July 5, 2013

AROUND AND ABOUT: FINEST HOUR 128, AUTUMN 2005

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The predicted fall of the West, and the blithe I way the West is marching lemming-like toward the precipice, torments Oriana Fallaci, the Italian historian indicted in her homeland for “vilifying” Islam. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Tunku Varadarajan, Fallaci says: “Look at the school system of the West today. Students do not know history! They don’t know who Churchill was! In Italy they don’t even know who Cavour was! [—the conservative father, with the radical Garibaldi, of modern Italy]….Europe needs a Cavour. I cry, sometimes, because I’m not twenty years younger, and I’m not healthy. But if I were, I would even sacrifice my writing to enter politics somehow.”

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A bill approved March 13th by the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee would, in part, exempt actors from a state constitutional amendment that limits smoking to stand alone bars, designated hotel rooms and home offices. Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R Melboume), tried to remove the language from the bill, saying the constitutional amendment set clear limits and the Legislature should enforce rules instead of finding exemptions to them.

Haridopolos’ amendment failed on a 5-3 vote, with those who want the stage exemption scoffing at the idea. Sen. Jim King (R.- Jacksonville), said he couldn’t imagine a play on Mark Twain that didn’t include a lit pipe, or Winston Churchill being depicted without a cigar. Sen. Rod Smith (D.-Alachua) said, “I find it amazing that we would now think that you could do ‘Oh! Calcutta!’ on the stage buck naked, simulating sex as long as you don’t light a cigarette. This silliness has gone too far.” The late Sir Robert Rhodes James wasn’t even sure this liberality would last, remarking to us at a Churchill symposium: “Some day even sex will be banned in your country.” But maybe not, as long as you don’t light up.

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The old rumor that Jennie Jerome invented the Manhattan cocktail continues to surface, most recently in a recipe using Maker’s Mark bourbon in the May 4th Cincinnati Post: “Manhattan: bourbon, a couple dashes of bitters, sweet vermouth, served up or on ice, garnished with a cherry. This cocktail originated at New York’s Manhattan Club in 1870. It was invented at a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden.”

We have often suspected that the story must be false because in those days, ladies were not admitted to the Manhattan Club, let alone to host banquets. Can anyone put us right on this? 

 

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