Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
With Rob and James cruising the Bahamas this week, we draft Pat Sajak to guest host with Peter. He reminisces about Bill Buckley and Merv Griffin, and let's us in on what's it's like to be a celebrity conservative. Then, Claire Berlinski joins to discuss our junk and the TSA, royal weddings, and the the inside story behind her cross town move. Finally, Ricochet contributor Steve Manacek stops by to talk about the Deficit Commission and why we should be afraid. Very afraid.
The following bullets are approved by the TSA for in flight use:
- We don't have a copy of Pat's photo of Reagan but we do have this one of a young Peter Robinson posing with his former boss.
- Many episodes of William F. Buckley's Firing Line are now available on YouTube.
- Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan is a co-educational, liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis. National Review has described Hillsdale as a "citadel of American conservatism. Ricochet contributor Paul Rahe is a member of the faculty.
- Among other things, Merv Griffin was a band leader, a talk show host, and the creator of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
- All of Pat Sajak's recent Ricochet posts are on his profile page.
- Claire Berlinski's recent move is well documented on the pages Ricochet.
- San Diego's John Tyner coined the phrase "Don't touch my junk." Videos of his encounter with the TSA are on his blog.
- Royal weddings. Really?
- John Burns reported for the New York Times from Baghdad for most of the Iraq war. He is now based in London. His archives may be accessed here.
- Hey John Boehner: Man up!
- The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's Power Point presentation may be viewed here.
Music from this week's episode:
- Let Yourself Go by James Brown
- Planet Claire by The B-52's
The direct link to this week's episode is here, but we'd really love it if you'd subscribe. Just because The Beatles like iTunes doesn't mean you do, so visit our Feedburner page for a number of other subscription options.
The Ricochet Podcast is sponsored by Encounter Books. This week's featured title is Gray Lady Down: What The Decline and Fall of The New York Times Means For America by William McGowan. Available at EncounterBooks.com and at Amazon.com.
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Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
I don't know you guys. The Pat Sajak Peter Robinson discussion was far too reasonable and erudite. If you keep this up, conservatives could end up running the country. Now cut that out! Claire coming on representing the 30 Rock - Istanbul - Sargon triumvirate created a different vibe (Peter was thinking "is she going to start asking me those pointed questions she did during Uncommon Knowledge?). You do need someone to poke Claire in the ribs and get a little more stemwound though -- not sure if its Lileks, Steyn or Kenneth.
Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
And I didn't think I would ever hear the day when Peter Robinson, of all people, would go all downmarket and gangsta on us and utter the (apparently) immune to CoC legal action phrase:
"Don't touch my junk"
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Queen Claire and Pat Sajak hit the scandal sheets again. SHOCKING!
Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Your best yet. Brilliant! You need one for Claire called Turkish Surprise
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Looks better than the real thing!
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Speaking of the real thing, you touched on the unseemly aspects of celebrity on the podcast and I was struck by the top five items that came up on my Google search for pictures this morning. (And I assure you that that is unretouched. Try it yourself, folks.)
How do you keep your cool among the, shall we say, more inquisitive members of the public?
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
"Don't touch my junk."
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
EJHill
How do you keep your cool among the, shall we say, more inquisitive members of the public? · Nov 17 at 9:05am
Mace.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
I guess that's better than a Heelie-o-copter gunship.
Jul '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
The podcast was gold if for nothing more than getting to hear Pat's WFB impersonation.
EJHill
I guess that's better than a Heelie-o-copter gunship. · Nov 17 at 9:23am
The podcast was gold if for nothing more than getting to hear Pat's WFB impersonation.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Another excellent podcast. My book to follow...
"The Decline and Fall of The New York Times?" I'm sorry, folks. It's not going away. While even Ricochet helps to sustain her, the Grey Lady is as stubbornly enduring as she is ugly.
If The New York Times includes the occasional gem, so what? Would those writers or articles be accepted by no other publisher? The tragedy is not that an unabashedly liberal paper survives, but that conservatives are a cornerstone of its life support and continually join the Left in idolizing it as America's most important news source.
Pat is right that most people consider politics once in a blue moon, though more attention is paid these days.
I watched a documentary about Republicans in Hollywood in which Pat was interviewed. It was interesting that one Republican (a casting executive) denied that politics affected opportunities in Hollywood, while others (actors, directors) disagreed. I once heard a producer of Icon Productions agree that Hollywood is largely apolitical.
I can believe that the industry's techies are conservative. But Hollywood's production choices as a whole do not reflect an industry focused on profits. TV shows might be better.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Claire, that's extremely interesting that laws which make sense for one culture or region might not make sense for another. Could you expand on that in a new thread?
Peter: "Why do we put up with this?" Because we're being boiled slowly. Americans are as susceptible as any other people to tyranny and evil by gradual corruption.
I love how Claire's voice fades in and out so often, suggesting that she can't sit still while talking.
Claire telling the ultimate gentlemen, Pat Sajak, to keep his hands off her junk might be the best moment in all of radio/podcast history.
Britain's royal family is good in that it gives Britains from all areas and all walks of life a concrete symbol of British culture to share. What do all Americans share? I'm not suggesting we have nothing, but I'm curious what everyone would answer.
Claire, have you told your Turkish friends that Ben Franklin wanted to make the turkey our national symbol? A noble bird, gobbling and stuffing not withstanding.
Edited on November 18, 2010 at 12:58amMay '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Steve (on Democrats): "Their left wing will make a lot of noise, but..." Since the Blue Dogs were voted out, the left wing has become nearly the entire bird, right?
Claire's point about the budget mirrors my own: government finances are not analogous to personal and corporate finances.
Congress "deemed" a recent budget passed and yet retained the "authority" to write checks. Law doesn't matter. The practical reality is that politicians' budgetary practices are restrained only by each other.
Steve's point about the importance of persuasion right now for Republicans is good. But just as important, if not more so, is demonstration of spine. If they lose Republican voters to a 3rd (Libertarian) party in 2012 because of anger over perceived capitulation, the GOP will be weaker for it.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Diversity of race, sex and so on is not as widely valued as it was just ten years ago, but it is still a common value. Democrats feed such divisions as much as they can, obviously.
In mixed areas, people tend not to care. But hispanic populations, for example, identify strongly by race/culture. There are many Latino groups in San Antonio, which is notable because hispanics are far from a minority demographic there. In any case, you don't see many middle-aged white guys blaring mariachi music as they drive by. Black Entertainment Television is still alive and well.
Pat's comment about Roosevelt is worth lingering on. How many dynasties have risen in American history now? Adams, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush and perhaps even the Clintons... What does it mean?
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Pat Sajak
Looks better than the real thing! · Nov 17 at 8:55am
How would you know, Pat? That was audio.
Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
I'm surprised that Peter Robinson is taller than Reagan in the picture. I've never met Mark Steyn in person but I hear that he's 9'6" tall.
Jul '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
That was hilarious.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
When Pat mentioned that there is no need for airport security to focus on his elderly mother in a wheelchair, it reminded me of an old Punisher comic book from the mid 1990s.
In the comic, a bad guy gets a "device" onto an airplane by using makeup to look like an old man (as was recently done by a young man from Hong Kong on an Air Canada flight) and stuffing the tubing of a walker with plastic explosives - not enough to blow up the plane, but enough to blow out a window and cause the plane to decompress.
I bet there are people at the TSA who used to read The Punisher.
Nov '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Claire of Istanbul had me at -10:35 when she said, "Lemme ask a question from a broad...does anyone actually care about diversity any more?"
But none of the bro's on the show even cracked a guffaw!
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #44: Don't Touch My Junk
Two things (I never listen to the podcast till my Saturday 5 miles):
1) Pat-downs? Easily avoidable. Walk through the scanner. Period. I find most of the fuss incomprehensible.
2) I was surprised that no one really described the budget issue- no distinction made between the budget (authorization) and the appropriations (13 separate funding). The appropriations process is subject to continuing resolutions- about 2/3 of the time. Mostly on individual Bills or combinations of Bills- usually some appropriations are actually passed.
But this is about the pipeline, I believe, not the authority for the Feds to "write checks". After Dec. 3, they should still be able to write checks for appropriation money already in the pipeline. The war funding is OK, Petraeus doesn't have to retreat on Dec. 3 because the patrol costs money, or lay off any soldiers. If the Administration has, say, $100 billion, left from the last CR, they can finish spending that. They just can't start anything new that was due to start in December.
An indefinite CR that is equal to 85% of last year's appropriation total is actually a good way for Boehner to put the brakes on spending.