The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Human Nature and American Identity

Well, Whiskey coming game.

From power Line blog dot com and produced by Ricochet dot com. This is the three whiskey Happy Hour with your bartenders Steve Hayward, John You and power Lines International Woman of Mystery Lucretia got a giving Let that whiskey blow where you're being in loud down and load.

Well, John, you will be happy to know that we have the evidence this week that our exertions are now being rewarded in the marketplace. You may have noticed, or maybe not, if you've been traveling, that while the stock market was taking huge, McDonald's stock is on a huge rally, so our church of course, of course right, and we're finally showing up in the marketplace.

So people runs for safety, and in a disaster, you should run for the McDonald's. That's right, It's all the food will be. That's right, you know, mc ribs and thirty day tea bills. That's where you want to be, right now, exactly right. I spent a lovely eve. Oh by the way, I'm good morning, Lucretia. How are you?

I'm well? Thanks? How are you?

Steve?

I am good because I spent a delightful evening.

Listeners were recording Saturday morning, as we often do when we can't get together during the week. I spent a delightful Friday evening with as he is now known, Baron Andrew Roberts of Belgravia and our mutual friend or Lucretia's mutual friend of mine, Lance Zumi, was there. Lance is an open monarchist, and I confess to Lord Roberts he's either Lord or Baron that I'm accused by you of

I can't.

I'm one of those American traditionalists who you know, sort of swoons in front of British Royalty.

Do you also pull the forelock of your hair? Oh you don't have any hair, Steve, What do you pull? Do you pull your nose? Do you pull your ears? You can't. I hate to see see I think of the idea of Steve curtseying, but I could. I mean, that would fit in really well with the Olympic ceremonies. To see Steve curtseying before a British lord. You could have right next to the whatever that was of the last supper that they had at the opening ceremonies.

Yeah, well, you know, finding the little story on that is a midweek I dashed back to Washington to be taped for a documentary that's being produced, and they told me you're going to show up at twelve noon for hair and makeup. And wait, they haven't looked at me lately. I don't need hair, just make up.

Well, maybe you could have asked them for some.

I thought about that.

I will give you a piece that was not gossip, but a little bit of an insider thing. I don't know if we're gonna have time today to talk about project twenty twenty five that will keep for any week, But put it this way.

I talked to a very well placed source.

Who told me that, in fact, Trump is still calling Kevin Roberts every week, and so what's going on?

You know what you probably have about a little bit of context So the Trump administration, some stupid millennials inside the Trump administration have put out and obviously Trump has gone along with it, the argument that not only did Trump have nothing to do with the twenty twenty five project, which is the Heritage Project that has a whole list of recommendations for what the next administration should do to try to save our country, most of which are perfectly

Well, I mean, I guess a little background.

This is actually even before John was was still a pup is the Heritage Foundation.

They've been doing I think every four years.

Maybe they took some elections off, but ever since nineteen eighty they've done a big, thick, usually eight hundred page, detailed policy recommendations for an incoming and conservative at a Republican administration. This is the first time the left has decided to go off on it.

And yes, you're right.

I think it was cowardly of them to take the bank and.

Actually named a couple of twits that were behind it so kind in the Trump campaign consultants who advised them.

To Well, I confess I actually I actually downloaded it and read parts of it because I was curious too as I read the legal parts, which were you know, they actually had a lot of you know, the Russia collusion stuff and immigration, but didn't actually propose any serious changes to why the Justice Department of law enforcement worked in this country. I mean it was I mean, people could read it and they would fall asleep.

Yeah.

I think the only thing that really probably upset Trump was that I think it takes a much more pro life position than he wants to take. Although how that translates into policy in the working of the deep state or administrative state, whatever you want to call it doesn't really come through. I mean, what would a pro life administrative state look like, might be even more powerful than a pro choice administrative state. I don't know. It doesn't,

Well, look, I mean, I think you see this in almost all campaigns. It's the not invented here mentality. The Trump administration didn't control this, They weren't directly behind it.

I argue.

One is Trump's appearance before the Society of Black Journalists, which too many to talk of Lucretia about conservatives not getting it. I've been really disappointed at how a lot of people who should know better have responded badly.

Second, the attacks on Kamala.

Harris as a diversity hire, which Abigail Shier, who I think otherwise is very sound, has dissented on.

That's what Lucretia picked out as our article of the week.

And then this controversy coming out of the Olympics about the boxer who's not exactly transgender, but as one of these intersex persons that's very problematic for sports, and I know a bit about some aspects of that. And then if we have time, I'll do a brief homily and political philosophy, because we're really falling down on the job for that. But all right, who wants to start? I mean, I have my own thoughts. I'll give you my position.

Reach one.

Well, let's start with Trump before the black journalists, and we're going to see why there's a unifying theme to all these stories.

Oh, it was terrible.

Of him to say, uh, you know, Harris used to be Indian. Now suddenly she became black. I didn't know this, and everyone was saying, oh, what a blunder, and this is terrible. I think it was another typical Trumpian stroke of genius. And I'll defend that proposition, but I'll bring you guys in to give your reactions and observations.

First, John, you want to go first.

Ah one. I thought it was good that he went. I think I think it just as a tactical political matter, not sure tactically, you know, people, I think he's changing the face of a Republican party, and one of the good things about that is he's going to places that Republican candidates haven't gone in the past. He gets no appreciation from it from his audience, who you know, were quite hostile in the I mean the other I mean, I think Trump had a good point. I mean he

John, that was a B minus answer Lucretia time.

Peter bringing Oh, come on, I'll tell you why in a minute, Like John McLaughlin used to do Lucretia.

I'll bet you understand the point.

Yeah, but first of all, let's talk about how this is such a manufactured controversy on the part of the right end the left. Trump went there. He absolutely killed it. The only people who didn't think so were the squishy rhinos, the never Trumpers and the people on the left who aren't going to vote for Trump anyway. Trump's base thought he was terrific. He was terrific, you know, and like John pointed out, he went to the hostile place that

Well?

This is well, this is my point and why I think here's the way I read it. It was on offense, and I think in a splendid way. The Democrats are devoted to identity politics. However, they try to constrain the discourse. It's identity politics as only they understand it, only they get to identify. You decline what identities are than anyone who dissents, whether it's in terms of DEI or anything else, as racist. And you can't and you have to shut up,

She's a phony.

Right, she's a phony, and we're gonna and now you make an easy transition to.

Her issue positions. I think she's equally phony there. I think it's very effective. The media, forget the media.

One last point, John, I mean you did say something quite important that he went there. Uh, you know, it really hasn't been a politician really since Reagan who was willing to go to hostile audiences. You know, Reagan appeared before the NAACP in nineteen eighty during the campaign, and.

Then eighty two he spoke to I think it was either again.

The NAACP or it might have been the Urban League, which is kind the same thing. And eighty two is a horrible recession, ten percent unemployment. And Reagan's whole speech was, you know, the Great Society was really bad for black people. It made everything worse for you, and that's why you should turn away from liberalism.

And all the media was out now.

Of course, of Reagan was polite and stylish, his usual thing, but the media was just as outraged as they are about Trump, and so why not go big like Trump? Did you know he attached the leads to the plunger and plunged it and blew it up, and I think it puts them on the defensive.

You don't agree, No, No, I think I wish he had done that. And he could have done that. He had a great opportunity, right they started they gave him the perfect opportunity to say, why does her race matter? He could even say, you know, Kamahas to me stands for someone who's benefited her whole career by being a

Right.

In fact, I actually find it kind of feel I feel a slight cringe when I hear Trump or any republic Republican candidates always say are saying I've been good for the black community. Yeah, right, like you said, seem it should just be I'm great for everybody, but stident I always say exactly the same thing.

We had a huge discussion about it in terms of whether or not candidates should appeal to those those groups. But you were the one John who came back and said, that's not the reality we live in it's not the reality we live in. And the fact that he was addressing the Black Journalists Association or whatever the hell it was called, is proof of the fact that that's the

Credence, but it's a common feeling amongst the audience to stem.

That that, you know, the the immediate political uh victory of what he said was probably more important than trying

Well, let me do.

But we'll turn to the Shreyer argument in a moment because it actually introduces an element of timing, which is secondary. But look, of course that we can always say that Trump, but this is true that any candidates can do a better job rhetorically of how he did it.

But I think that's less important than that he did it. But here's the thing.

I actually think Trump does get this at some again elemental level. It's worth going back sometime if you had the time to do it and watching us first inaugurl. I don't know how many people remember this, and maybe people didn't watch it, but the I was there, you.

Were okay, So you know that there's always a center.

I thought it was January sixth, twenty twenty one, but it was actually twenty seventy.

So as you know, there's always a senator who is the host of inauguration, it was Chuck Schumer, and in welcoming the crowd, Chuck Schumer starts ticking off all the boxes. I forget the exact words, but he mentioned African Americans, immigrants, Hispanics, Asians. You know, he just went all down the list of what I call the Democrats certified victim groups, because that's how they think, and that's how they talk, and that's how they want to divide up in America into groups

That is, to my.

Mind, I've been saying for years now, and you and I both the central political controversy of our entire age is human nature, of which this whole idea that you can define your own identity and your own gender will come to. That is central to leftist orthodoxy because they have a rage against human nature. And Shira understands this

That's okay.

Well, and you know what, she makes some kind of pathetic argument about making people feel bad because they got their jobs, they got their positions whatever, through affirmative action, and why are you gonna humiliate those people? She makes that argument, You know what, people like that should be humiliated. I'm sorry, Lloyd Austin should be humiliated. Because he was made the Secretary of Defense and he's a moron despite

Doctor Chill's degree.

Doctor Jill's degree. And then and then somehow they are experts in something which nobody knows what it is, and they're dumb. All they can do is tout the the you know, the principles of Dei orthodoxy. And now, like you say, Trump, what Trump did was he's got all sorts of people either trying to defend Dei at the same time they're denying that Kamala is a Dei position or in she's in her position because she's a Dei whatever, what is what would you call it thing? She's a

Well, I will want to be fair, Yeah, I mean, well, actually the first DEI person at Berkeley was a guy from the chemistry department who I think didn't like the job, and they sort of succumponied him to that, right, and and he left, and then they hired one of these professional types that you're talking about, who's much worse.

But Steve.

I know, yeah, I know that I'm actually trying to agree with you, but to say that the way it's now structured, you can't tell if you're smarter not because those jobs demand that you be dumb. That's one way I'll put.

It, Okay, No, I was just say at Berkeley, they usually, you know, most of the professors are pretty you know, pretty distinguished people in their fields.

So usually the ideal is someone who's distinguished but then doesn't do very much. Yes, like they're almost embarrassed there in the job. I think, Well, there was once like a physicist who was in the job, and he seemed totally embarrassed that he had to create these events and say these things, and but I also don't think he did very much, which was great.

Yeah, quickly, John, we have now seven vice provos in one or another DEI category, so for African American advancement and Native American advancement. Guess what, I know what you're saying, and I do think that you know that some of those positions allow for someone of substance to be in them. But it's more and more become a racket. It's become the DEI pimp industry, and it's you know, that's so I get what you're saying. There are people who were

Oh no, I'm just going to add something about the Shire pieces. One way you could do this, I think, just like again as a matter of campaign tactics, is you don't have to attack Kamala Harris's identity because you can just attack all the policies that she supported over the years. And you know, these aggressive DEI policies they are going on in California and then all the ones she wanted to support when she was senator and it

Well, you do both.

Yeah, she's not a de candidate in the sense that people in California elected or voted for right like they the people in California want to DEI policy. So it's a great way to use California to right win the election, just show people's really the regime you want to live under.

Well okay, well a little footnote on that is she won her first statewide race by about sixty thousand votes in twenty ten in a very democratic year. I mean, she's never been a powerhouse on the ballot, and then elected the Senate in one of those crazy jungle primaries where she was running against another Democrat in November who got a third of the vote, right a, Loretta Sanchez. So it anyway, she's never been an electoral powerhouse and she's never really run except for that first race, a

This episode at the Olympics where.

You have a boxer who has high testosterol levels, I think should be precise. This boxer from what Algeria wherever it is, is not actually trans It's not somebody who has transitioned from you know, male to female in the ways we're doing it on such a wide scale in America and elsewhere.

But it's it's one of these extremely rare cases.

And I'm aware of a couple others of someone who is genuinely intersex who's born with in this case, female anatomy, but with male hormone levels and some sort of male characteristics like actual testes that are you know, inside their right and there are you know, it's extremely rare. But the point is is that there are people with female appearents a bit, although I'm going to show you a picture of one in a minute that I'll put in the show notes.

And so here's the problem.

I think that and what they've tried to do in some sports is actually measure testosterone levels and they tell athletes, well, okay, if you want to compete on the women's division. You have to take hormone suppressors and they'll do blood tests to see if you're homewarn level. I think this is insane.

It's insane as any humane and barbaric.

Yeah, and so in boxing, which you know viles violin force, this is actually quite dangerous. I think now, Lucasia, if you put up on the screen for John to see the black runner.

So now listeners will be able. Yeah, the listeners will. It will be in the show notes.

But the person in front is cast Semania, a South African you know, born with female you know, genitali and so forth, and dominates the women's eight hundred meters. The Olympic Committee has never allowed Samania to run in the Olympics because they say, oh, and if you will, by the way, I mean, this person is very masculine features.

And all the rest of this.

Now put up the other person to the cretia that that I gave you the the the the picture, Yeah that one right, So the other person, that's is what you're seeing on the screen. John, That is the women's world record holder in the eight hundred meters.

No way, that was a picture of you in college.

It looks pretty masculine, right, I think, I mean, I'm not sure. This is from back in ninth This is the longest standing world record, by the way, is the women's eight hundred. Nobody's come close to it in forty forty one years now. By the way, our mutual friend, the runner that the world class runner you knew in law school. I won't mention his name, he was actually in this meet and the men's fifteen hundred and told me he watched this race and said, what do you think?

And and he's Our assumption was this was just typical.

Eastern European doping, which they did on such a massive scale and all the Olympic sports in those years.

But that picture's kind of hard to tell.

And so here here's the problem is uh uh, it's just as a matter of sports and fairness, it seems to me that you have to tell these people. You know, we're very sorry that you have this very rare and unusual medical circumstance, but you can't compete in the women's races.

I mean, yeah, the worst part about what happened to that poor Italian woman after you know, nearly being killed by the guy in two punches and then you know, just being heartbroken, and then she was shamed into apologizing for her behavior. And I actually heard people on Fox News this is going to be my stick on it. I'm driving driving somewhere and I nearly crash because I'm so angry about it that they feel sorry for the guy. I'm sorry you. As we've discussed before, someone in the

I think intersex is what you say.

Okay, intersex? Just like what y Just like I saw this video of a woman yesterday with no arms picking up her little baby, sitting on a chair, picking up her little baby with her feet to put the baby in the swing. That it's unfortunate for her too, But you know what, life is not fair. You don't get to be in the Olympics if you have the biological body composition of a male and compete against females regardless of what you know, what your chromosomes are. I mean, it's not hard, folks.

Well, I don't know how the International Olympic Committee is organized exactly, but they have and casters mania from the Olympics on the ground I just explained. They also said, what's the trans the swimmer you know in America.

Won the Lea Thomas, Lea Thomas.

They said, Lee Thomas, Sorry, you can't swim in the Olympics either. So they have drawn the line quite sensibly. And by the way, the IOC, I always suspected they were a bunch of I think they are. They're always sort of you know, pro communists. You know, Swishes go along with the conventional wisdom. But somehow the boxing people have gone along with all this, and you know, we'll see no no.

I thought from what I read is that these two boxers are not allowed to box internationally. They were banned by their own sport. It's only the Olympics that kind of overrule the boxing. Now this is funny because like the right, the IOC says, oh, that boxing community they're too corrupt, which itself is rife with corruption and bribery, you know, you know, banning the people who govern their sport is being too corrupt or it's like, yeah, saying there's too much gambling going.

Well, I mean there's there's a race on for we don't have Olympics for sports corruption because the Olympic Committee and the FIFA World Cup people could compete for the goal, right literally.

For the goal.

So we had our live podcast last Friday, right before the Olympic opening ceremonies opened with the Last Supper. But I had sat on at the very end if you'll recall that I wasn't going to watch the Olympics because I was offended by the idea of some drag queen's scumbag being allowed to carry the torch. Well, and you know, you know right, I mean I'd already made up my mind. But again, then thinking about what they shoved in our face with that opening ceremony, are you really surprised about

Oh yeah, John Well, I would just say I had this love hate relationship with the Olympics because I love the resurrection of an ancient ceremony to identify the best in humanity, right, faster, stronger, whatever, the other one was higher, right, But it also represents the worst of this sort of international elite, globalized you know, not NGOs, right, the Olympic, right, you saw in full display at these Olympics like you do every Olympics. What the you know, the international elite

Well, let's remind ourselves who came out strongly in favor of it. Our good friend from Utah, mid Rock, what a yeah, yeah, of course, you know, remember.

Right in two thousand whatever, it was right and perfect job.

For Lake City. But but but imagine actually the the impact of statement against it by Mitt Romney might have had. But he can't do it. He just can't do it. He's turned into such a rhino squish that he couldn't possibly come out on the side of good any longer. I'm sorry. And and of course, you know, doctor Jill said, we're never going to be able to reach those heights when we have the next time, when we have the Olympics in the United States. We just can't possibly beat

Yeah?

Right, well the first Gentleman. Yeah.

By the way, I mean, I hope you both fir saw baby. At the end of the Hostages coming home, when they're all off and you know, off of their families, Biden gets on the plane that wasn't going anywhere.

My joke was, darn it.

We almost exchanged Biden for the hostages because the plane was going to go back to I don't know.

And that I found that, you know, that's hard for the course. You know, what really offended me was that he and Kamala stood in front of the families, so that the first person that they had to it's all about them, every moment, every day, And there was yesterday. I saw a video of Kamala getting out of an suv to go, and it said she'd spent half an hour inside studying her speech. She gets out of the suv,

Right, Can I ask you too, political science? Can I ask you two political scientists a question? Though? It is like, I think she's done really well though these last two weeks. I mean, I'm not saying I would vote for it.

But like the script, but.

I mean, but like, if you just look objectively at it, right, she's pulled them out from this big hole because of Biden. Raised three hundred million dollars in two weeks and looks like she's pulled even in most of the battle and in all the battleground states. I mean, if you were them, you would be really happy with pulling this off.

Right.

It's everything's working, John Boy, you were really having an off day, aren't you.

I'm not saying I supped like that. If we if we were in the same position on the other side, I suppose we had, you know, like an eight ninety five year old candidate, and we pulled a switcheroo like this and basically brought the race back to where it was before the first debate. We'd be overjoyed yeah.

And I hope they keep being overjoyed that way and overconfident, because look, she's done no interviews, almost no appearances that weren't heavily scripted Lucretian mentions.

I still think the template here it won't be as big as swing, but I still think the.

Template here is do Coccus Bush in eighty eight when it was a twenty five point net swing between August and election day in November, and all that was required was to point out that this, remember John for an awful of Americans. I mean, yeah, they've heard Kamdell Harris's vice president, but they know nothing about her, people who don't follow these things closely, and they're going to learn

But this has not surprised me at all.

I'm surprised he's actually not seriously in the lead. I mean, he's only got one or two polls to show her actually ahead of Trump in a few states. Trump still leads narrowly, but leads consistently in all the poll averages. He's still got the inside track to win, and she's done that. She's gonna Oh, by the way, her word solid on that, I've got it out.

Yes, So in two weeks she has not had a press conference. She has I mean, okay, I was a little worried, almost agreed with John. The first speech she gave after when she went to biden reelection headquarters, after Biden d texted out and gave a speech, and she kept completely to script. And you know, we're sitting there watching. It's not a bad speech. She didn't do a bad job. This is the first time the first thing she said when she wasn't on script, and that was when she's

There we go, that's our camel that we've come to know and love, right, and you know she can' This is my point, is that they're doing so well despite all the things you said.

Because of the media gasm.

Yeah, but that's too too easy for us in the conservative world to blame the media all the time.

Well, look it.

Some other time I'll go into I should Well, it takes a while to go through this. I've actually got a chapter in this book called coming out next month that Michael Walsh is at it called against the Corporate Media, and I go through the social science data from Tim Gross close about he I think and others have. Well, actually, let me give my witness Barack Obama. Barack Obama in twenty twelve said if it weren't for Fox News, I'd

But for another day, we'll talk about it.

Now Fox News is on their side.

Well okay, so but look, I want to draw it back to the point that you you know, look, Cammel's bad behavior and sort of a fullness as a boss is well known to people in California.

I think I've mentioned before.

Liberal democrats I know who work as career employees at the Attorney General's Office hated her. I mean didn't just weren't just critical, they hated her actively. One lady I met asked for transfer to from Sacramento to the Fresno branch office to get away from Herris.

It's that bad.

The article Steve really quickly. More than that, though, I mean, those are people that are attorneys and you know, accomplished people on their own that she treats like yes, rap, Now, I sometimes do that as a matter of course. If the hoiity toitier people are the less likely I am to treat them well. I treat everybody well, I know. But what she But what really gets me is that article I was mentioning. The young intern, young male intern was told you are not allowed to look at her.

Yeah, yeah, good morning General.

And then and then the rest of the day she spends screaming at them, blaming them for her failures, which are legion, and using every profanity under the sun to call them names.

All right, but this draws back to my general theme again, which is you post a question in your email to us, why.

Are so many liberals such miserable people.

And my field theory of this is, well, again, let's look at some data. Liberals tend to be higher levels of mental illness. They're unhappy by the Conservatives are much happier than liberals.

And there's all kinds of reasons for this.

By the way, what liberals say about why conservatives are happy or just ridiculous sometimes. And I think there, Now, this isn't universal, it's not all of them, but I think what explains a lot of people on the left like this is is they are at war with human nature, human nature as it manifests itself in economics. They're at war with human nature on you know, gender preferences and self identification, and when the world doesn't conform to their dreams,

And I actually do think that.

I mean, I can play this out at great length, but I think that's the real reason why. And again it comes back to what I say is the central political question of our time is human nature.

And I'll stop there, and John, John.

I want to add one thing to that so that you can respond to the whole thing, and that is I was the one step further, Steve, And note that it is a crisis of I hate to use this word, but I don't want to make this too religious in nature. It's a crisis of spirituality. In other words, if if your God is the progressive god of will to power or whatever how whatever it is, of environmentalism and so on,

Footnote is that the day to show that religious conservatives are the happiest people of all in America. Way, John, I don't know if you want to jump on any of that or not. You think we're all crazy philosophers, You're sort of.

No, No, I I I get the point. I'm just not sure whether it really is what's going on in our politics right now. Like I don't think Trump represents natural rights and natural well, I could only see the arguer, you know, Harris represents.

No no.

But you were saying, you know that, you know this is the central political debate and it comes through in this presidential election. I could see how Harris represents this kind of the progressive view of government and the ability to basically just run and manage everything and change human nature. But I'm not sure to see the Trump, you know, maga campaign as you know as the second coming of Lincoln and the Republicans of this old war.

So I'm driving home.

I find the Trump campaign's policies to be this kind of, I don't know, not really particularly well thought out, sort of instinctive reaction to a great deal of change happening too quickly.

All right, well that's stipulate, perfect vessel. But Lucreas, you had the last word, and then I want to press on.

All I want to say is is I was driving home from work yesterday with the Laura Ingram Show on.

It.

When it went to commercial, she said, We're going to have President Trump here talking about his religious beliefs when we come back from break, and I swear to God, I almost changed a channel because I thought a little bit like John, I don't want to hear this, you know, I, uh, this is kind of cringey. It was. He was actually

He channels my hometown neighbor, General Patton, who, when the chaplain saw the Bible Wise Nightstand said, you read the Bible in patents.

I mean what you're talking about. So this is the thing that disappoints me in conservativism is, yes, there's this maga movement, but I don't think it really has a political theory behind it. You just laying out one that I wish they had, or wish they promoted.

The constitution absolutely that the Constitution has been set aside for the progressive project, and they want the Constitution back. They don't want special favors, they want the Constitution back. And I think that's what unites Mega more than anything.

Well, that allows me to go on to my last little humbly for the day. See, John, we default in metaphysics, and you don't have a metaphysical bomb in your body, as we have accused me of God.

That's why I'm so healthy and happy. You know, That's what you should have said, is the happiest people are conservative, non metaphysical people. Well, all right, so whatever that means, we've.

Been falling down on the job a little bit on our annual or irregular installments of political philosophy.

Brief story. My very first day.

In graduate school more than forty years ago. Now, I thought, well, I'm going to study political philosophy. I better try and figure out what it's about. So I pulled off and read in one sitting Leos Strauss's great essay What is Political Philosophy? And I can't believe now I read and it took me like three hours. It's a very dense article, it's very profound. Really, I was insane because I didn't really understand it.

Of course, so.

Oh this is instead of as Bible. Look what's next to my reading.

Quill? You know there's and then here's the other.

One I have right next to it that I've been reading.

What's that?

Oh, Carl Smith, there's hope. I'm where I'm like, where is my decoder ring? I really need to go to six years of Claremont Graduate University to get the glossary for all this.

Not anymore, not anymore there.

I've been rereading the essay very slowly, like one page a day, and puzzling over it because every sentences got some stuff in it. There's a short passage that jumped out of me the other day that I think is very apropos of our educational crisis and connects to the whole ruck that's about Israel and Gaza.

So and I'm gonna share it's very short.

After this long section where Straus critique social science quite skillfully, he does say this, there's the first of the two sentences. It is prudent to grant that there are value conflicts which cannot in fact be settled by human reason. But if we cannot decide which of two mountains whose peaks are hidden by clouds is higher than the other, Cannot we decide that a mountain is higher than a mole hill? Okay,

By the way, John, Well, yes, but this is.

No hang on a mante This is actually isn't I think about Prudence Lucretia.

It's something that Prudence more. Yes, let me do.

This sentence and then rhyme people the story behind it. If we cannot decide regarding a war between two neighboring nations which have been fighting each other for centuries, which nations cause is more?

Just?

Cannot we decide that Jezebel's action against Naboth was inexcusable? Well, I had to go back to first Kings to read that story because I didn't remember my old testament.

Uh.

Naboth was the name of King Ahab. Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard, offered to buy it, and I'll get you another vieward.

It's my ancestral home. I can't sell it to you. Yes, this would have to keep going.

Uh So what happens is is neighbous is No, it's been in the family. I want to keep it, thank you, but no thanks, and Aheb is very uh disappointed this couldn't happen. Jezebel decides to whip up a mob telling lies about Naboth, and Naboth had been uh what a heretic, a scoffer of God, and whips up a mob.

To stone Naboth to death so you realize it was fun.

Here is a told a massive lie that costs naboth is life.

In other words, what happened in his vineyard?

And then of course a right, But the point is is a monstrous lie. And I think the parallel to October seven is exact right there. Right, people say, oh, Israel and Gaza, and you know Israel's been mean and the and uh, you know you hear our Left saying that the Palestinians are justified in resistance, and here Strauss is saying it ought not to be difficult to make a moral distinction between doesn't matter the two sides. I've

Well, actually, you know. Before you know, before I went through my atheist questioning stage. Before that, I spent a lot of time. I've read the Bible through many times.

I don't remember those old stories, but.

I because that was memorable. I don't remember all of them. But and I remember I'm also elector in my church, so I actually read those stories now.

And then I used to read it in church because the ceremonies are so boring.

Well that's because.

It's a whole it's a whole hour listening to these guys. I'd rather read the Bible in the back.

By the way, Andrews had a great we'll move to an and Andrew Roberts had a great line about how we used to know we used to call the Anglican Church the hoary party at prayers is but now they've moved so far left it's really the Angler Church is now the labor party, not at prayer, which it's good, all right?

Did John, you have any any anything you want to weigh in on that before we wrap it up?

No? No, I still don't have an answer to any of my questions. But why is Kamala Harris doing so well? Why?

John?

Why it's all funny?

It needs holes? The Post? I mean, the Post don't lie, do they Steve Well.

Yes they do.

But they're transient, John, I'll put it that way.

So they trance there, their trans there, transsects, intersects.

Spool up some bees for us. We can get out of here.

Okay, I have to do that. I've got them. But we we haven't talked any more about the conspiracy theory last week in my hat and I'm not going into it, but I do want you to know John, that that probably the against both of you. Actually, the most excoriating comments I've ever seen were about your naivety about what's about.

The FBI I'm sure the comments. I'm sure like, of course the FBI isn't on a conspiracy.

No, it was mostly you guys are idiots for not opening your eyes to what's really happening. But anyway, okay, but but but so just I'm not.

Really like what percentage of the comments actually take this view this disturb.

This last time?

The comments people who think that there was a conspiracy to assassinate Trump. No, no, and or the FBI is covering it up.

Eight percent who thought you guys were being idiots?

Yeah, I think that.

Oh well, that could be true on any number of subjects, right, and it is.

Yes, okay, so but I had to mention that only so that I could bring up this one. New video shows Trump shooter on roof holding huge signs saying I'm going to shoot Trump.

I saw that one, right, Okay, all.

Right, let's say we didn't I know, Steve wanted to spend a little time. We didn't really get to it. Nine to eleven, Mastermind given plea deal after FBI confirms he was not present at at Capital on January sixth.

That's pretty good, all right.

Let's move to the media gasm over Kamala and uh, van Jones being so upset about Biden. A couple of those flooding at CNN headquarters traced to Van Jones crying again and then president to lie in state until election.

That's cut to the drunken.

Kamala mistakenly picks wrong Shapiro for VP, and of course it's a picture of Ben Shapiro. I'm sorry. Uh, Massad takes out hamas leader with Mike Lindell's my exploding pillow.

That turned out to be true?

Yeah, was it a pillow?

Well, I don't know, but it's still fun, right, it's uh yeah.

White House, this is for you, Joan white House is Sure's journalists. They only have to pretend Kamala is likable for a couple more months. Wait, wait, wait, a couple more I have them already to go. So DEI hire is a slur, explains head of DEI Hiring Department.

That's true. That's a real headline.

True, it is a real headline. And to end with the Olympics, I don't even a main killeth. However, you said, when's first ever gold medal in freestyle domestic violence?

Yeah?

Right, No, that's also close to the truth.

Yeah, all right, John, Let's get out.

Always drink your whiskey, meat and place holder for what we're going to do. Let's go Brandy for Comma, Right, Steve, you.

Just waste another perfectly hour listening to the three Whiskey Happy Hour, unburdened by what has been, but suiting to be burdened, maybe by what could be.

Bye, everybody.

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