Podcast 486

Republicans Need To Grow Up. As Ted Cruz ‘steals’ Colorado’s delegates to the RNC, Trump supporters throw a fit. If the Republicans lose the 2016 presidential election it won’t be the so called establishment’s fault. If the Republicans lose the 2016 presidential election it won’t even be the candidate’s fault. If the Republicans lose the 2016 presidential election, and its Senate majority it will be the Republican Rank and File voter’s fault. If this week’s tantrums are any example, Republicans Need To Grow Up. And soon. These podcasts have stated again and again that people voting in so called presidential primaries are not selecting a candidate. Candidate selection is done at the convention, by convention delegates. As Donald Trump and his supporters rage about the system being rigged its time for some truth telling. Yes, children, the system is rigged. If you want to change it you are going to have to take over the system. Unfortunately the GOP rank and file is filled with people who have a shocking lack of depth on issues, a breathtaking ignorance on context and the emotional maturity of an eighth grader (and that’s being kind), and no stomach for the hard work political change requires. Voting in elections is not enough. Change requires people be wiling to serve, not stand up at meetings and talk about ‘messaging’. The Republican party is populated with a majority of people who think an argument is an insult, a meme, a video someone else posted five years ago, a discussion on FaceBook that lasts all of two exchanges, the last one something along the lines of, “You love Obama”, or “You’re voting for Hillary, aren’t you?”. These people — and there are a lot of them — do not have the emotional maturity or political knowledge to win a presidential election. Period. They aren’t able to argue, or reason. They aren’t ‘conservatives’, they can’t even define what a ‘conservative’ is. Republicans are Tories, concerned about the future but still loyal to the crown. In this podcast someone actually defines the political spectrum in terms that make sense, and explains why republicans and democrats don’t seem to have a problem with government solutions and socialism. If you really want to change things, its going to take more than being angry. Sponsored by Hydrus and Brush Studio in the West End, Saint Louis Park, Mn.

Podcast 476

No Trump. No Trump in this podcast because it is a Trump Free Zone. Time to tackle something fun! The End Of The World. Lately, everyone seems to wonder ‘what’s going on’? The answer is usually some form of ‘the end of the world’. Aliens, Planet X, Comets, Global Warming, Famine, Disease, and General Weirdness. You name it, someone thinks that’s causing the end of the world. There’s a definitive answer for the question, is the world ending? Yes. The world is ending. The world you grew up in, regardless of your age, is slowly ending. For some, the specter of a new time, with new demographics, new ideas, and new tools is too frightening. So, the bogeyman in the closet takes many forms. Now, these days we do face a number of challenges; Economic, social, political and personal. At the same time, some of the institutions created in this country decades ago to deal with problems current at the time, are crumbling. This is inevitable. The question is how we deal with this change. Do we run from it? Stick our fingers in our ears and demand that no one discuss it? Retreat into endless discussions of conspiracy theory, the arrival of some rogue planet, and alien bases on the dark side of the moon? Or do we get all hands on deck, trim the sales, and get ready for the storm. Yes the world has changed. Some things that were great are gone. Some things that are great have arrived. A great age is upon this country and this world. Some of the changes will be very positive. Some changes will be very negative. Either way, it is coming and it cannot be avoided. It’s time to turn off the cable news shows, let the election proceed, and start examining what we think about, how we think, and how we greet each new day, sometimes referred to as ‘the future’. You can be afraid and run from reality, or you can take it head on. Which one do you prefer? Sponsored by Brush Studio and Hydrus.

Podcast 435

How Tough Are You? How tough do you have to be? A new era is coming socially, economically, and politically. A selection of news stories about technology shows how quickly our world is giving way to something new. Socially our ideas about morality, fairness and even the nature of reality are evolving. Economically old systems are transitioning to new, even as industry and ideas minted at the turn of the twentieth century can still be dominant, new ideas in manufacturing, media, communications and the tools we use to do our work are beginning to take hold and to forge their own reality. Politically new issues, new ways to communicate and new kinds of candidates are emerging and wreaking havoc with ‘the process’. These are significant changes that make the world unfamiliar to people who became adults just twenty or so years ago. Our individual success, and our success as a country may depend on how tough we are and whether we adapt to these changes well enough not just to survive, but to thrive. It’s clear these days, that the new world will look nothing like the old. Even assumptions so called ‘experts’ make about the future are turning out to be not be so accurate. Rapid change can be disruptive and confusing to say the least. Especially when people have to live through it. With 64 percent of the working age population out of the work force in the United States, and the new jobs most vulnerable to new technology tough days might be ahead and we will have to be tough to deal with it. What is ‘tough’? What does it mean to be ‘tough’? We hear a lot about the difficulties individuals have these days, but we aren’t hearing enough examples of real toughness, and they’re out there. Maybe it’s time we started thinking that way as a nation? Sponsored by Pride of Homes and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.