Radio Atlantic

I like the show generally but this episode is complete bunk. I think the host and guest both realize it too from the get-go. The thesis is that present day assassins are different from those in the past in that they are less strictly political and more about mentally unstable people getting attention/recognition (narcissism). It begins by establishing a baseline that assumes assassins of the past to have a political agenda, but then uses as an example Gerald Ford’s, except they are immediately forced to admit that one of his assassins was clearly just nuts (Squeaky Frome) and that the “political agenda” of the other was incredibly irrational. Well, so was Ryan Routh’s. War Room Tom thinks Trump’s assassins were more like today’s mass shooters, which is a thought, but then uses the most absurd example (the Las Vegas shooter) instead of someone like Dylann Roof or the Pennsylvania synagogue shooter both of whom had clear political agendas. Mass shooters do also sometimes have clear political agendas. They even publish manifestos! And go back to the guy who shot Garfield. His “political agenda” was insane. The truth is clearly that this is not a new thing at all; that assassins from John Hinckley to Sirhan Sirhan almost always have some political agenda and some level of mental illness as well, like narcissistic personality disorder. It is a spectrum and always has been. Truly political assassins are rare. Entirely crazy people don’t go after politicians. It’s too hard and complicated. So when the next one appears, except a confused and confusing mix of both.

While I recognize that all sides have a perspective and The Atlantic is striving to highlight that in this episode I lasted approximately four minutes before I had to turn it off. MAGA gets away with every wrong and illegal decision they make every single time and I have no sympathy for a man who made a choice on January 6th to do what he did. His wife touting her Christian and Trumpian faith that he would be exonerated—-my mental health can’t take it. This lifestyle of “the rules don’t apply to us” permeates every facet of society at this point and it is definitely not “Making America Great Again.” I don’t need to be enraged at those people any more than I already am. Moving on.

Excellent show. Just want to say to the woman with five kids who lost her husband for a year to his conviction of conspiracy for the attack on the capital…. Too bad! We feel for your kids having a loser dad but he chose to leave his family and riot. We don’t feel pity for you or him in any way. Know this. He’s a traitor to this country. Signed a progressive from NY.

Cue: Lee Greenwood