How-To-Be-Your-Own-Reporter-Bob Davis Podcast 915

How To Be Your Own Reporter

These days our minds are the new battleground. To fight back we have to be our own reporters. I’ll tell you how to do that in How-To-Be-Your-Own-Reporter-Bob Davis Podcast 915.

Politicians Lie

It’s especially relevant to point out politicians and so called leaders lie. If it’s Monday, they lie. If their lips are moving they are lying.

Start With Skepticism

Any decent reporter starts with being skeptical when it comes to those who wield power. From there it’s all about checking details and establishing fact. Why? Because we live in a world where the information channels are filled with crap. Moreover, it’s on purpose.

Investigate Sources

In addition most so called ‘news sources’ these days are thin on resources. Newspapers have cut their newsroom staffs. Television networks don’t always fact check. More importantly cable news is all about personalities and arguments.

We All Have Blind Spots

Most noteworthy are the biases we all come to the table with. We all have blind spots when it comes to the ‘leaders’ we think are ‘doing a good job’. That’s how they use us.

What We Want To Hear

Even more most of us want to hear what we agree with. We want to feel secure in our beliefs and conclusions. Consequently we gravitate to the sources, stories and personalities we agree with.

Get Rid Of The Blind Spots

Above all if you really want to understand what’s going on you have to work on getting rid of the blind spots.

How I Lost My Blind Spots

Certainly I’ll tell you how I lost my blind spots in How-To-Be-Your-Own-Reporter-Bob Davis Podcast 915.

Sources, Biases and Facts

Similarly I’ll give you some pointers on how to use your devices to run down sources, determine biases and establish facts.

I Do Not Advocate

Finally, it’s my policy and the policy of my podcasts not to advocate for or against issues. I don’t fight for politicians. I am not financed by political donors.

Conspiracy Theories, Horoscopes and Psychics

Furthermore the longer I do this the more I believe we have to work with the facts we know we can confirm. Conspiracy theories and opinions are fun. Horoscopes and psychics are for entertainment only, right?

Not Fighting To Convince You

In conclusion I’ve given up trying to convince listeners and subscribers. I don’t fight for or against a politician.

Some Stories And How To Do Your Homework

I’ll tell you some stories and help you become your own reporter in this extra extra podcast.

(Editor’s Note: I do this all the time, I talk about someone off the cuff, and get the name wrong. In this case I refer to a certain Doctor Redmond at the CDC. It’s Doctor Robert R. Redfield, recently in the news with the Coronavirus crsis response.)

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

How-To-Be-Your-Own-Reporter-Bob Davis Podcast 915

 

 

Landslide-Trump-Zombie-Dreams-Bob Davis Podcast 848

Unicorns and Rainbows For Trump Zombies

They call them ‘Trump Zombies‘. These days, to them, whatever he does is golden. The president’s fanboys are now claiming he will easily win the 2020 election by a landslide. What are the chances? In Landslide-Trump-Zombie-Dreams-Bob Davis Podcast 848.

Pundits Already See 2020’s Outcome

It’s more than a year from the 2020 election. The commentators and pundits are already telling us what will happen. Moreover their predictions are nothing more than wishful thinking.

Landslide. Really?

I’ll start with actual vote totals rather than early polls. Moreover I’ll talk about what a ‘landslide victory‘ is. Finally, what even an electoral landslide victory for the president would be built on.

Pundits On Rich Guy’s Dole

Certainly these pundits and commentators are on a rich political operator’s payroll. They’re voices are not their own.

I Know You’re Lying Cause Your Lips Are Moving

It’s most noteworthy that the things the people on TV and Talk Radio say often end up in the discourse. Especially when they’re telling you what you want to hear, which is when their lips are moving. Especially relevant is, people don’t know how to fact check the steady flow of nonsense that passes for ‘news’ in America. Even the fact checkers.

Independent Voices

As a result it is left to independent voices like me to go through the so called ‘battleground states‘ and examine vote totals from 2016, and review vote totals and turn out for 2018 to get closer to an answer to the question, could Trump achieve a landslide victory in 2020? That’s what I do in Landslide-Trump-Zombie-Dreams-Bob Davis Podcast 848.

It’s Votes Not Passion

In conclusion it depends on votes. Not passion. Not polls. Pundits don’t decide who wins. It’s easy to call a winner when the president is one of the known factors and the other team hasn’t picked a standard bearer.

Trump Zombies In Barcaloungers

Trump’s Zombie Army ought to plan on a lot of door knocking and hard political work if they want to win by a landslide.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

Landslide-Trump-Zombie-Dreams-Bob Davis Podcast 848

 

 

Back-Road-Trip-Chattanooga-Bob Davis Podcast-841

These days if you want to find out what’s going on you have to hit the road. We’re in Tennessee for a few surprises. Learn more in Back-Road-Trip-Chattanooga-Bob Davis Podcast-841.

Southeastern Tennessee is as Republican as it gets in this country. Even more, a modern economic miracle has taken place in Chattanooga, where a public private partnership has transformed the city.

All the talk about what people in this country might do in the 2020 election is most noteworthy. A theme in these podcasts has been attacking the perception that people with an R in front of their name are actually conservative.

Certainly Chattanooga is a miracle. Back in the day it was an industrial powerhouse. Due to it’s role it was considered one of the dirtiest cities in North America. A public private partnership turned it around. Learn more here.

In addition, Tennessee as a whole is certainly booming these days. From Volkswagen in Chattanooga to the music business in Nashville and the federal government corporate entity known as The Tennessee Valley Authority, things are good here.

Especially relevant to me though is the right-wing orientation of the state as a whole, and yet, all these institutions which might be considered socialist, by any other name.

Finally, local expert John E. Holland joins the podcast to talk about politics in the region and Tennessee’s burgeoning development strategy today.

In conclusion people here consider themselves ‘conservative’ down to flying confederate flags and wide margins for President Trump in 2016. Meanwhile public/private partnerships and Federal corporate assets allocate tax dollars and investment and they love it.

To be sure Tennessee as a whole is truly wonderful. When it comes to principles, though, one wonders what ‘conservative’ means, after all.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors

Back-Road-Trip-Chattanooga-Bob Davis Podcast-841