Secretary of Defense James Mattis is a voracious reader, and a novel he mentions liking is M. M. Kaye’s “Far Pavilions.” The work explores how to deal with inept leadership, which may be important to him in his current situation.
Monthly Archives: August 2017
Could a Bestseller Help Defense Sec?
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Afghanistan, Donald Trump, Far Pavilions, James Mattis, M. M. Kaye, nuclear war Comments closed
School under the Sea: Reeling, Writhing…
To welcome teachers and students back to school, here’s a description of education under the sea, as experienced by Lewis Carroll’s Gryphon and Mock Turtle.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Education, Lewis Carroll, teaching Comments closed
Crashing against the Debt Ceiling
If the GOP Congress members don’t soon come to their senses, we will have a debt ceiling crisis. For a visual image, picture a giant Alice in the White Rabbit’s small house.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alice in Wonderland, debt ceiling, Economics, Freedom Caucus, GOP, Lewis Carroll Comments closed
Trump as Raskolnikov
Is Trump as Raskolnikov, unable to hide the fact that he’s committed a crime so that a relentless detective is able to track him down. But while Mueller may be a Porfiry, Trump isn’t deep enough to be a Dostoevskian hero.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Crime and Punishment, Donald Trump, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Idiot, Russiagate Comments closed
Transfiguration: I Saw a Tree inside a Tree
Here’s a Christian Wiman poem for Transfiguration Poem that gets at those moments when the veil is momentarily lifted and we see into the life of things.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged " Transfiguration, "From a Window", Christian Wiman, Tintern Abbey, William Wordsworth Comments closed
The Synergy between Statue and Poem
Senior White House aide tried Wednesday to separate the Statue of Liberty from Emma Lazarus’s poem. He wasn’t entirely wrong but he was more wrong than right.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "New Colossus", alt-right, anti-immigration policy, Donald Trump, Emma Lazarus, immigration policy, Statue of Liberty, Stephen Miller Comments closed
Nazis and the Classics
Do the classics make us better people. F. R. Leavis thinks so while Terry Eagleton disagrees and cites as an example concentration camp commandants who read Goethe.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged book burnings, Fascism, Goethe, Nazis, Terry Eagleton, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Trump as Miss Havisham
Frank Bruni compares Donald Trump to Miss Havisham, forever fixated on November 8 before the rose lost its bloom. The GOP would do well to break free as Pip does.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Charles Dickens, Donald Trump, GOP, Great Expectations, Hillary Clinton, politics Comments closed
Trump as Alpha Dog Wannabe
A recent “National Review” article says that Donald Trump is like those young men who watch “Glengarry Glen Ross” and fantasize about being the alpha dogs portrayed there.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged alpha dogs, David Mamet, Donald Trump, Glengarry Glen Ross, machismo Comments closed
