Paul Ryan for Speaker? I like this bit at the end of Pat Buchanan's latest column:
After the GOP capture of the House in 2010, Ryan, with new Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, wrote a book about what they were going to do, titled, "Young Guns."
"Young Guns" Cantor and McCarthy are now lying toes up in the OK Corral, and if Paul Ryan becomes speaker, he will end up the same way.
The guns were young but they were shooting the same old blanks.
~My Copenhagen comrade Douglas Murray writes a strong piece today on the triumph of the Islamic enforcers:
A few days before the Mohammed cartoons' anniversary, Mark Steyn, Henryk Broder and the Norwegian editor Vebjoern Selbekk addressed a conference in Denmark to commemorate the anniversary of the cartoons. It was held in the Danish Parliament, the only building there now deemed safe enough to withstand the now-traditional attack from the Islamic Blasphemy Police. Anticipating a terrorist attack, the UK Foreign Office and U.S. State Departments both warned their citizens to stay away from the area of the Parliament building that day. The restaurant in which we were meant to be having dinner cancelled the booking; they realized, when police and security officers scouted out the building in advance, who the guests might be.
Ten years ago, you could publish depictions of Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. Ten years later, it is hard for anyone who has been connected with such an act to find a restaurant in Copenhagen that will serve them dinner.
The restaurant that chickened out is called Fiat, in King's New Square. It looks rather convivial from this photograph, with everyone quaffing their bubbly without a care in the world. They don't seem to grasp that such civilized pleasures require civilization, and, ultimately, people willing to defend it.
As readers know, I like to quote Laura Rosen Cohen's line that "security" is the new "shut up", but we're advancing to the next stage: "I'm sorry, we don't seem to have a reservation for you" is the new "shut up". Thus, the Australian Hoteliers' Association's reluctance to book a room for Geert Wilders.
Nonetheless, Douglas makes an important point:
Freedom, however, was never defended by more than a handful of people. Most prefer their comforts and a quiet life to anything that looks like a fight. But there are still more than a few good people across the world, and more than a handful of them in Scandinavia. If, in previous conflicts, one looked to pilots or statesman to lead the way, in this war against the new "Islamic Inquisition," it is journalists, cartoonists, writers and artists who find themselves on the front lines and who need to lead. Some of them might be surprised to be in this position. They should not be. Freedom of expression and thought have always had vicious enemies. But the truth has always seen them off, and shall do again.
He's right, of course. Throughout history, most people have not been willing to stand up for liberty. That's always been the burden of a few, and it is so again. As the situation deteriorates, the quaffers at Fiat are going to need much stiffer drinks.
~Which seems as good a place as any to put in a plug for me and my chums' brand new book on the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Don't worry that celebrating a great foundational document of English liberty is culturally insensitive: The birthday exhibit at Fort York in Toronto assures us that Magna Carta led to the Arab Spring! So it wasn't all bad...
~As the Canadian election draws down to a white-knuckle thrill-ride of a finish, here's a reminder that those who drone most about "Canadian values" often know very little about Canada. The NDP have unveiled their plans for the Canadian military in a new document with a military insignia on the cover: if it looks unfamiliar to Canadian veterans - no Crown, no maple leaf, no crossed sabres and batons - that's because it's an American military rank.
~Enjoy tonight's Democrat debate, and let's see if Hillary feels the Bern. I'll be sharing my thoughts on the subject tomorrow, Wednesday, with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
~"A Disgrace to the Profession" keeps selling out at Amazon. While they're waiting for the fifth printing to arrive, don't forget you can always get it personally autographed by yours truly exclusively from the SteynOnline bookstore. And it can be yours even quicker via Kindle and Nook.
