Mike & Jay kick off the show with a look at what seems to be the “it’s only a matter of time” Russian invasion of Ukraine. Jay thinks that the Biden administration’s approach has been very good to this point, while Mike attempts to present the non-interventionist, “America First” case for staying out of Russia’s (and possibly China’s) spheres of influence.
Then it’s on to two lawsuits - the first being the Department of Justice’s suit against Missouri’s “Second Amendment Protection Act” and the second Texas’s suit against the CDC for the federal travel hub mask mandate. Mike & Jay agree that Missouri doesn’t get to nullify federal law, and that their law is almost certain to fall. They think Texas may have a stronger case on the mask mandate, but that it’s important to separate what may be good public policy from what’s within the power of a government agency to do absent specific congressional authorization.
Following that, they look at a pretrial motion filed by Special Counsel John Durham in his investigation of the federal government’s investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 elections. They agree that the allegations are serious, but that it’s easy to reach bad conclusions so early in the process.
The show winds up with discussion of “prestige television”, class, and politics followed by an appreciation of the late P. J. O’Rourke, and then some thoughts on ballot harvesting.
Jay’s Recommendation
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. Gordon Wood
Mike’s Recommendations
A Mencken Chrestomathy and Notes on Democracy. H. L. Mencken
The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt
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GOP Primary, May and Trans People, Presidential Greatness, Our Ideal Candidates
Ukraine War, Student Debt Forgiveness, Alabama IVF Ruling, Diversity Admissions
Alexander Ward on Restoring American Foreign Policy
The Constitution: The Right to Bear Arms
Trump's Civil Judgment, Navalny's Death, Trump's NATO Remarks, Biden and Netanyahu
Immigration, Ukraine, Nevada Elections, Climate Change
Biden’s Cognitive State, Trump Insurrection and Immunity Cases
Luttig vs Trump, MAGA vs Taylor Swift, State of the Democratic Party
Mayorkas Impeachment, Social Media, Alabama Execution, Biden’s Judges
Donald Trump’s War on Capitalism
Navarro Sentencing, Secret Courts, The Republican Party
New Hampshire, Abbott's Order, Immigration Bill
Bipartisan Tax Deal, Transgender Rights, The Administrative State
Iowa Caucuses, Budget Deal, US and Houthis, Immigration and Ukraine
Black Grief, White Grievance, and the Politics of Loss
The Constitution: Assembly and Petition
Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza?
Where’s Austin?, Israel and Genocide, Hunter Biden, Trump’s Statement
The Law of Presidential Impeachment
US Steel, NYT vs. OpenAI, House Majority, Boebert Switch, A.I. in the Courts
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