Podcast 428 – Twila Brase

Twila Brase. A hybrid ‘double header’ podcast, from the road. First, a promised airing of the interview with Twila Brase, co founder of Citizens Council For Health Freedom. Twila talks about how Obamacare might or might not be repealed, the health of Minnesota’s ACA Exchange ‘Mnsure’, the future of health insurance, health care under the next presidency and the politics surrounding this issue. This weekend, Mobile Podcast Command headed to Chicago for a high school reunion of sorts. This podcaster is the product of a revolutionary ‘vocational training program’ at one of the Chicago Area’s biggest high schools. At the center of this program was a student run real radio station (and today a TV station and web presence as well). For us, it was the only reason we even bothered to show up everyday at a high school teeming with thousands of students (about a thousand for each year at the time). There was a lot of talk this weekend about how ‘the program’ brought together kids from all different parts of the high school social spectrum, but really, it was a bunch of outcasts from every high school ‘caste’. Oddly enough it was very much like John Hughes’ masterful portrayal of big city high school life “The Breakfast Club”, except this was a radio station, rather than a detention hall. As the podcast says, “I don’t go to reunions, I go to reunions for my high school radio station, because I didn’t graduate from high school, I graduated from the radio station.” So in the second half of this podcast some observations about life, living your life on the air, and how wonderful it is to hang out with people who know you so well from those formative years. Life is certainly no bowl of cherries, as the saying goes, but one wonders whether we really do change from the time we are 16 or 17, to when we go back home for that big reunion. It’s great to be able to celebrate others’ success, life, and remember those who have passed. It’s also really great to get back on the highway, Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, Pride of Homes and Luke Team Real Estate. 

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Podcast 326

Live From The Mall of America. In the wake of shadowy threats of terror attacks at the Mall of America, a ‘courageous’ podcast live from the mall on a Monday night. (Editor’s Note: Maybe someday I will be able to embellish this story to make it sound like I braved tribal fighters, and small arms fire to bring you this podcast, but not really.) As Congress debates defunding as a protest over President Obama’s executive orders on illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security begins to plan for the imminent ‘shutdown’. Except the department doesn’t really shut down. Some fifteen thousand employees – mostly in the TSA – will be ‘furloughed’. The rest of its employees and managers show up for work, though they may miss a paycheck or two. Keep in mind, federal employee benefits and pay are much higher than the private sector. So, while Dave the TSA guy may have to stay home for a few days, he has a job when this whole thing is over. But when you get laid off from that major retailer, you’re out of a job. So, pardon me for not gnashing my teeth over the DHS ‘Shutdown’. This year’s Oscar telecast may as well have been a Sunday morning talk show on MSNBC for all the posturing and political speech, not to mention its ratings. What does Hollywood do when it has a bad year? Trot out stars to make political statements, so people talk! Apparently the word is, the producers of the Oscar telecast think that since the Academy is mostly old, white and rich, they needed to spice it up. The problem is, middle America has just about had it with billionaire screen stars telling them what they ought to believe about anything. It’s becoming obvious Hollywood and Washington are out of touch. In this podcast a little about the history of Hollywood’s involvement with Washington, and its shadowy ties to the Chicago Outfit. And if the scolds telling you what to think isn’t enough, now the Federal Government wants you to switch to a plant based diet. Yep, they want to make your dad a vegetarian, and monitor his television viewing. That’s all we need. The good news is the redemption of coffee. Researchers now say the Black Gold is one of the best things for you, and you can drink a lot more than you do. Sponsored by Depot Star. 

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Podcast 321

Updating The Big Stories. Live from the wood stove at the broadcast bunker. On the heels of Podcast 320, concentrating on the Islamic State issue in US foreign policy, some updates on this and other stories. Jeb Bush gives a major foreign policy speech in Chicago, with little more than rhetoric featured except for the announcement that a number of old Reagan and Bush 1 and 2 hands will be assisting ‘The Future President’, Jeb Bush. Is old Cold War and Neo Conservative/Interventionist policy what the United States needs? Or do we need something a little more updated? For Bush this is the safe (and smart) bet for Republicans, but he still did not map out a plan. Meanwhile in Brownsville, Texas a District Court judge has put a hold on President Obama’s plans to ‘reform’ immigration with executive orders. Some people think the lower court ruling is the Supreme Court. The suit was brought by a score of states that claim they are irreparably harmed by the President’s orders, and the President plans to appeal. Some believe the White House has a better chance in higher courts. Others believe this will go all the way to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, chances are the ruling will hold while the states continue with their suit. The scolds are at it again, this time saying the technology revolution had produced no productivity change. Scolds say the tech comparison to the invention of the Light Bulb, or the automobile and their impact on society is poppycock. Why is it Scolds always cite Facebook and Hacking, or the NSA and Ed Snowden as examples of ‘tech’ when they want to suggest ‘tech’ hasn’t really amounted to much? It depends on how you measure productivity, and what years you compare. Moreover, the technology revolution is just getting started. The smart phone is really only a few years old. Flexibility offered in almost every industry with IT has changed how we do business, where we do business, and where workers are when they work. Still greater developments are only starting to be researched. For example, drug companies and silicon valley are teaming up to research reverse aging. If people can live substantially longer lives, without aging, or reverse aging, that will probably have a pretty big impact on how productive our economy is. Would you volunteer to take a trip to Mars? Before you respond, there’s one catch. It’s a one way trip. 100 people have already volunteered for the Mars 1 mission, 24 will be chosen. They will spend the rest of their lives on the angry red planet. If you have issues with so called millennials, you might want to hear what some of the volunteers – in their twenties – said about why they want to take a trip, from which they will never return. Their commitment to the bigger picture is sobering. Sponsored by X Government Cars. 

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