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Revenge of the Tantrum Throwers

Greg Strange
@GregStrange
Just a cursory glance at post-midterm news headlines concerning the new crop of lunatics that have been put into power — and the people who celebrate them — makes me wonder: How can sentient human beings be so ugly, so stupid, so irrational, so ignorant of history, and so ungrateful, and then be elected to public office from sea to shining sea by my fellow citizens?
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Latest podcast episodes

Medicare Strikes Again

Nanocelt TheContrarian
@NanoceltTheContrarian
Last week I received a nasty notice from a Walmart pharmacy, to which I had sent a prescription for blood sugar test strips for a slender, 72-year-old woman that I saw recently, referred by her primary care physician for diabetes. Her diabetes was poorly controlled. She has multiple myeloma and has been on various treatments, including high-dose steroids intermittently. Her condition had been diagnosed as type 2 diabetes by her primary care physician, given that she was an elderly patient and had been on steroids.
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The Iran Distemper

Ben Sears
@BenMSYS
The enemy was dispatched militarily in a matter of weeks. They persist in firing on civilian tankers, but otherwise pop up infrequently and are quickly disabused. We’ve laid Iran under siege. As it rates, they’re getting a minuscule amount of oil out of the country through Pakistan, but are otherwise shut down, watching drill sites atrophy and become unusable.
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Destroy the US Senate to Save It?

KellyJohnston
@KellyJohnston
Finger-pointing, recriminations, blame-gaming, and circular firing squads are human nature, especially after losing a contest. That’s true whether it's football games or elections. If you’re not blaming the refs, you’re yelling about your team’s quarterback, dropped passes, missed plays, bad coaching, or worse. Or losing a lot of elections, most of which weren’t even close. And a lot of Republicans are doing precisely this in very foolish ways, proving that they’ve learned nothing from their shellacking this past week.
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The Kids Are Not Entirely Wrong

Old Bathos
@OldBathos
One lesson from the coming end of full GOP federal control is that a mere absence of Democrats in power does nothing to reverse disastrous fiscal trends. Neither entitlements nor overspending in general have been, or soon will be, rethought or reformed by anyone in power.
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From one of those annoying Disney adults

Eustace C. Scrubb
@EustaceCScrubb
For those who think that adults shouldn’t be attending Disney parks, feel free to ignore this post. I grew up in Northern California, but my folks had moved from Southern California, and we still had a lot of family down there. We made the trek south multiple times a year. We sometimes stopped at Knott's Berry Farm or Universal Studios, but most years we went to Disneyland. On one of those trips, I remember stopping at Gulf for gas and they were giving out a Disney magazine promoting the opening of Disney World.
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a radical idea

Little My
@LittleMy
I'm sure many are fed up with Congress. I know I am. So I have an idea: Every working day, at the beginning of each session for the House of Representatives and the Senate, all members present should be obliged to stand and recite the preamble to the Constitution. It's short; it's not controversial like pledging allegiance to the flag; and it might remind the members what they are there for in their capacity as legislators. Simply posting it as a plaque on the wall would not do. It would soon be passed by and ignored.
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In Defense of the Philosophical Smartass

Dave Carter
@DaveCarter
There is a particular species of human being who regards the solemn pronouncements of his fellow man with something less than reverence. Suspicious of fashionable wisdom, allergic to pretension, he is inclined to greet the latest proclamation of moral enlightenment with an arched eyebrow and a question calculated to make the enlightened wish they'd stayed home. He is the philosophical smartass.
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The Heart of It

Andrew Miller
@AndrewMiller
Listen to that sound. That is the sound of a heart breaking. See the look on his face. See the pieces glimmer as they fall – some big, some small, some bright, some dull – some sharp … Some of those pieces will cut you right down to the soul. Try not to watch them slip through his fingers. It has been said there is a sound to Ultimate Suffering. What you might not realise, is that there can be layers within layers to that sound. Just like there are kinds of light beyond normal vision, but maybe, if you know what love is, you can tell.
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Station in Crisis

Seawriter
@Seawriter
Glasvyr Station is an independent space station, orbiting a planet on the boundary of the Republic of United Planets. Beyond it is the Edge, the uncivilized – or perhaps more accurately – the unregulated part of the galaxy. The Republic of United Planets, ruled by the Burokratika Senaat, is more about control and regulation than anything else.
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On A Tiny Island With A Bunch Of Rowdy Drunks; or, In One Or Another Age Of Colossal Bores

John H.
@JohnH
On my most recent vacation, I flew nonstop from Austin to Boston and met my lady for a tour of New England’s great islands. Except Nantucket is a two-hour boat ride from the Kennedy Compound! (Note: road atlases don’t say that.) We did however motor up to Provincetown, and had a good discussion of nature-versus-nurture as it pertains to lisping. Then we went back down the Cape Cod peninsulaplex and in a shop my lady bought a hat for $79.99. And what else? We saw Hyannis. Then Falmouth, and Woods Hole.
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Saturday Night Classics: Crowded House- ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’

Andrew Troutman
@Dotorimuk
Tim Finn let little brother Neil join the New Zealand institution Split Enz. After becoming a member, he quickly, yet benevolently, took it over. There was plenty of pop songcraft to go around in the Finn family, but Neil seemed to have a wider reach. When Split Enz split, Neil threw away the cockatiel outfits, dialed down the quirk, dusted off his acoustic guitar and formed Crowded House. Their 1986 debut album was a smash, and the beginning of a long run of albums in which the band would see Neil return the favor by bringing brother Tim on board. Their debut single was a worldwide biggie.
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We’re Watching You

EJHill
@EJHill
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the White House is getting a little sensitive about the opinions some of you people have expressed since Tuesday night. The White House Office of Public Liaison sent the message Thursday to upwards of 3,000 conservative groups: “As always, we are monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements from your organizations.” A White House spokesman said it wasn’t a threat; it was just “an attempt to galvanize Trump’s supporters.”
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3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Election Hangover & Free Speech: It’s Only One Whisky This Week

Welp, it's only a One Whisky Happy Hour this week, as Steve had to go solo. (John is overseas, and Lucretia is indisposed this weekend.) Actually, you could say this is a One-and-a-Half Whisky Happy Hour—Steve has an extended "cameo" with special guest Carson Holloway of the University of Nebraska, author of a terrific new book, No Liberty to Libel: The Constitutional Case Against NY Times v. Sullivan. Steve opens with a few observations about the election rout, which don't sum up to "things will get worse before they get worse." While no one should sugarcoat the magnitude of this election defeat, he points out that we've actually seen worse before, and rebounded nonetheless—sometimes sooner than people recall. So be of good cheer, and enjoy at least one-and-a-half shots on us. Then Steve and Carson walk up through the Sullivan case that shields the media from libel actions by public figures, with a made-up extra-constitutional doctrine, and explain why it is ripe for overturning. Along the way, you'll get a quick primer on how the Founders understood libel and the First Amendment, and some of the background in the common law. It's a splendidly written and highly accessible book for the non-specialist. Since it's only Steve and Carson, this episode is shorter than usual, but presented ad-free.
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Thanks a lot! I mean it, do a lot of thanking. Quote of the Day 11/7/26

Eustace C. Scrubb
@EustaceCScrubb
"As a matter of fact, God isn't asking you to be thankful. He's asking you to give thanks. There's a big difference. One response involves emotions, the other your choices, your decisions about a situation, your intent, your 'step of faith.'” Joni Eareckson Tada I’ve been thinking a lot about Joni since listening to her on last week’s Not Dead Yet podcast (hosted by Ben Sasse). If you don’t know Joni’s story, at seventeen she was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a diving accident.
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The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Cleanup Time

Toss out the cyanide white pill and don't touch that dial! Bad night on Tuesday, but we ain't done for yet. In fact, we've got work to do—and the job starts with assessing what the bleep just happened. To that end, Steve and James chat with Sean Trende, head of the Poll Vault and senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics. We leave the blame game to others, and instead think through how it got that way (and it wasn't our fault) (and we'll never do it again!). Sound from this week's open: Snippets from a disastrous midterm: Trump discusses the untransferable love voters have for him; Jake Tapper and Savannah Guthrie announce Democratic wins; Chuck Schumer sets the bar for the 120th Congress. Closing music: "Outlaw Country" by ikoliks via MotionArray
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Don’t Panic

Steve Fast
@SteveFast
The doomsayers are predicting that we won't get the Senate back until 2032 at the earliest, when the just-elected class of senators will be on the ballot again. They are saying that Justices Thomas (age 78) and Alito (age 76) will likely retire and be replaced by a Democrat-appointed justice, or at least by a justice who has to get through a Democrat-controlled Senate. We could have a 5-4 Democratic-controlled SCOTUS. But there is no reason to panic. There is no reason that Thomas and Alito cannot serve six more years.
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What Now for the Church in America?

Saint Augustine
@SaintAugustine
Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. 4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
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We Could Rent to Start

Dr. Bastiat
@drbastiat
In a review of the second-greatest movie ever made, I mentioned that I found it fascinating that the script never attempts to answer the most obvious question of the film: How and why did Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski become such good friends with Walter? They seem to have nothing in common. But the contrasts in their relationship, and how they responded to various events, are the meandering story's principal point of interest. By not even attempting to explain that, we're able to get lost in the plot. Brilliant.
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Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

But Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln...

Henry warned Republicans they were in for a terrible night—and he called it close!—but how could anyone have anticipated an electoral massacre of such proportions? Henry's got a short rant to go over what we know so far and to consider some of the popular takes on what went wrong. We're taking a week off, but Beyond the Polls will be back after that to get an early start on assessing the road to '28.

Hosted by Henry Olsen

Organization:
Ricochet
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Human Era

Andrew Miller
@AndrewMiller
An unasked, much less answered, question in the rush to ‘join the AI revolution’ is: Why? (Let alone what it means or even is. Or, come to that, the substance of what it actually does.) Have we ceased to desire original thought or human things, made or done by a real person? Or have we just forgotten how to actually see and pay attention to what’s in front of us, how to focus – how to think and do and be – even just how to be human? Modern life is bewildering enough, I know. But maybe it doesn’t have to be.
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The State of Washington gave up its one economic advantage today

RushBabe49
@RushBabe49
For its entire history, Washington has had no personal income tax. Voters have rejected an income tax eleven times, twice through initiatives declaring they don't want one. The state constitution states that income is property, and all property must be taxed uniformly. Until now. This legislative session, the state legislature passed a tax that they called the "Millionaires Tax," supposedly applying a 9.9% rate to all income over one million.
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The Blue Catastrophe

Greg Strange
@GregStrange
“Lawyer up!” That was advice from California Congressman Robert Garcia after the nationwide blue bloodbath on election night. So much for working together to solve the country’s problems. We’re gonna take you down, Trump! And all your henchmen! My gut-level reaction to Garcia’s stark and vengeful pronouncement would be, “Load up!” As in, ammunition. Because this crazy, destructive, Marxist-leaning, Israel-hating, Islam-coddling, criminal- and illegal alien-loving party is going to be emboldened like never before.
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