The American right pretends to have trademarked patriotism, especially in its current Trumpist incarnation. Who knew that calling our diverse, beautiful but flawed country a shithole is patriotic? As a second generation American I learned the meaning of true patriotism from my father and other relatives. Ain’t nothing more patriotic than an immigrant family. Immigrants don’t “poison the blood” of the country, they give it new life.

Before becoming a teevee wise guy, Steven Van Zandt carved out a niche for himself as a protest singer-songwriter: I Am A Patriot is one of the best examples. It was written in 1983 for Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul’s Voice Of America album. Such a swell band name, such a fine album. Such a long full title, I Am A Patriot (And The River Opens For The Righteous).

We have two versions of I Am A Patriot for your listening pleasure: the studio original and the classic cover by Jackson Browne. Jackson still performs this song at most of his concerts. Who’s more righteous than Jackson Browne?

Next, an ode to Irish patriotism:

I’m feeling bookish today. We begin our second act with some book chat, chatter, or talk. Which is it? Discuss amongst yourselves.

What I’m Reading: In the early stages of my extended illness, I found it difficult to tackle all the books I wanted to read. This summer, I’ve been making up for lost time. Let’s get to it:

Camera Man by Dana Stevens. I’ve alluded to this book several times in recent posts. Reading it has fueled my longstanding interest in the great silent comedian Buster Keaton who I have repeatedly memed during the 2024 election season.

Dana Stevens’ book is NOT just about Buster. It’s about his era and the creeping modernization of the world in his time. The book’s full title is Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn Of Cinema and the Invention of the 20th Century.

That’s quite a mouthful but Stevens delivers on the promise of the title. Unlike past biographers, Stevens does not treat Buster’s life as a tragic cautionary tale. In fact, the last 20 years of Buster’s life were among the happiest as he married well the third time around. That’s one of the secrets to life, y’all.

Dana Stevens’ prose is lively and captures the era beautifully. If you like her work at Slate, you’ll love Camera Man.

Grading Time: I give Camera Man 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A-.

Harold Wilson by Ben Pimlott. I learned a lot from this 1993 biography of British PM Harold Wilson. Unfortunately, it was researched and written at a time when Wilson’s reputation was at its nadir. Pimlott did not have access to the trove of unclassified documents that support Wilson’s claim that he was under suspicion of being a Soviet spy by paranoid mole hunters at MI6.

Pimlott focuses a bit too much on economics and gives short shrift to the Wilson government’s accomplishments on social issues: The end of the death penalty, legalization of same sex, uh, sex, and the erosion of the class system. Harold Wilson made the UK a more diverse and tolerant society.

Harold Wilson has been back in vogue in the 21st Century. Peter Morgan and The Crown had something to do with that as does current PM Labour Keir Starmer.

Wilson remains the only Labour leader to win four general elections, a feat not even Tony Blair could duplicate.

Harold Wilson was a fine man, a wily politician, and an excellent Prime Minister.

Grading Time: I give Harold Wilson 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+.

The last word of our second act goes to Loudon Wainwright III:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth: If I were the Insult Comedian, I might claim that Willie and Jerry Brown were SAB:

Willie also looks nothing like Nate Holden who was on that helicopter flight from hell with Trump:

Your Weekly Oscar: The DNC has burned the word freedom onto my brain. It makes me feels good as does this OP composition:

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?

Have I told you lately from whom I stole that phrase?

I thought it was time to free Van from First Draft purgatory. He’s been there since the pandemic. The parole is appropriate because I always knew that Van was a great musician, not a nice man. Hence his selection as malaka of the week in 2020.

The Best Of Cavett: I haven’t posted a Cavett clip in quite some time. I’m not sure if these stories are true. Orson Welles was a raconteur not above bending the facts to enhance a story.

Orson also refused to drink any wine before its time:

Saturday GIF Horse: Here’s Buster as the projectionist in Sherlock Jr. He’s poised to enter the movie or is that make a move on the movie?

The Junk Drawer: I hadn’t paid that much attention to Doug Emhoff until recently. He seems like a great guy, but he does have a  flaw:

Doug is a Dodger fan? At least Kamala has some sense. If she can handle it, so can I. Nobody’s perfect.

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some magic.

Saturday Closer: The Penn & Teller obsession continues with this 1990 special. Teller really looked like Harpo Marx 34 years ago. Sheesh, Poppy Bush was president, Mrs. Thatcher was Prime Minister, and I had a full head of hair.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and Harold Wilson.