or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
August 07, 2007
The Hazards Of Peace
One strange thing about the people who run America is they often seem to have walked straight out of communist agitprop. This is from a 1947 letter from Robert Gross, the president of Lockheed, to Edward Stettinius, Secretary of State for FDR and Truman:
...while the problems of the war were great and the pressure upon airline manufacturers to produce was incessant, I feel that the hazards experienced then were never comparable to the ones we have had to face up to since. We had one underlying element of comfort and reassurance in the war—we knew we would get paid for whatever we built. Today we are almost completely on our own.
Aircraft manufacturer profits increased 244% from 1939 to 1944. Hopefully they later used some of that to fund American Enterprise Institute seminars on the wonders of the free market and America's commitment to peace.
(The letter and statistics are taken from Harry S Truman and the War Scare of 1948)
Posted at August 7, 2007 02:32 PM | TrackBackStalin once said that capitalists will eventually hang themselves with the rope sold to them by the Communists.
I hate to say it but he was right.
Posted by: En Ming Hee at August 8, 2007 12:37 AMStettinius, btw, had been a big honcho at General Motors and at U.S. Steel before he joined up with all his commie brothers in FDR's administration.
:>)
Posted by: Bob Weber at August 8, 2007 01:37 PMThis is confusing, and compares apples to oranges. Lockheed was a plane manufacturer, not an airline. Do the stats relate to the profits of plane makers, or to airlines?
This is confusing, and compares apples to oranges. Lockheed was a plane manufacturer, not an airline. Do the stats relate to the profits of plane makers, or to airlines?
KG: they're all fruit.
This sentence from the editorial review really kicks ass: "Kofsky has missed an opportunity to connect with a growing audience of Truman enthusiasts on both a scholarly and popular level." Gotta love Reed Elsevier.
Posted by: StO at August 8, 2007 09:01 PMDo the stats relate to the profits of plane makers, or to airlines?
Thanks for this -- you're right, it's plane makers rather than airlines. I'll correct it.
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at August 11, 2007 03:06 PM
