Podcast 350

A Cold Day In LA. It might be said that it would be a cold day in LA before The Rolling Stone would have to completely retract one of its biggest stories, but it has happened in the wake of a review of the magazine’s UVa Rape story last year. The magazine blames a ‘fabulist’ story teller — the source — for the mistake. In reality, editors had to know they were publishing a story that did not adhere to any journalistic standard. Sources weren’t identified, or buttressed with other sources. The story of rape-crazy frat brothers sounded good, so what the hell. Let’s publish. Is this indicative of how the rest of the media operates? In California, the big story is drought. What’s not being reported is how the environmentalist elite in control of the state have fought one modernizing water project after another, over the years. Now, while rich Hollywood movie producers and actors water their lawns, the plebes are being charged extra for their water use. People like to decry the ‘fact’ that Congress gets ‘nothing done’ and ‘can’t work together’. Forget, for a moment that none of us are safe from the output of congress when it is ‘productive’, and that the general idea of law making should be to ‘do no harm’. President Obama likes to say Congress won’t work with him, and can’t get anything done either. So how is it the Vice President, Chief of Stafof and other minions at the White House are calling members top tell them the President will veto anything they might ‘produce’ which qualifies the fine print on the ‘Iran Deal’? This is how the President ‘works with’ Congress? Another big story line recently has been the ‘booming’ economy. A new employment report says the economy isn’t booming, in fact. Are we due for another recession? Finally, scientists are about to turn on the largest machine in the world. The Light Hadron Collector has been off for a couple of years, and will soon be back up and running. Get ready for earthquakes, Big Foot sightings, UFO’s and other weirdness. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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Podcast 284

Polar Vortex 2015. Perhaps we should start off by saying, “Previously on Polar Vortex”. It happens just about every year around this time in the Upper Midwest. It gets real cold. We call it winter. A few weeks of below zero temperatures with little relief. It’s been colder. Where are the cavalcade of ‘economists’ (astrologists) predicting the inevitably dour economic effects of the ‘polar vortex’? Surprise! Now that a Republican majority is about to take office ‘economic experts’ are optimistic! Touting 5 percent GDP growth, lackluster employment statistics and a host of other debatable ‘facts’, some formerly doom and gloom analysts are finding  rose colored glasses not used since the Bush administration. As a new Congress is about to be sworn in, scolds to tell Republicans, “It’s time to govern”! Isn’t ‘governing’ something both parties and all branches of government engage in? Not just a majority and not just one branch of the government? Freedom Works has declared Speaker Boehner ‘must go’, and thus the factional battles in the new Congress begin. Freedom Works instructs you to write, call or email your congressman and demand the speaker be retired! (Editor’s Note: A waste of time, since interns answer the phones, review emails and open letters, even writing replies. If you want to get your congressman to pay attention to you, you have to control votes or money, and preferably both. If you want to write, call or email, go right ahead, but don’t fool yourself. Until you’re organized, you’re nothing to them.) Next we have the ‘Restore America’ crowd. ‘Restore’ in this case means turning back the hands of time to 1950, everywhere in America. Uh…no thanks, there were no smart phones. Want to bet this will be Jeb Bush’s campaign slogan in 2016? What America needs isn’t ‘restoration’, but new ideas that meet the challenges of new technology and a world that doesn’t look anything like 1950. Now there is one place in the world where it is, in fact, still 1950. North Korea. Here’s a question; What if the Sony Hack wasn’t the work of North Korea’s ‘army’ of hackers? The FBI’s contention – and the President’s – is under fire from tech security companies. If it wasn’t the North Koreans and the President ordered a retaliation, this could be the first major Obama Screw Up of 2015. Stay tuned. Back home in the land of ten thousand lakes, and taxes, Minnesotans should prepare themselves for a gas tax increase. Democratic Governor Dayton has decided that while cheap gas acts ‘like a tax cut’, it just isn’t expensive enough for the dancing peasants, so we need an increase in the gas tax. Or something like that. Minnesotans need new trains, and bike trails and bridges are falling down, right? Not really, but it works every time. Meanwhile, Kurt Daudt, Republican Speaker of The House says there will be “give and take” this session. Sigh. And a final parting shot at ‘morning people’ and their arrogance. Nocturnal People Rule! Sponsored by X Government Cars, and Depotstar.  

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If Nothing Changes…

When the politicians in Washington see permanent, action oriented organizations in control of large blocks of money and votes, they’ll be singing your tune and they’ll keep singing it.