Meet the New Gods

In this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah has a lot rattling around in his mind, and now ...

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In this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah has a lot rattling around in his mind, and now you’re gonna hear about it. Why are elites inevitable? What explains the transformation of the Democratic Party into an ideological party? Stay for Jonah’s thoughts on Covid relief, and President Biden’s first prime-time White House address.

Show Notes:

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  1. Avatar photo
    The Stray Goose

    The last time David French subbed for Jonah, he introduced me to Yascha Mounk. I haven't been the same since (and that's good).

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    Denise Cote

    I love the jocularity, don't stop.
    On Biden's cognitive ability, my brother (by way of Q) says that there is a body double doing the real work. Sigh.
    On covid, some think we must wait for zero risk to go back to normal. BS. Vaccinated folks have nearly 100% protection against death from covid and 94% protection from getting it at all. That's good enough for me.

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    The Stray Goose

    Oren Cass should not be countered, he should be ignored.

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  4. Richard Fulmer

    You again mentioned the finding that anti-racism training leads to more racism. When this came up in an earlier piece, the Progressive’s reaction in the comments section was that the people who became racist, or more racist, had to have been secretly harboring racist thoughts all along. In other words, there was nothing wrong with the training, only with the students.

    It seems to me, though, that Critical Race Theory, white fragility, anti-racism, etc, encourage people to see themselves in terms of their race. That white people haven’t done so until now is chalked up to their “privilege.” That they do so now, after having been told that they are irredeemably racist because of their skin color, is chalked up to their inherent racism and belief in white supremacy.

    In any case, white people are being taught to think in terms of categories rather than of individuals. Categorical thinking leads to thinking in terms of stereotypes, which - one would think, or hope - is the opposite of what “anti-racists” want to accomplish.

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    Ben Connelly

    You pronounced “compass” correctly! The first time you mentioned American Compass. When you went to correct yourself you went back to the wrong way.

    Count me in the group that likes the jokes in the G-file and the rambling quality. What I like about it (and the Ruminant) is that you typically say a lot and have a coherent thread that meshes a series of ideas, even when you’re just going off the top of your head. It’s a quality I’m attempting to develop myself.

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  6. Jdort05

    Good topics. I'm particularly interested in the thread running through the G-File and this Ruminant about the culture on the left becoming increasingly religious in it's structure. I noticed the other day that those creepy "In this house we believe..." yard signs are a literal creed. Two of the most common creeds in Christianity (the Apostle's and Nicene) start with "I believe.." or "We believe..." I think it's evidence of the idea that the culture is becoming more religious in a sense, rather than less.

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    George.Skinner

    Just listened to Jonah talking about the wisdom of the founding fathers in abolishing titles of aristocracy. Ok - so what’s the deal with Americans and the habit of referring to former office holders by their title long after they’ve left office? Why call them Secretary or President when they’ve retired and no longer hold that position? The honorific smacks of an aristocratic title. You don’t find this in the UK, which *does* have actual aristocracy.

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  8. ROBERT

    Also - to fellow readers and commenters: we've got to create a drinking game around Jonah's use of the word "whatnot"! I love the word but he's the only person that I ever hear useing it - and he uses it often to my great delight. Who's with me on this one?

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    1. Natty Bumpo

      or "Wilson", which is easier to track thanks to the LOTR soundtrack....

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  9. ROBERT

    Excellent Ruminant this week Jonah. The discussion of the different groups of elites fighting among themselves for the keys to car was very enlightening. It rang true completely although I had never considered it that way. One group of elites making a fortune off of trashing other elites by playing a character is such a racket. The possibilities are endless for making a buck off a gullible public.
    Oh, and your silliness at the beginning of the G-File is a feature and not a bug. Many of us enjoy your work because it includes that stuff not in spite of it. You and KDW are the only two writers with the skill set to make me burst out laughing in middle of a very serious article. It's what makes you guys great and worth reading!

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  10. Aidan Fahnestock

    Completely unrelated, but if you need a podcast topic, I personally would love to hear why you are in such opposition to realism in international relations theory. Currently reading Mearsheimer's "The Grand Delusion" in class about it in class, hence this comment. am not "pro-realism", but I'm struggling with articulating the arguments against it.

    Completely related, keep the G-File the way it is! All my non-Dispatch newsletter are already gloomy enough as it is.

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