Re: refried beans [was: Re: Refrigerator]

On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:03:51 +0100, Frederick Williams posted:

>CDB wrote:
>
>> chips in two stages.  Maybe they should be French REfries.
>
>In the States are they still 'freedom fries'?  Or have they got over
>that silliness, aided, perhaps, by a change of president in France?

That reminds me; Jan Lodder once asked for cites in sup****t of my
contention that the French reputation for surrender/cowardice predated
the relatively recent "surrender monkeys" appellation.

I offer Mark Twain's writings in _Letters From the Earth_. Though
there are other examples, I quote from _The French and the Comanches_:

"The most attractive feature of the French national character, and its
most encouraging one to the missionary, is its admirable and
unapproachable docility. We look upon rabbits as being meek. But what
is the meekness of the rabbit to the meekness of the Frenchman? Are
there any rabbits that would allow themselves to be abused, insulted,
and trodden under foot persistently and continuously for a thousand
years, and never offer to bite? Europe is freckled all over with
daring little communities which have risen against powerful oppressors
time and time again, and compelled redress. The list stretches out to
weariness. William Tells and Wat Tylers have been common nearly
everywhere but in France. Yet France rose at last--and would have
retired to its warren quite contented with a cuff and a bonbon if the
foolish King had offered them, but it was not his style to do the
needful thing at the needful time, so the chance went by. Then the
nation cast its rabbit skin and put on its other national garment, the
tiger skin, being closely pressed by Europe in arms, it went a step
further and asserted its manhood, and was doubtless surprised to find
how much it had of it. Napoleon, the great foreigner, brought the
people's soldier****p up to the last summit of perfection; and when he
got ready, he dressed the nation in their rabbit skins again, and put
his foot on their necks, and they glorified him for it. Napoleon III
accommodated them in the same way, to their vast satisfaction."

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