Podcast 284

Polar Vortex 2015. Perhaps we should start off by saying, “Previously on Polar Vortex”. It happens just about every year around this time in the Upper Midwest. It gets real cold. We call it winter. A few weeks of below zero temperatures with little relief. It’s been colder. Where are the cavalcade of ‘economists’ (astrologists) predicting the inevitably dour economic effects of the ‘polar vortex’? Surprise! Now that a Republican majority is about to take office ‘economic experts’ are optimistic! Touting 5 percent GDP growth, lackluster employment statistics and a host of other debatable ‘facts’, some formerly doom and gloom analysts are finding  rose colored glasses not used since the Bush administration. As a new Congress is about to be sworn in, scolds to tell Republicans, “It’s time to govern”! Isn’t ‘governing’ something both parties and all branches of government engage in? Not just a majority and not just one branch of the government? Freedom Works has declared Speaker Boehner ‘must go’, and thus the factional battles in the new Congress begin. Freedom Works instructs you to write, call or email your congressman and demand the speaker be retired! (Editor’s Note: A waste of time, since interns answer the phones, review emails and open letters, even writing replies. If you want to get your congressman to pay attention to you, you have to control votes or money, and preferably both. If you want to write, call or email, go right ahead, but don’t fool yourself. Until you’re organized, you’re nothing to them.) Next we have the ‘Restore America’ crowd. ‘Restore’ in this case means turning back the hands of time to 1950, everywhere in America. Uh…no thanks, there were no smart phones. Want to bet this will be Jeb Bush’s campaign slogan in 2016? What America needs isn’t ‘restoration’, but new ideas that meet the challenges of new technology and a world that doesn’t look anything like 1950. Now there is one place in the world where it is, in fact, still 1950. North Korea. Here’s a question; What if the Sony Hack wasn’t the work of North Korea’s ‘army’ of hackers? The FBI’s contention – and the President’s – is under fire from tech security companies. If it wasn’t the North Koreans and the President ordered a retaliation, this could be the first major Obama Screw Up of 2015. Stay tuned. Back home in the land of ten thousand lakes, and taxes, Minnesotans should prepare themselves for a gas tax increase. Democratic Governor Dayton has decided that while cheap gas acts ‘like a tax cut’, it just isn’t expensive enough for the dancing peasants, so we need an increase in the gas tax. Or something like that. Minnesotans need new trains, and bike trails and bridges are falling down, right? Not really, but it works every time. Meanwhile, Kurt Daudt, Republican Speaker of The House says there will be “give and take” this session. Sigh. And a final parting shot at ‘morning people’ and their arrogance. Nocturnal People Rule! Sponsored by X Government Cars, and Depotstar.  

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Podcast 282

Live From The Living Room 2. Here comes the flu! States across the East and Midwest are starting to see a high number of cases for this year’s flu, which may or not be covered by this year’s flu vaccine. Advice? If you get the flu embrace the suck, get yourself some Mexican Coke, and settle in. This New Year’s Eve may be ‘marred’ by protesters seeking to deny Americans the pleasure of celebrating a fresh, clean New Year. So after a high pressure Christmas with the relatives, the one night you want to spend with your friends having a good time is going to end up being ruined by a bunch of idiots in Guy Fawkes masks? Oh Hell No! This is a move that will backfire on so called protesters, who do more and more dumb stuff in an effort to continue grabbing attention and media after two police in New York were assassinated by a criminal, in support of the protests. Meanwhile the most visible Ferguson protester Joshua Williams (is he even from Ferguson?) has been arrested for arson in Berkely, Missouri. Another shining example of the virtue of a protest movement rapidly losing its credibility. Speaking of Credibility, The Communist Pope has now decided to take up the ‘Climate Change’ cudgel in an effort to remain relevant despite all the robes and opulence in the Vatican. Just forget about all that brocade and architecture, diamonds and silk, he’s Argentinian, you know, which means he’s down with the people. People like Castro, and old Uncle Joe. The Pope will soon ‘issue’ a large heavy document, for which many trees will die, in which he will lecture all of us on the dangers of global warming and the need to have a radical change in our economic and social system. Sayeth ‘Pope Che’, ‘These systems are based on the worship of money’ and God is against that. No sir, our system is supposed to be based on our Liberty and personal sovereignty, which is God given, and subject not to the whims of any Pope in Rome. And now we see why. And an addendum to Podcast 280, which focused on social media and political discourse. A professor says Washington has been dumbed down, because America is dumbed down, and what we can do about it. Step one; Don’t expect politicians to become academics or intellectuals. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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Podcast 266

Rolling Stone’s Debacle. This weekend Rolling Stone Magazine admitted it did not properly fact-check a story about an alleged gang rape on the campus of the University of Virginia. So now we have a clear example of media bias in action and it goes way beyond fact checking. The editors liked the story, so they never pushed the reporter to interview the accused, or confirm the stories of the friends of the woman who claimed she was gang raped at a frat party. So, it took the Washington Post to go down to UVA and run down the particulars in the story. As this was going on, Rolling Stone defended its reporter, and anyone who questioned the woman’s story was pilloried. What did the Washington Post uncover? The discrepancies are so numerous, Rolling Stone had to issue an apology this weekend. ‘Narrative journalism’, combined with bias and shoddy editing is the order of the day in most of today’s news shops. Now the media, UVA, Fraternities, the alleged perpetrators, the victim, not to mention real cases of rape have all been thrown into question as the result of an editor and reporter, and magazine that did not do their job. And what can we say about the media? Charlatans, hustlers, think tank spokespersons, operatives are booked as guests on all the major news shows, round table shout fests, and empty suits abound. An informed populace/electorate is the one necessary ingredient for democracy, and we do not have it. America is being so poorly served by its so called media, its no wonder people cannot reason, don’t know the facts, scream and yell at each other, throw labels onto each other that are meaningless, and are deeply confused about how any process works, because they are uninformed. Who’s fault is it? What can be done about it? Have we reached the stage where the rule of the mob has become a reality? Unfortunately, it sure looks like it. Meanwhile, Mary Landrieu has lost her bid for a fourth term in the US Senate representing Louisiana, giving the GOP one more seat in the Senate, and an historic majority in the House. Wait until after January 7th for the fireworks to start when the 117th Congress is sworn in. The President has acid reflux, as does the rest of the country due to his policies. The media ballyhooed the latest unemployment numbers, but once you look under the hood, they don’t look so good. Surprise! We have yet to produce one month with over 375,000 new jobs, which is what the country needs to fully recover. It never ceases to amaze what the media thinks is ‘good’ versus what is factually needed. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. (Correction: I keep referring to the current congress as “the 116th Congress” in this podcast, and the next as the “117th Congress”. Getting a little ahead of myself; The current Congress is the 113th, and the incoming congress is the 114th.)

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