War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891

A Drone Strike Blows Up Internet…And A General

First of all after the US killed an Iranian General with a drone strike, social media went nuts. In addition all the other media went nuts. I think it’s time we sorted it all out in War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891.

War-Anti-War Con Job

Furthermore when everyone wants to use the ‘facts’ they agree with and repeat arguments they hear on cable TV news it’s nothing but a war versus anti war con job.

Things Could Go Either Way

Certainly the United States is in a serious situation when it comes to Iran. In the wake of the airstrike things could go either way.

Real News Too Confusing and Complicated

Unfortunately no one was thinking about foreign policy when they voted in 2016. Moreover most Americans consider foreign affairs to be too confusing and difficult to think about.

Real World Too Complicated?

Above all when it comes to the US role in the rest of the world every action has a reaction. The hard part is managing reactions going forward.

You Want A Democracy? Grow Up!

Most noteworthy is the question of exactly what Americans want when it comes to foreign dealings. Sorry but it’s not as easy as a meme or a four line capital letters post on social media. More on that in War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891.

Shouting Matches Are Not News

Even more these things aren’t solved with split screen debates on television where guests are encouraged to get into shouting matches. Meanwhile we show pictures of planes and ships.

Explaining The Issue

Finally it’s time to attempt to explain the contours of this story. In contrast to the magpies on the line, I am not going to tell listeners and subscribers what to think or what to do. I will not do your homework for you.

Try Listening First

If we really want to figure this out then different points of view need to be heard.

(Editor’s Note: I mentioned my podcast on political populism and promised a link. Click here)

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War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891

Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825

Pope Francis is at it again. In his latest attack on capitalism he says the pursuit of career, success and wealth is sinful. This is a popular position to take these days. Do you agree? We’ll talk about it in Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825.

Extremes

Anything taken to the extreme can certainly be a sin. Maybe the Pope has gone too far this time though.

I Am Poor Because You Are Rich. Right?

Pope Francis seems to be reinforcing the idea that one person is poor because someone else is rich. So did Karl Marx.

Tax Breaks Are Bad Unless I am Getting Them

Moreover this theme is often taken up by anti capitalist protesters. In Paris they are complaining that the billionaires offering to fund the rebuilding of Notre Dame should be helping the poor instead. Amazon is criticized by the media for employing legal tax breaks to bring its tax bill down to zero. Everyone else employs tax accountants. Why? To lower their tax bills.

How Big Is The Pie?

Finally Pope Francis reinforces the idea that the pie is only one size. When one person takes a slice less pie remains. Fact is capitalism and capitalists make the pie bigger.

Hard Work And Focus On Success Is Now A Sin?

The popular notion the Pope is reinforcing is investors and entrepreneurs receive income exceeding the value and contribution they make to the process of production. In fact, investors and entrepreneurs driven by a single focus make production possible. How is that a sin?

Define Capitalism

As a result of this Pope’s statements one can only conclude he is attacking capitalism. What is wealth? Prosperity? Success? How does one define capitalism? I do in Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825.

Even Jesus Had To Work Hard

Above all accomplishing anything of human value isn’t easy. Any noteworthy contribution made by human beings from Lebron James to Jeff Bezos takes a lot of focus and work. The Pope might encourage that commitment rather than condemn it.

Dangerous Cynicism

In conclusion this Pope demonstrates a more dangerous cynicism. Especially when you consider the fact that the Catholic Church itself remains one of the largest real estate owners and tax free institutions in the world.

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Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825

Podcast 446

Media Manipulation. Checking out the news cycle before and after the debates, and in the last few weeks it sure feels like we’re being manipulated. You can’t say anything about anyone these days without a stream of tweets and posts about what’s politically correct, or charges that ‘you’re in the tank’ for this or that candidate. New story lines about Donald Trump are actually laughable. After his comments on the San Bernardino Terror Attack (not the San Bernardino shooting, as Hillary Clinton likes to characterize a terror attack) Trump was a racist, a fascist and a demagogue. Now that a new poll has been released showing Trump breaking through forty percent, with his closest challengers as much as twenty points behind, the story line is its the fading middle class, or dumb white high school only ‘blue collar’ workers who support him. Or, that Ted Cruz is suddenly ‘the nominee’ because he beat Trump by one point in a poll in Iowa. Because people in Iowa don’t know that they’re being surveyed, interviewed and chronicled to death as they ‘pick the next president’. Meanwhile not a vote has been cast. Kudos to the Cruz campaign for working hard in Iowa but let’s not forget Iowa (which is somewhere down there between New York and Los Angeles, for those of you in the media) Republicans voted for Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012 and gave Michele Bachmann a big boost in the Straw Poll in 2012. Were any of those people the Republican nominee, or even president? At the same time, almost no ink has been devoted to Hillary Clinton’s compulsive lying or Bernie Sanders’ fairy tales about how to fix the economy, or solve all of America’s social problems with another government program. While the pundits and commentariat blabs on and on trying to predict the future, manufacturing is in a recession, government and corporate debt are at record levels, companies are merging to pump up their fourth quarter earnings, Chinese officials admit making up economic numbers, commodities are depressed  and the Fed is about to raise interest rates. Iran has pulled its troops out of Syria because they’re getting their ass kicked by ISIS, which by the way is expanding into Afghanistan where they will get an assist, no doubt, from the guy we had locked up in Gitmo, but let go to get a deserter back. Don’t worry about that right now though, Anderson Cooper is on talking about Carly Fiorina’s dress, Donald’s smack down of Jeb! and the Cruz Rubio rivalry. Hey did the Wild win? Maybe we’re better off with astrologers. As long as its Vedic astrology, right? Sponsored by Pride of Homes and Luke Team Real Estate and Hydrus Performance