Click to ENLARGE. Click to access original story at U.K. ‘Daily Mail’.
I have NEVER liked ‘Bill Barr‘. I don’t like him now either. But, on this matter, I (ALAS) have to agree with him — since I feel, 100%, the SAME WAY.
Biden is NOW a bigger threat to the welfare of the U.S. than Trump!
It is true. Biden is weak, indecisive and nobody respects him. The borders are BEYOND A MESS and inflation is unabetting. I am so fed up of seeing him shuffling about, looking lost & confused and talking like the VERY OLD MAN he is. We need a STRONG President.
I am NOT sure I can vote for Trump, BUT I will NOT (I repeat, ‘NOT’), vote for Biden.
Biden is letting us ALL down. The world thinks we are weak. As I have pointed out the U.K. & Poland have already ACCEPTED that Trump will be the next president. There can no longer be any doubt or debate that Trump will WIN the November election by a landslide. I doubt whether Biden will more than 5 states!
Joe Biden is toast, burnt toast. Watching him campaigning in Pennsylvania is embarrassing. I keep on looking for the IV stand on wheels trailing him. He looks pathetic. He looks what he is. A very old man, shuffling about with no bloody clue.
Though I am NOT a fan of Trump, I am, in a way, relieved that he will be President. This country is in a mess. The border needs sorting out. And yes, his economic policies will not hurt me. SMILE.
So, I am resigned to it. His presidency will be better than what we have now — which is NOTHING. NADA. No-Op. Biden is a disgrace!
I am (I think) still a huge James Michener fan. As the above image shows I have read a fair number of his mammoth works — & (I realize) that that might be an issue. It is possible that I have become jaded, i.e., Michener overload.
I am currently LISTENING on ‘Audible‘ to ‘Poland‘ & I am about halfway through & only have another 18 hours left! I also appreciate that listening to a book is profoundly DIFFERENT to that of reading it. The experience, your connection with the book is different. I have still to fully work it out, but I kind of think that listening is a more DETACHED experience — you get more of a chance to reflect on what is being said. But, I am, as yet, not 100% sure whether that is really the case. But, what I do know is that listening to Michener’s Poland makes me QUESTION the true greatness of the man.
No doubts his works are monumental & required Herculean efforts to pull them off. However, in the case of Poland, especially in light of what he talks about in the ‘Acknowledgment’ section, I have started to wonder if he had others writing sections of the book for him.
I have never done this before but on a whim I just Google ‘james michener criticism‘. Wow. There is a lot & just scanning through a few summaries I can see that others, as ever, have been way ahead of me in their doubts as to his true literary ‘genius’. Interesting. I really must read some of these — IF I ever get the time.
I also just did some math. He was 76 when he wrote Poland. Wow. But, I have to say, it shows! In my opinion the storytelling comes across as TIRED. Stilted. Contrived. Dare I even say so — amateurish! Hence, my questioning as to how he would be received today, IF he was just starting off.
Just recently I stated, right here, that I reckon that ‘Rose Tremain’ is a better storyteller than Michener. I stand by that. And since then, I have listened to the transfixing ‘TheLincoln Highway‘ by ‘Amor Towles’. He is a 21st century writer. Very slick, clever & inspired. Compared to him & Tremain, Michener comes across as old-fashioned (which he was).
Then there is also the matter of technology. Michener did the bulk of his writing on a typewriter. I am sure his style would have been different IF he had access to ‘Word’ — from the getgo. I, as a writer myself, can attest that writing in Word changes your style & fluency because making changes is so trivial.
Bottom line here, for now, is that listening to Poland has made me realize, more painfully than ever before, that Michener tries to tell a good story BUT maybe he isn’t that great at telling it. That said, I am eternally GRATEFUL to Michener for all the world history he has told me. After Poland, I really must stop getting anymore Michener books.
It sure as hell is NOT going to be ‘Biden‘. Biden is old, tired & gutless. He is even worse that ‘Neville Chamberlain‘. It definitely will not be ‘Kamala Harris‘! She, quite literally, does not have the kahunas. ‘Boris Johnson‘ has some of the Winston spunk but he, alas, does not have the standing, following, experience or charisma. ‘Macron’ has already tried BUT he also, unfortunately, doesn’t have the clout. And THIS is what is going to be the difference.
WE, the free world, lacks a CHAMPION.
Don’t start jabbering on about starting a nuclear war. We have had over 50 years to plan for this. Nuclear deterrent & all of that. The trillions & trillions spent on the military & we now claim we don’t have an option? Ah?
To make the claim that Ukraine is NOT a NATO country is lame. Ukraine has been trying to become a NATO country. But, let’s put that aside.
What will we (i.e., NATO) do if Russia makes a move on Poland?
Why can’t we do that same move NOW — preemptively?
So, if Russia encroaches on Poland we will RISK a nuclear confrontation — BUT we will NOT do that for Ukraine? Is that what this is all about.
What happens if Russia attacks us with a cyberwar?
These sanctions are a BLOODY JOKE. The only risk to Putin is he might have a choking fit as he laughs at how impotent Biden is.
This, alas, is not a JOKE. This is serious.
Those that have studied WWII understand the pivotal role that Churchill played. Hitler knew that Churchill was his enemy.
Where is OUR Churchill?
Without a Churchill things will be very BLEAK for US & the World.
