Pundit Review Radio

After 374 Sunday’s, this was our final show on WRKO. It has been a great experience. I had many people to thank, starting with Gregg Jackson who pushed me into this crazy idea in the summer of 2004. There are lots of folks at WRKO to thank, from Todd Feinburg to Howie Carr to the great roster of producers, Sandy, Bernie, Producer Rob, Dan the Man, Ed, Horseshack. I don’t have a bad thing to say about WRKO. They gave me a great platform to do what I wanted for 374 weekends, so you won’t hear me complaining or saying they owe me week 375. In fact, I owe them. I very much appreciated what Cooksie did for me, giving me a final show to say goodbye to a loyal group of listeners. That doesn’t always happen in radio, as I’ve seen firsthand, so I very much apprecated that. Thank you to everyone who listened to, supported and contributed to the show. Producer Rob is just one of many people I’ve met from doing the show who will remain friends long into the future. Boston Maggie, Stephanie Davis, Garret Quinn and so

Walter Olson is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies. He is also the man behind a great blog, Overlawyered, that turns 13 today! Congratulations! Finally, Walter is the author of a great book, Schools for Misrule: Legal Academia and an Overlawyered America. Tonight he returned to Pundit Review Radio to discuss the Obamacare ruling, Roberts rationale and whether he should be considered a statesmen or a sucker. Finally, I would have been remiss in my hosting duties if I did not ask Walter about our Legal Academia star running for United States Senate, Professor Tall Tale, aka Fauxcahauntis. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Tal

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Sergeant First Class Michael A. Duchesne. According to his Silver Star citation, "Sergeant First Class Michael A. Duchesne’s technical and tactical proficiency, calmness under fire and decisiveness were critical to the platoon’s accomplishment of the mission and the safety of its Rangers. His superior performance, competence and stamina contributed significantly to mission completion and success throughout the operation. Sergeant First Class Michael A. Duchesne distinctive accomplishments reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, the United States Army and the Department Of Defense." The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is

I welcomed my friend Jonathan Lewis back to the show this weekend. Jonathan is a liberal and someone I really enjoy talking politics with. Last time he was on, the conversation was mostly about the fine art of political discourse, agreeing to disagree without becoming disagreeable. That said, we never did get around to disagreeing much, so this weekend, we kept it simple, Does President Obama deserve a second term? Jonathan said yes and had every opportunity to make his case. That in and of itself was too much for some longtime listeners and e-mailers to the show. Some conservatives, unfortunately, don’t want to hear from the other side. They seem offended by even hearing a differing point of view. They want an echo chamber. Very disappointing IMHO. That can only mean one thing in the coming weeks on Pundit Review Radio…more liberal guests! The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station

This was indeed an honor to speak with Gen. Dave Palmer, former Superintendent of West Point and author of a fantastic book, George Washington: Military Genius "Palmer, historian and former superintendent of West Point, makes a convincing case that America is free, united, and governed by civilians because of Washington’s strategic foresight and tactical brilliance. No subsequent revolution in a dozen other nations ended so happily. Palmer pooh-poohs historians who describe Washington as a commander of limited ability who won by not losing, i.e., avoiding battles until the British grew tired of the struggle. Reviewing his generalship, Palmer maintains that Washington was aggressive and imaginative, willing to take risks but always aware of his ultimate goal. Palmer reminds readers that the Continental Congress launched the revolution beautifully but managed it dreadfully, growing increasingly faction ridden and ineffectual as the economy slid toward ruin. Washington remained loyal—perhaps his most impressive

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Army Sgt. Julia Bringloe A nearby Apache gunship pilot radioed Bringloe’s crew, “Medevac, you guys are crazy.” Helping her strap the dead translator to the line while she stayed behind, soldiers on the ground had to remind Bringloe to duck. “Somehow I think I’m impervious to bullets or something,” she said. With the translator’s body safely aboard the Black Hawk above, Bringloe latched herself to the now vacant cable. The insurgents on the ridgeline promptly concentrated their fire on her dangling form. The high velocity rounds streamed past her as she rose, and sounded like “a kind of whistling” she later explained. Troops below radioed to Sabiston above, “They’re shooting at your medic! Get out of here!”

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Medal of Honor recipient Leslie H. Sabo Jr. "SP4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. distinguished himself, May 10, 1970, in Se San, Cambodia, while serving as a rifleman in Company B, 3d Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Members of B. Co. were ambushed by a large enemy force. While conducting a reconnaissance patrol, 22-year-old Sabo, charged an enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. Immediately thereafter, he assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. When a grenade landed nearby a wounded comrade, Sabo picked up the grenade threw it away while shielding his buddy with his own body, thus absorbing

With Fauxcahontas-gate entering month number two, we welcomed back to WRKO William Jacobson, an Ivy League law professor, to talk about Elizabeth Warren and her, ahem, authenticity problem. In the new media, this scandal has been advanced in two places, Breitbart, and Legal Insurrection, Professor Jacobson’s outstanding blog. The fact that Elizabeth Warren is still today claiming Indian heritage, despite all we’ve learned about the lack of evidence, is astounding. She’s not doubling down, she’s googling down. Six short months ago, Massachusetts democrats cleared the deck for Elizabeth Warren because her candidacy was so strong. This weekend at the state convention, they cleared the deck again, but this time, because she is so weak. Smug progressives can point to any poll they want showing this isn’t hurting Warren. They only show that they are as deeply in denial as their candidate. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pun

This was a double treat for our eight anniversary show on WRKO. One of my favorite guests has been Eric Maddox, author of Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein—As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture. This book was fantastic and the story of how Staff Sergeant Maddox used Saddam’s social network to squeeze his close in support was fascinating. It’s about to get the Hollywood treatment with Twilight’s Robert Pattison in the starring role. Eric has been a friend of the program ever since and returned tonight for his fourth appearance. In the middle of the interview we heard from Senator Scott Brown. It is always great to hear from Senator Brown. He reminded me tonight that he has been calling into the show since his days as a state rep. I guess I can say I knew him when! It was neat to introduce Sen. Brown to the man who masterminded the capture of Saddam, you don’t get to do that everyday! Personally, I thank Sen. Brown for calling in during our eighth anniversa

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Sgt. Clifford Wooldridge, Wooldridge, 22, of Port Angeles, Wash., was a vehicle commander when his convoy came under enemy fire on June 18, 2010. He led four Marines in outflanking 15 Taliban fighters — killing eight of them and scattering the rest. Out of ammunition, Wooldridge wrestled a machine gun away from a Taliban and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his enemy, killing him. Wooldridge was cited for “his bold actions and his courage under fire which disrupted the enemy attack on his platoon.” The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK segment started on WRKO in April 2

What a rude host I am sometimes. I invite my friend Sam Bowlby to the WRKO studios for a couple of hours of radio fun and we lasted thirty minutes, bumped by the Red Sox game that would not end. The Celtics playoff pre-game show was starting on WEEI so baseball was headed to WRKO at 6:30pm. Sam, you may recall, is a veteran of two tours in Iraq. He graduated in 2004 from Hamilton College, one of the nation’s finest, and instead of law or business school, he entered the Marines. Two tours in Iraq, then an MBA at Babson and some project work at Google, that’s what Sam had done when we last spoke. He’s now working on a part-time basis with The Program, "The Program was founded in 2008 with the mission of providing high schools, professional and collegiate teams, and corporate organizations, with the best leadership and team building development in the country. Under the leadership of CEO and Founder Eric Kapitulik, The Program creates personalized leadership development training that challenges every member of

Hard for me to put into a few words how thrilled I was to welcome Frank Warren to Pundit Review Radio. Frank Warren is the man behind PostSecret.com. So what is Post Secret? PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. PostSecret 13345 Copper Ridge Road Germantown, MD 20874, USA A very simple idea that has led to some pretty amazing, moving and inspirational things. It has launched a massive community, the kind most social media companies can only dream about. In fact, Post Secret is the most trafficked advertising free website in the world. There are public events, books and now, even a play. I’m happy to report that Frank was as cool, gracious and charming as he comes across in the video. It really was an honor for me to have nearly thirty minutes to talk with Frank about this amazing project. I read the site every Sunday, and five minutes on it can stay with me an entire week. I highly recommend you check out Post Secret.

We classed up the show last night by welcoming Professor Maurice Cunningham to the WRKO studio. While he may be the chair of UMASS Boston political science department, more important to us, he’s a terrific blogger, and yes, tweeter! In addition to some great columns for Commonwealth Magazine, Professor Cunningham writes at a great group blog, Mass Politics Profs. We discussed the impact of blogging and social media and we also talked a lot about Massachusetts politics. The Senate race is setting up to be among the best in the nation. We also discussed Gov Patrick and his, in my opinion, pathetic response to the EBT scandal. Professor Cunningham has written a column on the EBT issue I highly recommend reading. Finally, we got around to former governor Romney’s and his quest for the White House. It was a great to meet Professor Cunningham in person after reading him for so long in Commonwealth Magazine and on the terrific Mass Politics Profs blog. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here an

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Staff Sgt. Trevor D. Tow. From the Army Times account, With rounds from both enemy weapons flying by his head, body and feet and hitting the ground around him, Tow continued to fight in the open by himself. Another Ranger then moved into the open to fight alongside Tow, who shortly afterward killed one enemy fighter. The two Rangers then focused their fire on the second enemy fighter, killing him. As the rest of the squad provided aid to Wright, Tow remained in the open. As he was providing security for his men, he saw a third enemy fighter moving toward them. That enemy fighter threw three grenades that landed as close as 10 feet away from Tow. Tow continued to stand his ground, firing back at the insurg

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Captain Barry F. Crawford Jr., recipient of the Air Force Cross. The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the bl

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about a story you probably remember from the earliest days in Afghanistan, a prison revolt in which CIA agent Johnny Spann lost his life and the world became aware of John Walker Lindh, the wannabe jihadi. As Bruce wrote at Q&O in 2006, "Also there was Special Forces Major Mark E. Mitchell. MAJ Mitchell is the reason the revolt failed. For his action in quelling the revolt and defeating the rearmed Taliban prisoners, MAJ Mitchell was awarded the nation's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross" Six years later, Bruce tells us in full, the story of Special Forces Major Mark E. Mitchell The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at B

It was great to welcome Stephanie M. Davis (@StephanieMDavis on Twitter and Facebook) back to WRKO and Pundit Review Radio. She has been a frequent guest over the years and remains one of our favorites. We discussed the War on Fauxrage, Women and Race last night. We tool some good calls and had an all around great time. Look forward to having Stephanie back as the campaign heats up. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

This was one of those weeks where I was chomping at the bit to get to WRKO. Joshua Brown is one of the premier financial bloggers, and for almost eight years (next month) my goal has been to bring the best of the blogs to the radio. We did that tonight. Josh’s blog The Reformed Broker is so good it has led to a column in Fortune Magazine, regular appearances on CNBC, and now, to his new book Backstage Wall Street: An Insider’s Guide to Knowing Who to Trust, Who to Run From, and How to Maximize Your Investments. Sure, the book is about Josh’s career as a broker, during the decade which saw both 9-11 and the global financial meltdown. He provides great insight into the business, the pressure cooker and the conflicts (which is a polite way of saying working for the firm first instead of clients). After a certain point, Josh couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed, to push another investment product. He decided that the broker business was broken and he was done with it. Since that moment, his life has enjoyed

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about "Staff Sergeant Killeen’s heroic actions under effective enemy fire on the objective undoubtedly saved the lives of his squad, prevented the possible destruction of his platoon, and were instrumental in the death of three heavily armed, enemy combatants and a fortified machinegun position, two enemy commanders, including a district commander, and directly contributed to the removal of an enemy encampment and 14 EKIA. His actions changed the outcome of the battle." The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed

When I heard this book was blurbed by Bing West, I said, “Say no more, just send me a copy”. Well, that was a good decision. I learned a ton about the Vietnam War reading this book. It is very much written from the perspective of the Vietcong, using an amazing amaount of original source material. The title, Grab Their Belts to Fight Them, had a double meaning for me after finishing the book. Obviously, it is a reference to close quarters, hand-to-hand combat. It also speaks to the Vietcong’s desire for decisive victory. I was glad to have been introduced to this book and to have the opportunity to speak with author Warren Wilkins about it. Here is the overview from Amazon, "In 1965, despite pronounced disadvantages in firepower and mobility, the Communist Vietnamese endeavored to crush South Vietnam and expel the American military with a strategy for a quick and decisive victory predicated not on guerrilla but big-unit war. Warren Wilkins chronicles the formation, development, and participation of the Viet