Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739

President Trump’s comments with Russian President Putin in Helsinki this week kicked off a media firestorm. With stories like this it’s hard to tell which end is up, these days. We’ll talk about it in Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739.

A Disaster For The White House

Everything was going “so well” until the President went to Helsinki, Finland to talk to Russian President Putin.

Most noteworthy were comments from Trump that contradicted US intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Treason?

Were Trump’s comments a mistake or intentional?

Do they constitute ‘treason’? Really?

When You Have To Say Something…

As a podcaster I do not envy people who have to be on the air everyday and react to these kinds of breaking stories. When a president as unpredictable as this one makes news with every tweet and comment what does one say?

When Press Conferences Go Bad

It’s especially relevant to note the Trump-Putin summit did not result in any signed agreements. There was a cordial discussion. It was the joint press conference that kicked off a media rampage of truly biblical proportion in the US. It certainly didn’t help that Trump was unprepared, and proud of it.

We’ll break it down in Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739.

Telling Us What To Think

Moreover critics and supporters are busy telling all of us what to think and what will happen next. Either Trump’s a genius or a fool. He’s getting a second term or will be impeached. Academics write several hundred words supporting the so called ‘resistance’ or articulating the president’s policy for him.

Everyone On TV or Radio Is An Expert

Everything Trump does has ‘never been done before’. Former government officials are trotted out to tell us how this is the worst thing that has ever happened. Smarty Pants Professors tell us what Abe Lincoln or Woodrow Wilson would have done.

Now What?

In conclusion, are people really going to take to the streets because Trump upset the Mueller applecart in Helsinki? Is Trump in the process of destroying the Republican party? Are democrats doing the same thing on the left, by attacking everything the president does? Let’s talk about it.

(Editor’s Note: At the beginning of this podcast I say, “until Trump went to Russia”. Of course this is a joke. The president went to Helsinki, Finland for his bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.)

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Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739


 

 

FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723

Every once and a while it’s good to roll through the news and pick a few stories to talk about. Used to do this a lot back in the radio days. These days not so much. We’ll talk about it in FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723.

The Brits May Say Goodbye To FM

Radio is a good place to start. Seems the Brits are getting rid of the FM Radio Band. Listening to digital services in the UK is now over fifty percent. Meanwhile in the US, the radio industry insists on telling the world radio listening has never been higher.  I don’t believe it.

Young Adults Abandon Radio

Especially relevant is an informal survey I did recently of younger adults. I asked them if they listened to the radio. Virtually none of them have. In years.

Princess Leia On Your Smart Phone

Radio talk makes me want to talk about tech. Remember the Princess Leia hologram in the first Star Wars? The first holographic smart phone is due to hit the market this year. The Red Hydrogen One will allow you to shoot 3D video and projects a holographic display which doesn’t require special glasses to see. Another idea from Star Wars that has become real. Details in FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723.

Big Tech Makes Us Mad

When they’re not complaining about gas prices, people love to complain about social media and big tech companies. With so many of the top market cap companies in the tech world, like Amazon and FaceBook for example, people are getting worried they might be too big. Regulation is the answer, right?

Not So Fast

Big Tech Disruptors

What disrupts social media and tech companies? Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Currencies to name two. Blockchain, Smart Contacts and Community to name three more. Moreover when you combine these new ideas with robotics and a faster and more robust internet, the next big thing might not be Amazon, FaceBook, Google or Apple.

Maybe It Will Disrupt Big Government Too

If so called ‘Big Tech’ can be disrupted by this ‘crust’ of new tech ideas that give the consumer control of their identity and money, what’s the possibility for the disruption and eventual dissolution of our sclerotic government? Think about it with me in FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723.

Minnesota Where Corruption-I Mean Business As Usual-is Legal

In conclusion it’s business as usual in the land of ten thousand lakes. The 2018 Governor’s race is heating up. Retiring 1st district congressman Tim Walz just got the nod from Education Minnesota. This is a big endorsement for Democratic candidates. On the Republican side the more things change…

Attack Of The Re-Treads

Gubernatorial re-tread and wealthy banking lobbyist Tim Pawlenty has decided to forgo the Minnesota GOP’s State Convention at Duluth in the beginning of June. He says he got into the race too late. Truth is, the twenty or so rich guys in Minnetonka don’t like the grassroots political community. Find out why in FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723.

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FM-Tech-AI-Cryto-Gas-Governors-Week’s Best Stories-Podcast 723

The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619

Different Mysteries Left and Right

Susan Rice is the leaker. A political Flack. Running an operation to discredit the new president before he took office. Rice is at least guilty of a felony. At least that’s the story the right wing commentators are telling. In The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619.

On the left it’s a different story. National security became a top concern after someone hacked the DNC computers. The Russians did it. The Russians did it because Trump did some kind of back room deal.

Opinion Is Not News

In America’s increasingly partisan media most people only want their beliefs confirmed. There’s no chance a political point of view different from my own can be right. Is there? A sea of information. Where opinion masquerades as fact and personalities beat the drums. We’re supposed to dance to their rhythm.

We Know Nothing…yet

Real Facts? In The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619 we’ll see there are few facts. Russians hacking the DNC? Not so fast. Trump making deals behind the scenes with Putin? Obama ordering illegal surveillance of a president elect? Maybe. Maybe not.

Tin Foil Hats Anyone?

Evidence supporting claims of the right and left in this case is thin. All of it has the classic elements of conspiracy theory. So we’ll take a moment in The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619 to detail the known facts. You can draw your own conclusions. Mystery lovers beware though. We’re along way from wrapping this one up in the final chapter.

Basic Framework

Is Susan Rice a political operative? What is the legal framework regarding National Security Agency intercepts. Why did the Trump administration leak NSA documents to a congressmen? What provoked the president to tweet he was ‘wiretapped’ in the first place? Is there a difference between a wiretap and an NSA intercept? Who gets to see intercepts? What are the significant legal justifications for executive orders in 2011 and 2017 allowing sharing in the first place. Lots of questions.

Where There’s Smoke

One thing is true. The dust kicked up by the Susan Rice story obscures real developments. North Korean Missiles. Syrian chemical weapons. Congressional action on the ACA, Tax Reform and Immigration. We’ll talk about it in The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619.

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