Dr. Hill Replies:rnMr. Walsh’s contention that “There is nornCeltic world left” is true in the sense thatrnthe scourge of modernit’ has left its markrnon all traditional cultures throughout thernWestern world. Certainly Ireland, Scotland,rnand Wales are no exceptions to thisrndishirbing trend. However, the point ofrnmv article was not to argue for the existencernof a pristine Celtic culture, untouchedrnby U2, the Spice Girls, orrnQuentin Tarantino. Rather, it was to sayrnthat historically the Celtic peoples haverndeveloped and administered their ownrnsystem of private justice in contradistinctionrnto the ineffectual public sort that encouragesrneverything from murder to badrnmanners to proliferate in our society. Inrnthe present century this tradition, for betterrnor worse, has been carried on in thernold Celtic worid by the IRA.rnMore seriously, Mr. Walsh accusesrnme of admiring the IRA. While I certainlyrnadmire the exploits of, say, TomrnBarry’s West Cork Flying Column duringrnthe 1920-21 conflict, where somern300 poorly armed irregulars held at bayrnover 12,000 British troops, this in no wayrnimplies that I have any sympathy for thernsocialist politics and civilian terror tacticsrnof the current organization.rnAfter 200 years of selfish misrule byrnthe unitary state, the West is in decline.rnIf civilization is to be preserved in an increasinglyrnbarbarous age, then privaternjustice will play a salient role. Thoughrntoday’s Celts (in both the Old World andrnthe New) no longer speak the languagernof their ancestors, many of them—especiallyrnin rural areas—do retain a certainrntough way of looking at life that is out ofrnstep with the modern world. When ourrnluxurious style of living inevitably givesrnway to the hard realities of life as our ancestorsrnknew it, men such as these will bernindispensable. And their creed may wellrnbe; “Am fear nach gheidh na h-airm ‘namrnna sith, cha bhi iad aige ‘n am arnchogaidh” (“He who keeps not his armsrnin time of peace, will have no arms inrntime of war”).rnCULTURAL REVOLUTIONSrnHILLARY CLINTON has given newrnimpetus to the paranoid style in Americanrnpolitics with her astounding claimrnthat her peckerwood husband’s latest sexual-rnpolitical scandal was the work of “arnvast right-wing conspiracv” constitutingrn”part of an effort, very frankly, to undornthe results of two elections.” When PresidentrnNixon, at the height of the Watergaterncrisis, dismissed his accusers andrncritics as “left-wing kooks,” politicians,rncommentators, and plain citizensrnaround the country, derisively hooting,rnsuggested that he needed to have hisrnhead examined and then went aheadrnand did the job themselves. Nixon, theyrnconcluded, was a paranoid schizophrenic,rna psychological cripple displayingrnsymptoms of a moral pathologyrnresulting from the warping effects ofrnQuakerism, provincialit)’, and monogamy,rnamong other horrors. Herself one ofrnthe left-wing kooks then attempting tornoverthrow Nixon’s presidency, Mrs.rnClinton is probably not oblivious to thernironic nature of her absurdist claim. Shernmust have gambled, rather, that comparisonsrnare never drawn between left-wingrnconspiracy claims and right-wing ones.rnTo no one’s surprise —her own includedrn—she won.rnApprised of the First Lady’s remarks,rnIndependent Counsel Kenneth Starr releasedrna terse but dignified statementrncalling her claims “nonsense” and pointingrnout that “our current investigationrnbegan when we received credible evidencernof serious federal crimes. Wernpromptly informed Attorney GeneralrnJanet Reno, and she determined that thernallegations merited further investigation.”rnThe Attorney General, attendingrna concert, was so immediatelv seized byrnthe conspiratorial frenzy that she signedrnthe papers during intermission, grantingrnthe Independent Counsel jurisdiction inrnthe matter of Monica Lewinsky and herrnpresidential relationship. Mrs. Clinton,rnof course, made no reference to the rolernplayed in the crisis by her husband’s cabinetrnappointee, and in fact Janet Renornseems to have become a nonpersoir followingrnthe firestorm that broke on Januaryrn21. The evening news shows onrnABC and CBS treated Mrs. Clinton’srncharges with respect, leaving it to NBCrnto observe that “demonizing the President’srnaccusers helps rally Democratsrnand distract attention from fresh chargesrnagainst the President. In Clinton’s casernthe conspiracy strategy often worked,rnpartly because there is indeed a corerngroup of conservatives who consider thisrnPresident imfit for office.” That, ofrncourse, is what opposition politics is allrnabout.rnAs with everv crisis pertaining to thisrnadministration, the British press hasrnbeen furlongs ahead of American journalism.rnWriting in the London DailyrnTelegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard deridedrnthe view, widely accepted by Americanrnmedia, of Kenneth Starr as a “RepublicanrnRothveiler.” The IndependentrnCounsel, Evans-Pritchard wrote, is morernsuitably described as “a tame and placidrnman with the zeal of a plump sheep. Indeed,rnMr. Clinton should be thankfulrnthat his so-called nemesis is in reality arnWashington insider who craves the approvalrnof the mainstream press and hatesrnto rock the boat.” Evans-Pritchard callsrnStarr only “nominally a conservative,” arnpartner in a law firm (Kirkland & Ellis)rnwhich has contributed generously to thernDemocratic Party, and a member of arn”subculture of like-minded Washingtonrnlawyers” which trades back and forthrnacross party lines, open-minded tornthe point of appointing liberals to his IndependentrnGoimsel’s office. WherernHillarv Clinton sees —more likely, professesrnto see —Starr’s Chamber as therntool of right-wing conspirators, Americanrnconservatives should regard him as arntimid and ineffective appointee whornneutered his own Whitewater investigationrnby eschewing threats to break crucialrnwihiesses by thrvisting them into jail,rnas was commonly done by the Watergaternprosecutors.rnWhile it was one of the President’srnMen, Janet Reno, who set the prosecutorialrnball rolling, Jerry Falwell, the wellknownrncountercultural guru, standsrnamong The Creep’s most fervent defenders.rnNot even Linda Tripp, whomrnHillary Clinton would probably like tornsee burned as a witch on Salem Square,rnhas respectable rightist credentials, beingrna registered Independent in addition to arnAPRIL 1998/5rnrnrn