State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857

Weather Already Changing

Seems like all the media does these days is react to the President’s Twitter Feed. This creates stress. In Minnesota, the weather is already changing as we head to fall. That means it’s State Fair time. Many Minnesotans head to the state fair for anxiety relief. We’ll talk about it in State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857.

Working At The Fair

I don’t go to the state fair anymore. For me the especially relevant fact is over years I’ve spent hundreds of hours working at the fair. I’ve seen it change from an agriculturally focused event to a food fair.

Millions of Visitors But Not Me

Not that there’s anything wrong with a food fair. If that’s what you’re looking for Minnesota’s State Fair is probably the best in the nation. Moreover, switching to a more urban approach nets the fair hundreds of thousands of visitors per day, for the ten days it’s on.

Lost State Fair Podcast

Back in the day I recorded an audio project with friends at the Minnesota State Fair. A podcast before there were podcasts. I used to do a state fair podcast every year and drop in my ‘lost state fair podcast’, since it less than fifteen minutes long. No need to do that again. If you want to hear the lost state fair podcast, click here.

Freeze Baby

First of all when the weather changes my focus shifts indoors. I am what Minnesotan’s call a ‘freeze baby’. I don’t like being cold. Moreover I already miss the heat and humidity of late July. This year the humidity and heat departed the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes early in August.

Shifting To The Horrible Experience Of Social Media

As a result I am in the studio for State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857, late on a Saturday night. I can’t help but shift from telling some State Fair stories to talking politics and the reaction that subject garners on social media.

Running The Country From Twitter

In addition I single out the media again for seemingly reporting on a twitter feed. These days it feels like all the media does is report on the president’s twitter feed. Consequently we don’t report on outcomes anymore.

Telling Audiences What They Want To Hear

Even more it’s necessary for me to reinforce the fact that I refuse to join the ranks of partisan commentators either predicting the future or telling their audiences what they want to hear.

Focus On Society and Outcomes

As I have been saying, in contrast, my focus is increasingly on society. I am looking for outcomes. Conclusions. Things we can talk about that have some concrete presence in the world. I think the social media experience is increasingly negative, promotes anxiety, and gets us all nowhere.

Play The Game To Find Out Who Wins

In conclusion I refuse to do politician’s work for them. I think they rely too much on media magpies to formulate the explanations and excuses. Sometimes we have to play the game to know the outcome.

Cheese Curds and Something On A Stick

Finally sometimes it’s just good to take a pause at the end of the summer for some cheese curds and something on a stick.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating and Reliafund Payment Processors

State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857

 

Early-Election-Advisory-2020-Bob Davis Podcast 836

A Year Away And It’s Already Started

The 2020 election is more than a year away. Time and distance doesn’t stop the predictions about who’s running. Even more, who’s going to win. Time to come back to Earth in Early-Election-Advisory-2020-Bob Davis Podcast 836.

Sorry State Of Politics

One of the themes of my podcasts is the sorry state of politics in the United States. First of all our politics these days are driven completely by media. Social media. Cable News Channels. YouTube. Podcasting. All partisan. Usually owned by rich political operators.

Don’t Trust Everything You Read

Moreover it’s all about persuasion. Nothing we see or hear can be trusted.

Confirmation Bias

Tell us what they want to hear.

Make us feel good about it.

What I Won’t Do

Due to advocacy media, seems like the best thing I can do is tell you what I won’t do when it comes to coverage of election 2020. This kind of coverage is a great opportunity for independent voices.

Manipulation Is The Media’s Business

Certainly all the commentators and talking heads are busy convincing us of a point of view. Predicting the future, making assumptions on rumor and innuendo are the tools they use to manipulate viewers. Learn more in Early-Election-Advisory-2020-Bob Davis Podcast 836.

The Borg

Meanwhile local, state and the federal government take in huge sums of money and we don’t seem to have any control over how it’s spent. Consequently more of us feel government is the Borg. We can’t understand it, much less control it. And increasingly we don’t like this feeling.

No Predictions

Therefore with over 25 candidates for the presidency the best service I can provide is to steadfastly avoid predictions and identify my own biases.

Can’t Stand Any of Them

Finally, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate political skill. campaign wins and losses, political brinkmanship or propaganda. I just refuse to jump in on one side or another. I also refuse to predict the future and predict outcomes. Especially outcomes based on polls.

See It For What It Is

In conclusion, I have found the best way to learn what “The American People” might be thinking, is travel and actually covering these political events.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and WhiteTail Builders of Andover Minnesota

Early-Election-Advisory-2020-Bob Davis Podcast 836