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Since our plans to hide away forever at a remote Minnesotan lake house were dashed – on account of James not having one for us – we decided instead to jump on into the mucky swamp that’s swallowed up our institutions. At least we have Eli Lake (who, as you’ll hear, knows everybody) to tour us through the law enforcement agencies who’ve undermined their standing with the public in order to get the guy who they blame for undermining the public’s trust in them…
Also, the hosts chat some about the former rep from Wyoming; a Florida judge who hopes to stop Gov. DeSantis from stopping the woke; Lileks is seeing a resurgence of masking; plus, Rob had lunch with Viktor Orbán!
(And check out Eli’s podcast.)
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Very well put, BillJackson.
Good question. Why are there such a dearth of responsible adults in DC able to stop the hearings or run them properly. Have to blame the American people I guess, the education system, the priests and preachers, the parents and the culture in general. Lord help us. When the Adam Whites of DC abdicate responsibility, times are desperate.
When I saw the description I thought it said Kari Lake and I said to myself, “Alright! Ricochet is finally in touch with conservative American again.” Imagine my surprise when I looked closer.
I hope that wasn’t directed at anyone I know.
What makes you say that? Reporters are out in the field, yes. Depending on the beat. But as a former journalist you must recall the rest of the operation – copy desk, the section editors, the layout people, the photo department, and other house-bound aspects of putting out the paper. And eventually the reporters return to the roost to write.
As a former journalist you must also recall the mood of a newspaper office, the collision and mesh of personalities and ideas, the common purpose of putting out an entirely new product every day.
I understand, and sympathize. It’s not up to you or any other individual to keep the old beautiful skyscrapers from being turned into homeless shelters, which is probably why it will happen someday.
I could go on but — again, focusing on the present — the “back to office” crowd speaks gauzy notions of “culture” and “camaraderie” [as well as darker motives of “command” and “control”] … but I have proof, actual metrics, that working from home works.
And I could say that the “stay at home” crowd speaks self-flattering notions of “productivity” and “personal satisfaction” at the expense of culture and camaraderie, which are not insignificant things – especially in a culture that has few common spaces anymore. I’m not advocating for everyone flooding back 9 to 5; I was never a 9 to 5 guy. I’ve been hybrid all my career. I just find it more interesting and stimulating to be around other people and see other places in the course of a day. Staying home every day would drive me nuts, but obviously this is a minority opinion. Especially in the tech world.
I have heard women colleagues say that they prefer to go to the office, because if they’re at home they can’t stop themselves from obsessively cleaning their house or apartment.
Perhaps on the other extreme is the fellow who sub-contracted out his job to two people in India.
First, to the aspects of journalism, I was a reporter, copy editor, page designer news editor. (And, actually, no, reporters don’t have to “return to the roost” … I never saw the guys covering the Iraq wars flying back to Chicago to file.)
So, yes, I do remember inside jokes and a few laughs, but they were far outnumbered by multiple nights of me trying to do layouts or remember some arcane AP Style rule while while some liberal blowhard bloviates about how stupid people from Ohio are, or where they’re going to eat, or how “kids today don’t have the talent my generation had.”
As for culture, sure, there was culture if cliques, alcoholism, childish tantrums and being told “Golly I’ll have to take a buyout or people like you won’t have a job. I guess I control your career now.” [In quotes because it’s verbatim] are culture. And I know I said some truly awful things that never drew any rebuke, and actually got a lot of laughs. That’s not a culture I want to be part of anymore.
“… I could say that the “stay at home” crowd speaks self-flattering notions of “productivity” and “personal satisfaction” at the expense of culture and camaraderie …”
And here’s another reason why I’m not a journalist anymore: It’s not “self-flattering” to have actual metrics — X items produced in Y amount of time that lead to Z increase in profitability — that show it’s better for the company and our customers when we work at home. We track that stuff for a reason. And the point of a business is to make profits and serve our customers.
Too many journalists don’t think that way. Don’t believe me? Check the size of the newspaper and the newsroom. How has that “culture and camaraderie” worked out? It sure didn’t seem to help anybody see what the internet was going to do to their business model.
“I just find it more interesting and stimulating to be around other people and see other places in the course of a day.”
Then go into the office. Nobody is stopping you. But I’ve worked hard and actively sought jobs that would allow me to do what I’m doing now, from home, in the same way that some of my friends in marketing sought jobs full of collaboration. Both are valid.
And work is not the only place to be around other people/see other places.
I was in agreement with Lake on Liz Cheney right up to the comment about DeSantis. That proved to me that she is not just anti Trump (I am too) but anti Republican.
We just moved to a small town in Texas. My daughter who is in her early 30’s came with us and we had no clue where she was going to find work. Well, she is a very good writer, and the town has a small newspaper. She found a job as the Event and Sports Reporter and she absolutely loves it. She has a 5-minute commute to the office but spends a lot of her time going to games and events around the county and often works on writing her articles at home. Sort of a hybrid job. My son is in IT and has a full-time telecommuting job which enabled him to come and live with us while his new house is being constructed near Dallas. We have excellent internet access even though we are way out in the country and our nearest neighbors are cows ;) His contract is coming to an end and he is looking for a job in Dallas where he can go into the office again. But teleworking has its place and can work well.
However, nearly the entire Dept. of State teleworked during the epidemic and I wonder how many of them went back. People who need to work with classified material need to go into the office where such information is better protected.
Yes, that’s great and I think that’s a wonderful illustration of how “the new way” works.
And I should also pause and express my gratitude for the people who do leave home to work, whether they are doctors, nurses, those who work at the grocery, truck drivers, etc. I think there should be — and I’m not even joking — some kind of statue somewhere to truck drivers, grocery-store workers and all the other people who kept us fed during the time we were shut down.
And, yes, I agree: When you work in the government, and especially when you handle classified material, you need to be in an office.
My husband in his late sixties worked in northern VA, for the Federal Government and with classified information. Apart from 2 weeks at the height of lockdown hysteria when he was paid to stay home, he went into work every day during the pandemic. He is SO happy to be retired and living in Texas :)
Personally, I love my commute. It’s 26 miles, but it’s opposite traffic and only take me about 35 minutes. It makes a nice separation of “work” and “home”, and gives me a chance to catch up on podcasts.
I will admit that I’m only in the office 3 days a week now (most weeks, anyway), which is nice for saving miles on the vehicle.
Back when I was working – in the days before podcasts, but I always preferred to focus on important tasks, and listening to a podcast while driving means not doing either of them well – if I wound up having more than about a 10-minute “commute,” I either got a different job, or moved. Sometimes both. Over an hour total driving time per day, is close to 6 hours per week, 300 hours per year… that’s a lot of time that could have been better spent on other things!
In 2004 I built a house a mile and a half from the office.
In 2006 I got outsourced. I haven’t had a job closer than 20-25 miles since.
I did spend a year (1994-1995) commuting from Madison to Milwaukee (about 76 miles). That wasn’t much fun.
You can’t be serious.
Maybe if you were tested on comprehension and retention of the podcast material afterward, and/or if you were somehow tested for driving ability along the way?
Women think they can drive safely and put on makeup at the same time too, and they’re also wrong.
This is not a cogent argument. You are the only person that thinks like this.
This is not comparable to listening to people talk.
So whenever you drive anywhere you sit in absolute silence, don’t listen to the radio and don’t converse in any way with the passengers in the car? Or look at the scenery?
That’s just sad.
If you’re spending time listening to a podcast and not comprehending/retaining the information because you are – as you should be – focused on driving, what good is it? Rather than a 35-minute drive, better to have a 10-minute drive to work, and have 25 minutes at home or somewhere else undistracted, to pay attention to a podcast.
You may think you’re retaining and comprehending what you hear, but I bet that if seriously tested, you would fail. Or, if you did retain and comprehend, that means if something unusual happened during your drive, you would be completely surprised and unprepared. Maybe it hasn’t happened YET, but that doesn’t make me wrong. (Also, it’s true that some people breeze happily along the road causing mayhem around them, blissfully unaware of their impact. So you could possibly be one of those.)
When listening to music etc, I’m not trying to remember or understand lyrics etc. It’s just entertainment. Or even “background noise.” I hope you don’t view podcasts as just disposable entertainment. Especially if you’re paying money for them. Radio music is usually free.
This guy may have been happily listening to a podcast:
You are always making arguments like you are a lawyer defending a client. I am not going to be persuaded by this.
I reserve every view possible of podcasts. All of them. Now what are you going to do?
DISCUSS!
They could outlaw talk radio! I never thought of that before. Why didn’t I think of that?
This is available only on Kindle, which I don’t have. It has been recommended a couple of times at Ricochet; if I could buy a hard copy, I would do so, if for no other reason than out of respect for my fellow Ricochetti.
Did the hosts state that there would be a SF/ Bay Area meetup coming up? I thought I heard that, but can’t find any info about it elsewhere on the site.
My only objection, if I were on the same roads as you at the same time, would be your distracted driving. If you insist that you’re not distracted, then Hey, it’s your time and money to waste on stuff you’re not actually hearing and remembering and understanding (because you’re properly focused on driving), if that’s what you want.
But your claim that you can do both well is not credible. Even if you haven’t been specifically tested.
For some reason, this reminds me of the women who claim (sometimes on Ricochet, although it’s been a while since I’ve seen it come up) that giving birth is the most painful thing possible, for sure the most painful thing a woman can experience; even when women who have both given birth AND had kidney stones, tell them that kidney stones are worse. The women who have only given birth, but not had kidney stones, still insist that giving birth is the most painful thing. And they cannot be convinced otherwise, even by “their own kind.”
As some others (perhaps including you) have said, you can’t reason someone out of a position that they didn’t arrive at through reason. So I can easily understand why there’s no reasoning with you on this. There’s no REASON to believe you can give proper attention to both a podcast and driving at the same time, so that’s not why you believe it. And so you can’t be convinced otherwise using reason.
You can get a Kindle reader for any computer, phone, or tablet.
I’ve only heard him talk about it, but it seems pretty embarrassing to The Republic.
I was in auditing, and just that part of it I wouldn’t get within a mile of any election. I have felt this way since the Norm Coleman scandal. The amount of garbage we accept elections is unbelievable, but we are numb to it.
Your beef is with the authorities that don’t outlaw listening to talk radio. You need to get on that.
This is exactly why I come to the Internet every day.
The election was lost, not stolen. https://ricochet.com/1285677/lost-not-stolen-the-conservative-case-that-trump-lost-and-biden-won-the-2020-presidential-election/
One reason people would subscribe to the Rush Limbaugh site was to get podcasts, transcripts, etc, because they couldn’t absorb it all by listening in the car for a short time during their lunch break, etc. Also, Rush got many calls (I heard some of them) from people who might listen in their cars, because there was no AM radio at their office, but were NOT DRIVING. And I remember some radio shows that specifically would not take calls from people while they were driving, for similar reasons.