Podcast 195

Ferguson – The Rush To Judgement. A very late podcast for Bob Davis, and a very early Friday morning podcast for you. Updates for your weekend start with the controversy surrounding a police shooting and subsequent death of an 18 year old. Is the media fanning the flames? Should President Obama be interrupting his vacation to comment on the situation? Tensions have calmed somewhat with the introduction of State Police Security and the removal of a militarized local police force, at the request of Missouri Governor Nixon. Are our police too militarized? Some first hand memories of Saint Louis and surrounding communities may help people who have never been there visualize what is happening; Saint Louis is an aging industrial city, dealing with many different problems at once, with several surrounding small communities suffering as well, on the North Side. Might incompetent policing be at the core of this controversy and tragedy? Moreover, is it possible the root causes of discontent are economic, not racial? With economic growth stalling around the world, retail numbers dropping here in the US, are the policies directed at solving our economic problems working? If you watch television (broadcast or cable) these days, how would you know? What passes for ‘analysis’ is pure comedy, most of the time. Television short circuits your ability to reason, exciting your reptilian, emotional brain. Of course, the vast wasteland that has become broadcast talk radio, only seems to play on those emotions as well. Music by Brian Just. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.