Workin’ for the Weekend #51: On FIRE in Philly, RFK’ing on Megyn Kelly (Sans Farts), and Kundera/Havel Redux

Also: Kmele argues media with Mike Solana and Ben Smith!

Are you a student or incoming first-year-er at an American college or university? Then you have until midnight ET on Monday to apply for the FIRE Student Network (FSN) Summer Conference, which takes in Philadelphia July 21-23. It would probably be a pretty rad event in its own right, given the general awesomeness of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and the organization’s, ah, extensive local knowledge of The City of Brotherly Love. But via the Twitter feed of the apparently controversial Pamela Paresky, I see that Kmele and Moynihan will “deliver the keynote and will also record an episode of The Fifth Column…with law professor/writer Lara Bazelon and FIRE President/CEO [Greg Lukianoff]”! The Baz is a veteran of Episode #357 & #369; Greg and his superior beard came on #216. I would totally PHIRE in filly, but I’d long since secured impossible-to-find lodgings in Cooperstown, NY, on Baseball Hall of Fame induction weekend; if you’re there, say hi to the one guy in an Angels cap (who will be flanked by former and future Fif’ guests!).

* Kmele on Friday went on the Pirate Wires podcast with host Mike Solana and guest Ben Smith (#125, #227, #404), for a “Fiery, But Mostly Peaceful Conversation About The Media.” Per the write-up,  the three “discuss the death of new media. We get into the unrealized hope for new media, how Trump changed the media landscape, ‘disagreements’ over mostly peaceful protestors, the death of BuzzFeed and straightening of the New York Times, and the future of the media.” Watch:

* Made our regular appearance Tuesday on The Megyn Kelly Show, discussing Joe Biden’s unacknowledged grandchild, trying to decipher Kamala Harris, watching a shirtless Chris Cuomo, analyzing men’s crop-tops, and “Breaking Down the Supposed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘Conspiracy Theories.’” Full episode:

* For those of you who enjoyed our July 4^th talk in #414, we were delighted to be the first guests over at the new “Sidebar” feature at MegynKelly.com, where we talked about a controversial rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”:

* Believe me, I’m more tired of talking about RFK Jr. than you are hearing it. But there was just no way I was going to let that New York Post article go by without sharing. No, not the one about him saying “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” (Kennedy’s response here); but this instant Page Six classic: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. press dinner explodes in war of words and farting.” Excerpt, though please read the whole important report:

The gaseous exchange — to which Page Six bore reluctant witness — began after a guest asked Kennedy, founder of the ecological organization Waterkeeper Alliance, about the environment.

And it seems that the mere inquiry was enough to set off apparently drunk gossip columnist-turned-flack Doug Dechert, the host of the event, who became enraged and screamed at the top of his lungs: “The climate hoax!”

Meanwhile, octogenarian art critic Anthony Haden-Guest, who appeared to have been sleeping happily for most of the dinner, was roused by the abrupt rumpus.

He suddenly opened his eyes and denounced his longtime pal Dechert, calling him a “miserable blob.” […]

Here, it seems, Dechert sensed the need for a new rhetorical tack, and let rip a loud, prolonged fart while yelling, as if to underscore his point, “I’m farting!” […]

When asked to comment about his, er, outburst the next day, Dechert told us: “I apologize for using my flatulence as a medium of public commentary in your presence.”

(He also asked us to refer to him either as a “gallivanting boulevardier” or a “beer-fueled sex rocket.”)

* Since I’m confident #415 just wasn’t enough to slake your thirst for Central European literary tiffs, here’s my Reason piece of the week: “Milan Kundera's Eternal Feud With Václav Havel: In clashing bitterly over how an individual should best confront government evil, the two most famous Czech anti-communists unwittingly demonstrated how totalitarianism mangles human lives.” Bonus Reason link: A 2008 Moynihan paragraph noting Kundera’s alleged informing incident and also his 1969 polemics with Havel!

* Moynihan mentioned on the last epi the ridiculous “implicit bias” video he had to watch before doing his patriotic duty of jury service. Several listeners found the link:

* The Fifth Column Community Show podcast, which we take neither responsibility nor credit for, posted a new episode this week called “All About That D(isinformation), featuring Fif’ legends Jacob Siegel (#36, #70, #193) and Eli Lake (#52, #65, #141, #174, Special Dispatch #51, #326, #368, #407).

* Comment of the Week comes from John Stuart’s Coffee Mill:

Matt is SOOOO Rice-ist!

During the Lil' Nas X Old Town Road discussion, I think I missed the point, because I was waiting for someone to mention Lil' Nas X's use of Track 34 from Nine Inch Nail's Ghosts IV.

Also, Shockheaded Peter is a great Tiger Lillies album full of horrible old children's nursery rhymes, my favorite of which is called "Snip Snip", about a big tall tailor man who comes and cuts off the thumbs of boys who suck their thumbs with his big sharp scissors.

Outro music suggested by several in the wake of the Tracy Chapman/Luke Combs nontroversy: