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Even if it doesn’t normally win popularity contests, we like to keep things candid (but fun!) on the Ricochet podcast. And even if it cost US attorney general Bill Barr some popularity points, we still want to hang out with him! He’s just published his memoir One Damn Thing After Another, and the gang do what they can to get at all the damn things. Barr proves still-adept at handling himself when things are coming in from all directions.
Rob also talks Ukraine and reassess the way history repeats itself; Peter applauds Elon Musk’s latest undertaking; and James wonders about the “groomer” conversation. Plus, shoutouts to Saint Augustine and Jenna Stocker–just cuz they’re awesome Ricochet members!
Music from this week’s podcast: You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’ by John Mellencamp
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Have not listened to the podcast yet, but am halfway through the book. Good read so far, he is pretty fair from my POV.
A few counterpoints:
https://ricochet.com/1216325/the-election-evidence-bill-barr-doesnt-want-you-to-see/
https://ricochet.com/1215938/questions-for-bill-barr/
https://ricochet.com/1215648/teigen-v-wisconsin-elections-commission-2/
Peter’s comment needed more detail: Are the college students biking and skateboarding, with or without masks?
So, Rob says he never thought of the left losing at least some influence on SCOTUS because new “Justice” Brown doesn’t have the intellectual capability to convince someone of her position.
As I recall, Richard Epstein mentioned that in one of his recent posts on Ricochet, and I seem to remember finding that in at least one other post too, by a “normal” member.
Rob doesn’t spend enough time on his co-founded site.
Bill Barr’s apparent excuse for not going after Antifa/BLM rioting etc was that they weren’t collecting information because they would have been accused of racism.
That’s something he should have worked to correct, or just ignored; not something to hide behind.
And since most of the BLM rioters were white anyway, where’s the racism in that?
I started out as a hostile listener, but Barr won me over. He was amazingly candid about both the strong and weak points of DJT. I appreciated Barr’s reverence for the Greatest President of the Twentieth Century. I am now more willing to hear Barr out about his concerns about the FBI, to my surprise, I am looking forward to reading his book. My overwhelming sense was that Barr is not to be eff’ed with.
Did you miss the part where he admitted to not going after Antifa/BLM rioters because they were afraid of being called racist?
That is not what I heard. What I heard was that Antifa members operate as a skilled paramilitary unit with tactics designed to not allow defendants to be identified.
Start listening again at 53:10. He says it’s about “left” vs “right” but race is part of that too, of course. They don’t get information on groups like Antifa/BLM because they get “keel-hauled” for doing it. By the media, etc.
I’d really rather not listen. This old heart can’t take much more. But did he really say they don’t go after Antifa/BLM because they’re afraid of being keel hauled for doing so? As in, crucified by the press? (which is kind of hilarious. Supposedly the “white nationalists” are the most dangerous threat domestically, but the FBI had no fear attempting to entrap some boyos in Michigan. So fear of the press trumps fear of the most dangerous threat in the country)
Or, according to @garyrobbins, the DOJ/FBI is simply incapable of going after them because Antifa/BLM are too “skilled”?
Both comments are horrifying.
He said that’s why they don’t have information on Antifa/BLM like they do for “conservative” groups, and without information, it’s much harder to identify the participants etc. He should have called BS on that from Day One. That he apparently didn’t, says quite a bit, in my eyes. It’s the same kind of BS as his claim of “no significant election fraud” when there was no possible way anyone could have confidence of that, right after Election Day. (And some states continued to accept “mail-in” ballots etc, for DAYS after!)
SO hard …
What the hell are we paying these people for? Just to do the easy stuff?
Equal justice is dead. And with it the Republic.
Barr didn’t say he approved of that; in fact, he said that he worked to develop effective tactics against Antifa/BLM rioters, but the implication was that it hadn’t been very successful. He also said that Antifa/BLM used much more effective tactics to cloak the identity of the law breakers and to prevent prosecution by claiming First Amendment protection.
I think there were simply too many things going wrong in the DOJ and the nation for Barr to focus enough effort on a very difficult problem. Barr did a lot of good, but we need a series of strong AGs to right the ship.
He said that lots of information COMES in – present tense – on right-wing groups, while very little information COMES in- present tense – on left-wing groups, and the result is sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Where did you hear anything about him having even worked to try and change that? Right after that, he did some talking about Supreme Court cases, and that was the end of his interview.
@garyrobbins
The key part is 40:00. Keyword “strong arm”.
No implication needed. 100% unsuccessful.
What’s a bigger threat? A group who caused billions of dollars of damage, destruction of businesses and deaths … or a bunch of FBI agents spending their time trying to entrap some Michigan boyos?
We’re screwed, folks. We’re on our own.
Revealing. But heartening, in one way: think of all the money to be saved by abolishing the clearly unfit for purpose FBI.
When Steven Crowder and a guy from his show infiltrated an Antifa rally a couple of years back, they took video of them discussing their weapons and even offering one to Crowder’s mole. They had names, etc., and law enforcement wouldn’t give them the time o’ day.
delete
I’m only a few minutes in at this point, but listening to Peter talk about the Russians during WWII reminds me of the accounts my former neighbor told me of his Army time in Europe during that war. He recounted that when American troops he was with made it to villages and towns that had been held by the Germans, the people welcomed them with thankful hearts because the Nazis were gone AND because it wasn’t the Russians who had pushed them out. It was well known that the Russians routinely raped their women and brutalized the people who had been under the thumb of other thugs. Replacing the Nazis with Russians was understood to be of little to no relief.
*Edited to fix errors in sentence structure.
I haven’t listened to this because I listen to very few podcasts, but I did see Barr on Greg Gutfeld’s show this week. When they asked him about Trump and 2024, he said he assumed that Trump would run again, and when Greg asked if he would support him as the nominee, Barr said “of course.”
I don’t understand any of the criticism of what Barr said. In this and other interviews he strikes me as frank, unapologetic, and disinterested in whatever political fallout there may be. He compliments Trump where he feels appropriate and he criticizes him using the same standard. I know there are many who will tolerate zero dissent from the Dear Leader but perhaps someone who was there, worked with Trump and was on his side through all this possibly knows more about it than you (or some random schmuck on youtube) does. The man does not have an axe to grind and is not looking for another job so is probably one of the more credible voices out there in my opinion.
His explanation of the antifa and BLM riot prosecutions makes perfect sense. They many times wore masks, were throwing rocks through windows, acted at night, etc….. The Jan 6th rioters were in a super camera heavy environment, did not disguise themselves, and were in broad daylight. He also pointed out that there were many arrests and prosecutions (depending on local prosecutors in some cases) but that an eventual conviction of arson or vandalism was not usually followed up on or did not make the news.
Great interview, thanks guys.
If you are going to use black bloc techniques you deserve the Bernard Goetz treatment.
This is an abuse of a system that has been the best in history.
Like I said, the keyword in that interview is “strong arm”. That is what is going on everywhere. Now go look at BIDEN VOTER Heath Mayo’s twitter account. He and everybody that talks and thinks like that is a tool of the left. They are fools.
Believe me, I get how the system is regressive and people have complaints, but there is a limit to how much you can screw with it.
General Barr’s comment about how it takes a long time to shift the Justice Department reminded me of a comment by an attorney friend. He said that there were a lot of deregulation rules issued in the George HW Bush administration that were started in the first term of Ronald Reagan. It took a long time for rules to make it through the bureaucracy, and it needed a Republican president, and his appointees, to shepherd the deregulation through.
Moderator Note:
Please keep your murder fantasy to yourselfAG Barr’s record at Justice was a wanton act of betrayal of not just Trump but the American People as well as a gross miscarriage of Justice where he took the “take care” clause and stomped on it, burned it and threw it in the trash.
His handling of Mueller inquiry was abysmal where he had conflicts of interest as friends of both Mueller, Rosenstein and others. He let that committee run roughshod over the Trump Administration and failed to insure a proper prosecution of the facts.
His lack of prosecution of AntiFa and BLM set the tone for a two tiered application justice when the Left was given a slap on the wrist while the Right was hammered beyond any reason.
He let Fauci et al run rampant over the entire country and allowed Fauci to stop Trump’s allocation for use of 60 million doses of HCQ to fight COVID, He has such blood on his hands. A truly evil man.
Finally, his lack of enforcement of election laws and his willful lack of prosecution of wholesale election fraud personified his outrageous and unlawful reign as AG. He should no only be in jail for his crimes; he really should be tried for High Treason.
There is a limit of what he can do at the federal level.
It’s the state GOP legislators and they were warned by the Heritage Foundation. So was the RNC.
It was Zuckerberg and the staggering lack of ballot controls. I notice that a lot of the fraud stuff is actually coming together. It was bad.
Antifa operates on a cell structure. Those at the top of the chain do not use social media, especially when it comes to planning and actual operations. They find individuals that they can use to provide bodies for a demonstration as well as dropping off shields and weapons. The Proud Boys are more transparent. They use social media. Both Antifa and the Proud Boys do not seek permits for demonstrations.
Antifa co-opted BLM demonstrations in Portland which led to a lack of cooperation between them. Antifa will be difficult to infiltrate.
He was explaining one reason he thought was an issue, not implying it was a reason he felt himself. He gave a very good answer about the problems faced going after Antifa and they are valid. They are they challenges that must be overcome. He also felt there was a difference between how January 6 protesters and Antifa were treated. He seemed pleased they were able to get some of Antifa.
That is a true statement. Barr isn’t the problem.
This is why you should listen. I had a different take and ordered his book after the live podcast was over. I even went back and listened again after the audio version was posted. Yes, I don’t fully agree with him, but he is a good man who did a lot of good and deserves better than the vitriol aimed his way.