The Long Game

Back this week with the full cast and another full show. We start with a  deep dive on the Bari Weiss resignation and free speech in general. Then our favorite Denmark dude, Bjørn Lomborg joins to discuss his new book, How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet. and we give him a chance to rebut a very snarky New York Times review of said book. Happy to help, Bjorn. Then, our favorite health care wonk, Avik Roy (listen to his 2x a week Covid in 19 podcast — co-hosted by some guy we’ve ever heard of– for all the latest COVID news and analysis) drops by to school us why schools should stay open. Finally, yep it’s another Lileks Post of The Week, this time by Ricochet member Tocqueville, who has compiled a very good list of Bullsh*t words/expressions that have got to go! 2020 Edition. The guys add a few of their own, so please feel free to give us yours in the comments below. In the meantime, stay safe and mask it.

Music from this week’s show: Times Like These by Glen Campbell

 

 

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  1. ToryWarWriter Coolidge
    ToryWarWriter
    @ToryWarWriter

    Want more fascinating interviews with actual members like you?

    Come watch Land of Confusions latest episode.

    http://ricochet.com/779794/land-of-confusion-with-seawriter/

     

     

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    I loved hearing Peter giving Rob a hard thwack.

    • #2
  3. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    Sorry, but I think that the the radical innovations needed to make solar and wind power competitive with fossil fuels are unlikely to occur in the next generation or two. They are very destructive to the environment and can’t generate power when they’re most needed such as winter storms. Improvements in efficiency are unlikely to solve that. Fracking has radically reduced CO2 emissions and we should be happy with that result.

    • #3
  4. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    Sorry, but I think that the the radical innovations needed to make solar and wind power competitive with fossil fuels are unlikely to occur in the next generation or two. They are very destructive to the environment and can’t generate power when they’re most needed such as winter storms. Improvements in efficiency are unlikely to solve that. Fracking has radically reduced CO2 emissions and we should be happy with that result.

    Go nukes! Go nukes! Go nukes! 

    • #4
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    “The Long Game.”  That’s the one about hunting humans for sport, right?

    • #5
  6. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    kedavis (View Comment):

    “The Long Game.” That’s the one about hunting humans for sport, right?

    No, that’s the Long Pig Game. This is about grand strategy on the world stage.

    • #6
  7. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Arahant (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    “The Long Game.” That’s the one about hunting humans for sport, right?

    No, that’s the Long Pig Game. This is about grand strategy on the world stage.

    Or The Most Dangerous Game.  But still…

    • #7
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Actually @jameslileks it turns out @tocqueville is a lady.

    And my pick for works to extirpate:  “meditation.”  As in such-and-such a movie is a “meditation” on whatever.

    • #8
  9. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Over on Three Martini Lunch, co-host @gregcorombos did the CarShield ad read and mentioned having a 9-year-old car that needed $5,000 in engine repairs, and wishing he had had CarShield.  Having looked into CarShield before, what I found is that they probably wouldn’t have covered his 9-year-old mini-van. Maybe if he had had their coverage since it was new, but in that case he would have been paying a minimum of $99/month (according to his ad read) which is basically $1,200 a year, or $10,800 for 9 years, and the $99/month level of coverage may not have covered his $5,000 engine repair anyway. But if it had, he would have gotten a $5,000 repair for the low, low price of only $10,800!

    • #9
  10. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Five right-wing kook billionaires . . . could create a national, free public high school, or a . . . free Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Ivy League-quality university . . . . They could do that tomorrow.

    I don’t know ’bout tomorrow.

    But I figure in a year or two I could put together the philosophy lectures and the logic lectures and massive TF/MCQ question pools that could be used automatically in online tests, along with some essay-type questions and logic exercises with some rubrics for grading them.

    We have people on Ricochet who could put together courses in law, history, civics.  I think we have a math teacher, and some literature prof somewhere.  This can be done.  With our people.

    I figure we just need someone with money to help it get going, and we need someone with connections to help organize it.

    • #10
  11. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Five right-wing kook billionaires . . . could create a national, free public high school, or a . . . free Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Ivy League-quality university . . . . They could do that tomorrow.

    I don’t know ’bout tomorrow.

    But I figure in a year or two I could put together the philosophy lectures and the logic lectures and massive TF/MCQ question pools that could be used automatically in online tests, along with some essay-type questions and logic exercises with some rubrics for grading them.

    We have people on Ricochet who could put together courses in law, history, civics. I think we have a math teacher, and some literature prof somewhere. This can be done. With our people.

    I figure we just need someone with money to help it get going, and we need someone with connections to help organize it.

    Maybe all that’s needed is a bunch of chairs and laptops or whatever, where people sit and absorb the Prager University material that already exists.

    • #11
  12. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Five right-wing kook billionaires . . . could create a national, free public high school, or a . . . free Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Ivy League-quality university . . . . They could do that tomorrow.

    I don’t know ’bout tomorrow.

    But I figure in a year or two I could put together the philosophy lectures and the logic lectures and massive TF/MCQ question pools that could be used automatically in online tests, along with some essay-type questions and logic exercises with some rubrics for grading them.

    We have people on Ricochet who could put together courses in law, history, civics. I think we have a math teacher, and some literature prof somewhere. This can be done. With our people.

    I figure we just need someone with money to help it get going, and we need someone with connections to help organize it.

    Maybe all that’s needed is a bunch of chairs and laptops or whatever, where people sit and absorb the Prager University material that already exists.

    I have thought this for a long time. I would love to have all of my books picked out by Mark Levin, Dennis Prager, and the Mises Institute. 

    You just need to get a bunch of people to say screw the accreditation racket.

    • #12
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    If Rob is correct that Harvard etc are rapidly declining into irrelevance, why not wait for that to go a bit further and then pick up their… campuses?… campii?… for a song?

    • #13
  14. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    One in 100 are infected.

    10% are super spreaders. 80% don’t spread it very much.

    Mask research and data is all over the place.

    You can find doctors that will give you a long list of reasons it will never work as a ***public health intervention***.

    = masks are a waste of resources.

     

    • #14
  15. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    Peter, when you interview Bjorn, consider a question along the lines of, “Isn’t it true that anyone serious about climate change supports nuclear, especially the new smaller reactors?”

    Just a thought.

    • #15
  16. Blondie Thatcher
    Blondie
    @Blondie

    I love a good @jameslileks rant!

    • #16
  17. WilliamDean Coolidge
    WilliamDean
    @WilliamDean

    Call ’em the DC Senators, since everybody there says they want Senators so bad.

    • #17
  18. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    What a great podcast!  While I disagree with William Barr on almost everything, I loved his statements about China.  I hope someone does a post about that.

    • #18
  19. Belt Inactive
    Belt
    @Belt

    Does James have allergies?  His sniffling was a little distracting…

    • #19
  20. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Five right-wing kook billionaires . . . could create a national, free public high school, or a . . . free Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Ivy League-quality university . . . . They could do that tomorrow.

    I don’t know ’bout tomorrow.

    But I figure in a year or two I could put together the philosophy lectures and the logic lectures and massive TF/MCQ question pools that could be used automatically in online tests, along with some essay-type questions and logic exercises with some rubrics for grading them.

    We have people on Ricochet who could put together courses in law, history, civics. I think we have a math teacher, and some literature prof somewhere. This can be done. With our people.

    I figure we just need someone with money to help it get going, and we need someone with connections to help organize it.

    Maybe all that’s needed is a bunch of chairs and laptops or whatever, where people sit and absorb the Prager University material that already exists.

    And read the books!

    Maybe we don’t need a new school. Maybe we just need to set up a testing system that can employers can use in lieu of a B. A.

    • #20
  21. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Five right-wing kook billionaires . . . could create a national, free public high school, or a . . . free Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Ivy League-quality university . . . . They could do that tomorrow.

    I don’t know ’bout tomorrow.

    But I figure in a year or two I could put together the philosophy lectures and the logic lectures and massive TF/MCQ question pools that could be used automatically in online tests, along with some essay-type questions and logic exercises with some rubrics for grading them.

    We have people on Ricochet who could put together courses in law, history, civics. I think we have a math teacher, and some literature prof somewhere. This can be done. With our people.

    I figure we just need someone with money to help it get going, and we need someone with connections to help organize it.

    Maybe all that’s needed is a bunch of chairs and laptops or whatever, where people sit and absorb the Prager University material that already exists.

    And read the books!

    Maybe we don’t need a new school. Maybe we just need to set up a testing system that can employers can use in lieu of a B. A.

    Very few people care about liberal arts. 

    Certify everything else. Don’t make anybody take liberal arts.

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

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Very few people care about liberal arts. 

    Certify everything else. Don’t make anybody take liberal arts.

    Maybe so.

    I still don’t know a better way to teach people to speak clearly, think clearly, and write clearly without having them study things like Latin, logic, Shakespeare, Plato, and Napoleon and write papers about that stuff.

    Not that “liberal arts” these days has much to do with that.

    And I expect a lot of clear thinking about practical and concrete stuff is fostered by engineering, chemistry lab work, and motorcycle maintenance. I would generally expect clearer thinking from an experienced plumber than from a mis-educated liberal arts major.

    Anyway–whether schools or tests, whether one test or another test or both tests–we really could set up some alternative systems of education and/or certification of having been through some process of workplace preparation.

    Why don’t we? Are we just waiting for the billionaire to streamline it?  Or for some Big Idea guy with connections and amazing talking skills?

    • #22
  23. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Very few people care about liberal arts. 

    Certify everything else. Don’t make anybody take liberal arts.

    Maybe so.

    I still don’t know a better way to teach people to speak clearly, think clearly, and write clearly without having them study things like Latin, logic, Shakespeare, Plato, and Napoleon and write papers about that stuff.

    Not that “liberal arts” these days has much to do with that.

    I went to college a long time ago, and I was highly surprised by how many people way smarter than me were very bitter about having to do this stuff. They just wanted to get out of college to make a ton of money. The parents didn’t care. Nobody cared. Thought it was a scam and a waste of time back then. 

    I want to make it clear though, I totally agree with your point of view. 

    • #23
  24. Samuel Block Support
    Samuel Block
    @SamuelBlock

    Ooooh! Another bit to add to the Long Game should be financing independent, popular artists. They don’t have to (and should not be) right-wing artists, just not propagandists. Hollywood is going south, Georgia has real upside. I’d bet there are even opportunities to get a return on investment. 

    • #24
  25. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Very few people care about liberal arts.

    Certify everything else. Don’t make anybody take liberal arts.

    Maybe so.

    I still don’t know a better way to teach people to speak clearly, think clearly, and write clearly without having them study things like Latin, logic, Shakespeare, Plato, and Napoleon and write papers about that stuff.

    Not that “liberal arts” these days has much to do with that.

    I went to college a long time ago, and I was highly surprised by how many people way smarter than me were very bitter about having to do this stuff. They just wanted to get out of college to make a ton of money. The parents didn’t care. Nobody cared. Thought it was a scam and a waste of time back then.

    I want to make it clear though, I totally agree with your point of view.

    Most of the time, perhaps a lot of what we learn isn’t specifically useful.  But learning it can help create patterns of thought and logic that help in other areas.

    It isn’t real significant or anything, but many years ago, my little brother was making a flag for some class.  He chose the flag of Japan, and used the lid from a coffee can or something, to trace the circle.  Then he needed to use a compass-like tool (the drawing type, not the North-South-East-West type) to darken the border with a marker or something.  But he hadn’t used a compass to make the circle, so he didn’t know where the center was.  Measuring would have been inaccurate.  I was able to pinpoint it using my geometry knowledge by making two segments on the circle, drawing the bisecting lines, and where they crossed was the center of the circle.

    Roughly:

    P.S.  None of that relied on measuring, just a compass and straight-edge.

    • #25
  26. Steven Iverson Member
    Steven Iverson
    @stevenIverson

    My mind boggles to think that Lomgborg and others on podcast actually think that man has anything to do with climate change. I believe I even heard Lomgborg say on another podcast that man is responsible for 90% of the climate change that occurs!

    CO2 accounts for only 0.04 of 1 percent of the atmosphere and 97% of that trace amount comes from naturally occurring sources. What ended the ice age and warmed the earth after the little ice age?

    A guest suggestion, how about Rupert Darwall, author of Green Tyranny, Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex. https://www.amazon.com/Green-Tyranny-Exposing-Totalitarian-Industrial/dp/1641770449/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3B0Y6OCCDA1W3&dchild=1&keywords=green+tyranny&qid=1595154694&s=books&sprefix=green+tyr%2Caps%2C167&sr=1-1

    I’ve invested in wind tower manufacturer Broadwind Energy, so that some of the wealth transfer from this scam lands in my pocket.

    • #26
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Steven Iverson (View Comment):

    My mind boggles to think that Lomgborg and others on podcast actually think that man has anything to do with climate change. I believe I even heard Lomgborg say on another podcast that man is responsible for 90% of the climate change that occurs!

    CO2 accounts for only 0.04 of 1 percent of the atmosphere and 97% of that trace amount comes from naturally occurring sources. What ended the ice age and warmed the earth after the little ice age?

    A guest suggestion, how about Rupert Darwall, author of Green Tyranny, Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex. https://www.amazon.com/Green-Tyranny-Exposing-Totalitarian-Industrial/dp/1641770449/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3B0Y6OCCDA1W3&dchild=1&keywords=green+tyranny&qid=1595154694&s=books&sprefix=green+tyr%2Caps%2C167&sr=1-1

    I’ve invested in wind tower manufacturer Broadwind Energy, so that some of the wealth transfer from this scam lands in my pocket.

    Sometimes I think people like Lomborg only say things like that so they don’t get immediately “cancelled.”

    • #27
  28. Wolfsheim Member
    Wolfsheim
    @Wolfsheim

    Another word that has long grated with me, used to to “signal” one’s escape into trendy subjectivism, is “comfortable.” More than thirty years ago I heard a then-colleague at a liberal arts college where I was a visiting professor say: “I don’t feel comfortable whenever I hear anyone criticize the Soviet Union.” (She was all for making the politically incorrect miserably uncomfortable.)

    At the risk of sounding schoolmarmish, especially when speaking of a man of vast accomplishments…

    I think I heard Peter Robinson used “reticent” when he should have said “hesitant” or “reluctant.” Of course, the meaning of words changes, with semantic broadening and narrowing, but I am still enough of a Latinist and etymologist to think that “reticent” means tight-lipped, silent. 

    Another fine podcast…I confess that, though knowing better, I keep hoping that the mighty three and their guests will give us a rosier outlook.  (“Speak comfort to me. Jacob!”) I live far across the sea, but the thought of a Biden presidency and the triumph of the left fills me with gloom. 

     

     

     

    • #28
  29. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    “Five right-wing kook billionaires” — what “five right-wing kook billionaires”?

    I thought the right-wing kook billionaires all died out, or are at least keeping a very low profile.  After all, as Trump has shown us, becoming a hate object for the Left can cost you billions.

    Billionaires are natural progressives, because having the middle class pay for a welfare state frees the super-rich to enjoy their fortunes without feeling they have to do something about poverty and need.  Heavy, centralized regulation also promotes the interests of the super-rich by burdening their less well-financed competitors, who are in any case in a weaker position to influence the form that the regulations will take.

    Donald Trump, thus, is sort of a traitor to his class.

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

    Taras (View Comment):

    “Five right-wing kook billionaires” — what “five right-wing kook billionaires”?

    Just to name a few (there are many more):

    Sheldon Adelson

    Peter Thiel 

    Robert Kraft

    Paul Singer

    Rupert Murdoch

     

    • #30
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