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This week, we’re lucky to have a live report on the tragedy in Paris from Ricochet’s own Claire Berlinski, who happened on the scene of the crime moments after it occurred. Then, we return to our side of the Atlantic for a conversation with our good pal (and fellow podcaster) Larry Kudlow. Gas tax? You’ve got to be kidding. Finally, some rumination of legalizing weed, courtesy of Ricochet member ShellGamer’s post Marijuana: The Latest Constitutional Train Wreck.
Music from this week’s episode:
I Love Paris by Ella Fitzgerald
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Je Suis EJHill!
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Thanks to James Lileks, Harry’s has a new slogan: “Harry’s: A new way to help you get it off”
Thanks for the very quick reporting on events.
Tragedy?
I’d like to comment, but I’m still staring (and laughing) at EJ’s poster.
One thing I wasn’t clear on. The story is that these guys were highly organized and well-trained. Solid military training.
And yet … they stopped and asked for directions?
Claire’s granddad was right, it should cost the jihadists a city. Claire is right, the French, when aroused, can muster the ferocity.
Larry Kudlow is right, corporate taxes should be reformed and cut. The problem is that he and every economic pundit, and every Republican candidate can say that 10,000 times a day each from now until the crack of doom and the message will not sink in to the “typical” voter that this would be a good thing.
That’s certainly one word that applies. But I full agree, it’s sure not the first one that comes to my mind. “Tragedy” is the word you’d use to describe the aftermath of a freak lawnmower accident. The first word I’d use here would be “war.” And I’d use at least ten more obvious words between “war” and “tragedy.” However, yes, it is also a tragedy–in a lot of the older senses of that word, too.
This reminds me: A quick point on translation: For some reason, the French word “drame” is often rendered in English as “drama.” That’s one of its meanings, but in cases like this, it means “tragedy.” I point this out because I’m sure many Americans wonder why French officials would speak of this as they might an episode of the Sopranos. They’re using the word in the secondary sense. Failing to understand that would make many Americans think that French officials are even more out of touch than they are. I can reassure them that yes, they at least they do grasp that this was tragic, not “dramatic.”
Google it, he said.
I did. And found a lot of topless women sporting the Tricolors of France.
Sacré bleu, I said. Not sure if Claire’s gonna like that.
Mr. Kudlow says, “The technological revolution, the march of progress, the advances in ideas and technology is always good.” He knows far more about business and economics than I do, but I’m not aware of much that is always good for everybody (and I’m aware that a buggy-maker can learn how to fix a carburater). And we ought be careful with that “progress” word, shouldn’t we?
He did not alleviate my concerns about automation by simply dismissing it with that it’s-always-sunny-in-libertarian-land rhetoric, and I’m eager to be alleviated on the subject. I doubt that Andrew Stuttaford, who knows a bit about economics himself, would feel terribly persuaded, either.
An illuminating podcast, as usual. And Ms. Berlinski, it cannot be said enough, is singularly spectacular.
I did think perhaps you had overdowdyized the quite… uh… vivacious Miss Berlinski. But – discretion, valor, et. al.
Combine that with the fact that teenage girls have further watered down the definition of “drama.”
Rob Long said at the 12:07 mark that we would get a link to donate to the Charlie Hebdo families.
Where is it?
As far as I can see, these are the only links in the post:
Here is Claire’s retweet:
manually quoted below:
And here’s the english section of their site (I had to scroll down a bit to find it):
And here’s the direct link if you just want to DONATE NOW.
https://www.leetchi.com/fr/Contribution/ChooseMedium/2460118?key=3f26fcb7
Oh, also, here.
via
http://wayback.archive.org/web/20130820082611/http://boutique.charliehebdo.fr/la-vie-de-mahomet-2nde-partie-le-prophete-de-l-islam-197.html
It’s good to hear that Money and Politics is now with Ricochet. Unfortunately, what shows up in Stitcher is Jim Pethokoukis’ September 2014 episode. Can this be updated with a link to Kudlow and Pawlenty’s podcasts? Thank you.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali on tonight’s ABC in Sydney.
I had rewind the part where Claire was quoting her grandfather. “It should cost them a city.” I don’t want to think he’s right, but he is. That’s why I respect the older generations. I would have never had the testicular fortitude to say that aloud even though I had the similar thought in my head. If I ever expressed it to friends or colleagues in my generation, I’d be called a racist, intolerant, knuckle dragging, mouth breather. That’s why this war-of-a-thousand cuts will continue: multiculturalism and extreme tolerance of worldviews that are not acceptable in any situation.
Also, what Muslims don’t understand, nor should they have any reason to right now, is that Europe has a history of systematic, efficient, factory-like brutality when she puts her collective mind to it.
Listening to the interview with Larry Kudlow, at 47:52 Rob Long mentions a post by James Pethokoukis asking “what now” since the prediction that Obamanomics would destroy the economy hasn’t come true.
Here’s a link to the post:
http://ricochet.com/gop-said-obamanomics-kill-economy-didnt-now/
It will be on there as soon as we do a second show (we were supposed to do on this week, but it was cancelled due to Pawlenty’s flight being cancelled). We have a new on the books for early next week.
Photos of one of the terrorist brothers suggests that he had a problem with facial hair.
Now, that he’s dead and can’t benefit from a Harry’s shaving kit, Ricochet should consider sending a Harry’s shaving kit to his family. Or maybe a Harry’s shaving kit could be left at any memorial created for this POS in one of those 751 Muslim no-go areas in France.
Regarding Claire’s questions about why the maintenance worker told the shooters where the office was, and why the woman typed in the access code, I don’t find it surprising at all. Aggressive men with guns are usually able to get what they want from the fearful, innocent, and powerless.
Wow, what a sobering report. A professional hit?
I don’t understand what you think was strange about the maintenance man answering the gunmen’s question before being killed. Most people will do anything for the slightest hope of survival when faced with weapons. Think of all the Holocaust victims who dug their own graves just for hope of living a little bit longer and perhaps being rescued.
But KC raises a good question. I’m still listening.
As usual, I agree with Kudlow and admire his contagious optimism, but think he over-estimates Republican enthusiasm for limited government. He’s dreaming of a better world.
Good point on Romney. I expect EThompson to disagree. She probably remembers details of the campaign which I have forgotten.
It might be less difficult to flatten the tax code slightly than to flatten it totally. But that leaves the code open to the endless tweaking which turned FDR’s already corrupt income tax into the incomprehensible mess it is today. Could/would Republicans continue to win those battles against Democrats to simplify and clarify the code? I doubt it. If it is remotely possible to ditch the IRS and go to a flat tax, Republicans must strive to achieve that.
“Let the states [fund and repair their own road infrastructures]” Kudlow says. Isn’t that the core problem, though? Yes, the national government now uses this funding as leverage over states. But did it not obtain that leverage because states were eager to offload their expenses onto the magical bottomless piggy bank of Uncle Sam? How many state governments truly desire that financial freedom?
That’s Vol. 5 Number XLVII.
As I recall, oil companies typically respond to a falling oil market by shifting their investments from exploration to internal consolidation (buying each other out).
Generally, I don’t worry about the slowdown. Some options which were profitable with high prices will no longer be profitable. Some small companies will have to close. Larger companies will refocus and bury their nuts for the winter. Operation and shipping costs for other industries will plummet, as well as household expenses. A healthy market requires winners and losers, ups and downs.
But is there anything to these concerns about the junk market?
Yes, “good idea” isn’t operable in that situation. I won’t hold it against those people that they weren’t up to immediately, defiantly, and vigorously refusing to cooperate. If they had done so, then they should have been admired as courageous and valiant; that they didn’t do so in those circumstances is not cause to hold them in contempt.
And why wasn’t everyone in that magazine office armed? We will know the state and the intelligentsia are serious about repelling Islamofascist assaults when the press and clergy start carrying.
As for Claire’s grandfather’s comment that “they should lose a city”. Just so. In 2001 I wrote that should another attack like 9/11 occur “our response should be so thorough that 1000 years from now Arab mothers would call their children back to the camel dung camp fire by telling them that ‘Uncle Sam’ would get them”.
However, the jihadis don’t have any cities, and taking out Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, Damascus, Baghdad, etc. would just decapitate the not-quite-jihadist alternatives (well, we could stand to lose Riyadh).
So that leaves Mecca and Medina. (I was greatly cast down to learn recently that Tomahawk cruise missiles are no longer deployed with nuclear warheads.) And don’t talk to me about “religious genocide”. The Jews survived 2000 years of L’shana habaah b’yerushalayim OK. It might be the making of Islam, though I doubt it.
A suggestion for Rob: When you have Claire on the podcast reporting from Paris about what’s going on in Paris, please don’t repeatedly interrupt her to quote from Time or the New York Times. Just let her talk. Thank you.
I think this is a hugely important point.
State governments have incentives to offload as many costs as possible to the feds; it’s saves them money, they can always get more, they don’t have to be efficient, someone else is paying for it, “whee!”.
It would be helpful if there was some mechanism, legislative or otherwise, that could possibly counteract this effect. But I can’t think of any.
I thought that response was interesting too. In Larry’s defense, I don’t think it’s an issue he’s spent much time on, so he may have just reached for the ideological shorthand.
For what it’s worth, my own suspicion is that the fears about automation are somewhat overstated, but that it’s not necessarily crazy to think that the current dislocations may be different in kind than what we’ve seen before. Regardless, I think conservatives are going to have to develop slightly more thorough answers if they want to be responsive to public anxiety on the issue.