Tag Archives: politics

“A mind which really lays hold of a subject is not easily detached from it.” — journalist Ida Tarbell

Posted on November 5, 2024 by sheila

It’s a good day to think about unchecked power. Power needs people out there to check it. It’s a good day to acknowledge that the world – its money and resources – is dominated by a multi-national cadre of fat … Continue reading →

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Today, the Sheila Variations turns 22. wtf.

Posted on October 18, 2024 by sheila

The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 22 years ago today. I never should have put my picture up on my site – it led … Continue reading →

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Review: Kneecap (2024)

Posted on August 2, 2024 by sheila

I reviewed Kneecap for Ebert, a fun interesting fictionalized-ish movie about the formation/rise of Kneecap, the Irish-language-only hiphop trio from Belfast. The trio play themselves!

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“Free Enterprise. The American Dream. Horatio Alger gone mad on drugs in Las Vegas. Do it now. Pure Gonzo journalism.” — Hunter S. Thompson

Posted on July 18, 2024 by sheila

One of my favorite writers of all time. It’s his birthday today. Here he is on his favorite meal of the day: “I like to eat breakfast alone, and almost never before noon; anybody with a terminally jangled lifestyle needs … Continue reading →

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“The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.” –Robert Conquest

Posted on July 15, 2024 by sheila

“I think once you accept that you have the answer to everything, you can do anything to bring it about because your enemies are trying to stop you, are enemies of reason, of truth of everything – enemies of the … Continue reading →

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“They are holding every Jew in Germany as a hostage. Therefore, we who are not Jews must speak, speak our sorrow and indignation and disgust in so many voices that they will be heard.” — journalist Dorothy Thompson, radio broadcast, 1938

Posted on July 9, 2024 by sheila

Dorothy Thompson, 1939: testifying in Congress to repeal the Neutrality Act. American journalist Dorothy Thompson, whose birthday it is today, wangled and manipulated her way into an interview with Adolf Hitler in 1931. Before he even became Chancellor. Thompson had … Continue reading →

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“I knew that I had a facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts.” — George Orwell

Posted on June 25, 2024 by sheila

Orwell was born on this day. When Animal Farm was released in a new edition, Christopher Hitchens (one of THE people you need to read if you want to understand Orwell, besides Orwell himself), wrote specifically about the quote from … Continue reading →

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“Fear and the absence of hatred may go well together.” — Niccolò Machiavelli

Posted on May 3, 2024 by sheila

Prologue, The Jew of Malta, by Christopher Marlowe, written in 1589. Machiavelli died in 1527. You can see his posthumous reputation had ballooned, just 60 years after his death. Enter MACHIAVEL. MACHIAVEL. Albeit the world think Machiavel is dead, Yet … Continue reading →

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“Here’s to better times ahead and saying goodbye to bombs and bullets once and for all.” — Lyra McKee

Posted on March 31, 2024 by sheila

Born on this day, investigative journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed in Derry in 2019, during a standoff between police officers and dissident republicans. She was there as a journalist, covering the events. A masked person fired a shot … Continue reading →

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“Art indeed is long, but life is short.” — Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell

Posted on March 31, 2024 by sheila

“Andrew Marvell spans three ages like a delicate but serviceable bridge. The first length spans Charles I’s reign and fall, the second spans the Commonwealth, the third the Restoration.” — Michael Schmidt, Lives of the Poets It’s his birthday today. … Continue reading →

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