In the company I keep, mostly a large and vibrant circle of intellectuals, academics, literati, elitists, entrepreneurs, activists, lawyers, all articulate and eloquent, superb arguers and largely Democrats and liberals of both genders, I sometimes reach a point that compels me to slyly redirect the conversation. It is a rather mundane but an archly provocative process.
I say quite simply in a tone without emotion that I like Sarah Palin.
Read more: Praise for Sarah’s “Attitude”
With all the talk about the disparity of wealth in America, about the rich getting richer, I keep wondering what actually happens with this so-called embarrassment of riches. Frankly, it is the recent auction of the goods of convicted Ponzi scheme hustler Bernard Madoff that has triggered this question and set my mind screaming for answers.
I’m not an economist and have zero understanding of the impenetrable language that marks that esteemed profession. According to press reports, Bernie’s wife’s diamond ring went for $550,000 and her diamond necklace went for $135,000 and a vintage Rolex “Moon Phase” watch went for $67,500. The man was crazy for wristwatches. A Steinway grand piano, originally bought for $7,000 went for $47,000.
Read more: What Happens to the Wealth of the Wealthy
The free press is a mess. It always has been and will always be thus. Like its loyal sister, free speech, it means that one can shoot their mouth off, say almost anything, however outrageous provided it doesn’t cause harm to others, which the courts have defined in a myriad of vague ways, with hair splitting decisions that continue to leave the issue open to perpetual controversy.
But then freedom, almost by definition, is a gloppy and often tasteless porridge. Nevertheless it provides us with the nutrients that sustain our humanity. An essential nutrient is “words.”
Read more: Let Freedom Ring
In Ron Chernow’s magnificent book about George Washington, the greatest President of all, he points out, almost as a throwaway line that three of our most important founding fathers, Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin never talked too much. But when they did, they got right to the point and did not dilly-dally with much ornamental and wasteful rhetoric.
Of all the recent Presidents in my memory, President Obama has talked and talked and talked. His well-crafted and seemingly endless string of speeches delivered with much panache, well honed enunciation and expert use of teleprompters is a good example of overkill and repetition.
Read more: Some Advice for the President
