Podcast 366

Build The Pipeline! As another oil train owned by Warren Buffett derails and sends flames into the air, Minneapolis and Saint Paul media can’t bring itself to mention this would not be necessary if President Obama had followed bipartisan legislation, and built the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Star Tribune licks its chops whenever there is a chance to print a story which shows North Dakota in a negative light, and nothing says passive-aggressive like a burning oil train. Just another reason why Minnesotans are so ill served by this parochial and paranoid newspaper’s editorial staff. Wasn’t a new owner supposed to fix that? Along the same lines we are told a ‘new study’ shows traffic congestion in the Twin Cities is getting worse! The cities now ranks 35th in traffic congestion nationwide. Forget there are 50 states, and that Minneapolis and Saint Paul is generally considered the 15th or 16th largest market, looks like it is punching below its weight, traffic congestion wise. Oh yeah, the studies were done by MNDOT, and by the Met Council, two agencies with a big stake in whether the draconian increase in the state gas tax passes. Meanwhile, MNDOT seems to be causing most of the congestion by insisting on doing things like changing signs on the Mendota bridge in the middle of rush hour, which recently caused a massive traffic jam, or taking out the bridge over highway 100 on Minnetonka, turning traffic in the west metro into a parking lot. What causes congestion? Incompetence and idiocy in our much vaunted state government agencies, and the politicians responsible for them. God Help Us! The worst days? Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, as state workers put in their usual 3 day work weeks and head to the lake. Meanwhile the LRT boosters are at it again. Forget about the fact that the Southwest Light Rail Project engineering work was bungled, that it is hundreds of millions over budget, we need it because suddenly the jobs are in Eden Prairie and people from downtown have to get there to work. The nature of work is changing. After a Bob Davis podcast about freelance work in LA, the New York Times published a piece on whether freelance work LA style is going to be the future model for how work gets done. Emphatically yes! Meanwhile, at nearly 2 decades into the 21st century, these fools in government keep insisting on rebuilding the early 20th century city. Is America moving left? Polls say it is. But, what influences polls? Events. And events can change politics. Still, we don’t hear Republicans saying much these days about what they would actually do, to get people to vote for them. One thing they could do is something about a government that no longer protects our rights but tramples them. Over a thousand IRS employees were apparently promoted for cheating on their taxes. The Federal government says New York City has to take the lighted signs down from Times Square (New York says No Friggin Way!). And ‘Draw Muhammed’ event creator Pamela Gellar hasn’t heard from homeland security despite the fact that her life has been threatened by ISIS. Did we forget the DEA agent orgies paid for by the drug cartels, and the fact that the agents who admitted attending can’t be fired because of government regulations? Sponsored by Baklund R&D. (Photo from BNSF.com) 

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The Bob Davis Podcast

Podcast 243

Halloween 1. The first of two podcasts for Halloween, 2014. Some developing stories catching Bob Davis’ interest as the media zeroes in on Election 2014 coverage. Now we’re scolding people for the Halloween costumes they’re wearing. Admittedly, most of today’s adults have never grown up and thus feel compelled to wear costumes for any and all occasions, whenever there is an opportunity. Yet now, the scolds are telling people Ebola Hazmat suits are ‘in bad taste’, those dressing up as ISIS terrorists ‘could be shot by police if ISIS terrorists were to dress up as ISIS terrorists’ (Editor’s Note: That one is really a stretch, but I did not make it up.) and Halloween displays with ‘severed heads’ are also in bad taste. Not to mention the criticism of young women’s increasingly sexy costumes as inappropriate, which if you are a single male is decidedly NOT inappropriate, but anyway. Hey people! It’s Halloween. It’s an offensive ‘holiday’ anyway. Can we give it a rest for 24 hours, and let people have some fun before they die of Ebola, or in a terror attack …or not? Meanwhile in the real world, the Centers For Disease Control has subtly let America know that Ebola can be transmitted through ‘water droplets’, which means yes, sneezing and coughing by an infected person could potentially infect someone else, and there would be no touching or ‘direct contact with bodily fluids’. Maybe this is why the US Military is quarantining personnel coming back from Ebola stricken areas in West Africa, for 21 days, no exceptions. A doctor in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area writes in the Minneapolis Tribune this week, that in his experience symptoms are often difficult for doctors to connect with diseases, and people can be symptomatic before they have fevers, and not know it. Tom Combs also says there isn’t enough data yet to conclusively say that a quarantine isn’t just safe, and smart policy. He also says, people need to understand Quarantine is not punishment, nor incarceration. Quarantine is a way contain a disease and prevent its spread. Meanwhile, states are getting out in front of our intellectual-and-reluctant-to-act President. Louisiana sent letters to attendees to a topical disease forum in New Orleans, disinviting those who had been in West Africa in the last week, citing the need to protect the citizens of Louisiana. Hey! Some good economic news came out just in time for the election! How about that? 3.5 percent GDP growth in the 3rd Quarter. Most of it in the Government and Energy Sector. Oddly enough, Goldman now says that the US has dethroned OPEC and is now the New Oil Order. Falling prices for Gas is good, but this is not so good for investors in oil stocks, or countries that rely on oil revenues. (Editors Note: Take that suckers!) By the way … where’s your old crazy ‘peak oil’ uncle these days? The richest man in the world, Carlos Slim says 60 is the new 40, you shouldn’t retire and that soon people will work only 3 days a week. Machines work work 24/7, we’ll work 11 hour shifts and have more time for retraining and leisure. Finally, when was the last time you took a vacation? Why 5 weeks of vacation may soon become mandatory, and common. Sponsored by Depotstar. 

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Podcast 241

One Week To Go. Election 2014 Update. On Wednesday morning November 5th, 2014, we will know most of the outcomes for US House of Representatives, and Gubernatorial races. We may not know the full result of the vote for US Senate. Close elections in runoff states mean that we may not know which party will control the US Senate until late on January 6th. Which races are close, which can be called now? In this podcast we’ll go through the close races, the races that will determine whether Republicans take control of the Senate, or Democrats retain a majority. There is, however, one key point about the ongoing Ebola debacle that needs to be addressed. The President spoke recently, attempting to pooh pooh the idea of establishing quarantines for returning ‘health workers’. The idea is, putting ‘health workers’ who are trying to help stop Ebola in Africa, will cause them to think twice before ‘volunteering’. Problem is, President Obama lifted his language directly from a New England Journal of Medicine article, written by Doctors. What’s going on here? First, ‘Health Workers’, are in fact Doctors and Nurses, who want special treatment. While we celebrate their interest in helping in Africa, we also celebrate our own Military Personnel who serve, and are being quarantined (including their officers, all the way to General) upon their return to base in Italy. Why do Doctors and Nurses expect to be treated as special citizens, when one of their own recently returned from West Africa to New York, with Ebola, to take a ride in an Uber Car, go Bowling, and ride the subway? Moreover, doctors and the President say science says a person with Ebola who is asymptomatic is not contagious, but in fact science is inconclusive on this subject. As far as election 2014 is concerned, baseless speculative reporting continues. Suddenly West Virginia is ‘going republican’, why? Maybe it has something to with Obama saying he wanted to put ‘coal out of business’? Oh no, it couldn’t be that, it must be that Hillbillies are racists and hate women. (Editor’s note: This is why I hate the ‘media’). Bloomberg’s Jonathon Bernstein says the media’s problem is there aren’t very many good reporters in states with close races, and he might be right. We know very little about key US House races. Minority leader Nancy Pelosi is reportedly bracing for deep losses for her party. As to the polls, CNN says ‘voters are angry’ (really?). Another poll says Latinos are ‘surprisingly’ OK with a Republican led Senate. Conventional wisdom is the enemy of objective analysis. Hispanic’s political views are becoming increasingly difficult to predict as this is not a monolithic group the media can latch onto, but they try. They sure do try. The polls show tough, close races in Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Alaska, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Louisiana, with some movement in Arkansas. Still, small sample sizes, and electronic interviewing make these polls highly questionable. Run offs in North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana (where there are multiple candidates) if the winner does not achieve at least 50 percent of the vote, mean there could be US Senate races in 3 states, we will not know the outcome of until after the runoffs. No one can say what will happen…the polls are just too close. Republicans could have a phenomenal night, a good night, or be disappointed, yet still win seats in the House and Senate. Democrats could retain control of the Senate, but lose seats in the house, or suffer heavy losses. It comes down to getting the vote out on election day (even with early voting). Sponsored by XGovernmentcars. 

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