The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Channeling Admiral Ackbar? (It’s a Trap!)
This week’s episode, which finds Steve over in Japan but still with a hoarse voice, ranges widely from exonerating John Yoo from being implicated in a major whiskey heist, to what the prodigious drinking habits of the Founding Fathers has to say about constitutional law today. Justice Neil Gorsuch reminds us that “John Adams took a tankard of hard cider with his breakfast every day. James Madison reportedly drank a pint of whiskey every day. Thomas Jefferson said he wasn’t much of a user of alcohol—he only had three or four glasses of wine a night.”
Ah, the great ones. Speaking of the Founders, we make a nod to the tragic passing of Gordon Wood, and naturally manage to get into an argument about history and historians.
But the central topic of today is considering John’s foray into grand strategy in his Civitas Outlook article this week on “America Doesn’t Need to Fear a ‘Thucydides Trap,’” and while Admiral Ackbar needed to fear a trap, John doesn’t think so. But what was Chinese premier Xi trying to do in bringing up the subject in a public session at the recent summit with Trump? One doesn’t imagine Trump being a reader of Thucydides, though one can easily see him liking the outcome of the Melian debate. In fact, maybe that’s what he’s up to with Iran? Who can tell?
The Three Whiskey Happy Hour
The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Can You Tariff a Vibe Shift?
Steve Hayward argues that the Supreme Court’s tariff case Friday was a no-lose case for conservatives.
The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Newsom, Clinton, Tigers and Bears Oh My!
John wonders whether the Clinton deposition about Epstein is really sensible, Steve wonders how Gaffen-Gavin Newsom can possible survive this week’s “George Romney Moment," and Lucretia wonders why universities have allowed themselves to be swallowed whole by useless administrators.
Politics
%20Richard%20Samuelson%20%20-%20Is%20American%20Nationalism%20Still%20Creed-able_-1.jpg)
Is American Nationalism Still Creed-able?
We are not there now, but there is reason to worry that the United States is in danger, if we are not careful, of ceasing to be a nation with the principles of 1776 at its core.
National Civitas Institute Poll: Americans are Anxious and Frustrated, Creating a Challenging Environment for Leaders
The poll reveals a deeply pessimistic American electorate, with a majority convinced the nation is on the wrong track.
.webp)
%20(1).avif)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Confronting the New Antisemitism
"The postwar effort 'to rebrand Judaism as a religion' has made it impossible for American Jews to understand what they are facing today, because what we are facing today is an attack on the idea of Jewish peoplehood.”
“Democratic” Socialism Is Undemocratic
By promoting class hatred, suppressing private initiative, and seeking enhanced control of our lives, today’s democratic socialists undermine patriotism and individual initiative—two qualities that have long distinguished the United States from other major nations.
Get the Civitas Outlook daily digest, plus new research and events.