Edgar Lee Masters of Illinois was a law partner of Clarence Darrow until Darrow tried to frame him for his own chicanery. He was a biographer of Lincoln and Vachel Lindsay–the only other poet from Illinois. I’ve never much liked his verse, but he did have the knack of capturing the characters of the Midwest.
This a much revised section of a chapter (“The Demands of Blood”) of Volume II of Properties of Blood. It is the first of a series of chapters in which vengeance–its nature, its institutions, its justifications–are discussed. It begins by taking up one of the oldest and still most thorny ethical dilemmas: Why do good men suffer, and what can be done about it? It is the first step in laying the groundwork for understanding the violent anarchy into which American society has fallen and the possible means at our disposal for redressing the injustices.
The twilight hour before bedtime which any sensible boy hopes will never arrive is the high point of his day, and young Vasily, who will be two next month, is no exception. We watch music videos – more or less the same playlist night after night after night – while I smoke my Toscano and savor my brandy, if there is any. The miracle is that I never get tired of these musical selections, whereof by now I know every darn word by heart, and anyone who has ever experienced a true miracle wants the world to hear about it.
What the pundits are missing is the real contest over which party can produce the most outrageously ridiculous member of Congress. Here at SNO we are calling it the Kanye West award.
As this once-great country slides rapidly down the sewer pipes of history, which might be the only place to survive – underground – if Biden accidentally SITS on the Nuclear Button, I try to find some humor.
The 2023 lectures are available NOW website store.
In this episode Dr Fleming comments on the interplay between John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in a Howard Hawks film of a different era.
A 5 Minute excerpt from the Fleming Foundation Summer Seminar: How justice is corrupted by “rights.” All Lectures available now at the website store.
Some years ago, I recall, a great deal of postprandial talk in England revolved around the term “nanny state.” This did not come from libertarians, anarchists, or some other political fringe, but was very much a mainstream Tory gripe. The state meddles, they complained as they passed the port to the left, it interferes and stifles.
