It seems to me we’re seeing fresh evidence every five minutes that “pressure” can make even powerful people say things they don’t believe, as in every fucking Republican politician in America. Malcolm Gladwell can recant years later; I hope they won’t have that luxury and can start much sooner. As just the basics: Trump lost the 2020 election. Bombing Iranian facilities, exploding Venezuelan ships and invading LA, DC, and Chicago doesn’t make you a Department of War Hero or a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Being a briefly successful game show host doesn’t make you a Kennedy Center honoree. 99% of elected Republican officials know these truths, but have soft, scared jelly where their spines should be.
What’s the chance that a sort-of equivalence is 100% an equivocation? All respect to great women athletes, my guess is most of them don’t want their law-abiding neighbors deported capriciously, their Nana denied a COVID vaccine, and their news truths bowdlerized just as much as they don’t want any competition in the next lane that was born with a dick.
In the heydays of 2021 The Fifth Column made abandoning my far left echo chamber morally navigable, I wonder if this would have been true had the trans craze been a main theme. The Amy Cooper interview was about as explosive a deprogramming my shitty porridge brains could handle.
Yes, please stop making a product that you want to make and make the product that I want you to make - every time. What do you think I’m paying for? To hear what you’re thinking or to make me feel good about what I’m thinking? Ya cowards… and for crying out loud, I sure don’t want to SEE what you’re thinking. What a nightmare.
Just want to add my two cents to the transtroversy, and it is this:
Thanks for sharing that Jesse Singal acoustic diddy again! Every now and again it gets stuck in my head but I can never actually track it down to consummate with the earworm. Now it is forever bookmarked.
My most American quality? (spits) probably my conviction that I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you, that's what. If the question is what gooses my national pride, one of them is surely music. An example at random: Larry Young and Elvin Jones playing "Monk's Dream."
Speaking of music (and jumping the pond), here's Big Audio Dynamite sampling that Sellers-Loren toe-tapper linked above. From that significant year 1989:
There are certain political beliefs that are distinctly American, and I am proud to say that my most American quality is my strong belief in the people's right to speak freely and to bear arms.
ME (out loud, so my wife reminds me to stop yelling at my phone): “BBC, prepared for this interview by not bothering to find out how many Brits are arrested each year for speech? Now THAT is some journalism!”
RE: Linehan, I am reminded of a quote from The Simpsons, specifically the episode where Mayor Quimby's son was about to be wrongfully jailed for beating up a waiter, "Thanks to you, a horrible yet innocent man is going to go to jail."
Being an asshat and being correct are mutually exclusive. It's something modern society seems to have forgotten. Just because Linehan is right on this issue doesn't mean he isn't a jerk and vice-versa.
Recently Wesley Yang wrote on X that it's never rude to tell the truth - in the context of trans ideology being against ever mentioning the true biological sex of trans people. The funny thing is that it's the same belief that animates trans activists - they just state the equivalent contrapositive: if it's rude, it's not true. Both are wrong, of course. Sometimes the truth is cruel and you have to find a way to navigate graciously between truth and kindness.
My most American quality? Since you stole baseball...
I've either grown up with or picked up weird regional terms over the years - all American. Some are from childhood, some from living in different places. I grew up saying "pop" because my family is from Detroit. We called crawdads crawdads, not crawfish or crayfish. I use 'wicked' as an intensifier pretty frequently, thanks to some time in Maine in my 20s. I discovered during teaching that calling your skateboard a "skate" is not a socal thing, but it sure was for me and mine as I grew up where a "board" meant a snowboard. A "skate" in other places means roller skates or some other shit.
I think one of my most American traits is, as an atheist, being unduly excited about what I call 🦅🇺🇸 AMERICAN POPE 🇺🇸🦅. I believed we'd never see an 🦅🇺🇸 AMERICAN POPE 🇺🇸🦅, and here we are. It's a similar feeling to when I watch the Olympics: I don't think about these people or these sports at almost any other time, but as soon as the competition begins, I'm on the 'MERICA hype train.
This was a particularly long and detailed Firehose.
My view wrt to the Fifth on trans issues: I view TFC and Barpod as in the same family. I listen to Barpod for stupid internet stuff which includes trans issues. I listen to TFC for comments on current political issues. Both pods lean to their expertise. If you did start talking about trans stuff, I'd be like "what the fuck are you doing?"
I always get a kick out of this too. I remember in the early days after Oct 7th you would get both sides complaining in the comments from the same episode:
"Why do you talk about Israel/Gaza so much!"
"You are not talking enough about Israel/Gaza!"
It's one of the things I respect most about the fellas, they talk about whatever the hell they want. Probably the least audience captured podcast out there and I am grateful for it.
It seems to me we’re seeing fresh evidence every five minutes that “pressure” can make even powerful people say things they don’t believe, as in every fucking Republican politician in America. Malcolm Gladwell can recant years later; I hope they won’t have that luxury and can start much sooner. As just the basics: Trump lost the 2020 election. Bombing Iranian facilities, exploding Venezuelan ships and invading LA, DC, and Chicago doesn’t make you a Department of War Hero or a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Being a briefly successful game show host doesn’t make you a Kennedy Center honoree. 99% of elected Republican officials know these truths, but have soft, scared jelly where their spines should be.
On the other hand…
A Victory for Women Athletes:
https://archive.ph/Mr4ZG
What’s the chance that a sort-of equivalence is 100% an equivocation? All respect to great women athletes, my guess is most of them don’t want their law-abiding neighbors deported capriciously, their Nana denied a COVID vaccine, and their news truths bowdlerized just as much as they don’t want any competition in the next lane that was born with a dick.
Matt’s grace for cowards is so California it may have a zoning law
I guess I’ll forgive Matt for including the Klavan clip 🤮 but only because the photo of the children was so darn special
This Firehose is an emotional journey.
In the heydays of 2021 The Fifth Column made abandoning my far left echo chamber morally navigable, I wonder if this would have been true had the trans craze been a main theme. The Amy Cooper interview was about as explosive a deprogramming my shitty porridge brains could handle.
Nice work. You’re better than the other 99% of leftists that are so far off the reservation I don’t think there’s any coming back.
Sadly 99% of the current MAGA coalition on the right is so far off the reservation too that I fear we may all be screwed.
Maga will die with trump but the leftists are going to be around forever
I sure hope you are correct about MAGA dying with Trump. I used to feel that way too, but now I'm not so confident.
“Cash, Grass, or Ass. Nobody rides for free.” I love Kennedy (the Woman).
Yes, please stop making a product that you want to make and make the product that I want you to make - every time. What do you think I’m paying for? To hear what you’re thinking or to make me feel good about what I’m thinking? Ya cowards… and for crying out loud, I sure don’t want to SEE what you’re thinking. What a nightmare.
Just want to add my two cents to the transtroversy, and it is this:
Thanks for sharing that Jesse Singal acoustic diddy again! Every now and again it gets stuck in my head but I can never actually track it down to consummate with the earworm. Now it is forever bookmarked.
(Yep. That's all I wanted to say about the issue)
My most American quality? (spits) probably my conviction that I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you, that's what. If the question is what gooses my national pride, one of them is surely music. An example at random: Larry Young and Elvin Jones playing "Monk's Dream."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZC7mEzczEI
Speaking of music (and jumping the pond), here's Big Audio Dynamite sampling that Sellers-Loren toe-tapper linked above. From that significant year 1989:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRKhrqOMNuo
(Sophia Loren could make me consider renouncing my American citizenship, along with Claudia Cardinale and that weather lady.)
The Italian Triumverate, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale and Gina Lollabrigida.
There are certain political beliefs that are distinctly American, and I am proud to say that my most American quality is my strong belief in the people's right to speak freely and to bear arms.
Good lord that BBC clip- you have 2 minutes to talk about free speech and why it is important while I interrupt with partisan crap.
The UK is absolutely screwed.
It's a jarring thing to witness to be sure... Maybe it would be worse if they didn't even bother talking to Greg about it?
ME (out loud, so my wife reminds me to stop yelling at my phone): “BBC, prepared for this interview by not bothering to find out how many Brits are arrested each year for speech? Now THAT is some journalism!”
BBC: “Arrest that man!”
RE: Linehan, I am reminded of a quote from The Simpsons, specifically the episode where Mayor Quimby's son was about to be wrongfully jailed for beating up a waiter, "Thanks to you, a horrible yet innocent man is going to go to jail."
Being an asshat and being correct are mutually exclusive. It's something modern society seems to have forgotten. Just because Linehan is right on this issue doesn't mean he isn't a jerk and vice-versa.
Recently Wesley Yang wrote on X that it's never rude to tell the truth - in the context of trans ideology being against ever mentioning the true biological sex of trans people. The funny thing is that it's the same belief that animates trans activists - they just state the equivalent contrapositive: if it's rude, it's not true. Both are wrong, of course. Sometimes the truth is cruel and you have to find a way to navigate graciously between truth and kindness.
All your kids are the cutest
Cutest one unpictured!
Misogynist! 😂
How many takes do you think that Klavan guy had to use for that rant?
Also- on the Moynihan report when the guest said Socrates was right about the written word harming human memory I wanted to scream.
My most American quality? Since you stole baseball...
I've either grown up with or picked up weird regional terms over the years - all American. Some are from childhood, some from living in different places. I grew up saying "pop" because my family is from Detroit. We called crawdads crawdads, not crawfish or crayfish. I use 'wicked' as an intensifier pretty frequently, thanks to some time in Maine in my 20s. I discovered during teaching that calling your skateboard a "skate" is not a socal thing, but it sure was for me and mine as I grew up where a "board" meant a snowboard. A "skate" in other places means roller skates or some other shit.
I think one of my most American traits is, as an atheist, being unduly excited about what I call 🦅🇺🇸 AMERICAN POPE 🇺🇸🦅. I believed we'd never see an 🦅🇺🇸 AMERICAN POPE 🇺🇸🦅, and here we are. It's a similar feeling to when I watch the Olympics: I don't think about these people or these sports at almost any other time, but as soon as the competition begins, I'm on the 'MERICA hype train.
This was a particularly long and detailed Firehose.
My view wrt to the Fifth on trans issues: I view TFC and Barpod as in the same family. I listen to Barpod for stupid internet stuff which includes trans issues. I listen to TFC for comments on current political issues. Both pods lean to their expertise. If you did start talking about trans stuff, I'd be like "what the fuck are you doing?"
Every episode there is someone upset because the boys didn’t make the podcast the listener wanted them to make.
I always get a kick out of this too. I remember in the early days after Oct 7th you would get both sides complaining in the comments from the same episode:
"Why do you talk about Israel/Gaza so much!"
"You are not talking enough about Israel/Gaza!"
It's one of the things I respect most about the fellas, they talk about whatever the hell they want. Probably the least audience captured podcast out there and I am grateful for it.