A Dose of Reality from Paul Rahe

No one wants to imagine the worst case scenario in terms of the economy, however Paul Rahe does and outlines it here in this brief and chilling article.  The unemployment chart in the article alone suggests his basic argument that this is a fiscal or excess debt-driven recession along the lines of the 1930's is probably the correct view of what's happening now.  Rahe's bottom line is we are facing a very rough ride for the next phase of this unwinding of excessive debt everywhere and that we have probably the worst leadership imaginable in place to deal with it.

Darkness at Noon -- a book to read?

John Fleming leads off The Anti-Communist Manifestos: Four Books That Shaped the Cold War with an account of Arthur Koestler and Darkness at Noon. It is a riveting chapter of an excellent book.

Professor Fleming described Koestler (1905-1983) as among the better-known intellectual figures of the twentieth century: "He was a multilingual polymath whose large literary production included journalism, fiction, political and philosophical speculation, and some of the most remarkable autobiographical memoirs of his time. He was for some years a member of the German Communist Party. Later he became one of the most effective of literary anti-Communists...Koestler's rich life will surely be illuminated by a long-awaited biography by Michael Scammell."

Scammell's biography of Koestler was published at the end of last year. In the new issue of the Claremont Review of Books(subscribe here), John Derbyshire turns his attention to Scammell's biography in "Meeting the goose," the last of the three pieces we are previewing from the new issue.

Derbyshire quotes Koesler's warning to an admirer that coming face to face with one's favorite author is "a bit like having a wonderful meal of goose liver and then meeting the goose." Koestler led an interesting life, but familiarity with it is not likely to increase one's admiration for the goose. Derbyshire observes that the "goosiest aspect" of Koestler the man was his promiscuity.

Professor Fleming writes that "To read Darkness at Noon today may require a refresher course in European history of the late 1930s; but once a a little 'background' is in place, the book is as profound and stimulating as it was on the day it was published." It remains in print 70 years after its publication. It is to be hoped that Scammell's biography will reawaken or intensify interest in Koestler's contribution to the literature of hell.

Fascinating Possibilities

This article by J.R.Dunn, editor of the American Thinker, reads like a sci-fi thriller, and yet it appears most of what he describes actually happened.  At one level it is comforting to know (speculate?) that we are as clever as Dunn suggests, at least in terms of being able to deal with the really bad guys out there who want to do us and all other infidels harm.

The America haters

Ed Kaitz provides clear thinking in this article about all the America hating so prevalent among the blacks and so-called intelligentsia in journalism, academia, and Hollywood.  It's pretty clear all those seeds of hatred and the like were planted by the hippie movement of the '60's and is largely a case, as Eric Hoffer pointed out in his writings, of arrested development.  As Hoffer saw it the young people at the heart of the 60's movement were the product of an affluent society and were not forced to grow up by means of working at real productive jobs involving manual labor, much like he did in his career as a longshoreman.  This article also puts into perspective the slavery issue, used to great effect by the grievance movement headed byAl Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.  Clearly it's reached the point that many in the Sharpton/Jackson movement believe that the blacks are owed a living because the system was and is still rigged against them.  This thought seems to drive those who want cash compensation for past wrongs and ever more affirmative action plans and programs to make up for those past wrongs.

The article also points out how skillfully Obama used white guilt to motivate votes.  It is remarkable how differently Obama has governed compared to his rhetoric of bringing people together. His has been a governing philosophy of divide and conquer, and the country is much the worse for it.