War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891

A Drone Strike Blows Up Internet…And A General

First of all after the US killed an Iranian General with a drone strike, social media went nuts. In addition all the other media went nuts. I think it’s time we sorted it all out in War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891.

War-Anti-War Con Job

Furthermore when everyone wants to use the ‘facts’ they agree with and repeat arguments they hear on cable TV news it’s nothing but a war versus anti war con job.

Things Could Go Either Way

Certainly the United States is in a serious situation when it comes to Iran. In the wake of the airstrike things could go either way.

Real News Too Confusing and Complicated

Unfortunately no one was thinking about foreign policy when they voted in 2016. Moreover most Americans consider foreign affairs to be too confusing and difficult to think about.

Real World Too Complicated?

Above all when it comes to the US role in the rest of the world every action has a reaction. The hard part is managing reactions going forward.

You Want A Democracy? Grow Up!

Most noteworthy is the question of exactly what Americans want when it comes to foreign dealings. Sorry but it’s not as easy as a meme or a four line capital letters post on social media. More on that in War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891.

Shouting Matches Are Not News

Even more these things aren’t solved with split screen debates on television where guests are encouraged to get into shouting matches. Meanwhile we show pictures of planes and ships.

Explaining The Issue

Finally it’s time to attempt to explain the contours of this story. In contrast to the magpies on the line, I am not going to tell listeners and subscribers what to think or what to do. I will not do your homework for you.

Try Listening First

If we really want to figure this out then different points of view need to be heard.

(Editor’s Note: I mentioned my podcast on political populism and promised a link. Click here)

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War-AntiWar-Con-Job-Bob Davis Podcast 891

Podcast 461

All About Iowa. Do you want the Iowa Caucuses to determine which presidential candidates are ‘viable’? In a state of slightly more than three million people, party leaders expect one hundred fifty thousand to show up to caucus, slightly more than in the 2012 cycle. Over the last year Iowans have been sliced and diced by pollsters, pundits, political psychologists, and sociologists. Anyone who attends political events – and there have been hundreds of them since last year – will see famous candidates, film stars, and national TV stars. It’s a spectacle, a circus, and a show being put on for one state. As the hours are counting down to the caucus Monday, February 1st, the Bob Davis Podcasts attends a Marco Rubio rally. One side of the room is reserved for the stage, the other for media. In between, are the Iowans, ready to comment when reporters approach them. Of course reporters will approach, like fish feeding at the water’s surface. ‘Who will you caucus for?’, ‘What do you think of Donald Trump?’. The answers to these and many other scintillating questions will be filed, dissected, and added to the national story line. All About Iowa. Fasten your seat belts. A rural backwater, albiet a very nice one with very nice people, is about to decide which candidates are the most viable. At least that’s how they see this process. After Monday’s caucus, the story lines will change, predictions will be adjusted, and some campaigns will never recover. Is this how we want to elect a president? While there is much to celebrate in the American political system, as I attend events and cover the caucus and the events leading up to it, what comes through louder and clearer is the dark and potentially dangerous relationship between big government, big media, politicians, pollsters and the population of a single state that has insinuated itself into the political process in an unprecedented way. All about Iowa? Indeed. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.

Podcast 371

The Islamic State. Now What? Just recently the perfumed princes in Washington were thrilled about a Delta Force Operation that killed one of the Islamic State’s top leaders and included the arrest of his wife. It was the kind of adventure story the American Media loves, and they gleefully turned the raid into a cartoon complete with reports of casualty free hand-to-hand combat and lurid reports of the freeing of a slave held by the couple. It was a good story and served as a narrative the White House used to prove the President’s strategy was indeed ‘degrading’ the ISIS military capabilities. I decided to wait to talk about this story, because I knew another shoe would drop. Sure enough, within a few days we were greeted with grim reports of the rout of the Iraqi Army defending Ramadi, in the Anbar province, less than 70 miles from Baghdad. Even worse, as the Iraqis ran, they left lots of shiny new military equipment from the United States, which will now be employed against Iraqis and ultimately Americans. Within a few days it has become clear President Obama’s strategy isn’t working. Now what? The problem is, this country’s media, its politicians, and its leaders have no idea what to do about this problem. We need to have a conversation that starts with what the Foreign Policy of the United States is, and what it should be, rather than fifty reporters chasing a 68 year old woman around Iowa, while she has breakfast with ten or eleven people at a time, or demanding a former governor and head of a super pac tell the country what he would have done in 2003. Don’t hold your breath. Given the fast food nature of America’s media and political environment, I am surprised anyone even knows where Anbar province is, unless they had the honor of serving there. Yet the question remains. Do you want to invade Iraq again to stop ISIS? Should we stop ISIS, since they’re fighting Iran? What are we doing, when our allies don’t understand or trust our President, and 38 people are running for President? Are we in favor of early interventions in problem areas? Does it work? A new world is being birthed, and whole sections of the planet are slipping back in time, rather than progressing. When economies in the West, and in Asia start growing in earnest again we’re going to move very quickly forward. Some places are going to be left behind. When that happens, we’re going to see some bad things happening. Are we prepared? Are you prepared? Do you know what to advocate? Do you have an opinion about what’s best for the United States? Is there a politician that can articulate and execute that idea, after 2017. Because chances are, the next black swan event that changes the world will either be economic, or foreign related, or both. As ISIS beheads, burns, cages, kills children and adds to the chaos that is the Middle East these days, the US political clown show, including the one in the White House, doesn’t give me much faith. What about you? Sponsored by X Government Cars. (Photo from the New York Post)