WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.519 Ask not what your country can do for you, ask 2 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:07.919 what you can do for your country. 3 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:12.039 Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall. 4 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:16.120 It's the Ricochet Podcast with Charles C. W. Cook and 5 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:18.640 Stephen Haywood. I'm James Lilyx, and today we talked to 6 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:22.559 our old friend John, you about just everything. So let's 7 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:23.800 have ourselves a podcast. 8 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:28.359 And I don't mind making this speech without a teleprompter 9 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:36.159 because the teleprompter is not working. I feel very happy 10 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.479 to be up here with you. Nevertheless, and that way 11 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.719 you speak more from the heart. I can only say 12 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.039 that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big trouble. 13 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.600 Welcome everybody. It's the Ricochet Podcast, number seven hundred and 14 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.280 fifty nine. I'm James Lylyx in Minneapolis, which is absolutely 15 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.920 stunningly beautiful at the moment, just beginning to manifest itself 16 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.359 in the tips of the leaves and in those places 17 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:08.200 with the summer his eternal and nothing ever changes. California. 18 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.920 Stephen Hayward, Florida, Charlie Cook and as I say, we've 19 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:14.359 got the whole country covered. Greetings, gentlemen, how are you today? 20 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:15.840 Doing well? 21 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:16.599 Good? 22 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:21.359 I'm good here, good, good, well. I assume now that 23 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:23.719 the escalator is moving and taking us up, and that 24 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.040 we may enter the hall and speak. And our teleprompters, well, 25 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:29.359 we don't have them, but if we did, do either 26 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.120 of you think that you could expostulate for forty minutes 27 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:35.040 or so. I tend to believe that the President could. 28 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.040 I don't know how long his teleprompter was after in 29 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:41.439 the UN address, I did read a good deal of it. 30 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.920 I saw a tweet from somebody who had characterized it 31 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.760 as a series of just, you know, sort of self 32 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.680 aggrandizing little me, me, me, me, me, give me award, 33 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.159 and I thought, well, that might be so, And then 34 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:53.760 I went and looked at the actual speech. There is 35 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.519 a lot of putting the stick to some of the 36 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:00.359 countries for various things that the President does not agree with. 37 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.680 But the end of it was a rather stirring call 38 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.760 and defensive Western civilization. It was the scripted part, you 39 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:10.159 can tell, but it was we have a beautiful thing 40 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.159 that we have inherited here, and it is our responsibility, duty, 41 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:16.520 and joy to maintain it. But but but, but but 42 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:20.000 but immigration. That was one of the things of which 43 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:22.639 the President spoke. And here's a quote. Not only is 44 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:24.960 the U and not solving the problems it should. Too 45 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.400 often it's actually creating new problems for us to solve. 46 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.639 The best example is the number one political issue of 47 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.680 our time, the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It's uncontrolled. Your 48 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.439 countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an 49 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:39.400 assault on Western countries and their borders. A lot in 50 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:41.759 there to parts whether or not it's the number one issue, 51 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.759 whether or not it's a crisis, whether or not it's uncontrolled, 52 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:46.240 and whether or not the U and it's funding it. 53 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:49.800 So I will let either one of you leap in 54 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:51.120 and tell me what you think. 55 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:57.360 Well, you're in California, I feel, by definition get first 56 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:57.919 DIBs on this. 57 00:02:58.280 --> 00:02:59.840 Okay, I'm actually in Washington, d C. 58 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:00.680 To day for the day. 59 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.439 But you know, well, just quickly about the UN speech 60 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:08.000 and then that point is my first thought. Excuse me. 61 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.639 My first thought when I saw the elevator failed, the 62 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:14.919 teleprofter failed is I'll bet Trump's staff did that deliberately 63 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.400 so that he would just rough for an hour, right, 64 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:20.479 because the conspiracy people said, oh, this is the win 65 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:24.159 trying to monkey with Okay, the immigration thing, He's absolutely 66 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.719 right that and even the Economist magazine recently, which is 67 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:31.560 you know, that's the authoritarian centrist journal for you have 68 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:34.639 the greater euro world. I suppose they said Europe is 69 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:37.360 really blown out on migration. This really is out of 70 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.080 control of the asylum policies are wrongheaded and need to 71 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.000 be rethought. And what you see all over Europe is 72 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:48.879 that the ruling party simply refuse to heed the rising 73 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.479 public sentiment to say something needs to be done about this, 74 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.199 and some like Britain, are doubling down and making it worse. 75 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:58.960 There's a second aspect to this beyond just the recalcitrance 76 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:02.240 of the ruling parties. It is you also, because of 77 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:06.120 the European Union and the various international tribunals or human 78 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:08.879 rights and all the rest of that tell individual nations 79 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:11.800 will know you can't close your borders, you can't limit immigration. 80 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.879 So you know, Italy is having to continue to accept 81 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.959 asylum seekers even though the government would like to stop it. 82 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.519 Under Maloney, I think I forget all the menacing threats 83 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.439 to Hungary because Hungary ten years ago said no, no 84 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.480 one's coming here. We're going to put a fence up 85 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:29.160 on our border and we'll just tranship people to Germany 86 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.399 or whatever they did. And I think there's still under 87 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:35.240 sanctions and monetary penalties and all kinds of other menacing things. 88 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:39.560 So you know, to the extent that the United States 89 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.480 either follows or leads Europe, somebody's out of step here, 90 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:43.759 and I'm pretty sure it's Europe. 91 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.680 That's for the economists to be centrist. It's centrist in 92 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.439 the European sense, I think is what we should say. 93 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.439 Charles Well, I have a long winded take on this. 94 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:54.480 If you'll indulge me. 95 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:56.560 I'm gonna go get some coffee. 96 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:03.439 The way in which dual citizenship worked changed dramatically after 97 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:08.439 World War Two. It still is something of a mixed bag. 98 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:13.879 But the Western countries that were on the right side 99 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.680 of World War Two, and in fact on the wrong 100 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:18.439 side because we conquered them and told them what to do, 101 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:23.560 changed their attitude toward citizenship such that if you now 102 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:26.920 become a citizen of the United States, the United States 103 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:29.600 does not carry the way whether you retain your citizenship 104 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:35.680 of birth. Some of those countries do care and will 105 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:40.279 strip you of it, but America doesn't, Britain doesn't, France doesn't. 106 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:43.639 And the reason for that is that there was a horror, 107 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:48.600 an understandable horror of people becoming stateless because of what 108 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:55.319 the Nazis had done, And this useful instinct has been 109 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:02.879 extrapolated out into a completely insane system that pertains to 110 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:08.879 immigration in general, in which any sort of enforcement or 111 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:14.480 desire to retain the characteristics of the West are conflated 112 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.959 with the horrors of the mid twentieth century. And I 113 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:22.439 think we are now coming up against that in a 114 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:28.759 really practical sense. The big problem the left has in 115 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:32.160 the United States and across the world on immigration is 116 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:34.199 that it has ceased to regard it as being a 117 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.000 quotidian political question. How many people should we have, on 118 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:39.399 what basis should they be admitted? What do we expect 119 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.240 of them? And they have come to see it as 120 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:46.000 a human rights question. We don't debate human rights per se. 121 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.519 We don't debate the worth of individuals, but we have 122 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:54.240 to debate immigration, and yet we can't. And what Trump said, 123 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:57.560 although it was haphazard and trumpion was correct in this 124 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:03.079 regard that there is a big difference between determining that 125 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.759 people aren't worthwhile or hating them for their national characteristics 126 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:08.920 or the color of their skin or a language they speak. 127 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.040 And setting immigration policy as a country that works for 128 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:15.920 the people who are already there, and the constitutions that 129 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:19.160 you already have. And I think that this confusion in 130 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:23.759 the mind of the people who have been the architects 131 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.759 of our post war order is crashing down now finally, 132 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:32.439 where the average person across the world is saying, no, 133 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:37.240 it is not the same thing as what the Nazis 134 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:42.720 did to say, we will make broad based determinations as 135 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.879 to who we want in our country. That is not 136 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:47.720 the same thing as we were trying to avoid with 137 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:50.720 the establishment of the United Nations and various declarations of 138 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.439 human rights in the European Union and so forth. And 139 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:56.000 the problem is that the people have got there, but 140 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.240 most governments have not. 141 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.000 They you're right, then, what walks in by hand, hand 142 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:03.000 in hand and side by side with that sentiment is 143 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.680 the idea that when people say, well, our national character 144 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:07.959 is being changed or altered in ways in which we 145 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.759 do not approve, they're being told that the national character 146 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.759 is something of which they should be ashamed, and that 147 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.920 it's archaic, and it's based in a variety of isms 148 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.800 and sins. And therefore you're by defending the past by 149 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.480 wanting the past to have continuity of the present in 150 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.600 the future. You are defending ideas that now have fallen 151 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.279 out of favor, and that makes you subject to approbrium 152 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:31.720 in the public square. But what most people aren't buying it, 153 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:34.039 and I think, as Stephen said earlier, is that this 154 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.799 is a rising sentiment in Europe and we all know 155 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.159 what happens when those things are not addressed and not 156 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:41.840 even allowed to be spoken about. Well, that was one 157 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:43.639 of the things that the President talked about at the 158 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:45.600 U and the other was energy policy, which I really 159 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:49.320 didn't expect. Again, it's like, these are settled issues. Why 160 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:52.159 is he bringing this up talking about how the green 161 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:55.240 energy is driving Europe off a cliff and leading to 162 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:58.519 the industrialization and eye watering as they say, prices for 163 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:04.600 these things, the fake energy catastrophe. Is he correct? Is 164 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.840 he over emphasizing the importance of this, because I, you know, 165 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.559 I think of the bullets that we dodged, the inscribed 166 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.759 bullets that we dodged with a green new Deal not 167 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:17.399 being fully implemented, and I am grateful that petroleum continues 168 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:21.759 to be the wonderful Texas te ick or backbone that 169 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:25.120 it is of the country. Is there any hope for 170 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.600 Europe though in this respect, or are they just going 171 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:32.080 to continue to play green while importing all kinds of 172 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:34.840 dirty energy from elsewhere and claiming their hands are going 173 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:35.279 to be clean. 174 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:38.879 Well, my perspective on it is that Trump was twisting 175 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:40.879 a knife because I perceive for a while now that 176 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:44.320 while Europe and to some extent our country still talks green, 177 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.240 they've been trying to beat a retreat from some of 178 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:51.120 their crazy energy targets and climate targets, and so, you know, 179 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.919 you know, over the last three four years, Germany has 180 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.039 had to ramp up coal fired electricity with some of 181 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.840 the dirtiest coal in the world because they have a 182 00:09:57.879 --> 00:09:59.960 lot of the you know, the old I guess, lignite coal. 183 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:04.360 And here in this country, here's my favorite thing. First 184 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:05.919 of all, there was a long article in the New 185 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.159 York Times last week by Benjamin Wallace Wells, and essentially 186 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.159 it was the public declaration that the climate change crusade 187 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.159 is over. I said, we're giving up on climate politics, 188 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:18.960 and your Thomas Shotts, the very liberal senator from Hawaii, 189 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.840 said Democrats should quit talking about climate and talk about 190 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:25.639 inflation and affordability and things that people care about and 191 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:28.200 my favorite marker is out here Irati about here my 192 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.840 home state of California. A year ago, Gavin knew some 193 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:34.120 of the Democrats were all or maybe your year and 194 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:37.120 a half. They're all up in arms about our high 195 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.960 gas prices are the fault of the oil refiners. So 196 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.080 they set in motion an investigation for excess profits by 197 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.919 the refiners, and of course found out it's nonsense. And 198 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.919 then two of the largest refineries said Valeria. One other said, 199 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:51.279 we think we're going to close our last two refineries 200 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:55.000 in California, and credible predictions that could lead to eight 201 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.799 dollars gallon gasoline. And so the latest thing is, first 202 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:01.360 of all, the legislator just passed the bill that will 203 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.879 allow an expansion of oil production in Kern County in California. 204 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:06.559 I think in the last two years there have been 205 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.519 two hundred wills a drill. The state is now authorizing 206 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:14.559 two thousand new ones. And better, they're begging the refiners 207 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.840 not to leave, and they're now talking about subsidizing oil 208 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:21.399 refineries to stay open in California. So in eighteen months 209 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.480 in crazy California, we've gone from let's punish the oil 210 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.240 refiners because they're evil people to oh, can we give 211 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:30.080 you subsidies to make sure you stay open? That tells 212 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.039 me that in the real world this whole circus is 213 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:36.159 pretty much over now, the climate cult, as I call it. 214 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:38.279 They're going to keep yelling and screaming and blocking roads 215 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.120 and throwing tomato soup on artworks and so forth, and 216 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:43.360 lying down the road now and then, although even some 217 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:45.559 of them are starting to draw back from that, especially 218 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.879 as they're starting to get real jail sentences in several venues, 219 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.960 including even in Europe. But I think in the real world, 220 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:54.440 reality has finally caught up with this nonsense and is 221 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.159 reversing in a real way, in real time, right in 222 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:57.960 front of us. 223 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.960 I won't be happy in until California resembled the movies 224 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.200 of the forties or the Two Jakes where you're driving 225 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.279 around and you actually see a little oil rig and 226 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:09.480 Soody's backyard pumping out a couple of gallons a day 227 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:12.480 back in the days when California did it. Charles, before 228 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.399 we go to our guest, anything on Europe and their 229 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:20.159 energy situation is Stephen Wright, is the green fervor finally 230 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:21.879 peaked in past? 231 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.840 Yes, it's funny Steve, you mentioned this because this was 232 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:28.679 pointed out to me the other day as well, and 233 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:32.519 I realized that I hadn't noticed it because the people 234 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:35.039 who normally scream about it had stopped, and I don't 235 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:39.000 think about it, so I wasn't looking for them to 236 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:41.240 talk about it. And when I read my book ten 237 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.360 years ago, I got lots of rude letters from the 238 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.360 left saying, wow, you know, two hundred pages and you 239 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:50.000 didn't even mention climate. And I wouldn't respond to them. 240 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:52.559 But if anyone asked me in person, I would say 241 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.200 that's because I don't think it's remotely important, and they 242 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.159 would look at me like I had three heads. Well, now, yeah, 243 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:02.399 it's interesting that people they've just stopped in America, especially, 244 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:04.600 they've just stopped talking about it. You just don't hear 245 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.200 about this anymore. It's not the everything is Everything tweets 246 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:10.960 that you get from the left, and there are other 247 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.559 things that have replaced it. The important part of it. 248 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:17.039 I think it's just that it be eschatological. Whatever it is, 249 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:19.440 that is the issue of the day. It has to 250 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.600 be that if we don't do it, then the end 251 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:23.840 of the world will come, so something else will fill 252 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.919 that role. But it's been a fascinating couple of years 253 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:29.879 where that dog hasn't barked, Well. 254 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:33.879 Something else already has and that's the imminent Hitlerism, the authoritarianism, 255 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.240 the jack boot that has descended on the throat and 256 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:37.720 the faces of all of us. And I get that, 257 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:40.000 of course from my social feet as well. I read 258 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:41.759 the other day one out of five people in America 259 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:44.600 get their news from TikTok, which which to me was 260 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.559 just stunning, and I instantly had a version of a 261 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.639 purple haired Walter Cronkite with a septum ring, yelling in 262 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:55.519 his car while he gesticulates like an electrocuted Italian. And yeah, 263 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.279 I mean everybody gets their news now from these sources. 264 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.960 And if that's the case, at this fire hose of 265 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:03.759 panic and end of the world nonsense coming at you 266 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.240 twenty four to seven, and yet we keep scrolling. Well, 267 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.240 it's all more important to keep a place where you 268 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:11.360 can be sane while you're stepping away from the insane 269 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:14.840 news cycles that dominate our culture. Even in simpler times, 270 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:16.720 when you think about a life gets hectic and finding 271 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.000 comfort and yes I'm doing an ad and finding comfort 272 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.840 and calm, it's essential we need time for relaxation, for 273 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.559 recharging and soaking in a sense of peace with cozy earth. 274 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:30.480 You right, that's right. You can create a space that 275 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.480 feels like a personal retreat where comfort and serenity come 276 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.279 together naturally. And speaking of comfort and serenity and natural things, 277 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.039 here's Charles to tell you exactly why he likes these sheets. 278 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:46.120 Because they're soft, because they're comfortable, because they're breathable. I 279 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.879 was just in Phoenix, Arizona, and it was hot, but 280 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.320 it was hot in a different way. It's dry. I 281 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.080 like it a great deal. Florida is not. It's humid. 282 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.320 I like that a great deal too, except sometimes at night, 283 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.799 so out of my cozy sheets, sleep on them every night, 284 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:04.519 spend an inordinate amount of time being comfortable in them, And. 285 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:06.960 I too appreciate their breatheability. 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Code ricochet up to forty percent off. 297 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:41.240 And if you get a post to purchase survey, let 298 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:43.120 them know you're about a cozy of Earth right here 299 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.840 at the Ricochet Podcast. And we do think Cozy Earth 300 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:49.120 for sponsoring this the Ricochet Podcast. And now we bring 301 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.279 to the pie who we got? Oh, And now we 302 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:56.759 bring to the podcast John. You needs no introduction. John 303 00:15:56.840 --> 00:16:01.639 knows law. John knows McDonald's, I knows the fluffya eagles, 304 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:05.200 and he's here mostly to talk about McDonald's and a 305 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.399 little law. Hey John, how are you great? 306 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:09.799 James? How are you? 307 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.720 Couldn't be better? Actually? I'm just firing on all cylinders technic, 308 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.000 but are. 309 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.519 We're going to do our special star Tek science fiction 310 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:17.559 episode with Hell. 311 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:19.919 We do have to do that. We absolutely got to 312 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.440 finish season three of Strange New Worlds first, which I 313 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:24.559 understand is a tad disappointment, but I love it anyway, 314 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:25.600 But yeah, we'll do that. 315 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:27.039 Final episode was weak. 316 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.039 I was, Yeah, they say they're going to do better 317 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:30.559 for the fourth episode. I think a little bit too 318 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.440 much on the comedy side, but I can deal with it. 319 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:33.840 I still love the ship and the crew and the. 320 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:34.240 Rest of it. 321 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:36.559 But James Comy, he said, grinding all the gears to 322 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.840 get to the topic. James Comy indicted by a grand 323 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.000 jury which may of course also looked at a ham 324 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.679 sand which we don't know, for alleged perjury and remarks 325 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.840 me for the Sener Judiciary Committee in September thirty of 326 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:52.360 twenty twenty. Now lying to Congress, misspeaking saying things, we 327 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.679 get the feeling if you're watching up clips that people 328 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.559 do it all the time, but there's never any a 329 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.960 penalty for it. Is that the case? And what is 330 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.720 your impression of the indictment of Comy at this moment? 331 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.960 So people should realize the crime is not lying in Congress, 332 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:15.400 of which there would be many perpetrators lying to Congress, 333 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:20.359 so I probably would have agreed with the Attorney General 334 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.240 and the Deputy Attorney General and not brought these charges. 335 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:28.759 Not because I don't think Comy lied to Congress or not, 336 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.920 but because it would be too hard to prove. This 337 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.960 is essentially a he said, she said case about one 338 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:40.359 answer that Comy gave back almost five years ago to 339 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:44.279 Congress when he was asked whether he had authorized or 340 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:49.200 knew of the leaking of confidential law enforcement investigation material 341 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:54.440 to the press. Comy's subordinate leaked the information to the 342 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:58.359 press about the Hillary Clinton investigation, and he believed He 343 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:02.119 testified under oath that he believed Komy wanted him to, 344 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.599 but Komy said he didn't. So it's really she said 345 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:09.839 case really about that. A lot of people are going 346 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.119 to think, oh, no, Kobe's being indicted for all the 347 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:15.440 other terrible things he did. I mean, if you go 348 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.920 back and look at the record, Komy, right, if you remember, 349 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.079 tried to entrap President Trump while he was the FBI director, 350 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:27.119 tried to entrap President Trump into trying to block the 351 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.359 investigation into the Russia hoax because Trump and he turned 352 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:32.880 out to be right about this, knew the Russia hoax 353 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:37.000 was actually a hoax. And so remember Komy got it, 354 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:38.759 was talking to him about it, and then he was 355 00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.720 running back to his car and typing into his laptop 356 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:44.480 secret memos, which he then had a friend leaked to 357 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:46.960 the New York Times. Or they might think Komy's going 358 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.680 to be investigated for all the shenanigans leading up to 359 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.759 the twenty sixteen election, where he uh right, Remember he 360 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.759 started an investigation into Clinton, then he closed it, then 361 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.119 he reopened it, then he closed it, and then he 362 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:03.480 announced in the without consulting with the Attorney General, that 363 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:06.440 the matter was closed and that Hilly was cleared just 364 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.720 a few days before the election. People are going to 365 00:19:08.759 --> 00:19:10.559 think he's being indicted for all that he's not. He's 366 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.880 being indicted for this one statement he gave five years ago. 367 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.279 And I'm not sure that the jury is going to 368 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.039 convin I think it's enough. I think there's enough there 369 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:21.519 to bring a charge. But I think the Attorney General 370 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:25.039 of the Debuty turned Till Bondie must have thought, I 371 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:28.440 think rightly so, that it's not clear whether jury would convict, 372 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.680 and that it would be ultimately a waste of the 373 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:34.200 prestige of the Justice Department to lose in court on this. 374 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:37.720 Okay, Well, John, First of all, three quick points for 375 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:40.680 you to respond to. One is it's hardly an unprecedented 376 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:44.799 to bring a perjury charge for congressional testimony. I give 377 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.240 you the case of Algerhiss, right, I mean that's right. 378 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.759 The statute limitations that expired on his espionage. So they 379 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:53.880 got him for perjury and that took two trials. And okay. 380 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.880 The second point is, and we've talked about this before, 381 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:01.640 you and I, is in some respects resembles I won't 382 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.599 say payback, but a parallel to the I think really 383 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.880 outrageous charges brought against Scooter Libby twenty years ago for 384 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:10.960 lying to the FBI when they knew that he was 385 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.079 not the leaker. They knew it was Richard Armitage, but 386 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.640 he was untouchable. Okay, we'll go through that whole history again. 387 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:18.880 And so maybe there's payback of the second kind, which 388 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:20.880 is you and I have said game theory would say, 389 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.720 if you want Democrats to stop lawfair, make them suffer 390 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:26.759 some of it themselves. And the final point in question 391 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.640 is who is the happiest about this indictment and why 392 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.039 is that person? Hillary Clinton? 393 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.480 Oh, you're gonna have to explain why it's Hillary Clinton. 394 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.000 I would have thought it'd be Donald Trump, although I'm 395 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:39.720 sure Hillary thinks that all of the back and forth 396 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:43.400 that Comy engaged in on the Hillary investigation lost her 397 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:43.920 the election. 398 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:45.680 Oh yeah, no, I think she said that. I think 399 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.519 that's pretty much confirmed. And she blames Comy above everybody 400 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:50.720 else for her losing. So that's why I say she's 401 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.440