Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon, joins the COMMENTARY podcast talks about the story that gripped American media—the allegation that an Arizona couple had poisoned themselves with fish tank cleaner in observance of President Trump’s advice. The real story is, we have learned, much more sordid. Also, can American politicians be trusted to competently balance the needs of a functional society amid this pandemic?
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily POD gas today is Thursday April thirtieth. Twenty twenty, I'm John Pub words. The editor of Commentary magazine with me is always senior editor. A green, well paid job. Seeing a writer Christie rose high Christine
socio the editor nor Rossman High Noah Hydra joining us today
the editor of the Washington Free Beacon, veteran Washington, journalist host of the sadly I'm hiatus right and writer. One of my favorite.
Our guests Elliot Johnson, highly ANA. I again, how are you I'm guide great to be with you and while there is one person missing the pod come on it's it's a girl,
I for one thing, it's nice and Crispin Short, unlike, unlike you know, Einstein on the beach. You know, which is this
podcast. One thousand to hundred and twelve
well out of twelve hours, a fillip glass music that that's us every day.
I don't know what the out, what the today's news is other than them, where I think everybody is girding Fora. The jobless numbers which I think come out tomorrow, an there again going to be horrific in ways that we can even begin to imagine. I saw a very interesting
charge. Just now, might my my sister sent me, which is a pie chart of the United States, and it shows the number of people infected by covered and the population of the United States, which is of course, one three hundred and thirty fifth of the population of the United States. When you look at this pie chart and you think that there's ones room three, the United States is and has has tested positive weren't you that was thought to whatever. However, however, they figure this number out versus the fact that something like twenty percent of the working population of the country is going to be
listed as unemployed. That's where you start having this horrible cognitive dissonance that I keep talking about every minute, where one moment you're like what we can't go on like this. The other moment as well were saving lives, and you can't make any sense of it somehow. Well, you know the answer always for that. If you say, there's just one one one hundred
of the population that has three hundred and thirty one. Three hundred and thirty of the population has the response is for now or well this
working. Well, that's right! I should be a larger his. I thank everyone if we listen the restrictions, but I think you get it something, and when people talk about
serving and administration and they come out, I think they sort of tell people what they don't realises, that you don't confront choices that are let the goods
the bad choice and you make the bad choice, but you confront
An array of you know the choices that are bad and worse than this,
The to like a real illustration of that
I mean there is a brief controversy on twitter yesterday, which is where there is always a brief controversy, and it is exclusively brief, but it was involving Ben Shapiro friend of the show who
suggested. I talked with somebody else that in actual aerial tables are what they are and of individuals are over. The age of eighty and succumb to this disease is far less deleterious to the social fabric than it would be. If you
had younger individuals working it individuals or minors, who are succumbing to this disease. Now, there's no
way to say that
easy way to convey that message, but it
Nevertheless, something that policy makers confront every day, all the time, the competing values between maintaining
functional society and ensuring that the most number of individuals have good outcomes, health outcomes being just one of many outcomes. Up policy makers have to weigh imbalance.
I mean this is what an adult conversation looks like bad choices being weighed against one. Each other competing values that are equally important
that need to nevertheless be be weighed against one another and tough tradeoffs to be accepted. We dont we can have that conversation in the political sphere for some reason, but I'm by guaranteeing that occurs behind closed doors. As a shit, I don't come. Oh, I don't know that it occurs behind closed doors area. Go ahead. Neurologists was able to go to its the kind of commerce,
nation, that's designed not to have on twitter. If you read the second, you have that on twitter. You aren't you
a whole world of trouble you, but we need not just just one other thing we do. This conversation with this conversation did occurred under a bomb care with the old death panel discussion. Remember that when they were talking in actual aerial terms about how about my care would work- and I have to say there were plenty of people on the right who were up in arms about this kind of talk, then. So I do think we have to be cautious in and understand that it triggers lots of different people, lots of different ways, and I do think bends being treated unfairly in this particular case, because what he said is not what he's been in
but it is saying this- this kind of conversation makes a lot of people uncomfortable on the left and the right depending on whose darting it, but it was the essential do. Just briefly. I mean this is the key question, the essential question that the country asks itself every four years when we elect the president that they are to weigh the balance of life versus the preservation of society.
And an hour arm where life means society, as we understand it. That is that that is the big question that hangs over a president every president.
It was only it's no different when it soldiers versus civilians, but only euphemistically, I mean, that is to say it is very, very difficult what what what we are talking about here, every ten or fifteen years. There is a political discussion that involves this question right
famously in the nineteen eighties, governor of Colorado, Richard Lamb, talking about the extension of entitlements and two titled spending and state spending on the hospitals and stuff like that said, we all have
duty to die by which he meant we all it out. We we can preserve life indefinitely without any understanding of the costs involved in extending life as far as possible, and he was pilloried for it. This was even like seven or eight years before the beginning,
The real healthcare discussion in the United States is, of course, it's a horrifying way to look at life with a cost benefit analysis about. You know what people are are worth and what you're worth in the way you want to think
so every life is sacred and then everybody gets to play these games right. What if every life is sacred, then why do you support the death penalty? If every life is sacred, then why'd you? Why are you pro choice? You know what's in it turns
into a doormat late, my dorm room session of had EU puncture holes and somebody else's. You know pie
yes in vocation of eternal verities values like oh yeah. Well, you know
What do you do if you don't believe in your passiveness of what do you do? If you had a gun? And somebody was you know about to kill your wife? You know those sorts of those sorts of games, kind of moral games, the trawling problem, how we want to look at it
yeah. I have to say I don't know anyone whose for reopening soon who d
and also say we have to try to protect and keep safe.
The Adriatic and those with underline
conditions? I mean anything. Anyone is saying.
Rip and lit. Let it rip through the of the older population as well. I mean that's, not that's not the idea or yeah
What's so tricky about this? Is there so much, but there is still so much. We don't know about this virus and so were real
opening for something that's uncertain, and
We have to weigh a risk that we'd, we don't really know how big it is an uncertain number of death for, against a result,
in a normal. You note quota,
a normal life and economic activity and that's what makes it so tricky. Let we just we don't know, but I think I also think that the government it first of all that the media has become
lately devoted to the virtues of a locked down and
second of all in an unwilling to entertain. Other theory,
Then ideas into admit that nobody really has their arms wrapped around this yet including the experts we just don't know
and that is what makes this such a difficult problem and those who are advocating for much more restraint and caution into the foreseeable future. With these lockdown have a built in failsafe to their argument
it can never be disproven that arise succeeds. It will have looked like failure in the form of a dramatic economic impact that
seems unsustainable man. If it succeeds, it will have, or if it fails, you know you you will know, because we probably moved the lock them up to early the. If there's there's just no way to disprove
their claims it's on falsified, ok, we'll! Let me let me let me pose a counterfactual them and Ellie. I think this is something I would be interested in your reflection on as somebody who move from.
We say the mainstream media into more partisan, let's say or radiological media having
I didn't realize media move to mainstream media now, Sir back back in the nestling arms of up of principle, but they say that Donald Trump in January had power.
Act by co: good because, as we know, he's a german phobia spent thirty years, never shaking
but his hand. I met him four times
I shook my hand
in the Eightys and Ninetys, and people would then our often it at a tory lunches is only that people would ask. Many would say just think it's disgusting habit. Why would you want to pass terms this way and then, of course, he had to get over that running for president me got over it. You know in a big way but say that he had somehow invoke that spirit in himself at the news
Does that there was a pandemic coming in, everybody could die, and you know we should really walk down said that he did that in late January. Do you think that Andrew Cuomo and build the blog
yo and everybody who said now go to the go to the Chinese, knew your parade go on the subway get have fun with your life, don't that this would all have been reversed. The thing
in other words, that they would have continued to say, Tromp has tried to lock you down, cause he's a fascist and wants to,
will you, as opposed to Trump saying no to I become odd, like aids all get vanish? I? What do you think I do,
that's? What would happen? We got a little taste of it in.
You know there were lawmakers warning about this. They did get enormous pushed back at that.
I am among them. Senator Tom Cotonou, during the impeachment trial, was saying what you think. Impeachment is the biggest story right now, but actually it's this virus coming out of China and those people
pilloried. I mean what I would I.
The rest is. Any it's. It's like
a big revelation, but the media is just reflexively opposes whatever the president does. So, if the president,
aunt. I China, the media's pro China. If the president's pro China, the media, is Anti China and of course the president reverses himself all the time consistency.
At his homework, but it also manages to put the press present some interesting positions as well and
the one thing I'm trying to figure out as these press briefings are substitute.
Before his rallies right now and the White House press Corps is essentially his opponent, because Joe Biden is in a basement like doing a podcast. Nobody listens to. Will that better
that what will having the opposition with the White House press Gourbi the most visible like campaign, that's happening benefit. The president.
I think that's not the view of his advisers or telling him to stop this, but I'm curious about it at all, reverse psychology. We should see the press now so well. Maybe Sweden has a point well, but they, but for four tromp he's didn't he just announced that he's gonna go to Arizona he's like I gotta go, I gotta get out of here. I got it. I gotta have some sort of rally type environment and we, the story today, is that he was screaming and yelling at bread par scale, furred foretell for advising him, given the pole numbers about his appearances too, to scale it backs. I think Ellie, honest totally right that there's this he's use. He needs the proxy righty needs that feedback and needs the combat. He needs both the combativeness with the media and he needs e adoring audience right now. He's
got the combative media. So he's missing that audience part, and it sounds like his mood- is reflecting that something very weird today in the or yes, I can remember now when when they, because they come out in the middle of the day or night matter, not with you know what day or switch to assign them too. But this story about Trump raging at his campaign manager, Brad PAR scale and threatening to sue him, which seems to be the salient detail:
that's it think the trumpets every like us. They are threatened to see the guy here. So it appeared in two different news organisations. At the same time, with multiple sources which
It means one fear them when the New York Times, which means
somebody really wanted to get this story out, that that Trump doesn't believe the polls that he's angry at his campaign staff that he is mad when he gets a bad pole and thinks that his people are being the soil to him by Report
bad Poles Aliona, why? Why
people in the White House, I mean you can't get to stories in two different places, told clearly by the same people who are
Doing it this way to make sure that every bone America knows about it, why are they doing it? I am at a loss.
You know it's a good question. One thing I that I knew that I notice covering the White House in talking to people who work there is that for all of these,
devotion that the president's followers have, in the sense that their part of a movement and a cause that really doesn't
exist in the White House- and I think in previous administrations, are with tremendous loyal deal with people who work in the George, W Bush White House or the Clinton why
as the Obama White. Has they really
felt they were a part of a group. They go to re, they feel loyal to the principle and in this White House, though, the president's folly
whereas I think certainly feel that way. His aids don't- and you know I said,
a former colleague who is at the New York Times now that I'm just I was actually shocked, which I share
and be having cover the wages for three years that people are coming after us
these are the secretary of help help inhuman services in the midst of a pandemic. That seems to me like this is how the
administration operates, there's no feeling of working on a team together and loyalty to the principal and sense that like were advancing a cause, and I think that's because Trump ISM is really just about.
Wrong. It's not about broader ideas. The people can feel a sense of fealty. To you know, that's a very important point is, of course, we ve been talking, simply be re ministration about this question of whether or not there is a deep state against right. What, where
where republican administrations have long believed that there was an an attitude of hostility toward them
was in the agencies are cabinet departments, but the White House is a cult of personality, no matter who is in the White House
I worked in why worked into road wrote books about two different white houses. I've read every book written about the White House, and this is not the case that the White House has been a fond of,
of disobedience or you know, dissension toward the president. The White House is his office. It literally called the executive office and the president, everybody who works in what we call institutionally the White House is a it's like his set is a secretary
of his or her. You know in office boy aura. Whenever I been there all their speech writers, this someone could be avant its chief of staff, it doesn't matter
they all literally work directly for the president. At the president's pleasure, without any congressional oversight, all of that, and so that this is
innovation, that the White House staff should be have some elements of institutional hostility toward the president, but I am also trying to figure out why they want this story out what why? What? Even? If you hate him, what what good? What good is done? I mean: do you want bread
go out this effort to attack Jared because par scale is Jared Guy, I'm just trying to Sir Sus out. I love the story by the way, eminence incredibly juicy, like I'm thrilled to read it, and I was thrilled to written to places of it confirms the fact that it was independently reported meant that it was clearly true.
I just don't know Kui bono, that's all. I think you're trying to like put you're trying to him.
Was reason on chaos and a lot of what happens like in the White House,
is about personal animosity or ensure, like there are a lot of people who don't like Brad Bartha there. A lot of people want the president to listen to and link these things come out for all sorts of competing reasons different
we'll talk for different reasons, but I don't think it's a there
like a broader, overarching again like they're, not playing on a team.
Not like a goal there trying to get you to achieve. By putting this out, there is usually small and petty right or just you know, you wouldn't believe what happened today right. It's got that quality. It's like when it when people are gossips. It's like. Oh man, I gotta tell you what happened,
he just lost a lot Brad par scale. Areas like that wider totally get suppress. You can't you have it
Gotta tell you, gotta tell people about it, but you know you top wife. You know you tell your husband, you know tell you know I mean, maybe somebody can really talk to her husband
I'm not that it had not given name any names. You know because it'll get on twitter, but yeah cutter so that that's it that's a fun. That's a funny thing at the moment, somehow also fund is that I gotta talk to you guys about our first sponsor today.
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and I wrote a column that this yes, which appeared yesterday around five p dot m in the New York Post, and I would say that the avalanche of mail has been unceasing since of Swai bring the stuff cuz. Clearly he touched a nerve. I touched a nerve anybody whose writing about this. Like our friendly, a leave of absence, a tablet has has touched a nerve, and I I wonder at the
The continuing meaning of a of a political moment when
It seems that leftist american politicians are less and less are more concerned with identity, politics and less and less concerned with the historically the single greatest victim of identity politics in Europe
history which of which is that the jewish people, who have been targeted by versions of identity politics from the time that they were, we were slaves in Egypt onward. I don't really have a question undisturbed. I'm struck by how raw this gets and it's not just you know, remember: Jews, make up two per cent of the population: the United States. There was a time. Seventy years ago, judgement at four percent. The populace United States juice makeup, thirteen percent of the population or eleven percent population of New York City made a thirty one percent seventy five years ago, so jewish,
political power is receding, and yet the hunger to blame Jews or to find meaning in jewish.
Behavior outside of the jewish community itself, seems to be greater, not less in the United. While we talk about this before this is partly a thesis of
book, unjust social justice in the making of America available on Amazon that intersection reality, which is a preferred theory of the higher mere very progressive, very online left, of which I think, build applause. You would be a member forces, you compels you to think and stereotypes as a form of enlightenment. You have to understand historical stereotypes that had been applied to various accidents, a birth internalize them and that
Tell you understand how prejudice intersects and effects that is: institutions, social, public and otherwise, and only in that
sense. Can you become a fully enlightened member of society and if you internalize stereotypes that degree, the stereotypes about Jews are generally positive
They involve quite a lot of an understanding of how they made
delayed institutions and how they are wealthy and successful and powerful, even in their small numbers. So if you internalize those stereotypes and think as a prejudiced person, then you will perceive them to have far more of a power and authority.
Then they do and that's why they rank so low on the social justice,
sectional ladder. That's why they were rejected from the women's March, for example,
because they share at all their political day, individual Jews who who were pilloried
this organization shared all their political instincts, but we're never lets accused of perpetuating white supremacy because of the accidents of their birth. It's as as a result of the very prejudiced fella.
The fate, but is nevertheless one that is very popular on the left
and I think that the Wazirs probably succumbed to quite a lot of that thinking. I certainly the people around them out. I use
another part of this, which is that I think if you look at culture at any given point and you think of what is,
he's the serve, though the the greatest enemy of public opinion, if you're, if no
to go to war
Then we're going to war for the Jews and
if, for example, this is this- I guess this path
do yourself when it density politics
and rapids on the left- and there was all this talk about. You know I don't know what sort of, but the problem of of whites and white
white males there was this idea in examining anti semitic attacks in black neighborhoods at the Jews were hyper white right, because whiteness has become such as such a bad thing. What is the worst thing you could do?
at this moment, someone who someone who passes on the virus right. So there is this. There is a propensity,
on the part of the enemy of of Jews urged anti semitic thought generally to hold Jews out as the worst thing that could be happening at any given moment. It is also a historical fact: amounts of history that evidently the fascinating connection between Anti Semitism and the idea. The Jews are themselves a virus or Jews carry disease, which is interesting because there is some reason to believe that the survival of this ancient try that was
certainly at risk of being eliminated from history time and time again in the ancient world survived and may have survived in part because of its own biblical admonitions for cleanliness standards. You know much of the Torah valves. These very very elaborate rituals cleanliness rituals, mostly for the priestly cast, but that are you know, are sort of like innate early understandings of the germ theory of disease. Two thousand years before the germ theory of disease became
understood fact of life right so and yet we published a piece in two thousand and nine by by an arabian Jewish,
emigrate to the United States,
Urology Isaac, Erasmus, it called about how, in IRAN, dogs and Jews were concerned,
both knowledge, ass unclean and that he and his family owned a dog and the fact that they own the dog was taken by
they're. More radical is Islamist Khomeini as neighbours
they ever again another sign of their deep on uncleanliness we
I have seen this in the last couple of months and this attitude, this sort of virtue, which is like oh, these parading Jews there
dirty your dirty and their care and their disease than they're carrying disease, and so
the entire jewish community somehow carries disease, whether or not the thought Merv sent him in the house at him in general, have been too lax and dangerously so dealing with.
Health implications of the virus. To one side there were a couple hundred people at this funeral in Williamsburg that cause Mare de Palacio to go absolutely in a hog wild and there are one point: two million jobs
who's in New York City. So you would say this is ninety nine point: seventy nine percent of the juice that we're not in attendance at the at the funeral, and yet what the blasey was said in his tweet was, I have a message for the jewish to
come on at all communities comment. We will not tolerate this any more. I will have the inland pity. You know, destroy you for your behavior and it's funny cause. I got a photograph this morning from a resident of Williamsburg in response to my column, who said, let me show you a picture and there's a picture of a street and the street two blocks of and white peaty cars parked on
Laura Mistreated, Williamsburg, and he said four months ago when we were all afraid to go outside because people were beating. You know breeding us up in the streets. There were no cop cars here this morning to punish us for our terrible behaviour. There are a hundred cop cars in the street, so thanks very much
and that's interesting and is the main reason is on Twitter today saying anybody.
Information about this? The latest terrible anti semitic attack? Please come full
Britain and help us figure this one out cause. This is absolutely unacceptable. Yet hate has no place in this city, except when I steal it well, but I think this this goes back to know its point, which he makes very well in the book, but is really important for understanding the kind of barely veiled cultural acceptance of this form of Anti Semitism in, and I do think the women's art is the perfect example of this is who, during the women's March, these women who shared all of the all of the concerns of the women in this group were over ruled by people like Linda's, our sore and others. Who said it doesn't matter because your jewish, you must support. Is you ass? You are soon to support Israel, Israel, terrible out you go and they didn't really have a chance to fight back with that. So I think that we, that hierarchy is the thing to really look at when you look into plazas behaviour to because Jews are still white rights at their higher on the total, even though we know historically that that's not, then how it's been perceived yeah, but that that is self is one of my favorite. You guys know. This is a troubled mind, which is of
told my grandfather, who is of milk man in win in Brownsville in the nineteen thirties in Brooklyn, and spoke with the figure of a shack sent that he was white like Rockefeller. He would have thought you were a crazy person. You know my word. Yes, we will leave compared sort. My grandfather is also about men and in a higher and that same idea like poor white. You know, Polish eastern european immigration is data. The idea they had a special privilege with what they are, but there is a shovel Esta element to this philosophy of the recent,
You can really call it a philosophy that is indeed very american centric. It is the fact that the United States has been able to incubate a jewish american population. That is, will it if we say and prosperous witches historical anomaly, of course, but that is they look at the american experience,
and apply the american experience and do so with reckless disregard all over the planet. Earth right.
We're not just doesn't minorities elsewhere, particularly in Europe, so many video late arriving in no way
you're, exactly right and that that fill the left largely has created
identity, politics that ranks different groups
according to their the amount of Greece,
since they are allowed to happen and they ve done it by skin call?
and economic status and gender and sexual preference, and we ve seen at play.
You know the beacon is covered, did what's happening in some of these elite private schools in New York City, where this school
from a very early age start having identity groups.
Encouraging kids to group themselves.
Based on their racial or sexual identities and were actually,
prohibiting jewish kids from
having their own group, because they said like you're, not a mate minority, because you are white. You are among the privilege, and it seems that in in this
of emerging ideology. On the the far left
my greetings to the main stream in, like these schools that very wealthy new Yorkers are sending their kids do. They are teaching kids that Jews are part of
privileged, and therefore cannot
claim minority status right, which is interesting, as you have our part, the privilege and where minorities both like a baby. That's the simple fact of the matter, so our mormon
as you know, more means are also privileged and a minority in a religious minority and so to end in then. You know there are many other minority that our young lady Jews, yet right now, you major Americans in particular have actually I'm tired interrupted, but asian Americans are also. Similarly,
victim of their own successes on the red. The capacity to assimilate and succeed and thrive is punished is not rewarded. Right now earlier, you mentioned the freebie again and we have to talk about the unbelievably delicious story that our former com,
Terry Colleague, a lotta Goodman, the story, the continuing story that she is working on for you involving a trump gotcha moment after his praise of hydroxide, see what actual hangover
No, it was doubt no is out Roxy Chloric when thank you. Noah, though, is the only person. Will. Aid now, apparently, has mastered this. I just can't remember the name of
I don't know you have to figure out REM disappear.
I have no problem, whereas for some reason Hydroxyl clerk one was a huge problem for me anyway
So a lot of course, we know the story about the man who dies, cause
as you know, the story, because it wins wall to wall on every cable network. Yet so please! So so the guy takes fish. Fish tank, cleaner cause, it's called core ugh, a clerk when drugs, again velocity and and and dies poisoned dies, and his wife says she took it in,
they ve got poison but didn't die and therefore she gives a play. I want people to know it's dangerous and what Europe is doing as dangerous. What has one
Wanna Goodman found out Elliot Johnson that you have been publishing and the last week you know
saw the story and it was portrayed really, as I think the couple were portrayed as people who followed the president's
amateur medical advice to disastrous results, and it seemed to us that it was very credulous.
Reported in that there may be more to it and allow
I've found in her first report that the surviving wife was a committed democratic donor. Who had me?
recently, given to a super packed the bills itself as the pros science resistance, which at least raise some questions,
us about how readily she would have been following the medical advice, the president's was dispensing from the White House Breathing Room and, after that, some of her
her husband, her late husbands, friends, spoke with the free began when Ilona and said that you know, in fact this guy
Was a retired engineer, you'd, better work did John dear for over two decades, and this just didn't seem in character for him. They were struggling to understand what happened and she published that report at subsequent to the publication of a second report. The
begin with contacted by a woman who was identified herself as homes, homicide detective for the Mesa policed
footmen and asked alone
to turn over the recording of her interview with this woman
her name's wander lean years to examine consistency and instances,
these in her statement, the eye
day. The mainstream media is now engaged in a furious pushed back against this, but I think that both
mainstream media and the earth
police department. In this case, MACE may supposed Barton may have been caught a little off guard by on the public attention to this sort of. Basically, like rebuffs episode of Colombo. That has again appeared, but we're gonna have to someone's gonna have to reboot Colombo without or no you know, Oscar Isaac playing Plague Peter Falk in order to make this come
life. You know in two years totally totally I mean I am NBC,
publishes. You know and attempted rebuttal at our story yesterday, and it was really a like a lesson in sort of dry.
I buy
media, where the police department
gives them a statement saying our stories inaccurate. They they publish the report, do not contact us for comment,
and omit from their story. The fact that was the crux of our story, which is that we have been content
dead by the police Department asked to turn over an interview. We have done so, and you know just
It is amazing to see to see this at work and what what I found so funny was that there, the embassies,
posted under politics
rather than cry men, one, my friends job, yet that that's that was only to part of the story. I'm your thirty thousand foot perspective on this is really really very disheartening. This was essentially and outgrowth of the media's desire to an impulse really to disprove the president about the efficacy
of the off label use of this malaria drugs. The desire was to contend that Donald Trump had no idea what the heck he was talking about. It really is in difficult,
to do a little digging and find out that this day,
it is being used in compassionate use and clinical trials and for off label use for people with severe cases covered. Nineteen all over the place and the desire on the presence part was to see
this work now. Did he go a little bit too far in its advocacy for this sort of thing absolutely, but the impulse was to say that this drug, which has a safety profile with the FDA, which is known to be cardio toxic for people who are at risk of those sort of conditions and is just unknown side effect. You can look it up and to find tat to trumpet this, as though the president was advocating for as he sort of speculators
the notion that you could enjoy cost a chemicals. May you be just say: ok as though they are on the same level. Now. I think the president deserves the little bit of criticism for the way he handled this sort of thing, but also his impulse was to see this treatment. This therapy work and the press is impulse was to see it not, and I think it's been worse than that. I think the presses impulse was to literally put blood on trumps hands to make a direct connection between someone dying because of something Trump said. I mean that struck me is, as this sort of overwhelming tone of of all the reporting about this particular case, which makes the reality so delicious, and why just right we ve been texting about the story. Earlier
you guys masquerades as it's it's kind of like our own little many media version of Tiger king. You know you just can't move still. What's amazing is if you go back and you read the original NBC News article and listen to the interview- it's actually the reporter who injects into it. So why did you take this
here the president's talk about it. Believing a witness
so in the in the world of the you, a double standard which share trump is a murderer, and all of that we of course have we have at least one other salient
wishes or there are now two salient delicious examples, one not so delicious, but yesterday the Atlantic published to peace by Amanda Mall. That said, George experiments with mass murder right, the literally ass the headline because they're gonna try to reach their starting to reopen. George, of course, has a
republican governing brine camp, the man who stole the election from Stacy Abrams by somehow managing to conjure up seventy five thousand votes. You didn't get to win it and then, of course, just move a couple thousand miles, or maybe not that far
West, and you have Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, who is reopening
state of Colorado. Is he experimenting with mass murder
it'll mandible. Now, jar policies, fine job policies. You know why, because you know he wears a boat. I am as terrible
holding an alien there could contribute to climate change. John is bright. Cavanaugh sexual harassment by Miss that were at their like without really hard
figure out how these narratives play a right. That is the gardener story right. So there's this really good piece of USA today buying I made MIKE Stern a platform prosecutor. Member of the USA. Today, board of contributors, systematically dismantling terror reads: accusation against Joe Biden, ok, so into
very good piece in his twitter Bio MIKE's term reveals himself. As you know, truck must be
drawing blue forever anybody blue dot and added that right. So where was he went? Bread cabinet was being accused, was wrecked, Cavanaugh, not the as as people keep saying tat Red has contemporaneous has some contemporaneous support for her allegation. There was no contemporary dolly. Was there not contemporary support for bread, Cavanaugh allegation, the one witness that could see blood present said it didn't happen. So
and yet I remember no such thing and then, of course, we have a list of a lot of now coming out of sync. She believes Joe Biden. We have, they see a bronze lady answer
Similarly they did so earnestly I mean she is dying of thirst at the camp and put out this day. There was a report. I forget who published it about the language that the binding campaign would like to see used by sir gets is this did not happen and what had Stacy Abrams say verbatim? This did not
no subtlety whatsoever to her to her spin here you know you could shadows of omens nihilist like that of the girl. You know, as well as as a writer of bodice ripping romances subtlety is not her, for it is not by Nestor Fabio this. This is not going to play it just doesn't Adam by my might. My son is
in parks and wreck, which is really a fantastic show and night by the way, their drank doing especial epithet tonight, yes, parks and wreck from home. I don't know how how they're doing it, but that's right, but you know one of the jokes on parks and recognise that Leslie Milk, the character play by a bipolar, has a deep crush on job. I fixed show by Mr Simpson Man on earth and loves Joe Biden in her her her boyfriend than husband is jealous of Joe Biden she's like job, and it is, you know, having watched an epoch.
But yesterday with my email, lockdown son, it was kind of weird headaches later in the later series yeah, but it was it was. It was an interesting bit of timing, let's just say to see Leslie. No,
like flavouring all over Oliver job I'm Elliot. I just want to conclude the show by telling people about our mystical bond. Speaking of American Jewry. People should know that Elliot as grandmother went to high school in Saint Paul Minnesota with my mother and was my my aunt Connie s best friend so, and these were too fat. Two of these two thousand Jews in the twin cities in additives in the early nineties, forties,
I took just to give you a sense of you, know, Jews or so powerful and run everything my grandfather by mothers. Father was added, drygoods store. I don't know what you're, what you're great grandparents did all address. Mr Roche restore right, so so they these were people who had a really nice, respectable middle class living in a very catholic city, and you know but tat. I just think that's interesting little effect
somehow Ellie honour them? John, also reinforcing the stereotyped that we're all connected? We all know each other will be carried out now
I'm way back when it will years
years ago thirty, some years ago, I was aware tat the wash in times and I became an editor very young and a guy who work there. Veteran journalist who named Alan Mokanna came to work as the deputy on my desk on the on the on the capital. Life features desk that guy, but fifty
had worked at the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and in the twin cities, and it turned out that he had married a woman named Barbara Barbara Mechanic, who is a would be play right and she grubber the twin cities, and, as we had some conversation several months after we started working together, it turned out that she was my third cousin, Alan, not Alan, not eight, a Jew and married Barbara Jew and an dead she and her family owned a department store. I don't remember what their what her maid name was
but in any case as we play the game that is known as jewish geography, we somehow realise that her her first cousin on one side, Betty Am Friedman was my third cousin and another seat. I want so, and so there there we were. That is how Jews are all connected, which is to say that there are in fact so
few of us that we are all connected, not that there are so many of us that word control of everything. So that's the that's the jewish geography story of today's by the way. The other thing that's interesting is that every year, every third book that I read as I keep telling every third book that I'm my
my quarantine, reading and and and leisure reading, as all serve like books about show business. So that's what I do too to distract myself from whatever and every third book I read about show business mentions a green waltz,
Well, that's nice, you know about- and I hope it's nice I'm going to sell his expert. Yet, yes of a baby S, father was the Booker of acts at the conquered hotel in the cat skills. So my latest Phil Greenwell Swatting, is Alan's. Why bells new book laugh lines he's a comedy writer of a better in common,
writer worked at Essen, Alan Rota. It scared shambling, showings whelp, right, Billy, crystals, and
Okey mentions being taken to a cafe arrest. Her decks Alex Ivan unless forty fifth street, that, where caskets comedians hung out because they knew that filigree wall like the place and maybe he would spot them at the bar and then
Brooklyn Fruit for thee, the room it was apparently the largest entertainment value in the United States in the Sixtys and Seventys was the main room at the Concord which had five thousand seats, or something like that. I think that I think a little
snap, it up yeah, but several thousand end. The ball.
Are in the lounge, I think was also at one point, the longest bar in the country. If you
Was it snakes, but if you
You know: unwounded yeah, yeah, yeah and everybody out. Of course everybody there was having you know coke, because she just don't drink that much
as a general rule or a band aid was rolling his eyes there was plenty of drinking. Is. I believe these use drank here. Ok, well, you
I had that they had to get through an evening of listening to Charlie callous. Do you know too repressions? Let's? That was the one time I ever went to the conquered the ninety movies, the very aged comedian, Charlie, callous, who was up on stage. He was somebody people might remember from went to Hollywood squares and he was terrible like this would serve the tail end of the of the concordant moment. My father had died by them. He was you guess he had yet he was respond. As you know, the carpet was like pulling up the quarters of the room and stuff like that. Like the place is falling apart and clearly Charlie callous was high on cocaine or such like, he was totally do
range how old you know like gnarled coke up, and you know he wasn't funny in every three minutes. He would go with you people,
this was the lap of doing it even at a number one podcast nation right now that absolutely
anyway. Elio jobs and begging for joining us untangle driving me bags in Prague asked. Of course everybody should.
Read the free big it not only for a lot of good bonds.
That amazing work by, but but but everything that is, they are at free beacon, dot, com and for aid.
Proceeded. No, I'm John outwards keep the cattle burning
Transcript generated on 2020-08-03.