AUDIO: Bob and Ray present Independence Day

As we said in our Independence Eve greeting, this should be a day on which we forget about political divisions and share good thoughts about the country which has risen from being a handful of British colonies to the greatest republic on Earth. 

Here are three sketches on the subject of 4th of July celebrations written and performed by Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, the greatest sketch artists in the history of radio. 

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

 

To our American readers and friends...

Today, July 4th, we enter the second quarter of the American Millennium. What? Too soon? Too aspirational? Too optimistic? Well, how about this...

Today, July 4th, we are roughly a year and a half into the second presidency of Donald J. Trump. Is America Great Again yet? Errr, maybe we'd better not go there. This 250th anniversary of Independence should be a day which everyone, even those suffering from terminal TDS, can celebrate. So...

from Walt, Poor Len [and Ed.! Ed.]

The 4th of July - a holiday for Americans!

Walt's message for the Glorious (?) Fourth of July

I trust the import of Ed.'s remark about a bang-up Fourth of July (especially in Baltimore) was no lost on our readers. What can one say about a country in which there have been, on average, ten (count `em, 10) mass murders every July 4th for the last five years.

What can one say about a country whose large cities -- almost all run by Democratic "administrations" -- are unsafe for straight, law-abiding citizens? What can one say about the "blue states" on the east and left coasts whose sane people are fleeing to the unwoke heartland, where there is a chance of living in peace, without having to keep one eye open while sleeping?

Demented Joe Biden's America is broken (and broke, too). You know it. I know it. Even President Brandon -- "God save the queen, man!", his cronies and arse-kissers, and the lickspittle media know it, although they keep pretending everything is OK. 

Walt, Poor Len [and Ed.! Ed.] 
wish our American readers and friends 
Happy Independence Day.

Please join us in prayer...

Footnote added at 0845: "Five people killed, two children injured in Kingsessing mass shooting; suspect in custody". Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/7/23. Walt's comment: Didn't take long, did it.

The Glorious Fourth: State of the Disunion

As we head into Independence Day 2022, things are not good in the Excited States of America. 

* 1000s of flights have been cancelled, disrupting holiday travel plans. 

* If you decide to drive instead of chilling at the airport for hours, you'll pay anywhere from $5 to $10 per gallon for gas.

* How about a backyard cookout then? Better get an estimate on a steak... and the salad greens too.

* Inflation is at its highest rate since the great meltdown of 2007-8, and yet

* Wall Street has slumped into bear territory, on fears of an imminent recession.

Still... it's a great country, isn't it? At least Americans aren't afflicted with the kind of looney-left anti-patriotism which has resulted in the cancellation of Canada Day, as described here on Thursday. For this one day, at least, Americans will be unite with President Brandon in expressing their love of country and confidence in its future.

Errr, maybe not. It looks as if there will be some "alternative celebrations" on the Fourth, like this one.

Walt trusts you noticed who's organizing this amazing demonstration of loyalty and patriotism. Yes, Virginia, it's the Pima County AZ Democratic Party. You'd think they'd be ashamed, wouldn't you? Or at least afraid of embarrassing their doddering leader. Well, they did take down this social media ad, claiming it was "a mistake". According to Fox News, they tweeted:

"PCDP posted a graphic advertising a women’s march which, we agree, was in poor taste. We were eager to share the event, and in our haste we used the graphic provided by the event organizer. That was a mistake, and we will do better. Make no mistake, however. We support the event which will be on July 4 at 7 pm at Reid Park. The event was organized to help women in our community grieve for the loss of their bodily autonomy, which we consider an elemental right."

This "Fuck the Fourth" event is not an aberration. It's part of a nationwide anti-American "movement" (of sorts), which started at least two years ago. Check this out.

Right. July 4th would have been a Saturday in 2020, at which time President Trump was still in office. So obviously he was the target. The lickspittle media keep telling us he lost the fake election that November, so why are "Fuck the Fourth" protests still being held? Apparently the wokesters of BLM, Antifa, the Squad et al. won't be satisfied until one of their own [like AOC? Ed.] gets their hands on the levers of power. And God help us then!

Want more? Here...

Dear patriotic American readers, this is what you're up against! Don't be distracted by claims of conspiracy and "insurrection" coming out of the current Washington circus. The real conspirators are the extreme leftists who seek to overturn the United States Constitution and overthrow those who uphold it. 

If I may borrow some words put by playwright Robert Bolt into the mouth of St. Thomas More: America is planted thick with trees -- laws which guarantee our rights and freedoms. If the leftists succeed in cutting them all down, where will we stand when the wind blows. 

Further reading: "Screaming Liberals Run In Terror As Pride Flags Replaced With American Flags", Babylon Bee.

Further reading: (added at 1244 - 4/7/22): "'Enough of This Kind of Nonsense': GOP Rep. Waltz Blasts Independence Day Critics", Breitbart News.

"One nation, under God, indivisible..." HAH!

On the Glorious Fourth of July, it's our custom to post something patriotic - three cheers for the red, white and blue! - along with salutations and best wishes to all our American friends and readers. One of the best things we ever posted was this fine video of God Bless America, as sung by the inimitable Kate Smith. Let's hear it again!

   

I always thought that should be the American national anthem. Much easier to sing than The Star-spangled Banner. Makes one want to go out vanquish the foes of freedom, democracy and the American Way of Life! 

But since God Bless America invokes the Deity, it is no longer politically correct. The secular humanists, atheists and radicals have banished God from America's schools, courthouses, and even hospoitals. I expect an amendment to the Constitution to to delete all references to the Almighty, any time now.

And what, pray [Watch it! Ed.] tell, is the American Way of Life nowadays? Do we really believe that life in places like Chicago, San Francisco and Portland is "as good as it gets"? 

From where I sit, the Excited States of America looks to be tearing itself apart. Americans are at each other's throats, figuratively and literally. In spite of Sleepy Joe's promise to reunite America, the country is more  divided now than at any time since 1865.

Americans are separated by race, place and politics. Lines are drawn between them by the politicians and other "elites", with partisans convinced that the other side is the enemy. More than a century ago, Henry Adams defined politics as "the systematic organization of hatreds." That's no less true today.

In The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008, Bill Bishop writes: "There are no cross-cutting issues, places or policies. So there is always conflict. And the ‘other’ is always clearly identifiable."

Note that The Big Sort was published in 2008. You remember 2008, dontcha? That was the year the Prez was elected on a promise to bring all Americans together. That America could elect a black (oops, "Black") man, whose accomplishments amounted to little more than being able to count up to 3 and recite from memory nearly all 26 letters of the alphabet, proved once and for all that the US of A had become "post-racial". Right? LMWAO.

Also worth reading: "It Took Decades for America to Become This Divided", on the Governing website, 23/12/20. Subhead: "Political polarization has become so familiar and entrenched that we barely think how it came about. The backstory is more than a half-century long [more like a century-and-a-half. Walt], involving race, media and a diverging economy." 

What is to be done? I regret to say that my view of the future of the US of A is not a rosy one. The victory of North over South in the Civil War really settled nothing. The same war, over race and the clash between liberal and conservative lifestyles broke out again a century later, and is being fought today, in various ways and various venues, across the length and breadth of the country. 

The physical division of the United States into two groupings -- let's say red states vs blue states -- is now expressly forbidden by the Constitution, and looks to be impractical to the point of impossibility. But when push comes to shove -- as it already has in places like Portland -- I know where I stand. How about you?!

Further reading: Walt's not the only one feeling pessimistic about the future of the US of A. Check out "Enjoy July 4 this Sunday. It might be the last one" by Paul Craig Roberts, 1/7/21.

Araw ng Kalayaan - Best wishes to our Filipino readers

Ed. here. Walt took yesterday off and missed the deadline for a post, but I think our Filipino friends and readers will forgive the slight delay in sending Independence Day greetings and best wishes for your individual and collective futures.

If you'd like to hear a really great version of Lupang Hinirang -- the national anthem of the Republic of the Philippines -- click here. Every time I hear it, it makes me want to go out and shoot an imperialist!

Join the celebration! Make Independence Day great again!

Ever been to a Bastille Day parade? I have, years ago, in the City of Light itself. So has President Trump, recently... like last year. He came away very impressed with the show of power and glory [not to mention pomp and circumstance. Ed.] put on by the French armed forces. Evidently he came away thinking, "If these cheese-eating surrender-monkeys can put on a show like that, when they haven't won even one war without help since the Middle Ages, why can't we have a bigger and better celebration of American power and glory... like next year?!"

And so it shall be. To hell with the beatniks, peaceniks, refuseniks and fascist antifas! Join the celebration! Make Independence Day great again!

WALT WHITEMAN, POOR LEN CANAYEN

[AND ED.! ED.]

WISH ALL OUR AMERICAN

FRIENDS AND READERS

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Araw ng Kalayaan

On June 12th the Philippines celebrates the 121st anniversary of its independence. To all our Filipino readers, friends etc (especially "etc"), Walt sends best wishes for Independence Day and the future of your country!

If you'd like to hear a really great version of Lupang Hinirang -- the national anthem of the Republic of the Philippines -- click here. Every time I hear it, it makes me want to go out and shoot an imperialist!

Celebrate Independence Day - America is becoming great again!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

to all our American readers

from Walt, Poor Len [and Ed.! Ed.]

Further reading: "The Left needs to face reality: Trump is winning", by Michael Goodwin, New York Post, 30/6/18.

Polish patriots celebrate Independence Day

I admit to being bad on dates. Just terrible. Ask Mrs Walt and she'll tell you. [So will several of your agents! Ed.] Until being reminded this afternoon, I had forgotten that today was the 99th anniversary of Poland's rebirth as a nation in 1918, after having been wiped off the map for 123 years. So, even though it's late in the day, I and Poor Len Canayen [and Ed.! Ed.] wish the people of Poland HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

News reports coming in on the AP mojo wire say that, without waiting for our good wishes, something like 60,000 Polish nationalists marched through the streets of Warsaw, under the slogan "We Want God", words from an old Polish hymn that President Trump quoted from during a visit earlier this year. They carried the white-and-red national flag and lit red flares, filling the night sky with a red glow, as can be seen in this photo.

In recent years, the march, organized by groups which in the decadent nations of the West would be called "white nationalist" or even "white supremacist", has become the largest Independence Day event in Poland, overshadowing official state observances and other patriotic events. Speakers addressing the crowd spoke of standing against liberals and defending Christian values. Some participants carried banners reading "White Europe of brotherly nations."

The march has become one of the largest such demonstrations in Europe. Today it drew nationalist leaders from other countries, including Tommy Robinson from the UK and Roberto Fiore from Italy. State broadcaster TVP called the event a "great march of patriots" which drew, for the most part, not extremists but regular Poles expressing their love of their country. "It was a beautiful sight," said Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. "We are proud that so many Poles have decided to take part in a celebration connected to the Independence Day holiday."

Earlier in the day, President Andrzej Duda presided over state ceremonies also attended by European Union president Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister. Mr Duda oversaw ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, walking past a military guard before the raising of the flags and cannon salute. After delivering a speech, he took part in a wreath-laying ceremony, kneeling and crossing himself at the monument to all unknown soldiers killed fighting for the country.

Walt hangs his head in shame that such a joyously patriotic celebration is unlikely to happen in Britain, Canada or the USA. Except for me and (I hope) you, dear reader, we Westerners have been brainwashed by the liberal politicians and the lamestream media into hating ourselves too much.

Recommended reading: The Strange Death of Europe, by Douglas Murray (Bloomsbury, 2017)

Happy Independence Day 2017

WALT WHITEMAN, POOR LEN CANAYEN

[AND ED.! ED.]

WISH ALL OUR AMERICAN

FRIENDS AND READERS

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

The swamp isn't drained yet, but a good start has been made!
Support your President; support your country!

HAPPY 240th BIRTHDAY, USA!

WALT WHITEMAN, POOR LEN CANAYEN

[AND ED.! ED.]

WISH ALL OUR AMERICAN

FRIENDS AND READERS

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Catholic prelate says South Sudan "ruled by monkeys"

Like millions -- literally -- of investors, analysts, pundits and other bystanders, Walt has been trying to figure out the meaning of Brexit, the decision of the British people to opt out of the European Union. Many on the rightish end of the political spectrum see the result as a victory of nationalism over globalism, of conservative common sense over the kumbaya policies of the liberal one-worlders. So it may be, but will the revolt of the ordinary people cross the Channel into France, the Netherlands and the rest of Europe? Will it cross the Atlantic into... dare we wish... the Excited States of America? And what price will we ordinary people have to pay to undo half a century of wrong-headed rule by the elites?

All this is too much for me, for now... I can focus only on a short, simple story from Darkest Africa -- specifically, the world's newest "nation", South Sudan. You may remember [or maybe not! Ed.] that, almost five years ago, the southern part of Sudan succeeded in seceding, after a bloody and brutal civil war which lasted for decades. Shortly after liberating the south from the Arab Muslim north, the black non-Muslim South Sudanese, started fighting amongst themselves about which tribe should dominate, and who should get control of the new country's substantial oil revenue. Plus ça change. Mother Africa Wins Again.

What got me thinking about South Sudan was a report on Aljazeera that the country's Independence Day celebrations have been cancelled. The Minister of Information, Michael Makuei, told reporters today, "We decided not to celebrate the July 9 Independence Day, because we don't want to spend that much. We need to spend the little that we have on other issues."

In past years, even at the height of the civil war, the government organized the customary military parades and other celebrations. But Mr Makuei said this year the party would not happen. President Salva Kiir Mayardit is still expected to address the nation on July 9th, but that's it for this year.

Salva Kiir Mayardit? Who he? Glad you asked. He is the chief of the "devils" and "madmen" who rule South Sudan, as described by Monsignor Roko Taban Mousa, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malakel. In a homily on Sunday, the prelate denounced the nation's rulers amid surging violence in Wau, one of its largest cities. "More than 100,000 people are in the bush being displaced by their own government," said the furious Catholic leader.

"This is the country we have chosen," Msgr Mousa continued. "This is the country we have voted for its independence so that our country displaces us. Our own country. We are ruled really by monkeys. We are ruled by monkeys. We have to be very clear: we are ruled by monkeys."

Thanks to Ed. for finding this picture of President Mayardit -- him with the big hat -- and some of the other "monkeys". And don't call me a racist. It was Msgr Mousa who said it!

Independence Day salute to the Philippines and Filipinos!

Posting this a day early, just in case I don't get online tomorrow. To all our Filipino readers, friends etc (especially "etc"), Walt sends best wishes for Independence Day and the future of your country!

If you'd like to hear a really great version of Lupang Hinirang -- the national anthem of the Republic of the Philippines -- click here. Every time I hear it, it makes me want to go out and shoot an imperialist!

God bless America!

Happy Independence Day

to all our American readers

from 

Walt and Poor Len

[and Ed.! Ed.]

God save the United States of America!

Happy Independence Day!

At the request of the Department of Homeland Security and Paranoia, Walt [and Ed.] will refrain from extending our good wishes for a bang-up Fourth of July. Instead,

Walt [and Ed.] wish

all our American readers

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

4th of July greetings from Walt [and Ed.] !!!

Happy Independence Day

to all our American readers

from Walt [and Ed.!]