The Last Bad Choice He’ll Make

Susan Quinn
Susan Quinn
16 13
 

We had an incident here in Polk County that involved a lethal shooting. In many other communities, there would have been shouting about gun control, and the shooter would have at least been arrested. Not in Polk County.

Here’s what happened: Two couples went out for the evening. At the end of the date, the two fellows drove the two women to one of the women’s homes. The fellows drove off after one of the couples had a bitter discussion, after which the two women entered the home.

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Law Talk With Epstein, Yoo & Senik #137

Epstein, Yoo, & You

7 8
Hosted by John Yoo, Richard Epstein & Troy Senik
In an August faculty lounge tradition, Professors Epstein & Yoo are taking listener questions — and it’s an eclectic bunch. Tune in as the professors debate everything from the limits of stare decisis to whether Barack Obama could be Vice President; from whether there should be more politicians on the Supreme Court to the legal problems with Dred Scott (yes, it involves Roman law); from the lack of intellectual diversity on college campuses to the radicalism in Seattle’s city government. All that plus the hosts survey the wreckage in their home cities, consider the virtues of not being a Supreme Court clerk, and spend some time on William Howard Taft arcana. As you do.
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The Oprah Conversation: “Racist!”

Greg Strange
Greg Strange
29 15
 

Let’s have a conversation about race, shall we? Because Oprah wants us to. Like on her new Apple TV show, “The Oprah Conversation,” the first episode of which was entitled “How To Be Anti-Racist” (because simply not being racist isn’t good enough). But be forewarned, white people. It is necessarily going to be a tad one-sided. That’s because the fundamental premise of any conversation with you about race is going to be that, well, you are just . . . no . . . damn . . . good. Alrighty? Let’s do it then.

Let’s talk about white racism, “white privilege,” “white advantage,” the “white power structure,” “whiteness,” and “white” this and “white” that and nothing but white, white, white, until if you hear the word “white” used in a derogatory way one more time, you’re just going to . . .

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Mail Voter Fraud: The Perfect Crime

Tom Patterson
Tom Patterson
0 1
 

The existence of widespread, intentional voter suppression is another Big Lie, a preposterous assertion repeated so authoritatively and so frequently that it is widely believed. Here’s the reality.

Normally, voting is designed to protect the privacy of the voter and the integrity of the vote. Here in Arizona, voters are protected from electioneering within 75 feet of the polling station. Once inside, their identity is confirmed with a picture ID.

They are then checked with a list of registered voters eligible at the site. The vote is cast in privacy, without interference, unless physical assistance is warranted. The ballot finally is securely transmitted to election officials for counting.

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Tis the Season

Aaron Miller
Aaron Miller
17 9
 

Ahh, those final hours before a hurricane hits.

Thank you, Lord, for air conditioning and electricity. Thanks for bottled water, pretzels, and mixed nuts. Please protect the freezer… oh and, um, yeah, our neighbors. I’ll see if Meemaw needs a hand. Oh okay, that old grump too. 

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RNC Night 3 Wrap-up

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
20 12
 

The third night of the Republican National Convention was a more subdued affair, focusing on faith, the military, and women. Wednesday’s speakers weren’t as dynamic as Monday’s and Tuesday’s, but the strong message remained.

Gov. Kristi Noem opened the proceedings, sharing her success leading South Dakota. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas brought the big guns, literally, delivering his speech from the Battleship Texas in Houston.

Other headliners included Second Lady Karen Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and Lara Trump. Like most of the evening, their speeches were to the point and serviceable. But once again, the so-called “everyday Americans” stole the show.

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Come Zoom With The Flagship

Blue Yeti
Blue Yeti
9 7
 

It’s the Republican National Convention week, which for a political podcast on the right is like Christmas, the 4th of July, Passover, and Ramadan, all rolled into one. So please join us this Friday at 9:15AM PT/11:15AM CT/12:15PM ET (if you are in other time zones, you’ll have to figure the time out for yourself). Come for the Rank Punditry®, stay for the rambunctious Q &A.

And yes, this event is for Ricochet members only (we will post the Zoom link on the Member Feed Thursday AM). Not a member? Fix that immediately by going here.

See you Friday.

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LadyBrains #173

Traveling Right Now

1 0
Hosted by Elisha Krauss & Mary Katharine Ham

Elisha and MK talk about how to have adventures during COVID (the perfect time to go on vacation). They’ve flown on planes (even with lots of kids in tow), road tripped, and maybe even been to a theme park! They’ve tried it first so they can bring you all the tips! (Just constantly eat and drink on airplanes, basically.)

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Quote of the Day: Rule, Britannia!

She
She
69 15
 

“I think it’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions, and about our culture, and we stopped this general bout of self-recrimination and wetness. I wanted to get that off my chest.”–Boris Johnson

Well, my dear Ricochet peeps, this is not the quote of the day post that I planned to lay on you when I went to bed last night. That one, a sweet little rumination on one of my favorite childhood authors, will have to wait.

Instead, I bring you heartening news from across the pond. News which concerns, of all things, that particular rite of British end-of-summer passage known as “The Last Night of the Proms.”

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Dear GOP Elites

James Madison
James Madison
24 12
 
Myron Lizer, American “First Citizen”, Navajo Nation Vice President, and Elite Everyday Person

Yesterday I noticed the old tried and true, ‘silent majority’ theme emerged again. This dates back to Nixon, perhaps earlier. I know it is extremely popular, especially since all GOP candidates are often behind or within striking distance at this stage of the campaign in almost every election cycle. But I would like to make a suggestion — a modest proposal — that we drop the silent majority moniker. I think it time to adopt a new theme that focuses on the new elite who run the GOP.

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Losing the Culture

Kephalithos
Kephalithos
17 10
 

Granville, Ohio, is a pleasant place — tucked among the Appalachian foothills of east-central Ohio, with all the old trees and old buildings an old soul could possibly love. Granville is a college town. Its residents are healthy and wealthy and comfortable with their lives. All this means, naturally, that Granville is a Democratic stronghold.

It’s a little odd, of course, that the Denison women’s studies professor comes home, every day, to her little Greek Revival cottage built by a misogynist pig and spends her evenings toying with recipes in the same kitchen where, a century earlier, a beleaguered woman stood barefoot and pregnant, but . . . that’s the oddity of America in 2020. Those who slander the country’s patrimony with the most vehemence happen to be its custodians.

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God Blessed the USA

Anthony L. DeWitt
Anthony L. DeWitt
10 8
 

It’s a sad fact that most of the people protesting in the streets in Portland, Seattle, Kenosha, and Chicago have never been outside the United States. They have never seen the difference between the appearance of liberty, and the true embodiment of it. Even though many in the Democrat party have been outside the country, they do not appear to have learned the lessons from travel that I did.

In 1970 my stepfather was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Republic of the Philippines. I went to high school there, graduating in 1973. Clark sits in a large flat area cleared from the jungle and at the time served as a base of operations for aircraft flying sorties in the Vietnam war. I remember vividly that Mrs. Mattingly, one of our teachers at Wagner High School, wore her husband’s POW bracelet. In that bamboo steamer of a country, I came to appreciate the differences in outlook between a country built on the rule of law, and a country built on the rule of one man.

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AUG Group Writing: Reelin’ In My Kids

Boss Mongo
Boss Mongo
27 13
 

It’s an interesting thing, raising my kids in the Keys. One has all the same worries as parents East (well, there really is no East), West, North and South (okay, there’s only a coupla miles of south): When my kids walk out the door, I am so worried. Are they going to be safe? Are they going to make good decisions? Are they going to (underage) drink? Are they going to (whatever age) drink and drive?

You do everything you can to drill “the right thing” into your kids, and then spend weekend evenings biting your nails and scarring your lower jowl with too much Copenhagen, hoping that they will, in fact, do the right thing. Worse, on the nights they go out, while they might screw up their own lives, I have to self embargo drinking. I mean, c’mon, does that even sound fair?

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Reeling from National Disasters

Susan Quinn
Susan Quinn
12 8
 

I woke with a start on that Tuesday morning. I don’t usually wake up that early, either, just before 6 a.m., but I was wide awake, so I turned on the TV. As I watched the screen, I felt like I’d been hit by a two-by-four. Commentators were opining on what had just happened, but I only caught snatches of what they said as I watched smoke pour from a New York skyscraper. What? Who? When? were the questions attacking my brain.

Like many people I spent many days in shock, trying to comprehend the 9/11 attacks. I spent that first day praying for the people who were trapped in the towers, as they predicted tens of thousands may have died. My husband was out of town, and we realized it might be several days before he could fly home. He assured me that it would be safer than ever, since the airlines would be on hyper alert. All I could think about were the people who were killed or who were devastated emotionally. And that my husband was not home to hold me in his arms.

That evening I had a dinner planned with a friend. On the way to the restaurant, I had to fill up my car with gas, so I stopped at a gas station. I was still in a daze, and as I filled the tank, I heard a voice. A black fellow one lane over was calling out to me and said, very simply, “It’ll be okay.” I slowly nodded my head with a slight smile, wondering if anything would ever be the same.

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Watching Kenosha Burn

James Lileks
James Lileks
389 36
 

I’ve never been there, but I feel as if I know it. Kenosha is the size of my home town, a little dot of civilization eked out in short order, built up with pride, home to people who work, worship, and enjoy the pace and pleasures of a small town. It burned last night and it is burning tonight. I’m watching the feeds, and I’m pretty sure someone’s going to get shot. The Marxists are showing up with rifles; there are reports of a militia en route to confront the protestors.

Does Kenosha have a large number of people who want to burn down their town and bring Death to America? I’m thinking they may have imported some people who wished to help out. I’m thinking they’d head up to Fargo if they were needed there. I’m thinking they’d be more than happy to burn downtown Fargo. For justice!

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The Social Contagion Effect and Teen YouTube

Bethany Mandel
Bethany Mandel
26 15
 

Last night I saw headlines about the death of a YouTube star, Landon Clifford, a father of two young children at the age of 19. I clicked, because how does a 19-year-old have two children and why is he a YouTube star? His wife posted this picture with some of her friends at his funeral, and a quick click-through indicated she’s just one of several popular YouTube teen mothers who travel in the same ecosystem.

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Half Percent Podcast #13

Fifteen Years Putting F-15s in the Fight

6 1
Hosted by Nick Plosser

USAF veteran Chris joins the show and talks about his time as a Crew Chief/Instructor on the F-15 Fighter Jet. Chris details what it takes to keep those birds in the air and the camaraderie and sense of purpose one gets from being on the line. Chris is now an airline pilot, as well as training pilot for advanced military jet skills for aviators.
Check Chris’ Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/dope767driver/?hl=en
And: https://s-211training.com/

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RNC Night 2 Wrap-up

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
26 18
 

The Very Online Left is livid over Night Two of the Republican National Convention. Why? Trump pardoned a reformed ex-con and swore in several new immigrants. This is the pickle Democrats and the Media have gotten themselves into. Yet again.

The unhinged rage at everything this president does might earn them back-pats in their gated communities, but makes them look, well, unhinged to everyone else. The more they scream about a presidential pardon, average voters think ‘oh, that was cool to pardon a guy.’ By condemning a naturalization ceremony, they think, ‘I wish I would have seen that. Guess I should tune-in for Night Three.’

The left remains unable to pick their battles but treats every Trump utterance with sputtering denunciations and comparisons to Hitler. Trump rings a bell, the baying left drools. (At this point, if the President said Pavlov’s dog was cute, the media would claim puppy breath was a Kremlin-funded bioweapon.)

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Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger #299

A Champion of American Ideals: Jamie Fly

1 1
Hosted by Jay Nordlinger
With guest Jamie Fly

Jamie Fly is a veteran foreign-policy hand. When he was coming of age, his views were shaped by the Reagan experience. He went on to work in the White House, the Pentagon, and elsewhere. Until recently, he was president of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. He knows a great deal about Russian disinformation, and other disinformation, and how to combat it. With Jay, he talks about this and the world at large. An informative conversation.

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An Open Letter to WI Gov. Tony Evers

Anthony L. DeWitt
Anthony L. DeWitt
27 10
 

Governor Evers:

Perhaps you failed World History? Maybe you learned all the wrong lessons from World War II, or from the Obama administration sending planeloads of cash to Iran. I say this because, even though the investigation is not complete in the Jacob Blake case, you have rushed to judgment. You’ve already convicted the officers, and found that they acted improperly. You may not have said so directly, but it appears you have now tried to appease the angry crowd burning your state to the ground by stating you’re going to push for police reform. Whatever happened to getting the facts first?

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King of Stuff #198

Evan Sayet on ‘The Woke Supremacy’

3 3
Hosted by Jon Gabriel
With guest Evan Sayet

The King of Stuff welcomes Evan Sayet, author of the new book The Woke Supremacy: An Anti-Socialist Manifesto. Evan Sayet spent years comedy writing for late-night talk shows but later went viral with a speech on how the left thinks. Jon and Evan discuss “Democratic Socialism” vs. regular old Socialism, globalism vs. nationalism, and why west-coast conservatives are more bare-knuckled than their east-coast peers.

Subscribe to the King of Stuff Spotify playlist featuring picks from Jon and his guest. Evan’s song of the week is “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen, and Jon’s is “Downfall” by Resplandor.

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Assessing the Presidential Candidates

Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein
10 8
 

Choosing a president often requires voters to resolve a tension between two factors—the personal traits of the candidate and the policies that he and his administration will implement. How do Joe Biden and Donald Trump stack up on these measures?

The Democrats present Biden as a sensible, experienced administrator who will remedy the social divisions of the Trump era—now wracked with looting and violence—by restoring calm and order. But Biden is not without his weaknesses. Lingering concerns regarding his mental fitness will not go away. His penchant for gaffes and outbursts on the campaign trail is likely to persist. A sympathetic press has largely refrained from scrutinizing his son Hunter’s involvement as a board member of the corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma, and likewise has ignored charges of Biden’s alleged sexual improprieties, most notably those tied to Tara Reade.

Putting Biden’s character issues to the side, the inquiry then shifts to his substantive policies. A classical liberal such as myself insists that government should restrict itself to a limited menu of topics, and staunchly resists excesses in regulation and taxation. In my opinion, there is not a single issue on which he and his party take the correct position. Neither Biden nor his party’s platform recognize the limits and inevitable pitfalls of aggressive government action. Given Biden’s platform, taxes, especially of the rich, will dramatically increase to fund massive programs of redistribution intended to underwrite a long list of positive rights—education, health care, union representation, and equal pay.

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Quote of the Day: Denis Thatcher on Love

KirkianWanderer
KirkianWanderer
7 6
 

“For forty years I have been married to one of the greatest women the world has ever produced. All I could produce -small as it may be – was love and loyalty.”-Denis Thatcher (1915-2003)

Keeping with @Arahant’s British theme, I’ve chosen a quote from (the husband of) quite a famous Briton, Margaret Thatcher. Denis was often the butt of jokes in the press, for his excessive fondness for G&Ts, golf, and occasionally propensity to gaffes, which he much preferred to being perceived as being the power behind his wife’s throne. He and his golfing partner Bill Deedes even became the subject of a long-running Private Eye column, later turned into two books and a play.

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