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The 3WHH bartenders take time away from the news headlines and court cases to take up some aspects of patriotism (but also with a tutorial for John about the mellotron!). We start with an origin story of sorts for John himself, as he is an immigrant to the U.S., and as such provides a good reminder of how immigration ought to be understood and practiced.
From there, Lucretia meditates on the curious recent survey results showing that love of country among Democrats has precipitously declined over the last decade or so. We agree that our dessicated education system has a lot to do with this—did we really think the Howard-Zinnification of our history would be without consequences?—but we need to wonder why Republicans seem to be immune to these calumnies against our great country.
Lucretia fingers the Progressives, and that leads to the final gonzo segment for the holiday, where Steve settles scores from slanders against him when he missed an episode three weeks ago, and makes the evidently futile attempt to school John about the mellotron and the inherent greatness of the brief shining moment of progressive rock—"rock and roll that went to college," as Jody Bottum calls it—in the early 1970s, which, come to think of it, is when the Clean Air Act was first enacted.
So come for the patriotism (and a sharp and unexpected argument about Daniel Bell), and stay for the awesome music!
John Yoo
'Lucretia'
Steve Hayward
Discussion (20)
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I agree with Lucretia about the evil of the left. Dennis Prager always makes the distinction between the left and liberals. The left is indeed evil, actively working to undermine our republic, and, as Lucretia said, embodying everything we stand against. The liberals, in Prager's formulation, are naive about just how evil those left-wing ideas are. That makes sense to me, as I know many people who vote Democrat who are not evil. They have no idea what's really going on because they read only the NYT and get their fake news from NPR and Colbert, et al.
I agree with Steve on prog rock and enjoyed his all too brief exposition on it. (If the lovely Mrs. Hayward's concert with Adrian Belew is anywhere near me in upstate NY, I just might go. (I only saw dates through end of July.)
I agree with John on UFC fighting. No more appropriate for the White House lawn than were the trans people invited by Biden, in my view. Ghastly activity, regardless of how many of its fans like Trump and/or the USA.
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A masterful presentation of American exceptionalism by Lucretia. When John objects to the lack of evidence for natural rights, he fails to recognize that it's simply sufficient that Lucretia says that it is true. I'm finally impressed with someone in the Hayward household: Mrs Hayward (only kidding!). I like "In The Court of the Crimson King". Greg Lake played in bass.
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I think the horrors of UFC on the sacred ground of the WH is both over and underplayed, but failing to mention that it's likely another of Trump's "don't take him literally but take him seriously" statements that stuck a landing. Why do we celebrate a pagan ritual annually, the Easter egg roll on the WH lawn, which is highly reminiscent of celebrations of the vernal equinox and blood sacrifices to agrarian gods, but hey, two beefy dudes can't ax-kick each other in the face on the pristine lawn?
If the sacred lawn survived the presence of historical train wreck Yassir Arafat stumbling around to shake hands on the Oslo accords, maybe that lawn's a bit less sacred than presumed by John Yoo.
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I enjoyed Steve's disquisition on progressive rock far more than I enjoyed the Steveless seminar on Political Theory v. Political Philosophy. That discussion had only one interesting exchange - here's the relevant excerpt from the transcript:
Whoa! When did that happen? No announcement even? Where should I send the fondue pot?
As for prog rock and its influences, I'd have mentioned that Emerson Lake & Palmer's biggest hit was an adaptation of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, and they also covered Copland's Hoedown. But that discussion would probably cause me to descend into a discussion of how I was mercilessly derided by my friend - a legit talented bassist, who was a snooty progressive jazz fan (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Stanley Clarke were examples of musical moral superiority he implied, if not proclaimed outright). By his calculation, Emerson Lake & Palmer were mere pretenders to the crown worn by Genesis. He was also a longtime Yes fan, even after their 1978 Tormato album which I figured was Yes selling out, but I didn't have enough access to music at the time to make a defensible argument with like, evidence and stuff.
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I don't see how the left escapes judgment as evil when their leaders' positions include near unanimity on the following:
inter alia.
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