Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767

Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767

With just about two weeks to go until election day 2018 polls are showing tighter races. Suddenly the narratives and storylines the media loves are thrown to the wind. Find out what’s changing in Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767.

Listen To The Election 2018 Series

Especially relevant are the series of podcasts I did looking into all the so called ‘toss up races’. What I found is detailed in that series. Listen to those podcasts here.

House Senate and Governor’s Elections Are Tightening

In addition what I suggested in my series on the midterms is many of these house, senate and governor’s elections would be close anyway. Sure enough across the country polls show tightening races as we come down to the wire.

Media Bias?

Are media elites in Washington and New York City operating from a world view that sees the possibility of a so called ‘blue wave‘ election when there hasn’t been much evidence to support this view? Find out in Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767.

A Primer on Polls. Again.

Finally there are the polls. In this free wheeling podcast I give subscribers and listeners another quick primer on the polls. Polls do not ‘predict’. Polls do not ‘say’. Closer elections make it more difficult for pollsters to ‘predict’ outcomes.

One Poll To Watch Out For

The New York Times/Sienna College poll is singled out in this podcast as problematic. This poll is showing wide variances in its results for candidates in Tennessee, Minnesota and many other places. Should democrats and republicans believe this particular poll. In the absence of any other polls to trend I would tell my listeners to be very dubious of this poll. I’ll tell you why in Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767.

In conclusion the mad rush to analyze the impact of news events on the election, on a day to day basis, is probably a mistake.

This one is going down to the wire to a photo finish!

Sponsored by Citizens Council For Health Freedom and John D Scott Personal Injury Lawyer

Photo Finish-Down To The Wire-Election 2018-Podcast 767

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Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727

Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727

These days one of the things you learn on a road trip is how big the United States is. Then, how big individual states are. Finally the traveler discovers how each state is different. In Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727.

Get Off The Interstate

Most noteworthy is what happens when you get off the Interstate and onto the back roads. That’s when you really see how it is.

Covering Politics In 2018

2018 is an election year. I said I would cover the Minnesota political scene this year. The first stop is the Minnesota State Republican Convention. Duluth. On the shores of Lake Superior.

Minnesota History

Furthermore some of the state’s old hands don’t know Minnesota’s unique social and political history. We’ll discover it together in Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727.

Town Hall Is In Our Blood

Sure, we know our pioneer history. Especially relevant is the unique history of political grass roots and town hall style representation.

Minnesota’s first settlers were New Englanders and New Yorkers. They brought town halls with them. Later immigrants from Scandinavia, Germany and Ireland formed the bedrock of so called ‘progressive‘ politics in the state. Therefore, those ideas are still with us.

Yes Republicans Were Progressives and Populists Too

In addition while some people assume progressive politics these days is only the political left, republicans too have a long history of progressivism. Find out in Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727.

Tim Pawlenty Tries To Derail Caucus Process

Will the grassroots system survive in Minnesota? Former republican Governor Tim Pawlenty isn’t attending because he’ll be clinking crystal with rich guys at the Minneapolis Club. Pawlenty’s operatives will push the convention to refuse to endorse a candidate for governor. This is the main issue in Duluth this weekend.

Do We Really Want To Dump The Town Hall?

Moreover populists and progressives go back to the roots of Minnesota Republicans and democrats. Probably a big part of that process has been town hall style politics in the caucus system. Most of all do we really want to get rid of it?

Surprises In This Podcast

In conclusion as I researched this podcast I learned a few surprising facts. I think you will too.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Two things. First, it’s not 35W heading to Duluth, it’s just 35 North. Being a Twin Citiean, I have to get on 35W before 35 North. Second, for some reason I thought the State DFL convention – the democrats – was being held in Rochester, Minnesota the week after the Republican Convention in Duluth. Once again those sneaky democrats have managed to slip out of my grasp. It’s in the 40’s in Duluth and the 80’s in Rochester. Given the quality of the speeches in Duluth this weekend, I wish I had gone to Rochester!)

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Minnesota Road Trip-Progressives-History-Politics-Duluth 2018-Podcast 727

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Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Blue skies and sunshine on this Storm Chasing Trip. With no storms, it’s a good time to visit the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center at Norman, Oklahoma. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center is where where all severe weather predictions and updates originate. We’ll go in inside, In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Storm Chaser Valhalla

Storm Chasers use information that originates at Norman. Why? Doppler Radar was developed here. Scientists in Kansas City spent springs here back in the day, to research storms. There was a naval air station here. So, there was plenty of room to locate a brand new radar system.

NEXRAD

Doppler Radar has been a game changer since its inception in the 1990’s. NEXRAD changed and continues to change how the world learns about severe weather. In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Secure Facility

The radar control center is in a secure building shared by several government agencies. One of those agencies is the department of defense. Needless to say, I could not get into this facility. Persistence pays off and after a few calls, NOAA Public Affairs Specialist Keli Pirtle invited me to come over to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Weather Geek Out

It’s all about weather geeks. Thanks to Keli Pirtle for inviting me in on short notice and for the history lesson. How did the radar system get built at Norman? Finally, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Patrick Marsh gives us complete rundown of how the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center works. Plus some stories about what it is like in this center when major weather is breaking.

Storm Chasers

The idea behind tax payer funded NEXRAD is data products should be available to everyone, and this is one of the reasons we get radar and other NWS products on our smartphones. However, severe weather can be unpredictable. A town, person or chaser can be right under a tornado and not be able to to see it until it’s too late. While the National Weather Service does not have an official position on Storm Chasing Even the National Weather Service is not immune as you will hear. Be Safe.

Sponsored by Brush Studio in The West End, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

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