Donald's Blog

  This old house was only a few blocks from the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. All the neighborhood cats lived in the basement during the winter. The house has long since been torn down, but in 1972 there were AR2ax speakers in the front room, and a lot of good music was heard there.

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In the 21st century I am just as opinionated as ever, and I now have an outlet. I shall pontificate here about anything that catches my fancy; I hope I will not make too great a fool of myself. You may comment yea or nay about anything on the site; I may quote you here, or I may not. Send brickbats etc. to: dmclarke78@icloud.com.

 

March 24, 2015

An observation

It seems to be the case that the late Lee Kuan Yew, who was the enlightened authoritarian founding father of Singapore, suppressed freedom of the press as well as chewing gum, but allowed economic freedom. The same was true of South Korea, where Syngman Rhee and his like were essentially fascist dictators, who allowed their people to become more and more prosperous until they were able to purchase their political freedom.
      There is a reverse image in our mirror. Here in the USA we have been so prosperous for so long that we can now afford to sell our political freedom.

 

March 24, 2015

A jibe

Let us imagine a man who lives in Akron, Ohio, and teaches the history of the Italian Renaissance. It is dreadful to think what he has to reconcile.

         --Saul Bellow in 1957

 

March 24, 2015

Religious fundamentalism strikes again

Last Saturday night a fire in an Orthodox Jewish household in New York City cost the lives of seven children. The fire was caused by a hot plate which, it is speculated, had been left on because of Sabbath prohibitions against doing anything. If this is true, I cannot express my disgust at such idiocy.