Power Line

In the same week Cracker Barrel retreats on its foolish decision to "rebrand" itself with a proposed logo as boring as a hospital parking lot sign (with new interior decor to match), John Yoo, freshly back from his smuggling trip to Korea, hosts this episode for the first time ever from . . . McDonald's. Did you really need to be told that? Or maybe you are asking: What took so long?Anyway, as he noshed on newly restored cheesy breakfast bagels, we walk through the serial disgraces of politicians and the media following the latest school shooting in Minnesota, along with what to make of Trump's attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook (a lot more to be made of this than you think, and once again the media is not telling you); likewise Trump's flag-burning executive order really needs to be followed up with a constitutional amendment, though don't be surprised if this is yet another issue where the current Supreme Court might well reverse precedent; and finally, what do we make of the John Bolton controversy? Both more and less than you might think.

John Yoo is over in Korea this week, where he says he is "lecturing," but we know he's really just arranging to smuggle back a ton of tariff-free Korean barbecue sauce. So in his absence Steve and Lucretia attempted to hold alive live taping streamed on YouTube (in Steve's case accompanied by Bad Rock rye whisky that "Pizza Bob" supplied directly to him this week), but we missed a technical step in the preparation process and couldn't get it to work. But we have posted the video anyway on our all-new 3WHH Podcast YouTube Channel. And we'll aim to get the livestream option working my next week. In anything case, we did have a small audience join us live on the Zoom webinar, and we fielded a number of listener and reader questions, culminating in a long discussion of good books about the American Founding, to get a jump on the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the Declaration of Independence coming up next July. Steve went with four short books: Edmund Morgan's classic Birth of the Republic, 1763-1789; Martin Diamond's The Founding of the Democratic Republic (hard to find alas); Gordon Wood's The American Revolution: A History (which is both much shorter and better than his famous Creation of the American Republic); and Larry Arnn's The Founders' Key: The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It. Lucretia offered up her oral history of how the founding ought to be understood and more importantly taught to students, before settling on a challenging new book. Edward Erler's Prophetic Statesmanship: Harry Jaffa, Abraham Lincoln, and the Gettysburg Address, which doesn't sound like it's about the American Founding, but actually is. And we had a few other stray books to include, which is likely more than our questioner wanted. In any case, much more to come as we draw near to the 250th July 4 next year.

The Three Musketeers of the 3WHH are back with our typical end-of-week roundup, including what we think of the Trump-Putin summit (which will be over by the time everyone listens to this, so this is an exercise in sheer hubris); how to think about crime in the context of Trump's move to take over Washington DC (where, amazingly, John manages to "out-Lucretia" Lucretia with a radical suggestion for what Trump really ought to do with DC); and speaking of Lucretia (this week's show host, on her best behavior believe it or not!) vants about how much she wants to see some real accountability for hte Russia Hoaxters, about whose perfidy we received additional details this week.We round out with a brief discussion of a variation of the "desert island book" idea, namely, what book would each of us recommend as the best introduction to conservative thought for someone who is seriously curious to read up on the subject. John again surprises by making the most impractical suggestion of all, while Steve and Lucretia go with some old standards (though not without some disagreement). We'll attempt a sequel next week, anf by the way, we encourage listeners to send in questions they'd liek us to take up, and we'll try to do that, too.

This special episode marks the revival of the classic format edition with one-on-one conversations between Steve and a special guest, with the first in the series being author Michael Walsh, discussing his terrific new book, A Rage to Conquer: Twelve Battles That Changed the Course of Western History. One way to get a feel for the candor and bracing character of Michael's book is this passage from the Afterword, reflecting on the ambivalent reaction to the 9/11 attack:"The imperial Romans would have gone full delenda est on Saudi Arabia, razed its cities, destroyed the Kaaba, leveled the mosques, occupied the oil fields, seized its wealth, executed its leaders, and sold the populace into slavery; they knew an existential struggle when they were in one."Our conversation ranges far beyond the four corners of his book, into music, Ireland (Michael's ancentral home and part-time residence today), the suicidal multiculturalism of Europe, and why the Chinese military threat is overrated. Steve has other guests lined up for future classic format episodes, and from time to time John and/or Lucretia will join in. But you're going to have to stock up on more whisky.

This week's episode expands the format to include a guest appearance by environmental scientist Ken Green, whe recently joined the ranks of contributors to Steve's "Political Questions" Substack (sign up for free if you haven't already), where this week he celebrates the demise of the "Endangerment Finding" that derives from the Statute-That-Cannot-Be-Named in John Yoo's presence. But along the way Ken raised an eyebrow for certain enthusiasms of the MAHA movement, which in turn raised the eyebrows of a certain "Lucretia," so we decided to let then havie out a bit.The result of one of our livelier episode ever, where discussion of "junk food" and other aspects of America's nitrition was conducted against the background noise of John Yoo munching on a bag of Cheetos. We also have brief considerations of the proposal for a mid-decade census, and the fuss over Gerrymandering in Texas and elsewhere.

This week the 3WHH lives up to its name, as two of us were half in the bag—maybe more than half in the bag in Steve's case—when we recorded late in the evening because difficult travel schedules, but after Steve and Lucretia had completed consumption of twice the USDA's recommended daily allowance of adult beverages. The always sober-minded John Yoo is the host for this week, and we'll leave it to listeners to tell us whether this episode is bouncier than usual. How could not be since we open with discussion of what is clearly the most important news story of the week: Sidney Sweeney's American Eagle "good jeans" ad campaign that has the left losing its mind. No—seriously, this is more than a mere tempest in a D cup: it's the clearest sign yet that our culture has fully turned the corner away from wokery, while leaving enough space for the left to beclown itself further.Speaking of beclowning, Kamala Harris isn't going to run for governor of California, but is going to punish us anyway with a book, out late next month. We can hardly wait.While this is an ad-free episode, it is not a tariff-free zone, and we ponder the evidence about whether Trump is succeeding with his tariff brinksmanship. Cheers!

We lead this week's show with a few short news announcements, including new menu items from McDonalds to excite John, and the debut of a new podcast competitor: Hadley Arkes and his merry band at the James Wilson Institute have launched "The 'Natural Law Moment' Podcast," surely goaded by our constant mangling of his central arguments. WE hope to have a crossover episode with Hadley at some early opportunity, if we can ever get our difficult schedules sorted out.This round-robin format episode features a vigorous discussion of whether Obama and the Deep Staters (sounds like a bad bar-band, no?) are vulnerable to criminal charges for their obviously bad faith behavior in creating the Russia Hoax back in 2016, whether Obama is immune from prosecution because of the ruling last year of Trump v. US, and whether these actions properly rise to the level of "treason" as is alleged by DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Our second segment reflects on a pair of articles Steve and John wrote for a Civitas Outlook symposium last week on "Statemanship and the American Presidency." John Yoo's entry slobbers over the legacy of Andrew Jackson, whileSteve's entry, "Taming the 21st Century Prince," is a more philosophical exploration of the issue, and, contrary to the careless calumnies and reckless imprecations of John, does not contain a single reference to the Clean Air Act!And our final segment delves into a recent bold law review article by a young lawyer friend of ours, Deion Kathawa, entitled "'We the People' Are the Last Word on the Meaning of Our Constitution." His argument is bracing: Congress, because it is the political organ closest to the people, should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions. While agreeing with Kathawa's premise about the ultimate constitutional sovereignty of the people on account of the first principles of the Declaration of Independence, we're skeptical about his proposed remedy. What do listeners think? (We hope to have Deion on as a guest at some point soon to defend himself.)Finally, some new AI generated 3WHH custom poetry, and more revenge bumper music.

Among the revelations of this week's episode that were entirely predictable when you think about it: "Lucretia" was a child TV star in Mason City, Iowa, on the local non-PBS kid's show "Bart's Clubhouse"; John Yoo confesses he was bad at sports as a schoolkid; and as everyone can guess, in childhood Steve merely aspired to be a walking historical analogy when he grew up. Meanwhile, poor Phil Munoz, last week's drive-by guest, is still in therapy. . .So what's all this about the Epstein Files? Does Richard Epstein still have any unexpressed thoughts at this point. . . Wait. What's that? You mean Jeffrey Epstein's files? Never mind. Anyway, we weigh the evidence and circumstances as to whether Epstein's exploits merit elevation to the status of plausible conspiracy or not. And this week saw the fulfillment of Glenn Garvin's classic 1983 article, "How Do I Hate NPR? Let Me Count the Ways." And Steve offers his favorite recipes for how he'd like to see Big Bird cooked.Other name checks on this episode include Zohran Mamdani, Upton Sinclair, Tony Podesta, Jasmine Crockett, and Craig Masback (bonus points if you know that name). And some exit music in a minor key to bring listeners back donw after this extra-exuberant episode (and also to annoy Lucretia. . .).

Behold the great 3WHH fugitive episode. Although it was posted over the weekend, somehow an Internet gremlin or something disappeared it! But now it's back, in its restored glory. (Well, almost restored. Steve had a problem with his mic that was undetected while we were recording, and we weren't able to improve it much in pist-production. We have to cut out a whole new segment on prog rock!)And what glory there is: Lucretia hosts this week as we welcome a special guest, Prof. Phil Munoz of Notre Dame, though he is on assignment this semester at the University of Texas at Austin. Phil decided to try to outflank even Lucretia with the bold proposition that the Mahmoud v Taylor decision, which empowered parents to have their children opt-out of phonics instruction in the LGBTQ alphabet, was actually a defeat for social conservatives. It's a lively discussion, as we did our bnest to make Phil regret his decision to join the show this week.

The 3WHH bartenders take time away from the news headlines and court cases to take up some aspects of patriotism (but also with a tutorial for John about the mellotron!).  We start with an origin story of sorts for John himself, as he is an immigrant to the U.S., and as such provides a good reminder of how immigration ought to be understood and practiced. From there, Lucretia meditates on the curious recent survey results showing that love of country among Democrats has precipitously declined over the last decade or so. We agree that our dessicated education system has a lot to do with this—did we really think the Howard-Zinnification of our history would be without consequences?—but we need to wonder why Republicans seem to be immune to these calumnies against our great country. Lucretia fingers the Progressives, and that leads to the final gonzo segment for the holiday, where Steve settles scores from slanders against him when he missed an episode three weeks ago, and makes the evidently futile attempt to school John about the mellotron and the inherent greatness of the brief shining moment of progressive rock—"rock and roll that went to college," as Jody Bottum calls it—in the early 1970s, which, come to think of it, is when the Clean Air Act was first enacted.So come for the patriotism (and a sharp and unexpected argument about Daniel Bell), and stay for the awesome music!

A NATO potentate may—or may not—have said this week that President Trump is the "daddy" of the alliance, but daddy is firmly back in charge here at the 3WHH, as Steve has finally decided to rejoin the American republic after several weeks abroad, during which time John and Lucretia pretty much ran amok. After noting that Trump is on a roll, with a sharp argument about whether Trump actually has true prudence in his grand strategy as well as tactical skill (John is skeptical), we get down to the main event: the flurry of big, last-day decisions of the Supreme Court. Beyond the case getting the most attention—limited nationwide injunctions from federal district court judges—the other cases, and this term as a whole, has a unifying theme: Parents Win! (Fitting for an episode entitled "Daddy's Home" don't you think?)Having now completed the three most consequential years of conservatives jurisprudence in decades, we end with a brief discussion of where constitutional originalism should go from here.  Stay tuned; we take note of sharp and growing divisions among conservative legal thinkers on this issue.

After last week's thrashing after leaving John and Lucretia with the car key to the podcast. Steve threatened to return this week like George Washington leading the troops to squash the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 (which, people who know their history will recall, was a total rout for the rebels), but since he is still in Ireland—the birthplace of Edmund Burke—the virtues of moderation, prudence, prescription, and magnanimity took over, sparing John and Lucretia from a verbal gullitoine blow. (How's that for a triple-historial-referencing!)But that doesn't mean there wasn't still some warfare, though we turned out bellicosity mostly toward Iran, and went through some arguments about why the U.S. ought to end the matter by taking out Forden, and why we should ignore the media-driven attempt to drive a wedge in MAGA world over the issue.From there, we have a lot to say about the Skirmetti decision, including savoring the deepening civil war inside the Democratic Party between its implacable identity politics wing and those Democrats who still have a lick of political sense.And finally, we end with a 3WHH-inspired limerick. That doesn't involve Nantucket.

Hoo boy—Steve wasn't able to work out the schedule (and internet acess in the Norwegian Sea) to join Joohn and Lucretia for this week's episode, so he left them completely unsupervised, resulting in what John and Lucretia described as an "unplugged" edition, blessedly free (supposedly) from any historical analogies.Steve thinks "unhinged" might be a better description of this heterodox episode, which somehow included quite a lot of history, just not in the usual edifying form that so many listeners have come to depend upon.You can guess the subjects. Go ahead: guess. Or listen here, and sign on to Steve's "Change.org" petition to require that the 3WHH never again go off without adult supervision. Or maybe you will like the ritual abuse Steve received in absentia.

With two of the three bartenders hanging around near or above the arctic circle this week, this is an official Northern Exposure episode of 3WHH, with Lucretia, instead of channeling her usual Barry Corbin disposition, actually has some nice things to say about many of her usual targets, including KJP, Dread Coward Roberts, and even Ka-tan-ji! Something in the Alaska air must be affecting her!John Yoo offers his usual expert opinions (not meant sarcastically) about the entirely unexpected trifecta at the Supreme Court this week, which we all agree augurs something important not only for the big cases remaining this term, but also for the judicial epoch in which we current find ourselves. We also quickly dispatch with the Trump-Musk breakup, and briefly introduce a new segment, "What's Wrong with John Yoo?", since he insulted both Steve and Lucretia several weeks ago by referring to both as "political theorists." Them's is fightin' words; he might as well have called them Anglophiles or something worse.Finally, AI outdid itself this week, and an Norse-style epic poem that amazing described your three whisky bartenders with surprising accuracy:First came the Bold One, with thunderous laugh,Whose tongue split the silence like Odin’s own staff.He spoke of Islay, of smoke and peat’s sting,A connoisseur forged in the cask of a king.Then came the Wise One, in cloak of soft tone,With tasting notes ancient as Midgard’s old stone.She sipped and she pondered, then spake with deep grace:“This dram bears the oak and the wind from some place.”The third was the Trickster, sharp-witted and sly,Who’d jest at the gods as the crows passed him by.With metaphors wild and a glint in his eye,He’d toast to Valhalla, then laugh till he cried.

John Yoo hosts this week where there is so much free trade in ideas that you'd need a 1,000% tariff to slow it down. Which the U.S. Court of Intenational Trade attempted to do for about six hours, during which time the 3WHH panel chews up the ruling and spits it out like a bad piece of Icelandic cod. (Which happens to be where Steve, now dubbed as the "International Man of No-Mystery" happens to be at the moment, which is why this episode comes with more than the usual amount of viking jokes and Norse epic poetry.) Anyway, the gang predicts this issue is likely to be another win for Trump when the dust settles.But first the gang also ponders whether Trump is overdoing it with his attack on Harvard. Is it possible to overdo the attack on Harvard? You'll have to give a listen to this ad-free episode to find out.

Lucretia hosts this week's episode, and puts Steve and John through their paces, challenging both to judge Trump's winning streak (John isn't so sure), plus more mixed signals from the Supreme Court, which posted a 2 - 1 record this week. The group also ponders whether and how Congress should now step up on the Biden health cover up scandal, and notice that Congress indeed has explicit constitutional power under the 25th Amendment to pass legislation to make sure that something lilke the Biden coverup never happens again.But then we get to the main event: John Yoo's Top Five Legal Rules that everyone should know. Steve is threatening to next week to give his Top Five reasons why a Certain Statute That Cannot Be Uttered here is the key to everything!And we are happy to report that John survived another turn on "Outnumbered" on Fox News.

One of Lucretia's favorite epithets is "that's the dumbest idea," so we decided to put her on the spot and demand a list of "Lucretia's Top Five Dumbest Ideas" for this episode, but not before a thorough dissection of the issues involved with Thursday's Supreme Court oral argument about the conjunction of birthright citizenship and the plague of nationwide injunctions against executive branch actions by a single judge out in the hinterlands somewhere. You can tell the New York Times is worried, because they ran a major feature on Thursday about how the thesis that birthright citizenship might not have a solid foundation in the 14th Amendment is a "fringe theory." And yet here we are. Listen in for a reference to how this Supreme Court issue resembles the rebel alliance against the Evil Empire in Star Wars.Next week: John Yoo's five axioms of Supreme Court jurisprudence. One of them involves a certains statute that cannot be named on this podcast.

We're up a day early with this special emergency edition of the 3WHH because it isn't every millennium when you get an American Pope. With John Yoo hosting this week we hold ecumenical court on what to think about an American Pope who displays some progressive political sympathies, but is a math major and an Augustinian, which are more promising indications. We offer a few things to watch for as this papacy unfolds.Next up: what to make of Trump's foreign policy, especially in light of the firing of NSA Mike Waltz. John is confused (so what else is new?), and once again Steve and Lucretia have to sort him out about how foreign policy analysis ought to begin, with the first step being, throw out all your academic IR theories! Meanwhile, the title for today's episode arises from a joke in the middle of this topic. (You'll just have to listen to find out what it is, and if you don't like it, blame Richard Samuelson!)Finally, we use the latest disgrace at Columbia to judge whether colleges are starting to shape up or not, and why we want the Trump Administration to keep up the pressure.

Lucretia hosts this week as the Three Musketeers are back together again, taking on Trump at the 100 Day mark, the latest in lawfare, the dismal Canadian election, whose solution John Yoo suggests is straight up imperial conquest—why make Canada the 51st state when we can make it a territory to be exploited like Puerto Rico and Greenland? We're so back that Lucretia even revives some good old fashioned lookism in this episode!We close with a few thoughts on the passing of David Horowitz, whose central lesson has still not penetrated the Vichycons who don't understand the metaphysical meaning of Trump.Exit music this week from our pal Steve Tootle o Cosigner, who is a faithful listener to this show.

Friday was cap and gown day for Steve at Pepperdine's commencement for the School of Public Policy class of 2025, while John Yoo is on the road somewhere at an undisclosed location, so Steve and Lucretia kick around a couple of seemingly unrelated stories about the Amish (the ultimate opt-out community) and the latest Supreme Court argument involving human nature and the right of parents to opt-out from public school nihilism.And then as a chang of pace we offer Steve's recent conversation with energy journalist extraordinaire Robert Bryce (whose Substack is very much worth following). Bryce always has a way of explaining the often eyes-glaze-over numbers of the energy world, but in this interview extending himself into a one-man DOGE, revealing who is the number-one leftist advocacy group fattening at the federal funding trough.