On Wednesday I did double-duty on the airwaves, north and south of the border. I started the day on America's Number One radio show, where I spoke with Congressman Steve Chabot, one of the House impeachment managers from the last Senate trial, of William Jefferson Clinton, back in 1999. Click below to listen:
A couple of hours later, I made my first appearance of the Roaring Twenties with John Oakley on Toronto's Global News Radio 640. We counted down a few All-Time Great Governors-General and speculated whether Harry or Meghan would join their ranks, and then wondered how the Royal Family wound up more diverse than the Democrat presidential primary or the Oscar nominations:
If you like me in audio, do check out our annual live music special rounding up the best Steyn Show performances over the years from Herman's Hermits to Ted Nugent to Noël Coward's pianist (my gay cred is too old-school for contemporary tastes. And don't forget to join me Friday for another Clubland Q&A live around the planet at 4pm North American Eastern - that's 9pm GMT.
On the other hand, if you're one of that brave band that enjoys me on camera, I'll be back with Tucker tonight, Thursday - and do enjoy the latest entry in my ongoing anthology of video poetry: my rendition of Robert W Service's great poem The Low-Down White.
We had a grand turnout from Canadians on September's sold-out Second Annual Mark Steyn Cruise. So we hope more than a few Oakley listeners will want to join Conrad Black, John O'Sullivan and my other guests on this year's Mediterranean cruise. But don't leave it too late, as the accommodations are more favorably priced the earlier you book.
Looking for a birthday present with a difference? There's always a Mark Steyn Club gift membership - which comes with Comment Club privileges entitling your loved one to comment away below.
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
36 Member Comments
The John Oakley interview was hilarious!
On Election Night come November 3, 2020, my nominee for "I Can't Believe This Is Happening To Us" is...
JOHN KERRY.
Mr. Wonderful.
From the non-political humor department: As you may have heard, Major League Baseball (U.S.) in the past week has forced the firing of three baseball team managers and one General Manager.
(Putin simultaneously doing the same to his Cabinet.)
This came after the revelations that the Houston Astros, using electronic snooping devices during games being played, had been stealing the opposing team's "signs."
These are signals flashed by the catcher, visible to the pitcher, so they both know what kind of a pitch the pitcher will throw (a fastball, a curve, a slider, etc.). If the batter knows which pitch is on the way, it is much, much easier for him to get a hit, and he will certainly have a batting average much higher than .225, which is borderline terrible.
Weeks earlier, before this all blew up, the NY Mets general manager had traded for a quite unimpressive player from the Astros named Jake Marisnick.
In today's paper:
"Disgruntled Mets fans [upset that Carlos Beltran, former Astro and their new manager, had been fired] are focused entirely on the wrong thing here.
"It's not that Carlos Beltran cheated.
"It's that Brodie Van Wagenen signed Jake Marisnick, who hits .225 knowing which pitch is coming!"
All those running against Trump should immediately recuse themselves. After all, their bias is already public.
And further, the senate should vote out the entire thing right after the charges are presented and defended by the attorneys. Stop wasting money and time on the stump for both sides. I know how childish Trumps temper is when he is insulted, so why give him more rope. Even the Republicans should realize that.
Enough is enough.
Don't forget Meghan's upcoming high-profile CBC appointment .... if it actually happens, we'll see she's on the same trajectory as Adrienne Clarkson and Michaelle Jean......
An armed society is a polite society, and therefore less likely to experience the need for the use of arms.
A polite society is one where order and control are derived from the self-restraint of the individual and the sense of order and belonging that nuclear families, headed by responsible parents and grandparents, create.
Polite society is, in the majority, homogenous and obedient to commonly-agreed laws, without the need to overtly police behavior.
In polite societies, individuals are not honest because they fear being caught - they are honest because they know right from wrong. Polite societies don't need Pelosis and Schiffs and CIAs and NSAs and Comeys and Clintons and Romneys and Schumers and CNNs telling us how to behave, how to vote.
All of which is why we are having impolite society imposed upon us, with arbitrary laws applied arbitrarily applied.
This is a simple, wonderful and thought-provoking comment, Perry. So many parts I want to take apart piece by piece and contemplate.
"Polite society is...obedient to commonly-agreed laws."
"..individuals..are honest because they know right from wrong."
"..we are having impolite society imposed upon us, with arbitrary laws applied arbitrarily applied."
The germ of this impolite society is when government decides that it knows better than the people what's good for them, and at some point, realizes they overreached and made matters worse but by that point they can't or won't "fix" the problems because it'll expose themselves for their ineptness so instead of undoing their mistakes, the make corrections to their mistakes and the wrong corrections are applied and on it goes until things fall apart and people take matters back into their own hands.
Perry, while there is much truth in what you say, there are also some errors. Right off the bat, there are plenty of examples of armed societies which are in no way polite. From some of our inner cities, to the Middle East, the presence of weapons is no guarantee of a polite and civil society.
The type of society you speak of is utopian and, thus, unattainable, at least with the human race.
Alright.... I love listening to Mark.... I love listening to Mark interview people... But there is nothing as awesome as Oakley talking to Mark. I don't know if it is a Canadian thing or what but, my God, thank you Mark for posting you and him!
Also, do you really think Harry is emasculated any more than any of the British royals? He seems more a man to me than all the rest of them put together...
Ed,
Maybe Harry's fallen further and faster than the rest of them.
Well, Harry married someone who has extremely common views (yes, I consider them to be idiotic). I know a lot of people married to such people and it seems to me emasculating often. That said, once he married her his duty lies with her. That's what is going to get him to heaven or not... not his role as an emasculated British royal.
I really think the whole British royal thing would be entirely emasculating... to live your whole life with no possibility of being king and no actual real authority... it's probably why they all seem to go a bit loony... or worse.
You play the hand you're dealt. There are a lot of tougher gigs than being born royal. I don't think the options are seriously limited for living a fulfilling and admirable life though I suppose you would always be in danger of drowning in onerous ceremonial duties and sycophantic courtiers. I think Prince Philip hasn't done too badly although he married into it. Another example would be the Dutch king who moonlights as an airline pilot.
I used to get samples of customized pens sent to me with my company's name and info printed on them. They were good looking pens for $5 ea., qty. 100. Add 75¢ for the presentation box. I imagine Nancy's pens were bought with a General Services Administration expedited bid picked up by a Beltway Bandit owned by a generous Democrat donor and billed to the Speaker's office supply account. Who knows the actual number but $225K wouldn't be out of line. You have to work hard at spending $4.8 Trillion a year.
I love how they were each embossed with her signature and made to look like they could be loaded into the chamber of a sniper rifle. It's almost as if she was attempting to deliver a message of some sort.
Let's see if I've got this. Three of Trump's political rivals will soon sit and listen to dirt dug up on Trump, including dirt from a Russian, if the Parnas stuff comes into play. The dirt is about Trump trying to get dirt on his political rival, which is forbidden. Or something....
No, you're not paying attention. Trump is the Russian, real name: Donald Ivanovich Trump, identical twin of Vladimir Putin. Parnas is Ukrainian-American, or, ermm, American-Ukrainian. Well, one of those. Or maybe two. Parnas has allegedly told many lies, but he is a reformed character, pure as the Kievan snow, even when it's investigated by Crowdstrike, wiped whiter than Snow White with Bleachbit and then wiped again, yanno, with a cloth. Frankly, I'd entrust the nuclear codes to this saintly man.
And, yes, three presidential candidates are approaching this in a somewhat conflicted way, but, if they follow the example of Parnas, why should we not expect them to approach their task with the highest motives?
Never underestimate the collective stupidity of the Republican party. After getting run roughshod in the impeachment hearings with all rights of due process denied for the defense of our president they already are submitting to the demands of Pelosi, Schiff, and Nadler for this upcoming 'trial'. Allowing democrats to call witnesses? Pure insanity - this will be nothing but a continuation of the farce in the house and will likely introduce new charges against Trump. Do they really think they will win the respect of the democrats and the national media by caving to their demands? All this will accomplish is to further legitimize this ludicrous impeachment of Donald Trump. Dismiss this nonsense out of hand with a quick vote and be done with it! All that stands between us now and tyranny is a weak spineless Republican party. Feel good about that?
I agree with you, RAC, but it isn't the stupidity of the Senate Republicans that concerns me. It's their cold, calculated cynicism. They're all talking about the upcoming trial like it's a joke and a farce and a forgone conclusion that will be over before it begins, but let's face it: the swamp that President Trump so brilliantly cast a spotlight upon isn't simply a manifestation of corruption within one party. The swamp doesn't care about party. The swamp only cares about the swamp, and for this reason I think there are a whole lot of Senate Republicans who would love to see the President convicted and for a return to business as usual in Washington. I really hope I'm wrong but I fear the President could be sleepwalking his way into the Ides of March. We shall see.
Most Republican politicians can no longer be accurately described as stupid or spineless .They clearly know better yet they willingly hop aboard the Never Trump train and give support to the Treason Party apparatchiks. With apologies to Mr. Franklin, we lost our republic some time ago and most Republican politicians are just fine with our slide into the tyranny of the majority the founders were so concerned about. As long as they get their fair share of the bloated government spoils no need to rock the boat.
Yes, indeed, R. Stupidity transcends all and any partisan boundaries: worth keeping at front of mind.
Deja vu! Et tu Brute came to mind earlier this evening. Oh well, worst case, President Pence.
Pence would be the next domino to impeach, then they can crown Polypsi, Queen of the Swamp.
Actually, we won't know anything about witnesses for at least a couple of weeks until after the prosecution and defense has been heard. Maybe, the Senate will take a page out of the Republican Congress's playbook and play their cards correctly: see Ben Domenech s piece today at The Federalist Daily Briefing about how House Republicans were able to successfully handle the hearings.
You're much too kind to Republicans but the events of the last three years clearly show we're on the verge of losing the republic to a deeply entrenched shadow government. The just released 'opinion' from a far left lawyer in the GAO once again proves the point. Highly dubious on the merit - most constitutional experts say they got it totally wrong - it once again reveals a federal government determined to unseat this president. If one totally buys into your claim here then there's no point in even voting in Nov. I'm not quite that cynical yet but it's now very late in the game for sure.
It appears that my fear that the GOP will cave is even more likely now given what I heard coming from the senate yesterday. The democrats will have a field day if allowed to present witnesses which appears likely. Pure madness Segnes.
Mark, I can but quote Aragorn to Boromir upon arriving at Lorien: "Take some rest". For crying out loud man, you're closing in on breaking your record for longest work week, which was that week in 2018 when you worked a little over 12 hours.
You can't keep up this pace. You're only human, you know.
I expect this Impeachment trial in the Senate to look a lot like the Kavanaugh circus, although that circus had an implied goal of trying to derail a nomination. But I expect a steady stream of stage-time hogs just using the pulpit to gain exposure for themselves and slander their opposition, and it will continue until 51 senators find a way to adjourn and call a vote. Seriousness and sense of purpose have departed since the last impeachment. The evidence of Trump's sins is miniscule and vaporous; this will be one more chance for grandstanding to the camera and creating story lines for the upcoming election.
I think Mark made the point a few years back that the lawmakers judge whilst the judges law-make.
Hey Mark,
Do you think the Senators three will consult with Jeff Sessions on whether they should recuse themselves from the impeachment trial?
Every sane person, from time to time, probably wonders when the endpoint of leftist absurdity will appear. The Duchess' remarks about racism do serve well to highlight how utterly reflexive and meaningless this charge of racism has become in Leftland. Or how about the notion that carbon, the most fundamental element of all living things, is the most fundamental threat to the existence of all living things. Or maybe that sex is a completely elective aspect of our existence. The fact is, there is no endpoint. The Left is beckoning us to insanity. This is the utopian dream of Nirvana; presumably blissful nothingness. How already empty are the lives of the countless people who have willingly bought into this?
All it takes is a complete lack of intellectual curiosity and the academic skills to satisfy it, and an equally complete inability to subject oneself to objective self-criticism. That the beautiful, unbelievably privileged Duchess of Sussex can present herself as a victim of racism because she has a percentage of sub-Saharan ancestry is merely a distillation of the selfishness and self-absorption of Leftists that they are utterly unable to recognize in themselves. Since nothing can bring contentment to these people, will they eventually be content with nothing? My answer is no - but sadly, it will take civilizational collapse for them to find out.
Isn't this Frankfurt School Marxism (or Feudal Law before Magna Carta)?
There are no known rules, just arbitrary judgements made by those in power in the name of "The People/The King/God", so anyone can be found guilty of any crime or transgression, past present or (Red Flag Laws) future.
Progressives, like sharks, have to keep "progressing". Even when they circle back, they are still moving forwards. The Higher Truth.
Sorry if this is double reply, but I think I hit a button incorrectly. Point is I think we've had what, 200 or so years of relative individual freedoms in most of human history? But we are almost back to feudalism, we are property of the state, which is not always as reasonable as some feudal lords.
And then these people have the temerity to swear on the Bible, as if their words mean anything. The great thing is, God will hold them to their words.
And some are swearing on the Koran!
It turns out that Nancy Pelosi is a fan of long-defunct British children's television programmes. Back in the Sixties and Seventies, there was a characteristically low-budget thing called "Crackerjack," made in front of a live audience. Children who participated in segments of the programme were rewarded with "Crackerjack Pencils," some of which (who knows?) may now be treasured heirlooms.
And there, yesterday, was Nancy Pelosi handing out Crackerjack Pencils to House Democrats, presumably as a reward for turning up, which, since I could see only thirty pencil-boxes in the photograph, presumably not many of them did.
Mark replies:
Now I think about it, Owen, one of Congressman Chabot's fellow impeachment managers in the Clinton trial was a Leslie Crowther doppelgänger.
She was so serious about this 4 weeks ago, all in black, and now she's wearing her loudest pink suit and handing out cheap pens...but wait how much did the government really pay for those cheap pens?
There is a story about US government procurement from probably thirty-odd years ago. I am rusty on the details, but I think it involved the purchase of an electric coffee-maker, for the Department of Defense. The one eventually bought could have been picked up for buttons within a short distance of the Pentagon. This one, however, had to through the approved procurement process and ended up costing $100,000, or something ridiculous. Nancy's Crackerjack Pencils looked cheap, but I doubt if they were and it wasn't the government paying for them.
I thought they looked like the sort of pens that might have turned up in one of Saddam Hussain's palaces.
Mark,
So who played the hapless Peter Glaze?