Letters to the Editor
Diderot
Published Letters: 33 Editor's Choice: 2
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Don't Forget Montesquieu
[Read the article: "Hillary equals France"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The French did influence the Constitution directly. Our system of separation of powers is derived not from Locke or Hobbes but from Montesquieu - who should not be overlooked simply because his name is hard to spell. His "De l'esprit des lois" was highly influential. Voltaire relied on it to promote legal reform. So did the framers, in order to create a better scheme of government than the world had seen before. The idea is that sovereign power is less likely to become despotic if it is not all contained in one being. Hence our system of checks and balances - a necessary means of implementing the separation of powers.
We owe a great debt to the French - perhaps none greater than that they inspired our founders to devise a Constitution that has so far prevented the current incompetent-in-chief from exercising absolute power.
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It's a Spoof and No One Gets it
[Read the article: I dream of Darcy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Alas for the swooning crowds, Austen is spoofing them. I loved this comment from the article: "readers and fans have forgotten that Austen regarded mushy female infatuation as side-splittingly funny." That's right.
Austen was much cleverer than the twitter-pated legions who flock to the gooey films based loosely on her excellent novels.
Brooding Mr. Darcy would make few modern American women happy, even if Colin Firth played him. American women (at leat those who misread Austen - or pretend to read her) love to laugh and regale themselves with superficiality. A man possessed by melancholy would be disagnosed as depressed by his pop-psych girlfriend, told to take the Meyer-Briggs personality test to see if they are compatible, and get some therapy and pills. Doubt it? Such women exist in hordes. Mr. Darcy would be ill at the thought.
When one meets a woman who is bright and literate - wherever she may be - she is not usually looking to display her figure to best advantage, as Austen might have put it. But where indeed is such a woman? The ones I have met are usually sucking down margaritas together, moaning and laughing at their plight and watching "Sex and the City" or "Mansfield Park." Alas. It's enough to make one, well, brood.
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Spot on, indeed
[Read the article: This Modern World]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This was one of the funniest of Tom Tomorrow's strips I have seen in ages. That's saying a lot. I do wish he would pillory David Brooks too, though - and Kristol. No need to spoof Novak: he does it himself.
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Six of one...
[Read the article: My boyfriend is checking out chicks while I'm standing right there!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As a checker-outer myself, I can honestly say I like to look - but if I am really incredibly in love, it never occurs to me to check out any other woman. Being that much in love is rare, however. It's happened to me just twice in my over 50 years. Then I could not care less about any other woman, period. A "relationship" is not love. Sorry. At best it's a socially sanctioned oportunity to "be with" someone of the opposite sex. If he is not trying to make contact with the women, you can do as Ms. Tennis suggests. It's clever and will address the problem without whining. If he is seeking to make contact, then saying "Shall I leave you two alone" makes some sense. His behavior in that case is improper. The problem is, many women settle for a guy who may like them but is not head over heels in love. They figure they can win him over or make him over. Wrong! And biologically, men are programmed to seek the most attractive mate. Hence the interest in checking out all possible options. If it bothers you, maybe he needs to know, but don't be threatened if he's just looking at women. Many women go to great lengths to be looked at. And don't die because he is not totally committed to ogling you alone. That is most unlikely to happen. Just decide if you can endure this because chances are he won't quit doing it. If you decide you can tolerate it, be absolutely sure. It will hurt you both if you harbor resentment.
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Right on.
[Read the article: When winning is still losing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Again, you have nailed it. Democrats apparently fear being called weak on defense by those who will call them that regardless. Could it be they worry more about right-wing radio attack-jocks than the 75% of us who want the war over? Makes one wonder what they are afraid of - and who they really represent.
They will almost certainly squander this huge opportunity and lose in 2008 - committed, one and all, to being a splintered party whose chief virtue is its fecklessness. I tell them I will give you no money till you give me results. At least they could put up a real fight once in a while instead of slinking off the field.
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Forward
[Read the article: I'm sexy and available! Chat me up!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is generally good advice but I can see some problems implementing it. Clearly, a pro-active strategy is called for. Saying to a strange man that you think he's good-looking is probably a tad forward. It may make you seem needy. (The last woman who introduced herself to me by saying "You are a very attractive man" was in fact very needy.) Asking him if the seat next to him is taken is less forward but certainly a sign of interest and bound to be appropriate, especially if you sit there and follow up by a question designed to elicit conversation: "What are you drinking?" or "So what do you do for a living?" Possibilities are only limited by your wit.
If he's not sitting next to an empty seat, you may have to improvise, but the same idea holds. Avoid corny lines (the kind so many guys use) and show genuine but not excessive interest: "So what brings you here?" Men usually like being noticed too. You can admire his tie but asking him if he works out is a little suggestive for an opening.