" Hitler's Pope " ? Unfair Judgment

          Fritz Wenisch 's column  " HITLER'S POPE is a biased screed "

    ( May 27 , page D5 )  rightly questions author John Cornwall's

    sincerity of purpose.  Today unmasking " saints " or  just

    adding flawed human beings to the scoundrel list is nothing

    less than a highly lucrative " entertainment " industry.

              It is  only fair to discuss the FAILURES of the

    CHURCH and Pius XII in this horrible matter of the holocaust.

    But writing about " Hitler's Pope " is just sensationalizing

    history and distorting the truth.

         Collier's Encyclopedia says this about Pius XII : " He

    did give substantial help to persecuted Jews ... he

    probably thought a forceful condemnation of Hitler would

    endanger thousands of Catholic clergy in Germany and

    German occupied lands ...

            BUT ... " The fact remains that  Pius XII never

    publicly denounced the extermination of the Jews. "

               I can imagine the Italian novelist thinking this

    thought at this very cynical time in history : How can

    the Pope save Jews from the Holocaust when he can hardly

    save so many " devout Catholics " from the eternal

    flames of Hell  ?

            Perhaps there is  tenth circle of Hell - for

    hypocritical, dishonest writers . And perhaps there

    should be an Ignoble Prize for Literature .

How I muzzled Dr.Laura -and saved Free Speech

Some time ago Dr. Laura, the radio shrink, was turning me off

    with her nagging self-righteous , authoritarian tone. So I

    turned HER off.

          Now I am alarmed at this organized campaign - gay rights,of course !-

    to muzzle her. It is ominous to hear people say that the right not

    to be offended  is more important than FREE SPEECH .

            I wonder : Is the democratic ideal in decline everywhere despite

    the dizzy enthusiasm for Free Enterprise ?

            Fear of Free Speech is - in the final analysis- fear of the

    common people ,  and a rejection of the American Way .

            Fight crazy ideas with SANE ideas - not with censorship !

Death penalty for Smoky Bear

            If the woman's ex-husband had killed her in the Great

    Smoky Mountain National Park instead of a perfectly normal black

    bear, the guy could have pleaded  temporary insanity in a

    courtroom - before being executed.

          But " Smoky " - and a yearling - were shot on the spot

    - after the deed ? - by park rangers.

         The AP story said that the black bear had mauled to

    death 50 year old Glenda Ann Brady while she was waiting for

    her ex-husband in the park. ( Projo -May 23, page A2 )

            To be sure, wickedness cannot go unpunished even in

    a wild black bear - or the yearling now tainted with

    original sin. And even though the National Parks exist

    so that wild things can just be themselves !

            And perhaps the black hearted killers we execute have

    no more FREE WILL than the Great Smoky bear ? But unlike

    the black bear are simply CRAZY  !


           Some questions are just too deep for compassionate

    conservatism .

Sex education -sacrosanct ?

After reading your editorial " Attack on sex education " this

    morning, I feel more sympathetic to this Parents' Rights Coalition.

    They too might have something important  - but anti-PC - to

    say about the often silly and downright offensive sex education

    in the public schools .

             What does seem to be intolerable nowadays in the public

    school system is the Judeo-Christian tradition. You are free

    to make  fun of these true-believer freaks - imagine taking

    an ancient faith seriously !

              I myself recall that the maligned Baltimore

    Catechism taught us not to be mean or cruel to ANY of

    God's creatures . And that Judgment Day can be left to

    HIM .

            My elderly mother complains that the schools are

    failing miserably to teach everyday manners to kids. How

    will they ever succeed in teaching  very special forms

    of old fashioned tolerance ?

           Also  can anything teach tolerance better than a

    familiarity with great American literature ?  Thank

    God , it is NOT value free !

             Schools should teach what they were created to

    teach . And forget this  IN LOCO PARENTIS stuff .

            Crap is crap - even with a PC label.

Kennedy's on the road rage

Your criticism today of Patrick Kennedy was just- but

    he remains worthy of Providence if not all of the State of Rhode

    Island and Providence Plantations.

           Didn't Mayor Cianci just hail football - a favorite Kennedy

    family pastime - as a great teacher of VALUES  ?

        In a competitive capitalist society isn't PUSHING PEOPLE OUT

    OF YOUR WAY what it is all about ?

          Kennedy's airport rudeness is comparable to everyday

    road rage. The NICEST people will give you the finger if you

    get in their way.

           Remember NICE GUYS FINISH LAST !

Your full page ad- anti gay ? (USA Today)

 I would not say that your full page ad - May17, 11A -

    is anti-gay, but I side with the American Psychiatric Association

    in this matter of sexual re-orientation " therapy " for gay

    people. My best friend is gay - I'm not - and he insists that

    he was just born that way. I believe him . To ask him to change

    his homosexuality would, I believe, violate his very soul.

          " And they say all this joy is dangerous " , reads the

    ad. So some gay people found relief in " successful " therapy ?

           Imagine a black person - just born that way - who wakes

    up one morning as a WHITE ?  He might shout : " Free at

    last, thank God , I'm free at last ! "

             Did not schools  once find something " sinister "

    about left-handedness ? What right did a kid have to be

    left-handed in a right-handed world ?

            We already know how one's political orientation can

    be changed . Recall  the movie " The Manchurian Candidate " .

    Or recall the case of Patty Hearst - again in the news.

     She looked HIGH in those old photos - as an anti-capitalist

    radical offing the pigs !

           Sometimes it is just better to accept people who

    are different.

Please no PICNICS on the PLANTATION !

 I just learned that the word "picnic " - contrary to

    Webster - originally meant a lynching of blacks . So

    please do not report any picnics in our user friendly Providence

    Plantations !

          Says an exacerbated student editor : " Everyday we

    come up with a new word we can't use ".

Greatest invention of all time ?

 Last night a book on display at the William Hall library in

    Cranston caught my attention just as I was about to exit: " The

    Greatest Inventions of the Last 2000 Years ". I quickly reflected

    on how an advance in technology, a new useful invention will change

    human life more dramatically than mere preaching , the blow hard

    politics of the Left and the Right , TV evangelism .

            I checked out the book. But  on the steps of the library, I

    realized that I had left behind my reading glasses on the library

    shelf. Of course PRINTING was ONE of the greatest inventions of

    all time , but what use was it to me unless I could READ it ?

             I went back into the library mumbling that I left

    behind one of the great inventions - reading glasses.

         Sure enough  one of the writers in the book agreed with

    me. But just WHY were reading glasses such a great invention ?

          The answer : It enabled people past their dotage ( over

    40 ! ) to continue to be an influence in the community, to be

    more or less insufferable leaders !

           Did I ever  think : " Don't trust ANYBODY over 30  " ?

Hubris and Naomi Wolf

Does Naomi Wolf STILL dream about being in the Oval Office-

    " with reams of power to her name " ? ( Page A11 , May 10 ) .

           After reading Jennifer Levitz' article on her Brown lecture

    this morning, I am more inclined to agree with  Brit Hume's opinion

    of her - some queen of feminist psycho-babble.

           That Gore should seek her tawdry advice on PR matters

    reflects poorly on his fitness for the presidency. Even with

    cowboy boots and a green tie, he still has the soul of a Vice-

    President. And I can't " just get over it " !

            Even Naomi Wolf's revised feminism is full of hubris -

    a Greek word that will never be outdated as long as humanity

    endures.

          Like the old communists , feminists  are still

    intoxicated - not with their own integrity - but with

    a pretentious ideology that they imagine reveals all of

    life's secrets to them .

            It takes a measure of Judeo-Christian HUMILITY to

    even begin to understand the human heart - male and female.

              I advise women to keep their " shadow slut " in

    the bedroom . Competence and brains - which they possess in

    abundance - will suffice on the job .

               And it would be just wonderful if a " girl "

    scientist could find a cure for cancer. But here the alpha-

    male may have an advantage .

Culprit in mail box vandalism - Hollywood ?

Your editorial on outrageous mail box vandalism this morning

    ( May 9 ) made me reflect on the possible inspiration for it. Most

    young idiots lack imagination even for mischief and look to

    Hollywood for great ideas.

          View the film " Stand By Me " - based on a Stephen King

    story. There is a scene in it where the delinquent leader," Ace ",

    is bashing off country road mail boxes  with a baseball bat

    while  riding in the front seat of a car.  A dozen decapitations

    were enough batting practice for the day !

               Ace's  " hobby " was worthy of his future occupation-

    lounge lizard in a small town bar.

             I won't blame  horror writer Stephen King for this

    mail box vandalism . But those movies DO give the less bright

    kids IDEAS !

Irresistible words

         " The Love Bug seems like the work of some Superman comic

    book villain... " says a Boston Globe editorial ( May, 6 ) .

           I was reminded not of a comic book plot but a poignant

    scene from George Orwell's nightmare utopia novel " 1984 " :

             The hero Winston Smith is furtively handed a message .

    It is from an attractive young woman named Julia.

            " At the sight of the words I LOVE YOU the desire to

    stay alive had welled up in him.... "

              In a way the  cyber catastrophe suggests that a

     great number of people in Information Age really just

    need to know this : Somebody loves them !

              Too bad our computers are not yet designed to

    hug us. They must be programmed to understand the difference

    between  " good " touching and " bad " touching .

             Until then we will all be suckers for love !

Lisnoff the turnoff

           The tone of Howard Lisnoff's letters is familiar to the

    unbrainwashed student of the American Left :  no nonsense

    political correctness, desperately in need of a little common

    sense and common humanity.

                Howard was SHOCKED by  a Projo editorial that

    suggested that  the U.S. and its allies were  the " good

    guys in the Indochina war - indeed the writer had " reached

    the heights of callousness... "

             The Vietnam war was a great tragedy.  I myself

    protested it -with some passion. But there was no lack

    of moral arrogance in the Movement. I recognized many

    a budding Joe Stalin in the leaders of the anti-war

    demonstrations.

               Today many of these self-righteous , left -wing

    saints are tenured college and university professors -

    formidable foes of FREE SPEECH and FREE THOUGHT on the

    campus.

              Their peculiar revolution can best be described

    as Left-wing McCarthyism. They are simply ruining higher

    education in the United States.


             PEACE !

A Papal Encyclical on Architecture

Good morning , Dave .  Of course, I lack professional credibility in

     this business of architectural styles. But your column this morning

    was as weighty - and indeed infallible - as Pope Pius X 's famous

    encyclical denouncing the errors of MODERNISM .

         Perhaps you and Scruton can compose an " Index of Forbidden

    Blocks ".

            Seriously, Dave . I loath modern architecture. Does

     that horrid Blue Cross building downtown reflect  CLASSLESS

    tastes ?

           Just as in music , I prefer the CLASSICAL - not the

    Classless ?

            My politics ,of course , is more Liberal - and might

    be condemned by future papal encyclicals.

Savage execution in Hanoi

After reading the front page story - " Execution in

    Hanoi has Canada-Vietnam relations in disarray - "  I could

    at least wink at Senator John McCain's gut reaction remark

    that " the wrong guys won the war ! " .

             Even today old fashioned Stalinist propaganda asserts

    that the death penalty is a barbaric tool of capitalism . Its

    purpose being to terrorize the bolder elements of the oppressed

    working class.

               I see no "  Marxist humanism " in the execution

    of 43 year old Canadian seamstress Nguyen Thi Hiep.  Her

    crime of drug smuggling - or was she in fact innocent ? -

    did not merit being shot by a firing squad while staring

    despondently  down into her own grave .

           Shame on Vietnam!  What odious communist cockroaches

    still rule over there !