Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Lileks is still at sea, so we're going old school this week with Rob and Peter hosting by themselves. Our guests: newly minted NY Congressman Chris Gibson and Ricochet's own Dr. George Savage. Congressman Gibson lets us in on what it's like to be a freshman member of the House (is there hazing?), his first impressions, and how plans to keep the pork to a minimum despite being the a member of the Agriculture Committee. Then, Dr. Savage remembers his Aunt Phyllis, one of the Tucson victims, and gives us some fascinating medical insight into the real need for mental health reform.
Linkage:
- For the record, our first podcast indeed covered The 2010 State of Union address. Ah, those were the days...
- Yes, Lileks is still cruising the Caribbean. Follow his exploits on his most excellent blog The Bleat.
- The flagship Starbucks is located on Pike's Place in Seattle. And yes, a grandé latte really costs $3.47 (we checked).
- Want to feel like a complete slacker? Check out Chris Gibson's resumé.
- Kinderhook, NY is located just south of Albany.
- President Obama's remarks in Tucson may be viewed here. The transcript is here.
- Everybody has website these days, including both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
- The Obama Administration is indeed trying to classify milk as a hazardous waste. If this regulation had been in effect a few years ago, our dorm room fridge would have been a SuperFund site.
- Dr. Savage's high tech venture is Proteus Biomedical, and they are on the cutting edge of creating pharmaceuticals embedded with smart chips on them.
- Phyllis Schneck was George's aunt by marriage. She lived in both New Jersey and Tucson.
- George's post A Plea for Mental Health Reform is not to be missed. Charles Krauthammer's post is here. EJ Jaffee's post is here.
- Ricochet member Andrew Johnson gets the podcast mention of the week for his post How Would the Right React....
- Richard Epstein gives some background on the lawyer who will represent the killer in his post The Best Possible Defense Lawyer for Jared Loughner.
- The Mayo Clinic has a very good website that describes schizophrenia and the available treatments.
- Our friend Andrew McCarthy at National Review makes the case against Sheriff Dupnik.
Music from this week's episode:
- Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema Club
- The Loner by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
The direct link to this week's episode. But please be a mensch and subscribe. Don't use iTunes? Visit our Feedburner page for a number of other subscription options.
The Ricochet Podcast is sponsored by Encounter Books. Our featured title this week is I Can’t Believe I’m Sitting Next To A Republican by Harry Stein. Available at EncounterBooks.com and for Kindle at Amazon.com.
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
The Loner was an inspired choice.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Peter, I was very glad to hear your critique of Obama's speech.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
I could not agree more with Rep Gibson on the regulations and taxes on milk farmers are a huge cost driver. I have two problems, or should i use the term "issues" to be more civil, with Rep Gibson.
1. He was basically endorsing a cartel of milk producers which price fix as a free market solution. Really? Colluding with other producers to price fix then limiting entry into the market through government regulation might not be a free market solution.
Like many other industries milk makers love complex regulations to limit competition and drive up prices but say they hate the regulation knowing they will profit from the new regulations
2. Why are lower milk prices bad? If we pay less for milk then we have more money for other stuff like beer and more beer.
If Rep Gibson supported ending regulation of farming by the FDA, the EPA, and all other federal agencies then he is a on the good team. He is picking at the edges of farm regulation instead of rejecting any federal government involvement which shows the squishy RINO he is.
Jun '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
I agree with Congressman Gibson on the need to rescind government regulations where applicable. The American economy ebbs and flows like a giant amoeba. A regulation has the same affect as a scientist trying to stop the amoeba with a probe. The critter keeps moving, finding the path of least resistance, flowing around the obstacles. The problem is that regulation leaves market distortions in the amoeba's wake. And that's all they do because the creatures that inhabit our market world underneath the microscope are amorphous, liquid, and constantly on the move. Sometimes the results of government interference are truly perverse and totally unexpected. The impact of ethanol subsidies on the price of food comes to mind. My plea to government: Stop trying to control the market! You can't stop it, but you might very well kill it.
Edited on Jan 14, 2011 at 6:23amNov '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
I have been waiting for it to show up on iTunes but it doesn't seem to be posted there yet. Any info on when it should show up there?
Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Exactly. If you begin your analysis from the point of view of the milk farmers, than you inevitably end up with regulations or more obvious direct subsidies that transfer wealth from consumers to milk producers. The only valid analysis must begin from the point of view of consumers, who are the ones that a truly free market serves, in which their desires as expressed through action drive the activities of producers.
Respectfully, there are only two conclusions that can be made: either the congressman is economically illiterate, or he was being disingenuous or dissembling. Someone should send him a copy of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson so at least we can know where he stands the next time he articulates a policy position on agricultural issues. When one judges the economic impact of any decision or policy, one has to keep in mind what is unseen as well as what is seen (thank you, Monsieur Bastiat). What is unseen here is everyone that buys milk, and the extra wealth they don’t and will continue to not have because they’re overpaying for milk.
Edited on Jan 14, 2011 at 12:00pmSep '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
(continued)
Finally, as soon as the congressman said “price stabilization” everyone should realize that the game was up. That’s the same failed policy being hawked since before FDR, and which Hazlitt demolishes in his book I mentioned above.
I’m glad the congressman is there, as he’s surely better than his democratic opponent, but I can’t say more in praise of a man that promotes policies to further impoverish myself and my fellow citizens so that begging special interests may be enriched.
As I said in another thread, free trade and free labor markets increase the wealth of everyone in the long run. The short term costs to uncompetitive businesses are vastly outweighed by the gains to everyone else participating in these free markets as prices continuously decline due to trade, increased competition, division of labor, and increased capital.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Hi Lance, We noticed that too and are looking into it. In the meantime, if you click the subscribe button in iTunes, you will get the episode delivered to your computer. You can also listen to it by clicking on the direct link in the post above.
Edited on Jan 14, 2011 at 12:55pmJul '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Peter, I agree with You. May I try to articulate My problem with Obama's speech?
It's not only the words that matter, but from Who the words are spoken.
Obama could have read President Reagan's speech from Pointe Du Hoc 6/6/84 and it would have made no difference. Obama does not encompass Truth, Integrity, or anything American. Those words he read, or any words from him, are as empty as the suit he wears.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Just for the record, my real name is Andrew Johnson :) it is not an alias.
I'm glad you're a fan, Rob.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
The free market solution to the problems of milk producers is for a whole lot of them to stop producing milk if they can't make money at the commodity market price. Rep. Gibson's proposals to reduce the cost base are fine. But artificially increasing the price, especially via the NY Milk OPEC doesn't work.
The problem is that there may well not be a true free market solution- one that we could honestly embrace as economically pure- to the farm problem. It is axiomatic that we need a rural America, forr many reasons. Now we need to find the economic and market alternatives to enable them to stay on the land without being subsidized to do so.
Nov '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Duane Oyen: The free market solution to the problems of milk producers is for a whole lot of them to stop producing milk if they can't make money at the commodity market price. Rep. Gibson's proposals to reduce the cost base are fine. But artificially increasing the price, especially via the NY Milk OPEC doesn't work.
The problem is that there may well not be a true free market solution- one that we could honestly embrace as economically pure- to the farm problem. It is axiomatic that we need a rural America, forr many reasons. Now we need to find the economic and market alternatives to enable them to stay on the land without being subsidized to do so. · Jan 15 at 10:29am
Eh. As long as it's a private cartel and not a government cartel, I'm okay with it. After all, cartels are inherently unstable. If the government enforces it, it won't be as unstable, and will therefore be worse.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Lucy Pevensie
After all, cartels are inherently unstable. If the government enforces it, it won't be as unstable, and will therefore be worse.
True that.
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Peter's criticism of Obama’s speech---Incivility didn’t cause the shooting, but civility is the remedy?---is right. Forgive me if I elaborate on it:
Obama's “it did not” remark, denies that “a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy [sic]”. But how can we square the “it did not” denial with Obama’s skeptical assertion that no one can know why the shooter did it? We cannot: if no one knows why, then no one knows that he did not do it because of a lack of civility. Given the contradiction, we cannot understand Obama’s remarks in their literal meaning. I suggest the following interpretation: His “it did not” remark was intended to shut the rabid left up. The polls, after all, demanded it. The “no one can know” remark was intended as cover for his thesis, and for those who would dutifully peddle it, that incivility is the real problem. And the “real problem” is the outrageous incivility that is the right’s opposition to the left. The remedy is for the right to shut up---it may not even denounce the libel---learn to play nice, and abandon its bitter-clinger’s ways.
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
(continued)
This construal sheds light on Obama’s otherwise puzzling claim that no one “can” know why the shooter did it. It is unlikely that Obama was sharing with us his extreme skepticism regarding the psychiatric sciences. A more plausible rendering of this remark is that he was deploying a favorite dodge of the left: skepticism makes anything possible. If no one can know why he did it, then no amount of diagnosis of the shooter, not even the madman’s confession, can tell us that he didn’t do it for political reasons. (“How would he know? He’s mad!” If, however, he tells us that Michelle Bachman made him do it, well, even the overly-excited can know what motivates them.) That places the incivility thesis forever on the table---a “genuine explanation” that no one can gainsay.
So as Peter implies, and contrary to almost all the press and public opinion, the speech was, at its root, partisan. Not presidential. The man does not have it in him.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Got to speak up about the intro music. Had never heard of it so I checked out the song Something Good Can Work on iTunes and can see that it seems to be a decent song, but nobody would ever find themselves humming the instrumentals in anticipation of their next Ricochet podcast fix. Tough to beat James Brown yelling 1! 2! 1-2-3-4! with that great followup music. With the new intro I keep expecting to hear an NPR reporter start into a report on moonlight rooftop organic farming in northern California. Definitely too mellow for the start of a dynamic Ricochet podcast.
Notice you changed to the new music right after the It's a Holly Jolly Christmas episode. Any way we can give that present back and go back to the James Brown intro?
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Hi Diane --
The opening music is very much a work in progress. We like to switch it up because, well, because we like to switch it up. To that end, a little history: The Arcade Fire track was picked by yours truly. The James Brown open was suggested by a member. And the current track by Two Door Cinema Club? Hand picked by Mr. Rob Long himself.
We're always open to suggestions. Please pass them along if you have any. And if you don't like the current selection, like a bus, another one will come along soon.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Thanks for the quick feedback, Blue Yeti. We can never underestimate the power of music to spur listeners to action, but maybe Rob knows that and is hoping to attract more mellow members in 2011. As for me, I'm already hopelessly devoted to the Rico podcast so I can wait patiently for the next bus to come along. Congratulations on Ricochet's one year anniversary!
Edited on Jan 17, 2011 at 3:56amOct '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Quick technical question for you guys, from a fellow podcaster.
What software do you use to record your Skype calls? It sounds *really* good, even when there are 4-5 of you. I've toyed with a couple of different pieces of software, and haven't been able to get the same quality.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #52: I'm No Doctor
Hi David --
We use WireTap Anywhere which feeds the Skype audio directly into GarageBand. But more importantly, Rob, Peter, and James all use good mics and that makes a huge difference. That and a decent internet connection. We are fortunate to have FIOS here, which is very fast.
Hope that helps.