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Tom Blair on 970 WFLA Tampa Bay
Tom Blair was a recent guest on 970 WFLA Tampa Bay’s News, Traffic and Weather station.
Book Review: What Would Franklin Think of Us Today?; ‘Poorer Richard’s America’ Imagines an Up-to-Speed Founding Father
By Kaitlin Kovach Any student of American history at some point wonders what the Founding Fathers would think of today’s United States. Now, one of the most distinctive founders is back and he has a lot to say – or at least author Tom Blair does on his behalf. In “Poorer Richard’s America: What Would Ben Say?” Blair gets in touch with the Ben Franklin of the beyond and leaves no facet of modern American life untouched. From family life to the state of the economy and feuding political factions, Franklin has plenty to say. He’s pleased overall, but is not without some criticism. The [...]
BookPage reviews Poorer Richard’s America
A voice from the past Web exclusive Review by Edward Morris Ben Franklin is worried. “My dear America may well have reached its majestic zenith,” he frets, “thus being poised to begin its slide from grace.” But the sage of Philadelphia is too constitutionally optimistic to succumb to despair. While he doesn’t propose an overall program to save the republic, he does offer some more of the common sense ideas he first put forth in his various editions of Poor Richard’s Almanack. Persnickety critics may kvetch that Franklin has been dead for 220 years and thus has no business sticking his disembodied nose into our [...]
Questions and Observations Reviews “Poorer Richard’s America.”
Have you ever wished it was possible to spend some time with any of those we call our Founding Fathers and ask them about the country they founded and the country it has become? Would they be astounded? Shocked? Disappointed? Of course, no one knows because such a wish can never come true … until now. I just finished a very good book entitled “Poorer Richard’s America”, subtitled “What would Ben say”. The “Ben” in question is Benjamin Franklin and the author, Tom Blair, perfectly – at least in my opinion – captures Franklin’s voice. He also captures the common sense and logic which made [...]
The Washington Post-Post Politics Review: “Poorer Richard’s America” – some “Common Sense” for today’s patriots
Tom Blair chooses Benjamin Franklin as his voice of reason in “Poorer Richard’s America” to hold up the mirror to modern America and show us that we’re not as pretty as we think we are. Just as America’s fledgling revolutionaries needed the British-born Tom Paine to give them a pick-up during a time that tried men’s souls (“Common Sense” and “The Crisis”), British-born Blair delivers to modern day patriots a much needed kick-in-the-pants. Blair, a successful entrepreneur, using the style found in Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack”, complete with excerpts of speeches, quotes and aphorisms (“The learned fool writes his nonsense in better language than the [...]
Tom Blair Q&A: What would he specifically say about today’s news media?
Again I’m speculating, but I think he would be quizzical about 24-hour news coverage from a variety of sources. I think he might be inclined to say something along the lines of, “For years I published the Pennsylvania Gazette. At first it was four pages, and then eight pages. If I had to print a 300-page newspaper each day, most of the printed news would be unworthy and not meaningful.” And, Ben Franklin prided himself on trying to eliminate a bias in the news that he reported. I’m not sure he would agree that the legs of today’s fair reporting always straddle an issue. I [...]
Tom Blair Q&A: What would surprise him the most about today’s government?
On the political side, I think he would be perplexed by the rows of corporate jets at the airports surrounding the Capitol, corporate jets that bring in corporate officers to meet with lobbyists and attempt to sway legislation. We are at the point where corporations are the fourth branch of government; there’s absolutely no question about it.
Tom Blair Q&A: What do you think would surprise Franklin the most about today’s America?
Obviously, I am speculating, the sheer size of its population and the infrastructures that support it, I believe would be amazing to him. Technology would certainly startle anyone; the notion of crossing the Atlantic in seven hours versus 10 weeks, and certainly health care technology … a heart transplant! And, as a long-time sufferer of painful gout, he would be pleased to know there is a simple medication to offer relief. And he might be taken aback by our sense of entitlement. If you stretch a piece of canvas, you can say it’s a safety net or a trampoline. I think most people, for a [...]
Tom Blair Q&A: Why Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack as the conduit for your book?
Because it spoke plainly to the people. It was a book of common sense. Many of Franklin’s witticisms and sayings, which I overlay in the narrative of my book, are no less relevant today than they were 300 years ago. “To serve the Publick faithfully, and at the same time please it entirely, it is impractical.”
Tom Blair Q&A: Who is like Franklin today?
That’s like asking who is like DaVinci today. I don’t think there is anyone who comes close to having the depth and breadth of his intellect and life experiences.
