Saturday Evening Steyn

I was on a very long flight the other day and, to get me through it, I had two books: the new bestseller Of Thee I Zing by Laura Ingraham, and a book I last read twenty years ago, The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth. The former is the latest hit from one of America’s most popular talk radio hosts; the latter is an Austrian novel from 1932 by a fellow who drank himself to death just before the Second World War, which, if you’re planning on drinking yourself to death, is a better pretext than most. Don’t worry, I’ll save the Germanic alcoholic guy for a couple of paragraphs, although the two books are oddly related.

Excuse me while I indulge myself with a contented sigh as I curl up with some dark chocolate and Mark Steyn. Read the rest here.

Crooks, and Damned Crooks

Here's a half a billion dollars of your hard-earned money flushed down the "green" commode, while you struggle to keep clothes on your back and pay the mortgage:

House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra.

The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may have left taxpayers out half a billion dollars.

Un-frickin'-believable. The whole "green" business structure is nothing but a huge con, and a few select people are getting filthy rich at our expense. When we once again have a functioning Justice Department that represents ALL Americans, they need to follow the money, as high up the Obama ladder as it goes, and put ALL of these criminals in jail for a long, long time. And not a country club jail either! I'm thinking Angola or Huntsville.

H/T: Weasel Zippers

Celebrate RWC!

If it's almost football season, it's time for RWC's birthday!

Here, let us light the candles on your cake...

Oopsie! Your cake has SOOOOO many candles this year! We'd better call the fire department.

Gee whiz, I guess you'd better open all your presents instead!

Happy Birthday RWC!!!

The NYT Skewers Obama, Boehner

Even the Messiah Times has had enough of the petty bickering in Washington (it's petty bickering when the Repubs win an argument, but brilliant leadership if the Dems come out on top).

The contemptuous reaction from the House speaker, John Boehner, to the president’s request to address a joint session next Wednesday — the day Congress returns from its summer recess — was appalling. No matter how he feels about Mr. Obama personally or politically, there can be no excuse for his lack of respect for the office, to which he is second in the line of succession. And it was distressing to watch President Obama fail, once again, to stand up to an opposition that won’t brook the smallest compromise.

What made this even more appalling is that the president will be speaking on the country’s most pressing problem — the need to create jobs and stave off another destructive recession.

Of course, the Dems never disrespected President Bush. Nope. Also, the Times is "appalled" that Boehner prevented Obama from upstaging the Republican debate. Appalled, I tell you! Personally, if Obama has some grand plan up his sleeve to jump-start this economy, I'm appalled that he didn't cut short his vacation to share it with the rest of us.

It's becoming increasingly clear that Obama is not a leader, nor does he possess the "brilliance" the slobbering progs bestow upon him with absolutely no evidence of the fact. He's a man who has never had a real job or solved a real-world problem. Has he even balanced his own checkbook? It's "appalling" that we elected this guy! The independent thinking was "gawd, he CAN'T be worse than Bush (McCain)!" and the liberal thinking was "hey, it's time for a black man to be prez. See how progressive and civilized I am! Excuse me while I pat myself on the back.". Unions and able-bodied public assistance recipients were giddy with glee, embracing the notion that Obama would heap money on their gravy train.

Now we're swirling the drain while our President cowers in his corner, blubbering at his czars to "fundamentally change" everything in sight to the point of breaking our nation. I don't have high hopes for Obama's speech next week; fixing this mess will involve creativity, versatility, and superior leadership skills. Over the course of nearly three years in office, Obama has exhibited none of these traits.

How a TV show says Goodbye to a Character

OK. Call me a sentimentalist. I appreciate good writing for movies and TV that grab you by the heart without making you feel as though you are being manipulated.

The English Soap Opera “Coronation Street” debuted in December 1960. Fay traveled by time machine to see the premier episode and has been a fan ever since. Like any soap, characters come and they go. Some of the characters become part of your life.

In 1977, a married couple entered the cast, Jack and Vera Duckworth, played by William Tarmey and Elizabeth Down. They were not a perfect couple; they were a real life couple. But they loved each other.

Having been on the show for years, and starting off as a middle-aged couple, the Duckworths were getting along in years by 2008. At that point, Elizabeth Down, in less than perfect health, felt that she needed to retire from the show. As a result, her character, Vera, died.

By 2010, William Tarmey wanted to retire. He was convinced to stay on a bit longer as the show neared its fiftieth anniversary. He agreed. His leaving the show, aired in November, 2010 in the UK, was one of the most beautiful pieces of TV script writing I have ever seen, bringing Down back for Tarmey’s final scene – a feat of brilliance.



This week the show finally hit the CBC (we are about ten months behind in Canada). While I saw this scene many months ago on YouTube, Fay wanted to wait until the show came up.

I won’t go into the plot details; I think you should just enjoy some fine script writing that says goodbye to a beloved character.

The bad news is that the CBC who is more concerned with showing the 472nd promo for the Rick Mercer Report than keeping a program intact, butchered the scene. I had to show this scene on YouTube to Fay for her to appreciate the beauty of it.

I know you probably do not know the show, but I hope you enjoy some great writing and acting.

Go On, Take The Money And Run

Just when I thought Wisconsin union members couldn't get any more self-centered, up pops a story about thousands of teachers running for the exits rather than chip in for their benefits package:

When students return Thursday for the first day of school across Wisconsin, many familiar faces will be gone, as teachers chose retirement over coming back in the wake of a new law that forces them to pay more for benefits while taking away most of their collective bargaining rights.

Oh, heaven forfend!

They Call It "Skylarking".

Hold on to your hats! This latest craze is one of the stupidest and most dangerous stunts I've ever seen. It's only a matter of time before one of these kids goes "splat".



Yikes! H/T: The Blaze

Holding onto the outside door of a train and letting it drag you is called skylarking — at least that’s according to the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority. Urban Dictionary defines it as engaging in “tom foolery or shanaghins.”

Adele, Again...

Not that I watched...but the best thing to come from the VMA's was Adele:



I love this woman.