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 As with all major news stories, the media leaves out key details, like the fact that several laws have to be repealed in order to actually ‘normalize’ relations with Cuba.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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Podcast 272

Christmas Insanity. Stories we are missing because of all the reporting on Congress, Oil, Australia and … Christmas. Suddenly we have to be told how to ‘deal’ with the Christmas Holiday, by practicing ‘abundance without attachment’. In english, that means we should not criticize commercialism, or judge materialism, but be unattached to money and just enjoy ‘the experience’. (Editor’s Note: I am well acquainted with the concept of practicing non attachment, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the rash of lazy journalism regarding spending money during the ‘holiday season’.) The biggest problem is expectations, being generating because of all the emotional stimuli in commercials and these incessantly cheerful all christmas all the time radio stations. Maybe the bad reporting comes from the fact that this is the worst time of the year to be doing issues or news based media, since people are checking out. Nothing is wrong with materialism, even the love of money. What’s wrong is the media’s obsession with predicting economic performance based on individual sales days like black Friday and Cyber Monday. The whole season becomes an economic bellwether? The truth is, its only since about the 1930’s in the US that Christmas per se, has become this macro holiday, with all its attendant markers for the wider economy. The best Christmas gift so far? The Sony Hackers. Revealing how Hollywood is actually the rapacious capitalist, rather than Wall Street. Anyone want to see if millionaire Senator Elizabeth Warren will take on greedy Hollywood execs? Why is it always Wall Street Banks, or dirty industrial companies. Eew. Do we still value people who actually make things? Or do we care more about the perfumed princes and princesses of Hollywood and the whales, global warming, public-private partnerships to preserve water and other nonsense. MSNBC’s days may be numbered. A new digital service called MSNBC Shift will be testing programming for the ailing progressive mouthpiece no one is listening to. Don’t rule out a completely new approach’ sports or entertainment. While Fox enjoys huge audience numbers, they sit astride a delivery channel (cable television) that may actually have an expiration date. Remember when Global Warming enthusiasts said warming causes tornadoes? The US had fewer tornadoes in the last three years, since they started measuring these things back in the 1950’s. And finally, the dumbest story of the week; “Scientists” say the warmer it is, the less you make. 54 degrees is the optimal temperature for productivity. Sigh. Sponsored by Baklund R & D. 

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Podcast 271

Gas Oil Collapse. Energy and Oil and Politics. We may be at the beginning of the end of an era in the energy markets, politics and economic policy but people are never going to figure it out with the terrible job the media is doing reporting on these topics. Gas is below two dollars in 13 states, crude trading at 55 dollars a barrel, with more drops expected. Meanwhile, OPEC refuses to cut production, even refuses to hold a meeting to discuss it. The drop in oil over the last few months of 40 percent so far, most of it in the last two months is beginning to have an effect. OPEC’s price war on Frackers in the US, Canada and Brazil, the international version of a gas war, is beginning to have economic and political effects. When the cheerleaders talk about oil ‘acting like a tax cut’, remember there is a lot more to this story. If energy production in the US is a big piece of the manufacturing boom, what happens when lower prices curtails exploration? Will lower oil and gas prices still act like a tax cut? What about disinflation, or outright deflation in commodity prices? What about dropping demand due to economic slow downs in China, Europe, and Latin America? Do you think the US is ‘decoupled’ from the rest of the world’s economies? On Wall Street, the story is completely different. There, investors are moving money from the market to long term Treasury Bonds, an indication of expected weakness? Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will be hard pressed to raise interest rates (which its wants, and perhaps needs to do) in the face of declining commodity prices. This isn’t just an international problem. A Minnesota State Legislator wants to reduce farm property taxes, due to the decreased revenues farmers are seeing on their crops. As the sun sets on the Democrat Senate Majority, and rises on a huge Republican majority in the US Congress as well as state legislatures and governor’s mansions, we’re also about to enter a new era in politics, or perhaps close an old one. How will the last two years of the Obama administration differ from the previous 6? Despite the President’s progressive rhetoric, does the budget deal indicate will be a little different when it comes to horse trading with Congress? Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating and Depotstar. 

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