Bold Statements In Italics

At the conservative website Power Line, John Hinderaker has a bunch of Controversial Propositions:

* The most under-rated man in modern history was U.S. Grant.

* It is odd that people keep talking about the Great American Novel, since American novelists are, and always have been, sub-par by international standards.

* The greatest athlete of modern times, in any team sport, was Bobby Orr. Sorry, no room for discussion. It's just a fact.

* The most over-rated man of the 20th century was Gandhi. Nelson Mandela is runner-up.

* Much as Bob Dylan was the most authentic spokesman for his generation, Taylor Swift is the most authentic spokesman for hers.

* The three most desirable actresses in movie history are Paulette Goddard, Anna Karina and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

* There is over-rated, and then there are the Rolling Stones.

* How is Vermeer like Flaubert? They might have been the best ever, if they had produced more. Stendahl could go in that category, too.

* London is the world's greatest city, and Israel is the world's most exciting place.

* America's youth have never been the same since Saturday morning television went from real programming (Fury, Sky King, the Cisco Kid, etc.) to cartoons.

* The only good lawyer show in the history of television was Perry Mason.

* The title of world's greatest man has bounced back and forth between England and the U.S. for a while now: last half of the 18th century, George Washington; first half of the 19th century, the Duke of Wellington; second half of the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln; first half of the 20th century, Winston Churchill; second half of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan. But I very much doubt that the pattern will continue.

* The greatest benefactors of humanity, by a mile, are the pharmaceutical companies.

* But for World War II, Franklin Roosevelt would have gone down in history as the worst President since James Buchanan.

* Anyone who uses the word "sustainability" has no idea how the world works.

* The worst person in the history of the world was Lenin. Not only was he a mass murderer, the three biggest mass murderers in world history--Mao, Stalin and Hitler--were all his legitimate heirs, and may not have been possible without him.

* The smartest person whom most Americans see on a regular basis is Simon Cowell.

* Minneapolis's Institute of Arts is the most under-rated museum in the country. Among other things, it has the best painting Rembrandt ever did.

OK, maybe one or two of those are tongue-in-cheek, but I really do think they are true. There's more where they came from, too. I'd be happy to argue any of these propositions with any of our readers in a bar of your choice, as long as you're buying

I don't know if I agree with any of these, but I like bold statements.

U.S. Grant is certainly low-rated. All I can say is that helps if you're gonna be underrated. Same for Gandhi and Mandela being highly rated.

The two most common nominees for Great American Novel are Moby-Dick and Huck Finn, but historically there are greater novels elsewhere. Yet, based on my limited reading, I'd say that since WWII American novelists have been leading the pack.

Bobby Orr is a fine athlete (he says through gritted teeth, seeing the Bruins as his mortal enemy), but he's not even the greatest hockey player.

I have nothing against Taylor Swift, but the only way she compares to Bob Dylan is I think they're the same height.

Goddard, Karina and Zeta-Jones might all make the top fifty list, but not the top ten.

I haven't been to enough foreign cities to make a judgment on the best, but is London--wonderful as it is--really better than New York, or Paris? And for exciting places, can Israel beat Detroit?

There have been a few decent lawyer shows on TV, and Perry Mason wasn't one. He did have a great strategy, though--represent only innocent clients.

FDR may be overrated, but the worst since Buchanan?

The institute of arts claim is the sort of thing you hear from locals all across America.