There have been renowned columnists in U.S. history like Walter Lippmann, Ben Hecht, Westbrook Pegler and Molly Ivins. But none has been as savage, caustic and biting as H.L. Mencken. To many, he was the most hated writer in America. Not to this admiring columnist. Mencken was the “kettle drummer of revolt” in the 1920s, the great crusader against nonsense. His spirit was … [Read more...]
Historian Lauds Great Jews, Decries Holocaust
Verso, New York, paperback edition, 164 pages, 2017 As a historian, Deutscher writes without religious belief. As a philosopher, he writes about the great Jews of Europe: Spinoza, Heine, Marx, Trotsky, Luxemburg and Freud. Novelist Graham Greene called the historian’s three-volume biography of Trotsky “among the greatest biographies in the English … [Read more...]
Appeals court connives with government coverup
During a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the U.S. military strapped an inmate in a chair and force-fed him with a nutritional supplement through a tube in his nose. This inhuman behavior was videotaped by military guards. A coalition of 16 news organizations filed a lawsuit. In the subsequent court proceedings, 28 video tapes of the cruelty were revealed. In federal … [Read more...]
Adventures in Encinitas, seaside wonderland
My wife and I recently took a week’s vacation at Encinitas in southern California, about 75 miles north of San Diego airport. Vacationing with us were her two daughters and her son-in-law. Diary, Friday May 19 Up betimes to catch flight…airport security is such a hassle it’s a wonder anyone flies anymore. Nevertheless, this old timer still marvels at the amazement of … [Read more...]
Great Courses lectures often fail
For years I have grumbled about the lecturers in The Great Courses series. They are too professorial, too much the stuffy PhD types. Typical is Professor John Sutherland who lectures on the “Classics of British Literature” at University College in London. He talks too much and speaks too much that is irrelevant. He reads lines of poetry or narrative with unnecessary … [Read more...]
Ivanka Trump bashes her dad
The First Daughter, Ivanka Trump, is having an extraordinary influence on her father—all for the good. President Trump, who engages his mouth before his brain, desperately needs a cool head to tell him some hard truths about his misguided reign. Ms. Trump is the one. Officially, her title is assistant to the president. But she is much more. A page-one story in the New … [Read more...]
Legalize marijuana and abolish drug czar
The Drug Enforcement Administration has no expertise for deciding whether marijuana is harmful or not. Nevertheless, it refuses to take pot off Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. It calls marijuana a dangerous drug with high potential for abuse and of no medical value. But the DEA … [Read more...]
John Lilburne fought the mighty in 17th century
“Free-born John” / Biography of John Lilburne / By Pauline Gregg / Phoenix Press, London, 424 pp., 1961 John Liliburne was the great freedom fighter in 17th century Britain. He was adamant about speaking his mind freely and courageously. He fought for justice, liberty and freedom. He read “The Prince” by Machiavelli to “clearly see through the disguised deceits” of his … [Read more...]