I think The Brothers Karamazov is the best novel I’ve ever read, but The Idiot was a disappointment. Too much silly talk and too many silly people. Maybe you need to have lived in Russia at that time to appreciate the characters. And it would have helped if Nastasya Filippovna had been in it more. She disappears for most of the novel.  (1/14/10)
Author Archives: Larry Franz
What We’re Up Against Regarding Guns
The governor of Arizona has signed a law that requires guns acquired in gun buy-back programs to be sold. If a police department in Arizona buys your gun in order to reduce the likelihood that it will be used to commit a crime (such as shooting a police officer), they can’t destroy it. They have to sell it to a gun dealer, who can then resell it and return it to its rightful place in the community.
Police had argued that they were allowed to destroy guns acquired in such programs, even though an earlier Arizona law required that they sell any guns seized during crimes. The NRA and gun fanatics argued that destroying valuable weaponry is wasteful.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ariz-bill-requiring-resale-buyback-guns-signed
George Eliot and Gary Larson Knew Something About Life
From The Far Side, by the consistently brilliant Gary Larson:
From Daniel Deronda, by the often brilliant George Eliot:
[Note: Daniel is now immersed in the the question whether a Jewish state should be established (the novel is set around 1875). Gwendolen has married a controlling, unlovable aristocrat.]Â
“And Gwendolen? She was thinking of Deronda much more than he was thinking of her — often wondering what were his ideas ‘about things’, and how his life was occupied.
But … it was as far from Gwendolen’s conception that Deronda’s life could be determined by the historical destiny of the Jews, as that he could rise into the air on a brazen horse, and so vanish from her horizon in the form of a twinkling star.
With all the sense of inferiority that had been forced upon her, it was inevitable that she should imagine a larger place for herself in his thoughts than she actually possessed. They must be rather old and wise persons who are not apt to see their own anxiety or elation about themselves reflected in other minds.”
How often are relationships symmetrical? Is it even a goal worth seeking? Maybe it’s a cosmic joke.
Is it too cynical to believe that we only become old and wise after it hardly matters?
A Cartoon for English Majors
And other literate folk.
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2013/05/06/cartoons_20130429?slide=6#slide=6
The Cutting vs. Spending Argument Should Be Over
In a recent blog post, the (indispensable) economist and columnist Paul Krugman has summarized his view of our economic predicament and what we should do to get out of it. He did this in response to a billionaire who went on TV and spoke like a simpleton. Krugman makes his case as clearly as possible, so it’s worth reading if you have any doubts at all about whether the government should be cutting or increasing spending in our present circumstances.Â
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/the-ignoramus-strategy/
Henry Blodget, who isn’t an economist and was convicted of securities fraud when he was a research analyst at Merrill Lynch, argues that the argument about cutting vs. spending is over and Krugman won.
http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-krugman-is-right-2013-4
It’s clear that Krugman and his like-minded Keynesian colleagues have won the argument in the sense of having offered enough evidence to prove their thesis to reasonable people. Whether they’ve won the argument in the sense of getting politicians to change their policies isn’t clear yet. The most we can reasonably expect is that the tide has turned.
As we know, most people, especially politicians and pundits, hate to be proven wrong. Admitting that they were wrong to promote government austerity in response to the Great Recession would require a lot of character.
What I would love to see is President Obama, who is said to be a reasonable person, admit that his search for a “Grand Bargain” with the Republicans has been a terrible mistake. He should admit that we need to repeal the Sequester immediately (not just as it affects air travelers) and increase spending on infrastructure, education, research, grants to local government, etc. etc.
If it would help, Obama could have Krugman sit next to him and explain the situation in terms that even billionaires would understand! Not everyone would be convinced (there are plenty of simpletons and others with their own agendas), but it would be a step in the right direction.
Postscript 4/29/13 —
This is a sensible summary from Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne (although it’s not really a “whodunit?” because we know who done it):
Whereof One Can Speak 🇺🇦 
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