Today's Politicos vs The Words and Deeds of The Founders

The following are some observations on chapter 6 of Richard Weaver's "Ideas Have Consequences," along with a few on Nassim Taleb's book Anti-Fragile. Weaver ponders, "The worship of comfort, then , is only another aspect of our decision to live wholly in this world. Yet here man encounters an anomaly: the very policy of living wholly in this world, of having no traffic with that other world which cannot be “proved,” turns one’s attention wholly to the temporary and so actually impairs his effectiveness. We may feel satisfied to be damned for not producing great art or for not observing ceremony, but what if it is shown that addiction to comfort unfits us for survival? "

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Prejudice is now interpreted as a nasty word. It shouldn't be. Here's why.

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There are some interesting themes in this book. One of these is that there are some things worth dying for, and if you're not willing to compromise your principles, you may end up dying for them.

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Bloody Spring is a valuable addition to the Civil War compendium. One reviewer said that the book reads like a novel and that is correct. Except, of course, readers already know how this story ends. Bloody Spring is well written and engrossing. But it is not a book that can be read with equanimity.

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“Hillary Week” recently concluded. It just seemed like it lasted a month. As you know, Hillary Clinton’s book, Hard Choices, was just released to exceptionally lukewarm reviews. At her New York book signing the crowds were decent, but we hear they were nowhere near as big as when the Jonas Brothers were there. (To be fair, crowds at my book signings aren’t even as big as the crowd for a Jonas sister, if only there actually was one – a sister, we mean.) However, during some of her interviews and a few book signing stops, we did learn a few things. For instance, apparently Abraham Lincoln was a senator. So, it seems, was Hillary Clinton. Who knew?

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A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fun play, and this LibriVox reading was enormously enjoyable and easy to listen to.

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Another stunning example of how the president intends to "fundamentally transform America." The fact that he gets to stick it to our home state (Arizona) only makes it that much better for him.

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Diana West, author of American Betrayal, graciously consented to an interview with Marcia. Ms. West has been excoriated by some members of the conservative media, accused of being a crackpot and closet John Birch Society member. Apparently many of her critics never bothered to read her book, though, or check her voluminous research. This reviewer has read her book and the subsequent rebuttal against her attackers.

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This version of Sleeping Beauty certainly is not appropriate for children, who will be frightened by the unrelenting fury of mother Maleficent and the violent destruction of all the men in the story. No forgiveness, even for the daddies, or perhaps especially for the daddies, who are portrayed as merciless predators of fairy girls.

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I have always loved this poem since I was first acquainted with it in an English Literature class in college, many years ago. Anyway, I listened to each of the 12 versions of this and found a jewel in the midst, version 8. Give it a listen and see what you think.

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