Quote of the Week- Red Emma Goldman

Today, we conclude our series of quotes from left-wing radicals with a quip from Red Emma Goldman (1869-1940), who may even more lived a more interesting,well-travelled, and certainly less tragic life than her fellow Bolshevik Leon Trotsky.

Goldman is described by Wikipedia as being known for anarchism and giving fiery speeches.

She helped develop the anarchist philosophy of North America. Goldman was born in Lithunia, which became a republic of the Soviet Union (today it is an independent state). She moved to New York in 1885, where she would help create the anarchist journal "Mother Earth" (not to be confused with "Mother Earth News"). The publication lasted from 1906 to 1917.

Goldman was exiled back to the Soviet Union in 1917, but she was not impressed by what she saw. Though it did not change her political ideology, the experience lead to Goldman's penning "My Disillusionment in Russia" (1923), which was very critical of the violence that she witnessed there.

The anarchist leader eventually moved to Canada, where she died in Toronto at age 70.

We should add that while we find Goldman an interesting political figure, and we aren't certainly not in Newt Gingrich's corner (in fact, we think he and Goldman are more or less equally far apart from the political center), by any means, we think it is safe to say Goldman's views are startling to this day and we in now way endorse them. This quote by her illustrates that point quite vividly:

"We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet, we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs form flying machines upon helpless citizens."

SIDEBAR- It has been quite the scorcher in the states of Virginia and North Carolina since Sunday. Over the last two days, the following high temperatures were either reported or expected in Virginia: Richmond, 97; Roanoke, 92; Blacksburg, 90; and Appomattox, 100 (?!). Meanwhile in North Carolina, things are not any cooler: Raleigh, 98; Charlotte, 98, Greensboro, 97; Wilmington, 94----perhaps it is a good time to escape to Maine!

Thing We Learned on Twitter This PM- There is a Comedy Duo Known As....

...........Trotsky and Hutch!

Yes, as reported by the Toronto alt weekly "Eye Weekly," there is a Canadian improv duo made up of Kevin Patrick Robbins and Sean Tabares known as "Trotsky and Hutch." For those who were not born in the '70s or familiar with the Ben Stiller-Owen Wilson cinematic remake, there was an American police action show called "Starksky and Hutch" back when Gerald Ford was president.

For those who flunked history, it should be pointed that Russian political philosopher Leon Trotsky was a leader in socialist thiking who was kicked out of the Soviet Union. Strangely enough, he spent part of his years in exile on the island of Buyukada, near Istanbul, Turkey, in the 1930s.

The Twitter site for "Eye Weekly" said that the group, returning from a five-year hiatus, is performing tonight at the Impatient Theatre Company in Toronto at 9 p.m., which is less than two hours from now!

The group, which started in Vancouver, told "Eye Weekly" that their improv is based on shout-outs from the audience about social agendas, workers' struggles and opressive petit bourgeois dogs.

Somehow, I don't see them coming across the border to perform for the Michigan Tea Party.

SIDEBAR: The lovely Sarah Michelle Gellar is 33 today. She is best-known for her lead role in the late '90s tv series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She was also in the strange 2006 Richard Kelly film "Southland Tales" which New York film critic Nathan Lee adored. The rest of us are a bit unsure of what to make of it, but we love Gellar just the same. Too bad, she is married to the guy whose father was on "Chico and the Man!"