Workin’ for the Weekend #73: Year of the Dead

Who’s ready for 2024!

“Hey Dad!” the 8-year-old asked me the other day. “What do you prefer—a glass that’s half-empty, or a glass that’s half-full?”

“That’s a trick question,” I replied. “Anyway, it’s half-full.” (Dads are not required to make sense.)

This is more or less how I’m approaching 2024: It’s gonna suck (because of [*waves arms desperately*] all this); it’s gonna be awesome, because of all you. We will do some live events, we will witness some political horrors, we will drink too much and yet not enough, we will laugh our asses off. Such is the way of the world. Also, dads are not required to make sense.

* Let’s start with a cheery piece I wrote this week, elaborating on some of our conversation from Episode #436: “Prediction: 2024 Will See Deadly Political Violence in the Streets: And there's still time left in 2023, the way things are going lately in New York.” Note that it was written before these assholes blocked access to the 9/11 memorial. I don’t know if I agree with everything Bill Bratton says here, but he’s certainly right that it’s less about persuasion, more about “their ability to exhibit power.” Who’s ready for New Year’s Eve in Times Square!

* In that case we’re gonna need a soundtrack. As per annual tradition, and as foreshadowed in this space two weeks back, I have with the help of the hive-mind put together a still-rough (albeit 7.5 hours long!) playlist of one song each by a person who died in 2023. It is … well, I’m not gonna say it’s my best work, since there’s still some addition/subtraction/sequencing ahead, but damn, is it … thorough. Still taking last-minute suggestions, but I aim to set it in concrete by Sunday.

* Last week’s missive went live just as a couple items of note were coming over the transom. First was a new episode of The Re-Education With Eli Lake (#52, #65, #141, #174, Special Dispatch #51, #326, #368, #407, Members Only #184) featuring one Michael C. Moynihan talking about “why so many elite institutions are afraid of firing those that engage in insubordination or are incompetent.” (Sad-face alert: Remember how Moynihan and Coleman Hughes [#121, #144, #181, #188, #201, #379, #412] taped “A Response to Norman Finkelstein's Moral Arguments” for Noam Dworman’s Live From The Table podcast, as a follow-up to the Eli/Finkelstein debate? Well, Noam informs us that “at the last minute, [Finkelstein] pulled out and has decided to discontinue the relationship,” despite an open invitation not just on the podcast but to do a live event at The Comedy Cellar. Ah well!)

* The second item you freaks were gleefully passing around at deadline last week was this Sky News Australia clip in which Piers Morgan presides over a rather lopsided debate over Israel/Gaza between Young Turks celebrity (and presidential candidate?) Cenk Uygur, and former Fif’ guest Douglas Murray (#390):  

* A while back I was hyping a terrific if somber live Village Underground Israel-debrief by Mike Pesca (#343, #418). Well, you can now watch the performance in full:

* We were talking about that list of “Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2023,” rendered goofy by its inexplicable omission of love-her-or-hate-her-but-she’s-out-here-influencin’ Bari Weiss (#89, #115, #159, #180 & #187). Still! It’s an excuse to link to our voluminous archive, so….

75) Brian Stelter (#127, Workin’ for the Weekend #12): “Stelter’s coverage of Fox over the years has drawn the ire of many a Fox host, but his continued relevance is demonstrated by the fact that they are still talking about him … a lot.”

71) Molly Jong-Fast (#147): “Jong-Fast is a key voice all the biggest names on the left rely on to help shape coverage.”

40) Jessica Tarlov (#110): “No disrespect to the late Bob Beckel, but he was no Tarlov.”

6) Bill Maher (W4tW #42, W4tW #61 from this year): “By establishing himself as a brand, Maher’s podcast Club Random has become a destination, jam-packed with big name celebrities, journalists, comics, and politicians…. Across Real Time and Club Random, both shows Maher hosts alone, he boasts more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube.”

4) Megyn Kelly (W4tW #27, W4tW #31, W4tW #35, W4tW #40, W4tW #41, W4tW #44, W4tW#51, W4tW #60, W4tW #64, W4tW #66 from this year): “The jury is still out on whether Tucker Carlson, who’s just starting to get his own venture off the ground, can thrive in the world of independent media. He ought to be looking closely at the audience and attention commanded by Megyn Kelly — who has already shown how being your own boss is done.”

* As referenced on M.O. #194, I wrote a piece about our guest on #411. “Vivek Ramaswamy Really, Really Wants You To Know He Thinks January 6 Was an 'Inside Job,'” goes the headline. “The fourth-place GOP presidential candidate asserts the existence of ‘clear evidence’ of ‘entrapment,’ without providing any,” runs the sub. Shout-out to the legions of Twitter sleuths who responded by informing me of the FBI plot against Gretchen Whitmer (mentioned in the piece), the footage showing some Capitol security removing barriers for some trespassers (mentioned in the piece), and the fact that John Brennan is a big fat liar (not mentioned in the piece, but I’ve written about it more than you).

* Who wants some (*holds nose at wretched term*) journalistic longreads? As also referenced on M.O. #194, Mark Bowden has written a crackerjack Atlantic article titled, “The Most Consequential Act of Sabotage in Modern Times: The destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline curtailed Europe’s reliance on Russian gas. But who was responsible?” Also making the rounds is a nightmare-inducing New York Times project, “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7—A Times investigation uncovered new details showing a pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality against women in the attacks on Israel.” (Past guest Aaron Maté [#138 & #173] was not impressed; neither was Thaddeus Russell [#10 & #68].)

* Speaking of the Holy Land, beloved Fif’ listener Benjy has a great piece up on Substack entitled “The Road to Jerusalem: A personal meditation on Israel and Jewishness, with an angry tirade thrown in for good measure.” And what the hell, let’s include some Jesse Singal (#111, #171), with his media-crit bit, “Why Would I Possibly Trust Bill Adair Or PolitiFact To Determine Which ‘Misinformation’ Should Be ‘Suppressed’?: If their performance covering the unrest in Kenosha is any indication, they have no grounds for stone-throwing.”

* Ruh-roh. White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo had the bad idea of taking a swing at John McWhorter (#84, #121, #188 & #366), calling him “very conservative,” and saying “I do not believe he speaks for the vast majority of black people.” Retorted McWhorter: “I'm ‘very conservative’ like Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson? She has clearly read barely a word of my work. At least when I slammed her book I had read every word, and I maintain that White Fragility is literally the worst book ever written. It's so bad it's an achievement.”

* Oi! Oi! Guess who’s got a new YouTube channel? It’s old pal Josh Szeps (#25, #80, #103, #117, #196, #328, #423)!

* Comment of the Week comes from Blah:

In regards to Welch’s recent comments regarding Musicology which, I agree, is mostly horseshit. I must direct y’all’s attention to Ted Gioia’s Substack “The Honest Broker”. The man is a straight up legend, scholar, and cool AF. He’s also been in Conversations with Coleman and therefore deserves some Fifth street cred. His Musicology-ish book is epic and can be found here on Substack: 

What Do Conductors Really Do? (Part 1 of 2)

Walkoff music is an advertisement for very many things, including People Who Died (2023)!