Not Easy Bein’ Green

This week, we forgo the guests and turn the floor over to you, our faithful Ricochet members that we are eternally grateful for (reading this and you’re NOT a member? Please join!). We get questions on books, the host’s careers, Ricochet’s business model, and more. Also, the Green New Deal and what the heck is going in Richmond.

Music from this week’s podcast: It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green by Frank Sinatra 

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There are 47 comments.

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  1. Bunwick Chiffswiddle Member
    Bunwick Chiffswiddle
    @Kephalithos

    The more rabid environmentalists (but I repeat myself), if I understand them correctly, wish to sacrifice civilization to save mankind. They perceive climate change as an apocalypse. And anything — even human suffering on a vast scale — is better than an apocalypse.

    This is why their refusal to consider nuclear power gives away the game. Killing off animal husbandry, imposing vegetarianism, confiscating cars, and otherwise wrecking the economy are all necessary (otherwise, the world will end, you know), but accepting the risks of nuclear power . . . isn’t? Nuclear power is just too dangerous?

    It’s insane.

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Okay, James. I’ll make you happy and not go to whatever those places were you were talking about.

    • #2
  3. Bunwick Chiffswiddle Member
    Bunwick Chiffswiddle
    @Kephalithos

    A 48-episode, Genesis-themed podcast narrated by James Lileks?

    Sign me up!

    • #3
  4. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Bunwick Chiffswiddle (View Comment):

    A 48-episode, Genesis-themed podcast narrated by James Lileks?

    Sign me up!

    At first I thought he meant the Bible book. I would have signed up for that.

    • #4
  5. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    I just want everyone to know that this episode of the podcast caught me totally by surprise. You can’t blame me because…

    • #5
  6. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    EJHill (View Comment):

    I just want everyone to know that this episode of the podcast caught me totally by surprise. You can’t blame me because…

    Did Rob fly in on his biplane?

    • #6
  7. Peter Robinson Contributor
    Peter Robinson
    @PeterRobinson

    EJHill (View Comment):

    I just want everyone to know that this episode of the podcast caught me totally by surprise. You can’t blame me because…

    EJ, I’ve gotten used to the brilliance of your work, but sometimes you surpass even yourself. Sheer genius.

    • #7
  8. Peter Robinson Contributor
    Peter Robinson
    @PeterRobinson

    There’s nothing wrong with Sinatra, goodness’s knows, but the original is–well, it’s the original: 

    • #8
  9. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    I too have been somehow been made more optimistic by the foolishness of the left in the last few weeks. Whenever I hear them discussing the environmental apocalypse and the Green New Deal I’m reminded of the ’60’s song, Eve of Destruction.

    • #9
  10. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Peter Robinson (View Comment):

    There’s nothing wrong with Sinatra, goodness’s knows, but the original is–well, it’s the original:

    Always put the link on a separate line, Peter.

    • #10
  11. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    I too have been somehow been made more optimistic by the foolishness of the left in the last few weeks. Whenever I hear them discussing the environmental apocalypse and the Green New Deal I’m reminded of the ’60’s song, Eve of Destruction.

    Good tune:

    • #11
  12. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Peter Robinson (View Comment):

    There’s nothing wrong with Sinatra, goodness’s knows, but the original is–well, it’s the original

    No question the original is great, but everyone has heard it. I had no idea Sinatra had covered this until today. I was also interested in the Van Morrison version:

     

     

     

    • #12
  13. Samuel Block Support
    Samuel Block
    @SamuelBlock

    Superb, fellas!

    • #13
  14. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Arahant (View Comment):
    Okay, James. I’ll make you happy and not go to whatever those places were you were talking about.

    Refresh my scattered memory. What places was I talking about? 

     

    • #14
  15. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):
    Okay, James. I’ll make you happy and not go to whatever those places were you were talking about.

    Refresh my scattered memory. What places was I talking about?

    Something about eyepads or something. Maybe to do with rating the podcast. I don’t know about that stuff. I only hang out on Ricochet.

    • #15
  16. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Richard Easton (View Comment):
    Did Rob fly in on his biplane?

    It’s an obscure reference – well, to us Yanks, anyway. The character in the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch was called “Cardinal Biggles,” which  was a reference to a series of British boys’ books about the adventures of James Bigglesworth, ace flier

    • #16
  17. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Richard Easton (View Comment):
    Did Rob fly in on his biplane?

    It’s an obscure reference – well, to us Yanks, anyway. The character in the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch was called “Cardinal Biggles,” which was a reference to a series of British boys’ books about the adventures of James Bigglesworth, ace flier.

    I like how Peter was the lead member of the Spanish Inquisition.

    • #17
  18. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Arahant (View Comment):
    Something about eyepads or something. Maybe to do with rating the podcast. I don’t know about that stuff. I only hang out on Ricochet.

    Oh, right, the end. That was reverse psycholology.

    • #18
  19. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):
    Something about eyepads or something. Maybe to do with rating the podcast. I don’t know about that stuff. I only hang out on Ricochet.

    Oh, right, the end. That was reverse psycholology.

    Didn’t work then. 😜

    • #19
  20. J Ro Member
    J Ro
    @JRo

    As always, the conversation is overflowing with right-thinking (not political right, but rational and sensible) ideas.

    To tie the tedious anti-science and anti-economic Green New Deal with the anti-intellectualism of American schools (“We go to college now because high school stinks.” —Rob), it is entertaining to picture school teachers using the GND specifics to stimulate the creative thinking of their eager students. If air travel is eliminated, how many companies and jobs will be destroyed? How will domestic and international tourism be affected? If airports are no longer needed, what will be done with their expensive infrastructure? Can grounded aircraft be used for “safe, affordable, adequate” housing? If they can, why aren’t they used now? and on and on infinitely.

    Linking the unimaginative and meaningless “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal” to the mysterious medieval meanings of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is not so easy. So I will simply recommend to Rob the Dec 13th “In Our Time” podcast in which three scholars, including one who translated it, discuss the poem and it’s meaning. I still don’t get it, but I enjoyed the violent toxic masculinity and the sexy bedroom scenes.

    • #20
  21. Mr Nick Inactive
    Mr Nick
    @MrNick

    Small quibble but will the old – or indeed a new – theme tune return? The breaking news jingle is a poor substitute…

    One more pedantic point but didn’t Ted Cruz win Iowa in 2016 running against ethanol subsidies? I admit my memory might be faulty.

    • #21
  22. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Two comments on advice to a young person on college:

    If you are into science and technology, take a good look at the military, particularly the Navy and Air Force if you’re interested in technology. You’ll learn practical skills, while saving for college should you decide to go that route.  The military will also give you the discipline to withstand the mindless drivel of liberal professors.  Just regurgitate what they teach on the exams and get the good grades.

    If you want to go into the liberal arts (English, art, music, etc.) , realize you will be better off financially if you get a STEM degree and do your art on the side (this is working for oldest daughter, who is a talented artist). If you insist on a liberal arts degree, don’t go into insane amounts of debt to get your sheepskin.  Even if you get a job in your field, your debt will plague you most of your life.

    • #22
  23. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    They have to break the accreditation racket. Higher education should develop your human capital–become a better person–or jack up your productivity so you get paid. That’s not what goes on right now, and they charge way too much for it. It makes me crazy.

    Nick GIllespie talks with @ThaddeusRussell about Renegade University and how the Department of Education is screwing up universities https://reason.com/blog/2017/12/26/thad-russell-education-academia-podcast

     

    Historian and entrepreneur Thaddeus Russell has a bone to pick with American higher education. It’s not simply that maverick opinions that stray from a liberal-progressive orthodoxy get squashed in classroom discussions and tenure decisions. Russell says the federal Department of Education effectively manages an accreditation system that controls the number and character of elite institutions by insisting that “serious” colleges and universities have dorms, dining halls, and a whole host of things completely unrelated to higher learning.

    • #23
  24. Bruce Mamont Thatcher
    Bruce Mamont
    @Bruce Mamont

    Mr Nick (View Comment):

    Small quibble but will the old – or indeed a new – theme tune return? The breaking news jingle is a poor substitute…

    One more pedantic point but didn’t Ted Cruz win Iowa in 2016 running against ethanol subsidies? I admit my memory might be faulty.

    I miss it too.  The Rachel Maddow quote ages well.

    • #24
  25. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Netflix Pays Record Sum For Movie About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/09/netflix-ocasio-cortez-movie/ via @dailycaller

    • #25
  26. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    Stad (View Comment):

    Two comments on advice to a young person on college:

    If you are into science and technology, take a good look at the military, particularly the Navy and Air Force if you’re interested in technology. You’ll learn practical skills, while saving for college should you decide to go that route. The military will also give you the discipline to withstand the mindless drivel of liberal professors. Just regurgitate what they teach on the exams and get the good grades.

    If you want to go into the liberal arts (English, art, music, etc.) , realize you will be better off financially if you get a STEM degree and do your art on the side (this is working for oldest daughter, who is a talented artist). If you insist on a liberal arts degree, don’t go into insane amounts of debt to get your sheepskin. Even if you get a job in your field, your debt will plague you most of your life.

    I want to second the military recommendation – if the young person is not willing to commit several years [which sounds like an eternity at that age] consider the Reserves or National Guard to get your feet wet.

    • #26
  27. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Bruce Mamont (View Comment):

    Mr Nick (View Comment):

    Small quibble but will the old – or indeed a new – theme tune return? The breaking news jingle is a poor substitute…

    One more pedantic point but didn’t Ted Cruz win Iowa in 2016 running against ethanol subsidies? I admit my memory might be faulty.

    I miss it too. The Rachel Maddow quote ages well.

    We’ll think about it. Our analytics were showing that a lot of people skipped through it, indicating they wanted us to get to the show faster. That’s the main we reason we dropped it. But I also felt like the Trump clips in it were stale. 

    I’d be interested in hearing suggestion for new clips to put in the open. 

    • #27
  28. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):
    We’ll think about it. Our analytics were showing that a lot of people skipped through it, indicating they wanted us to get to the show faster.

    I didn’t notice it was gone. Didn’t miss it.

    • #28
  29. Samuel Block Support
    Samuel Block
    @SamuelBlock

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    Bruce Mamont (View Comment):

    Mr Nick (View Comment):

    Small quibble but will the old – or indeed a new – theme tune return? The breaking news jingle is a poor substitute…

    One more pedantic point but didn’t Ted Cruz win Iowa in 2016 running against ethanol subsidies? I admit my memory might be faulty.

    I miss it too. The Rachel Maddow quote ages well.

    We’ll think about it. Our analytics were showing that a lot of people skipped through it, indicating they wanted us to get to the show faster. That’s the main we reason we dropped it. But I also felt like the Trump clips in it were stale.

    I’d be interested in hearing suggestion for new clips to put in the open.

    I liked the sound clips you were putting at the beginning – right before the theme – of one of the guys all caught up in the pre-show frenzy. But I don’t know if that would work without a theme of some sort to follow it.

    • #29
  30. Bunwick Chiffswiddle Member
    Bunwick Chiffswiddle
    @Kephalithos

    Stad (View Comment): If you want to go into the liberal arts (English, art, music, etc.) , realize you will be better off financially if you get a STEM degree and do your art on the side (this is working for oldest daughter, who is a talented artist). If you insist on a liberal arts degree, don’t go into insane amounts of debt to get your sheepskin. Even if you get a job in your field, your debt will plague you most of your life.

    That, or choose Hillsdale.

    Relative to other small colleges, it’s a steal, plus you’ll meet people who actually care about books, music, and ideas.

    • #30
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