In this episode, Victor Davis Hanson and cohost Jack Fowler discuss the Hezbollah rockets hit Israeli soccer stadium killing 12 youths, the opening of the Paris Olympics, Putin threatening nuclear weapons, and the Union Station riots, burning the American flag.
Menu
Professor Hanson:
Your naval ideas about drones and a diverse carrier fleet is excellent. However, the Carrier aviation folks will never tolerate such changes to the aviation ethos. Carrier aviation reeks of sentimentality and will stay like it is, better concepts not withstanding, as long as there’s one Admiral with wings of gold.
And as long as there are CVNs, there will be Admirals wearing Gold Wings. It’s a self-licking ice cream cone!
And before the carrier admirals, it was the “big-gun” admirals who believed in battleships. It will change, eventually, but unfortunately, it has taken catastrophes in the past to trigger such fundamental change in a military’s doctrine.
Thank you VDH you have your thumb on the pulse exactly how it is. You always enlighten people on what’s going on in the world.
Hang on, Jack. How much does France really brag about being a Catholic country? You’re not the first to mention this; I read a similar comment in one of the articles in the wake of the opening ceremonies.
How Catholic has it been, since the Revolution, since the Jacobins and the cult of Reason, the secularization of Church property, the pogroms against the clergy and believers? How devout are Catholics today, how strong is the Church today?
That is, I’m not surprised that the bizarre event took place, because I don’t think Christianity in France is any stronger than anywhere else in Europe, today. I think that Western secularism is just as strong in France as anywhere else in Western Europe.
I’m more surprised that anyone thinks Christianity is strong in France today, and expresses surprise that this happened.
Or am I wrong? Is Christianity strong in France today, are the people more devout than in the past 200 years, and so, we should be surprised?
It’s not just Christians or Muslims – or religious people of any stripe – who were offended by the disgraceful opening ceremonies at the Olympics. All people [including atheists] of good taste were offended. The show was intended to offend. And it did.
First I must say that VDH’s commentary on current political issues is nothing short of engaging and precise. The relationships between past and present that he articulates are spot on and and reinforce why we all should learn more about societies of the past. I do however have a confession to make. One of my favorite things about the podcast is VDH’s stories about his youth and subsequent college years. Shooting woodpeckers ravaging the farm and watching one’s steps to avoid hoop snakes brought about both laughter and images of my own child hood. The back field boxing ring was something most young men have indulged in but kept secret for good reason. Finally, as an avid cyclist, I feel VIctor’s pain. I too have been the victim of skinny tires and road side ditches. it is safe to say that the personal stories are a blessing to us listeners and I feel I speak for many in saying “keep em coming”.