Programming note: Today, Wednesday, I'll be back on the air north and south of the border. First up, please join me for another three hours of substitute-host-level Excellence In Broadcasting on America's Number One radio show starting at 12 noon Eastern/9am Pacific. You can dial us up either via the iHeart Radio app or on one of over 600 Rush affiliate stations across the fruited plain - such as our old friends at WNTK New Hampshire, where you can listen to the full show from anywhere on the planet right here.
After Rush, and a quick break to reorient myself, I'll be on air with the great John Oakley at Toronto's AM640 live at 5pm Eastern. Hope you can join me.
~You can find a few moments from my Tuesday guest-hosting stint here. We were preoccupied, as we will be today, by the Senate "hearing" into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. We didn't actually hear from Judge Kavanaugh yesterday, because by the time the Democrats had moved to adjourn, moved to object to not being allowed to move to adjourn, moved to adjourn their motion to object, had a few ceremonial baying moron protesters admitted and ejected, and begun the first half of Dick Durbin's opening remarks, it was 9.47 in the evening. But maybe the poor old judge will get a word in today.
I noted yesterday all the senatorial braggadocio about how many judicial notches they had on their escutcheons. Dianne Feinstein said that this was her ninth Supreme Court nomination, so she's picked an entire SCOTUS bench all by herself. Then Chuck Grassley said it was his fifteenth nomination, so he's picked one and two-thirds Supreme Courts. And Pat Leahy topped them all by declaring it was his nineteenth nomination, so he's picked two full Supreme Courts and is starting on his third. I wonder if this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
I also mentioned one of the odder aspects of US Senate etiquette - the way Democrat staffers get to smuggle in protesters to disrupt the proceedings. I recalled that, when I'd testified there a couple of years back, various goons had been let in to intimidate witnesses. My compatriot Laura Rosen Cohen dug up this clip of some Greenpeace wanker ambushing Professor William Happer just as I arrived:
In a supposedly tight-security legislature, there was nobody in the room minded to stop witness-tampering. As Laurence Jarvik wrote:
Seated a few rows behind the confrontation, I noticed a young man standing oddly, pressing his chest firmly against Steyn's. They looked like two wildebeest in a National Geographic nature documentary. The straining duo were soon separated by a policewoman. After watching the video, it turned out that Steyn had been trying to prevent fisticuffs, interposing his person between the outraged witness and his Javert. Steyn was acting as bodyguard.
I confess, as a meek mild-mannered wordsmith and notorious Canadian showtune queen, I'm sick of all this physical intimidation by the left and occasionally think it might be quicker and psychologically healthier just to get the hell on with full-scale civil war.
~Speaking of Canadian showtune queens, the star of La-La Land has somehow wound up playing Neil Armstrong in a new Hollywood biopic of the space pioneer. As you know, the makers of First Man have decided not to show the moment when Armstrong planted the US flag on the moon on the grounds that he was doing it for "humanity" rather than America and it could just as easily have been some Sudanese chap up there. On Rush, I said that I was struck by a comment made by Mark Steyn Club member Raymond Swenson a couple of days ago, and read it out on the show. Here it is:
Armstrong flew 78 combat missions over Korea as a Navy pilot and was awarded the Air Medal. As a civilan test pilot, he helped develop a bunch of fighter jets at Edwards AFB. I am sure that placing the US flag that he had fought under, onto the surface of the moon, evoked strong emotions for Armstrong. Purposefully omitting that moment is censorship of American patriotism. Ryan Gosling defended the omission because "Armstrong did not think of himself as an American hero." But he damn sure thought of himself as an American.
Raymond Takashi Swenson
Lt. Colonel, USAF (Retired)
That flag still flies on the surface of the moon. In the urge to tear down everything, to topple every statue, burn every history book, hollow out the national anthem, it may one day be the last symbol of America left standing.
~I also mentioned that Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney's film on Kermit Gosnell, America's biggest ever mass murderer, will be released next month. Here they are talking about Gosnell last year on The Mark Steyn Show. Click below to watch:
Ann and Phelim will be among the guests joining me on the very first Mark Steyn Club Cruise at the end of this month, and I believe we'll also have a screening of Gosnell as one of a couple of seaboard editions of Mark at the Movies.
I'm thrilled to see that so many nautically minded readers, listeners and viewers have already signed up for this inaugural Steyn cruise. We leave Montreal on September 29th and sail aboard the beautiful ms Rotterdam, flagship of the Holland America fleet, down the St Lawrence via Quebec City to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Maine at the height of fall foliage (with a brief passing glimpse of the two hundred yards of New Hampshire seacoast) before landing at Boston on October 6th. I'll be doing double-duty, hosting the cruise, and also hosting live seaboard editions of many favorite features along the way - Tales for Our Time, Song of the Week, Steyn's Sunday Poem, and The Mark Steyn Show. I don't have to carry the load single-handed, of course. I'll be assisted by various special guests and old friends from round these parts - not just Ann and Phelim, but also one of my favorite presidential candidates of recent years, Michele Bachmann, and Canadian musical royalty Tal Bachman - no relation to Michele, because he's not one of the Minnesota Bachmanns but one of the Manitoba Bachmans. And John O'Sullivan, Mrs Thatcher's speechwriter and a doughty Brexiteer, will be bringing us up to speed on the foreign-policy scene. We'll address all the heavy geopolitical stuff but we'll also kick loose in the evening with dinner, convivial receptions, some late-night laughs and a little live music.
There'll also be plenty of time for relaxation and revelry and getting to know your fellow Steyn cruisers and our guests. And every day we'll enjoy world class service from Holland America, and the spectacular beauty of the Canadian Maritimes and the New England coastline at the height of leaf season.
We've reserved the best cabins throughout the ship - and in all of the various categories so that you can make accommodation arrangements that suit you best. We're excited to welcome you aboard for the first ever Steyn at Sea cruise - but tempus fugit, so don't leave it too long! (As with most travel bookings, the price is better the earlier you book.)
So picture yourself on Holland America's lovely ms Rotterdam, along with your fellow Steyn Club members and me and my guests, enjoying seven full days and nights of shipboard fun as we ponder the collapse of western civilization. There'll be:
*Live editions of The Mark Steyn Show, including your participation in our Clubland Q&As;
*Plenty of chances to meet, schmooze and hector me and my guests;
*Exclusive Club cocktail receptions and dining with yours truly, our guest speakers, and your fellow Steyn cruisers;
*Accommodations and all meals included;
*Port charges, taxes, fuel surcharges, and government fees all included;
*Most shipboard activities included;
*A fully escorted cruise by Steyn Club staff and the best cruise organizers in the business;
*And a few surprises along the way...
If you're one of those people who have always wanted to come on a cruise but have yet to take the, er, plunge, well, there's never been a better time to stop procrastinating. You don't have to be married, or even going steady: Nearly thirty per cent of our cruisers are single, so, if you fancy your chances with a Steyn Club member as the moon hangs over the Bay of Fundy and the sound of me singing "Cat Scratch Fever" wafts up from below deck, give it a go.
Any questions? Cindy, our cruise manager, can help with most of them, including flight and hotel bookings: If you're calling from beyond North America, she's on +1 (770) 952-1959; if you're calling from this side of the Atlantic, it's toll-free on 1-800-707-1634. Or you can email your query here.
TO RESERVE YOUR CABIN OR STATEROOM, CLICK HERE.
See you on the radio at noon Eastern - and do give me a call.
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42 Member Comments
I looked through the book that the movie is based on. There are two pages discussing planting the American flag on the moon. The reason it was Aldrin photographed saluting the flag is that Armstrong was taking most of the pictures with the Hasselblad mounted on his suit.
Dear Mark Steyn: That last line about the flag on the moon was delicious, and a good bet, too- the chance of progs figuring out how to get to the moon is basically zilch.
Mark, thanks for quoting my comment about planting Old Glory on the moon. During my 20 years Air Force service, I wrote software at the NORAD Space Defense Center for tracking Russian spy satellites and then, as a JAG officer at Strategic Air Command, occasionally dealt with international space law.
"just to get the hell on with full-scale civil war."
Judging by the cowardly op-ed in the cowardly NYT today, that may come sooner than you think.
Look like another 31 mainly Pakistanis are in Huddersfield court today. Almost certainly to do with the last 29 paedophiles (alleged).
18 have been committed to Leeds Crown court.
We won't find out what happened to the last 29 until November. Hence alleged.
Industrial child sex abuse it seems.
When someone asks a blantantly dumb question, the snarky questioning reply would be either: Does a bear sh:+ in the woods? (yuck) Or is the Pope Catholic? (yuck yuck). I think it's high time when someone asks a dumb question the instant reply might now more aptly be: Is there an American flag planted on the moon? They'll catch on soon enough who put the flag on the moon.
Fran, with the current Pope, the question about the Pope being Catholic is a serious question.
Seriously, Steven, I'm wondering if even the College of Bishops and the College of Cardinals are having similar thoughts. I heard the "resign" word floating around these past couple of weeks. But I really do like the planting of the American flag on the moon as the one real thing that happened, that is, and will always be (at least for while) that we can all believe in and get united around. Hollywood will come around, give them another half century.
+100 Fran:))
You Tube clip yadda yadda blah blah blah screw You Tube, I'd like the t-shirt:
"He said not a dime, you sonofabitch."
Medium women's THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Perfect Laura.
"That flag still flies on the surface of the moon. In the urge to tear down everything, to topple every statue, burn every history book, hollow out the national anthem, it may one day be the last symbol of America left standing."
The unrelenting sunlight has likely bleached it to white by now.
Perfect, the surrender is complete
Wouldn't you need an atmosphere for a chemical reaction. Almost everything needs oxygen. Any chemists on here?
I would bet they are still red, blue and white.
TOT but I want to put this out there. November 2, 2018 Munk Debates: Be it resolved, the future of western politics is populist not liberal...
With Steve Bannon and David Frum. Should be a good one. www.munkdebates.com
Throughout the Western world, politics is undergoing a sea-change. Long-held notions of the role of government, trade and economic policy, foreign policy and immigration are being challenged by populist thinkers and movements. Does this surging populist agenda in Western nations signal a permanent shift in our politics? Or, is it passing phenomenon that will remain at the fringes of society and political power? Will our politics continue to be shaped by the post-war consensus on trade, inclusive national identity and globalization, or by the agenda of insurgent populist politics, parties and leaders?
If you sign up as a member of the Munk Debates you will get notifications of upcoming debates and you can also watch video of previous debates, including "Global Refugee Crisis" with Mark Steyn and Nigel Farage taking on Louise Arbor and Simon Schama, which was one of, if not the best Munk Debate I've seen.
Mark,
What are the chances that Nike is pulling a "Hudsucker Proxy"? Like the movie with Tim Robbins and Paul Newman where is the executives of a company sought to drive the stock market price down after they have sold their stock only to turn around and buy it back at a lower price. Do you think somebody at Nike might be pulling this scheme. Does Hillary work there?
Paul Schoner
That's a great clip! I'll replay it every day the news of the crazy Leftists getting in our faces gets me down. Good find, Laura!
If the next Civil War isn't as brutal and bloody as the last, then maybe, but one of the problems with squelching history is that people don't see how bad things could really get...and there goes any motivation for working things out. Speaking of erasing history, how long before Elon Musk or some other Citizen of the World sends a rocket to the moon for the express purpose of removing those American flags. Or at least knocking them into the cosmic dirt.
The histrionics of John Brennan against Trump suggest how much he has to hide. His characterization of Trump as such an existential threat is meant to remove moral constraints from the "resistance" to justify law-breaking; to morph it into the upholding of the law. James Comey has done the same, calling his book A Higher Loyalty. The micturition story in the "dossier" seems made-up, the product of someone who decided as long as "dirt" was being fabricated or exaggerated, rumors spread, doubts and gossip circulated, might as well have one vivid zinger to stick in the minds that can't be shaken.
Abortion being what it is to Democrats, the same kind of moral justification by any means necessary tends to show up at Supreme Court nominee hearings. If you think of the Clarence Thomas hearings, either he or Anita Hill was lying. I think it was Anita Hill. She didn't have a poker face as she brazenly performed her role betraying Thomas in what he called a "high-tech lynching". She seemed to be shaking from the magnitude of her lie. Note the similarity of her vivid "yuck" anecdote to the one against Trump in the dossier.
Sol - Remember what the supposed crime entailed. Ms. Hill claimed that Thomas made a slightly off color joke about a pubic hair on a can of coke. Long after this nothing burger took place she continued to pursue him for advice and assistance. What kind of person would attempt to destroy a man's reputation for making a mild joke? Of course she's still a heroine in the feminist movement as well as in the democratic party. No surprise there.
I had always thought the Apollo 11 flag was still there too, but in his book Aldrin stated that it was planted so close to the lunar module that it was blown over as they lifted off the surface of the moon. But there were six US flags placed on the moon's surface in all, and at least three are still upright, based on high-resolution images of the moon's surface and their shadows.
The idea of placing the UN flag on the moon instead of Old Glory was actually kicked around back in '69. But even in the late 60s with all of its turmoil, the Congress of a more cohesive and confident country passed a bill, which Nixon signed, stating that while the USA would not claim the moon or any part of its territory, it would only be the US flag that is planted there, and no other.
The vandalism of history seen in the attempts to credit the "village" for the accomplishments of Armstrong and a few rocket scientists is being played out in the US Senate this morning with the show trial of some American media companies. The ability to manipulate people has never been easier thanks to marvelous tools like Facebook, Twitter, (abstainer) Youtube, and televised grandstanding. The preening politicians don't care about the alleged offenses of Dorsey or Jones or Happer or Russians, only about doing their own manipulations to support their own insidious objectives. Manipulation has become the primary fabric of our society, established by the marketing sciences developed to sell soap and soda, evolved by the arrogant press, and now refined by greedy social media. Nothing we see is honest. We are constantly manipulated. But the manipulation is successful, whether elections, or climate war chests, or soap sales, due to the increasing gullibility of a population trained to accept judgments of others instead of thinking for themselves. As long as people accept dogma without critical thought, there is no hope for honest elections, or honest government, or an honest society. We're on our own.
Agreed David, but the People are not as gullible as you think. That's why they elected Trump. There will always be people who accept dogma without critical thought, and there will always be people who don't. The tactics of the Democrats and Liberals have become so obviously contrived and fanatical they are driving citizens towards Trump. Most people are too busy, or uninterested, to follow politics or ideologies closely like we do here in the Steyn Club, but many have common sense and it all boils down to Economics in an election. How is Trump doing in that regard? Pretty darn good. He is giving Americans a sense of economic and job security, and reversing the feeling of impending economic doom that has been growing over the last decade ot two, as the country weakened under governance by the Swamp. In addition he is battling the Swamp, providing badly needed border security, calling out the dishonest Media, correcting the trade imbalance, and standing up to the new tyranny - Globalism. The People sense he really is 'a Man of the People'. I think the Primaries are going to be telling.
Some are not as gullible, and some are uninterested in choosing good government. Question is how many, Many are easily let by dishonest schemers, and many have no problem with dishonest government as long as it's their crooks in charge. Don't forget President Trump LOST the popular vote in 2016, and congressional elections are basically a popular vote. I don't think voters have gotten any smarter in two years. We'll probably get two years of gridlock, like Bubba in 94, W in 2006, and BO in 2010. Apparently gridlock is good.
Maybe. But Trump isn't like Bubba, W., or B.O. and unlike the former, who got nowhere and nothing done, Trump is getting very important things done, even despite the Democrats tactics. He also calls out the media, unlike the former.
It will come down to marketing. Probably 40% have their minds made up each way, the other 20% will determine the outcome. The successes of the last two years will only matter to a few of those. The campaign ads will be crucial.
I think Trump is continuing to give the Dems and their colluders enough rope to hang themselves. He's not interfering in their malevolent tactics, just letting them eventually expose themselves and their treasonous strategy. He just puts out the odd tweet, which the media faithfully repeats sneeringly, but
Trump gets his message out. I hope Trump just uses tweets for his marketing, and lets the dems do the sneering and smearing and lying and hating. People are sick of politicians. Trump operates by a different playbook, and he's the only one talking honestly to the people.
Story on the news this morning of a reporter asking college kids in socialist enclaves what they think of recent economic policies. The kids grudgingly admitted the policies are working pretty well. They know they'll be looking for jobs soon, and probably recognize their prospects have gotten better. That is where the 20% will come from. That's how republican candidates need to focus their ads to close the deal. The other 80% don't mind their tribe's politicians, they're just sick of the other tribe's politicians.
Agreed.
Mark,
What are the chances that Nike is pulling a "Hudsucker Proxy"? Like the movie with Tim Robbins and Paul Newman where is the executives of a company sought to drive the stock market price down after they have sold their stock only to turn around and buy it back at a lower price. Do you think somebody at Nike might be pulling this scheme. Does Hillary work there?
Paul Schoner
They are not showing Neil Armstrong placing the US flag on the moon. How small can their minds get?
I really do think history will show this current lefty lot as morons.
Most of the dreck Hollywood produces is marketed and consumed around the globe. The executives, directors, and actors who make such a good living in America, think the American flag showing up in a great American success story will hurt the bottom line in those parts of the world where there is deep anti-American sentiment. Of course, the US leftist bourgeoisie's self hatred is a big factor as well.
A few ignorant leaders of countries might not like flags (including the Union Jack).
The people of those countries soon going running towards the US flag when they are threatened and hungry.
That is why you should bypass the UN. All the aid bags I see have big stars and stripes on them.
True. The hypocritical ruling class in those countries is just as bad, or worse, as is our own. Your comment made me recall that in the mid-1980s a strong earthquake caused widspread death and damage in Mexico City. When the US immediately offered aid via manpower, expertise, and technology, the Mexican government huffily turned it down, but had to reverse its disgraceful decision because of the public outcry. The regular mexicanos wanted their family members and neighbors saved by any means possible.
"it might be quicker and psychologically healthier just to get the hell on with full-scale civil war."
Being a wild eyed optimist, I'm hoping for a no fault divorce where one side receives the purple mountains majesty and the other side gets the amber waves of grain, but compromise is not our strong point anymore so this is probably planet silly talk. However, conceptually, if you break off the Northeast as the Duchy of Warren, split off the West as The People's Republic of Silicon, leave what's left as the Rump of What Was America, and follow it with a prisoner exchange, it could be the least bad option
There is no possibility of compromise that isn't just a salami slicing away of individual liberty. The two sides in our Constitutiin's framing had the same concept of justice:a government sufficiently limited so as to protect life, liberty, and property by respecting unalienable individual rights. Today conservatives still retain this original concept of justice. The left rejects it in favor of state control of everything—including attacking life, liberty, and property at the whim of DC masterminds. What possible benefit is compromise?
Thanks, Laura, for finding this clip; I couldn't find it when I looked for it.
Nice work, Mark; I love how the cowardly Greenpeace guy turned tail and ran when confronted.
Yes, wonderful job dispatching the greenpeace wanker. I suppose his appearance was choreographed by Schumer or some democrat staffer as well.
Thank you for the citation Mark! You did a better security job at your hearing than GOP did for Brett Kavanaugh—maybe you could train US Capitol Police? It might help sell a few more cat CDs as well...
Steyners need a hand signal.
How about "V" for Victory, over Tyranny? Like Churchill.
I think you're on the right track...