1619 Debate, Elon & Twitter, Whitmer Kidnapping Case, Inflation

Ravi and Rikki go through the details of the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping conspiracy case in Michigan, debating along the way as they land on differing interpretations of the surprising result: zero convictions. [01:07] 

While acknowledging the important discourse the 1619 Project invites, the hosts don’t shy away from its failings as they recount its historical inaccuracies, its dubious journalism, and the sweeping claims it later softened. Ravi closes the conversation by highlighting the equally problematic retaliations to 1619, like the Trump-commissioned 1776 Curriculum, concluding history books don’t benefit from partisanship. [11:22] 

Cory paints a damning picture of surging inflation and the Fed’s chances of turning the heat down without triggering a recession. Ravi and Rikki argue the Fed will struggle to manage a “soft landing” and a downturn may be inevitable at this point. [35:44] 

Cory reveals Elon Musk’s heartbreaking decision to not join Twitter’s board in holy matrimony. Ravi and Rikki wonder what he would have brought – and may still bring, as its largest shareholder – to Twitter as a platform. [43:19] 

Rikki wraps up with a brief exposé on the tens of millions Intuit and H&R Block have spent on lobbying to keep our tax system the way it is: opaque and expensive. [49:31]

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks out about “depraved” kidnap plot (CBS News YouTube Channel, 10/08/2020)
Two Men Acquitted of Plotting to Kidnap Michigan Governor in High-Profile Trial (The New York Times, 04/08)
EXPLAINER: Charges in Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot case (AP News, 04/04)
‘Snatch and grab’: The winding path to plot against a governor (Detroit Free Press, 10/11/2020)
The Whitmer Terror Verdicts (Wall Street Journal, 04/08)
The Plot to Kidnap Me (The Atlantic, 10/27/2020)
What The Whitmer Case Acquittal Means (National Review, 04/09)
Jury Acquits 2 Men Accused of Plotting to Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Reason, 04/08)
The Whitmer Terror Verdicts (The Wall Street Journal, 04/08)
Boogaloo movement (Wikipedia)
NEW VIDEO | Suspects charged in plotting kidnapping of Michigan governor shown training (KSDK News YouTube Channel, 10/18/2020)
‘Snatch and grab’: The winding path to plot against a governor (Detroit Free Press, 10/12/2020)
‘Aren’t You Overstating?’: Chris Wallace and ‘1619 Project’ Creator Nikole Hannah-Jones Debate If ‘The Great Generation’ Was Racist (Yahoo, 04/10)
Tennessee governor invites private conservative college to open 50 charter schools whose anti-woke curriculum will teach students that America is ‘an exceptionally good country’ (Daily Mail, 04/10)
A College Fights ‘Leftist Academics’ by Expanding Into Charter Schools (The New York Times, 04/10)
The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum (Hillsdale College)
Nikole Hannah-Jones | Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? | Clip | CNN+ (CNN+ YouTube Channel, 04/07)
The 1619 Project Unrepentantly Pushes Junk History (Reason, 06/2022)
1776 Commission Takes Historic and Scholarly Step to Restore Understanding of the Greatness of the American Founding (Trump White House Archive, 01/18/2021)
1619 Project Author Nikole Hannah-Jones Now Says She Never Implied That Year Was America’s True Founding (Reason, 09/21/2020)
‘The 1619 Project’ Tells a False Story About Capitalism, Too (The Wall Street Journal, 05/08/2020)Gov. Whitmer in the Atlantic: The Plot to Kidnap Me
The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution: With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: to which is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition and Prospects of Colored Americans (Google Books)
The Revolution’s Black Soldiers (AmericanRevolution.org)
I Helped Fact-Check the 1619 Project. The Times Ignored Me. (Politico, 03/06/2020)
In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation. (The New York Times, 08/14/2019)
Consumer Price Index Summary (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 04/12)
U.S. Inflation Accelerated to 8.5% in March, Hitting Four-Decade High (The Wall Street Journal, 04/12)
Squawk Box Tweet (Twitter, 04/11)
Inflation Lessons from the 1970’s (The Daily, 03/16)
The Fed Could Sink the U.S. Into a Recession to Tame Inflation (The Wall Street Journal, 3/14)
Veronique de Rugy: Seeing sticker shock on government spending (USA Today, 04/09)
The Fed Bets on a ‘Soft Landing,’ but Recession Risk Looms (The New York Times, 03/25)
How the Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates (The Wall Street Journal, 04/11)
Deutsche Bank Predicts U.S. Recession in ‘23 as Fed Boosts Rates (Bloomberg, 04/05)
U.S. Recession Seen Most Likely to Start Next Year: Survey (Bloomberg, 04/04)
8/9. That’s the Fed’s record on triggering a recession while trying to fix inflation. (Politico, 03/29)
Get ready for a nasty inflation report (Axios, 04/11)
Global Inflation Rate (Trading Economics, April 2022)
Americans support limited U.S. intervention in Ukraine to prevent escalation with Russia (Ipsos, 03/14)
Lauren Boebert Elon Musk Tweet (Twitter, 04/11)
Paul Cogan Elon Musk Tweet (Twitter, 04/10)
Why Did Elon Musk Buy Twitter Stake? (The New York Times, 04/04)
How Can Elon Musk Change Twitter Policy? (FindLaw, 04/08)
Elon Musk Decides Not to Join Twitter Board (CNBC, 04/11)