Posted on 03/04/2011 4:42:54 PM PST by kristinn
In 1848, he explains, "Practically every country in Europe, except England of course . . . had a revolution and overthrew the government, at any rate for a time. So that is something which historically is well-attested and the same thing has happened here in the Middle East." Here he injects a note of caution: "But I notice it's much more likely that a so-called dictatorship will be overthrown if it's not a real dictatorship. The one in Tunisia wasn't very much. Mubarak didn't run a real dictatorship [in Egypt]. Real dictatorships in that part of the world," such as Libya, are a different story.
Of Mahatma Gandhi, he wrote in "Modern Times": "About the Gandhi phenomenon there was always a strong aroma of twentieth-century humbug."
On the mark.
“Based on your comment, I’ll have to give Johnson’s work a look. I tend to avoid modern historians, because most of them are out and out Marxists.”
Johnson’s “Modern Times” is a must read.
Hyper-educated idiots. Our Ivy League colleges are cranking them out by the thousands.
You will not be disappointed.
I very much like his work, the only one I own is “A History of The American People” which is very well written.
Thanks for the excellent summary.
Marxism started its march in the USA in the late 1800’s, almost twenty years before the Russian Revolution. Every Democrat president since has furthered its cause. The present one seems intent on ending the slow march and executing the final takeover and installing a One World Government.
Given all these recommendations, I see I have no choice but to buy a bunch of books. My “Amazon Wish List” is gonna get a workout. Thanks, folks.
Thanks for the ping; post. I’ve never heard of Paul Johnson. Thanks to all posters.
Optimism BUMP!
He has a reputation as a historian, tho I confess to never having gotten around to reading any of his books.I was thinking, "How does he know that Franklin "invented" the one-liner?" - but then, on his standing as a historian I guess we can take it for granted that Mr. Johnson will have done the research - or else have good authorities who he knows have. The negative that one-liners were not used by anyone before Franklin just sounds like a difficult thing to prove.
But for sure, that guy Franklin was a piece of work. Not only proved that lightning was electricity - which was a big deal at that time - but was the expert on electricity at the time. He invented the positive/negative nomenclature for electricity, and he gave the battery its name (which relates "batteries" of cells to "batteries" of cannon). Then there is the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and a musical instrument of some interest - the "glass armonica". He also started the first lending library in America, and founded the University of Pennsylvania. And, starting from nothing more than the shirt on his back, created a publishing empire which made him among the wealthiest people in America by the time he was 40. Why shouldn't he invent the one-liner, too? I guess it's a credible claim . . .
Unlikely, some would say...
Yup. As unlikely as yesterdays news.
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