Podcast 380

Rural Virginia. The road trip continues in the Old Dominion. It’s already hot in the south. As darkness falls, the night is alive with frogs, and insects; Many invading the Mobile Podcast Command Unit. With no bug spray, an interesting collection of available tools was used to rid the unit of critters. A hair dryer, compressed air for cleaning electronics, swatting, biological cleaning spray, and lysol air freshener. Then, finally down to business. A few hundred yards down a dirt road where this podcast was recorded are the remains of a village that has been here since before the revolutionary war. How often do we think about where this country will be in one hundred, or two hundred years. The people who lived here two hundred years ago depended on an expression of modern technology – at the time – to assure their livelihood; The mill. They did not know they were living in ‘ancient’ times by our standards. They didn’t worry about slow Internet, or decry broadcast television and its endless commercial clusters detailing drug side effects or how much cheese is on a pizza. When it comes to the news, this podcast has some stories for political junkies to consider. No one seems to be able to say with any clarity or authority what’s wrong with economy, or why its important. Meanwhile the same story lines regarding the latest GDP numbers keep replaying. Then there is the trans pacific partnership trade authority bill republicans are inexplicably supporting. More executive authority for this president? American citizens can’t review or read the bill and reporters can’t read it either. That doesn’t stop Paul Ryan and the Speaker, and the Senate Majority leader and other so called ‘conservatives’ from supporting it. Meanwhile, the Chinese have apparently hacked all the US Government data bases and extracted potentially damning information about high US officials. How is it possible the FBI can fly over our cities listening to our cell phone calls, but the government is unable to protect our privacy rights from the Chinese? We have a government that can’t seem to protect our rights, is riddled with incompetence and corruption, but seems to be quite capable of violating our privacy, and running amok. Why couldn’t Americans find reasons to shut down the federal government, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum. And another theme that comes up every time we approach a presidential cycle is ‘why don’t we have an independent political party’. The solution, according to some brainy analysts, yet more candidates in the debates. Sigh. The fact is, American political parties have traded places, shifted and changed names, and have been born and died throughout our history. Sponsored by X Government Cars. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:00 — ) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Podcast 337

Global Warming & The Left. In the midst of a solar storm, just ahead of a full solar eclipse and the Spring Equinox, a lot is going on in the heavens and here on Earth. As Europe braces for power outages due to the solar eclipse, suddenly Global Warming returns as the left tries to make it a cornerstone issue for the 2016 narrative. Will it succeed? As two traders are making headlines with a research piece that uses the Global Warming’s own data to devastate their position that ‘warming’ poses an existential threat to the world, a new movie conflates people who favor capitalism and free markets with ‘dangerous climate change deniers’. Former Vice President Al Gore demands that ‘deniers’ be ‘punished’ and a US Congressman demands the financial records of a scientist who has the temerity to disagree with the climate change bolsheviks. Really? Now Free Market advocates — capitalists — are to be persecuted? What is an actual ‘existential threat’? Might it be suggested that an existential threat to America is anyone, or anything that wants to do away with free markets and capitalism? Major environmental groups gathered last year in Venezuela (that wellspring of freedom), said ‘the structural causes of climate change are linked to the current capitalist hegemonic system.’ But, if anything science isn’t settled. For decades we have been hearing first freezing, and then warming end-of-the-world scenarios that have spurred some great movies (Mad Max) and some not so great movies (Water World). Peak Oil, Peak Food, over population, Peak Water, massive poverty, famine and world wide collapse. Oh, and the one about Manhattan being underwater by the 2000’s, that didn’t turn out so well either. In 2016 the left will try to pull together Climate Change, Inequality, Minimum Wage Fairness and Justice and use populist tactics to drive home a powerful theme; Only they can help us from imminent collapse and destruction. You take these ideas on faith, because there’s no proof of the problems, or proposed solutions. The existential threat facing the United States is the political left in this country no longer believes in science, the rule of law, or basic economics, if it ever did. What it believes in, is using science, law and economics as a means to an end. Because it is a social movement, based on subjective ideas, dissent will not be tolerated. In the next few decades we will create one of two worlds. A world where an individual can harness their creativity to create growth for everyone, or a world where our creative impulse is shackled and eventually destroyed. What is the purpose of the US Constitution and government if it is not to protect our rights. This is the one thing we have to get right. What happens when politicians actually have the fight? Ask two winners; Scott Walker and Benjamin Netanyahu. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:37 — ) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS