What the Silence Said

Wall Street Journal ^ | December 12, 2003 | DANIEL HENNINGER

[Tom D.]

Over the years a certain legend has grown up around Bob Bartley that he was a writer of forbidding, dazzling and sometimes distant intellect -- aloof, shy and given to turning conversations into becalmed seas of silence. Whatever the truth in the legend, it only partly explained the man. There is more.

[Tom D.]

A great writer on a great man.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Dittoes... Bartley was a great man, unassuming, amazing writer. Has CNBC commented on his death? The old WSJ Editorial Page show was the best thing they had on TV -- before CNBC cancelled it. Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face.

Bartley has left the WSJ in strong hands, but what a vaccuum he leaves.

[Pietro]

A great writer on a great man.

Indeed. I've missed Bartley's weekly column and his death is a sad loss.

[B4Ranch]

Bartley sucked!

Bartley viewed Mexican workers, hungry for opportunity and ready to work, as an asset to the American economy. When the Clinton administration, with strong support from Republican nativists, went to work on a Berlinesque wall on the Califorina border, Bartley worried that the migrants would shift their routes into the desert and the number of deaths from exposure would grow. Indeed, that is precisely what happened.

[Pietro]

So what's good about poor people dying in the desert?

Look, the Mexicans are going to come across the border legally or illegally, the only question is how can we best manage that process for the good of all.

Bartley was a good conservative voice in America and he will be missed by many, obviously not by all, but nevertheless one should never speak badly of the dead--its very poor form.

[B4Ranch]

"nevertheless one should never speak badly of the dead--its very poor form."

Do you praise dead criminals or dead people who supported illegal acts?

Just to make this very clear, I do not not praise dead criminals or dead people who supported illegal acts by criminals.

My last concern is when a criminal freezes to death or dies of starvation attempting to defeat America's legal system.

These people have the ability to perform the jobs in America ONLY because we will feed, house, educate and doctor their children.

Mexico is not a new nation with a new government. If they wish to remain at the bottom of the pile that is their concern not ours.

Our children should come before theirs do!

Will we still be the Country of Choice and still be America if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that come to live in America because it is the Country of Choice?

[Pietro]

Have you ever been poor, Mr. Ranch?

Have you ever looked into the face of your starving child?

IMO your arguments are untenable. When conservatism becomes cruel, I'll cease to be a conservative.

You should look into the libertarian party, they have a special faction dedicated to the heartless, I think you'd fit in nicely.

[B4Ranch]

"Have you ever looked into the face of your starving child?"

DON'T BREED THEM IF YOU CAN'T FEED THEM!