Podcast 393

Live From EAA. Road trip to Osh Kosh, for the Experimental Aircraft Association Air Show and Convention. Sunday night is set up night, providing an opportunity to review recent trips to Waukesha and Davenport to cover political events, and to talk a little about the difference between political events and shows like this one. Maybe it’s as simple as the differences between tribes; People who are in the political tribe after certain characteristics, and people in the aviation tribe have certain different characteristics. What started as an experimental and individual builder get together has turned into a technology, history, and aviation show with exhibitors big and small. In some ways it compares favorably to the big state fairs across the country this summer. Somehow talking about politics doesn’t feel as good as talking about planes, and technology, here in Eastern Wisconsin, at the peak of summer. Still, some points need to be made before we head off into the wild blue yonder. Again the point is made that television news in particular magnifies and amplifies events that used to be state by state almost private affairs; self selected delegates and caucus attendees ‘interviewing’ potential candidates, and figuring out who they might support when a state’s primary election or caucus is held. Now these affairs are conflated with news events on a national or international scale. Are they news? Is it news when Donald Trump says something silly in a meeting of a few hundred (at most), a third of which are national media? Is it news if Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are forced off a stage somewhere at a meeting of rag tag leftists? Maybe its statewide news, maybe its political news, but ‘go-to-live-coverage’ and ‘breaking news’. Not yet. The ideas that will drive 2016’s presidential election are still forming, so commenting on them, trying to define them, is almost pointless when you can hear the corn growing if you stand real still in a field in Wisconsin, or Iowa. Whether or not any of the score of declared candidates can rise to the level of being able to connect with people who aren’t political groupies remains to be seen. Meanwhile, there is a B-52 and a Ford Trimotor warming up on the runway, and that seems more interesting. Sponsored by X Government Cars

PODCAST 392

Real Iowa Politics Live. I decided to cover an additional Scott Walker event in Iowa for two reasons. After covering the Walker announcement in Waukesha, Wisconsin in podcast 391, I have a reference point for Walker, so covering on additional appearance by the Governor, especially in Iowa would be a good pair of companion podcasts. So, it was off to Davenport, Iowa from Minneapolis. The road trip started at midnight, arriving at Davenport’s Modern Woodmen Park, home of the ‘Bandits’, a minor league baseball team at about 5:30 AM. After a short nap, I would be covering Scott Walker’s appearance later in the day. There’s a big difference between watching an event on live television and actually being there. Modern media amplifies, magnifies and distorts reality. It was amazing to see the network cameras set up for the live shot, or to tape, with no reporter. I’m assuming someone in another city slices and dices the speech. When you have video, who needs to be there. This is why I decided to come to a political event in Iowa. I learned a lot. Most of these events at the present time are pretty small ball, but I was shocked to learn that one presidential ‘candidate’ after another has trooped through, sometimes two or three a day, to rub noses with Iowans, just because they cast the first votes in caucuses and primaries in 2016. Iowa Republicans do not trust the media — even podcasters like me — and they’re perfectly content with a status conferred upon them by virtue of their caucus date, the media and the politicians trooping through these rooms all over the state. Walker is a disciplined candidate, delivering exactly the same speech, in exactly the same way, except for a moment of prayer for the recent victims of the Marine Base shooting. Still, the ‘reporting’ on Walker tends to be long on snark, and short on actual analysis and illumination of what he has done in Wisconsin and what he is proposing on the campaign trail. With a track record of actually doing what he says, you would think the media might actually want to put some effort into analysis. But no. Mostly snark. And, there’s a train in this podcast. Put headphones on and experience what an Iowa political event feels and sounds like. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Podcast 382

Travel Frustrations. When traveling sometimes, nothing goes as planned, and even the smallest effort to go where you intended, or do what you intended, fails. Its frustrating and eventually mind numbing. The bane of the digital traveler these days is Internet service that is too slow, spotty, or not robust enough to accommodate file uploads. Attempt after attempt to upload failed, in different villages all over Maryland’s Eastern Shore. From Salisbury, to Easton, and finally to Rock Hill. Literally the ends of the earth … but in the process riding on two lane farm roads in what is probably one of the most beautiful parts of rural America, in the middle of some of the largest population centers on the East Coast. There’s a great opportunity out there for enterprises to get free WIFI and robust Internet service right. As more and more people consider ‘untethering’; Something more big companies than you think are considering. It means closing offices, getting rid of big staffs and running things from the road, untethered. This is supposedly made easier with high speed Internet and WIFI, and autonomous software that does the work of the back office. All fine and well, but the places you want to go sometimes just don’t have the capabilities to accommodate a digital ‘road warrior’. So far, Starbucks has it down cold, with high speed internet for uploads, and free WIFI. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to log in on, no nonsense. There may be other solutions fine for surfing the net, but when it comes to uploading it’s a different story. Note to someone; We can’t work untethered if the upload capacity isn’t there. In spite of all that, there is enough technology present in the Mobile Podcast Command Unit, to make it possible to do quality audio from the road. The bottle neck is sending it somewhere. Travel may be frustrating but the happy accidents are what makes it worth the time. Having the opportunity to literally drive all over Del Marva Peninsula from the Atlanta to the Chesapeake Bay, from Norfolk and Virginia Beach, to Baltimore, also provides an opportunity to see a lot of this part of the country from the backroads. The reality? Some people may think the United States is coming apart at the seams, but it looks pretty prosperous from this perspective. Maybe some ought to stop shouting about the end of the world and start talking about how and why they think things should be a certain way. It’s hard to think people are enjoying these perfect summer days on the East Coast, shaking their heads and waiting for the ‘Walking Dead’ scenario to play out. Sponsored by X Government Cars