Podcast 292

Free Speech. The founding principles of the US Government guarantee freedom of expression, without qualification. Americans have gone to war to protect their rights, and to fight for the same kinds of rights for the people of other countries. It might be said, at the very least Liberty is the main tenant of Western Society. Why then do we tolerate ‘leaders’ who insist on qualifying these unalienable rights? The White House has qualified its assertions of freedom of expression and this was a week in which President Obama was shamed for not showing unity with our French allies in their time of need. But, Pope Francis didn’t attend the massive march in Paris either. While both President Obama and The Pope initially condemned the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo, they seem to be back pedaling their remarks. The Pope, in his shiny big airplane, on the way to wave his scepter at the dancing peasants in the Philippines, says Freedom of Expression has limits, echoing similar statements from the White House. The Pope says killing in the name of God is an ‘aberration’; a factually incorrect statement since the Church has advocated and killed quite a few people in the name of God over the years. In the next breath the Roman Prelate asserts there are limits to free speech. Um, no your communist Holiness, actually, there aren’t. And to the qualifiers; Please stop comparing Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons to yelling fire in a crowded theater. The idea of free expression was made for just this kind of thing. If our leaders won’t stand up for core western values without qualification, what is the point of western civilization? If protecting unalienable rights is in fact virtue in its purest form, and the reason for the existence of our government, and our leaders won’t protect our rights, or are afraid to stand up for them when we are threatened, where is virtue? What, then, is the purpose of government? Let’s put it this way; The Pope is certainly no Winston Churchill. If he isn’t confusing economic philosophy, jumping on board with Global Warming Believers (a religion in itself), now he’s exhorting supposedly free people to act as though they are actually not free at all. Is the Pope morally bankrupt? Sponsored by X Government Cars. (Editor’s Note: I may have referred to Pope John Paul II, in this podcast as Pope John Paul the 23rd, which of course is a mistake. I hate when I make mistakes!)

Podcast 139

Foreign Affairs update! How does sending advisors to help the Nigerian Government “save” over two hundred kidnapped girls undermine US Foreign policy in Central and Eastern Europe and the Pacific? More confusion on the media’s part concerning Russia and Putin’s intentions in Eastern Ukraine. Why is Putin succeeding? Hint: It isn’t because he’s good at You Tube and Social Media. China unilaterally plants an oil rig in a part of the South China Sea Vietnam considers its territory, and clashes with the Philippine Navy on the other side of the same sea. What does our cerebral and careful president do? The first lady makes a speech and takes a selfie with a sign. Plus Russia rolls right over Western Sanctions selling more gas and oil for a higher price than before they were put in place. Sponsored by Baklund R & D

Podcast 114 – Ying Ma

Ying Ma joins Bob Davis to talk about China’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to the United States and the rest of the world. Will China’s rise mean America’s fall? US First Lady Michelle Obama’s China trip is generating controversy, but there isn’t much substantive conversation about what China’s rise means, what the economic slowdown in China may mean for the world and its political system, and America’s position in all of this. Learn the reality about China, with one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject. Ying Ma writes about China, International Affairs, the free market and conservatism. Much of her writing chronicles the crossroads of political and economic freedom and China’s rising influence on world affairs. Ying Ma is the author of Chinese Girl in The Ghetto. Learn more about Ma at yingma.org. Sponsored by Baklund R&D.