Podcast 275

Nye’s Bar To Close. The news came down in the last few weeks, the iconic Minneapolis Nye’s Bar will be closing sometime in August or September of 2015. The Bob Davis Podcast visits Nye’s on a Friday to give listeners the feel of the place. Opened in 1950, Nye’s Polonaise Room was kind of the grandma and grandpa bar in the late 70’s, and through the 80’s. Hipsters love its 1950’s decor, red naugahyde booths and kitchy piano bar. Nye’s Bar – featuring a polka band – is even funkier, and is older than the Polonaise Room. What’s not for hipsters to like? The owners are closing the restaurant and bar because they say, even with its popularity, there’s not enough business during the week, despite a ton of people there on the weekends, to keep the place open. What will replace Nye’s? A 20 to 30 story glass tower apartment building, according to owners. Minneapolis has always had a penchant for destroying the old, and putting up modern glass and brick buildings, and nothing has changed. The new city council apparently favors this kind of development, so don’t look for too many roadblocks. Yes, Nye’s owners ought to be able to do whatever they want with their business. But, regional plans, city plans, subsidies and things like taxpayer funded stadiums all over the place doesn’t bode well for mom and pop structures. Rents are going up. Costs to businesses are going up, as condos and apartments only trust fund babies can afford all over the city. They keep saying they want soul, but they keep tearing down all the soulful buildings. When is it too much development? What are the real costs of such subsidized development? This podcast also features some of the people singing at the Piano Bar. Some are better than others, but some of them were really good. Spend an evening at the Nye’s Piano Bar before it all goes away. It’s actually really special entertainment. In fact, play the podcast, and you’ll spend an evening at Nye’s again and again, long after it is gone. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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The Bob Davis Podcast

Podcast 274

Story Lines. A few loose ends on the big stories, heading into the weekend. Frustrating that most media outlets continue to peddle the story that all the President has to do is ‘order’ relations with Cuba normalized, and they are. Then comes all the stories about how it got done, who benefits, the businesses that are chomping at the bit to get into Cuba. Thing is, the law concerning sanctions on Cuba is different. These aren’t sanctions placed entirely with executive orders. A welter of laws regarding just how relations are to be normalized with Cuba will have to be repealed, or the President is going to have to demonstrate to Congress that Castro Land has suddenly become a free country. Meanwhile there is mounting evidence that ‘normalizing’ relations with Cuba will strengthen a murderous regime, and has enriched itself, and left the people of Cuba with nothing. These facts are apparently not interesting to the  media in the US. The President says sanctions haven’t worked against Cuba. Aside from asking ‘which ones?’, if sanctions don’t work why did Secretary of State John Kerry not say, just prior to sanctions being placed on Russia, ‘Sanctions work’. Well? Which is it? If they don’t work, why waste your breath on Russia, or for that matter North Korea. The US now says North Korea hacked Sony, with help from China and Russia. But it’s all Sony’s fault, right? Let’s look at it this way; Sony just got raped by a fraternity of North Koreans, Chinese and Russians and we’re blaming the victim? It gets weirder and weirder everyday. The Sony hack, and the company’s reaction, as well as the reaction of the United States Government, will have far reaching consequences. The President seems fine standing up to right wingers, clinging to their guns and religion, but apparently not when it comes to China, Russia and North Korea. With Obama on his way to Hawaii, for yet another vacation, don’t expect him to be standing up to anyone in the near future. The good news for the weekend? The IRS head says the agency may have to shut down for a few days because of budget cuts. Merry Christmas! We now know how to stop government spending. Just keep cutting the IRS until it closes, and they won’t be able to collect taxes, much less raise them. And, a winter storm is headed across most of the country for Christmas. In the upper midwest that will means snow. Sponsored by Depotstar. 

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Podcast 273

Cuba Libre! President Obama decides to normalize relations with Cuba’s Communist Regime, and forgets to ask Congress. As with all major news stories, the media leaves out key details, like the fact that several laws have to be repealed in order to actually ‘normalize’ relations with Cuba. Among the requirements, the end of the Castro Regime. Pesky laws don’t stop Obama from giving away the store to get ‘a win’. Besides, decisions to cut diplomatic relations with Cuba were made ‘before we were born’. Now you understand why the President doesn’t like the US Constitution. He doesn’t think you have to follow laws that were made before he was born. Notice also the Cuba story has now wiped the horrible school massacre in Pakistan by Taliban — the Taliban we’re supposed to be defeating in Afghanistan — off of your TV’s. Furthermore, there will be no discussion now about whether the Australia-Iranian -Sex-Offender-Terrorist had contact with IS, or whether the Canadian Parliament shooter had contact with IS (which both apparently did). Americans should be wary of these kinds of attacks which will be called ‘Lone Wolf’ attacks, but won’t be. Especially at schools. It is now reported that the North Koreans are behind the Sony Pictures Hack. After the ‘hackers’ (AKA the North Korean regime) made terroristic threats, Sony Pictures has courageously pulled the debut of the movie ‘The Interview’ which depicts two reporters, who get an interview with North Korean ‘leader’ Kim Jong Un, only to be tasked by the CIA to assassinate Un. Meanwhile, the US has suffered its first Cyber Attack Defeat. What’s the President — who’s actual real job as CINC is to protect the American People and companies from threats like this — going to do? Maybe he’ll normalize relations with the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ as well, but only if the Communist Pope helps him. Sigh. One thing is for sure, Little Jong Un sure is sensitive to ridicule, and thus our greatest weapon is in fact, intense and unrelenting ridicule. Rather than pulling the movie, Sony should announce it will make the darkest, most depressing and realistic portrayal of the moral sink known as Camp 22 (The North Korean death camps) and release it world wide. Don’t expect any more movies to be made telling the truth about tyrants, ever in Hollywood. Especially China or Russia. Correction, the moral sink is Hollywood. What a morass of hopeless cowards they are. Retch. Of course the news media runs a close second. Got a story about a high school kid that made 72 million dollars in the stock market. Great! Run It! Fact Check? Dammit, we want eyeballs. Readers. Clicks! Oops, New York Magazine’s Jessica Pressler fell for a high school rumor and got burned because she didn’t fact check. The kid’s parents forced the freshman to come clean. No, he didn’t make any money. Zero. Meanwhile, TIME magazine has just told their reporters and writers that if they aren’t popular on the Internet, they will be fired. And you wanted facts! (Editor’s Note: I think I refer to New York magazine as New Yorker magazine in this podcast, but what the hell. Why let a fact get in the way.) Sponsored by X Government Cars. 

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