TheGaggle
Politics • Culture • News
More Leftie Than Thou
"Jacobin" Magazine Celebrates A Strike Against Ol' Blue Eyes
January 21, 2023
Guest contributors: TheGaggle

Here at "The Gaggle" we have very little time for the "more Leftie than thou" school of thought--that's the approach to life according to which the only thing that matters is whether you take the right position on every issue under the sun from Abortion to Zelensky. No one in the world meets the exacting standards of this school of thought; any Leftie leader anywhere is always selling out to the bankers and the capitalists. The perfect exemplar of this is the unreadable Jacobin magazine. 

The other day I came across this article from 2021. It's a celebration of trade union power. And not simply trade union power, but the use of trade union power to secure political goals. Of course (and this is always the case with the "more Leftie than thou" crowd), this glorious, never-to-be-forgotten moment on the history of organized labor took place many years ago--in the summer of 1974 to be exact. Yes, almost half a century has gone by since that thrilling moment when the working-class movement of Australia mobilized and prepared to seize the means of production, distribution and exchange. 

Well, not quite. Organized labor went into action against...Ol' Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board, the Voice; yes, Frank Sinatra. Why? What had Sinatra done? Sinatra was certainly very rich, and he owned a variety of properties and businesses. But if the Australian trade union movement were, understandably, searching for the bright, incandescent spark that would finally awaken the working class from its slumber there were surely richer, greedier, more dishonest, more decadent, above all more Australian individuals it could have discovered. Australia was never short of them. Rupert Murdoch immediately springs to mind. Why Sinatra?

 

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
5
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
The Gaggle Music Club: Enescu’s Violin Sonata No. 3

This week's selection for The Gaggle Music Club is George Enescu’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25.

George Enescu (1881–1955) is considered to be Romania’s greatest composer; he was also a violinist, pianist and conductor, and wrote in almost every genre. He combined Romanian folk idioms, with German classicism (Brahmsian rigor, Wagnerian chromaticism) and French impressionism (color, atmosphere, subtle harmony).

Born in 1881 in Liveni, a village in northeastern Romania, Enescu showed musical genius extremely early; he reportedly played the violin at age four, began composing at age five, entered the Vienna Conservatory at age seven and made his debut as a violinist in Vienna at age 10. At 14, he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied composition with Massenet and Fauré. In Paris, he absorbed the music of Debussy and Ravel.

In 1901, Enescu composed his Romanian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2, which to this day are his most popular and most frequently-performed works. During ...

00:25:14
Live Chat
September 08, 2025
Monday Night At The Movies: "Mulholland Drive" (2001)

Chat.Join Gagglers for "Mulholland Drive"!
The screening starts at 3 p.m. ET sharp.
Share all of your thoughts, comments and criticisms on the Live Chat.

02:26:27
September 07, 2025
TG 1963: Is This For Real? Trump Seeks To Redefine U.S. Strategic Priorities

George Szamuely and Peter Lavelle discuss the Trump administration's reported attempt to redefine the strategic priorities of the United States, and wonder whether there is any substance to these speculations.

01:21:16
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals