On the Libertarian Party and MAGA; ‘liberated zones’; the allure of psyops; foggy Mount Fuji; Duane Eddy; and more
This was some interesting news: Donald Trump will address the Libertarian Party national convention. The Libertarians are quite excited about this (“a historic moment”; “this momentous occasion”). Trump proposes a 10 percent tariff on all imports — or higher. I would not have thought Trump the Libertarians’ cup of tea. But these are weird times, politically.
On reading the news, I thought of something that Thomas Massie said. He is a Republican congressman from Kentucky. Often, he is described as a “libertarian.” He strikes me as basic MAGA. But, again, we are in weird times.
In early 2017, Massie gave an interview to Emily Jashinsky, for the Washington Examiner. I will quote her piece:
To explain 2016, Massie looks to previous cycles. Rand Paul’s upset victory in 2010, Ron Paul’s enthusiastic following in the 2012 presidential race, and his own win in the 2012 congressional primary all looked, at first glance, like a libertarian wave.
Yes. That’s understandable. And?
“All this time,” Massie explained, “I thought they were voting for libertarian Republicans. But after some soul searching I realized when they voted for Rand and Ron and me in these primaries, they weren’t voting for libertarian ideas — they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race. And Donald Trump won best in class, as we had up until he came along.”
Very shrewdly perceived, I thought back then, in ’17 – and it still applies.
• Trump has given an interview to Time magazine. The whole thing is interesting — a preview of what’s to come, if Trump is elected, or not elected. I will single out the following:
Trump does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” he tells Time. “It always depends on the fairness of the election.”
In my view, every Republican and every Democrat should recoil at this. “Red” or “blue” — it doesn’t matter: Every American should recoil. Violence should be ruled out.
To me, Trump’s attitude is disqualifying. But then, lots of things are disqualifying.
One more bit, from Time, concerning January 6:
Trump has sought to recast an insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. “I call them the J-6 patriots,” he says.
Again, disqualifying (in my eyes). I am with Judge Royce C. Lamberth, whom I quoted in a post several weeks ago:
The rioters interfered with a necessary step in the constitutional process, disrupted the lawful transfer of power, and thus jeopardized the American constitutional order. Although the rioters failed in their ultimate goal, their actions nonetheless resulted in the deaths of multiple people, injury to over 140 members of law enforcement, and lasting trauma for our entire nation. This was not patriotism; it was the antithesis of patriotism.
• How about this? “Trump Posted a QAnon Video Boasting of Nations and Leaders Submitting to Him.” This is really loony stuff. Disqualifying? Not to millions. Moreover, people barely notice this kind of thing. Hardly anyone bats an eye. We are talking about a “new normal” that ought to be deeply, deeply abnormal.
• Rudy Giuliani is playing the oldies: “Somebody should lean on Zelensky. You want another penny, give us your Biden file.” (Listen to Giuliani here.) This is what President Trump did — when the second impeachment was not even a gleam in his eye.
• From the Associated Press, we learn of four law-enforcement officers — officers in North Carolina, killed in the line of duty. The AP provides little bios, or appreciations. Let me quote the first sentence of the article:
The four officers killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday in the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since 2016 include three members of a fugitive task force and a local police officer who rushed to try to help when the others came under fire.
Joshua Eyer. Thomas Weeks Jr. Alden Elliott. Sam Poloche.
Every day, police and other law-enforcement officers take risks: grave risks. Without these officers, we would be lost.
• Students and other protesters take over areas and call them “liberated zones.” That’s a strange kind of liberation: Areas that were once open to all are now closed — seized. I can think of some “zones” that need to be “liberated” — Tibet, for example.
• I was speaking to a college freshman in New York not long ago. She always pays her subway fare, when she uses the subway. But so many other people, she said, just cheat: just duck under the turnstile or hop over it. I saw this myself on Wednesday. (Young woman, fairly affluent, by her appearance. Not a “street person” or a hoodlum.)
Hand on heart: I lived in New York for maybe 20 years without seeing this, or very rarely seeing it. Now it is more like routine. Theorists speak of “broken windows” policing — a good and necessary kind of policing. I myself think of a song lyric: “Little things mean a lot.”
Rudy Giuliani was a splendid mayor. (The 20 years of Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, together, form a golden age.) That is why his later disintegration is so sad, as well as appalling. (I wrote an article about this five years ago, here.)
• “Faceless people, invisible hands: New Army video aims to lure recruits for psychological operations.” That is the headline over this AP report. What a juicy opportunity, for young Americans of a certain bent. One officer says, “We’re all nerds, for sure. But we’re all nerds in different ways.” Talking of people who are attracted to the work, he says, “They’re writers, they’re great thinkers. They’re idea people.”
Man, what a juicy opportunity.
• A long time ago — 1982 — there was a Time-magazine cover, which quickly became famous: “Thinking the Unthinkable.” It was about nuclear war, nuclear holocaust. (An image of the cover is here.) I thought of it when reading George F. Will this week: “Voters, please think about the menace of nuclear annihilation.”
• Do you know about the Iu Mien? I had not. I will quote the Source of All Knowledge, Wikipedia: “The Iu Mien people are a subgroup of the Pan Yao branch of the Yao nationality, which is the largest of the three major Yao groups.” The Iu Mien language “is categorized as belonging to the Hmong–Mien language family.” The entry goes on to say that Iu Mien populations can be found all over the place: in China, Vietnam, Laos, the U.S., France, etc.
Did you happen to see this? “A massive Powerball win draws attention to a little-known immigrant culture in the U.S.” The article begins, “Cheng ‘Charlie’ Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words ‘Iu-Mien USA’ as he hoisted an oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head.”
Holy smokes. Amazing story. (For the record, if anyone cares: I think government-run lotteries are an abomination.)
• I went to Mount Fuji once. Was very close to it. Never saw it. Not an inch. The mountain was fogged in. I learned that this happens frequently. I hadn’t known. Another news article is headed “To fend off tourists, a town in Japan is building a big screen blocking the view of Mount Fuji.” In addition to the fog, they need a screen?
• “Paris Olympic athletes will feast on freshly baked bread, select cheeses, and plenty of veggies.” (Article here.) I know many people who hate the Olympics. I know many people who hate (or say they hate, or think they hate) Paris, and France generally. The last place they would want to be is Paris during the Olympics. Me? No place I’d rather be.
À chacun son goût.
• Duane Eddy said something that ought to appear in Bartlett’s Quotations. You can read it in this obit, from the New York Times: “Duane Eddy, Whose Twang Changed Rock ’n’ Roll, Dies at 86.” The subheading says, “A self-taught electric guitar virtuoso, he influenced a generation of musicians. One of them, John Fogerty, called him rock’s first guitar god.”
Let me quote from the obit:
Unlike many instrumentalists, Mr. Eddy said, he never seriously considered expanding his musical résumé to include vocals.
Elaborating on the subject to Guitar Player in 2013, he recalled an interview with Conan O’Brien at which he was asked, “Duane, you’ve been in this business for many years now; what do you consider your greatest contribution to music?” He answered, “Not singing.”
That’s what’s Bartlett’s-worthy.
He went on to say, “I never felt that I had a good voice for singing. When I was young, this frustrated me a lot, so I took it out on the guitar.”
Marvelous. Just marvelous.
• I have a new hero and role model in life — not Duane Eddy, because I aspire to sing. I’m talking about Phyllis Wampler. She lives in Oregon and plays golf every day — first thing in the morning. Walks 18 holes. Plays fast. Is 91. A joy to meet, which you can do in a video feature, here.
See you later, everybody — and hit ’em straight, Phyllis (or however you want).
If you would like to receive Impromptus by e-mail — links to new columns — write to jnordlinger@nationalreview.com.