These books see America as an idea rather than a place because the authors don’t understand place and have probably never been to an American place they were inclined to stay in. They would get a rash in real places like Tobaccoville, N.C., Haverhill, N.H. or Luckenbach, Texas…
This has to be one of the best cases of self-pwnage I’ve ever seen…
Haverhill (pop 4700)
Delisle (pop 900)
Fun continues in the comments, as one fellow is obliged to point out that, er, Waylon Jennings has been dead for some time…
Quigley, a Bhuddhist, runs a pretty good blog.
“I am not a Christian but support Jerusalem exactly as former New York Mayor Ed Koch stated recently in an Op Ed: An attack on Israel is an attack on America. That, simply and logically, because of 9/11. As with Pearl Harbor, we did not choose our enemy, our enemy chose us. And without question, the enemy of Israel today has chosen us to be his enemy as well.
And since it is not mine I make no claim to Jerusalem as both Christians like Carter, (and presumably) Hillary and Obama do and Hamas terrorists do. In fact, they have now become allies, both with eyes on Jerusalem.”
Or in July 2010, “Some hated her because she is beautiful. One prominent Washington Post columnist and TV commentator scorned her because she had a Garfield calendar on her desk. Others hated her because she is a hunter. A few on the margins even hated her because she is white. But it is too late now. Sarah Palin has arrived. But beneath it all — beneath almost two years of slander and disgrace on the part of the mainstream press — was a real fear. And for good reason, because Sarah Palin is a political genius.”
But he falls to the ideas over reality error that he accuses Steyn of:
“I voted for him (Obama) because: He fulfilled the historic destiny begun by Lincoln/Grant and advanced by Eisenhower/Kennedy. This was absolutely necessary to fulfill those historic needs. He was not Hillary Clinton. And the candidate running against him, John McCain, had romanticized and dangerous foreign policy sensibilities.”
Too funny…Quigley would have been better off mentioning Shelbyville, Quahog and Capital City.
He might have stood a chance against Peter Griffin.
Reading comprehension skills seem to be lacking here. Waylon Jennings did indeed sing there but I believe the writer wrote “sang” which is past tense. You know like George Washington “slept” here as opposed to Bill Clinton “sleeps” here, there and just about anywhere.
btw, Been to Luckenbach, great place for a beer, picnic and country music listening. It is officially an unincorporated community. Kind of like Lockport, Manitoba, Water Valley, Alberta or Furdale, Saskatchewan.
I have been following Mark Steyn ever since his blog
began, and he checks his facts very carefully. Anybody
who wants to take him on had better be equally careful (I still chuckle about his demolition of John Miller –
though Miller was too stupid to realise he’d had his head knocked off).
Well I just picked up Mark’s lastest amusings “After America”… haven’t cracked the page yet, but I’m sure I will be entertained in due course. I have yet to see any pictures of the author ‘sporting a rash’.
The commments at NR were a hoot…but Mark’s line still has me laughing:
“and, if Mr. Quigley cares to swing by the studio, I promise to do the show naked so he can observe that I have no rash.”
I’d like to thank Mark for that disturbing image…
I rather suspect Quigley will be fronting Mark an expense account at his favorite habberdashery to avoid such a devastating experience.
Far be it from me to find Mark Steyn in a rash or otherwise…!
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Texas Canuck,
He didn’t write “sang”. This is what he wrote:
“or Luckenbach, Texas, where Waylon, Willie and
the boys hang.”
A great comment on Mark’s page about Luckenbach too:
gdub: 09/20/11 15:27
“Haverhill isn’t the only place where Quigley stepped in it. Luckenbach, TX as a “real place”? Obviously he’s heard the song but never been there. It’s a ghost town, a place for tourists to stop and get a t-shirt. Some good country music acts come through occasionally and play in the barn. But it’s hardly a community of any sort. The first time I went there, I was amazed at how staged the whole place is. I love to go there, get a beer and a t-shirt and have my picture taken… but “real” is hardly the word that comes to mind when I think of Luckenbach. What a doofus.”