Mark Steyn : The Spanish dishonoured their dead

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/03/16/do1602.xml ^

[Mr. Buzzcut]

How does Steyn do it? It takes me about a week to pen a decent three paragraph letter to the editor ...

[Eala]

How does Steyn do it? It takes me about a week to pen a decent three paragraph letter to the editor ...

In a word: practice.

[Dog Gone]

Ya didn't do a search on the headline before posting, didja?

[beaversmom]

but right now western Europe is looking like a dead horse

Dead horse Europe bump.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

In a word: practice.

Whatever ... i'm glad he's on my side. :)

[workerbee]

Oh, put a baguette in it, will you? The Continentals didn't "launch" anything in Afghanistan. They showed up when the war was over - after the Taliban had been toppled and the Afghans liberated. And a few hundred Nato troops in post-combat mopping-up operations barely registers in the scale against the gazillions of Americans defending the Continent so that EU governments can blow their defence budgets on welfare programmes that make the citizens ever more enervated and dependent.

Holy crap. Steyn is in full take-no-prisoners mode with this one.

[jackbill]

How does Steyn do it? It takes me about a week to pen a decent three paragraph letter to the editor ...

Actually I don't want to denigrate or minimize what Steyn does, but some of these A$$holes do make it so easy.

[randog]

Steyn bump.

[frithguild]

"When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse."

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.--Buddha

[SICSEMPERTYRANNUS]

They showed up when the war was over - after the Taliban had been toppled and the Afghans liberated. And a few hundred Nato troops in post-combat mopping-up operations barely registers in the scale against the gazillions of Americans defending the Continent so that EU governments can blow their defence budgets on welfare programmes that make the citizens ever more enervated and dependent.

Ouch!

[Villain]

No Dog, Ive been waiting all day for the 110% Full Steyn response. Im in th Uk and know he has a column in the Telegraph. I knew he wouldnt let us down.

Shame on Spain.

[Bullish]

The guy just writes what he thinks in that very gifted and educated brain of his.

He's definitely my favorite.

[lainde]

Bravo Mr. Steyn...This so tragic. All that history in their bloodstained cobbled streets and they've learned nothing, nothing...

[Agnes Heep]

The only fighting that there is going to be in Europe in the foreseeable future is civil war ...

I've been saying this for decades; ever since the idea of European "union" first came up. The minute one of them gets the idea that the others are gaining an unfair advantage it's going to happen.

[AlbionGirl]

"When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse."

This is where clinton got his quote from following the '02 taken to school elections.

[freedumb2003]

The extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear." To the jihadis' way of thinking, on Thursday, the Spaniards were disgraced by Allah; on Sunday, they withdrew. The extent of their impotence and weaknesses is very clear.

Ding ding ding ding! Mark these ominously priescent words. Steyn is not only a brilliant writer, he is a brilliant thinker (they don't always go together -- look at Safire).

[Dog Gone]

Well, I won't rag you any more, because some new people are seeing and enjoying the article. The more, the better. Steyn does it better than anyone I've ever read before.

[Eala]

I have to apologize for my curt answer. I was where you were some years ago, though today my letters get published about 90% of the time. Some things I have found that work:
1. Keep the letter SHORT. Limit 300 words? Keep it under 200 (I strive for 150 or less) and your chances are improved.
2. To keep it short, go over it time and time again. Every single word you cut out by rephrasing things improves your chances. This also helps on point #3.
3. Consider the ideas/concepts you are bringing in as supporting arguments. Even though they are "flashy," if they don't bear on your main point they are baggage and possibly should be cut. Remember, if it's not published your whole effort is for nought.
4. Give your concluding (and final) sentence punch! This is your opportunity to make the point that readers will carry away; you MUST sum up your case in this sentence, else your point will be lost and forgotten.

All this is work, but it gets easier with practice. And it helps to run your letter by someone else before sending it. Even today, with hundreds of letters published, I still run "important" ones by my wife and all too frequently find in the process that there is language or approach I want to change. (Ironically, I'm an engineer and she was a lit major.)

[livius]

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the slain.

Sad paragraph in an excellent article.

However, Spain would not have capitulated had not the Socialist party dialed up their phone tree immediately and gotten the "peace protesters" out. On Saturday night, in front of one PP office alone in downtown Madrid, there were 10,000 "protesters" shrieking the ominous rhyming chants of the worldwide left. The PP had to be protected by armored cars from this group. They also showed up at polling places the next day to intimidate voters.

Look for the same thing to happen in the US. I don't think the Spanish Socialist party was involved with or knew about the attacks in advance - but it sure knew how to capitalize on them.