Category Archives: English

Donald Trump Speaks Our Language

Bush, Conservatism, Economy, English, Intelligence, Israel, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim, Political Correctness, Republicans

“Donald Trump Speaks Our Language” is the current column, now on The Unz Review, America’s smartest webzine. An excerpt:

WHEN IN THE US, SPEAK ENGLISH. Donald Trump’s retort to Jeb Bush’s rattling off in Spanish on the campaign trail conjures an old joke told in Israel of my youth. It was aimed at the ultra-orthodox Jew who dresses weirdly and won’t speak Hebrew. Here goes:

Walking down the street is a Sabra (a Jew born in Israel), clad in the pioneer’s outfit of shorts and a Tembel Hat. (“Tembel” is Hebrew for silly. The image below illustrates how not even a beautiful Israeli girl can dignify a hat so useless as to provide no protection from the merciless sun.)

From across the street, in Yiddish—the language of the diaspora—an ultra-orthodox Jew clad in black garb shouts obscenities at the Sabra. The minuscule ultra-orthodox community believes that speaking Hebrew before Messiah arrives is heretic and will delay the coming of Messiah (also known as the longest coming in history). For Messiah to materialize, the Jew must remain weak, dispossessed and persecuted—a sickly spirit without a corporeal country to call his own.

The Israeli shouts back, “Speak Hebrew, goy!” Goy meaning non-Jew.

Trump took a jab at Jeb for using Spanish to dismiss the mogul’s conservative credentials. Via CNN:

“‘I like Jeb,’ Trump told Breitbart News. ‘He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.'”

The Trumpian reference was to the former Florida governor’s comments to reporters … about Trump’s policies. “‘El hombre no es conservador,’ Bush said, which translates to, ‘This man is not a conservative.'”

Not only was Trump’s visceral retort in defense of English righteous; it was also culturally conservative in the best of ways. …

… Read the rest. “Donald Trump Speaks Our Language” is now on The Unz Review.

Letters: From A Grieving Father & Friend As Well As From An Ann Coulter Fan

Ann Coulter, Critique, English, Government, GUNS, Ilana Mercer

He’s a former military man, an accomplished test pilot, a novelist, and, sadly, a grieving father. “‘Gun Violence’? No! Goon Violence” mentions my friend William B. Scott:

“… As to the former catalyst: In 2014 alone, attests activist William B. Scott, police ‘gun-violence’ dispatched 1,100 people, an average of three every day of the year. Scott’s son, Erik, a decorated ex-Army officer, West-Point graduate, and Duke Univ. MBA, was shot to death by a slob of a cop in Las Vegas. Erik’s BlackBerry was mistaken for a firearm. (Excellence runs in this family. Senior is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.)”

William weighed in at WND’s Comments (I’ve linked to his important novel):

“Superb commentary, as always, Ilana! ‘Goons’ include a large number of bad/rogue/outlaw cops, such as the scared, low-IQ officer who killed my son, Erik Scott. Thanks for reminding your readers that Erik WAS murdered…and that the Las Vegas Cartel of Corruption covered up the crime, employing the same well-worn tactics that have buried more than 300 officer-involved fatalities attributed to shootings, beatings, etc. in Sin City. In more than 40 years, not a single Vegas cop has been found at fault for killing a citizen. Always ruled ‘Justified’ by the Cartel’s lap dogs.

As you may recall, Ilana, Chapter 10 of a novel based on Erik’s murder-by-cop, The Permit, warned of a deadly backlash, if police officers continued to kill three Americans a day, every day of the year. Now, good cops are dying for the murders committed by their corrupt brethren-in-blue and -brown.”

[SNIP]
So sad. Such a fine family (see you soon, my friend).

On a more cheerful note, this arrived from an Ann Coulter fan:

Ms. Mercer,

Being a fan of Ann Coulter and a frequent visitor to your site I felt the need to send a quick note. You have just surpassed Ann Coulter as my favorite commentator. The reason is this sentence [from “Motormouth Megyn Kelly & the Mad Matriarchy”]:

“Kelly herself has fast succumbed to the female instinct to show-off, bare skin, flirt and wink. She now also regularly motormouths it over the occasional smart guest she entertains (correction: the one smart guest, Ann Coulter). At the same time, Kelly has dignified the tinnitus named Dana Perino with a daily slot as Delphic-oracle.”

Now I have to go buy your books.

Sincerely,
CV

This is high-praise indeed. I love and appreciate my readers. Although not a libertarian, Ann Coulter is extremely smart and unarguably an excellent writer. “Just Another Mouth in the Republican Fellatio Machine” explains why Ann doesn’t have a show of her own.

When In The US, Speak English

Conservatism, English, Israel, Nationhood, Republicans

I remember an old joke that was told in Israel, and was aimed at the ultra-orthodox who dress oddly and won’t speak Hebrew:

An Israeli in shorts and a Tembel Hat is walking down the street, when from across the street an ultra-orthodox Jew in black garb shouts obscenities at him in Yiddish. These Jews believe that speaking Hebrew before Messiah arrives is heretic. To ensure messiah comes (often referred to as the longest coming in history), the Jew has to remain weak, dispossessed and persecuted—a sickly spirit without a corporeal country.

The Israeli shouts back, “Speak Hebrew, goy!” Goy means non-Jew.

Kova Tembel:

This reminds me of Donald Trump’s retort to Jeb Bush rattling off in Spanish on the campaign trail. The Trump retort was, incidentally, not only righteous but culturally conservative in the extreme. CNN:

Trump took a jab Wednesday at Jeb Bush for using Spanish to dismiss the mogul’s conservative credibility.

… “I like Jeb,” Trump told Breitbart News. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”

Trump was referring to the former Florida governor’s comments to reporters on Tuesday about Trump’s policies.

“El hombre no es conservador,” Bush said, which translates to, “This man is not a conservative.” …

Trump Restoring Truth To Language

Critique, English, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim, Political Correctness

Here, paraphrased, is a collection of Trumpian straight-talk on the Zeitgeist. (Or, Donald’s “most notable insults,” as The Hill would have it):

We are led by stupid people. Media are dishonest. Talking to Anderson Cooper is a waste of time. War-all-the-time Charles Krauthhammer is an overrated, clueless clown. Anthony Weiner is the definition of a perv (or, as one very good Jewish writer put it, the “Weiner Worm is a Poster Boy for Anti-Semitism”). Elizabeth Beck is disgusting (read about her pukeness in “Motormouth Megyn Kelly & The Mad Matriarchy”). The once-great National Review … (the point: NR is no longer great). “George Bush sends our soldiers into combat, they are severely wounded, and then he wants $120,000 to make a boring speech to them?” (Superb insight, shared by the aforementioned excellent columnist, who put it even more bluntly: “G. Bush Screws Soldiers … Again.”) Penn Jillette’s show is terrible. And on the conflict-of-interest riddled, corrupt press: “Shouldn’t George Will have to give a disclaimer every time he is on Fox that his wife works for Scott Walker?”

Donald Trump’s tone is unhelpful, intoned Jeb Bush, one of the deserved targets of Trump’s derision. As someone who’s vested in linguistic accuracy, I think that Trump’s blunt, in-artful language is immensely helpful. The closer the language we use approximates reality—and, by extension, the truth—the greater the likelihood that our actions will follow.