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The hard part about producing a podcast these days is finding topics to discuss. In the era of Trump, not much happens. Well, we struggle to carry on with our guests John Yoo on the trials and tribulations of Trump’s executive order and Judge Gorsuch, and El Rush Bro himself, David Limbaugh on the President’s first two weeks (wait — it’s only been two weeks?) Also, Elizabeth Warren gets sent to her room and a hearty Ricochet Podcast Mazel Tov to Ricochet members @1967mustangman and @VicrylContessa on the occasion of their engagement. We wish them a smart and civil marriage with little or no need for moderators.
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Music from this week’s podcast: Do You by Spoon
The ALL NEW opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by James Lileks.
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Flame on, @EJHill.
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I wonder what motivated HBO to plug John Oliver on the Ricochet podcast. I have occasionally watched his show, but I wasn’t aware that Last Week Tonight was within a hundred thousand miles of deliberately reaching out to center-Right types. Bravo, I suppose?
This is sponsored by Last Week Tonight by John Oliver? UGH. And that rhymes with “smug,” and that stands for John Oliver. I though that was a joke until there was no punchline and looked at the webpage. And then I was frozen for a few minutes debating whether or not I should turn the podcast off. After all, I felt such a sense of pride and relief when I canceled HBO in early December and realized I’d no longer be subsidizing that idiotic Limey blowhard…
Maybe Rob has a buddy at HBO that owed him a favor.
The John Oliver spot came through our deal with Slate’s Panoply network. We could have refused it, but figured it was good for a laugh. Personally, I kind of like the show.
“En fuego” is not the way native Spanish speakers say “on fire,” but perhaps the expression has become an accepted sort of Spanglish expression.
I haven’t listened to the podcast yet; I expect to enjoy it.
In a good way, Do You by Spoon sounds like 1980’s Elvis Costello and the Attractions….
So instead of you subsidizing John Oliver through your HBO subscription, John Oliver is subsidizing Ricochet through HBO ‘s advertising budget.
So much winning, I’ll never get tired of it.
The entire album this song is on is great.
Nice shoutout to @1967mustangman and @vicrylcontessa on their engagement. Perhaps TPTB can spring for Reagan level memberships as a wedding present.
James includes John Oliver in a list of Jons that includes Gabriel. He should include him in a list of johns that includes the plumbing. (To be honest though, I’ve laughed at the HBO show.)
The John Oliver ad confused me at first, too. But hearing that the people behind that show are paying to keep Ricochet afloat makes me chuckle.
Thanks for the shout out, guys. We’re very excited and honored to be the first Ricochet marriage.
Forgive me but I think you might be the second. Wasn’t there another Ricochet marriage.
There have been other members that have gotten married, but I believe they all knew each other outside of Ricochet. I think we are the first to get married as the result of having met on the site.
How did James get through shilling for John Oliver? The angriest I ever became last year was when I was shown his piece on Brexit. It’s quite clever in its own way: no factual inaccuracies, but intellectual mendacity on a scale that would disgrace a high-school student. And then the Word According to John Oliver becomes gospel among my friends.
That said, eHarmony for Ricochet is a great idea.
Why has the intro dropped “There you go again”? It was one of my favorite bits of my favorite podcast.
@Nick Baldock
There is a Ricochet singles group.
We swap out the quotes on the opening a few times a year. We’ll bring that one back soon.
Cha-Ching!
Peter’s description of David Limbaugh as “Eloquently enraged” was absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to use it myself ?
It is so much fun to listen to professionals.
Did I hear David Limbaugh use the word “unorthodox” to describe President Trump? Great euphemism for Trump’s disgusting personality and amateurism (not to mention borderline illegal activities) – I wonder what George Orwell would think about that. The conservatism I grew up with stood for clear-thinking and a commitment to Truth – now I guess use our opponents’ extremism to we defend someone because he’s “our guy”? Sounds like the same kind of “moral relativism” conservatives were supposed to be against…
I can’t agree more. Mt Trump tenuous relationship with truth is more than alarming. It is evident that Left is bent to derail and compromise President agenda. Yet, as conservatives, we shall be mindful of “means justify the ends” concept – simply our of concern for our own integrity.
It is not a euphemism. If you don’t see Donald Trump as an unorthodox candidate, you have not been paying attention.
Well, unfortunately, the conservatism you grew up with regularly lied to people, and made useless promises of reform. That conservatism said that we should be happy with losing every time the Left starting fighting back, because it was better to lose honorably than to win dishonorably.
Trump is what you get for lacking the ferocity to resist the democrats. He’s not as conservative as I would like, a crude man who loves outrage. However, I get the sense we might actually roll back some of the Obama legacy, instead of just keeping our powder dry for the next capitulation. We might actually get a victory once in a while as opposed being constantly driven back, and that is a damn good thing.
Trump’s actions are justifiable because of conservatives’ past misbehavior – isn’t that the definition of moral relativism? I guess we’ve thrown out “keeping the torch lit” for “winning at whatever cost”? And I thought conservatives didn’t put our faith in Politics – do you think Trump is going to keep more families together, restore broken communities, turn around our universities and schools?
Who cares about John Oliver. John Yoo and David Limbaugh make my day.
Previous conservatives failed to accomplish much against the left. Trump may be able to push them back. If you don’t win, your agenda does nothing. It was not enough for the Union Army or the Allies in WWII to be right, they also had to be able to defeat the enemy.
Do you have any real successes in fixing families, communities, or education? The conservatism you describe does not seem to have much if any headway on the culture. You might be persuasive if you had a track record of fixed families etc to point toward. What have you actually accomplished?
That’s precisely it – it sounds like you and a lot of other Trump supporters have bought into the Left’s idea that Politics can substantively change our society for the better. “We just need the right guy in office, and things will be different.” That’s not conservatism – that’s just using the power of the state for your own ends.
What’s the source of the left’s successes? Based on your comments, they must predate President Obama (and I’d agree). My contention is that the source is what I mentioned previously – the destruction of the private sphere where families and communities can flourish. Trump is trying to play the left’s game, but with pseudo-conservative ends (I guess?) – that’s a step backward for the actual ends conservatives (allegedly) seek.
What are politics useful for, then? Why do we even care about elections? It’s because politics can change society for better or worse – though the better is more often just pulling politics out of things. The Left will politicize EVERYTHING if we do not stop them. They are totalitarian. You have to push them back.
I honestly don’t see how Trump will ruin the private sphere. He’s the president, not a moral leader or reverend. While he is not a role model, I do not see him as hostile to families / communities. If he can keep the Left occupied, maybe we could make progress here.
I couldn’t believe John Yoo saying the Ninth Circuit’s opinion regarding Trump’s executive order was understandable since the issue was a “hard case.” This is contrary to all the other legal commentary I have heard from those I respect such as Mark Levin. Is Mr. Yoo trying to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the Washington elite or is he hesitant to attack the Ninth Circuit after it ruled in his favor in Padilla v. Yoo?
PSA: I think I spotted Rob Long on Saturday evening in the Grill Room at the Yale Club. Do I get a reward?