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Modernism is a reactionary culture, a fact that I demonstrated by pointing in detail to the works of a dozen leading Modernist figures including T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Pablo Picasso, and others. In all of these writers and artists, there was a similar rejection of all that is truly modern: a democratic capitalist society in which ordinary citizens seek freedom and opportunity for themselves and their families, including economic, religious, and political liberty.

For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. ~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Though Middlemarch has a large cast of characters involved in intricately related plots, Dorothea Brooke stands out as the book’s heroine. The narrative begins and ends with her. Book I of the novel’s eight Books is “Miss Brooke.” She is a young woman of simple beauty and surpassing decency. She yearns idealistically to benefit humanity, or subordinate herself as the helpmate of a great man like John Milton in his blindness. Yet she is exceedingly foolish.

On Monday I finished reading George Eliot’s great Victorian novel Middlemarch for the first time. I have tried and failed to finish it several times; it’s not easy reading. At a few points it is, briefly, a slog. Although it remains a subject of debate, I believe the novel lacks a happy ending. Nevertheless, for me, the ending was happy. I finished the book. What did it take? I sought permission to audit an undergraduate class in the Victorian novel at a local college and paid for the privilege. I needed a structure within which to read the book. Like...

On CNN’s In the Arena, Eliot Spitzer morphed back to his days in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, donning reading glasses and telling “fugitive” Wisconsin Senator Fred Risser he “poked around your state’s constitution for a few minutes this afternoon.” The senator, who joined the program by phone from an “undisclosed location,” is part of a group of Wisconsin lawmakers who fled the state in an effort to stop Gov. Scott Walker’s move to end collective bargaining. Those lawmakers now face the possibility of arrest.Spitzer, reading from the Wisconsin constitution, suggested arresting Sen. Risser might not be

According to a new documentary, disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer wasn't brought down by his penchant for high-priced call girls. He wasn't brought down by committing questionable, if not illegal, bank transactions to pay for the call girls. He wasn't brought down by his misuse of the New York State Police for political purposes. No, in the world of "Untitled Eliot Spitzer Film" director Alex Gibney, "Spitzer's takedown of financial industry bigwigs... paved the way for his downfall." According to the New York Post: Gibney made no apology for his pro-Spitzer take and the audience, which included Police Commissioner...

Members of designer Yigal Azrouel's team were none too happy to see luv Gov Eliot Spitzer's former fave call girl Ashley Dupre take a front row seat at his fashion show Friday. As for the photo taken backstage featuring Yigal and the Luv Gov's fave escort, Garcia Santana had this to say: "Yigal has never met her, doesn't know her. He has his picture taken with many people back stage. This is all very upsetting. The focus should be on the beautiful collection he presented." As for how Dupre ended up inside and front row center, Cutrone said, "Ashley was...

In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Ashley Dupre insists on ABC News' "20/20" that she's not a prostitute, saying that being an escort involves much more than just sex.

New York’s High Court Sides With GrassoWednesday June 25, 10:35 pm ET By JENNY ANDERSON On Wall Street, there are stars that fade and stars that fight. Richard A. Grasso is one of the latter. On Wednesday, Mr. Grasso, the former chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, won another round in his almost five-year battle to keep the $187.5 million of pay he amassed during his eight years at the helm of the Big Board. The New York State Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing four of six counts originally brought by Eliot...

Eliot Spitzer to receive Ultimate Sugar Daddy title! New York, June 17 : Eliot Spitzer is set to receive a 'kinky' honour- the "Ultimate Sugar Daddy." The disgraced former Governor will be given the 'title' as a part of the first annual George Burns Memorial Sugar Daddy Awards. As a part of his winning, Spitzer will win a pound of sugar, a year's worth of free lap dances from strippers at the VIP Men's Club in Chelsea and an unlimited supply of testosterone pills. Other "honorees" include Woody Allen, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Hugh Hefner and Bill Maher, all described...

3rd guilty plea in Spitzer call-girl ringPublication date: 13 June 2008 The man who ran the New York prostitution ring involved in the political downfall of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer pleaded guilty Thursday to prostitution. Mark Brener's lawyer said he did not agree to cooperate in an ongoing federal investigation, The New York Times reported. Brener also pleaded guilty in federal court to money laundering. Brener was the third person involved with the Emperor's Club V.I.P. to enter a guilty plea. Temeka Rachelle Lewis, who handled bookings, did so in May and Cecil Suwal, the manager, pleaded guilty June 3....

Eliot Spitzer plans 'vulture fund' to relaunch careerBy Tom Leonard in New York Last Updated: 2:03am BST 12/06/2008 Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor of New York caught in a prostitution scandal, has resurfaced with plans to set up a new property business. Mr Spitzer resigned as state governor in March after he was caught on a federal wiretapping operation arranging to meet a prostitute in a Washington DC hotel room. He had been a vocal campaigner against prostitution in New York, where he signed the country's toughest anti-prostitution laws, increasing sentences for men who used the services of escort...

Eliot Spitzer hit with further sex allegations By James Quinn in New York Last Updated: 8:46pm BST 24/04/2008 Eliot Spitzer, the former Governor of New York, has been hit by further allegations about his sexual predilections in the wake of the prostitution ring scandal that led to his downfall. Mr Spitzer is now being linked to a second prostitute Mr Spitzer, the former scourge of Wall Street who had been tipped as a possible future Democratic candidate for the White House, is being linked to a second woman who he allegedly paid for sexual services. According to reports in the...

Very funny segment on the Eliot Spitzer "issue."

This "commercial" is from an upcoming, not-yet-released episode of a internet radio show I do with some friends. I thought I would let Freepers with a sense of humor hear it first. WARNING: there is some naughty language. If you like it, send me 35 dollars... uh, I mean, go to paydayjones.com/radio and listen to your hearts content. The later shows are better. (#20, #22) If you are easily offended, and do not like 'blue' humor, the show is not recommended for you. Keep On Freepin' On.

Those of us who have been participating in the Eliot Spitzer Media Waiting Game -- halting our respitory activity in anticipation of the Jurassic Press actually ascribing Party affiliation to the recently resigned Big Apple Governor -- can finally breathe easy. The Agence-France Presse and Yahoo! have teamed up to finally do what's right. Only they do it so VERY wrong. Eliot Spitzer (R) holds a news conference in New York City with his wife Silda by his side

The political future of Eliot Spitzer is decided. But the legal fate of the man who made his reputation as a crime fighter is not. Shortly after Mr. Spitzer's late-morning resignation announcement, Michael Garcia, U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, issued a statement saying "there is no agreement between this Office and Governor Eliot Spitzer, relating to his resignation or any other matter." "He is a far less likely target out of office," ... Mr. Spitzer may be vulnerable to charges that he sought to evade federal banking laws in extracting cash from his bank accounts to pay the Emperors Club... Mr....

Just how in the hell would a high-profile, ho-bustin' politician like Eliot Spitzer ever expect to get away with his pay-for-play D.C. side piece? "It's so easy not to not get caught," reformed Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss tells Radar, adding that she provided service to many a well known politician her day. "I saw many famous people—more famous than Eliot Spitzer—and you know what, you pay people right, you treat them right, you don't have a problem." The devil, she says, was in Spitzer's particular freak, which left the gals who are alleged to have serviced him describing the governor...

N.Y. Community Center Loan Investigated By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer speaks at a news conference in New York, July 25, 2005. A New York radio station has agreed to pay $240,000 after sponsoring 'smackfest' contests in which young women took turns slapping each other for a chance to win concert tickets and cash, Spitzer and State Athletic Commission Chairman Ron Scott Stevens said on Monday. REUTERS/Mike Segar NEW YORK — State and city officials are investigating how $875,000 from a community center funded largely by government grants and contracts wound up in...

Radio station to pay $240K over slapping contest The Business Review (Albany) - 4:57 PM EDT Monday A radio station has settled with state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for $240,000 for the "Smackfest" slapping contests the station held with female contestants in 2004 and 2005. Contestants could win up to $5,000 during the contests on WQHT Hot 97's in New York City, Spitzer said. The attorney general said the promotions cross the line of entertainment and became abusive. The settlement was the same size as the fine the station would have faced had it faced punishment from the state. Emmis,...