THE LAST DITCH An Englishman returned after twenty years abroad blogs about liberty in Britain
How to deal with Twits
The weaponisation of politeness

Quotes of the day, from the extremes of modesty and arrogance

I am no sports buff and find cycling - quite literally - a pain in the proverbial, but it's hard not to like our Wiggo. His down to earth modesty is affecting and what spin doctor could better his wife's answer to a journo's question about family sacrifices made for the great man's success?

“Sacrifices? Well not really," says Cath. “As a wife or partner where’s the sacrifice in helping your other half fulfil their dreams? And it’s not forever, it’s short term. It’s not like we are a services family who are apart year after year. They don’t earn Olympic medals for their efforts although they bloody well deserve to."

Well said, Mrs Wiggo. Meanwhile, from the other end of the modesty spectrum I enjoyed a quote from literary genius, conspiracy theorist-going on nutjob and patrician-American Democrat Gore Vidal. Knocked down by Norman Mailer after a heated debate, he is said to have looked up from the floor and observed;

I see words fail Norman Mailer, yet again.

I was much amused by the reaction of a BBC interviewer to being told by Vidal (on a show re-screened on BBC World last night) that writing novels was much more important than politics. Of course it bloody well is, but to a media running dog of the political classes, this was clearly quite incredible. The BBC was at it this morning too, saying on a BBC World news broadcast that this was just sour grapes after Vidal's failure to get elected.

What does it say for the dons of Oxbridge that the arts graduate leftists they send to man the BBC believe that politics matter more than literature?

Comments

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Moggsy

Or you can combine the two... Zuo Zhuan, Ceaser, Machiavelli, Churchill...

David Davis

You know what, old fella? When I am Principal Secretary of State for War (in the Democratic people's blah blah Revolutionary-Liberalist-etc-etc-etc), a way might be found to shut down various departments, in various universities, where their activities and output displease the Electorate...

That Brecht fellow may have been right: we may have to dissolve the existing People (or some of them at any rate), and elect others.

It's increasingly interesting and nice, that on Facebook where the War Secretariat has current existence, many observers are not quite sure whether one is "avvin-a-luff", or, er, not! You'd probably appreciate the upside-down-ness of that scenario...

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