Rush Limbaugh liked my post about Paul Rahe’s essay.
Thanks to Mark Steyn, whose link at the Corner got Rush’s attention!
My day is made! He even accidentally called me “young”. And a “he”. Oh, well.
“So what is it? Are these two young people right, our young generation and most Americans just don’t have the stomach for the fight? You won’t find the equivalence of the Founding Fathers among them.
(…)
“My point is that the Founding Fathers, even though back in the colonial days only one-third of the colonists were in favor of revolution, the leaders were in favor of it.
“But to say that we might have the equivalent of the colonist population, we don’t. Ethnicity is one thing, but wealth is another.
“A lot of people, despite all that’s gone on, are pretty comfortable. Snerdley is frowning. Look at the signers of the Declaration. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor. And they lost it! They lost it all, they lost kids. Do you think anybody alive today is willing to go through that to repeal health care, even if it is to literally save the country as founded? Now, I’m not saying we’re going to need that. I’m just illustrating here why these young people are saying what they’re saying.”
UPDATE:
Conor “I have a funny name ha ha” Friedersdorf — “yes, THE Conor Friedersdorf” Mark Steyn assures me via email — is mad, calling on “the Right” to “repudiate” my “rhetoric.”
He even claims Mexicans don’t vote Republican all because of little old me, when everyone knows that’s the fault of Steve “We don’t need no stinkin’ Mexicans” Sailer. Sheesh.
Wow, I’m more powerful than I ever imagined. Henceforth, I insist that you ALL refer to me as “the Mexican Whisperer”!
Conor “Eat Me Last” Friedersdorf is just another young male “conservative” careerist hack who takes liberal p.c. propositions about “racism” (soooooo sleeeeppppeeeee zzzzzzz) as a given, and just thinks the GOP could run the State more efficiently (and even find a nice cushy job for someone as obviously deserving as he is.)
He’d feel right at home here in Canada, believe me.
Let’s see now: Given the choice between being embraced by Conor “So that means Frum’s job is available, huh?” Friedorsdorf, and getting emails from Steyn and shoutouts from Rush… gee, tough call…
Repudiate away, out of touch Beltway graspers and strivers! I’m a little too busy dealing with anti-semites with machetes attacking Zionist kids on the streets of Ottawa to really give two craps about you and your pathetic little machinations.
And you Mexicans: what the hell are you doing reading my blog? That lettuce isn’t gonna pick itself!
UPDATE:
A friend helpfully notes that “literacy rates in Pennsylvania were about 95% at the time of the Revolution.”
Unlike today. Told ya.
UPDATE: R.S. McCain weighs in...
Is this untrue? Does the U.S. not, indeed, have more illiterates in 2010 than we had in 1960? Are there no such things as “mañana cultures,” where there is less emphasis on efficiency, punctuality, prudence? Is it not a fact that many illegal aliens are illiterate even in their own languages?
Meanwhile, one of Steyn’s readers writes in:
Mark, I write to tell you that you and Kathy Shaidle are dead on about America’s “Katrina Culture.” I was born and raised in New Orleans and much of my family still lives there. In the early days after Katrina, the biggest limiting factor for opening businesses, in many areas, was getting enough people to work. Places like Burger King were paying $10 and up per hour (plus bonuses) just so they could open their doors. But as one of my sisters still living in New Orleans pointed out, there were always plenty of able-bodied people who showed up for every sort of protest— e.g., razing mold-infested dumps (“historic homes”) that sat in 8-10 feet of water for a couple of weeks— but had no time to take any of these jobs that companies were begging people to take.
It’s been that way for years. I can recall seeing interviews on TV where a woman on welfare would be told that she would be able to go get an education for free. Her reply wouldn’t be: “That’s terrific. Maybe then I can get a good job and break this cycle.” No, instead it would be something like: “How am I supposed to get there and back? And who’s going to take care of my kids while I’m away?” You get the picture.
Sadly, in New Orleans (and in many other cities, I’m sure) there is this mentality that life may not be great, but it’s a heck of a lot easier to get whatever I can from the government and spend all my effort complaining that it’s not enough rather than working on becoming independent from it.
