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September 2010

09/17/2010

There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters

I just finished reading Claire Berlinski's great book about Margaret Thatcher (title of this post). Here is a quote from her press secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham, which applies to us today:

"The British establishment was in the grip of a sort of pale-pink socialism. There are still a lot of them around now who believe, who have this sort of naive, this romantic view of the working classes...it's horribly condescending... It is an attitude of mind toward ordinary people that they are not capable of leading their lives without direction. And Mrs. Thatcher was essentially saying, 'Oh yes, they are, let's set them free.' And of course when they were set free, quite a lot of them didn't do well -- of course they didn't. But quite a lot of them prospered enormously, and have never looked back since they got their hands on their council houses! But she really challenged notions -- well, she challenged notions of class!"

Posted at 04:28 PM | | Comments (2)

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First Post

This is my first post on the new blog. Wonder how many people have started their first post with that dull sentence?

MomoscratchedMr. Momo (left) and I will be here from time to time. I hope you drop by.

I've been formulating a big rant in my head since the Tea Party routed everyone on Tuesday night and frightened the pee-waddledy-squat out of the ruling class. 

I'm not quite ready to spit it out yet, but I will be soon. 

Posted at 03:50 PM | | Comments (3)

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From the Mystery Lovers Book of Quotations


  • Liberal principles are all very fine as long as they leave you with something to have principles about. -- Jack Higgins

  • Sweep everything under the rug for long enough, and you have to move right out of the house. -- Rachel Ingalls

  • It's hard to live a reputation down. Especially when your actions live up to it. -- Michael Z. Lewin

  • A prompt man is a lonely man. - Elmore Leonard

  • You know who casts the first stone? The guiltiest bastard in the crowd. -- William McIlvanney

  • Life is the process of finding out, too late, everything that should have been obvious to you at the time. -- John D. MacDonald, "The Only Girl in the Game"

  • We gave her everything. But it wasn't what she wanted. -- Ross MacDonald, "The Underground Man"

  • Sanity is sometimes a matter of going on, outwardly, as if everything is all right. -- Mary McMullen, "Prudence Be Damned"

  • People without brains are always dangerous. -- A.E.W. Mason, "The House of the Arrow"

  • Everybody needs a little improbability in their life. -- Reginal Hill, "Deadheads"

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