alvino-Mario Fantini
Brattleboro, VT
A Kindred GOP Spirit
I CAN’T THANK THE WEEKLY STANDARD enough for running Dan Gelernter’s article (“An Army of One,” Oct. 25) about being the only Republican student in his Connecticut high school.
My son is a ninth-grader in Groton, Massachusetts, a liberal stronghold, and you can only imagine the taunting and name-calling he had to endure after Senator John Kerry gave his concession speech. My son is the only person who raised his hand in history class in answer to the question: “Who supports the president?”
Nothing’s going to change here in the land of the Kennedys, but at least it’s comforting to know that my son is not alone. Kudos to Dan the Republican, and many thanks for the article. It cheered us.
Julia Hans
Townsend, MA
