Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit. The blog name is also intended as a good-humored gesture of admiration for distinguished Chicago School economists and fellow travelers.
As Lex, probably wisely, decided not to have any comments on his posting about No. 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor I thought I would put up a link to my own posting on the subject.
May I just add that there is no need to worry about Her Majesty: she will survive this snub and continue serenely on her way. The last politician who thought he could supplant her in people’s hearts and minds was Tony Blair. Ha! That’s all I can say, to quote Bertie Wooster. Ha!
“As Elizabeth Windsor, service number 230873, she volunteered as a subaltern in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, training as a driver and a mechanic. Eventually, she drove military trucks in support roles in England.”
Queen Elizabeth II is the last living head of state who served in uniform in World War II.
Obama, Sarkozy and Brown do not want her in Normandy on June 6, 2009. It is unlikely she will be alive or fit to travel in 2014.
They are correctly afraid that they would shown up as the petty, trivial men they are if they had to stand next to her.
These three detestable men just became even more loathsome in my eyes.
The three of them are not worthy to change the bedpans of our World War II veterans.
Jonathan adds: When I heard about the decision to uninvite the Queen, my first thought was, Who wouldn’t be thrilled to be in her presence and ask her about her life experiences and views on various historical figures and controversies? My second thought was that Sarkozy, whom the press reported as the instigator of the exclusion, is a jerk. But of course I was naive and Lex is correct. The President of France would never do such a thing on his own, nor is it clear what he would gain by doing it. He is merely the designated fall guy. This had to be a conspiracy, and a fairly transparent one at that, which makes the participants appear even worse — Brown in particular, but he couldn’t have done it without Obama’s cooperation. Midgets, the lot of them. Here’s hoping she lives to be 100 like her mother and outlasts them.
Milo asks if there is any foreign news coverage of the recent scandal in Great Britain.
I can’t say that there was. In fact, I was surprised by the news that there was a scandal playing out. Such was the dearth of news concerning the issue in the US.
So what was the whole hullaboo about?
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, resigned today under a cloud of corruption allegations. Besides the fact that he was using public funds for private use, he also allowed the police to search the offices of a fellow member of Parliament without a warrant. It was the first time in 300 years that The Speaker was ousted.
Why don’t we seem to care? I can’t speak for anyone else, but it seems to me that this is a private internal affair. The charges of corruption seem to be pretty well established, there is almost certainly something behind them, but it really doesn’t effect American interests. This is something the voters in the UK need to straighten out.
(Cross posted at Hell in a Handbasket.)
Someone sent me an e-mail with the text of Oliver Cromwell’s speech to the pesky House of Commons in 1653. This was the Rump Parliament, the remnant of that inordinately long Long Parliament and Cromwell decided that they had outsat their welcome. He marched in with some troops, seized the Mace and said:
“…It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
“Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?
“Ye sordid prostitutes, have you not defil’d this sacred place, and turn’d the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d; your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse the Augean Stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings, and which by God’s help and the strength He has given me, I now come to do.
“I command ye, therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. You have sat here too long for the good you do. In the name of God, go!”
And they went. One can’t help feeling that there is place for a Cromwellian action now for all sorts of reasons, not just the highly entertaining saga of MPs getting caught with their hands in the till. I hope that he will reappear in time to ban huge Christmas celebrations as well.
Recently I went to London and took a variety of odd pictures that made me laugh or think.
Upper left – this was a photo of a gas station – nothing odd, right? But from what my “local” contact said, this was one of VERY few in central London, and extremely rare. I guess the local laws and high property values make this an expensive proposition. It did seem very busy. I guess you can’t drive around with your tank on “E” in London.
Upper middle – “Reject Pot Shop” – what a great name for a crockery / cooking store
Upper right – there was a display of English rock bands, and if you look closely at the hats you can see “The Who” and “The Beatles” but how the heck did “Motley Crue” get in there?
Lower left – SMARTIES – you can get them in the UK and in Canada but not in the United States. They are like M&M’s but way better – they are bigger than the chocolate ones (not peanut), come in cooler flavors, and have a better candy “shell”. If you see them, give them a try
Lower middle – a betting parlor. They are all over in the UK, as they are in Australia. The world doesn’t seem to come to an end when sports betting is allowed, does it?
Lower right – when we were in the “Underground” I saw an ad for the city of Chicago. The funny part is that beach scene on Lake Michigan with no one else around. At least we are trying
Cross posted at LITGM