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. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Donald Trump is only one ratchet click away from Ronald Reagan. Remember how some folks thought it was terrible that a man who was divorced and remarried would become PotUS? How far is it from actor to reality TV star? Every time I see the two compared, I think, “Natural progression.” Now, some of y’all Reagan idolators are going to be upset about that, but I’m just saying it’s a slippery slope when one starts relaxing one’s standards.

    Trump is the Anti-Reagan.

    Reagan was the Greatest President of the Twentieth Century, Trump is the worst Republican of all time.

    Actually I’d put McCain in that position. Or if not #1, at least ahead of Trump.

    McCain would have stood up to Trump. Lindsey Graham has folded like a cheap suit.

    McCain DID stand up to Trump.  Just for one example, By voting NOT to undo Obamacare, after years of saying – and running for re-election saying – that it needed to be undone.

    The lousy so-and-so.

    The column I posted a while back by Marianne Jennings is excellent.

    • #151
  2. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):
    For the love of Cod, I’ve seen Kasich being praised in these comments.

    Kasich is a human toothache, pescetarianism need not be involved.

    Kasich is Cincinnatus compared to Trump.

    To paraphrase Kahless, “Great rhetoric in service of lefism is no victory, and… whatever you want to say Trump does… in service of conservatism, is no defeat.”

    (Some people would say he was copying Barry Goldwater, but since Kahless was centuries ago, obviously Goldwater copied HIM.)

    Two political highlights of my life were to shake the hands of my Senators, Barry Goldwater, and the man who saved Iraq in the surge (only to have Obama throw it away), John S. McCain, III.

    I’m pretty sure the surge was in the George W Bush administration, not the McCain administration.

    • #152
  3. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    Trump is the Anti-Reagan

    Nah. Reagan was The Great Communicator.

    President Trump is The Great Clarifier.

    Those aren’t opposites.

    I agree with you to the extent that Trump is the Great Clarifier. I am on the Reagan side, and you are on the Trump side.

    Biden had it right when he said that if Trump is defeated after 4 years, he will forever be considered a strange aberration in American history, and will be seen as a one term exception, but if Trump is re-elected, he will irrevocably alter the country. To that I would add that Trump will also irrevocably alter the Republican Party. But if Trump is defeated, the stain of Trump will recede in years not decades.

    Biden has never been right about anything, except possibly the time of day, if he was lucky.

    • #153
  4. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):
    For the love of Cod, I’ve seen Kasich being praised in these comments.

    Kasich is a human toothache, pescetarianism need not be involved.

    Kasich is Cincinnatus compared to Trump.

    To paraphrase Kahless, “Great rhetoric in service of lefism is no victory, and… whatever you want to say Trump does… in service of conservatism, is no defeat.”

    (Some people would say he was copying Barry Goldwater, but since Kahless was centuries ago, obviously Goldwater copied HIM.)

    Two political highlights of my life were to shake the hands of my Senators, Barry Goldwater, and the man who saved Iraq in the surge (only to have Obama throw it away), John S. McCain, III.

    That’s HIGHlarious. My husband and I took our then 18-year old, 5’9 daughter to an event where we met John McCain.

    I took an elbow to the face from the good Mr McCain as he reached past me to our daughter.

    My husband said had it been Bill Clinton he would have kicked his ass.

    • #154
  5. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):
    For the love of Cod, I’ve seen Kasich being praised in these comments.

    Kasich is a human toothache, pescetarianism need not be involved.

    Kasich is Cincinnatus compared to Trump.

    To paraphrase Kahless, “Great rhetoric in service of lefism is no victory, and… whatever you want to say Trump does… in service of conservatism, is no defeat.”

    (Some people would say he was copying Barry Goldwater, but since Kahless was centuries ago, obviously Goldwater copied HIM.)

    Two political highlights of my life were to shake the hands of my Senators, Barry Goldwater, and the man who saved Iraq in the surge (only to have Obama throw it away), John S. McCain, III.

    I’m pretty sure the surge was in the George W Bush administration, not the McCain administration.

    McCain was the point man for the surge in the Senate.  He saved Iraq only to have Obama throw it away.

    • #155
  6. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    Trump is the Anti-Reagan

    Nah. Reagan was The Great Communicator.

    President Trump is The Great Clarifier.

    Those aren’t opposites.

    I agree with you to the extent that Trump is the Great Clarifier. I am on the Reagan side, and you are on the Trump side.

    Biden had it right when he said that if Trump is defeated after 4 years, he will forever be considered a strange aberration in American history, and will be seen as a one term exception, but if Trump is re-elected, he will irrevocably alter the country. To that I would add that Trump will also irrevocably alter the Republican Party. But if Trump is defeated, the stain of Trump will recede in years not decades.

    If Trump loses, the Political class will go right back to their corrupt old ways, secure and confident in their ability to curbstomp any attempt to defeat it.

     

    That’s why Biden actually was right, but not in the way he wanted. Trump is trying to break the corrupt ways, make America great again after Obama’s fundamental transformation. If he can’t restore some of the pre-Bushes/Clinton/Obama America he will be a blip and we will continue the decline. Trump needs a second term to build on his good work.

    • #156
  7. 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.

    UFO came first.  By the way, the story – or one story, at least – goes that they were working on a second season (or “series” as they say in England) of UFO, years later as is fairly common in England, with a more advanced moonbase etc, and it was said that by then Earth’s population knew about the aliens, etc.  But for various reasons, perhaps including that Ed Bishop was no longer available, it couldn’t be done.  So they used the sets to make Space: 1999 instead.

    • #157
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    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.

    Straker pretty much had to be All Business, as it was even shown in a couple episodes.  In a way, very literally, the fate of the entire Earth was in his hands.

    • #158
  9. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Now The Powers That Be at Ricochet know what is required to get LOTS of comments: have Norman Podhoretz on, or talk about Space (Force).

    Just imagine the comments if they had Norman Podhoretz on TO TALK ABOUT SPACE (Force)!!!

    Or maybe those two things at once would cancel out…

    • #159
  10. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    Taras (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    I believe Trump is a pathological narcissist who primarily ran for President to gratify his insatiable craving for attention and flattery than for any altruistic or patriotic motive.

    Beliefs are funny things. They don’t have to have any basis in reality.

    You might be right, maybe I’ll end up like Winston in 1984 and finally start loving the very stable genius.

     

    P.B., I love the idea Trump ran as a conservative Republican for all the “flattery”.

     

    • #160
  11. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):

    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.

    UFO came first. By the way, the story – or one story, at least – goes that they were working on a second season (or “series” as they say in England) of UFO, years later as is fairly common in England, with a more advanced moonbase etc, and it was said that by then Earth’s population knew about the aliens, etc. But for various reasons, perhaps including that Ed Bishop was no longer available, it couldn’t be done. So they used the sets to make Space: 1999 instead.

    I dug up your other recommendation, “Salvation” and have binged the first season… Started the second.

    Mixed feelings about the series so far.

    • #161
  12. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Percival (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Normans of the period wore nasal helmets. Just sayin’.

    But then you couldn’t see their faces. If you look at some of the background knights, you will see that they are wearing them. Also, note the helmet of James.

    It looks like James’ helmet had the noseguard clipped off. That would make inserting his face a lot easier.

    But Rob is going to ride into combat wearing just a coif? That’s a good way to get your egg scrambled.

    Normans, perhaps — but the music from Monty Python and the Holy Grail keeps  playing in my head …

    • #162
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    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.

    UFO came first. By the way, the story – or one story, at least – goes that they were working on a second season (or “series” as they say in England) of UFO, years later as is fairly common in England, with a more advanced moonbase etc, and it was said that by then Earth’s population knew about the aliens, etc. But for various reasons, perhaps including that Ed Bishop was no longer available, it couldn’t be done. So they used the sets to make Space: 1999 instead.

    I dug up your other recommendation, “Salvation” and have binged the first season… Started the second.

    Mixed feelings about the series so far.

    Did I “recommend” it?  Not really my intent, considering the way it ended.  Or rather, just stopped.  I enjoyed it in some ways but it wound up feeling like a waste of time.  Fortunately I stopped watching Lost early on.

    • #163
  14. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Taras (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    I believe Trump is a pathological narcissist who primarily ran for President to gratify his insatiable craving for attention and flattery than for any altruistic or patriotic motive.

    Beliefs are funny things. They don’t have to have any basis in reality.

    You might be right, maybe I’ll end up like Winston in 1984 and finally start loving the very stable genius.

     

    P.B., I love the idea Trump ran as a conservative Republican for all the “flattery”.

     

    Petty, here is the rest of my comment, that you edited out without marks of elision:

    A more plausible psychological theory would be that Trump is a masochist who enjoys the torrent of abuse conservative Republicans get.

    If he actually wanted flattery, he would present himself as pro-abortion and anti-gun. And just imagine the love fest if he had nominated Merrick Garland!

    Also you inserted the picture, not I.  I think it’s Trump campaigning, but it’s very small.

    By the way, I take it that you think Trump suffers from “late-onset narcissism”, as he didn’t run for President until he was nearly 70.

     

    • #164
  15. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    And even better, I never wasted a single minute on Game Of Thrones.

    • #165
  16. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    McCain would have stood up to Trump.

    On what? Wiping out the ACA?

    • #166
  17. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    saved Iraq

    Don’t forget Medicare Part D.

    • #167
  18. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Iraq.Wars. 

    We are very bad at this and their are consequences. #MAGA

    • #168
  19. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    It is so hard to get an explanation as to why John McCain moved the ball forward for conservatives.

    • #169
  20. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    I really recommend watching the interviews of Jeffrey Gundlach on Yahoo finance. Watch that and get back to me.

    Be sure to donate to the GOP, too.

    • #170
  21. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    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.

    UFO came first. By the way, the story – or one story, at least – goes that they were working on a second season (or “series” as they say in England) of UFO, years later as is fairly common in England, with a more advanced moonbase etc, and it was said that by then Earth’s population knew about the aliens, etc. But for various reasons, perhaps including that Ed Bishop was no longer available, it couldn’t be done. So they used the sets to make Space: 1999 instead.

    I dug up your other recommendation, “Salvation” and have binged the first season… Started the second.

    Mixed feelings about the series so far.

    Did I “recommend” it? Not really my intent, considering the way it ended. Or rather, just stopped. I enjoyed it in some ways but it wound up feeling like a waste of time. Fortunately I stopped watching Lost early on.

    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    “Salvation” seems like a waste of time even in season 1. 

    • #171
  22. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    “Salvation” seems like a waste of time even in season 1.

    Well I thought it started out okay.  Some things I think happened faster than they would – or could – “in real life” but that’s TV for you.  Even movies, really.  And it could have done fine if they had stuck with the original premise.  Or at least what seemed to be the original premise.  If their idea the whole time was that it’s not REALLY an asteroid, then I’d say it was wrong from the start.  But I suspect what happened is that someone later came up with “Hey, what if it’s not REALLY an asteroid.  That’s be COOL, right?  RIGHT??”  Well, actually not so much.

    It seems like there was some kind of series of books in the past, about how Earth is taken over by aliens and what’s left of mankind fled to Mars.  If that’s what they wanted, Fail.

    Lost required too much “suspension of disbelief” right from the start, beginning with a non-magnetic airplane being torn apart by a giant MAGNET.  They couldn’t even be bothered to find out what planes are actually made of, before writing that?  And they kept piling on.  “Smoke monsters” that were never explained, etc etc.

    • #172
  23. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Start at 15:00. 3 1/2 whole minutes. Matt Lewis hates Trump and he writes for the Daily Beast.

    https://www.mattklewis.com/matt-lewis-and-the-news/michael-malice-on-the-new-right/

    One would be wise to listen to every current interview of Michael Malice on his new book.


    Gary:

    Another one that I don’t get your tolerance of is Nichole Wallace. She’s keeps getting worse.

    John Wever “Republicans.”

    John Weaver, the top strategist for John Kasich’s presidential campaign in 2016, has registered as a foreign agent and plans to lobby against potential sanctions on Russia.

     

    The six-month contract is worth $350,000, plus expenses, with an option to extend if necessary. “Time is of the essence in the Agreement,” the contract reads, according to a copy filed with the Justice Department.

    Wiki

    John Weaver is an American political consultant best known for his work on the John McCain presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2008. In between, he worked for a time for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[1] He was also the chief strategist for the presidential campaign of Republican John Kasich.[2][3]

     

    Trump may be a problem, but he’s only there because Conservatism Inc. is so bogus.

    • #173
  24. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    Look how many visitors Gilligan and company had on their island.

     

    • #174
  25. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    Look how many visitors Gilligan and company had on their island.

     

     The same thought crossed my mind! 

     I don’t look favorably on mystification shows like Lost.  They tease solutions to their mysteries, but that would end the show, so they just spin their wheels endlessly.  Nothing is ever accomplished; there is no sense of forward motion. 

    It can be done right.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer would bring the current story arc to a satisfying conclusion at the end of each season.  

    In Stargate SG-1, currently being re-run on Robert Rodriguez’s El-Ray Network, the US Air Force makes steady progress in a war with aliens and, after about nine seasons, the war ends in victory.

    • #175
  26. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    Look how many visitors Gilligan and company had on their island.

     

    Yes, but Gilligan’s Island was located within a 3 hour voyage of Honolulu (100-180 miles?) So the boat should’ve been quickly found once it was noticed missing.

    • #176
  27. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):
    I never got into Lost – it seemed bad that they’re on a deserted island but managed to find a new group of bad guys to have a shoot out with each week.

    Look how many visitors Gilligan and company had on their island.

     

    Yes, but Gilligan’s Island was located within a 3 hour voyage of Honolulu (100-180 miles?) So the boat should’ve been quickly found once it was noticed missing.

    The original tour was scheduled for 3 hours, but during those three hours the weather started getting rough, and the tiny ship was tossed.

    We don’t know how long the rough weather lasted.

    We do know that the ship ran aground on the shore of an uncharted desert isle, though.

    Uncharted.

    • #177
  28. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):
    For the love of Cod, I’ve seen Kasich being praised in these comments.

    Kasich is a human toothache, pescetarianism need not be involved.

    Kasich is Cincinnatus compared to Trump.

    Cincinnatus left and went back to his farm.

    Kasich hasn’t done that.

    President Trump (PBUH) is still in his first term.

    So, once again, you fail to uphold West Point’s Honor code.

    • #178
  29. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    kedavis (View Comment):
    Some people would say he was copying Barry Goldwater, but since Kahless was centuries ago, obviously Goldwater copied HIM.

    I read it in the original Klingon.

    • #179
  30. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    He saved Iraq only to have Obama throw it away.

    Sorry, that would be my Army bretheren, helpfully supported by my Air Force  and Navy brothers and sisters.

    • #180
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