On Wednesday afternoon, I kept my midweek date with John Oakley on Toronto's Global News Radio 640. We talked about the insufficient coldness of Canada, a pronounced cooling toward the Clintons, and a big chill on free speech via the "security" tab. Click below to listen:
For that brave band who prefer me in vision, tonight, Thursday, I'll be with Tucker Carlson south of the border at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific - and right here, just ahead of that, in audio only with the next episode of our nightly radio serial The Scarlet Pimpernel.
For those Ontario listeners who enjoy my visits to the Oakley show, we hope to see a few of you at my forthcoming stage appearances with the great Dennis Miller in western New York and Pennsylvania that John mentioned toward the end. We know at least one Montrealer coming to the Rochester show, but, if you're anywhere along the QEW, it's a lot closer. And Kingston (or even Ottawa) isn't that inconvenient for the Miller/Steyn Syracuse gig.
The Mark Steyn Club is now well into its second year, and, if you're finally getting round to maybe perhaps possibly considering becoming a member, please see here. Likewise, don't forget our second Steyn Club cruise, setting sail on September 4th next year, or our special Christmas Gift Membership. The latter comes with a special personalized Christmas card from yours truly and a handsomely-engraved gift-boxed USB stick with a trio of our most popular Tales for Our Time for your loved one to listen to in the car or perambulating through the wilderness or almost anywhere else. (The three tales are The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Time Machine and The Thirty-Nine Steps.) For more details on our special Christmas Gift Membership, see here. We are grateful for the support of all our Club members around the world - from London, Ontario to London, England, to London, Kiribati - and look forward to welcoming many more in the months ahead.
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I attended the Bill Clinton/James Patterson Book Tour Speech on June 29 at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center. Tickets were $100 each. Unreserved. Cheapest seats available. Gates opened at noon.
Seat prices went up quickly to $150, $250 and topped out at $1895 for the Premium Package, which included seats that were a bit closer to the stage, but the same elevation. However, with the Premium Package, the ticket holder got AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY of the President's new book, and a PHOTO with President Bill Clinton. ! There was no shortage of takers, some of whom were kids, who lined up to get their photo taken with Bill. And that was at $1895 PER PERSON. No group photos. Unless you wanted to take a photo with the whole family, which would cost you $1895 x 4 for Mom, Dad and the kids....
For real celebrity junkies and die-hard Clinton fans, there was the Super Premium Bill Clinton Fantasy Package, which included all the features of the Premium Package, plus a PRIVATE MEETING with the former President and two Arkansas State Troopers in a hotel room in downtown Vancouver !
This last comment is a joke, but the other ticket information is absolutely true....
Mark, Great point about the only thing progressives like about the 1880's is immigration. I would take 1880's levels of immigration if we had 1880's gilded age etiquette of Mary Astor, the limited government of the 1880's, the confident British imperialism and America exceptionalism (as Rush would say) of the 1880's, the morality of the 1880's and the music of the 1880's. I love Offenbach and Sousa. But 1880's levels of immigration make no sense in the post-Christian, post-modern 21st Century developed world.
So many issues in our world today. For the first time I've listened to Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address. It's very enlightening. How much have changed since then and how youth views America. I hope that Trump has the same eight years as Reagan and has if not more success than him. I hope people listen to his address and hope for such a future for our president.
The news cycle moves so fast that Mark is unable to keep up with it. Latest news from the endless Mueller investigation that they succeeded twist Michael Cohen's arm to admit that he lied to the Congress in 2017 about real estate deals of Trump in Russia. This is another example of plea deals of the special prosecutor. There is a question what benefits Mueller will get from a testimony of proven and confessed liar. But that was enough for Trump to cancel the meeting with Vladimir Putin in Argentina on the G 20 summit because for sure the MSM would have trumpeted that the main topic that will be discussed is how whitewash the alleged deals that Trump made in Russia. So, a confession extracted from a proven liar have international implication and meeting that could have resulted with important diplomatic breakthrough are canceled.
In mean time Mueller fishing expedition went on a rampage in Chicago. Federal agents raided the offices of Chicago Alderman Edward Burke who was lead partner of Krafter and Burke law firm represented Donald Trump in several disputes with property assessors and succeeded lowering the taxes and saving Donald Trump $14.1 million. The agents raided the offices at 7:30 AM asked everyone to leave the offices taped the windows with paper and left with several cardboard full of documents. Simultaneously another team raided Alderman Burke office in city's ward also taped the windows with paper and after seven hours he agents left the ward office with a cardboard file box, a computer and two computer monitor through a back door to avoid waiting reporter. I guess that the agent had a search warrant but an Obama judge will have no problem approving it for anyone that has any business dealing with Trump because in Chicago that is considered a crime.
Russia seized three Ukrainian ships im international waters and that's more likely the reason Trump cancelled the meeting, AB. I think, the cancellation happened prior to the Cohen plea bargain happening or just around the same time.
AB, it is sometimes frustrating to come here wanting to talk of the burning issue of the day (hour, minute) and find that Mark is talking about something else. I proposed an "Open Forum" page and that was tried over the Summer, if you recall. I can see that doing that full time could lead to problems (I will not use the word "problematic"!), but perhaps we could have one over the holiday season?
Spoke person of Putin expressed her opinion publicly that the cancellation is more related to internal US politics than relation between US and Russia. Russia same as China will pursue its long term strategic national interests no matter what handicapped President Trump says or tries to do. Both Putin and Chi view the Democrats and the MSM , the Democrat biased Judiciary and some of the useful idiot Republicans as their allies by debilitating Trump and weakening USA. Russia views Crimea as important strategic interest and it considers as essential that Ukraine should behave as a friendly neighbor and not act against the interests of Russia. Putin sees US as a country that is unable to protect its southern border and is unable to compel Mexico to act as a friendly neighbor. It is clear to Putin that Trump will not do anything to force Russia to give up its vital strategic interests other than showing his displeasure by cancelling his meeting with Putin and Niki Haley strongly denounce Russia in UN Security Council.
As I live just 17 miles from Mexico here in AZ I found these latest border crossing stats from October of some interest. Here are the year over year numbers just released. In the Yuma sector family unit apprehensions are up from 880 in Oct. '17 to 2,625 last month. In the Tucson sector up from 170 a year ago to 1,163. Bear in mind that these are only the ones that were either intercepted or simply sought out the nearest authorities so they could quickly be re-settled after promising to appear before an immigration judge (don't laugh). The overwhelming majority are from Central America so cannot be deported without due process which of course will never happen. In Tucson there is no more room in the many shelters to house these folks so the plan is to set them up in hotels and churches. You've likely read that many religious groups and other non-profits are handling these re-settlement issues. Thanks to Laura Ingraham and her crack staff for shining a light on where the funding comes from. Catholic charities alone receives some $100,000,000 from taxpayers for their 'selfless' good works. Lutheran churches also receive tens of millions to re-settle illegal immigrants. It seems to me that perhaps a new definition is required for what constitutes a non-profit. While our attention is diverted by the caravan Central America continues to empty out into the land of plenty. Nearly 1/3 of El Salvadorians reside in America. At this rate similar numbers of Hondurans and Nicaraguans will soon join their neighbors here.
Wow, Roy! I was wondering about where the money was coming from. The churches collection baskets? Do you think the first thing these churches want to replace are their pews which are emptying out?
Just curious, Roy, where did you obtain these stats? I would like to check locally here, too, in NM.
These were just released by the Border Patrol and published in the Tucson Daily Star on Thursday. I knew that these churches were receiving Govt. assistance but I had no idea of the magnitude. According to Ingraham's staff it comes to $431,000,000 just to religious groups. Count me as cynical but I doubt it's the pews they want to replace. They need new butts for the pews - especially Catholics so this makes perfect sense. I'm not sure where to find the figures for NM. I'm guessing they are equally dismal.
I would love to know the figures because this is what I see as ome of the worst deals the taxpayers get. They have no control over where their money gets spent. Nobody is held accountable. Same old story, over and over. Speak up about it, "racist"!
That's interesting to hear that the "climate change" sweepstakes may have peaked awhile ago. As remarkable as the (this time, attempted global) establishment's ability is to warp people's understanding of reality, somehow this has become Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose: too big to fly for the materials it's made of.
From the kinds of dishonest scientists who insist that "Evolution" is how people got here comes an attempt to get people to crash their own personal economies, at a time when obsession with oneself has never been greater. Central planning: goose egg.
Okay, your comment has forced me to slow down and listen...
Mark, your comment on Nancy dazed in press conferences vs behind the scenes with the hammer reminds me of an old SNL skit from the 80s, back when it was occasionally funny. Phil Hartman does a great impersonation of Reagan as a doddering old fool in public, but a behind the scenes evil genius who is 10 steps ahead of everyone else, doing crazy math and speaking Arabic, Farsi, whatever. You can find it on youtube (sorry, I know we all hate youtube, but it has its uses) if you search "President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL".
Keep up the good work, love hearing you anytime, anywhere...
This is one of the all-time best SNL skits--smart and funny, featuring the great Phil Hartman in his prime.
Why not insist that the Leftist Totalitarian Fascists who shut down free speech and are the reason that security is needed, be required to provided the money for security costs? The costs could be tacked onto their tuition? Or in too many cases, deducted by the universities from their professional salaries?
I had almost the exact same idea listening to the podcast and hearing Mark remind us about the imbalance of security detail and costs and Laura's line "Security is the new Shut Up"!
If there's no balance of speakers coming to present their ideas because of prohibitive costs of the conservative side over the liberal side, include half of the total required for the one in the speaking charges of the other side. Utimately, there will be no speakers ever coming to present ideas and the students will wither in their whine.
A bad poem on an old French statue is not an immigration policy.
Draidle, it is amazing how many people truly believe that that schlocky, crappola poem is actually policy.
Agreed, but if Leftists shriek over "illegal alien" ("No one is illegal!"), Iet's go with "The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." Who isn't for common-sense Wretched Refuse Reform? Just because other shores teem doesn't mean ours have to. Other than New Jersey's, I guess.
Charging pro-lifers astronomical fees for security is the university's admission that the pro-abortion crowd is violent.
Sure is, PK! Excellence in observation, that's what draws me to this comment section every day.
If the liberals are worried about climate change, why not tell them to live in the Biodome with Pauly Shore as its leader? Now I shall listen to the Tool song Ænema and learn to swim in case the world floods in the next few years.
Great song choice, Brian! I love the optimism:
"Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon.
Certainly hope we will.
........
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away." etc., etc.