Podcast 488

Sick Of Politics. Yeah. Sorry. Sick Of Politics. I’m not the only one. When it’s above 70 degrees and sunny for an entire weekend in the upper midwest, no one wants to talk about whether or not the delegate selection process in Georgia and Colorado is messed up. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, people headed up to the lake to put the dock in, raked their lawns, washed their cars, sat on the deck blinking in the sun, and were amazed, tantalized and thrilled with late May weather in Mid April. I certainly remember mid April tax return mailings when it was snowing, or 30 degrees and raining. Aside from the ‘bring on more of this global warming’ jokes, it is pretty amazing to be able to get a sunburn around here at this time of year. Meanwhile, the cable news jockeys continue to drone away about what this one said about that one, whether the primary process should be scrapped for something else – don’t ask – and how the byzantine ‘state delegate selection process’ is flawed, as though anyone ever gave a damn before this ridiculous election cycle. God! Bring back the smoke filled rooms, cigar chomping, pinkie ring wearing, bourbon drinking ‘operators’. What would happen if we woke up tomorrow and suddenly there wasn’t anymore 24 hour cable news, talk radio, Facebook or Twitter? What would we think about? Is it possible we might discover what we have been thinking about below the crust of all this 24 hour news cycle generated angst and frustration? How would that sit with you? What do you think about when you’re not receiving or transmitting? A late night live podcast from the deck of the broadcast bunker, complete with planes, sirens and a very large mosquito. Mosquito’s already? And so it begins. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Hydrus Performance.

Podcast 483

Political Depression. To close out March, 2016 after a quick review of this week’s headlines, one can only conclude we’re in a Political Depression. It’s depressing to read about and depressing to talk about. Yet, there are compelling developments to talk about. On the heels of the Marco Rubio announcement that he will not release ‘his’ delegates to the RNC on the first ballot, and a letter from a North Dakota Republican National Convention Official which states that the delegates are not bound, even on the first ballot, the time has come once again to remind listeners and voters you have not been caucusing and voting for presidential candidates for 2016. The people who will choose the 2016 nominee are the delegates to the national convention, chosen by congressional district. So, in Minnesota if you left the caucus after casting your straw poll votes, and did not get a chance to go to the BPOU convention, and then onto the congressional district convention where you might have been chosen as a delegate to the RNC, you were wasting your time. In fact, people voting in the primary elections on both sides of the political spectrum appear to have been wasting their time, since both party ‘establishment’ structures have taken pains to point out the delegates choose the candidates, and the party bosses have that well in hand. Are we going to be saying hello to a Bush running against a Clinton, or a retreat of 2012 for the RNC, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan? The next waypoint in this process will be when we get to the end of the primary and caucus process which ends sometime around June. If Ted Cruz or Donald Trump do not get the required number of 1237 delegates – enough to win a vote on the first ballot – the convention will be thrown into chaos. What does the Republican Party stand for? Once the general election gets underway, its going to become quite clear how much damage this cycle’s primary season has done to the republican party. What about the future? What do republicans stand for? Are they free trade or protectionist? Big government or limited government? Driven by religion, or open minded? Will republicans give up and just allow party officials to dictate to them who to vote for, or will they finally start working on on building a real grassroots political movement? Time will tell. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, X Government Cars and Pride of Homes Real Estate.

Podcast 482

The Story Less Travelled. As the pay for play media continues to chatter about what Donald Trump did this week, or Bernie Sanders’ predictions about democrat super delegates switching allegiance to him, maybe it’s time to take a look at The Story Less Travelled. Some percolating stories and issues people really aren’t talking about because they’re arguing about how tabloids post stories, how Internet rumors get started, how Donald Trump is going to make US allies pay ‘us’ for security, or why Bernie Sanders’ thinks Detroit became a hell hole in the last fifty years. There are real things happening in the world, most of which are reported on but not occupying very much attention, because too many pundits, talk hosts, talking heads, editors and managers are doing the bidding of political parties, candidates and their minders. What happens if Saudi Arabia decides to switch their alliance to China and Asia, which will account for the lion’s share of growth in energy consumption over the next ten years? What happens when economic instability due to massive debt and low profits comes home to roost in the banking system? How do you feel about academics going around saying the days of 4 percent and greater economic growth are over, and the solution is a world wide socialism-lite system, with more government and higher taxes? How will future presidents – the people filling your television screen with nonsense right now, and getting accolades from talkers, pundits and so called experts for it – confront a collapsing China, a Europe embroiled in a guerrilla war with thousands of ISIS fighters, and an economic depression. Maybe we should be talking about The Story Less Travelled more than what they want us to talk about. Sponsored by X Government Cars, Brush Studio in the West End, Saint Louis Park and by Hydrus. (Editor’s Note: This is not a ‘transcript’. Each podcast, which is original content in itself, also is accompanied by a short blog about the podcast. This blog is also original content, not a repetition of what is in the podcast, but a discussion of some of the ideas in the podcast. If you want to know what’s in the podcast, listen to it.)