QUOTE OF THE DAY comes

QUOTE OF THE DAY comes from (surprise!) Jay Nordlinger, who writes:

this one was circulated to me via the Internet–perhaps you’ve seen it too:

“An officer in the U.S. Naval reserve was attending a conference that included admirals from both the U.S. Navy and the French Navy. At a cocktail reception, he found himself in a small group that included personnel from both navies. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans learned only English. He then asked: ‘Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than you speak French?’ Without hesitating, the American admiral replied: ‘Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you would not have to speak German.’ The group became silent.”

I don’t know whether this is true, and I’m not necessarily endorsing the cheek. But it’s kind of fun, huh?

Qui, monsieur–it certainly is.

UPDATE: Speaking of Jay Nordlinger, Michael J. Totten and the folks posting comments to his blog have some thoughts on Nordlinger’s latest column as well, specifically on Nordlinger’s thoughts regarding the “Free Tibet” movement. I’ve long thought a better movement would be “Free China”–you’d be getting two for the price of one. Three, if you include Hong Kong. Four, if you include Taiwan. Five if you include…

(Try that argument on your favorite leftwinger, if you’ve got a half hour or so to kill.)