Happy Boxing Day - or Happy St Stephen's Day (Lá an DreoilÃn) if you're reading this in Dublin, or indeed Catalonia. Alternatively, if you're in America, Happy Thursday. Whatever your preferred December 26th, I hope you had a merry and peaceful Yuletide, and, if you're not yet sated on festive fare, do check out our traditional Christmas cornucopia and this year's Mark Steyn Christmas Show. Of the latter Barb Wilson says:
Absolutely loved this!
Thank you, Barb. Andrew Vaccaro adds:
Loved the show, Mark- the 'Baby It's Cold Outside' segment was a riot!
Glad you liked it, Andrew. That scene was fun to do.
As I noted on the radio on Christmas Eve, throughout the English-speaking world, up to and including Quebec and Hong Kong, Boxing Day is a day for putting your feet up, snapping up department-store bargains, or going to your Uncle Herbert's annual Boxing Day sherry party. But, for a hardworking immigrant in an abstemious republic, it means double duty on the airwaves. I'll be starting the day on the curvy couch at mine and the President's favorite morning show, "Fox & Friends" - that's live at about 8.30am Eastern/5.30am Pacific. And I'll be ending the day guest-hosting a full hour of "Tucker Carlson Tonight", coast to coast at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific, with a rerun at 12 midnight Eastern/9pm Pacific. If you're in the vicinity of the receiving apparatus, I hope you'll dial us up.
On Christmas Eve I returned to the Golden EIB Microphone for three hours of substitute-host-level pre-Yule Excellence in Broadcasting on America's Number One radio show. You can find a few moments from my guest-hosting stint here. I have to admit the pithiest observations came from listeners. Ann was a runner-up for Most Trenchant Comment of the Day:
You can vote your way into socialism, but you'll have to shoot your way out.
But on balance I'd have to give the prize to Bill from Buffalo:
Democrats are worried that Americans could interfere in the 2020 election.
I was coy about the origins of Boxing Day with a Rush caller on Tuesday, but any landed gentry looking for the perfect Boxing Day gift for your domestic servants are reminded to check out our special Mark Steyn Club Gift Membership - the only box a hardworking footman or housemaid could possibly desire for Boxing Day.
See you on the telly at eight-thirty Eastern.
Comment on this item (members only)
Submission of reader comments is restricted to Mark Steyn Club members only. If you are not yet a member, please click here to join. If you are already a member, please log in here:
Member Login
9 Member Comments
Bill's comment--"Democrats are worried that Americans will interfere in the 2020 election"--goes to the core reason Democrats want to add millions of illegal immigrants. They need them to beef up California's population, so the 2020 census will award more congressional districts to a state where sensible Americans are leaving for less insane pastures. Even if they can't arrange for illegals to vote, just having them counted in the census adds votes to Democrat controlled congressional districts. In this respect, illegal immigrants are the functional equivalent of the slaves that the original Southern states insisted be counted in the population determining the number of seats in the House of Representatives, even though they were not considered citizens eligible to vote. Illegal immigrants whose mere presence bolsters Democrat power in the House, and the number of electoral college votes in presidential elections, and who work for depressed wages without the legal rights of citizens and legal immigrants, are the new Democratic Party slave class.
"You can vote your way into socialism, but you'll have to shoot your way out," wasn't original with Limbaugh/Steyn listener Ann -- I've certainly heard it multiple times before -- but three cheers to her for giving it wide circulation.
Since today is the Feast of Stephen, I must say that I wish "Good King Wenceslas" was included on more carol lists. Seems to have been displaced on many compilations over the years. It's not as catchy, but I like the story.
"Boxing Day is a day for putting your feet up"!
I love the next two weeks. Bitter cold days ahead perhaps, but a good time to pause, rest, deep breathe and enjoy all of the blessings He has bestowed on all, especially the blessing of life itself. From the last verse of Christina Rosetti's poem: Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart.
That's very fair, I think.
Loved the Christmas show, but, wish you had actually finished Baby it's cold outside.
Christmas Eve *and* Boxing Day guest-hosting... it doesn't get any better - except for the "The Mark Steyn Christmas Show"!
I thank you, Mark, for the very welcome ear worm of "In the Bleak Midwinter" these past few days, especially in the breathy, softly-swinging rendition by Carol Welsman. You were right that "it doesn't get any better than this." But I've been looking. I just re-watched Carol's performance, and it's lovely. If I may nominate a worthy alternative, I was surprised to discover Susan Boyle's performance on the BBC from a few years ago (discoverable on YouTube). I did my best to avoid Boyle Fever back in the day, but for a more traditional presentation of the carol she does not disappoint. And the song itself--magical! Rossetti & Holst would have made a terrific songwriting team.
I'm with Ann:
"You can vote your way into socialism, but you'll have to shoot your way out."
America is halfway in the bag.
The cops are working for their pensions, not the voter, so be ready.
The notion of Virginia's governor that he can call out the National Guard to confiscate firearms from the citizenry is one of the stupidest ideas a Democrat has had lately. The part of the population that volunteers for the Army National Guard is exactly the part that knows firearms as tools in civilian life and takes seriously the oath they took at enlistment to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Guard members are not going to raid their own homes and the homes of their fathers and brothers. Besides, Trump could nationalize the Guard and order it to arrest the governor for violating the Bill of Rights, including the First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, under the president's constitutional duty to defend the Constitution and ensure that each state has a republican government that complies with the Constitution.