A Prager University course offering featuring Jonah Goldberg?
Yes, please.
Are you on the wrong side or the right side of history? Is there even a "wrong side" or a "right side"? What do those terms mean and why do politicians and pundits use them? Nationally syndicated columnist and best-selling author Jonah Goldberg explains.
Being accused of being on the wrong side of history these days is a badge of honor that should be worn with pride.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
HWX: Talking Your Language
It’s a weekend edition of HWX, with Brian Ward of Fraters Libertas and Paul Happe of Nihilist in Golf Pants reconvening to discuss the critical issues of our times. Topics addressed include:
- Viewer mail, responding to the Ricochet commenters and critics of our controversial last broadcast.
- Donald Trump, the secret to his staying power and what the mainstream conservative commentariat has wrong about him. Also, special bonus dramatic representations of how he might respond to future world crises.
- Jeb Bush, the essence of his lack of appeal on full display at his immigration press conference this week at the Mexican border. Also, special exclusive translations of his curious Spanish answers to Spanish questions.
- This Week in Gatekeeping – back to the future with an ABC report from 7 years ago on the dystopian future that awaited us in 2015.
HWX is brought to you by the fine folks at Harrys.com. For a great shave, at a low price, with the incredible convenience, order from Harry’s. Enter the code HWX at check out for $5 off your purchase price.
There are many ways to hear the podcast, including over on the mother ship at Ricochet. You can be sure to never miss an episode by subscribing via iTunes. Or you can just use the player embedded in the upper right hand corner of this website. If all of these fail, send me an email and I'll come to your house and read from a written transcript. Hope you enjoy.
Friday, August 28, 2015
One For The Road
We recently returned from a lengthy family road trip. During the course of it we covered 3203 miles through thirteen states with stops in:
Des Moines
Kansas City
St. Louis
Memphis
New Orleans
Mobile
Birmingham
Nashville
Louisville
Chicago
We visited museums, parks, caves, battlefields, and breweries. Traveling provides excellent opportunities to find beers otherwise not available in your home market and I made the most of them on this journey.
It started at the Exile Brewing in Des Moines, Iowa. It was located in downtown Des Moines in an old industrial building (the basement had a dungeon like feel to it in a good way). The beer was good and the food was even better.
While in the great Des Moines metro area I also made a point to stop by a store to procure some Toppling Goliath. The Decorah, Iowa brewery has long been on my “must try” wish list and I was excited to get my grubby paws on their Golden Nugget IPA. It was quite tasty, but I’m not sure it really lived up to the hype (no Todd The Axe Man it be) .
Next up was Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City. Boulevard is a well establish craft brewer and their facility was impressive. However, the tap room was small and with only two bar keeps on a sultry Saturday afternoon, there was a bit of a wait to get a beer. The beer itself was decent, but not especially exciting which has been my general impression of Boulevard overall.
During our time in Kansas City I also procured some Ale Mucho Hoppo from Charleville Brewing (Missouri) and Crop Duster Mid-American IPA from Thunderhead Brewing (Nebraska). The Ale Mucho Hoppo is a really nice double IPA. The Crop Duster had a fantastic can design and was pretty tasty as well.
While I have been able to enjoy beer from Schlafly in the past I was looking forward to visiting in person while we were in St. Louis. We ended up hitting the tap room downtown. It was a fairly large place in an older building. The food was great and the beer was fantastic especially the American IPA on cask and unfiltered hefeweizen. Nice to be able to pick up a sampler 12-pack to go too (and walk around downtown St. Louis with it on a steaming afternoon).
We spent three days in New Orleans which provided for ample opportunity to indulge in local favorites. It started at the Crescent City Brewhouse whose beer and food has a definite German influence. I thoroughly enjoyed their fine hefeweizen which went down especially well on a blistering hot afternoon.
While shopping at Target, I picked up a six-pack of Southern Hops'pitality IPA from Lazy Magnolia (Mississippi). It’s a decent IPA and I have to admit that it was rather convenient to explore the beer aisle while grabbing some groceries (although we had to have another clerk check out our beer purchase).
NOLA Brewing offered a number of interesting brews at their tap room near the river. The Mecha Double IPA is a delicious hop bomb. They also had a barbecue establishment that shared their property where you could order and pick up ‘cue from a window. It’s a set up that Minnesota tap rooms would do well to emulate. Unless we still have some sort of silly law against it (likely).
On the way out of the Big Easy, I snagged some Mississippi Fire Ant Imperial Red from Southern Prohibition Brewing (Hattiesburg, MS). The can features an awesome design of a giant version of said fire ant dragging a victim away. The beer itself was big and bold if a bit too boozy.
The most pleasant surprise of the trip was likely the all too short time we spent in Nashville. Our positive views of the city were no doubt influenced by our visits to two tap rooms within easy walking distance of each other. We kicked off at the Yazoo Brewery which was packed on a Saturday afternoon. It has a funky, arty sort of vibe to it and well-crafted beer to go with it. The Jackalope Brewery has an even more funky environment and was a fun place to hang and imbibe their fine beers. The Dire Wolf IPA was especially good and $7 for a 32oz growler of it was a hell of a deal (that was growler & beer for seven bones not just the refill).
Our next stop was in Louisville which include a stop at one of the Bluegrass Brewing locations. They had a cool covered area for outdoor seating and we again enjoyed some high quality beer and grub. The Alt and Atta Boy IPA were both quite tasty offerings.
Kentucky is bourbon country and I made a trip to a local liquor store in Louisville to procure the brown elixir of life. The selection was amazing and even a little intimidating. There were so many options it was hard to decide which one to go with. I finally selected Angels Envy and it turned out to be a heavenly choice. I also picked up an IPA from West Sixth Brewing (Lexington, KY) which was also ended up being a good call.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment of the journey was not being able to make a stop at 3 Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana. It was on our original itinerary, but since the entire state of Indiana is currently undergoing road construction of some sort or another, we had to adjust our route to Chicago and Munster was no longer within range. I did quaff an Alpha King in Chicago, but it wasn’t the same as being there. Next time…
I did get to try another Indiana brewer when I picked up a four-pack of Fistful of Hops Orange from Sun King Brewing (Indianapolis). As promised it delivered a citrusy hop punch.
The last stop on our trip was in Chicago. There I paired Anti-Hero IPA and Fist City brews from Revolution Brewing with the city’s legendary deep dish pizza. A delightful combination.
A lot of miles, a lot of beers, and a lot of fun. As our six-year-old son asked moments after arriving home from the adventure, “Now what?” Good question son, good question.
Des Moines
Kansas City
St. Louis
Memphis
New Orleans
Mobile
Birmingham
Nashville
Louisville
Chicago
We visited museums, parks, caves, battlefields, and breweries. Traveling provides excellent opportunities to find beers otherwise not available in your home market and I made the most of them on this journey.
It started at the Exile Brewing in Des Moines, Iowa. It was located in downtown Des Moines in an old industrial building (the basement had a dungeon like feel to it in a good way). The beer was good and the food was even better.
While in the great Des Moines metro area I also made a point to stop by a store to procure some Toppling Goliath. The Decorah, Iowa brewery has long been on my “must try” wish list and I was excited to get my grubby paws on their Golden Nugget IPA. It was quite tasty, but I’m not sure it really lived up to the hype (no Todd The Axe Man it be) .
Next up was Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City. Boulevard is a well establish craft brewer and their facility was impressive. However, the tap room was small and with only two bar keeps on a sultry Saturday afternoon, there was a bit of a wait to get a beer. The beer itself was decent, but not especially exciting which has been my general impression of Boulevard overall.
During our time in Kansas City I also procured some Ale Mucho Hoppo from Charleville Brewing (Missouri) and Crop Duster Mid-American IPA from Thunderhead Brewing (Nebraska). The Ale Mucho Hoppo is a really nice double IPA. The Crop Duster had a fantastic can design and was pretty tasty as well.
While I have been able to enjoy beer from Schlafly in the past I was looking forward to visiting in person while we were in St. Louis. We ended up hitting the tap room downtown. It was a fairly large place in an older building. The food was great and the beer was fantastic especially the American IPA on cask and unfiltered hefeweizen. Nice to be able to pick up a sampler 12-pack to go too (and walk around downtown St. Louis with it on a steaming afternoon).
We spent three days in New Orleans which provided for ample opportunity to indulge in local favorites. It started at the Crescent City Brewhouse whose beer and food has a definite German influence. I thoroughly enjoyed their fine hefeweizen which went down especially well on a blistering hot afternoon.
While shopping at Target, I picked up a six-pack of Southern Hops'pitality IPA from Lazy Magnolia (Mississippi). It’s a decent IPA and I have to admit that it was rather convenient to explore the beer aisle while grabbing some groceries (although we had to have another clerk check out our beer purchase).
NOLA Brewing offered a number of interesting brews at their tap room near the river. The Mecha Double IPA is a delicious hop bomb. They also had a barbecue establishment that shared their property where you could order and pick up ‘cue from a window. It’s a set up that Minnesota tap rooms would do well to emulate. Unless we still have some sort of silly law against it (likely).
On the way out of the Big Easy, I snagged some Mississippi Fire Ant Imperial Red from Southern Prohibition Brewing (Hattiesburg, MS). The can features an awesome design of a giant version of said fire ant dragging a victim away. The beer itself was big and bold if a bit too boozy.
The most pleasant surprise of the trip was likely the all too short time we spent in Nashville. Our positive views of the city were no doubt influenced by our visits to two tap rooms within easy walking distance of each other. We kicked off at the Yazoo Brewery which was packed on a Saturday afternoon. It has a funky, arty sort of vibe to it and well-crafted beer to go with it. The Jackalope Brewery has an even more funky environment and was a fun place to hang and imbibe their fine beers. The Dire Wolf IPA was especially good and $7 for a 32oz growler of it was a hell of a deal (that was growler & beer for seven bones not just the refill).
Our next stop was in Louisville which include a stop at one of the Bluegrass Brewing locations. They had a cool covered area for outdoor seating and we again enjoyed some high quality beer and grub. The Alt and Atta Boy IPA were both quite tasty offerings.
Kentucky is bourbon country and I made a trip to a local liquor store in Louisville to procure the brown elixir of life. The selection was amazing and even a little intimidating. There were so many options it was hard to decide which one to go with. I finally selected Angels Envy and it turned out to be a heavenly choice. I also picked up an IPA from West Sixth Brewing (Lexington, KY) which was also ended up being a good call.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment of the journey was not being able to make a stop at 3 Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana. It was on our original itinerary, but since the entire state of Indiana is currently undergoing road construction of some sort or another, we had to adjust our route to Chicago and Munster was no longer within range. I did quaff an Alpha King in Chicago, but it wasn’t the same as being there. Next time…
I did get to try another Indiana brewer when I picked up a four-pack of Fistful of Hops Orange from Sun King Brewing (Indianapolis). As promised it delivered a citrusy hop punch.
The last stop on our trip was in Chicago. There I paired Anti-Hero IPA and Fist City brews from Revolution Brewing with the city’s legendary deep dish pizza. A delightful combination.
A lot of miles, a lot of beers, and a lot of fun. As our six-year-old son asked moments after arriving home from the adventure, “Now what?” Good question son, good question.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
HWX: Making America Great Again
It’s a special weekend edition of HWX, with Brian Ward of Fraters Libertas and Paul Happe of the Nihilist in Golf Pants who reconvene to discuss the important issues of the day. Topics addressed include:
* The #1 movie in America, Straight Outta Compton, its cultural implications, and an advance sneak preview of the sequel, coming next fall, featuring the secret 6th NWA member.
* The trumped up “anchor baby” controversy and the media going from gate keeper to gate builder.
* The Donald Trump phenomenon – is he Ronald Reagan, Herman Cain, or Ross Perot?
* On the eve of national Go Topless Day, a discussion of the burgeoning civil rights issue of shirtlessnessism.
* American servicemen going John McClane on a French train
There are many ways to hear the podcast, including over on the mother ship at Ricochet. You can be sure to never miss an episode by subscribing via iTunes. Or you can just use the player embedded in the upper right hand corner of this website. If all of these fail, send me an email and I'll come to your house and read from a written transcript. Hope you enjoy.
* The #1 movie in America, Straight Outta Compton, its cultural implications, and an advance sneak preview of the sequel, coming next fall, featuring the secret 6th NWA member.
* The trumped up “anchor baby” controversy and the media going from gate keeper to gate builder.
* The Donald Trump phenomenon – is he Ronald Reagan, Herman Cain, or Ross Perot?
* On the eve of national Go Topless Day, a discussion of the burgeoning civil rights issue of shirtlessnessism.
* American servicemen going John McClane on a French train
There are many ways to hear the podcast, including over on the mother ship at Ricochet. You can be sure to never miss an episode by subscribing via iTunes. Or you can just use the player embedded in the upper right hand corner of this website. If all of these fail, send me an email and I'll come to your house and read from a written transcript. Hope you enjoy.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Two Big Ones
FLETCH: I'm Harry S. Truman from Casewell Insurance Underwriters.
MARVIN: (smiles) Harry S. Truman?
FLETCH: My parents were great fans of the former President.
MARVIN: Isn't that nice. Good man. Showed the Japs a thing or two.
FLETCH: Sure did. Dropped the big one on them.
MARVIN: Dropped two big ones. Real fighter.
Every year on this date it seems that we have to refight the debate about whether Truman should have dropped the two big ones or not. For some much needed historical perspective, it's hard to beat this video from Prager University.
In recent years, many academics and others have condemned President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as unnecessary and immoral. Yet this interpretation relies on a poor understanding of history that both lacks perspective and ignores context. Dropping the bomb shortened the war and saved countless lives -- both American and Japanese. In five minutes, Professor of History at Notre Dame, Father Wilson Miscamble, explains.
MARVIN: (smiles) Harry S. Truman?
FLETCH: My parents were great fans of the former President.
MARVIN: Isn't that nice. Good man. Showed the Japs a thing or two.
FLETCH: Sure did. Dropped the big one on them.
MARVIN: Dropped two big ones. Real fighter.
Every year on this date it seems that we have to refight the debate about whether Truman should have dropped the two big ones or not. For some much needed historical perspective, it's hard to beat this video from Prager University.
In recent years, many academics and others have condemned President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as unnecessary and immoral. Yet this interpretation relies on a poor understanding of history that both lacks perspective and ignores context. Dropping the bomb shortened the war and saved countless lives -- both American and Japanese. In five minutes, Professor of History at Notre Dame, Father Wilson Miscamble, explains.
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