tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post6297179159577001294..comments2024-03-27T17:03:57.341-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: Harry Potter is a SocialistOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-7554040899409455892013-02-08T18:45:23.603-05:002013-02-08T18:45:23.603-05:00Thomas Jefferson was Minister to France when the U...Thomas Jefferson was Minister to France when the US Constitution was written and had no direct input into the US Constitution. George Washington was there at the Constitutional Convention but maintained order and reportedly did not offer any significant input. James Madison, George Wyeth (Jefferson's teacher), and Alexander Hamilton would have been good choices for a Founding Father who helped write the US Constitution.<br /><br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654628174234761664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-47852456624543845402010-04-17T17:08:43.296-04:002010-04-17T17:08:43.296-04:00Stan - no chance, though I suspect certain section...Stan - no chance, though I suspect certain sections of our press and TV would love her.<br /><br />beth - thanks (and apologies for the pic of la Palin - I knew that might cause a few problems. And I agree, Rupert Murdoch has much, much to answer for. A more corrosive, poisonous influence on our culture you'd be hard pushed to find.)<br /><br />I share your views about Mrs Thatch and Ronnie. She still casts an enormous, toxic shadow over British politics. I would argue the rapacious, naked greed that caused the financial problems of the past few years have a direct link to the shameless, often wreckless pursuit of profit she encouraged. Here, we are all Thatcher's children. Sadly there are some in some very important places who are still in the old battleaxe's thrall (the aforementioned Mr Murdoch for example) Including, even more sadly, the Labour Government, who have adopted many of her policies and ideas, coated in a social democratic veneer. One senior Labour minister famously said a few years back: 'We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich.' Look where that attitude got us. <br /><br />My point about the welfare state is not that it should provide people with a cushy number they can leech from for life, but a safety net to catch those who, for whatever reason, hit rock bottom, and need a helping hand to be able to reach their potential. In JK's case it did that with bells on and as such should be preserved and cherished.Dan Waddellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320741202757960766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-24524240712847817662010-04-17T17:06:08.917-04:002010-04-17T17:06:08.917-04:00Oh, Stan, if only. The US would get a creative ge...Oh, Stan, if only. The US would get a creative genius and England would get Sarah, a woman who could not name a newspaper she read on a daily basis nor one of the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution she is always going on about (Washington and Jefferson shouldn't be an intellectual stretch for any American). <br /><br />Are any of the member countries of Great Britain thinking about secession? Her husband, Todd, was a long-standing member of an Alaskan secessionist group before Sarah hit the big the time. The First Dude, as Sarah dubbed him, gave up his membership when it was pointed out that it wouldn't look good if the VP's consort wanted to leave the union. If you took Sarah, you'd get Todd, an intellectual bonus.<br /><br />Our ties with England are too strong, our friendship of such long-standing that the US would never inflict such pain upon our greatest ally. Would Bill do that to Tony?<br /><br />Sarah is our cross to bear. JK Rowling is a national treasure, Sarah is a national aberration. Besides, if she moved to England she wouldn't be able to see Russia from her house.bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17405199782450351160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-66707828693760677562010-04-17T15:21:11.780-04:002010-04-17T15:21:11.780-04:00Hi Dan: Can the States arrange for a swap of Rowl...Hi Dan: Can the States arrange for a swap of Rowling for Palin? StanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-35986900701723077252010-04-16T19:42:48.634-04:002010-04-16T19:42:48.634-04:00You had Margaret Thatcher; we had her evil twin, R...You had Margaret Thatcher; we had her evil twin, Ronald Reagan, whose administration declared ketchup a vegetable, thus satisfying the guideline that there be a vegetable in school lunches. Given that Ronald Reagan was an actor, schooled to memorize and repeat with meaning and emotion words written by someone else, it seems that Margaret was the brains behind that operation.<br /><br />JK Rowling has to be admired for not forgetting where she came from and how she got to where she is. She may have relied on the Welfare State but she has talent and imagination and she worked hard to achieve her success.<br /><br />I would have enjoyed your article more had you not included the picture of the other woman who does not have any talent,is without an iota of intellectual curiosity, and whose very existence raises my blood pressure to the stratosphere. <br /><br />Sarah wrote a book, too. Although classified as non-fiction, it probably isn't. Sarah was given an advance of 1.25 million dollars, with further payments of 2.6 million dollars and 5 million dollars. The book was due to be published in the spring of 2010 but Sarah, unlike other authors apparently, was dutiful and conscientious and got the book done early. It was published in November, 2009. Within two weeks of publication, it had sold a million copies.<br /><br />That her book has been such a success says nothing about Sarah who is not so stupid that she doesn't realize that she has to take the money and run before her fan base catches on to her real identity as a helium balloon. It does say a lot about the people who bought the book, a group who has chosen to remain willfully stupid by getting all their "news" from Fox News, a Rupert Murdoch addition to culture.<br /><br />Talented and creative people such as you, Dan, deserve to be sponsored so that you can do what you do so well. Shakespeare had a sponsor; granted it cut into his independence (RICHARD III being the most egregious example) but if he had stayed with the tragedies and the comedies, he wouldn't have had to sell his soul in order to keep his head.<br /><br />I doubt that sponsorship would be so dangerous now.<br /><br />Bethbethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17405199782450351160noreply@blogger.com