The Norman Conquests

Only a very few guests warrant two segments on the Ricochet Podcast aka, America’s Most Trusted Podcast® and one of those people is the great Norman Podhoretz (around these parts, we call him “The Podfather). We talk to Norman (who’s a sprightly 89) about his recent conversion to a supporter of the President, the history of the Conservative movement, how he may have singlehandedly invented the hippy, and much more. Norman is a walking, talking museum of American politics of the last 70 years, and we highly recommend this interview. Also, are aliens among us (or at least above us)? A Ricochet Podcast investigation.

Music from this week’s show: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Soundtrack by John Williams

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  1. Rightfromthestart Coolidge
    Rightfromthestart
    @Rightfromthestart

    Peter Robinson (View Comment):

    Jeff Peterson (View Comment):

    Wasn’t the first appearance of the “Trump voter” in the support Buckley received from outer-borough ethnic voters in the 1965 NYC mayor’s race….

    Jeff, you have one long memory. But you’re right. As best I can recall, the support WFB received in the outer boroughs, especially Queens and Staten Island, represented the first real indication of what we would come to call “Reagan Democrats.” If there were a “Historian of the Day” award, you’d win it!

    Only 5 years later WFB’s brother was elected to the Senate on the Conservative Party line running against a liberal Democrat and a liberal Republican.

    • #31
  2. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    “They won’t put him in jail if he gets re-elected.” As what — President for Life?

    As a 2 term president there would be no point. The Democrats would be focused on the latest Republican, not Trump.

    ”His children do some pretty stupid things.” Is this merely a non sequitur, or is it intended to imply it’s OK if they’re thrown in jail by their father’s political enemies?

    If they break the law by doing stupid things, certainly they should be thrown in jail. Or do you think they have some sort of royal exemption?

    “We really don’t know how much money Trump has or had. IMO he is an extremely selfish man who only fights for himself.” So estimating his net worth (the way Forbes Magazine does routinely) is impossible; yet you’ve plumbed his heart of hearts with ease?

    Not possible with any certainty. It varies depending on how much people like you defend and applaud his every move. His money is his name. As for his “heart of hearts”, I simply listen to the words coming out of his mouth and don’t apply a filter the way so many Trumpers do.

    I want him to be re-elected if he runs again. He’s better than the horror show on the other side. But I’d much prefer him to resign and get someone else. The Democrats have decided to leave him there and keep pecking at him. It could work if they had a halfway decent candidate, but they haven’t. The Democrat base may yet insist on impeachment and they may get it. After all the left is running the DNC … not Nancy.

    I don’t subscribe to the “cast no stones at Trump lest you help the Democrats” idea. Trump is what he is. Better to see him realistically than to ascribe him traits and character that he has never and will never have. 

    • #32
  3. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):

    By the way @OccupantCDN did you ever see the series UFO? Not Project UFO, just UFO. The Gerry Anderson show from England.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sGZWHbyXKs

    Nope, thats news to me. It looks pretty “Space 1999”-ish, but whats with the purple hair?

    I found a longer clip of it here:

    I didnt get cable until I moved into the city in 1989-ish, so I missed alot of these early 70s tv shows that would have been late-night re-run fodder.

    • #33
  4. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):
    If they break the law by doing stupid things, certainly they should be thrown in jail. Or do you think they have some sort of royal exemption?

    Worked for Hillary.

    And I remember the Dems telling me that throwing political opponents in jail was the stuff of Banana Republics.  I would think that would go double for their family members.

     

    • #34
  5. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):
    If they break the law by doing stupid things, certainly they should be thrown in jail. Or do you think they have some sort of royal exemption?

    Worked for Hillary.

    And I remember the Dems telling me that throwing political opponents in jail was the stuff of Banana Republics. I would think that would go double for their family members.

     

    Shouldn’t work for Hillary. Shouldn’t work for anyone. Political opponents should be thrown in jail if they break the law. Giving them exemptions is the stuff of Banana Republics. Reminds me of a saying in Brazil by a politician: “For my friends … everything! For my enemies … the law.”

    • #35
  6. Ronnie Inactive
    Ronnie
    @Ronnie

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    I get so depressed when I hear usually sensible people like Peter or James say Mueller or David French or Jonah Goldberg are hacks or RINOs for believing Trump should be held to his oath of faithfully executing the laws.

    When did Peter or James say that David French or Jonah Goldberg were hacks/RINOs? If they did, I’d find it disappointing, but I guess I must’ve missed it.

    Mueller (as opposed to David & Jonah whose job it is to tell people what they think) is a government official with well defined ethical and professional standards and obligation, and if he fails to live up to those standards, it’s perfectly acceptable to call him on it. One may agree or disagree with the assessment of his behavior, but it’s unreasonable to assume that the same criteria should be applied (or are being applied) when assessing the behavior of prosecutors and pundits.

    • #36
  7. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    kedavis (View Comment):

    @roblong

    “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” – Arthur C. Clarke

     In Arthur C. Clarke‘s hard SF classic, Rendezvous with Rama (1973), an alien spaceship 30 miles long passes through the solar system. 

     Traveling between the stars realistically, that is, the slow way, will require spaceships that can support life for hundreds or thousands of years. 

    • #37
  8. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Taras (View Comment):
    Predictions are not facts, and can’t be used as evidence to support your position. Of course, had John Podhoretz got the 2016 election right, I might be more inclined to pay attention to his predictions about 2020.

    I see I misquoted John Podhoretz; he said IF Trump loses in a Carter-like blowout, it was my projection to modify that to WHEN Trump gets blown out, because I’m confident that’s what’s going to happen.

    As for Julia’s comments, does anyone think Trump would put his love of country above his love of himself if Larry Hogan started gaining some traction in Republican primaries? Everyone of us knows he would burn the country down before he let himself be put out of office.

     How does your confidence that Trump will get blown out in 2020 differ from your confidence that Trump would get blown out in 2016? 

     My own reading of the situation is that you could be right (this time), if the Democrats nominate a moderate candidate they don’t have, and wouldn’t nominate if they did have. 

    “Everyone of us knows he would burn the country down” — Don’t project your illusions on other people.  That you have swallowed the liberal media narrative doesn’t mean we have. 

     Trump is an old-fashioned, conservative Democrat, in the style of JFK; in other words, a super-patriot.  Which is why progressives hate him so much, because he puts America ahead of the rest of the world, and the American people ahead of all other people.

     Admittedly, the liberal media would ardently embrace Larry Hogan.   He’s the kind of Republican liberals like.   He would, I think, fill the role the media considers proper for a Republican in a Presidential election:  to go down to defeat politely. 

    • #38
  9. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    By the way @OccupantCDN did you ever see the series UFO? Not Project UFO, just UFO. The Gerry Anderson show from England.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sGZWHbyXKs

    Nope, thats news to me. It looks pretty “Space 1999”-ish, but whats with the purple hair?

    I found a longer clip of it here:

    I didnt get cable until I moved into the city in 1989-ish, so I missed alot of these early 70s tv shows that would have been late-night re-run fodder.

    That’s part of the very first episode.  Unfortunately it’s been cropped, because it was not made in widescreen.

    “Back in the day,” movie purists would get movies in “letterbox” format for their regular TV and ignored the philistines who thought the black spaces meant “something is missing!”  But in fact “letterbox” shows the original movie as made.

    Now it’s just the opposite.  The philistines are still the people who think the screen has to be filled, but now they’re cropping older shows to make them look “widescreen”/HD when they really weren’t.

    Actually, a theatrical-type movie on a widescreen TV still usually involves some “letterboxing” if you’re going to see the whole thing.  Movies are usually made in some format that is wider than the 16:9 aspect ratio of a “widescreen” HDTV.  But the philistines will still use “zoom” or “stretch” or something, because they believe The Screen Must Be Filled!

    • #39
  10. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    kedavis (View Comment):
    By the way @OccupantCDN did you ever see the series UFO? Not Project UFO, just UFO. The Gerry Anderson show from England.

    Odd show. More serious than anything Anderson did, but also campy as hell, at least when you got to the moon base. Remarkably unsympathetic main character; all business and bad hair. One of the best themes of the era. I loved it.

    • #40
  11. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Ronnie (View Comment):
    When did Peter or James say that David French or Jonah Goldberg were hacks/RINOs? If they did, I’d find it disappointing, but I guess I must’ve missed it.

    I’d never say that, because I don’t believe it.

    • #41
  12. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):

    “They won’t put him in jail if he gets re-elected.” As what — President for Life?

    As a 2 term president there would be no point. The Democrats would be focused on the latest Republican, not Trump.

    ”His children do some pretty stupid things.” Is this merely a non sequitur, or is it intended to imply it’s OK if they’re thrown in jail by their father’s political enemies?

    If they break the law by doing stupid things, certainly they should be thrown in jail. Or do you think they have some sort of royal exemption?

    “We really don’t know how much money Trump has or had. IMO he is an extremely selfish man who only fights for himself.” So estimating his net worth (the way Forbes Magazine does routinely) is impossible; yet you’ve plumbed his heart of hearts with ease?

    Not possible with any certainty. It varies depending on how much people like you defend and applaud his every move. His money is his name. As for his “heart of hearts”, I simply listen to the words coming out of his mouth and don’t apply a filter the way so many Trumpers do.

    I want him to be re-elected if he runs again. He’s better than the horror show on the other side. But I’d much prefer him to resign and get someone else. The Democrats have decided to leave him there and keep pecking at him. It could work if they had a halfway decent candidate, but they haven’t. The Democrat base may yet insist on impeachment and they may get it. After all the left is running the DNC … not Nancy.

    I don’t subscribe to the “cast no stones at Trump lest you help the Democrats” idea. Trump is what he is. Better to see him realistically than to ascribe him traits and character that he has never and will never have.

     You should contact Forbes and let them know that they’ve been calculating the net worth of billionaires all wrong for generations.  They arrived at an estimate of $3.1 billion for Donald Trump as of February based on the value of the properties and financial assets he owns; his unpopularity with the Left is already baked into the numbers.

    If you “listen to the words coming out of his mouth”,  then you will have heard him express his patriotism countless times.   But that doesn’t mean anything to you because “Trump lies all the time“.  In other words, you believe him only when his words conform to your prejudices.

    We may not like his tariff and trade war policies, but there is no question he’s taking grave political risks to fight for the American working class. 

    N.B.:  If Trump is reelected, then removing him from office will become even more urgent for the Democrats.  RBG can’t live forever. 

    • #42
  13. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    By the way @OccupantCDN did you ever see the series UFO? Not Project UFO, just UFO. The Gerry Anderson show from England.

    Odd show. More serious than anything Anderson did, but also campy as hell, at least when you got to the moon base. Remarkably unsympathetic main character; all business and bad hair. One of the best themes of the era. I loved it.

    I liked the look of the moon base. It makes sense for what an early moon base could like.

    The spherical habitat modules look inflatable and limit contact with the moon’s surface – for both better thermal control inside the module and to isolate the module from seismic events on the moon.

    • #43
  14. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Ronnie (View Comment):
    When did Peter or James say that David French or Jonah Goldberg were hacks/RINOs? If they did, I’d find it disappointing, but I guess I must’ve missed it.

    I’d never say that, because I don’t believe it.

    James, you used to reserve the scorn in your voice for those that called you a “cuck” for not getting on the Trump bandwagon. In the last few podcasts you have directed it at those like Mueller, French, Goldberg that refuse to bend the knee to Trump. Perhaps you only meant Jen Rubin or the like, but it certainly sounded like you have accepted the Robinson/Hanson worldview.

    I think Mr. Mueller was given a thankless task. I agree with John Yoo that the tools he had to work with were not correct for this kind of inquiry – it was like asking someone to open a paint can with a saw blade. There was no way everyone would be happy with the result, but the paint can had to be opened. Trump went on NBC with Lester Holt and said Rosenstein’s reasons for firing Comey were bogus, he fired him to shut down the Russia probe. What would you [I mean Peter or James or Ricochetti] have us do under those circumstances? Say nothing to see here move along now? Mueller spent between $25 and $40 million dollars trying to get to the bottom of it – does Peter honestly think he’s a hack because he didn’t burn that work product after he finished it? I’m honestly curious, what result would have satisfied the Mueller critics, starting with Mr. Robinson and Lileks?

    • #44
  15. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I think governments would keep alien contacts a secret for as long as possible – because they’re afraid of upsetting the status quo.

    There are no flying saucers, and a UFO is just that – an unidentified flying object.  Although the odds are in favor of other sentient beings in the universe, the odds are against them being in contact with us.

    • #45
  16. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Peter nailed it. I knew Mueller was bad from the beginning.

    Rob, Mueller always was a partisan hack, and he’s been unethical as well as the people he hired. I knew that when I read about how Mueller knowingly allowed four innocent men (two died in prison, one was on death row and could have been executed) to spend time behind bars in order to protect a source—Whitey Bulger, a vicious and known criminal who deserved no such protection. Whatever happened to the concept of letting ten guilty men go free if it keeps one innocent man from becoming imprisoned?

    Now we learn Mueller once joined a Trump golf course after putting down a $15k deposit, then turned around and quit. He asked for the money back and Trump refused (normally such deposits are non-refundable). And then Trump interviewed Mueller for the FBI post and rejected him. Is it possible Mueller has a personal animosity against Trump which biased his investigation? Which led him after not finding squat for evidence to stick to Trump one last time?

    • #46
  17. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Stad (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I think governments would keep alien contacts a secret for as long as possible – because they’re afraid of upsetting the status quo.

    There are no flying saucers, and a UFO is just that – an unidentified flying object. Although the odds are in favor of other sentient beings in the universe, the odds are against them being in contact with us.

    I agree, but IF  anyone were visiting, I think the nations lucky enough to receive these guests would keep it secret.

    Its not just a problem of space, distance and velocity that makes alien contact unlikely – but also time. The Galaxy could be have several other civilizations, but maybe just not right now. At this very moment we could be the only civilization in this galaxy.

    • #47
  18. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Ronnie (View Comment):
    When did Peter or James say that David French or Jonah Goldberg were hacks/RINOs? If they did, I’d find it disappointing, but I guess I must’ve missed it.

    I’d never say that, because I don’t believe it.

    James, you used to reserve the scorn in your voice for those that called you a “cuck” for not getting on the Trump bandwagon. In the last few podcasts you have directed it at those like Mueller, French, Goldberg that refuse to bend the knee to Trump. Perhaps you only meant Jen Rubin or the like, but it certainly sounded like you have accepted the Robinson/Hanson worldview.

    I think Mr. Mueller was given a thankless task. I agree with John Yoo that the tools he had to work with were not correct for this kind of inquiry – it was like asking someone to open a paint can with a saw blade. There was no way everyone would be happy with the result, but the paint can had to be opened. Trump went on NBC with Lester Holt and said Rosenstein’s reasons for firing Comey were bogus, he fired him to shut down the Russia probe. What would you [I mean Peter or James or Ricochetti] have us do under those circumstances? Say nothing to see here move along now? Mueller spent between $25 and $40 million dollars trying to get to the bottom of it – does Peter honestly think he’s a hack because he didn’t burn that work product after he finished it? I’m honestly curious, what result would have satisfied the Mueller critics, starting with Mr. Robinson and Lileks?

     

    If Mueller were an honest broker, he would have put together a bipartisan team of investigators.  Under similar circumstances, Ken Starr chose only Democrats to investigate Bill Clinton, to rule out political bias.  Apparently Mueller wanted to be absolutely sure bias against the President was built in.

    It’s been argued that, given Mueller’s relationship with Comey, he should not have accepted the job in the first place.

    Even after all that, he could have produced a report that was not a one-sided hatchet job.  However, I gather that the partisan Democrats on his team led him by the nose.

    • #48
  19. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I think governments would keep alien contacts a secret for as long as possible – because they’re afraid of upsetting the status quo.

    There are no flying saucers, and a UFO is just that – an unidentified flying object. Although the odds are in favor of other sentient beings in the universe, the odds are against them being in contact with us.

    I agree, but IF anyone were visiting, I think the nations lucky enough to receive these guests would keep it secret.

    Its not just a problem of space, distance and velocity that makes alien contact unlikely – but also time. The Galaxy could be have several other civilizations, but maybe just not right now. At this very moment we could be the only civilization in this galaxy.

     

    UFO is a misleading acronym, because many of them are neither flying nor objects.  For example, the planet Venus is a rich source of UFO reports.

    Tucker Carlson, who is very credulous on this subject (unless he’s pulling our leg), has run a supposed UFO video over and over; which, to my eye, looks like a bit of crud in the camera.

     This is how you get those reports in which the UFO is so incredibly fast it can stay in the same position relative to an airplane regardless of evasive maneuvers.

    • #49
  20. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    Taras (View Comment):

    If Mueller were an honest broker, he would have put together a bipartisan team of investigators. Under similar circumstances, Ken Starr chose only Democrats to investigate Bill Clinton, to rule out political bias. Apparently Mueller wanted to be absolutely sure bias against the President was built in.

    It’s been argued that, given Mueller’s relationship with Comey, he should not have accepted the job in the first place.

    Even after all that, he could have produced a report that was not a one-sided hatchet job. However, I gather that the partisan Democrats on his team led him by the nose.

    I agree with your first point, it was naive to not see the political implications of hiring partisans to do this job. He should have demanded a team from outside Washington for this project.

    I disagree with the second point. Mueller knew more about what someone in Comey’s position was supposed to do or not do than almost anyone in the country.  His skill set and experience made him uniquely qualified for this assignment.

    Your third point confuses me – what would have made the report something other than a one-sided hatchet job? The report described Trump being Trump. He asked for people to be fired for corrupt reasons, he asked for phony documents to be put in files turned over to investigators for corrupt reasons, he dangled pardons and implored people “not to rat” for corrupt reasons.  Saying there are two sides to describing Trump’s character is like saying there are two sides to describing Stormy Daniels’ chastity.  

    • #50
  21. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    I agree with your first point, it was naive to not see the political implications of hiring partisans to do this job. He should have demanded a team from outside Washington for this project.

    As I have said time and time again, the investigation should have been conducted by a bi-partisan commission about Russian interference in the election, not about Trump. The conclusion should have been about how this could be prevented in the future by not only Russia but about other governments such as China, etc. Instead, we got charges related to money laundering, bank fraud, and a host of stuff that told us nothing about how a government could affect the outcome of an election. I have wondered if the reason this didn’t deserve more prominence is the fact that we interfere in elections in other countries also. 

    • #51
  22. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    I agree with your first point, it was naive to not see the political implications of hiring partisans to do this job. He should have demanded a team from outside Washington for this project.

    As I have said time and time again, the investigation should have been conducted by a bi-partisan commission about Russian interference in the election, not about Trump. The conclusion should have been about how this could be prevented in the future by not only Russia but about other governments such as China, etc. Instead, we got charges related to money laundering, bank fraud, and a host of stuff that told us nothing about how a government could affect the outcome of an election. I have wondered if the reason this didn’t deserve more prominence is the fact that we interfere in elections in other countries also.

    I agree a separate investigation should be conducted about those issues, but this investigation was put in motion by Trump’s braggadocio to Lester Holt about firing Comey and shutting down inquiries into his dealings with Russia. I don’t see how we could have avoided the Mueller investigation.

    • #52
  23. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Taras (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I think governments would keep alien contacts a secret for as long as possible – because they’re afraid of upsetting the status quo.

    There are no flying saucers, and a UFO is just that – an unidentified flying object. Although the odds are in favor of other sentient beings in the universe, the odds are against them being in contact with us.

    I agree, but IF anyone were visiting, I think the nations lucky enough to receive these guests would keep it secret.

    Its not just a problem of space, distance and velocity that makes alien contact unlikely – but also time. The Galaxy could be have several other civilizations, but maybe just not right now. At this very moment we could be the only civilization in this galaxy.

     

    UFO is a misleading acronym, because many of them are neither flying nor objects. For example, the planet Venus is a rich source of UFO reports.

    Tucker Carlson, who is very credulous on this subject (unless he’s pulling our leg), has run a supposed UFO video over and over; which, to my eye, looks like a bit of crud in the camera.

    This is how you get those reports in which the UFO is so incredibly fast it can stay in the same position relative to an airplane regardless of evasive maneuvers.

    I dont know if its that misleading. The U stands for Unidentified. I think it takes people down a primrose path (where they maybe want to go) to claim that these things are alien visitors.

    I once saw a UFO, In the 1970s, I was traveling with my family in a Ford pick up truck – there were 4 of us jammed into the cab of the truck (before seat belt laws) It was at Christmas time, we had spent the day visiting a cousin in Northern Saskatchewan – it was late night – clear skies, the stars where brilliant. (in the middle of no where – no street lights to create light pollution) Looking down the highway I saw a bright white light on the horizon, it traveled straight up and disappeared. The whole thing lasted maybe 10 seconds. I dont really remember much from that day, it was cold, we played board games with my cousin for most of the day, but for those seconds time just stopped, I was awestruck – I’ll probably remember that my entire life (its already more than 40 years ago)

    • #53
  24. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    Trump went on NBC with Lester Holt and said Rosenstein’s reasons for firing Comey were bogus, he fired him to shut down the Russia probe. What would you [I mean Peter or James or Ricochetti] have us do under those circumstances? Say nothing to see here move along now? Mueller spent between $25 and $40 million dollars trying to get to the bottom of it

    There was no “bottom of it”.  That’s the whole point.

    And Mueller knew that by the end of 2017, but still dragged the investigation on for another year and a half.

     

    • #54
  25. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    I agree with your first point, it was naive to not see the political implications of hiring partisans to do this job. He should have demanded a team from outside Washington for this project.

    As I have said time and time again, the investigation should have been conducted by a bi-partisan commission about Russian interference in the election, not about Trump. The conclusion should have been about how this could be prevented in the future by not only Russia but about other governments such as China, etc. Instead, we got charges related to money laundering, bank fraud, and a host of stuff that told us nothing about how a government could affect the outcome of an election. I have wondered if the reason this didn’t deserve more prominence is the fact that we interfere in elections in other countries also.

    I agree a separate investigation should be conducted about those issues, but this investigation was put in motion by Trump’s braggadocio to Lester Holt about firing Comey and shutting down inquiries into his dealings with Russia. I don’t see how we could have avoided the Mueller investigation.

     

    Trump’s “braggadocio”, according to nbcnews.com:

    Holt asked Trump if he was “angry with Mr. Comey because of his Russia investigation.”

    “I just want somebody that’s competent,” Trump responded. “I am a big fan of the FBI, I love the FBI.”

    Trump said he never tried to pressure Comey into dropping the FBI probe of the Trump campaign and insisted, “I want to find out if there was a problem in the election having to do with Russia.”

    Which once again raises the question, how much anti-Trumpism is simple ignorance and misinformation.  Not long ago I commented to an a-T that JFK was 100 times sleazier than Trump:  astonishingly, he had no idea what I was talking about.

    • #55
  26. J Ro Member
    J Ro
    @JRo

    While on the topic of London not being English any more, there was a passing reference to the island of Nevis, birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, which itself is no longer English any more. In the last death throes of the British Empire, Nevis was given a big government check and granted its independence, making it a fine model for Puerto Rico.

    • #56
  27. Michele Coolidge
    Michele
    @Michele

    Note to @roblong–the horror movie with Kyle MacLachlan is not Alien Nation as someone suggested  but The Hidden, which is a fantastic, low budget sci-fi horror movie that ratchets the violence up to 11. 

    I’m with @peterrobinson; I was trying to suspend disbelief about Mueller, but this affirmed his hackitude.

    • #57
  28. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Taras (View Comment):

    If Mueller were an honest broker, he would have put together a bipartisan team of investigators. Under similar circumstances, Ken Starr chose only Democrats to investigate Bill Clinton, to rule out political bias. Apparently Mueller wanted to be absolutely sure bias against the President was built in.

    It’s been argued that, given Mueller’s relationship with Comey, he should not have accepted the job in the first place.

    Even after all that, he could have produced a report that was not a one-sided hatchet job. However, I gather that the partisan Democrats on his team led him by the nose.

    I agree with your first point, it was naive to not see the political implications of hiring partisans to do this job. He should have demanded a team from outside Washington for this project.

    I disagree with the second point. Mueller knew more about what someone in Comey’s position was supposed to do or not do than almost anyone in the country. His skill set and experience made him uniquely qualified for this assignment.

    Your third point confuses me – what would have made the report something other than a one-sided hatchet job? The report described Trump being Trump. He asked for people to be fired for corrupt reasons, he asked for phony documents to be put in files turned over to investigators for corrupt reasons, he dangled pardons and implored people “not to rat” for corrupt reasons. Saying there are two sides to describing Trump’s character is like saying there are two sides to describing Stormy Daniels’ chastity.

     

    #1:   When you look at how long Robert Mueller has been in Washington, the argument that he was “naïve” is very, very hard to believe.   Putting together a team of Democrats would anger conservatives, he knew, but it would please the liberal media and the Democrats,who believe Republicans shouldn’t be seen and shouldn’t be heard. 

    #2:   Sure, your best friend knows you better than anybody else, but he should never investigate a case in which you’re involved. 

    #3:    Remember, because of point #1, the report is the opposite of the product of an impartial, bipartisan fact finding commission.  It’s a biased and tendentious prosecutor’s brief, containing unproven/hearsay allegations which have never been cross-examined.  Furthermore, when you describe Trump doing something “for corrupt reasons”, you are not reporting the (alleged) facts, but interpreting them, trying to read Trump’s mind. 

    • #58
  29. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    James, you used to reserve the scorn in your voice for those that called you a “cuck” for not getting on the Trump bandwagon. In the last few podcasts you have directed it at those like Mueller, French, Goldberg that refuse to bend the knee to Trump. Perhaps you only meant Jen Rubin or the like, but it certainly sounded like you have accepted the Robinson/Hanson worldview.

    Nope, nope, and nope, but not entirely nope. I still detest the people who get pretzeled knickers when confronted with someone who doesn’t admit and proclaim the awesome flawless brilliance of  Donald Trump, 46-D chess master. This is different from someone who argues for the necessity of Trump and the general effect of his presidency; I think those people run a spectrum from reluctant supporters,  to strikes-and-balls umps,  to people who wave away the bad parts because everyone’s flawed and the accomplishments count the most, to people who strenuously wave away the bad parts   because focusing on the gaffes and tweets and lurches gives aid and comfort to the Left. 

    I have some scorn for Mueller, after his bid-for-history press conference. I have no scorn for French or Goldberg, who are principled men; if sometimes they amplify a typically Trumpian brain-blurt to make a point or a joke in a way that seems to shovel coal into the general NeverTrump bunkers, I don’t particularly care. Some people I respect take umbrage and things I don’t, and some people I respect slough off things I find troubling. 

    Perhaps what you’re hearing is annoyance with the assumption in some quarters that any thinking person is of course automatically opposed to everything that emanates from the existence of Trump, because he is horrible, and kids are in cages while the planet burns. I’m not afraid to say I don’t hate him, and resent the implication that I should.  I enjoy watching shibboleths shattered and sacred cows gutted, even though I wish the instrument of their undoing was less impulsive, more grounded in history, more knowledgeable, and did not conflate ideological opposition with a threat to his narcissism. But we are where we are, and if one shrugs off Bernie Sander’s fundamentally anti-American ideas or Biden’s thin-gruel version of technocratic, paternalistic citizen management, and tells me I have to vote for third-party Kasich to restore the proper tone, well, I say it’s spinach, and to hell with it. 

    And I say that as someone desperate for a restoration of the proper tone. 

    • #59
  30. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    The more you think about it, the more ludicrous Trump’s election seems. Not only did Hilary have every newspaper endorsement in the country, celebrity endorsement,  a well financed campaign that widely outspent her opponent. She also had her opponent wiretapped, undercover agents or informants had infiltrated the campaign, she organized and paid for counter protests at every campaign rally, even forcing an event in Chicago to be cancelled.

    And yet she still couldnt win.

    I think this why so many went to such lengths and took such risks for her in 2015, they assumed she’d win and all their misdeeds would be swept under the rug. When she didnt win, all these guys knew their careers where over and they conspired to play out the hands they’d been dealt.

    • #60
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