Podcast 241

One Week To Go. Election 2014 Update. On Wednesday morning November 5th, 2014, we will know most of the outcomes for US House of Representatives, and Gubernatorial races. We may not know the full result of the vote for US Senate. Close elections in runoff states mean that we may not know which party will control the US Senate until late on January 6th. Which races are close, which can be called now? In this podcast we’ll go through the close races, the races that will determine whether Republicans take control of the Senate, or Democrats retain a majority. There is, however, one key point about the ongoing Ebola debacle that needs to be addressed. The President spoke recently, attempting to pooh pooh the idea of establishing quarantines for returning ‘health workers’. The idea is, putting ‘health workers’ who are trying to help stop Ebola in Africa, will cause them to think twice before ‘volunteering’. Problem is, President Obama lifted his language directly from a New England Journal of Medicine article, written by Doctors. What’s going on here? First, ‘Health Workers’, are in fact Doctors and Nurses, who want special treatment. While we celebrate their interest in helping in Africa, we also celebrate our own Military Personnel who serve, and are being quarantined (including their officers, all the way to General) upon their return to base in Italy. Why do Doctors and Nurses expect to be treated as special citizens, when one of their own recently returned from West Africa to New York, with Ebola, to take a ride in an Uber Car, go Bowling, and ride the subway? Moreover, doctors and the President say science says a person with Ebola who is asymptomatic is not contagious, but in fact science is inconclusive on this subject. As far as election 2014 is concerned, baseless speculative reporting continues. Suddenly West Virginia is ‘going republican’, why? Maybe it has something to with Obama saying he wanted to put ‘coal out of business’? Oh no, it couldn’t be that, it must be that Hillbillies are racists and hate women. (Editor’s note: This is why I hate the ‘media’). Bloomberg’s Jonathon Bernstein says the media’s problem is there aren’t very many good reporters in states with close races, and he might be right. We know very little about key US House races. Minority leader Nancy Pelosi is reportedly bracing for deep losses for her party. As to the polls, CNN says ‘voters are angry’ (really?). Another poll says Latinos are ‘surprisingly’ OK with a Republican led Senate. Conventional wisdom is the enemy of objective analysis. Hispanic’s political views are becoming increasingly difficult to predict as this is not a monolithic group the media can latch onto, but they try. They sure do try. The polls show tough, close races in Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Alaska, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Louisiana, with some movement in Arkansas. Still, small sample sizes, and electronic interviewing make these polls highly questionable. Run offs in North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana (where there are multiple candidates) if the winner does not achieve at least 50 percent of the vote, mean there could be US Senate races in 3 states, we will not know the outcome of until after the runoffs. No one can say what will happen…the polls are just too close. Republicans could have a phenomenal night, a good night, or be disappointed, yet still win seats in the House and Senate. Democrats could retain control of the Senate, but lose seats in the house, or suffer heavy losses. It comes down to getting the vote out on election day (even with early voting). Sponsored by XGovernmentcars

Podcast 240

Media Fatigue. A voice mail from a friend sets a podcast about media in motion. ‘The Media’ occupies a big space in our society these days. Especially television. Especially the cable news networks. With people of a certain political persuasion, especially Fox News. At a recent political meeting, people were asked to raise their hands to answer three questions; How many attended a recent Basic Political Unit meeting (about ten), how many are precinct captains (about three), how many watch Fox News (everyone). Yes people are tired, frustrated, burned out, angry and confused, but they keep watching, and watching, and watching! Media is taking time away from citizen action to actually change things. What IS ‘The Media’? What effect does it have on society and individuals? Modern media has taken the space occupied by the fireside, by ceremony, by the shaman and priest. We think we are modern, but human nature hasn’t changed much. For all the things media does (entertain and inform), its primary purpose is to persuade. Print, radio, television and digital have different origins and textures, and are used for different reasons. Americans think they’re being informed but they’re being bombarded with emotional appeals, especially during elections. Reason and intellect are not in the media’s lexicon. We are ill served by poor reporting, story lines to keep people viewing and listening, and of course bias. There is nowhere to escape this constant stream of emotional persuasion, as long as you keep watching, hoping it will change. Are there times when television reaches high points? Absolutely. Does it happen very often. No. People have to learn to develop a strategy for what they watch, how they watch, and what they use the media for. (Editor’s Note: I counted 16 different things we can do and I list them in this podcast). People are constantly saying, ‘The mainstream media is biased, it has to change’. Why wait for the leopard to change its spots? Learn to use tools to watch, listen and read what you want, when you want it, how you want it. As things stand right now, media is making us more ignorant everyday. Expecting to BE informed from the mainstream cable news, talk radio and broadcast television, is a lost cause. Sponsored by Baklund R&D

Podcast 239

State Governors Revolt. As New York City gets its first Ebola patient, State Governors now want their own protocols for those coming into their states from West Africa. New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and other states may soon put in place screening protocols that are more stringent than what the Federal Government has put in place. Are Governors ahead of the President on this issue? Governors have to be decisive in a crisis rather than contemplative. The White House keeps saying stricter state protocols will mean aid workers won’t be able to go TO West Africa, but the problem is those coming back FROM Ebola stricken areas in West Africa. Could the CDC charter US carriers to take aid workers to Africa and bring them back, with a mandatory 21 day quarantine whether the returnee had Ebola or not? Call it ‘hysteria’ but the fact is, people are concerned. Telling them not to panic isn’t going to stop panic. The President has to act decisively to address this, not with political theater and not by telling people what he’s GOING to do. Would Airlines cease flights from these regions eventually, since they are responsible for their passengers safety? If Obama had been Governor of Illinois, is it possible he would be better equipped to handle this kind of situation? Meanwhile, there are irresponsible ‘journalists’ out there telling stories of Ebola ‘victims’ being ‘disappeared’, with no named sources, no confirmation of stories, or sourced to some other blog or article. On the political front, yet more polls, less than two weeks from Election 2014 announcing Republicans will win control of the US Senate. Polls in key states are tightening. Some states the GOP thought were wins a few weeks ago, are now in play. The same is happening with some democrat races. A new study shows, in statewide races decided within a point, Democrats win two thirds of the time, and for races within 2 to 4 points Democrats win half the time. Not good odds for Republicans in close races. Another concern is that early voting will increase the number of non citizens voting this year. Non citizens usually vote for Democrats. Now, these are wild cards, but take them into considering when everyone in the media is jumping on the Republican ‘wave’ bandwagon. Perhaps the best bellwether is Democrats who are already developing excuse stories. Republicans will win because they are capitalizing on unreasonable hatred of the President. Yet, Obama’s strongest supporters in 2008 and 2012 are suffering the most under his economic and social policies. Americans are not ‘divided’. There’s no ‘all blue’ or ‘all red’, we are divided politically by issue, not party. Republicans could win the Senate. Or not. We won’t know until after people vote on November 4th. Sharyl Atkinsson’s new book is out and it is said she proves bias at the top networks. Or, does she prove management at the big broadcasting companies are cowards? Sponsored by X Government Cars