The Buck Stops Here

Remember the good ol’ days when a president could be talked out of his worst impulses? So do we. This week the guys had a chance to chat with one of the people our current president should have listened to: Wisconsin Representative (and Marine Intelligence Officer) Mike Gallagher.

The Congressman takes us through the poor leadership, political and operational failures, and the dangers we face now that Afghanistan has collapsed. (And if you can, please donate to this GoFundMe campaign to help the family of Rob’s friend Habib.) The hosts also get a chance to chat about progressive colonialism and Peter’s good feeling about the California recall.

Music from this week’s podcast: Memory Motel by The Rolling Stones

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There are 50 comments.

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  1. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Carl Pales (View Comment):

    This was one of the best podcasts in months. I hope Mike Gallagher is a more frequent guest. He further solidified the impression I formed during my career in the intelligence community of Marine intelligence officers as being the best-prepared, most insightful and, crucially, most outspoken on critical matters in the community. His seeming lack of partisan orthodoxy on matters of national security will (hopefully) make him an effective and credible voice on such matters in the future, regardless of who is in the White House.

    One thing for sure, Military Veteran/Congressman Mike Gallagher is way out ahead of Radio Show Host Mike Gallagher, in every way.

    • #31
  2. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    I Walton (View Comment):

    This is good, not as critical as he could be about the military. It’s very hard to imagine how this country ended up in the hands of several layers of incredible incompetents. Some of it can be explained if we inject serious Chinese influence along the way. Which is the reason we must get rid of Biden no matter how horrible the demented left wing VP appears to be. But even Chinese influence can’t explain leaving the weapons and cash to the Taliban. Why did the military not destroy it? It’s simply beyond understanding. Has anyone on any side offered any explanation?

    One credible explanation is that the equipment was left for the Afghan military to use, but somehow everyone forgot that the Afghan military had been specifically trained and equipped to rely on American air support and intelligence-gathering, which was withdrawn.  Which is another level of Joe’s screw-ups.

    • #32
  3. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    SParker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    How is that “Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president” working out for you, Rob?

    Can’t answer for him, but here’s a logic problem for you.

    P1 T is not fit for office.

    P2 B is not fit for office.

    Prove: (P2 = TRUE) IMPLIES (P1 = FALSE)

    Good Luck!

    That ignores stuff like “binary choice” etc.  Rob doesn’t get to decide they’re BOTH unfit, so have someone else instead.

    He traded someone who was “unfit to be President” for someone who is unfit to be Dog Catcher.  Good job!

    Also, Rob’s criteria for Trump being unfit had little if anything to do with Trump’s performance in office.  Rob simply found him “loathsome.”  Well, boo hoo, Rob.  Even if I agreed with him on that, I’d take “loathsome” without a bunch of dead Marines, any day of the week, and ten times on Sunday.

    • #33
  4. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    kedavis (View Comment):

    SParker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    How is that “Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president” working out for you, Rob?

    Can’t answer for him, but here’s a logic problem for you.

    P1 T is not fit for office.

    P2 B is not fit for office.

    Prove: (P2 = TRUE) IMPLIES (P1 = FALSE)

    Good Luck!

    That ignores stuff like “binary choice” etc. Rob doesn’t get to decide they’re BOTH unfit, so have someone else instead.

    He traded someone who was “unfit to be President” for someone who is unfit to be Dog Catcher. Good job!

    Also, Rob’s criteria for Trump being unfit had little if anything to do with Trump’s performance in office. Rob simply found him “loathsome.” Well, boo hoo, Rob. Even if I agreed with him on that, I’d take “loathsome” without a bunch of dead Marines, any day of the week, and ten times on Sunday.

    That Trump was unfit was always a debatable claim. That Biden was unfit was once a slightly less debatable claim, but now it has been proved that he is unfit beyond a doubt.

    • #34
  5. EDISONPARKS Member
    EDISONPARKS
    @user_54742

    Django (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    SParker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    How is that “Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president” working out for you, Rob?

    Can’t answer for him, but here’s a logic problem for you.

    P1 T is not fit for office.

    P2 B is not fit for office.

    Prove: (P2 = TRUE) IMPLIES (P1 = FALSE)

    Good Luck!

    That ignores stuff like “binary choice” etc. Rob doesn’t get to decide they’re BOTH unfit, so have someone else instead.

    He traded someone who was “unfit to be President” for someone who is unfit to be Dog Catcher. Good job!

    Also, Rob’s criteria for Trump being unfit had little if anything to do with Trump’s performance in office. Rob simply found him “loathsome.” Well, boo hoo, Rob. Even if I agreed with him on that, I’d take “loathsome” without a bunch of dead Marines, any day of the week, and ten times on Sunday.

    That Trump was unfit was always a debatable claim. That Biden was unfit was once a slightly less debatable claim, but now it has been proved that he is unfit beyond a doubt.

    We are experiencing the cataclysmic Presidential melt down the (D)/MSM/NT had predicted was just around the corner all 4 years  of Trump’s term.

    • #35
  6. Arnold Falk Inactive
    Arnold Falk
    @acfalk

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational.  You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    • #36
  7. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Arnold Falk (View Comment):

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    Uhhh….

    Not really.

    • #37
  8. ToryWarWriter Coolidge
    ToryWarWriter
    @ToryWarWriter

    Arnold Falk (View Comment):

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    Having seen the process in action, thats not actually how the podcast happens.  He usually does the commercial breaks at the end, and then they are dropped throughout the show.

     

    • #38
  9. Quickz Member
    Quickz
    @Quickz

    Django (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    SParker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    How is that “Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president” working out for you, Rob?

    Can’t answer for him, but here’s a logic problem for you.

    P1 T is not fit for office.

    P2 B is not fit for office.

    Prove: (P2 = TRUE) IMPLIES (P1 = FALSE)

    Good Luck!

    That ignores stuff like “binary choice” etc. Rob doesn’t get to decide they’re BOTH unfit, so have someone else instead.

    That Trump was unfit was always a debatable claim. That Biden was unfit was once a slightly less debatable claim, but now it has been proved that he is unfit beyond a doubt.

    Agreed. The proper logic problem is: Given (before the election): P1 T is not fit for office; P2 B is better fit than T; Therefore the choice was to elect B.

    The decision from this was made.

    After time passed we look back and ask in light of the Afghan situation, would the plans of T > B for handling this?

    Through T, Pompeo, Pence, and others we understand the reality of the “Trump Deal”, and its condition-based approach. We also understand that multiple violations by the Taliban began to occur after the deal and a quick response was done by Pompeo/military/T, which seemed to keep the Taliban “in line”. We also know that these retaliatory, “get in line!” actions *stopped* when B took office. B also made so many additional changes (dates, communications, tactics, etc.) that there is a clear difference between T and B’s plans.

    Knowing all this we state: P1 T is not fit for office; P3 B is not fit for office; Q1 is a result that is better for the nation; Q2 is a result that is worse for the nation;

    If P1 then Q1

    If P2 then Q2; If P3 then Q2

    Q1 is preferred to Q2; Q1 > Q2

    Therefore, judging for best result of Qn: P1 > P2 and P3

    Therefore P1 = False, P2 = False, and P3 = True

    Choice for B over T was wrong, it’s like science man!

    • #39
  10. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Arnold Falk: Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. 

    After the main body of the podcast is recorded we always have a post-show recording session with James that lasts about 10 minutes. He records 1-2 spots and the “Let’s have ourselves a podcast” line and everything is rearranged in postproduction. 

    The interruptions were my decision, that is I made the call to interrupt Rob because I didn’t want to keep the Congressman waiting and I made the decision where to place the 2nd spot which was recorded in post. 

    Join us on the zoom call on any Friday to see how the sausage gets made!

    • #40
  11. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Quickz (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    SParker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    How is that “Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president” working out for you, Rob?

    Can’t answer for him, but here’s a logic problem for you.

    P1 T is not fit for office.

    P2 B is not fit for office.

    Prove: (P2 = TRUE) IMPLIES (P1 = FALSE)

    Good Luck!

    That ignores stuff like “binary choice” etc. Rob doesn’t get to decide they’re BOTH unfit, so have someone else instead.

    That Trump was unfit was always a debatable claim. That Biden was unfit was once a slightly less debatable claim, but now it has been proved that he is unfit beyond a doubt.

    Agreed. The proper logic problem is: Given (before the election): P1 T is not fit for office; P2 B is better fit than T; Therefore the choice was to elect B.

    The decision from this was made.

    After time passed we look back and ask in light of the Afghan situation, would the plans of T > B for handling this?

    Through T, Pompeo, Pence, and others we understand the reality of the “Trump Deal”, and its condition-based approach. We also understand that multiple violations by the Taliban began to occur after the deal and a quick response was done by Pompeo/military/T, which seemed to keep the Taliban “in line”. We also know that these retaliatory, “get in line!” actions *stopped* when B took office. B also made so many additional changes (dates, communications, tactics, etc.) that there is a clear difference between T and B’s plans.

    Knowing all this we state: P1 T is not fit for office; P3 B is not fit for office; Q1 is a result that is better for the nation; Q2 is a result that is worse for the nation;

    If P1 then Q1

    If P2 then Q2; If P3 then Q2

    Q1 is preferred to Q2; Q1 > Q2

    Therefore, judging for best result of Qn: P1 > P2 and P3

    Therefore P1 = False, P2 = False, and P3 = True

    Choice for B over T was wrong, it’s like science man!

    Some of us knew that before the election, based on watching B “in action”(more like “inaction”) for 30+ years.  It wasn’t necessary to see exactly how B would screw up this one particular thing, before reaching that conclusion.

    • #41
  12. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    People looked at Trump and the chaos he creates around him and said to themselves, “Well, Biden can’t be any worse.”

    And then Joe said, “Hold my ice cream cone…”

    • #42
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    EJHill (View Comment):

    People looked at Trump and the chaos he creates around him and said to themselves, “Well, Biden can’t be any worse.”

    And then Joe said, “Hold my ice cream cone…”

    To paraphrase, What Trump created wasn’t chaos; he created truth, and the other side called it chaos.

    • #43
  14. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    kedavis (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    People looked at Trump and the chaos he creates around him and said to themselves, “Well, Biden can’t be any worse.”

    And then Joe said, “Hold my ice cream cone…”

    To paraphrase, What Trump created wasn’t chaos; he created truth, and the other side called it chaos.

    That is exactly right.

    • #44
  15. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    People looked at Trump and the chaos he creates around him and said to themselves, “Well, Biden can’t be any worse.”

    And then Joe said, “Hold my ice cream cone…”

    To paraphrase, What Trump created wasn’t chaos; he created truth, and the other side called it chaos.

    That is exactly right.

    Yeah. Turns out a good portion of Americans

    can’t  handle the truth

    (Insert Jack Nicholson meme here)

    • #45
  16. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Franco (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    People looked at Trump and the chaos he creates around him and said to themselves, “Well, Biden can’t be any worse.”

    And then Joe said, “Hold my ice cream cone…”

    To paraphrase, What Trump created wasn’t chaos; he created truth, and the other side called it chaos.

    That is exactly right.

    Yeah. Turns out a good portion of Americans

    can’t handle the truth

    (Insert Jack Nicholson meme here)

    Did you expense the Lap Dances?

     

    • #46
  17. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Arnold Falk (View Comment):

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    That you can’t tell that the spots were inserted later is a testament to the producing and editing skills of @ejhill.

    • #47
  18. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    Arnold Falk (View Comment):

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    That you can’t tell that the spots were inserted later is a testament to the producing and editing skills of @ ejhill.

    And James pretending that he was indeed interrupting…

    • #48
  19. Wolfsheim Member
    Wolfsheim
    @Wolfsheim

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Wolfsheim: First, a quick practical question for which I apologize: Though a loyal Ricochet member, I do not know how to go about giving a five-star rating. Where do I go?

    This is only if you have Apple’s podcast app or iTunes. I don’t believe you can access it through a browser. There will be a button that says “Write a review” and that will lead you the page that allows you to give the podcast stars.

     

    Thank you!

    • #49
  20. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti


    kedavis (View Comment)
    :

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    Arnold Falk (View Comment):

    James,

    Please….please….work on making commercial breaks more structured and rational. You unnecessarily, even rudely, interrupted Robb Long early in the podcast, and then not long thereafter that you interrupted Congressman Gallagher.

     

    That you can’t tell that the spots were inserted later is a testament to the producing and editing skills of @ ejhill.

    And James pretending that he was indeed interrupting…

    • #50
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