Important Stuff!
For a while, Shoshana Weissmann and I have been talking about doing a "news-in-review" podcast to drop on Friday afternoons, where we riff on the week's top stories. Well, we finally recorded a pilot episode on Friday. Let me know what you think.
If there's enough popular support, we will make this a special series for the upcoming Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearings. And if there's a LOT of popular support, we'll make it a weekly podcast.
So if you know anyone who has been waiting for just the right time to become a supporter - this is it!
Useful Idiots, 2.0
Once upon a time, it was members of the American Left who were "duped" by the Russians. Today, President Trump seems to be the one suggesting there is a "moral equivalence" between the U.S. and Russia.
Nobody wants to play a useful idiot (à la American liberals co-opted by communists during the Cold War). In this regard, conservatives would do well to learn from recent mistakes: in this case, the Maria Butina (accused Russian agent) drama and Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedic shtick.
My latest column for the Daily Beast focuses on what Butina and "Borat" have in common. Here's the short answer: They both found the same easy marks. Over at the DMZ, liberal Bill Scher and I discussed the comparisons.
And if you still can't get enough Russia speculation, and find yourself wondering what accounts for President Trump's obsequious behavior toward Vladimir Putin, this weekend on CNN, I listed the most likely explanations.
Come Out for Santo?
Sarah Longwell’s story is amazing. Don't believe me? Consider this: She came out as gay while working as a press flak for then-Sen. Rick Santorum’s book tour. And that's just scratching the surface of what we discussed on a recent podcast episode.
Today, Sarah is National Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans and Director of Republicans for the Rule of Law.
Listen to our podcast discussion on iTunes or Stitcher.
Also on the podcast...
1968 revisited: When Michael A. Cohen, a regular contributor at The Boston Globe, starting writing his book, American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division, he couldn't have known just how relevant a history of 1968 would be in 2018. During our podcast discussion, Michael discusses what 1968 can tell us about today's politics.
CNN's Abby Philips talks about her life and career: The daughter of immigrants, Abby Phillip talks about her job as White House Correspondent for CNN.
If you get tired of clicking links for all of these, just subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
I finally saw the Mr. Rogers movie
A lifelong Republican and Christian minister, Fred Rogers found his calling with a low-budget children's TV show. This weekend, I went to see the great new documentary about Mr. Rogers, "Wont You Be My Neighbor?" and came away with a newfound respect and appreciation for this kind and decent man.
With all the negativity in the world, do yourself a favor, and go support this film at the theaters!
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