Christmas with the Cranks

Cartoonish bait for the barista-socialist crowd.

By
35

The holidays are nearly here, and there’s nothing more likely to encourage festive cheer than a wide-ranging, ultra-rambly Ruminant. Today’s episode offers musings on Trump’s removal from Colorado ballots, the complicated politics of abortion, and the enduring dumbness of populism. But those also looking for an uplifting seasonal message will find it in Jonah’s thoughts on why gratitude is so important this time of year. Merry Christmas!

Show Notes:

–The Remnant with Frederick Kagan

–Advisory Opinions on the Colorado Supreme Court decision

–Advisory Opinions with Will Baude on Trump’s presidential eligibility 

–Yuval Levin on the anti-Trump 14th Amendment strategy

–Jonah on Trump’s dictatorial flirtations

–The Dispatch Podcast on abortion law

–Ramesh Ponnuru’s The Party of Death

–Jonah on Claudine Gay and diversity

By
Comments (35)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. VV

    The other thing that’s particularly infuriating about Elon’s use of “vox populi, vox dei” is that when the poll doesn’t yield the results he wants he starts commenting in the replies that the poll is being manipulated and corrupted by bots. So he doesn’t even care that much about what the people want. He’s just using the poll to provide a veneer of populism to what is actually just an arbitrary decision of his own.

    Collapse
  2. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    I’m grateful for this podcast and for the G-File! When I first read Suicide of the West, a lot of it felt very familiar from having read and listening to you over the years, Jonah, but the more I think about it, the more the book has continued to influence me since reading it in subtle ways.

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    Michael Garrett

    One appeal to the claim of biological distinctions among different peoples that I remember well was by Japanese trade negotiators in the Reagan years. They submitted that Japanese digestive tracts would be damaged by any beef other than that raised in Japan and therefore their market could not be opened to American imports of American beef.

    Collapse
  4. Avatar photo
    Charley Warns

    Jonah points out the absurdity of anyone thinking Chief Justice John Roberts would base his decision (re the Colorado decision) on what's best for Trump. (Like, c'mon man, can we get real for a moment?!) I think this passage off a December 12, 2020 CNN story reinforces that point:

    "The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid from Texas’ attorney general – supported by President Donald Trump – to block the ballots of millions of voters in battleground states that went in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. The court’s order, issued with no public dissents, to dismiss the challenge is the strongest indication yet that Trump has no chance of overturning election results in court, and that even the justices whom he placed there have no interest in allowing his desperate legal bids to continue."

    Jonah wrote a profound foreword to a later edition of "What is Conservatism." The book itself (written in 1964 by several authors) is profound; Jonah didn't make it any less so with his addition. (He, in fact, added to the profundity!) This is a passage from the foreword:

    "In short, at the very core of conservatism lies comfort with contradiction, acceptance of the fact that life is not fair; that ideals must forever be goals, not destinations; that the perfect is not the enemy of the good but one standard by which we understand what is good in the first place—though not the only standard. Conservatism also recognizes the authority of the past and the lessons it teaches. Nothing is ever good enough when measured solely against an ideal. Only when measured against the experience of the past can we truly understand what counts as progress. And with that understanding comes perhaps the most indispensable conservative orientation: gratitude."

    Collapse
  5. T.C

    Jonah,

    My ears perked up when you mentioned you had some problems with pragmatism (i'm guessing you mean pragmatism in the william james sense).

    I'd be interested in learning about your criticisms. Which of your many, (very underated), books would you recommend i read to learn about 'em?

    Tony C.

    Collapse
    1. Eazy-E

      Liberal Fascism, Jonah's first book, contains his critique of William James's pragmatism.

      Collapse
      1. T.C

        Thanks

        Collapse
    2. Avatar photo
      Charley Warns

      Are you a Doberman Pinscher?

      Collapse
      1. T.C

        Tony C, a Doberman? Just because my ears perked up? Nah (although I had a Great Dane when I was a boy). It's well known that a sobriquet of Tony C. means I was the handsomest man in baseball (although unfortunately, one eyed).

        Collapse
  6. Bobby D

    Thanks for the gift of a surprise Ruminant for Christmas.

    As for Claudine Gay, I think it’s a stretch to suggest that she’s a merit hire. She has a mere 11 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. I have over half that number, and I left academia a year after finishing my PhD. And my one year in academia was at a liberal arts college, where I had a heavy teaching load. Gay was a full-time academic for 20 years after finishing her PhD. Even a moderately successful scholar would have around 70 publications. Someone who earned tenure at an elite school like Harvard would probably have over 100 publications. A white male professor with her thin publication record would have difficulty being promoted to associate professor at Western Kentucky, let alone rising to the Presidency of one of America’s most elite universities.

    Collapse
  7. Avatar photo
    Rev Snow

    I'm mildly surprised that even though the commentary made it's way through discussions of evolution of societies, there was no mention of the Prime Directive.

    Collapse
  8. Avatar photo
    Dr. Livesey

    Names of political groupings that started out as insults and were adopted by the insultees:

    — Neocons/Neoconservatives (as mentioned in the podcast episode, 54 minutes in)
    — The Austrian School (as in mentioned in this podcast episode, 53 minutes in)
    — Whigs — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)#Name
    — Tories — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tories_(British_political_party)#Name
    — Know Nothings — "Outsiders derisively called the party's members "Know Nothings", and the name stuck." — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing

    I'm certain I've heard one or two more that I can't remember now. One day I'll post a longer list. Does anyone else know of other examples?

    Yankee would be on the list, but it's not really a political grouping. Yeah, the "Austrian School" is about economics, but it's really also about politics.

    This is just an interesting piece of trivia, but when a widespread pattern of trivia is found, maybe it points to something bigger. Maybe a scientific finding will come up that lets [me] claim that these are actual laws of the universe" to totally apply those words from the podcast to this different subject. OK, probably not a law of the universe, still, it's interesting.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      SaxAttack29

      It's only for one person, but The Iron Lady would fit.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Dr. Livesey

        Yes!

        Collapse
    2. Avatar photo
      Dr. Livesey

      Maybe "queer" should be added, but I don't know how much it's universally accepted as no longer an insult. "Gay" is not an insult any more, although it's not primarily a political term.

      I think "Blacks" used to be an insult and was adopted by the insultees, and politics had something to do with it, although, like "Gay" it's not primarily a political term, if it ever was.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Dr. Livesey

        The absolute opposite of this phenomenon happens when some people purposefully want to be more respectful and put out a word (sometimes a euphemism) that others then decide to use as a new insult. It can be political or nonpolitical. "Mentally retarded" is an old example. "Diversity hire" is a new example. Kids are especially creative in using euphemisms as cruel insults, just like political partisans.

        Collapse
        1. Avatar photo
          Aylene Wright

          There are also many examples of academic terms that describe a specific theory, that eventually escape into the wild and evolve into more general terms, and often into insults.

          Even just a year ago, it was "CRT" that Chris Rufo and other right wing culture warriors were using as a term to encompass basically any idea that historical and present racism was still a problem. (Rufo was actually quite transparent that this was what he was doing) .

          But no one on the Right is railing against "CRT" these days. No, now all they complain about is the "DEI racket". Probably because even using the vaguer pop definition of CRT, it was ludicrous to apply the label to transgender activists (although I certainly saw a few on the Right actually try to do so).

          And when I look at even the recent past, it used to be "political correctness" that was taking over all the universities and resulting in the marginalization of conservatives. I assume that if I go further back, I can find other terms used by the Right that designate the same thing, too.

          Collapse
          1. Avatar photo
            Dr. Livesey

            RECIPE: Toxic Discourse (millions of servings)

            Ingredients:

            One, the other or both of these (add as much as you can — amounts don't really matter):
            —Immature people (people whose immaturity comes out due to economic hardship or who are goaded into it by reacting to abysmal behavior done by political opponents or through propaganda).
            —Smart people without judgment (often found among the young and among cloistered intellectuals, but also cosseted well-off people, and those who can check off more than one of these categories provide extra spice).

            Apply social media in generous amounts. Mix all ingredients together. Stir vigorously.

            You can make two versions: Add sweetness, but only to communicate sarcasm or satire; or stick with savory by adding generous amounts of bitter flavors (there's no upper limit to how much bitterness you can add).

            Serve hot with an intoxicant of your choice.

            Collapse
  9. Avatar photo
    HappyCow

    Great pod. Will be using DEI discussion points at Christmas dinner in Oakland. Thanks for putting in the extra effort!

    Collapse
    1. Philebus

      Ha! My family has very diverse views on a good many things, and they are not particularly good listeners. You would be getting the stink-eye from the dinner's host in my clan: "DO NOT get this started at my table". Ha! Pleased to hear that some family, somewhere in the world can have a discussion over dinner.

      Collapse
  10. Avatar photo
    CynthiaW

    It was nice to hear, "Complexity is a subsidy," again. I prefer to view it as, "Complexity is a tax" on those who can least bear it, like my elderly friend in Utah and a lot of people from Mexico. I wonder if this indicates a socio-economic class discrepancy between Jonah and me.

    Collapse
    1. Bobby D

      I wish that Jonah had elaborated on that a bit more.

      IMO, complexity is just a fact of life. The problem comes when we try to create complex rules to address that complexity. It’s that effort that becomes a tax on ordinary citizens and a subsidy for those who specialize in navigating the complex rules. Instead, we need fewer rules, and to give people the space to sort out their issues pragmatically.

      Never mind that bureaucracies are good at developing rules to address past problems but not nearly as good at predicting future complexity.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        CynthiaW

        "Instead, we need fewer rules, and to give people the space to sort out their issues pragmatically."

        I agree. The more life is run by bureaucracies, the more there are rules and procedures and endless paperwork and waiting on hold and, "We're sorry, we've lost your file," and wait some more.

        Collapse
Load More