Great, I was looking for something like that. I am a music fiend, need something portable to play guitar in woods etc. I used to be lead guitar in Rome's Piper in the sixties: oh, great days indeed, now gone, of course.

All the best
from ManofRoma

Well, I think the problem with our Republic is somewhat the same old problem we used to have at the times of the much older Republic, meaning of course the Roman Republic, our dear mighty Res Publica which was starting to rule the known world but was not so Publica after all, two hundred families roughly having ALL in their hands.

Too far away, the Roman Republic? I do not think so. 100 hundreds years is only 4 generations, and deep patterns of behaviours are hard to die. I know this is not an active contribution and just a useless observation of a 60 years-old man of Rome.

But pls look at almost ALL Latin countries around the globe, where more or less aristocratic elites tend to keep ALL for themselves again and again. And the French? They had to kill the nobility in one of the greatest slaughters in history (a slaughter which of course I am not now proposing as a solution, no, no, no, lol).

I might be influenced both by my history addiction and my new blogging experience on ancient Rome. I nonetheless believe in what great French historian Braudel wrote (and believed): great civilizations never die.

Yes, they never die, this unfortunately being so true not only for our virtues (of which few are left) but for our flaws as well (of which many still remain): this selfish tendency – among the rest - to keep ALL, giving to the plebs *panem et circenses*, which were like mass-media today, though less manipulative maybe than modern circenses.

And now, Gracchi are up again, as if confirming that deep counter-behaviours can survive as well.

These blogs of course bypassing the official media channels and mobilizing 100,000 people in one snap cannot but be considered a danger. A great danger indeed.

I am old, and watching. With a bitter smile ...

All the best
ManofRoma

PS
Comments like that of Amara always irritate me and remind me of some US travel guides to Italy (or Europe) where *most* of the information provided regards where laundry services or cash points are located. I think great America is more than that. Much more than that.