Firehose #90: Holding Fast

Also: Peter Meijer drops out

That there sitting next to a man apparently born with no eyes is none other than Michael Lacey, the swashbuckling alt-weekly disruptor turned online sex ads purveyor turned federal scapegoat for hi-tech online sex trafficking (which he’s never actually been charged with). Lacey, who I know a bit, was in a Lower East Side bar last week for the launch party of the acclaimed podcast Hold Fast: The Unadulterated Story of the World’s Most Scandalous Website. Given his shameful treatment at the hands of a shameless government, I bought him as many drinks as he would take.

Hold Fast was put together by Trevor Aaronson, Sam Eifling, and Michael Mooney, the latter of whom was interviewed earlier this month by the Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em gals. Turns out the whole production, along with their Audible enablers, are big fans of The Fifth Column, and wished to show their appreciation for Moynihan and Kmele in particular.

I get a bit stabby talking about this case, mostly because of the zillion-pound shithammer the government brought down on the heads of Lacey and his partner, Jim Larkin, who blew his brains out rather than face re-trial; and also because of its godawful implications for free speech. And yet I was dee-lighted to discover that Lacey remains cheerful and defiant, all bolo ties and Jamesons and curiosity about the journalistic action he’s missed. An inspiration! Here’s me ranting a bit about his persecution (and the lack of journalistic interest thereof) last year:

* Have to admit it’s a bit surreal to watch national news about protests at Columbia sitting next to the hospital bed of my dad, who attended grad school there six decades ago. “I cannot tell,” he said to me Sunday (hence the tardiness of this weekender!), “what exactly it is that they are trying to accomplish.” (This was less droll sarcasm than genuine puzzlement, which did not improve once I tried to explain.) Anyway, whenever campus politics get contentious, I’m always grateful to hear some perspective from out FIREy friend Greg Lukianoff, veteran of Episode #216, Members Only #183, and #427. Sure enough, G-Luke does not disappoint:

FIRE has recorded almost 90 deplatforming attempts involving controversy over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since October 7 — 40 in the last three months of 2023 and already another 49 this year. Prior to this date, FIRE recorded 15 deplatforming attempts involving a controversy over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2023, and 12 of these attempts (75%) targeted a Palestinian Literary Festival at the University of Pennsylvania that had invited a number of speakers to campus.

We’ve also witnessed nearly 70 attempts to professionally sanction scholars for expressing controversial views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…. More than 100 students and student groups since October 7 have faced sanction attempts for expression related to the conflict. […]

As of April 12, FIRE has already recorded 30 event disruptions in 2024 — 19 attempted, 11 successful. Twenty-seven of them involved controversies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

That’s already more than double the total number of disruptions in all of 2023. Moreover, pro-Palestinian protesters are responsible for every single attempted and successful disruption we have seen related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict in 2024.

* Emphases his; plenty more at the link. Speaking of the Kolumbia Kids, beloved guest Ben Dreyfuss (#83, #97, #148, #214, M.O. #129, M.O. #140, #392, M.O. #180) wrote far too many words about them last week; here were a few that I enjoyed:

It’s true that, as far as I know, no Jews have been killed or even beaten with clubs at Columbia. I personally am a longtime believer that everyone whines about bullshit. (Hence the name of the Substack.) In all seriousness, part of me is incredibly sympathetic to the entire “so the mob screamed at you, get over it” line of thinking. I’ve had to walk through lots of mobs that were screaming things at me. I have been sucker punched at least a dozen times. You cannot have my sense of humor and spend as much time in bars as I do and not get used to having your nose busted. And never once have I ever snitched to the cops by filing a report.

Having said that, I have two points. 1) I am mentally ill. Society should not be structured around my own masochistic tolerance for getting beaten up when I’m drunk.

And much more importantly, 2) the people saying, “It was only a few Jews they chased down the street” because “kids will be kids” do not normally share my attitude towards this stuff.

* Let’s get some video, shall we? Our Blocked and Reported friends Katie Herzog (#228, #331), and Jesse Singal (#111, #171) went on The Megyn Kelly Show this past week to talk about “what universities should do with violent, loony protesters on campus, the nuance of free speech vs. harassment, whether our culture is past the worst of the instinct to cancel, how employers and universities should deal with the issue of employees and students taking controversial public stances, a New Hampshire ‘trans athletes’ bill, the issue of biological males in women's spaces, and more.”

* Moar Jesse: He went The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg (#182) to discuss “the Cass Review and the problem with the current consensus about gender transition treatments for children.” Though I gotta be careful hyping Singal’s work, lest I end up on a list….

* Moar journalism talk, recommended by several: Mike Pesca (#343, #418) went on Persuasion’s The Good Fight podcast with Yascha Mounk (#124, #195) last week to talk about “How the Media Got Polarized.” From the writeup: “[They discuss why many news organizations have discarded objectivity in favor of ‘moral clarity’ in recent years; the recent internal upheaval at NPR and the limits to giving every side equal coverage; and whether journalists, academics and other experts ought to consider themselves ‘defenders of democracy.’”

* Moar video: Here’s a free Nick Gillespie (Special Dispatch #72 & #379) snippet from his paywalled Free Press immigration debate with Cenk Uygur vs. Ann Coulter and Sohrab Ahmari:

* A note of sincere congratulations to Fifdom friend Peter Meijer (S.D. #51, #307, #339, #367,  #424, M.O. #184) for dropping out of the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate race opening up in Michigan. The political business in normal times is degrading enough; these times ain’t normal. Trying to win a Republican contest during a presidential year in a swing state with a cuckoo-bananas local GOP sounds like an invitation to self-debasement, even for the best of ‘em.

“The hard reality is the fundamentals of the race have changed significantly since we launched this campaign,” the Ginger Assassin said in his statement. “Without a strong pathway to victory, continuing this campaign only increases the likelihood of a divisive primary that would distract from the essential goal—conservative victories in November.” Former congressman Justin Amash (#184 & #389) was quick to pounce magnanimously on the news: “I’ve known Peter Meijer for many years, and I’m honored to count him as a friend. He’s committed to serving others, and he represented our community in Congress with professionalism and grace. West Michigan is blessed to have him. Wishing all the best to Peter and his family.”

* Speaking of Michigan, listener Jacob Forman decided to visit Dearborn with a pal, and write it up for the Jewish publication Moment Magazine. “We talked to a number of Arab Americans about Gaza, about Biden, but mostly about what it's like being an Arab in America right now,” he says. Check it out!

* Hey, cool event alert! The absurdly controversial documentary The Unredacted (Jihad Rehab) is screening in New York this Thursday, with filmmaker Meg Smaker live and in person. There’ll be a Q&A after the screening, with the Qs asked by … me! You can read up on what all the fuss has been about at The Atlantic, and/or listen to Smaker’s episode on Sam Harris’s podcast, and/or just watch the damn trailer:

* Comment of the Week comes from VanityMetric:

This episode got me right in the feels. I was diagnosed with ADD (what ADHD was known as before being renamed) when I was a kid, probably 12 or 13 years old. I’m 49 now and from an outsider perspective, I might seem like I have my shit together. I have a bachelors in CompSci, also have an MBA, and have had a pretty successful career as a software engineer. But it’s all fucking fake!!! I’m a complete fucking mess! After failing to become “good enough” at planning and time management and personal organization I feel like some part of my brain has just given up. The only way that I can keep all the fucking plates spinning is with a consistent prescription for ADHD meds. When I heard CJ say that he needs the medication to be a functioning adult… man, those exact words have been my lament when:

- I can’t get a prescription filled because of the stupidest shortage of a medication ever

- I end up paying over $400 for a months supply of vyvanse because I didn’t mediate the communications between my fucking doctor and my fucking pharmacist to have my doctor make sure to check the fucking box that, yes, a generic version will work. Because obviously there has to be some friction to ensure the system doesn’t just give me the lowest priced compound possible

- I end up having to switch back and forth between Vyvanse and Adderall because of the fucking shortage du jour

- I finally am able to get the eric version of vyvanse, but it still costs $200 for a months supply!!!!!

And then, with all the bad shit that we know is happening, I end up feeling like a fucking asshole because I feel fucking broken because I can’t keep up with modern life without a fucking pill, but that’s the honest to god truth.

No one else in the media universe, to my knowledge, covers this aspect of having ADHD and the real impacts of these idiotic shortages. So I live the fact that you guys actually talk about this from time to time, and I am absolutely beside myself with good feels because you guys devoted a good chunk of this episode to being CJ on tot all through all this and also add in the adhd suffering facet of the story. I had not heard of CJ before so I am definitely going to check out his writing, he picked up a new reader/fan/simp today!

Also, just to plug a few helpful resources for anyone out there who might be suffering in silence. The r/ADHD subreddit is really really good, and also check out Jessica McCabe’s “How to ADHD” YouTube channel. She has ADHD and has built a community that is several hundred thousand strong.

Thanks again!

Walkoff music I’ve probably played in this space before, but since so MANY of you nerds appreciated the recent references, here’s a little video ditty about the man who invented cocaine: