Political Questions

Steve wonders if the forthcoming Unabomber flick will blame Ted Kaczynski on the CIA, and notes Kaczynski did “participate in LSD experiments that Harvard sponsored.” That is also a possibility with the late Charles Manson, whose right-hand-man, Bruce Davis, murderer of Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea, recently passed away in prison.

Introduction: There’s a fresh ruction on the right underway just now, incited by Erick Erickson’s recent article that names names and calls names. Rather than diving into the swamp of what I call “Schmitt-posting” going on right now on social media, how about we work through some of the issues in a more serious fashion. Consider this article an introduction to a series that will attempt precisely this. I’ll answer the question in the headline right away.

Editorial note: Today’s article is a reprint of an article I wrote for The Pipeline back in June 2023, on the occasion of the death Ted Kaczynski, aka, the “Unabomber.” The occasion for reposting this piece is the forthcoming Netflix movie, “Unabomber.” From the trailer, I am worried that the movie is going to blame Kaczynski on the CIA. There may be an element of truth to this; Kaczynski did participate in LSD experiments that Harvard sponsored.

The usual two podcast package is up this morning, plus my latest short-form book review video. First up, Ricochet, where James Lileks was away overseas and I hosted the episode.

I was nine years old when my baby brother was born and that was pretty much when I became a “little mother.” In a good sense. Not in the Merle Haggard “There are two kinds of brothers and two kinds of mothers and two kinds of babies to hold,” sense. He was an adorable little guy – still IS at 71! – who as he became a toddler looked a lot like Spanky McFarlane on the Little Rascals.

In September 2018, Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show booked comedian Norm Macdonald. The Hollywood Reporter posted an interview of Macdonald the day of the taping. MacDonald told the Reporter that he was “happy the #MeToo movement has slowed down a little bit,” and described Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr as “longtime friends” who had “lost everything in a day.” Louis CK blew his career when he admitted that five women were telling the truth when they said that he had masturbated in their presence.

Having just three months ago written a plea in this space to “Close the Overton Window Please,” it looks like I now need to invoke at least its meaning. One reflection on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks last week is that it is possible that we, and increasing numbers of people in other Western nations, are starting to come grips with the problem of Islam, and no longer willing to settle for the foolish idealism about the “religion of peace” we were sold in the aftermath of 9/11.

The legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman, whose credits include producing the scripts for The Princess’ Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and All the President’s Men, as well as having several of his novels made into films, is often recalled for saying about Hollywood “nobody knows anything.” He meant it strictly in the context of Hollywood having no clue about what would really work at the box office, and the long history of “sure-thing” blockbusters that flopped and...

“The Lindsay Clancy murder trial ended in a mistrial,” explains Linda Denno in her perceptive take on Gloria Steinem. The Clancy case recalls a trial, complete with insanity defense, that turned out different, but with consequences for the people.

I’m not done beating down on the 9/11 denialist left, nor the Clancy jury nullifiers (can we say that the black juror who held out against the Empath Mob has touched off a new Nullification Crisis?), but look at the bright side: the Clancy jury empaths have set back the cause of feminism more than a thousand Phyllis Schlafys. And here’s the scientific evidence (you know it is scientific because it’s a chart): But for today, I’m featuring a video gallery to spare more reading assignments.