Find Something Beautiful Today

 

[Photo by Curated Lifestyle for Unsplash+]

Starring Deborah Harry and James Woods

 

First Paragraph

At ten o'clock of a rainswept morning in London's West End, a young woman in a baggy anorak, a woolen scarf pulled up around her head, strode resolutely into the storm that was roaring down South Audley Street. Her name was Lily and she was in a state of emotional anxiety which at moments turned to outrage. With one mittened hand she shielded her eyes from the rain while she glowered at door numbers, and with the other steered a plastic-covered pushchair that contained Sam, her two-year-old son. Some houses were so grand they had no numbers at all. Others had numbers but belonged to the wrong street.

- From Silverview by John Le Carré

[This was his last novel.]

How Did I Ever Miss This!

 

President Trump Should Be a Lincoln, not a McClellan

In the 1864 presidential election, George McClellan, the Democratic nominee, favored bringing the southern states back into the Union without the abolition of slavery. 

Abraham Lincoln, the Republican nominee, favored both the abolition of slavery and restoration of the Union.

Since it was clear that slavery was a major cause of the Civil War, restoration of the Union alone would not have addressed the core problem.

A similar situation exists today in the war with Iran. Any solution that fails to replace the extreme and murderous theocracy that has oppressed the Iranian people; an odious cadre that has fostered terrorism since the fall of the Shah; will fall short of the necessary resolution of the matter.

President Trump should follow the example of President Lincoln and ignore those who would turn him into a McClellan.

[Getty Images for Unsplash+]

Paperback Writer

 

Nicholas Bate is working on a new novel.

Spreading the Word

Now that Pilate's Magician is out there, I'm hearing from some marvelous people who are spreading the word.

The novel is neither dry nor preachy, but after one woman joked that she would be getting a new yoga mat along with the book, I've been tempted to add a new marketing slogan:

"It's not about Pilates."

So far, the award for dedication goes to the man who called from New Orleans to tell me that he was taking it to his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

"False Black Power"

 

Nitwittery Update

Ann Arbor, Michigan gets rid of "neighborhood watch" signs.

Albert Had No Idea of What Was Coming

 We live in a time when men, driven by mediocre ferocious ideologies, are becoming used to being ashamed of everything. Ashamed of themselves, ashamed to be happy, to love and to create . . .. So we have to feel guilty. We are being dragged before the secular confessional, the worst of all.

- Albert Camus, Actuelles. Écrits politiques, 1948