Question Time: Summer Olympics Edition

 

Question OlympicsA few times a year, we stash the guests on the flagship podcast and open the floor to you, our treasured members. Ask about anything you like: politics, culture, sports, fashion, the site, the weather — you name it. Leave your questions in the comments and join us this Thursday August 4th at 8AM PT/11AM ET in the chat room and listen live (or listen later the regular way).

The floor is now open.

 

 

 

It’s gold, EJHill. Gold.

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  1. Crabby Appleton Inactive
    Crabby Appleton
    @CrabbyAppleton

    All three of you’ns are successful in careers that require networking, lot’s of networking.  What was/were your first big networking success/es ?

    • #31
  2. PJS Coolidge
    PJS
    @PJS

    James Lileks:why does @jameslileks have a blue shirt instead of a canary-yellow one

    yellow muscle

    • #32
  3. Kwhopper Inactive
    Kwhopper
    @Kwhopper

    It was good-guy Reagan v. bad-guy Communism; the quality of our Presidential candidate matched the universally accepted threat. Candidate quality seems in decline over the recent decades, even beyond what you think of the current ones. Can we not get good candidates because the world is actually in a reasonably good place, or has social interaction in the Internet age made it easier for the weasels to con the masses?

    • #33
  4. Mate De Inactive
    Mate De
    @MateDe

    No matter who wins, is there a fear from any of you that due to the DNC email hack showing that the Democratic nomination was rigged to coronate Hillary, and her issues regarding national security clearance and a vocal never trump faction from the Republican side, also the fact that Obama has decided to throw in his two cents about Trump being unfit to be president, that neither candidate will be seen as legitimate by a large swath of the American people and there may not be a necessarily peaceful transfer of power from the current president to the next?

    • #34
  5. Austin Murrey Inactive
    Austin Murrey
    @AustinMurrey

    Since this is the “Summer Olympics” question time: what’s your least favorite Summer Olympic sport? How about Winter Olympic?

    • #35
  6. jmelvin Member
    jmelvin
    @jmelvin

    James Lileks:why does @jameslileks have a blue shirt instead of a canary-yellow one

    Because we know that as a NeverTrumper, you’re really a Democrat.

    This is pure silliness by the way.

    • #36
  7. Eustace C. Scrubb Member
    Eustace C. Scrubb
    @EustaceCScrubb

    Has James weighed in yet on the new Star Trek film? I’m sure Rob would be anxious to jump in on that conversation.

    • #37
  8. Paul Dougherty Member
    Paul Dougherty
    @PaulDougherty

    When a new conservative party emerges, what will its identifying color be? Blue for Dems, Red for Republicans, Green for , well, Greens… Federalist Conservatives are which?

    (If you say orange, you might as well hang a sign saying,”Irish need not attend”)

    • #38
  9. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Eustace C. Scrubb:Has James weighed in yet on the new Star Trek film? I’m sure Rob would be anxious to jump in on that conversation.

    I interviewed Shatner yesterday. I’ll tell that story.

    • #39
  10. Lazy_Millennial Inactive
    Lazy_Millennial
    @LazyMillennial

    Viruscop:Given the politics in the USA, is the UK the last hope for conservatism, or at least a conservatism that relates to Classical Liberalism, around the world?

    I need to know. The other Progressives and I are aching to sink the UK into the sea, and we’d like to have an excuse.

    You asked them, not me, but I want to answer, so I will. I’d say the UK is probably one of the easier nations for Progressives to overrun “Classical Liberalism” due to their lack of written Constitution. The leftist case for Brexit is illuminating on this subject. The “Asian Tiger” economies will probably keep the economics of classical liberalism going for a while, since they’re getting filthy rich off it.

    • #40
  11. Lazy_Millennial Inactive
    Lazy_Millennial
    @LazyMillennial

    Viruscop:I have two more questions.

    When Trump loses the election this November, do you guys think he will give a graceful, unifying concession speech?

    Also, are you guys excited for all of the alternative history novels that will revolve around a Trump presidency?

    I just got so excited about both of these things. Trump’s concession speech could be over an hour of conspiracy-fueled shouting unless he gets the vaudeville hook.

    • #41
  12. Timothy Minear Member
    Timothy Minear
    @TimothyMinear

    Lileks, why did you stop watching Firefly before you got to the best episode and why do you hate me? Thanks in advance!

    • #42
  13. Austin Murrey Inactive
    Austin Murrey
    @AustinMurrey

    James Lileks:

    Eustace C. Scrubb:Has James weighed in yet on the new Star Trek film? I’m sure Rob would be anxious to jump in on that conversation.

    I interviewed Shatner yesterday. I’ll tell that story.

    That’s too much concentrated nerdiness on a Ricochet podcast (I approve!) so we probably need to get Peter to do something cool – think we can get him to do a dirt bike jump?

    • #43
  14. Chris Bogdan Member
    Chris Bogdan
    @ChrisBogdan

    Would any of our hosts like to propose new olympic events (demonstration or medal!) in which the other two would excel?
    I’m imagining:

    • Peter in the 400m question setup
    • James in the segue steeplechase
    • Rob as said steeple
    • #44
  15. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Paul Dougherty: When a new conservative party emerges, what will its identifying color be?

    Obviously there needs to be a complete overhaul. Now that they’ve gone full Marxist, Democrats will fully embrace red. Conservatives will be Tory (i.e., Royal) blue, and what’s left of the GOP can be their traditional cowardly yellow.

    • #45
  16. Casey Inactive
    Casey
    @Casey

    Mike Rapkoch:Why is there something rather than nothing?

    In this election we might want to rephrase as “Why is there nothing rather than something?”

    • #46
  17. Viruscop Inactive
    Viruscop
    @Viruscop

    Lazy_Millennial:

    Viruscop:I have two more questions.

    When Trump loses the election this November, do you guys think he will give a graceful, unifying concession speech?

    Also, are you guys excited for all of the alternative history novels that will revolve around a Trump presidency?

    I just got so excited about both of these things. Trump’s concession speech could be over an hour of conspiracy-fueled shouting unless he gets the vaudeville hook.

    Who wields the hook? I guess it would be Ivanka Trump.

    • #47
  18. Christie121 Member
    Christie121
    @Christie121

    I have been tempted to slide into despair over the state of things. I know I’m not alone. Decided I would sleep the rest of the summer away, but got insomnia instead.

    So what are you doing to keep hope?

    • #48
  19. Austin Murrey Inactive
    Austin Murrey
    @AustinMurrey

    Christie121: So what are you doing to keep hope?

    I drink.

    No really, I drink a lot. My doctor tells me I should stop because my liver is shot, but psssh, what does he know?

    • #49
  20. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Austin Murrey:

    Christie121: So what are you doing to keep hope?

    I drink.

    No really, I drink a lot. My doctor tells me I should stop because my liver is shot, but psssh, what does he know?

    Seems to be a lot of this going around. On the bright side, we can think of the 2016 election as economic stimulus for the liquor producers. How do you say, “We’re all drunks now!” in German?

    • #50
  21. Casey Inactive
    Casey
    @Casey

    I’m struggling to come up with a good way to articulate my question so I hope this is clear…

    It seems to me that the great Ricochet divide here in Trumpland is between those who believe that Left-Right is a real, permanent tug of war between two fixed points and those who believe Left-Right is general descriptive of a starry sky with many points.

    For those who see Left-Right as real, leftward Hillary’s opposition must therefore be rightward.  Any choice not rightward is a victory for leftward.

    But for those who see a starry sky of ideas, Trump’s star and Hillary’s star can be equidistant from the conservative star. Just as Boston and Pittsburgh are two places that are 300 miles from Philadelphia but not both west of Philadelphia.

    The concern of the former becomes victory of Right over Left with Trump playing the part of the Right.  The latter, the victory of Conservative over all lesser stars with all attention and power in the hands of the lesser stars.

    I don’t have a question exactly, but I think (I hope not unfairly) that Peter is in the former camp and Rob and James in the latter.  So I’d like to hear you work this idea out.  (Hopefully I’ve been clear enough to give you a start.)

    FYI – I believe the first camp misses the mark.

    • #51
  22. Casey Inactive
    Casey
    @Casey

    Western Chauvinist: How do you say, “We’re all drunks now!” in German?

    KELLNERIN!  ICH LIEBE DICH!  ZUM WOHL!!!

    Well… it’s not an exact translation but I think it’ll get the point across…

    • #52
  23. Egg Man Inactive
    Egg Man
    @EggMan

    Rupert Murdoch has named you the new head of Fox News. What is your strategy to keep the station dominant and conservative for another 20 years?

    • #53
  24. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    I’d like to ask Peter the Charles Murray Question:

    Tell us, please, without using the words “Hillary Clinton” even once, your assessment of Donald Trump, using as a template your published or broadcast positions about right policy and requisite character for a president of the United States.

    Put yourself on the record: Are you voting for a man whom your principles require you to despise, or have you modified your principles? In what ways were you wrong before?

    • #54
  25. indymb Coolidge
    indymb
    @indymb

    OK, many many conservatives, including my podcast mentor Jay Nordlinger, cannot stomach Trump. Got it. Who is the least worse candidate with the best worst potential POTUS behaviors, appointments, shenanigans, etc? Should we all just get along to Trump Hillary? I think so, but I can’t bring myself to buy the Trump bumper sticker…

    • #55
  26. Kwhopper Inactive
    Kwhopper
    @Kwhopper

    Will we ever go back to the moon?

    • #56
  27. Casey Inactive
    Casey
    @Casey

    Kwhopper:Will we ever go back to the moon?

    I’m already packed.

    • #57
  28. Curt North Inactive
    Curt North
    @CurtNorth
    1. In looking over the articles and podcasts, Ricochet seems to be leaning more and more Never Trump and the recent addition of the Mike Murphy podcast seems to back up this trend.  Is this on purpose?  If so is this wise?
    2. Now that the primaries are over and the conventions wrapped up, would you consider a fresh subscriber poll with regard to voter preference, to find out just how many die-hard Never Trumpers there really are on Ricochet.
    3. For Peter: If Reagan were alive today, would he vote for Trump, bearing in mind his famous 11th commandment?  You knew the man, what do you think Ronald Reagan would do in the current election?
    4. For James, seriously you can tell us, does it ever bug you that Rob likes to interrupt your truly inspiring segues into the promo spots?  At first I thought it was funny, but in truth it’s gotten boring and predictable and serves only to prolong the promo spot.  I would recommend Rob zip it, let James do his thing, and get back to the podcast.

    Blue Yeti, sorry for asking so many but I’m a new member, so cut me some slack!  Feel free to pick one or all.  Thanks.

    • #58
  29. ProfJosh Member
    ProfJosh
    @ProfJosh

    I have two practical questions:

    1. What are the rules for write-in candidates? Is it allowed in all/any states? If so why have Never Trumpers not simply started a write-in campaign to get people to agree on a write-in?
    2. What, really, is the reluctance to set up a major third party called something like the Conservative Party or the Constitutional Party, or the like? Given what we’ve seen this year, the 2 party system is in disarray. And yet huge donors like the Kochs or other conservative icons are not talking about breaking from the GOP. Why not? The GOP has not been truly conservative since Reagan left office in 1988. Nearly 30 years later, why not just dump it for a principled center right party focused on first principles of our founding?
    • #59
  30. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Kwhopper: Will we ever go back to the moon?

    One of these days, Alice…

    • #60
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