Hey, MDG, that was me, Porgie Tirebiter (spy and girl de-light-er) having a joke on Frenchy. Now, this time I thought I made it even more than last time when (TEE, HEE, HEE!) Frenchy actually thanked me for my support! Here's the joke: I said "with the exception of (just about every medium possible)" we haven't heard about the "horrors of communism." Well, hell, that's all I've been hearing all my life! And then, to make my point even more obvious, I said the ridiculous "I hear the Soviet Union is planning to . . ."So why is this book making such a splash? Indeed, why is it even necessary? Because at least with the Cold War pro-capitalists could say "Well, if you don't like it, go to Russia." Capitalists no longer have that rationale, the big bogeyman in Moscow, so they have to rehash the history. But have you read the reviews in the popular press? They're breathless with moral indignation and "it's-about-time!" denunciations of academia.
This is one of those "tent-revival-show" books, the purpose of which is not to augment our understanding of history but rather to re-affirm the tenets of the capitalist faith.
Of course, this spectacle does violence to common sense and rational thinking, as does pretty much every post that Frenchy spews onto this page. But what can we do? Reasoning doesn't work. Historical facts don't work. Socratic questioning, patience, neglect . . .none of these work. The only thing to do is to I was just trying to fight fire with fire, stupidity with stupidity, absurdity with absurdity. If you've ever seen "This Is Spinal Tap", you'll know what I'm talking about when I say I just go to 11.
Request for Samuel Day Fassbinder, the King of Links: Hey, Mr. Fassbinder, your links are always really interesting. I'm putting together a small EFL textbook and would like to use some of your links. I have a lot of books, but I want to make all the references on the web, so the students can look them up themselves effortlessly.
The problem is my computer is sbout 106 years old and is very, very slow. (Just to give you an idea, it's lunchtime now and I started booting up before breakfast.) Now, Mr. Fassbinder I'm wondering if you'll put some of the links you've cited on ONE PAGE which I can bookmark and go back to.
Just 3 or 4 good links on each of the following would really help. I'd be in your debt. Here are the topics:
Wealth Re-distribution, Rich to Poor
a) Inside U .S.
b) outside U.S. (your Marshall Plan one would be very good here)
Defense Spending
Taxation
The Homeless Problem
Marriage, Divorce and Family Life (from a Leftist point of view, of course)
And anything else you might seem appropriate. Thanks a lot for your help.
To all you seekers out there, just don't feel alone here in the New Age cause there's a seeker born every minute.
Porgie Tirebiter
