Letters to the Editor
In Robert Bidinotto’s article [Winter 2006] on the cowardice of American major newspapers to reprint the Danish cartoons that caused a furor in Europe, he mentioned a handful that did have the courage.
Well, not all us folks north of the border are as complacent as some believe. The Western Standard, a bi-weekly magazine run out of my hometown, ran all thirteen cartoons in their February 27, 2006 edition. This caused McNally-Robinson’s book chain to omit that issue and several readers to cancel their subscriptions.
But publisher Ezra Levant stuck to his guns, or, more accurately, pens. The Western Standard is unique in having at least four libertarian columnists: Karen Selick, Pierre Lemieux, and two that your readers are probably familiar with: Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams.
I hope the knowledge that you have some influential kindred spirits gives you comfort. As for The New Individualist, keep up the good work!
John Gordon King
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
“HEAR! HEAR!”
Let me add my “Hear! Hear!” to the letters that say The New Individualist is getting better and better. Not only does it have such an attractive look and presentation, but the content is outstanding.
I especially enjoy the thoughts, ideas, and logic of Ed Hudgins. His article “The Golden Door: Immigration, Liberty, and the American Character” [Summer 2006] gave a very reasoned discussion and approach to immigration, putting the problem squarely where it belongs and identifying the moral issues involved. The interview with Jaroslov Romanchuk was very inspiring, showing what one person can do to advance the philosophy of Objectivism.
And, of course, nothing can top the Muhammad cartoon on the cover of the Winter 2006 issue, given the context at the time.
Kudos to Robert, Ed, and all the staff.
John Davis
Richardson, Texas
I rented The World's Fastest Indian a week or so ago, after reading Robert Jones’s review in the Summer issue of The New Individualist. The review was right on the money! My son and I loved the movie. Anthony Hopkins’s line about “a vegetable,” in particular, was memorable. In fact, the whole movie was just a pleasure. Have you sent a copy of the review to Hopkins? I bet he would appreciate it.
I’m looking forward to seeing United 93 now. Keep up the great reviews, Mr. Jones.
I also echo all the other letters I’ve read about the vast improvement in the magazine that you have worked—simply amazing. I’m very proud of what you’ve done, and motivated to read and pass along articles. I especially love the articles [January-February 2006] on how the ideas of Rand are making progress in society. Robert Bidinotto’s “Branjolina” article [“Celebrity Rand Fans”] was especially good, and tied in with Ed Hudgins’s article in the same issue [“Ayn Rand’s Stamp on American Culture”] that presented even more great news. Your ad on behalf of Danish companies [boycotted by Islamists] was also a really bold, unique statement.
Continue the great momentum.
Patrick T. Peterson
San Jose, California
IF BARRY WERE ALIVE….
Ed Hudgins’s “The Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party” [Fall 2006] reminded me what the modern-day conservative movement’s founding father—the late Arizona senator and 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater—might have said on the subject.
Goldwater believed that what consenting adults consume, inhale, perform, read, or view in the privacy of their own homes or in private social clubs isn’t the concern of government. Individual economic and civil liberties prosper best when government stays out of both the bedroom and marketplace. For him, limited government meant that taxpayers’ dollars should be spent prudently, with the least amount of confiscatory taxation, and accompanied by real balanced budgets, no deficits, and actual surpluses.
He would never have supported the massive deficit spending that has resulted in today’s nine-trillion-dollar long-term debt. He would also have opposed the thousands of Congressional earmarks supporting tens of billions of dollars in pork-barrel spending each year. He was no fan of corporate welfare, or spending billions on useless weapons systems supported by Congress, but not requested by the Pentagon.
Remember Goldwater’s stand concerning gays in the military? He said, “You don’t have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.” About the so-called Moral Majority: “What Jerry Falwell needs is a good swift kick in the ass.”
If Goldwater were alive today, he would disown both President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress. Both have morphed into long-term, inside-the-Washington-Beltway career politicians who have no regard for individual civil or economic liberties, and who and continue spending as if it were “Monopoly” money.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, New York