Podcast 358

Back In The Bunker. Another special announcement concerning more distribution of the The Bob Davis Podcasts. Plus, a discussion of what it’s like to be back in the studio after weeks on the road in the Mobile Podcast Command Unit. This weekend – in podcast time – is Earth Day, 2015. It is, essentially, a secular, if not pagan Easter; a celebration of mother earth and spring, with political overtones. In truth, environmentalism has become a religion for some. Some environmental policy is good, and some — most of it — has been not so good. We start with California’s water problem, which could be solved with desalinization, but the state is spending billions more on a bullet train to nowhere. Desalinization actually costs less than the bullet train. Meanwhile Californians are talking about billions of gallons of fresh water poured into San Francisco Bay to save the Smelt Fish. Federal and State Governments in the US offer thousands of dollars in subsidies and tax credits if consumers buy electric cars. When gas was more expensive some calculated it would take five years to make up the difference in costs for a gas versus electric car. Now that gas prices have plunged it will take even longer. What are consumers doing? They are trading their electric cars in on SUV’s at the highest rate in years. Despite the prediction of the President that there would be millions of electric cars on the road by the end of his presidency. Continuing along the lines of government engineering. We’ve been seeing a lot of policy devoted to subsidized growth in major cities to create ‘Hipster Havens’ where the ‘creative class’ will collaborate and create thousands of new jobs. Suddenly though, not only are millennials starting to move into first ring suburbs, but exurbs are starting to grow again as well. Pretty hard to raise your baby in Hipster Heaven. This podcast also includes a list of 13 predictions, on Earth Day, that sounded really ominous in 1970, but which ended up being hopelessly wrong, as a reminder that just because ‘scientists agree’ doesn’t always mean you can take it to the bank. Do you think buying food at the farmer’s market — another feature of every Hipster Heaven — helps the environment. A new study says maybe not. Find out why. Finally, the media has discovered that the economy just isn’t growing fast enough. Where is the consumer? If the media isn’t spreading disinformation in its quest to focus on personalities and not issues for the presidential cycle of 2016 (which hasn’t even started yet) it’s spreading disinformation about the ‘growing’, ‘booming’ and ‘recovering’ economy. It’s just that the rosy scenario story line isn’t materializing. What might people think about the economy as an issue, heading into 2016. Will there be an economic crisis, and how will that impact the presidential race? Sponsored by Baklund R&D

Podcast 351

Thanking Contributors. Podcasting from the driveway in Los Angeles, California. Finally, the list of contributors to the Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8! Thanking all those who have contributed to the mobile podcast project, or at least as many as we can find documentation for. If you sent a contribution, and your name is not mentioned, email The Bob Davis Podcasts and you will be thanked. From Los Angeles, the plan is to head north on the Pacific Coast Highway, to NAPA, and points East. We’ll keep you updated as we roll. In thanking the contributors and sponsors, a little radio history and podcasting history in this installment. The Bob Davis Podcasts also just hit another milestone in terms of feeds and audience, which is great news. This is the week Rand Paul announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. A lot of reaction to out of context statements the Senator made in his speech. What’s the reaction to simply finding the text of the speech online and reading it? Pretty good. It looks more and more like the left will try to make ‘Global Warming’ one of the centers of their campaign to take back the US Senate and retain the White House in 2016. How? By personalizing it. Now it’s all about the President’s daughter’s asthma, even though there’s no scientific link to asthma and ‘Global Warming’. If they’re not demonizing anyone who doesn’t agree with the orthodoxy on the issue, look for them to be telling stories about how grandma was killed by Global Warming. In other words, you killed grandma because you didn’t agree with them on the ‘Climate Change Issue’, and by the way, let’s depopulate the planet and get rid of capitalism, because they cause ‘it’ too. Sigh. Meanwhile people continue to rank all other issues and problems has having a higher concern than ‘Climate Change’, especially when you ask them to allocate resources to solve those problems. Hey, isn’t Warren Buffett concerned about the environment? Isn’t that why he opposes the Keystone Pipeline and hauls oil, highly profitably hauls oil by the way, in rickety train cars that are prone to cause fires when they derail? While Tim Cook of Apple decries the injustice Indiana’s Religious Freedom law, and claims the state is ‘closed’ to gay people, Apple does business in countries that actually kill people for being gay. Imagine! And then there’s the drought in California, which continues despite recent rain. Plus some radio history and some new news regarding feeds for the Bob Davis Podcasts. (Editor’s Note: For some reason I referred to Warren Buffett and an ‘Interloper’. I don’t know if that word really describes the sage of Omaha. And, I referred to Fundamentalist Christians as ‘Iconoclasts’. Who knows where that came from, because Iconoclast really doesn’t describe the Christian Right either. Sigh. But I’m not editing those missives out.) Sponsored by X Government Cars

Podcast 347

Summertime in Scottsdale. At least that it was feels like if you’re from the upper midwest, for Arizonans this is just the beginning of the heat, but it sure feels good to a boy from the Midwest, after winter. The second of two podcasts for your Wednesday from the Shore Powered Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8. From time to time its a good idea to just sit down in the studio and wing it. Sometimes a lot of effort goes into doing podcasts that are news, or topic oriented. March was a taxing month for The Bob Davis Podcasts, as we cold hardly wait to get our hot little hands on the brand new remote broadcast truck. Response has been great and as capabilities are brought up to speed, the podcasts are going to become more and more fun. In this podcast, a behind the scenes look at the struggle to get Unit 8 up and running through the month and get on the road, before having to return before April 25th, when Bob Davis is scheduled to speak to the SD48 Republicans at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. We may roll up the night before, fresh from Cali, and camp out at the theater, preparing for the big speech. Actually a lot of good discussion in this podcast about work ethic, how we learn to work, and how we work. And a lesson in patience for Bob Davis. And, an opportunity for sponsorships of the Remote Podcast Command Unit 8. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing of Saint Paul.