Mark's Mailbox
YOUR AFTER AMERICA LETTER OF THE DAY: READIN' ON A JET PLANE
I just today finished your excellent book, After America— what an insightful analysis of the world today! Thanks for adding bits of your fine sense of humor. I read much of it on airplanes, and more than once fellow passengers must have seen me doubled over in laughter.
My wife and I have always tried to raise our sons to be self-reliant and to avoid government handouts. I will ask both of them to read your book. You state the message much better than I can.
Thanks again for writing After America. I'll talk it up as much as I can.
Mike George
Spokane, Washington
USEFUL IDIOTS? MORE LIKE CANARIES IN COAL MINES
Re-reading your column that touched on the plight of Molly Norris, the Seattle Weekly cartoonist forced into the witness protection for suggesting that everyone ought to draw Mohammed ("Mollifying Muslims, and Muslifying Mollies"), I found myself strangely without schadenfreude. Why? Because the de facto sharia that seems inexorably to be gripping us ain't very funny, no matter how many useful idiots are ensnared. By the time all of them are gone, it'll be too late for the rest of us, too.
As you point out, instead of outrage among supposed lovers of liberty— especially those who garnish their beakers of piss with crucifix swizzle sticks— there were crickets chirping. For real indignation and riots in the street, Molly Norris should have applied for a concealed weapon permit.
Joel Engel
Los Angeles, California
JIHAD JOES
Mark, I'm a cadet in the Army ROTC getting ready for infantry officer school next summer. Americans have this impression that despite all the politically-correct nonsense in our politics and our culture, the military has escaped unscathed and is a bulwark of conservatism and realism in a sea of PC mush. This past summer has showed me what a falsehood that is.
While at an officer training course in Washington, I got my hands on a cultural crash course book that is issued to recruits at basic training about the Arab world. There was some good information in it, but the portion on vocabulary was shocking. From memory..."Jihad: Often mistaken to mean 'holy war,' is in fact a personal struggle for Muslims to attain holiness through prayer and fasting." It went on to say the usual business about Islam having nothing to do with terror. And the idiocy does not stop there. It is constantly beaten into our heads through "Cultural Awareness" how important it is to respect other cultures and as far as Islamic culture goes... nope, nothing to see here! Keep moving! Islam is peace!
The Army has taken the Kool-Aid and drunk deep. Just remember George Casey telling us about diversity at Fort Hood or General Petraeus lecturing us on the "Holy Koran". The lower enlisted and junior officers are pretty well grounded, but the Pentagon bunch and the overeducated ranks are living in Cloud Cookoo Land. It's hard to believe that this is the same military that vanquished Confederate slavery, Nazi tyranny, Japanese genocidal imperialism and stared down international Communism.
And it's no coincidence that "Jihad" means the same thing as "Kampf".
(name withheld)
THEY'RE NOT CURIOUS (YELLOW)
Hi, Mark. My name is Ken and I'm an American who's been living in Sweden for the past nine years. I saw you speak at the Danish Free Press Society meeting a while ago. I was the guy in the back who made a joke after that female comedian told her story about lifting the mullah. Anyway, you signed my copy of America Alone at the break and I continue to be your estrogen shipwrecked man in Sweden.
To the point. Saw a headline in a Swedish newspaper yesterday that I thought you might appreciate as it concerned your fellow honoree Lars Vilks. Apparently Lars was a potential target of a recently foiled plot. Concerning a long-planned appearance in Gothenburg, the headline (translated to English) read, "Lars Vilks Causes Increased Security Measures". I thought to myself, Geez, am I the only one in this country that thinks, "Hell, Lars Vilks didn't cause increased security, it was a bunch of nut-jobs planning to kill him over cartoons that caused the inconvenient increase in security"? God forbid anyone should point that out over here.
And as per usual, the article made no mention of the ethnicity, nationality or (ahem) religious orientation of the people actually responsible for Mr Vilks needing security. Nothing to see here, move along.
Can't wait to get my copy of the new book!
Ken Malone
Sweden
HIGH FIVE
The site changes are a miss. It has the appearance of default blogger frames that were cliché five years ago.
Keep Trying.
Larry Kropp MD
Anchorage, Alaska
BOW WOW WOW
I kinda like the new look of your site, although the scary picture of you frightened our family dog.
John Reid
Victoria, British Columbia
Thank you for your kind (and unkind) letters from America, Canada, Britain, Australia and around the world. Mark reads all mail, but especially enjoys the vicious ones. Each day Monday to Friday we pick six of the best for our Daily Delivery. So drop a line to Mark's Mailbox, and on Friday if you're chosen to be the one and only Letter of the Week you'll join our roll of winners from four Continents and receive a copy of Mark Steyn From Head To Toe. It would help if you could indicate your city or town, or, at any rate, your state, province or country. If not, at least let us know what planet you're on.
