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Past is prelude to the future; Edward J. Hum; Beaver County Times; October 24, 2010.
Mr. Hum has written more than 55 letters since mid-2004, including a 10-month hiatus from September 2007 to July 2008. Most of Mr. Hum’s letters are no more than exercises in bashing President Bush and/or other Republicans. Mr. Hum’s letters are also flame-throwing exercises. I don’t know if Mr. Hum actually believes what he writes, or if he simply likes to stir things up to call attention to himself.
Mr. Hum frequently includes “fellow Republicans” or something similar in his letters and is one of a group of local Republican impersonators (The group also includes Messrs. William A. Alexander, Arthur Brown, William G. Horter, and George Reese.) who write claiming to be disgruntled Republicans. You have to give Mr. Hum “credit,” however, for going the extra mile to further his impersonation. As of September 2006, Mr. Hum was actually registered as a Republican despite the fact he’s no more a Republican than is Dennis Kucinich.
Given his body of work, for a while I wondered what Mr. Hum would use for subject matter now that Barack Obama is President. Mr. Hum wrote three letters in support of a government-run, taxpayer-funded healthcare monopoly (here, here, and here), then he reverted to his Bush-bashing habit, as in “Bush earns status as ‘most liberal.’” I guess some addictions are too tough to overcome. Mr. Hum’s last letter was entitled “Terrorists are our enemy, not Islam.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Some history.
“1993: Christian terrorist bombs the federal building in Oklahoma City.”
[RWC] This is the second time in two months Mr. Hum made a similar comment. As I wrote in my critique of the previous letter, I must have missed the reports indicating Mr. McVeigh bombed the Alfred A. Murrah Building in the name of Christianity and missed all the Christians who defended him and his actions.
A Time interviewer asked Mr. McVeigh, “Are you religious?” Mr. McVeigh replied, “I was raised Catholic. I was confirmed Catholic (received the sacrament of confirmation). Through my military years, I sort of lost touch with the religion. I never really picked it up, however I do maintain core beliefs.” According to a story in The Guardian (UK), “In a letter to the Buffalo News daily in New York state … McVeigh said he was an agnostic but that he would ‘improvise, adapt and overcome’, if it turned out there was an afterlife. ‘If I’m going to hell,’ he wrote, ‘I’m gonna have a lot of company.’” Yep, there’s no doubt Mr. McVeigh was a devout Christian and killed all those people in the name of Christianity – not. I’m sure someone heard Mr. McVeigh shout “Christ Akbar” when he detonated his bomb.
“2001: Muslim terrorists destroy the World Trade Center.
“2002: We defeat the terrorists in Afghanistan.”
[RWC] Huh? I guess Mr. Hum is trying to be cute.
“2003: Because of mushroom clouds and WMDs, we invade Iraq. Gen. Eric Shinseki recommends 300,000 troops, the famous Shinseki surge. President George Bush ignores the advice and invades with too few troops.”
[RWC] In 2006, Mr. Hum claimed Gen. Shinseki recommended 400,000 troops. Which is it? Mr. Hum would like us to believe all of Mr. Bush’s military advisers agreed with Gen. Shinseki. They did not.
“2004: Iraq is falling apart, casualties rise. Democrats nominate John Kerry, who volunteered and served in Vietnam. Political allies of Bush and Dick Cheney, both Vietnam War draft dodgers, try to destroy Kerry’s war record. Bush wins another close election.”
[RWC] Mr. Hum keeps repeating this fairy tale. As for Mr. Kerry, Mr. Hum always fails to note Mr. Kerry applied for a deferment to study in Paris. Only when the draft board denied his request did Mr. Kerry enlist in the Naval Reserves to avoid being drafted into the Army. For the rest, please read my critique of a previous Hum letter.
“2005: We fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.
“2006: They’ll never recruit American terrorists over the Internet.”
[RWC] Huh?
“2007: Iraq nearing civil war. Try small Shinseki surge. Also, pass out $100 bills to Sunni chiefs. Iraq fades off the front pages.”
[RWC] Regarding the 2007 surge, Mr. Hum wrote, “The surge will never have enough troops.” It is incorrect to view the 2007 surge as a “small Shinseki surge.” The 2007 surge was a combination of additional troops and a major change in tactics.
“2008: Bush tax cuts don’t create enough jobs. Rising unemployment, housing bubble, home foreclosures, derivatives, bank failures, both parties vote to bailout Wall Street.”
[RWC] “Bush tax cuts don’t create enough jobs?” Before the current recession caused by lefty housing policies/programs, unemployment dropped to 4.4% during the Bush administration in April 2007. Around 5% is considered “full employment.”
“2010: Bush will publish his memoirs. He will claim a great victory in Iraq and blame President Barack Obama for Afghanistan, high unemployment and bailing out Wall Street.”
[RWC] It’s too late for Mr. Bush to “claim a great victory in Iraq.” That’s because the Obama administration already took credit. You may recall VP Joe Biden said in February 2010, “I am very optimistic about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration.” As one reminder, you probably recall Messrs. Obama and Biden opposed the Iraq surge and wanted to cut and run. As another reminder, the Obama administration is following exactly the Bush administration plan for Iraq in place before Mr. Obama took office.
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