the dissident frogman

16 years and 6 months ago

The daily What A Tool

the dissident frogman

Necrothreading much?

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James R. Gaine, with a cheery flippancy of the tone, falls for the SarkoShow hook, line and sinker, and conjures the shades of the much vaunted French-American Revolution friendship(1) — a recurring theme for this Paris resident and former managing editor of People, Life and Times magazine, as it would seem — in the embarrassingly naïve America's friend again: France!

Now I can't vouch for the Red Browncoats bashing delivered to post-Tony Britain by Mr. Gaines, as I have not been following the Insular events lately, put I must say I find it rich to see him reprove Britain on her move "from combat to overwatch" in Iraq, and approve France on Sarkozy's vacation in New Hampshire in the same piece.

But maybe that's just me.

The rest of his Andante with Variations in Francophilia Major rings like a béni oui-oui (2) singing his little song at the tune of Sarkozy's relentless posturing and style over substance — "undermine the 35-hours workweek, ting-a-ling-a-ling, put France to work, ding-a-ling-a-ling, Persian carpet-bombing, ding-a-ling ding dong."

Unfortunately, as I listen to Gaines the Jolly Minstrel singing the praise of Prince Sarkozy, all I can hear is the inner me chanting The Song of Jamie the Happy Mouthpiece. A nice one too, though a bit repetitive.(3)

And it only goes louder, as the minstrel climaxes with the following quote:
"I want to tell the American people that the French people are their friends," he [Sarkozy] told The New York Times recently. "We are not simply allies. I am proud of being a friend of the Americans." He admitted that "a small part of the French elite" was anti-American, but added that this "in no way corresponds to what the French people think."
Boy, I sure missed this one(4).

Prince Sarkozy's frustration in the face of the American public not flocking en masse to the Champs-Elysées to wave tiny French paper flags as he drives by — after all the NYPD tee-shirt-ing, Bush buddy-ing and Iranian up-yours-ing he's done — must be growing by the minute.

Because there's no other reason to explain why he'd up the Neo-French pro-American rhetoric from level 1: Cheap Declaration of Intent to level 10: Fairy Tales and Mythical Creatures like that.
  1. That was, as always with the French, just a temporary convergence of interests as far as they were concerned — for the rest, and in the words of Charles Gravier de Vergennes, the French Foreign Minister at the time: "We do not desire that a new republic shall arise (...) [and] become the exclusive mistress of this immense continent (America)". I guess you could say that the French obsession with countering "American hegemony" started even before America was officially born.
  2. For the non Paris resident, non former managing editors of People, Life and Times magazine in the audience, that's French for knee-jerk jerk. No, the repetition is not a typo.
  3. It goes: "Pull the other one mouthpiece, it plays La Marseillaise." (Repeat. And again.)
  4. But then, I try to avoid courting the Grey Lady as much as possible. Unlike Gaine the Jolly Minstrel, apparently.

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the dissident frogman

I own, built and run this place. In a previous life I was not French but sadly, I died.

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2784 - Banjo

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I wish this sentimental idea of an ancient friendship between the U.S. and France could be put to rest. After the Revolutionary War, the French joined the British in trying to smother the infant republic in its crib. It was nothing personal, just business. The two countries had a host of national interests in keeping the third weak. The weak-minded but idealistic Woodrow Wilson got the U.S. ensnared in Europe affairs despite Washington's warning, thanks to the williness of whoever led England and France at the time (memory does not serve). When Europe was unable to come to terms with its power-crazed bloodlust in the long ceasefire, FDR just did manage to reinvolve us, thanks to Hitler's blunder in declaring war even though he didn't have to. That said, Roosevelt knew if the U.S. remained on the sidelines, the Axis powers would have turned on it when Europe was finished. Friendship between countries did not have anything to do with any of this.

2790 - TBinSTL

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  • TBinSTL St Louis MO USA

I see two reasons for so many Americans portraying events the way this article does. One is simply wishing it was true so strongly that they won't see reality. The other group is more cynical and hopes that by trumpeting this "great progress" that they can force (by potential embarrassment) Sarko into living up to his hype.