26 January—Corollary to yesterday’s disquisition, Joe Biden came through. So despite the presumed objections of at least two of his four-star (military rank, not necessarily quality) defense mavens we’ll be sending Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks, enough to make up one of their tank battalions, which are about half the size of ours. Of course, support equipment will be going over too. And our guys will train their guys mostly stateside.

One hopes Ukraine will not have been involuntarily annexed to Putrid’s evil Russian Federation before (or after) the armor arrives in a month or three. Like everything the pro-Ukraine allies have been doing, it should have been done a long time ago.

As for the Academy Awards, all I’ll say is that they’re really nothing but marketing hype to drum up ticket sales.

On the subject of movies, though, consider “The Italian Job.” And then consider “The Italian Job.” I saw the first one, starring Benny Hill, Michael Caine, and Noël Coward, in the UK, when it was released in 1969. A highly enjoyable, clever, humorous, typically British heist comedy. In a real cinema that I could smoke a cigar and have a pint in.

The movie’s schtick was the use of ten-foot-long magnificent BMC MiniCoopers to schlep away the purloined gold bullion. In Italy. (Lest I be corrected, by the way, by 1969 British Motor Corporation—BMC—had become British Leyland Motor Corporation—BLMC; but I still think of real Minis as BMC.)

I saw the second iteration of “The Italian Job” on the idiot box in my TV room in 2003 or so. I could smoke a cigar and have a pint there, too. But I didn’t. Lucky I wasn’t smoking because I’m sure I fell asleep a few times during the flick. It was a typically American action heist film starring whomever. Okay, Jason Statham is British and Donald Sutherland is Canadian. In all events, the film was banal and humorless. Too serious.

It must be for intellectual property reasons the Yankee remake or mutilation was called “The Italian Job.” Although the schtick again was the use of Mini Coopers to schlep away the gold bullion and some characters had the same names as ones in the original, Italy is only incidental to the soporific plot. (By 2003 Mini Coopers had grown over two feet in length and were very comfortable miniature BMWs, though I think they were still being made predominantly at the former BMC works in Oxford.)

So why am I going on about “The Italian Job” today? Well, the British original was shown on Turner Classic Movies last night. It was a blast. I didn’t fall asleep in my recliner. Brits are unparalleled in unabashedly poking fun at themselves. Americans should try it.

And the refrain of the closing theme song, written by America’s own Quincy Jones, “This is a self-preservation society,” naturally brought to mind the United States Congress, the Connecticut General Assembly, and every legislative body you can imagine. Talk about crooks . . .