Firehose #125: Washington Theatrics

Also: Merry Christmasnukkah!

Are we going to spend some time together over the holidays, friendies? I think so, yes; your in-boxes will be hearing a bunch from us, I do predict. The three of us are more thankful than you can know for you lot, and would love to help you chuckle into your eggnog during the waning days of 2024. But that’s all the gooey sentiment we have time for! This here chimney is done stuffed with content, so LFG.

* As I mentioned on Episode #483, it was delightful to see and talk with and accept drinks & guest-suggestions from a handful of you in D.C. this past week at the first-ever Reason Versus debate, at which Nick Gillespie (veteran of Special Dispatch #72, #379) and I defended the (tautologically obvious) proposition that “You don’t have to pick a side in politics,” against the rTrump-bebrained Bulwark duo of Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller. Sarah Haider (#118), to name one attendee, was not impressed with the loyal opposition, but her sentiment did not carry the day. Judge for yourself:

* Also referenced in the above epi was this accurate September prediction from Rep. Thomas Massie (#51):

* Comedy impresario and musician extraordinaire Stormin’ Noam Dworman called it an “amazing interview,” as did so many in Chat, and they’re not wrong: Moynihan’s Free Press conversation with journalist Theo Padnos, who was tortured in Syria by the some of same al Qaeda gang who have no toppled Assad, is a master class in the one-on-one format. Strap in:

* Speaking of Noam, he continued his never-ending series that isn’t titled Conversations With People Whose Foreign-Policy Preferences I Can’t Stand, this time with Anti-War.com’s Scott Horton, author of the new book Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine. Part I:

Part II:

* Near the top of Members Only #241, Kmele took some exception to how his image and ideas were portrayed in the Persuasion piece “Why I’ve Grown Skeptical of Color-Blindedness.” He then elaborated his thoughts further; here’s an excerpt:

The unreality of witchcraft and blackness can be established in much the same way, despite many people identifying as practicing Wiccans—or millions more believing themselves *black.*

In the first case, prestidigitation isn’t real. You can sit on a wooden broomstick and whisper incantations until you’re blue in the face; it will never fly you to Paris.

In the second case, there is no essential or even technical similarity among all black people, nor any inherent difference between all black people and all white people.

The fundamental claims associated with these categories are fallacious. […]

My position — rejecting race liberates individuals from reductive identities and fosters a more expansive (and honest) notion of personhood and human dignity. And I can contemplate the history/modern implications of injustices bound up with beliefs about race, without personally endorsing the same malignant falsehoods.

In Salem, they held witch trials. They managed to convict some people of witchcraft, and a few were punished severely. Importantly —despite the trials, convictions, and punishments—there were never any actual witches. That's not a minor detail; it's kinda the whole ballgame.

* As mentioned last week, the ridiculously sized person on the above left has had a not-great time of it over on the alternative social media site; here are Jesse Singal (#111 & #171) and Katie Herzog (#228, #331) talking it over on Blocked & Reported. Additional thoughts from Yascha Mounk (#124, #195). As for the ridiculously sized person on the above right, Chaya Leah Sufrin and Yael Bar tur had the hilarious comic Judy Gold on Ask a Jew.

* We talked a bit on #483 about President-elect Donald Trump’s various legal antics against journalistic outfits, a topic on which one should always read my Reason colleague Jacob Sullum. Also on the always-consult list is Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) President Greg Lukianoff (#216, M.O. #183, #427), who Moynihan interviewed for The Free Press:

* Media-thumbsuckers time! I had referenced this looooong, interesting, and conspiratorial Tablet essay by David Samuels, titled “Rapid-Onset Political Enlightenment.” Crushing on that piece was Martin Gurri (#225), who has an essay out called “Revolt of the Public, 10 Years On.” Taking the less sweeping view was Nate Silver, with “How the Indigo Blob Runs a Bluff.” Plunging the knife further was Nancy Rommelmann (#79, S.D. #27, S.D. #30, #198, #203, S.D. #34, S.D. #50, S.D. #64, S.D. #111), with “Let's Take Some Time to Bash the Media, Shall We?” And tying the whole room together was the ever-trenchant Ted Gioia, with “Mainstream Is Now Fringe, and Fringe Is Mainstream.”

I have my own long media-thumbsucker, “Politics Without Journalism,” coming freely online in a week or so, but much to my delight an author named Marty Nemko just decided to straight up read a long portion of it on YouTube!

* Speaking of Rommelmann, she went on The Gist with Mike Pesca (#343, #418, #467), “to discuss her latest book, 40 Bucks and a Dream: Stories from Los Angeles. She shares insights from her extensive journalism career, including her experience interviewing infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy.”

* Comment of the Week comes from (the hopefully non-European!) Kevin:

Me: Cool new TFC! Let’s throw the AirPods in before getting the 3 month old from his nap and feeding him.

Me ten minutes later, child in arms: God dammit Kmele.

Walkoff music I heard for the first time just today, so now maybe so can you!