Category Archives: English

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.

From Purges At #NationalReview To #Duggar Pedophilia

Celebrity, Conservatism, English, Ilana Mercer, Neoconservatism, Republicans

“From Purges At National Review To Duggar Pedophilia” is the latest column, and one “of the few chatty columns I’m likely to write.” On The Unz Review. An excerpt:

Fellow Canadian Kathy Shaidle sends her latest Taki’s Magazine column, “Beta Male Suckiness at National Review.” In it I learn that Kathy’s benevolence approaches the saintly; only recently has she terminated her subscription to National Review (NR). I did so about 15 years ago. The Alberta Report, a Canadian paleoconservative publication with libertarian leanings, soon became the subscription of choice in the home of this budget-conscious, coupon-clipping, immigrant. (Scientific American was another guilty pleasure.) …

… from whom I learn that a National Review editor has terminated Mark Steyn’s print-magazine column. I still recall searching frantically for Florence King’s back-page “Misanthrope’s Corner,” which was retired in 2002. That’s how long ago I bid “adios” to NR’s print version (I access Kevin D. Williamson online, as do I appreciate Josh Gelernter’s mention of my work on South Africa).

But why retire the Steyn byline? Steyn is a star. He also supports wars and is extremely talented. To wit, he managed to both defend and diss columnist John Derbyshire, who himself was dismissed from NR (where he freelanced), for writing “The Talk: Nonblack Version,” published, too, at Taki’s.

By the time the “girlie boys” of NR came for Ann Coulter, I was unaware the magazine still appeared in print. Ann’s column was expunged from National Review after 9/11. The reason? Most real people had a 9/11 moment. Miss Coulter’s cri de coeur was particularly memorable. For exhorting, “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity,” she was given the boot. This was a puzzling purge, considering neoconservatives promptly adopted her recommendations, invaded Muslim countries and killed their leaders.

In fact, the neoconservatives at NR supported all Coulter’s recommendations save the peaceful one (Christian conversion). Still do. Clicking through the ENORMOUS icons on the new NR website reveals that Lindsey Graham, John McCain’s evil ideological twin, is touted alongside the Patriot Act, whose “expiration” is mourned. (Fear not, fearless ones, your metadata remains unsafe. The USA Freedom Act, to replace Section 215 of the Patriot Act, is a mere mutation. It privatizes the Patriot Act, by co-opting corporations into the service of the Surveillance State.) …

… Read the rest.“From Purges At National Review To Duggar Pedophilia” is the latest column, now on The Unz Review.