There are 40 comments.

1. Coolidge
   Chris Campion

   @ChrisCampion

   10:09 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 24, 2016

   GreenCarder:Can we have James offer more to the discussions than just long, elaborate segues into hawking mattresses and recruiting websites? He has a lot to offer. Let’s not reduce him to this.

   I wouldn’t have bought the Casper mattress without said hawking.

   Hawk on, Hawk Lad!

2. Coolidge
   Chris Campion

   @ChrisCampion

   10:18 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 24, 2016

   One thing we can count on, regardless of which candidate is elected:

   1.  The budget will go up annually higher than the rate of inflation, after spending was already jacked through the roof by Barry.  There’s no going back, regardless of party.  It’s an intrinsic weakness in our electoral process that the people who spend more while in office tend to be able to sell that spending better to their constituents back home, that it’s “for them”.  It creates all the wrong incentives for public “servants”.
   2. Race and gender relations will continue to be used as a political football to garner votes and support, with the Democrats playing offense and the Republicans playing hapless defense.  Again.
   3. Barry will continue to speak as if he is still president, and will publicly comment on current policies supported or unsupported by whoever is president.  He’ll set a new, post-presidential standard for speaking out of turn.
   4. If Hillary wins, she’s going to have a hell of a time finding someone to blame in prior presidents for everything that’s wrong.
   5. If Trump wins, he’ll blame everybody else for everything, because he can, since he just got there.  In this way, he’ll be emulating Barry so closely it will be hard to distinguish between them.
   6. I won’t regret my decision to vote for neither of them.
3. Inactive
   Sarah Joyce

   @SarahJoyce

   10:38 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 24, 2016

   Basil Fawlty:

   Koblog: Peter revealed the basic weakness of the Roman Catholic church — the unbiblical concept that a single man is authorized to speak for God and everyone is obligated to follow, inadvertently summing up why the United States was founded by Reformed Presbyterians.

   I wonder why they had to be reformed.

   I hope you don’t mind my finding this funny given that the Bible only exists today because of the Catholic Church. Darn those Catholic monks copying and recopying the Holy Writ – a canon derived from ecumenical councils under the authority of that one man, successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ. ;-)

4. Coolidge
   ctlaw

   @ctlaw

   3:47 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 24, 2016

   @roblong seemed to express exasperation at the idea that there was some problem with Cruz telling people to “vote their conscience…”

   We are not looking at that phrase in a vacuum. It was less than a week after the debate on a “conscience clause” to let bound delegates vote otherwise at the RNC.

   Thus, “vote their conscience” had become a code for not vote for Trump.

   Cruz could have gotten away without an endorsement merely by stating something as a statement of fact rather than a request, like: “Americans are going to come out in great numbers and save our Constitution from Hillary by voting Republican from Donald Trump for President all the way down to city council…”

   Instead, that smarmy twerp decided to get cute and once again confirm that he has significant problems relating to voters.

5. Inactive
   Owen Findy

   @OwenFindy

   8:59 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 25, 2016

   Just listening to the part of the podcast where Rob is ‘splaining to the listeners that, were they members, they could “interact” with Peter live on the site, and he sped up even faster than he normally talks.  I had to check my podcast app’s speed to see if I’d inadvertently bumped it to 1.5x, but I hadn’t.  OY!

   You ought to get whatever coffee he was on as a sponsor.

6. Inactive
   RonnieJamesDiocletian

   @RonnieJamesDiocletian

   10:12 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 25, 2016

   I’m sure it’s been long commented on, but I really think that you do yourself a disservice, @jameslileks, with the long windups to ad segue ways.  I know it’s part of the bit, but you’ve really conditioned me to tune you out once you start talking about anything, because it’s always going to end up in an ad.  I think you have a lot of great things to say and I wish you wouldn’t spend all your speaking time trying to get to hack a path to a great course mention.

   I prefer the @johnpodhoretz approach of barreling in with no warning.  Gets the ad in and out of the way.  I’m less likely to skip it, too.

7. Inactive
   RobininIthaca

   @RobininIthaca

   11:41 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 25, 2016

   I have been listening to the Ricochet podcast now for many years and I completely agree with this starting point:

   Koblog:Put off listening to this podcast as I’m rapidly losing interest in Ricochet in general.

   First Ricochet podcast I slid left on was Need To Know.

   Then Three Martini Lunch departed my phone.

   So here’s the Flagship podcast and I get, what, a former NR/now Washington Post reporter who’s covered presidential politics by his own admission for precisely one administration — Obama — and added zero content.

   When the Ricochet hosts decide to invite someone to offer up reasons for Trump’s support, might I suggest J.D. Vance who just gave a brilliant interview with Rod Dreher in the American Conservative regarding his new book “Hillbilly Elegy?”

   link

8. Contributor
   James Lileks

   @jameslileks

   6:42 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 25, 2016

   RonnieJamesDiocletian: I’m sure it’s been long commented on, but I really think that you do yourself a disservice, @jameslileks, with the long windups to ad segue ways. I know it’s part of the bit, but you’ve really conditioned me to tune you out once you start talking about anything, because it’s always going to end up in an ad. I think you have a lot of great things to say and I wish you wouldn’t spend all your speaking time trying to get to hack a path to a great course mention.

   I understand, but A) I’m usually making a point before I pivot. There were four spots in the show, so that meant I had to use most of my time doing the necessary lifting.

   Now, if Peter or Rob wanted to step in and do ads, that would shake things up a bit.

9. Member
   Ambrianne

   @Ambrianne

   6:01 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 26, 2016

   James Lileks:

   RonnieJamesDiocletian: I’m sure it’s been long commented on, but I really think that you do yourself a disservice, @jameslileks, with the long windups to ad segue ways. I know it’s part of the bit, but you’ve really conditioned me to tune you out once you start talking about anything, because it’s always going to end up in an ad. I think you have a lot of great things to say and I wish you wouldn’t spend all your speaking time trying to get to hack a path to a great course mention.

   I understand, but A) I’m usually making a point before I pivot. There were four spots in the show, so that meant I had to use most of my time doing the necessary lifting.

   Now, if Peter or Rob wanted to step in and do ads, that would shake things up a bit.

   Ever since @johnpodhoretz flubbed up “Harry’s Shoes” and went into the “I’m 94 years old and I’m gonna read this paper” riff I’ve rooted for mistakes . . . and listened to the ads. ;)

10. Inactive
    Benjamin Glaser

    @BenjaminGlaser

    3:28 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 28, 2016

    Koblog:

    Peter revealed the basic weakness of the Roman Catholic church — the unbiblical concept that a single man is authorized to speak for God and everyone is obligated to follow, inadvertently summing up why the United States was founded by Reformed Presbyterians.

    Reformed Presbyterians are the best.