Transcription
So, you folks may have seen um Chris Hedges wrote a brief response uh to the Nam Chosky revelations in the Epstein files and uh I'm going to read the whole thing because it's not long. Nam Chomsky, Jeffrey Epstein, and the politics of betrayal.
So, this is Chris Hedges writing in the first person here. I don't expect much from politicians, corporate tycoons, the presidents of prestigious universities, billionaire philanthropists, celebrities, royalty, or oligarchs. They live in narcissistic and hedonistic bubbles that cater to their self-worthship and moral depravity. But I do expect a lot from intellectuals such as Nam Chomsky.
The explanation by his wife Valyriia Gnome suffered a severe stroke in June 2023 and is incapacitated of their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is filled with the fatuous excuses used by all those who have been outed in the Epstein emails and documents. According to Valyria, she and Gnome were overly trusting quote unquote. This led to poor judgments. Another quote from Valyria's statement. She writes that she and Gnome were ens snared by dinners with luminaries at Epstein's mansion, flights on his private jet nicknamed the Lolita Express, a literary reference to the sexual exploitation of girls Gnome would have recognized financial assistance, trips to Epstein's ranch, and the use of one of Epstein's apartments in New York. Like everyone else outed in the Epstein files, she and Gnome quote never witnessed any inappropriate behavior from Epstein or others. He didn't see the massage table like uh what Nick did. I turned to my wife and said, "We are leaving. We have to go." I guess Nome never saw the massage table. Who knows?
Gnome's advice to Epstein on how to handle press inquiries into his crimes, like Gnome's letter of recommendation for Epstein, was, she insists, the result of Epstein's taking quote, advantage of Gnome's public criticism toward what came to be known as cancel culture to present himself as a victim of it. After Epstein's second arrest in 2019, she and Gnome were careless in not thoroughly researching his background. She ends by expressing unrestricted solidarity with the victims. Well, as the saying goes, it's a little late for that. Her letter regurgitates the formula of everyone outed in the Epstein files.
I know and have long admired Gnome. He is arguably our greatest and most principled intellectual. Okay, I love Chris Hedges. I would say Chris Hedges is a much more principled person than Nam Chomsky. You know how I know that? Chris Hedges actually flies across the country on his own dime when third-party labor movements like Worker Strike Back get off the ground and makes a speech there. Uh Nam Chomsky uh sits in his office and endorses Democrats every four years. So I think Chris Hedges is uh selling himself a little short there when he talks about Nam Chsky as our greatest and most principled intellectual. I'd argue Hedges uh has a lot on Gnome in the principal department. I also think he's smarter, honestly. Uh but we'll get to that in a minute. I can assure you he is not as passive or gullible as his wife claims. He knew about Epstein's abuse of children. They all knew. And like others in the Epstein orbit, he did not care.
From the email correspondence between Epstein and Valyria, it appears she particularly enjoyed the privileges that came with being an Epstein circle. But this does not absolve Gnome's acquiescence. Gnome of all people knows the predatory nature of the ruling class and the cruelty of capitalists where the vulnerable, especially girls and women are commodified as objects to be used and exploited. He was not fooled by Epstein. He was seduced. Exactly. He was not fooled by Epstein. He was seduced. that bears repeating. His association with Epstein is a terrible and to many unforgivable stain. It irreparably tarnishes his legacy. If there is a lesson here, it is this. The ruling class offers nothing without expecting something in return. The closer you get to these vampires, the more you become enslaved. Our role is not to socialize with them. It is to destroy them. Well said by Chris Hedges.
Uh, and you know, Nam Chomsky is considered a real giant in academic circles. I guess I understand that. I would understand that more if I were an academic. Um, I am not an academic. I never wanted to be an academic. I did not finish college because I was just very turned off by the whole culture of academia and so I wanted nothing to do with it. I don't fault people who are. Some of my heroes are academics. Chris Edges being one of them. Normstein being one of them. Corn OS used to be one of them until a couple years ago. Uh, so I like no disrespect but it's not my thing but for some reason yeah Nam Chosky I shouldn't say for some reason. I guess if you are an academic it makes sense that you would idolize Nam Chosky but Nam Chosky was always essentially at the end of the day a smart liberal. I mean that's really what he was. I guess is technically he's still with us. He was a liberal at the end of the day. is a vote blue no matter who liberal who when the chips are down sounds like a liberal.
So, our friend Jimmy Door did a segment on this the other day, not the Hedges piece, but the Chomsky revelations. And uh here he is responding to an old clip of Nam Chomsky describing the force the vote effort in very very similar terms to what we would expect from a Hillary Clinton or a standard order neoliberal Democrat. So, let's take a look.
>> A real world, not a dream world, the world we live in. take a look at the real world, not a dream world, the world we live in. Suppose you push suppose you manage to push Pelosi to say, "Let's have a vote on Medicare for all in the Senate push Schumer to have it." We know exactly what's going to happen. 50 Republicans will vote against it. Large number of Democrats will vote against it. Two, certainly Mansion and Cinema, probably plenty of others. So, what we're saying is let's do something to be defeated. Is that a strategy?
>> That's not our strategy. I mean, you know, it's nice to have to say I want this, but we're
>> it's nice to say I want this. What he's talking about is healthcare. Health care that he's had his entire life. And in fact, he's had at least Medicare for 40 years at this point. 30 years at this point, cuz you get it at 65 and he's around 95 or so. So, he's had it for 30 years. He's had unlimited healthcare, but he doesn't. But, if you want it, you Well, guess what? It's It's unreasonable. Let's listen to what he says. If you want it,
>> children who say I want this piece of candy,
>> then you're you're like children who say you want this piece of candy. That's the verbatim what what Hillary Clinton would say about Medicare for all. That's verbatim what she would say. That you're like a child who wants candy. He's referring to healthc care in the middle of a pandemic as candy. Yep. And that's exactly right. That is exactly exactly the metaphor that a Hillary Clinton would use. In fact, I just thought of this now to be honest. I should have thought of this in advance. I could have clipped this and put this in as a visual uh piece. Uh when her book came out, uh what was it? What happens about the 2016 campaign loss? She even said something to the effect of I think it was a pony. I think that was the metaphor. if we promise everybody a pony, it's nice to promise people ponies regarding Bernie's, you know, Medicare for all plan and stuff like that. Uh, so basically an identical metaphor he he uses here, calling it candy. I mean, doing essentially the exact same thing that a lib would do. Really no different at all. Back this up a little bit and play it to the end.
>> She would say that you're like a child who wants candy. He's referring to health care in the middle of a pandemic as candy. That's the exact talking points that came directly from the deep state, which which Hillary Clinton said all the time. That is not an activist. That is not a guy who stands up for the working people. That is not a guy who stands up for you. That is a guy who's there to trick you. That is a guy who's 100% compromised. That's who Joe Chsky is to this day because he's still alive. Yeah. And that's kind of uh in keeping with the revelations in these files, is it not? I mean, is it not? Does he not come off as a massive hypocrite when we look at the extent to which he coorted with Epstein? Wasn't just, oh, I had a nice dinner with him and Woody Allen one night. No, it was obviously much more than that.
And another piece of the video that Jimmy plays is his talk about um well it's their problem meaning the people who didn't want to take the COVID vaccine. He said well you know if we're worried about how they're going to get food how we're going to get food to them cuz he was for quarantining people who didn't take the vaccine. He was for like literally locking people down who did not take the shot. And he said uh well you know how how they're going to get food is that's their problem. No that's not their problem. It's not their problem. Food, clothing, and shelter are basic human needs. And if you're on the left, as no doubt Chsky is and has always been, you view basic human needs as akin to basic human rights. In other words, if something is a basic human need, it's a basic human rights. Shelter, housing, right? We consider that a human right because it's a basic need. Clothing, same thing. That's why there are clothing banks. uh food. It's a basic human need and therefore a basic human right. I would argue and I think most of the left would argue I would argue all of the real left would argue that in the era of medicine, medicine is a basic human need and therefore ought to be a basic human right. So food is a basic human need and therefore ought to be a basic human right. A basic human right is not conditional upon your choice to take a vaccine or not take a vaccine.
So th this guy has had many really shitty moments. I mean he has had ironically Chsky's career is a lot like Woody Allen's career. Woody Allen has put out a few masterpieces. He's also pinched out a few real turds. And Nam Chosky is the same way. uh done some really great work, done some really terrible work. He's a mixed bag. The attachment to him is something that I don't really understand. I'm not an academic. Maybe it's different. If you're in that world, uh that's fine. But Chris Hedges is a pretty accomplished guy. uh pretty accomplished academic and uh he had no problem uh telling the truth uh about what these uh Epstein files reveal about the character of Nam Chsky.
Once again, it's a question of character. Chsky is not implicated in any crimes. That much is obvious so far at least. Um, but it is a reflection on his character that he maintained this relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and clearly clearly misled people about the extent to which that relationship existed. He was careful not to overtly lie about it, but there's no doubt he was playing hide the ball. He was certainly playing hide the ball and that that is just as obvious as could be. And so, uh, good on Hedges for calling him out because Hedges, you know, uh, is not just, you know, a shit-talking podcaster like me. Uh, you know, Hedges is an academic. I guess he pulls some weight in that world. And so, I thought it was good of him to, uh, write that piece.
>> Please clap.