Best wishes to all our American friends as they celebrate their special day.
We were talking amongst ourselves on the LDV team, wondering what the best way to to mark the occasion would be. We decided that it just had to be with some clips of the best programmes ever made. And the first one, suggested by Nick Thornsby, even has tennis. After the way Mr Murray has just dragged our emotions through a mangle, that’s only appropriate.
Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has been having a tough summer. The country’s economy continues to contract, unemployment has soared, and — most personally damaging of all — he and his (very) right-wing Partido Popular have been embroiled in a slush fund corruption scandal.
A recent speech to the Spanish parliament was intended to draw a line under the affair. But Rajoy seemed not to have read his text in advance: after each quote, he also read out loud the words in parentheses, ‘(fin de la cita)’ — ‘(end of quote)’. He did this nine times, with varying intonations of intensity, triggering confusion among his peers in parliament and prompting guffaws among the public at home.
It brings to mind the classic “As I look out over this magnificent vista” clip from The West Wing. It’s Sunday, so why not enjoy those four minutes once again…
As a massive fan of The West Wing, and an avid viewer of Borgen, it is a question I have also thought about. Britain is the world leader in political satire, yet we must be close to bottom of the league when it comes to political drama.
Everything you needed to know about the current ‘epiphenomenal imbroglio’ ((C) Will Self at 0:48 here) engulfing the US economy, courtesy series 6 of The West Wing:
Danny Finkelstein at The Times’s Comment Central pays tribute to Ron Silver, known to West Wing fans everywhere as political strategist Bruno Gianelli, who has died:
Ron was one of the most committed political figures in Hollywood, but not in the usual way. A brilliant debater and public speaker, he had been the actor’s union leader for a decade and a well known advocate of abortion rights. And then, in 2004 he took one of the biggest political steps in his life. He endorsed George Bush for President.
Meeting him in New York after he had addressed the Republican Convention, he explained to me that he had taken this big step because he believed that Islamist terrorism was a danger to liberal values, and he didn’t believe the Democrats realised this.
He expected to pay a big professional price. And he did. He found it much more difficult to get big roles in quality productions after his Bush endorsement. But he did get another stint as Bruno, with Gianelli switching sides to become a Republican. …
Ron wasn’t a Republican, though. He remained a liberal. And in 2008 he voted for Barack Obama, telling me that Sarah Palin was the final straw.
Here’s one of his – and indeed the series’ finest moments:
Rif Winfield There is little sign that Labour's much-vaunted 1.5 million homes programme during the current Parliament is going to come to fruition, even with the planning r...
expats Tristan, % differences are largely meaningless..
Germany boasts a nominal GDP of approximately $5.4 trillion, making it Europe's largest economy. The UK's no...
Peter Martin "In the decade since that day.......We have missed out on roughly 6-8% of growth"
Where does this figure come from? In any case, we didn't actuall...
Richard Flowers Dear Rebecca,
It is you who gives me hope and lets me take Pride.
Thanks to your tireless work, and other members of the Plus committee and community, you�...
George Thomas Have just come from the latest post discussing Welsh Lib Dems struggles to a post regarding better transport. Does this mean support for retrospective funding f...
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