Podcast 375

Where’s My ObamaNet? FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler wants to expand a program that dates back to at least the Bush Administration, which became known as the ‘Obama Phone’. Originally the program was intended to make sure older people with no communication could get phone lines, then it was expanded to include cell phones, and was made famous during the 2012 election cycle. Now the FCC wants to expand the program to include free broadband Internet! Surprise! We all pay extra on our phone bills to fund this program, now we’re paying so people who don’t work, can get free or low-cost Internet. When is it time to draw the line? Warning! This podcast includes a freewheeling discussion of technology it all its many forms, economic growth, dystopia, Paul Krugman, Solar Power, Wind Power, the smell of cigarettes and Martinis on a warm summer night, the sound of planes landing, and more! Big argument in the tech world after The New York Times Astrologer in Chief, Paul Krugman claimed the technology revolution has produced no economic growth. Is that true? Then there is the bizarre reaction to Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Machines, Robotics and Additive Manufacturing (to name a few new technologies) threatening to eliminate jobs. Most of the time, it’s disbelief, followed by the darkest predictions about the future. And yet, technology revolutions throughout history while tumultuous, result in economic growth and more jobs. Why does the future have to be so bleak? What if the future is so bright, you’ll have to wear shades? Now, you might have to wear shades because you live next door to a giant solar farm — subsidized by the state and federal governments — while solar produces less than one percent of our power and pollutes the Earth. Why is it, news coverage of the spread of ‘friendly’ solar power doesn’t include stories about the pollution in creating, and eventually disposing of panels, and batteries? Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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The Bob Davis Podcast

Podcast 174

Updating the top stories. It’s all about immigration as President Obama tries to change the subject, from the economy to immigration. As the crisis on the border intensifies into a media circus, its up to voters to decide whether this fourth tier issue in previous political polling for this election cycle, can trump Jobs and The Economy with enough froth from the Bully Pulpit. In this podcast, a citizen from Houston, Texas asks a really good question; What about my neighborhood? What about my kids? Meanwhile, Israel is about to send troops into the West Bank to stop Hamas missile attacks, and both sides blame US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent attempts to ‘force peace’ for the fighting. In Iraq, ‘The Islamic State’, formerly known as ‘ISIL’ or ‘ISIS’ now has ‘nuclear material’, and the remnants of Iraqi chemical munitions. Yet analysts persist in saying ‘The Islamic State’ will be short lived. A new study says there is no such thing as a ‘moderate’ voter, and Bob Davis celebrates being vindicated after years of decrying so called ‘moderates’ and useless ‘independents’. Listen and find out why. Finally, the South West Light Rail fight between Saint Louis Park and Minneapolis might be back on, since the dreaded Freight Rail Reroute option is back on the table in the latest ‘agreement’. Sponsored by Sedation and Implant Dentistry of Saint Paul. 

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