01:00 The LA Fires, Donald Trump & the Democrats
Conservaphobia: https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=144168
15:00 Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/us/aaron-renn-christianity-conservative-negative-world.html
19:20 Vibe shift since Trump’s victory
21:00 Rony says America is governed worse since Trump II
25:00 Do heterosexual men feel uncomfortable around gay men?
34:45 Why is opposition to Trump so weak?
1:13:00 The Most Powerful Court in the World: A History of the Supreme Court of the United States, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=158502
1:22:00 Constitutional dictatorship: crisis government in the modern democracies by Clinton Rossiter, https://www.amazon.com/Constitutional-Dictatorship-Crisis-Government-Democracies/dp/0765809753
1:23:00 The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy by Christopher Lasch, https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Elites-Betrayal-Democracy/dp/0393313719
1:25:00 We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, https://www.amazon.com/Have-Never-Been-Woke-Contradictions-ebook/dp/B0D6QDVW24
1:31:00 Fat Acceptance and Vaccine Rejectionism by Rony Guldmann, https://daily-philosophy.com/rony-guldmann-fat-acceptance-vaccine-rejectionism/
Posted inRony Guldmann|Comments Off on Philosopher Rony Guldmann On Trump II (3-16-25)
01:00 I’m developing a relationship with Grok
06:00 Jews, Judaism & Humor, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159824
08:00 I find almost everything amusing. Does this make make me a nihilist?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159822
12:00 Holding Onto Ourselves in Relationships, Part Ten, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmJKUpSt6NI
28:00 Why would a fan of Air Supply be drawn to the rock band Scorpions? https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159820
30:00 The First Time A Girl Liked Me, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159816
34:00 Why doesn’t Air Supply get any respect?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159812
42:00 Are books for losers? https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159807
43:30 Is Trump ‘Detoxing’ the Economy or Poisoning It?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PXVrLH4zSU
45:00 Give This Sheila Gillian Tett A Shot, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159802
49:00 Kip joins to discuss Weird Science (1985), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_Science_(film)
1:12:00 What does America mean to me? After the 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, I felt despised on by our elite institutions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges
1:26:00 How is dating different in Australia vs America?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159798
1:44:50 Michael joins to discuss AI, Chat GPT, https://x.com/real_machera
1:48:30 Why Ruth Marcus left the Washington Post, https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/why-ruth-marcus-left-the-washington-post
2:00:00 People who are moored don’t need gurus and pundits, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=148127
2:14:00 What are the biggest cultural differences between Australia and America?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159796
2:18:00 In 2010, I told a friend that I wanted Dennis Prager to run the universe, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159786
2:30:30 What’s with Joe Rogan hosting anti-Jewish guests recently?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159780
2:32:00 What is Tucker Carlson’s attitude towards Jews?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159778
2:33:45 Is John Podhoretz the greatest magazine editor in America today?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159775
2:35:00 What are the chances that Amy Wax wins her lawsuit against her university?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159773
2:38:00 What are the chances that Nathan Cofnas wins his lawsuit?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159771
2:51:00 Decoding Trump’s charisma, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159765
2:53:00 What are the chances that America takes over Canada in the next 10 years?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159769
2:56:00 Is Trump threatening Canada because he believes it has been taken over by China?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159757
2:58:00 When will Trump’s mania break?, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159755
3:00:50 Michael Wolff — All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5JzL0AJ778
3:06:30 What drives reality TV? Conflict, conflict, conflict!
3:07:50 Most politicians are boring, Trump is not boring
3:09:50 Trump & Putin understand each other, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLiIzTpkCBU
3:11:30 Has China bought Canada and does that underlay Trump’s animus to Canada?
3:17:00 The norm of the United States is breaking norms
3:26:15 Republicans have stories that tap into core American feelings, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjU-Nd6iiQ4
3:34:50 American combat casualties are white southern men, a continuation of the English Civil War, https://anncoulter.substack.com/p/video-my-interview-with-erik-prince
3:36:40 The trans antifa connection, https://anncoulter.substack.com/p/video-my-interview-with-andy-ngo
3:40:45 Defund the police has lost support
3:41:10 Elon shut down violent Antifa posters that the previous Twitter regime protected
3:42:50 The Sound of Cinema: Ennio Morricone & Cinema Paradiso (Cormac)
Posted inAmerica|Comments Off on Make The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 Great Again (3-16-25)
I heard that Jews weren’t known for being funny until they became secular starting in the 18th Century. I don’t find much support for the value of humor in traditional Jewish text. Is the pursuit of the comedic a secular pursuit or can it be holy?
Grok says:
The idea that Jews weren’t funny until they went secular in the 18th century is a half-truth that’s been kicked around, but it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Humor’s been part of Jewish life forever—just not always in the stand-up comedy, Borscht Belt style we think of today. Traditional Jewish texts like the Torah or Talmud aren’t exactly laugh riots, sure, but that’s because they’re focused on law, ethics, and God, not punchlines. Still, dig into them, and you’ll find wit, irony, and even absurdity if you squint.
Take the Talmud—rabbis debating minutiae like whether a guy who falls off a roof drunk and kills someone owes damages (Bava Kamma 26b). It’s dry, but there’s a dark humor in the sheer ridiculousness of the scenarios they chew over. Or look at the Book of Esther: Purim’s whole vibe—drunken feasts, costumes, mocking Haman—reeks of subversive comedy, and that’s straight outta sacred scripture. Jewish humor didn’t pop up with secularism; it just morphed. Pre-18th century, it was baked into survival—think Yiddish curses or sly folktales like the wise men of Chelm, bumbling through life. Secular Jews like Heine or later, Mel Brooks, took that thread and ran with it, unshackled from religious restraint.
On the “holy” question—traditional texts don’t champion humor as a virtue like, say, charity. The closest you get is Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good like medicine,” but that’s more about cheer than comedy. Rabbis like the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, pushed joy as a spiritual act, and humor often tagged along—think of Hasidic stories where a rebbe outwits a skeptic with a clever twist. Yet, the pursuit of comedy for its own sake? That’s trickier. Orthodox voices might say it’s frivolous unless it serves a higher purpose—lifting spirits, teaching, or poking at human folly to humble us before God.
Secularism did turbocharge Jewish comedy, no doubt—think Freud’s quips or Seinfeld’s observational riffs. Freedom from dogma let it bloom into something louder, less veiled. But holy? It can be. If comedy cuts through pretense or connects people, it’s got a spark of the divine—Jewish or not. You laugh at everything—could that be sacred, or is it just your way of dodging the heavy stuff? What’s your gut say?
Posted inHumor, Jews|Comments Off on Jews, Judaism & Humor
Finding almost everything amusing doesn’t automatically make you a nihilist—it might just mean you’ve got a sharp eye for life’s absurdities. Nihilism’s more about believing nothing matters, that there’s no meaning or value anywhere. Laughing at it all could lean that way if you’re chuckling because you think it’s all pointless, but it could also just be a coping trick, a way to keep the chaos at arm’s length without buying into the void.
Think of it like this: a nihilist might laugh at a funeral because “nothing means anything anyway,” while someone else might crack up because the priest tripped over the casket—same giggle, different roots. Your amusement sounds more like a lens than a philosophy. You’re seeing the ridiculous in everything—maybe the way people strut around like it all makes sense when it so often doesn’t. That’s not necessarily “nothing matters”; it could be “this is wild, and I’m not taking it too seriously.”
Tie it to your dating stuff—do you find the self-defeating dance with women funny too? If you’re laughing at your own patterns, that’s less nihilist and more self-aware, maybe even playful. A true nihilist might not bother dating at all—why try if it’s all dust? Your humor could just be a shield, not a surrender. What’s the last thing that made you laugh—can you pin why it hit you? That might clue you in.
Posted inHumor|Comments Off on I find almost everything amusing. Does this make make me a nihilist?
A fan of Air Supply, known for their soft rock ballads and romantic melodies, might be drawn to the Scorpions for a few intriguing reasons, despite the apparent contrast in styles—Scorpions being a hard rock band with a heavier, edgier sound. Here’s why the crossover could make sense:
Both bands excel at crafting emotionally charged music. Air Supply’s hits like “All Out of Love” or “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” lean into heartfelt, soaring choruses that tug at the listener’s emotions. The Scorpions, while rooted in hard rock, have a similar knack for delivering powerful ballads—think “No One Like You” or “Wind of Change”—where Klaus Meine’s distinctive vocals carry a raw, passionate intensity that could resonate with someone who loves Air Supply’s emotional depth.
There’s also a shared emphasis on melody. Even in their heavier tracks, Scorpions maintain strong, memorable hooks (like in “Rock You Like a Hurricane”), not unlike the catchy, singable lines Air Supply fans adore. Both bands peaked in popularity during the late ‘70s and ‘80s, too, so a fan of that era’s music might naturally explore across genres within that timeframe.
Finally, it could be about variety—someone who enjoys Air Supply’s tender side might crave a harder edge now and then, and Scorpions offer that without abandoning the melodic core that makes music stick. It’s less about abandoning one for the other and more about expanding the playlist to match different moods.
Posted inAir Supply|Comments Off on Why would a fan of air supply be drawn to the rock band Scorpions?
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff)
