So have you been watching the catastrophe in Cyprus? It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. The abuse of language surrounding it would also be amusing if it weren’t so Orwellian. The original plan was for even the smallest bank depositors to pay a “tax,” a “levy,” or a “fee,” or “take a haircut” on their deposits. Nobody in the MSM ever used the proper term: confiscation. Now that Ma and Pa Cypriot have been “allowed” to keep their allegedly insured deposits and the EU is free to take all they want from the rich the moderately well-off…
Author: Claire
Jim smacked me with this Google screen-grab*: Anybody who’s ever met me or anybody who knows my famous camera-shyness knows that ain’t me. There’s another woman out there who shares my name and does some public speaking in her professional specialty (nursing, I think). She’s probably long rued her accidental Google connections with me. My first thought was, What? Is Google now just grabbing photos of any old Claire Wolfe and pairing them with me? I figured that was probably a photo of poor Nurse Wolfe, who would no doubt now have even more reason to hope I get cooties…
Monkeywrenching seems sadly neglected these days. Do a search on the word and you’ll mostly turn up references to Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang or various acts eco-defense (or eco-terrorism, depending on who’s writing about it). Since the Homeland (Achtung!) Security State has gotten us in its grip, it seems the peasants are afraid to toss their sabots into the machinery of tyranny. Then, too, things are different in a non-industrial society. You could say that Anonymous is a champion of monkeywrenching — just on a technological level. Monkeywrenching, in one form or another will always have a place…
I’m always getting these ideas for the openings of stories. Then I either don’t know where to go with them or (more likely) don’t have enough ambition to figure it out.
So here’s one I’m tossing at you.
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Re-reading Atlas Shrugged for the umptieth time (but the first time in 10 years) has inspired that dangerous activity: thinking.
One part of the book that still holds up for me is Francisco’s money speech. That’s despite it being a speech. In the middle of a novel. It’s short, it’s brilliant, and it serves a plot-related purpose. I especially like this part:
Not having a TV has led to complete, catastrophic cultural isolation. As an example of this savage, self-caused social disconnect: I never learned to pronounce the name “Duchovny.” And now I cannot tell you whether the name “Kutcher” is sounded like more “crutch-er” or “cooch-er.” It’s a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. After first giving up the telescreen, I even had to forego watching great commercials. Since they are among the great creative gems of our time, it was nearly an unbearable loss. Somehow I soldiered on. Eventually the miracle of YouTube brought the Budweiser clydesdales — and those wonderful Dalmatians…
A lot of people have my email address these days (unlike in the past when I still imagined a private life was compatible with being on the Internet). Most of those who have it are good people. Many are good friends. Many also help by sending me news links. And it really has been helpful; there are days when nearly everything I post comes from such emails. Or when one of those emails leads to some productive train of thought. But enough. If you’ve been sending me links to bad news, please stop. I don’t need to know about the…
Since last week’s Five Freedom Questions led to such excellent discussion, let’s do that again. And maybe semi-regularly from now on. A multi-parter for today and this weekend: A. How old were you when you got your first glimmer of freedomista consciousness and what brought it about? B. How old were you when you became (or realized you already were) a full-blown, principled freedomista and what brought that about?