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Recorded live this morning as the transcript was released, this episode of GLoP is as fresh as a just mowed lawn. Wait, are newly mowed lawns fresh? OK, how about laundry just out of the dryer? Nah, too on the nose. OK, forget about the fresh metaphor. In this episode, the GLoP-meisters (that’s Jonah Goldberg, Rob Long, and John Podhoretz) cover the goings on at WeWork and other suspect internet based businesses (ahem), a look at the state of the TV business, and yes, some Rank Punditry® on that phone call to Ukraine.
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Elitism
Belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite, are those whose influence or authority is greater than that of others
I am using “elitism” as defined above.
And I believe Jonah fits that description. As I’ve mentioned many times, I come from peasant stock. I recognize snobbery when I see it.
Some of the “elites” are becoming parodies – they’re beginning to remind me of Judge Elihu Smails.
It’s fun to listen to the commentary podcasts from October 2016 as Pod contemplates what to do after Trump loses.
I’m all in favor of elitism.
It’s just that our current self-styled elites really…aren’t.
Wow. I just think Jonah and Co. despise loathsomeness wherever they find it and that includes Trump!
To be clear, my criticism of Jonah’s current state is that he argues in bad faith due to his personal animus towards Trump. I don’t care about whether he is an elite or not. Elites can be good or bad. I don’t have a prejudice. What does bother me about Jonah is that he is no longer thoughtful or reasonable when the topic is Trump. He is literate but he seems to only use that to mask and give cover to his extreme derangement over whatever the scandal du-jour is in the Trump administration. In other words, he tries to hide his own torch and pitchfork from public view.
Fine. I don’t care if Jonah and Co “loath” Trump. Couldn’t care less, in fact. But what bugs me is the refusal to give him a nod when DT does something consistent with Conservative principles, or something that will further Conservative causes … like judges, for instance.
If DT does something they like, or something they should like, they either discount the value of it or credit luck.
“Balls and strikes” my touchas.
By that measure, Jonah for one is not an elitist. But he should be. The problem is, Jonah is immune to strong arguments that go against certain biases. His response to Trump is the guttural “Nope” that you criticize.
Another part of the problem is that their definition of “loathsome” is rather self-serving.
By the way, for those old enough to remember, the ad slogan for Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner was, “We work Hard! So you don’t have tooo…..!!! (as they go down the drain)”
It’s funny how I used to love to listen to these guys but their NeverTrump smug attitude has caused me to loath them. I am not much of a Trump fan but can not sign on for the level of hatred that the MSM and sadly GLOP embraces.
No, I’m not fine with it. Not in general, and especially not in when it involves telling the president of an allied country, “Either you help me get reelected or I’ll stand aside and let an invading army kill your citizens.”
The IRS thing was awful. This is evil.
And that would be fine, if:
A) There were a legitimate reason to research it, which there isn’t; and
B) It were handled through official, long-established law enforcement channels, rather than through the president’s personal lawyer.
It’s now being reported that Ukraine wasn’t informed of the hold-up in aid until a month after the conversation.
So the “quid pro quo”/threat goes out the window.
The whole thing is a big nothingburger.
I haven’t seen that report. But let’s assume you’re right: so what? A mobster throws a brick through your store window, then shows up at your house with a couple of thugs asking for protection money. Does that suddenly become not-evil just because you haven’t been to the store and seen the brick yet?
Heck, 90% of the time the mobster makes the “nice store you got here” speech first and only throws the brick after you refuse.
EDIT: Okay, I looked it up and you’re wrong. The whistleblower only found out a month after the conversation that the Ukrainians were aware that aid was in jeopardy. In fact, the report says explicitly that he doesn’t know when or how they found out.
But again, it doesn’t matter.
They do. Quite often. You just filter it out or don’t listen.
“You” don’t know me, nor do you know what I listen to.
#mindreadmuch?
Moderator Note:
Personal attack[redacted]
Moderator Note:
Desist with the personal attacks and mind reading. Your comment is contributing to exactly what you decry: ad hominems and vitriol.You obviously didn’t listen to this podcast. You don’t come off as the type who gives much time to consider or listen to opinions that are opposed to yours.
I think you’re here just on a mission to attack people personally who disagree with your hero. That’s why you’ve added absolutely nothing to this conversation except a lot of ad hominems and vitriol. Believe me, no one cares about what you think of Jonah or John or Rob personally.Whoa there, big boy. Might want to dial that back. Fake John/Jane has been a part of the Ricochet community for more than eight years. Now, he/she may be cynical. He/she may be acerbic. But there is nothing fake about him other than his name. And despite the negative waves, he has a lot of friends here. He has over 13,000 comments here and a solid reputation. You wouldn’t happen to be projecting in some way, would you?
Whoa, again. It’s not that hard to check a profile before attacking someone. Annefy has been here nearly eight years. She isn’t some sort of Trump-bot, which I suppose is the accusation here. She is an integral member of our community. She’s been here long enough to remember when GLoP was fun to listen to, before JPod and Jonah caught the virus. It really has made it harder to listen to GLoP, such that I often look at it when it comes out, and then think, “Do I really want to do this?” Now, I’m not a big Trump fan, but I’m smart enough to see that Hillary was a worse alternative and that any of the current Democratic candidates is a worse alternative. I also see that none of the other Republican candidates have a chance when Trump has a 90% approval rating with Republicans. So, I would rather concentrate on the good Trump does and the problems avoided by having him in office, rather than every mis-speak or faux pas the man makes. JPod and Jonah seem to have a lot more trouble doing that. And they have almost ruined their show by being so inflexible.
GLOP’s original premise was “no politics, none of the time”. It’s supposed to be pop culture – movies, TV, books, etc.
They’d be well-served to go back to that. All three of them appear on other podcasts where they can opine on politics.
Amen.
Especially when they all seem to be so bad at it, and consistently wrong in their predictions, etc.
this episode was hilarious.
John said, so we work will disrupt the office space lease industry???
Rob said, no one does any work at we work in manhattan.
“Its a Rorschach test.” Podcast spends rest of time demonstrating they operate under the same assumptions as the leftist DC media. Ok … well at least the test gave us unsurprising results.
On Poderetz 4 possibilities he oddly forgot the 5th since everyone in America can read the transcripts.
#5 There is nothing remotely suggesting corruption/threats to withhold funds in the text we have.
But, NeverTrumpers going to NeverTrump….
The most bizarre thing about WeWork is that Regus have been using the rational part of their business model profitably for *decades*. Offices plus IT infrastructure (including videoconferencing before that was ubiquitous) rented on a short term basis, an Office base for the highly Mobile. Just without the booze tastings or the happy hour (food and drink are someone else’s core business if course). I couldn’t work out what the real USP was.
Maybe WeWork is Regus for (wannabe) yuppies, millenials, etc?
Or maybe someone just wanted to “invent” the same thing again to get in on the investment capital and pocket a bunch of it, before it all collapsed?
The “mechanism” behind We Work isn’t complicated. They do long-term leases for X square footage at $Y per year, then rent out cubicles or whatever, maybe 1/10th of X per “client,” at maybe $Y/7 rather than $Y/10. The question is, can they get enough margin on sub-leasing the smaller spaces, and allowing for turnover etc, to cover their long-term leases and make a profit? Maybe We Work isn’t doing a good job of it and will go under. But it isn’t just somehow automatically impossible Because Real Estate.
Jonah is correct that the “Ukraine Scandal” is a Rorschach Test. And what that Rorschach Test says about Jonah, is not flattering.
I re-listen to this occasionally, as it’s one of my all-time favorites. And I’ve decided I have to respond to another of Jonah’s “bits.”
I actually have a deep moral conviction about eating any kind of… excrement. So it doesn’t apply to me. But Jonah’s story about his father reminded me of a Churchill story. The adaptation goes like this:
Churchill: “Mr Goldberg, would you eat dog excrement for a billion dollars?”
Jonah’s Father: “Of course, happily!”
Churchill: “Mr Goldbert, would you eat dog excrement for a hundred dollars?”
Jonah’s Father: “Of course not! What kind of person do you think I am?”
Churchill: “We’ve already established that. Now we’re just haggling over price.”
it’s a good service but it’s too expensive and over valued.
also, did they really think they would disrupt the office rental space market?