Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Snarkiness

Aaron is joined by Dr. Eric Larson of the Paradocs podcast to discuss how many individuals seem unwilling to see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to COVID-19.

Emma Green for the Atlantic, “The Liberals Who Can’t Quit Lockdown”: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/liberals-covid-19-science-denial-lockdown/618780/

An episode of The Paradocs Podcast where he discusses how we are in the Transitional Phase for COVID-19 with Dr. David Graham: https://theparadocs.com/were-in-the-transitional-phase-for-covid-19-now-what/

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron and Austin discuss the reactions to the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial, especially from segments of the political right. Austin rebuts a “steel man” argument from the Right by Andrew McCarthy, while Aaron brings up the importance of objectivity and how members of both political wings are harming their own causes by politicizing issues of police brutality and criminal justice reform while simultaneously (and disingenuously) pretending that all the fault lies with the other political party/wing.

A fact-check/expose on the false claim that George Floyd had a lethal amount of Fentanyl in his system: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/04/16/fact-check-fentanyl-george-floyd-not-enough-to-cause-death/7239448002/?fbclid=IwAR16peUQMV8Suci6mmzI6uuuboFA1xrSxDvIBweDFmGtPCa26oa8hIlfLbg

More information about the Expert Witness testimony about George Floyd’s health: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/09/us/derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-day-10/index.html

Even more expert testimony disputing the “lethal doses of fentanyl” claim: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/us/george-floyd-fentanyl-toxicologist.html

Andrew McCarthy for National Review as to why Chauvin wasn’t guilty: https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/04/george-floyds-death-how-should-i-the-jury-decide-the-charges-against-derek-chauvin/?fbclid=IwAR3daDIEevNJssWTqRrmUbRwBXhRAqPI3rRpkop9NlHvEbHpd2DiOTU4NiQ

An Overview of the Sarah Halimi Case: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/world/europe/france-anti-semitic-killing-drugs.html

Candace Owens Malarkey: https://notthebee.com/article/candace-owens-reacts-to-derek-chauvin-verdict?fbclid=IwAR2_PIVdX8ShuHqwwwZBCQ6M1e0P4h1aNiXbXeea1ZAqpZ4f3gvy4J2cJH8

The Washington Post article about Maxine Waters: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/24/rep-maxine-waters-voiced-anger-many-black-americans-thats-important-politically/

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron and Jason discuss the historical unifier of Japan, Oda Nobunaga, as the next entry in their “Great Leaders You Should Know” series.

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

NOTE: This Episode was recorded before the wrongful killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota.

In light of New Mexico’s recent “abolishment” of Qualified Immunity, Aaron and Austin return to this ever-relevant issue. They take a couple of steps back to re-define and re-examine what qualified immunity is supposed to be (as opposed to how it is practiced) and why “abolish qualified immunity,” while an understandable sentiment, is probably not the most effective rallying cry, nor will it lead to good outcomes. They also explicitly go over the New Mexico bill and discuss why describing it as an “abolishment” of qualified immunity isn’t entirely accurate.

House Bill 4, the New Mexico bill that “abolishes” qualified immunity: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/21%20Regular/bills/house/HB0004.pdf

The Dispatch on the connections between Police Brutality and the Milgram Experiment : https://thedispatch.com/p/what-a-decades-old-experiment-can

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron, Jason, and Faith continue their discussion from last week, discussing anti-Asian prejudice in the 1970s, a re-evaluation/reframing of the idea of “micro aggressions,” Asians as a “model minority,” and the importance of words and rhetoric in efforts against prejudice. Also discussed are the existence of Klicker Mountain (it’s a thing, google it), the numerous similarities between Chinese and Jewish-Americans besides a mutual love of Chinese food on Christmas, and Aaron’s vehement denials about what bullies used to call him.

A brief overview of subsidiarity: https://www.thereligionteacher.com/subsidiarity/

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron, Jason, and Faith all have a roundtable (or a triangle table, there are three of us) discussion about anti-Asian prejudice in America. Jason discusses the history of anti-Asian sentiment in this country dating all the way back to the mid-19th century, Aaron talks about the psychology underlying prejudices like those exhibited against Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Faith talks about the ways that this has shaped the Asian-American experience.

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Neither Aaron nor Jason speak French, but we’re going to talk about the most famous Frenchman in history (even though he was actually Corsican), Napoleon! Topics covered include Napoleon’s being declared an “Antichrist” for his pro-Jewish (or at least not antisemitic enough for some peoples’ standards) stances, an historical conspiracy theory about the English having Napoleon assassinated in his exile, and the reason the U.S. didn’t adopt the metric system.

The Minard Graph to which Aaron refers in the episode: https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/229-vital-statistics-of-a-deadly-campaign-the-minard-map

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s Death, Aaron and Austin discuss some recent happenings around the specific issue of police brutality, including updates on the Breonna Taylor case itself, the full-out assault on the first amendment that is Kentucky Senate Bill 211, and, once again, the issue of qualified immunity.

Sen. David Carroll on Kentucky Bill 211: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-bill-insult-police-officer-crime/

More information on the Kenneth Walker lawsuit: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/14/us/breonna-taylor-boyfriend-kenneth-walker-lawsuit/index.html

More on the 5th Circuit Qualified Immunity case: https://reason.com/2021/02/18/5th-circuit-grants-qualified-immunity-to-cops-who-ignited-a-suicidal-gasoline-drenched-man-by-tasing-him/?fbclid=IwAR3jepIqr3oi3aIfHadZBH15jZIJgM-U1YFFYB8lfBm0wA78RZKUDnUZrJo

Rosa Brooks on the importance of the environment for police brutality: https://gen.medium.com/most-cops-dont-violate-the-rules-it-s-just-that-the-rules-are-horrific-962ce32b9c86

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron and Jason join to discuss the life, times, and legacy of a man known for his salad, his pizza, and almost single-handedly destroying the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar! Jason compares Caesar to Tom Brady and Theodore Roosevelt, while Aaron talks Caesar up before questioning why he’s doing it. Both hosts spend a lot of time butchering the Latin language, and neither host feels a shred of guilt for this.

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0

Aaron is joined by film writer Faith Liu to discuss the current outrage about how the muppets have been “cancelled” by having disclaimers about certain stereotypes placed before certain episodes. Faith talks about the importance of contextualizing past art that doesn’t conform to modern values, and making sure that such art is presented in the correct light, as well as pointing out the actual message that Disney presents that supposedly “cancels” the Muppets. Meanwhile Aaron talks about Right Wing cancel culture and the sheer lack of empathy being displayed by those whose arguments boil down to “I’m not offended, why should you be?”

Max Boot on Conservative Cancel Culture: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/10/conservatives-have-cancel-culture-their-own/

The Daily Beast on the Right Wing’s freak outs about the Muppets: https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-absolutely-freaks-out-over-disney-muppets-disclaimer

The source of the Death Penalty data that Aaron mentions towards the end of the episode: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/dpic-reports/dpic-special-report-the-innocence-epidemic?fbclid=IwAR1pyRSP8Hvo_TAkmBslWvgEGY_JUJGMoZqmfcwEEgef4MmGwVMl__f-EEY

Theme-song information:

Music from YouTube Audio Library [Aka YAL]

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/hMLSa6-cXT0