Steve's Weekend Diary
Multiple podcast updates and cultural notes
I know the raw video from yesterday’s Three Whisky Happy Hour podcast was already (mistakenly) posted here yesterday, but anyone wanting the produced podcast can find it now right here or at Ricochet:
And if you need a tease, here’s one of the short AI-produced excerpts (and yes, we’re still working on figuring out how to fix the production glitches, screen freeze, and voice-video syncing):
• But wait—there’s more! This week’s Ricochet podcast featured a special guest, former Attorney General Bill Barr, reflecting on the legal grounds for the extraordinary rendition of Nicolás Maduro and the options available to federal law enforcement as the Twin Cities tiptoe around an insurrection. We also speculate on whether the US is reversing its position on Iran, along with the supposed price tag on a Greenland buy, and James Lileks declares that he has absolutely no opinion on the new Star Trek series. Not a one. Zip, zero. Don’t bother asking… (But see the last item below.)
• But wait—there’s still more! My appearance on the Radio Free Hillsdale podcast recently has just been posted. I don’t appear until about the 22 minute mark of this file, so scroll ahead to hear me beat down on Jimmy Carter:
• Update: my feature article last weekend in the New York Post about important books on the Declaration of Independence is now out from behind the paywall, so click away here to get it.
• Finally: What’s wrong with the dismal new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy in one picture:
Listen to Bill Barr? I would rather chew aluminum foil.
I enjoyed the Substream live stream yesterday. Reminds me of the early days when Steve would joke about his 13 1/2 listeners when it ran under the PowerLineBlog name.
I couldn't help but think of the millions of Irish who either died of hunger or emigrated from the UK in the 19th century, when John boasted that the British had the more admirable form of government relative to the US because they outlawed slavery first. This occurred only 30 years before Lincoln's proclamation. It should also be noted that at no time was the British monarchy or parliament at risk of a bloody rebellion.
I'm pretty sure South Asians whose ancestors were brutally colonized first the the East India Company and then directly by the UK Monarchy in 1857 may also quibble with John's analysis.
Finally, John's utilitarianism really must frustrate Steve and Lucretia. Would I choose a lower standard of living if it came with a democratically elected and RESPONSIVE government, over an benign authoritarian regime like in Singapore? Absolutely.
I would trade our current standard of living in this country in return for a responsive government bureaucracy rather than the uniparty we live with that tolerates the deep state that occupies the Washington swamp.