Not Scary With Larry

The Question of the Week, maybe the month, perhaps the year, oh, heck — likely of the century is “when is the economy re-opening?” Sure, we could round up a bunch of egg-head economists to ponder and scratch their chins, but instead we went directly to the West Wing, to the room where it happens (to coin a phrase) and got our old friend and former podcaster Larry Kudlow on the Skype machine. He gives us the actual figures on the economy, the strategy, the mood, and most importantly, how we get out of this. Also, is sunlight a disinfectant? Can you inject Lysol? (Did you really think we weren’t going to talk about that?). We’ve got a Lileks Post of The Week from Southern Pessimist on cooking at home and Chef Long describes how you can cook like the stars.

Music from this week’s show: Hats Off To Larry by Del Shannon

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There are 58 comments.

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  1. J Ro Member
    J Ro
    @JRo

    “Comfort food” is a term that works for me, Rob.

    There are certainly “uncomfortable foods” that make a diner feel uneasy: Mystery Meat served in the school cafeteria, that bowl of fresh chicken blood served in the Famous Chicken Soup Restaurant in China (“You paid for one chicken and you get all but the feathers.”), that dish that triggers flashbacks from POW/Death Camp, Goats Head Soup as pictured in the album art of that Rolling Stones album…

    Edit: p.s. Please do link us to the French chef videos!

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Rob, you’re perpetuating the lies that the press tells about what the President says. You are just as guilty as they are. Peter, don’t be led astray by that man in New York.

    Good choice on that pick of the week, James.

    • #2
  3. Penfold Member
    Penfold
    @Penfold

    When you mentioned wealthy Manhattaners fleeing the city to avoid Covid-19, I was reminded of the Roger Corman movie from 1964, “The Masque of the Red Death”, starring Vincent Price as Prince Prospero.

    The story follows a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. – Wikipedia.

    When I first saw it in my youth, I remember getting the message that “the plague” didn’t care if you were rich or poor, good or bad, powerful or weak.  Oh, and Jane Asher was pretty cute.

    Thus passes the glory of the world

    • #3
  4. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    There are a lot of nice buildings going up in Minneapolis. 

     

     

    • #4
  5. Patrick McClure, Coffee Achiev… Coolidge
    Patrick McClure, Coffee Achiev…
    @Patrickb63

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    delete

    Effete

    • #5
  6. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    There are a lot of nice buildings going up in Minneapolis.

    I don’t have to watch the video to know the subject. ;) Whenever someone announces they’re putting up the Tallest Building in Town, it’s time to get out of the market. 

    Yes, there are a lot of nice buildings going up – mostly modest in size, with the exception of one Class-A office tower going up on a long-vacated block. It’s mostly housing, though.

     

     

    • #6
  7. Rightfromthestart Coolidge
    Rightfromthestart
    @Rightfromthestart

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Rob, you’re perpetuating the lies that the press tells about what the President says. You are just as guilty as they are. Peter, don’t be led astray by that man in New York.

    Good choice on that pick of the week, James.

    Thank you , no one said anything about drinking bleach . 

    • #7
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    J Ro (View Comment):

    “Comfort food” is a term that works for me, Rob.

    There are certainly “uncomfortable foods” that make a diner feel uneasy: Mystery Meat served in the school cafeteria, that bowl of fresh chicken blood served in the Famous Chicken Soup Restaurant in China (“You paid for one chicken and you get all but the feathers.”), that dish that triggers flashbacks from POW/Death Camp, Goats Head Soup as pictured in the album art of that Rolling Stones album…

    Edit: p.s. Please do link us to the French chef videos!

    Don’t forget Snake Surprise, braised bugs, eyeball soup, and chilled monkey brains for dessert.

    • #8
  9. BillJackson Inactive
    BillJackson
    @BillJackson

    I recently re-upped my membership and this episode of Ricochet is exactly why I did. It’s hard to have a bad day when Larry Kudlow is talking about the economy and the U.S., but it was just a wonderful show and a great antidote to all gloom and doom that my elected officials and media want to harp on. Thank you all. 

     

    • #9
  10. Peter Robinson Contributor
    Peter Robinson
    @PeterRobinson

    BillJackson (View Comment):

    I recently re-upped my membership and this episode of Ricochet is exactly why I did. It’s hard to have a bad day when Larry Kudlow is talking about the economy and the U.S., but it was just a wonderful show and a great antidote to all gloom and doom that my elected officials and media want to harp on. Thank you all.

     

    Bill, the Blue Yeti is going to frame your post and hang it in Ricochet headquarters. Thanks, man. You made our weekend.

    • #10
  11. Happy Wonderer Inactive
    Happy Wonderer
    @NotMyRealName

    BillJackson (View Comment):

    I recently re-upped my membership and this episode of Ricochet is exactly why I did. It’s hard to have a bad day when Larry Kudlow is talking about the economy and the U.S., but it was just a wonderful show and a great antidote to all gloom and doom that my elected officials and media want to harp on. Thank you all.

    Sadly I couldn’t make it to Larry. When Rob said (to paraphrase) that everyone in the country wants the President to succeed in the current crisis but he insists on sabotaging his approval ratings in an effort to deliberately keep them in the low 40s, that was too much.  Deleted the episode off my phone, not sure I’ll listen to next week’s. We’ve now had days of the media for the second time in a month deliberately lying to pretend Trump told people to ingest poison and there’s Rob trotting alongside them carrying their waterbottle.

     

     

     

    • #11
  12. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Happy Wonderer (View Comment):
    When Rob said (to paraphrase) that everyone in the country wants the President to succeed in the current crisis but he insists on sabotaging his approval ratings in an effort to deliberately keep them in the low 40s, that was too much. Deleted the episode off my phone, not sure I’ll listen to next week’s. We’ve now had days of the media for the second time in a month deliberately lying to pretend Trump told people to ingest poison and there’s Rob trotting alongside them carrying their waterbottle.

    Understood, but the episode did get better. If @blueyeti would mute Rob about every other word… (“Technical difficulties!”)

     

    • #12
  13. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    Happy Wonderer (View Comment):

    When Rob said … .
    We’ve now had days of the media for the second time in a month deliberately lying to pretend Trump told people to ingest poison and there’s Rob trotting alongside them carrying their waterbottle.

    Too bad you bailed, @Happy – there was some highly entertaining cosmic irony near the end of the flagship podcast.

     

    Rob Long, @73:00: If a regulation is too stupid or onerous to be in force during a pandemic, then it’s too stupid or onerous to be in force at any time.

    If only there were an American President who enthusiastically removed onerous or stupid regulations.  If only …

    That would be awesome.

    • #13
  14. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    LibertyDefender (View Comment):

    If only there were an American President who enthusiastically removed onerous or stupid regulations. If only …

    That would be awesome.

    Heh, heh. It’s almost like @roblong is begging for more Trump.

     

    • #14
  15. GFHandle Member
    GFHandle
    @GFHandle

    Why does Rob Long insist on calling Trump names like “loudmouth at the end of the bar” when the so-called loudmouth behavior never happened?  Pot meet kettle? I enjoy Rob’s insights but this intense animus is out of character for a sophisticated writer and man of the world. 

    • #15
  16. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    I am in season 4 of Bosch, and just thought of it briefly immediately before Peter brought it up.

    I’m thinking of reading the books.

    • #16
  17. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Anyone else find that Netflix refuses to operate when Express VPN is on?

    If I hear it said just one more time on a podcast that you can use Express VPN to watch Doctor Who on Netflix, they may lose my business for false advertising.

    • #17
  18. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Peter Robinson (View Comment):

    BillJackson (View Comment):

    I recently re-upped my membership and this episode of Ricochet is exactly why I did. It’s hard to have a bad day when Larry Kudlow is talking about the economy and the U.S., but it was just a wonderful show and a great antidote to all gloom and doom that my elected officials and media want to harp on. Thank you all.

    Bill, the Blue Yeti is going to frame your post and hang it in Ricochet headquarters. Thanks, man. You made our weekend.

    Right on, both of you!

    • #18
  19. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Anyone else find that Netflix refuses to operate when Express VPN is on?

    If I hear it said just one more time on a podcast that you can use Express VPN to watch Doctor Who on Netflix, they may lose my business for false advertising.

    Typically, when you use a VPN, everyone who uses it is going to share a single IP to/for a certain location.  Which means that when a service like Netflix finds that out, they can easily block it.  And then EVERYONE who uses that VPN to pretend to be in England or whatever, is blocked from Netflix.  They don’t have to find and block each person individually.

    • #19
  20. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    GFHandle (View Comment):

    Why does Rob Long insist on calling Trump names like “loudmouth at the end of the bar” when the so-called loudmouth behavior never happened? Pot meet kettle? I enjoy Rob’s insights but this intense animus is out of character for a sophisticated writer and man of the world.

    The point was that he mused about it from the podium on live TV. Which he did.  And let’s get real here:  the President does not get any slack when it comes to name calling. He pretty much invented it. 

    • #20
  21. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Anyone else find that Netflix refuses to operate when Express VPN is on?

    If I hear it said just one more time on a podcast that you can use Express VPN to watch Doctor Who on Netflix, they may lose my business for false advertising.

    Typically, when you use a VPN, everyone who uses it is going to share a single IP to/for a certain location. Which means that when a service like Netflix finds that out, they can easily block it. And then EVERYONE who uses that VPN to pretend to be in England or whatever, is blocked from Netflix. They don’t have to find and block each person individually.

     

    Not a mass-market commercial service like ExpressVPN. 

     

    • #21
  22. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Anyone else find that Netflix refuses to operate when Express VPN is on?

    If I hear it said just one more time on a podcast that you can use Express VPN to watch Doctor Who on Netflix, they may lose my business for false advertising.

    Typically, when you use a VPN, everyone who uses it is going to share a single IP to/for a certain location. Which means that when a service like Netflix finds that out, they can easily block it. And then EVERYONE who uses that VPN to pretend to be in England or whatever, is blocked from Netflix. They don’t have to find and block each person individually.

     

    Not a mass-market commercial service like ExpressVPN.

     

    So am I the only one whose Netflix doesn’t work (both phone and laptop) with the VPN on?

    • #22
  23. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Happy Wonderer (View Comment):

    BillJackson (View Comment):

    I recently re-upped my membership and this episode of Ricochet is exactly why I did. It’s hard to have a bad day when Larry Kudlow is talking about the economy and the U.S., but it was just a wonderful show and a great antidote to all gloom and doom that my elected officials and media want to harp on. Thank you all.

    Sadly I couldn’t make it to Larry. When Rob said (to paraphrase) that everyone in the country wants the President to succeed in the current crisis but he insists on sabotaging his approval ratings in an effort to deliberately keep them in the low 40s, that was too much. Deleted the episode off my phone, not sure I’ll listen to next week’s. We’ve now had days of the media for the second time in a month deliberately lying to pretend Trump told people to ingest poison and there’s Rob trotting alongside them carrying their waterbottle.

    The vast, vast majority of the country isn’t on Twitter and does not not watch cable news or read op-ed pages, which is where 99% of this talk takes place. On the other hand upwards of 22 MILLION people are out of work right now. That’s why his AR numbers are in the 40’s. There is a legitimate debate to be had about how much blame Trump deserves for this crisis. But he is not getting massively penalized in the general population for those remarks. That said, it really would be good for him to stop winging it from the podium of the White House Press Room in the middle of a pandemic. And apparently,  that message has been received.

    • #23
  24. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Anyone else find that Netflix refuses to operate when Express VPN is on?

    If I hear it said just one more time on a podcast that you can use Express VPN to watch Doctor Who on Netflix, they may lose my business for false advertising.

    Typically, when you use a VPN, everyone who uses it is going to share a single IP to/for a certain location. Which means that when a service like Netflix finds that out, they can easily block it. And then EVERYONE who uses that VPN to pretend to be in England or whatever, is blocked from Netflix. They don’t have to find and block each person individually.

     

    Not a mass-market commercial service like ExpressVPN.

     

    So am I the only one whose Netflix doesn’t work (both phone and laptop) with the VPN on?

    It’s entirely possible that Netflix has found a way to block all VPN’s. It’s a very technically sophisticated operation. 

    • #24
  25. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    It’s entirely possible that Netflix has found a way to block all VPN’s. It’s a very technically sophisticated operation. 

    Righto.

    And if I keep hearing otherwise on podcast advertisements–and if no one tells me they don’t have turn off Express just to use Netflix–I really might have to ditch this product for false advertising.

    I also think rather poorly of the ethics of getting around agreements that arose from interactions between Netflix, film copyright holders, and the copyright laws of different nations.

    • #25
  26. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    I used to use a VPN to watch the BBC. Then they started demanding mailing addresses so they could match you up with your license fee…

    • #26
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    EJHill (View Comment):

    I used to use a VPN to watch the BBC. Then they started demanding mailing addresses so they could match you up with your license fee…

    Well, all TV has been Pay TV in the UK – or at least England – for a long time.  No such thing as free over-the-air broadcast TV there.  Monty Python used to make fun of it even back in the 60s and 70s.

    So it’s not like you were being treated any differently than UK/England citizens.

    • #27
  28. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    It’s entirely possible that Netflix has found a way to block all VPN’s. It’s a very technically sophisticated operation.

    Righto.

    And if I keep hearing otherwise on podcast advertisements–and if no one tells me they don’t have turn off Express just to use Netflix–I really might have to ditch this product for false advertising.

    I also think rather poorly of the ethics of getting around agreements that arose from interactions between Netflix, film copyright holders, and the copyright laws of different nations.

    What do you think about the ethics of using a VPN to get around the irrational and outdated blackout policy of MLBaseball?

    • #28
  29. GFHandle Member
    GFHandle
    @GFHandle

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    GFHandle (View Comment):

    Why does Rob Long insist on calling Trump names like “loudmouth at the end of the bar” when the so-called loudmouth behavior never happened? Pot meet kettle? I enjoy Rob’s insights but this intense animus is out of character for a sophisticated writer and man of the world.

    The point was that he mused about it from the podium on live TV. Which he did. And let’s get real here: the President does not get any slack when it comes to name calling. He pretty much invented it.

    Doesn’t justify lying, does it?

    • #29
  30. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    GFHandle (View Comment):

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    GFHandle (View Comment):

    Why does Rob Long insist on calling Trump names like “loudmouth at the end of the bar” when the so-called loudmouth behavior never happened? Pot meet kettle? I enjoy Rob’s insights but this intense animus is out of character for a sophisticated writer and man of the world.The point was that he mused about it from the podium on live TV. Which he did. And let’s get real here: the President does not get any slack when it comes to name calling. He pretty much invented it.Doesn’t justify lying, does it?Once more: the comment about being “the guy at the end of the bar” was not a lie, it was a general observation about Trump’s proclivity to opine on topics the clearly does not have expertise or knowledge on. It was not specific to this particular moment.

    Donald Trump is the POTUS, not a time share salesman shooting the breeze with a prospective buyer. Maybe he could be a tad more disciplined when speaking  from the podium of the White House Press Room when literally the entire world is watching? Is that too much to ask?

    • #30
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