Defending Ann Coulter against the defense of Helen Thomas

After sixteen years of putting it off, I finally got up the courage to watch Stephen Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.  Back in 1994 when the movie was released, I saw a few clips from the movie as part of a study at my church on the subject of the Holocaust, the murder of 6,000,000 (six million) Jews at the hands of the Nazis in eastern Europe.  The scenes of six foot high piles of  Jews’ teeth for the purpose of rendering the gold fillings and piles and piles of other unspeakable things taken from their bodies, hurt my heart so deeply.  Other clips of the movie showed truck loads of children being taken away as their mothers ran frantically after their children, only to have their teeth knocked out with the butt on the stock of a Nazi’s rifle, or worse, shot in the head, as their husbands watched from behind fences of razor wire.

For 16 years I put off watching the movie, but during that time I realized I needed to see it.  I rented it from Netflix and it was laying on my desk for about a week and night before last I finally got up enough courage to watch it.  I braced myself and stuck the DVD into the player as if I was shoving a dagger into my stomach.

When the movie started, I began seeing Jewish doctors, lawyers, intellectuals, business people, skilled laborers, their husbands, wives and their children, unaware of why they were being removed from their jobs and their homes.  They reasoned that they were being relocated because of the war, being taken to “new homes” for their safety some of them thought.  When Schindler began taking some of the Jews to work in his factory, they thought it was business as usual.  Some wanted to negotiate the way they were to be paid, some demanded to have a percentage of ownership in Schindler’s company, not knowing he was saving a few of their lives.  I watched on and thought of the similarities between the society of pre-Nazi Germany and our pre-Obama society, and how similar we Conservatives are to the Jews before the Nazi’s decided to put them to death.  Also while I was watching Schindler’s List, I several times recalled the video of Helen Thomas’ comments… “…[the Jews need to] go back to Poland — Germany…”.

At the end of the Schindler’s List movie, the war is over, A Russian soldier who had just came from Poland yelled out to Schindler’s Jews that they were free to go find their remaining relatives.  One of the Jews asked him,  “You were in Poland…Were there any Jews still alive?”  They were all dead Helen.

The other day I read Jamie Freeze’s June 9th, 2010 article, “In Defense of Helen Thomas”.  I encourage you to read it if you haven’t.  I also encourage Ms Freeze to watch Schindler’s List.

I was 34 years old when Schindler’s List hit the box office.  People who are around Ms. Freeze’s age were about 6 years old, too young for the violence and the nudity.  I served in NATO, Ms. Freeze went to college.  I know that young people have a tendency to reject any movies or anything that is old or older than the DVD player itself, but I think it is time to watch Schindler’s List.  And kids, they made movies in color back then — Spielberg made it in black and white on purpose.

Actually, the point I want to make with this article really has nothing to do with Jews or with Nazi’s nor Helen Thomas.  The thing that is on my mind has bothered me for a long time.  My problem is with many so-called Conservative columnists, Conservative TV and Radio people, and many Republican politicians who are so worried about what the leftists think about Conservatives that they try to befriend them by attacking fellow Conservatives.

If it becomes a crime to be a Conservative I don’t see enough evidence in Jamie Freeze’s columns to convict her. There is certainly enough evidence to acquit her.  For instance, she went after the “birthers” back in December in her article, “Facts are Stubborn Things:  Obama is a Natural Born Citizen”.  You may also want to read my article, Attorney Phillip J. Berg Defends Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuits.  In it he rebuts Jamie Freeze’s article.

I had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Freeze after I read her article which blesses Helen Thomas and attacks Ann Coulter.  Ms. Freeze said,

“Thank you all for your comments. Let me clear up a few misconceptions that have been propagated here. [First,] What Helen Thomas said was morally and ethically reprehensible. I do not agree with her comments in any way.   Despite my moral revulsion, I am compelled to support her First Amendment right. Why? Because if we don’t stand up for free speech for others (even when we disagree with them), who will stand up for our free speech? The ACLU? Get real.  I am a conservative. I think my columns support that. I believe in and support limited government, fiscal responsibility, and all the liberties proscribed in the Constitution.  What I don’t support is pseudo-conservatism. This must be why I anger so many people. Pseudo-conservatism is when people CLAIM to be conservatives as long as their own agenda is established. They throw away core conservative principles in order to win. They ignore rationality and reason and cling to conspiracy theories. If anyone would like to critique my conservative philosophy (or lack thereof? lol) in a rational manner, please feel free to do so. My email address is j.l.freeze@juno.com. I will reply.”

I asked Jamie Freeze if she wants to defeat the leftist movement in this country or does she want to “befriend” the leftist movement, and if she is indeed a Conservative, how is attacking fellow conservative soldiers in this war helping us to “RenewAmerica“?   Here is an excerpt from her article:

“…I don’t know if it’s just me, but I smell a little hypocrisy. Conservatives applaud Ann Coulter when she flippantly makes anti-Muslim comments (calling for the invasion of their country and conversion to Christianity) yet attack Helen Thomas for making anti-Semitic remarks. Boy, the smell of hypocrisy…” 

Ms Freeze answered me.  She said,

“Exposing conservatives who harm the conservative movement is fighting the leftist movement. How? It makes the conservative movement less of a laughingstock and more of an agent of change and reform. Oh, and please google Ms. Coulter’s column. It was printed in the days following 9-11. She called for the invasion of Muslim countries and the conversion of those citizens: Ann Coulter’s article, “This is War”.   Her statement, right or wrong, is protected by the First Amendment. Why should Helen Thomas’s statement, right or wrong, be afforded anything less? Or, is it possible that some conservatives only want to protect speech they agree with? I would hope all conservatives would want to uphold the Constitution for all people. But clearly, this is not the case.”

I would like to direct your attention to Ms Freeze’s comment, “…the conservative movement less of a laughingstock…” .  Her comment reveals the real problem:  Many so-called Conservatives care what the left thinks about Conservatives. True Conservative soldiers couldn’t care less what the leftists think. Leftists have brains the size of walnuts. We may convert one or two leftists, but that isn’t going to bring this country back to the Constitution.

In defense of Ann Coulter, Ann hates communism and socialism. The left hates Ann Coulter because of that.
When the left starts despising Jamie Freeze as they do with the fervency they do Ann Coulter, then Jamie Freeze will be an effective soldier in the Conservative movement.

I encourage the Stephen Stone, the editor of RenewAmerica.com, which is one of the best Conservative websites available, to keep the site a place for Conservatives to write, and leftists to READ; not the other way around.

©RUSS J. ALAN