Making Excuses for Atrocity

No funny business.

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It’s not everyday that people show you who they are, but the terrorist attack in Israel gave us a glimpse into the soul of America’s overeducated elite – and it wasn’t a pretty sight. In a contempt-fuelled rant, Jonah blasts the left for its wishy-washy response to the massacre and the right for losing the plot on America’s foreign interests. Stay tuned for some rank punditry before Jonah takes a break from this darkening world and absconds to the Italian coast.

Show Notes:
-Jonah’s Remnant with Jay Cost
-Law firm rescinds offer to Summer Associate for Palestine support
-The incredibly tragic CNN report

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Comments (41)
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  1. Avatar photo
    EmmyCab

    "I could take the Nestea Plunge backwards into a giant lake of my contempt for these people..." That type of wordsmithing brings me so much pleasure and is one of the things I really enjoy here at TD! Great episode, Jonah, thank you!

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  2. Kvleininger

    My question would be: would any of the Hamas sympathizers be able or willing to consider the Oct 7th attack as Israel’s equivalent to our 9/11?
    I also thought of Putin that day, so I’m glad Jonah noted that likely complicity.
    Safe travels returning from Italy!

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  3. Avatar photo
    C C Writer

    "Dogs and cats will be taken care of. [Inaudible] cats will be taken care of."

    Is it the editing or is it me? Even without a rewind thing on the on-site media player, I found my way back and listened three times. Still inaudible.

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  4. Moorechaos

    Have fun in Europe, Jonah. 🙂

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  5. Kmsinatra

    How come no one is calling on Hamas to abide by law of war? Or exercise restraint?

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    1. Snoopyboobs

      dumb take. every decent person is calling out hamas for this atrocity, college idiots don't speak for most of us. Thinking hamas are horrible terrorists and Israel is an oppressive, land usurping, criminal state are not mutual exclusive.

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      1. Kmsinatra

        Apologies for my ignorance, I have not seen any such calls. Perhaps you can send me specifics so I can have a smart "take" -- when has an op-ed/editorial/ non-Israel/non-US official called for Hamas to abide by the laws of war an exercise restraint... for example by releasing the hostages so that the siege would be lifted. If you supply 5, I will supply 10 calling for Israel to exercise restraint and abide by the laws of war. Most newspapers don't even refer to Hamas as terrorists despite their US/EU designation as such.

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        1. Snoopyboobs

          got it, did not realize your "no one" did not mean "no one". As you say the EU and the U.S. and Israel all designate hamas as terrorist, I have no idea what Japan or Korea or Australia think. thanks

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          1. Kmsinatra

            Obviously Israelis and out president are calling out Hamas. Didn't know I had to caveat the rhetorical question with the obvious

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  6. Thartmann85

    As the father of an 8 year old girl, I wept listening to Thomas Hand describe his reaction to the news of his daughter Emily's death. It's hard for me to think soberly about the most just course of action for Israel to take because the moral atrocities from Hamas in these events are utterly overwhelming. They are similar to the harrowing anecdotes Ivan Karamazov uses in The Brothers Karamazov to justify his rejection of God.

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  7. Avatar photo
    Dominick Schirripa

    Question for Jonah (and others) on the “cameras everywhere” point (which I have long agreed with). It occurred to me when Jonah mentioned cameras in the courtroom. I don’t want cameras in the courtroom because I believe we should have (and I personally do have) trust that courts are playing by the rules, doing what is right according to the law, and coming to not only the right result, but the “best” result for those involved.

    So, the question: Is the camera craze related to the absolute ruination of trust in institutions? And if so is it the cause of the ruination or the effect of the ruination? I can see a case for both sides - having cameras everywhere causes an erosion of trust because it makes you feel entitled to “see” everything and if something is happening away from the camera it must be “shady” or corrupt. Or have we added the cameras because we don’t trust anything and believe that if we can’t see it happening, we’re getting screwed by someone?

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    1. Avatar photo
      Aylene Wright

      Actually, I think cameras in courtrooms basically became a thing mostly as a cheap way for some TV stations to get viewers by showing courtroom feeds from sensational trials.

      Although I don't think it was that profitable, as the initial version of CourtTV is no more, and even the rebooted version doesn't seem to be a big money maker. I think it got decent ratings during the Chauvin trial, but not since then. I myself tuned in during the Chauvin trial, but haven't since then.

      I also thought Jonah went a little too far in his rants against government transparency in this episode. When you're actually stating "some minor corruption, even major corruption, will happen, but isn't always a bad thing", I think you've lost the plot.

      (Then he showed significant cognitive dissonance by mentioning how Ukraine is still far from a perfect democracy, partly because it has problems with ... corruption.)

      I know Jonah drew a distinction between "political" and "personal" corruption. But if a deal to, say, get a Congresscritter's pet pork project approved in exchange for a vote for entitlement reform, is justified for the Greater Good ... then couldn't a billionaire actually giving gold bars to Congresspeople in exchange for passage of entitlement reform, also be justified as something grubby, but done in good faith for the Greater Good?

      Although I don't think there's any evidence that Harlan Crow actually bribed Clarence Thomas, wouldn't this line of reasoning justify even doing that, as long as it was done for the Greater Good, and not mere personal gain?

      Let's also note that Dispatchers including Jonah, have harshly criticized the Biden Administration for paying the $6 billion ransom to Iran, and pointed out the moral hazard, that doing that just incentivizes more hostage taking.

      I see the same danger in going down the road of justifying corruption and bribery as a means to a good end. It just incentivizes politicians to expect to be bribed before they do the right thing.

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  8. Avatar photo
    Sharon.Slaten

    Jonah, thank you for an excellent podcast. We should be past being shocked that there are people who support evil actions, yet here we are. There are consequences for supporting evil & I totally support businesses that deny employment to supporters of our enemies.

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  9. Pohl

    Understandable rants. And pretty good ones. I’m glad Ukraine received attention and hope TD coverage likewise doesn’t wane because of the newness of the Israeli conflict.

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  10. Avatar photo
    Charley Warns

    You made an excellent point at the 1hr 19min mark on why we need Ukraine to succeed as (unlike the dysfunctional states of Iraq and Afghanistan) she'll be a valuable ally.

    When are the people as guilty as their leaders? Consider the terrorists in the truck maiming the corpse of a woman to the delight of the crowd. Are there any protests in Russia over their government's war crimes? I figure your typical Russian either doesn't care or supports it. On the other hand, the U.S. failed to support the Green Party in Iran. It's pathetic how Rand Paul argues Ukraine to be too corrupt to defend while ignoring Russia's war crimes (not to mention the fact that Putin has held power since 2000 by pushing his rivals and critics out windows or poisoning them. It's like with Israel in that even if they're not doing everything perfectly, that doesn't justify what is being done to them.

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