American Cultural Revolution-Bob Davis Podcast 745

These days the United States is fast becoming a place where you cannot speak your mind. A country founded on free speech faces mob rule. Learn more in American Cultural Revolution-Bob Davis Podcast 745.

A Sea Of Nonsense

Furthermore misinformation and disinformation fill the sea of our thought. Even the news sounds like conspiracy theory. Everything is personal. People expect tolerance but give no quarter.

One Slip Up

Especially relevant is the reality that one slip up can turn a friendly conversation ugly. Consequently I wonder if we’re living through the early stages of what the Chinese went through in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Sure seems like it.

Abuses

During those years in China millions of people suffered a wide range of abuses. Public humiliation, sustained harassment, resettlement and worse. Historic relics and artifacts were destroyed. Religious sites ransacked. Sound familiar?

Political Minefield

Our world today is a political minefield. Stripped bare of decorum and decency. Long gone are the founding concepts protecting the rights of political minorities through free speech and republican government. They have been replaced by the unpredictable grievances of the mob, and its solutions.

Enemy Of The People

Finally the mob doesn’t necessarily have to follow a specific political direction. While one side is driving people out of restaurants the president is telling the country the ‘press is the enemy of the people‘. More shouting and demands.

Labels

Most noteworthy is the penchant for labels that make the old republican and democrat divide quaint. Alt-Right, Democratic Socialist, Populist, White Nationalist, Conservative, Liberal, Right and Left, up and down in a dizzying tornado of deadly serious nonsense.

Setting The People Back Decades

When the Chinese Cultural Revolution finally ended under Deng, the party recognized it had set the country and people back decades. Perhaps the only reason China wasn’t torn apart by Mao sponsored mobs running amok is because it was and is a tyranny. Maybe that is our future.

This Doesn’t End Well So Grow Up

In conclusion, this doesn’t end well. I know it seems like years but Trump has been president for only a year and eight months.  Eventually some test will come up for Donald Trump. The question is whether our politics these days can weather it.

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American Cultural Revolution-Bob Davis Podcast 745

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739

President Trump’s comments with Russian President Putin in Helsinki this week kicked off a media firestorm. With stories like this it’s hard to tell which end is up, these days. We’ll talk about it in Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739.

A Disaster For The White House

Everything was going “so well” until the President went to Helsinki, Finland to talk to Russian President Putin.

Most noteworthy were comments from Trump that contradicted US intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Treason?

Were Trump’s comments a mistake or intentional?

Do they constitute ‘treason’? Really?

When You Have To Say Something…

As a podcaster I do not envy people who have to be on the air everyday and react to these kinds of breaking stories. When a president as unpredictable as this one makes news with every tweet and comment what does one say?

When Press Conferences Go Bad

It’s especially relevant to note the Trump-Putin summit did not result in any signed agreements. There was a cordial discussion. It was the joint press conference that kicked off a media rampage of truly biblical proportion in the US. It certainly didn’t help that Trump was unprepared, and proud of it.

We’ll break it down in Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739.

Telling Us What To Think

Moreover critics and supporters are busy telling all of us what to think and what will happen next. Either Trump’s a genius or a fool. He’s getting a second term or will be impeached. Academics write several hundred words supporting the so called ‘resistance’ or articulating the president’s policy for him.

Everyone On TV or Radio Is An Expert

Everything Trump does has ‘never been done before’. Former government officials are trotted out to tell us how this is the worst thing that has ever happened. Smarty Pants Professors tell us what Abe Lincoln or Woodrow Wilson would have done.

Now What?

In conclusion, are people really going to take to the streets because Trump upset the Mueller applecart in Helsinki? Is Trump in the process of destroying the Republican party? Are democrats doing the same thing on the left, by attacking everything the president does? Let’s talk about it.

(Editor’s Note: At the beginning of this podcast I say, “until Trump went to Russia”. Of course this is a joke. The president went to Helsinki, Finland for his bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.)

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Trump-Russia-Comments-Media Firestorm-Bob Davis Podcast 739


 

 

Summer Without Air Conditioning-Reading More News-Midnight Walk Talk-Bob Davis Podcast 738

Some people turn off their air conditioning as some kind of statement. I just don’t like air conditioning and it doesn’t matter how hot it is. It’s perfectly still outside at midnight. Storms on the way. Time for a walk and talk podcast in Summer Without Air Conditioning-Reading More News-Midnight Walk Talk-Bob Davis Podcast 738.

Back To Reading

These days in my world I feel the need to start reading in depth again. During my talk radio days it wasn’t uncommon to read two to three hundred pages of information a day. Most noteworthy here is podcasting doesn’t require that level of prep. Unfortunately you lose the detail on key issues.

So it’s back to scanning, printing and reading. I feel like I am in summer school!

Two Big Stories

In Summer Without Air Conditioning-Reading More News-Midnight Walk Talk-Bob Davis Podcast 738 we’ll take a look at two big developing stories with an eye toward pointing out how story lines force us to anticipate outcomes rather than waiting until a story plays out.

Telling Us What’s Going To Happen Again

It has been a week since the president slapped tariffs on US trading partners. There has been no measurable economic effect to this date but that doesn’t stop commentators and reporters from telling us how Trump’s actions are already ‘having an economic effect’.

In addition the president’s comments on NATO are generating all kinds of talk. What’s going to happen? Why don’t we wait and see?

No Information Means Shouting Matches Not Conversations

Do you feel confident discussing trade and international defense agreements with strangers? Maybe it’s because you don’t have enough information.

Finally if we’re being fed a constant stream of speculation with no real information, is it any wonder our conversations about issues turn into shouting matches?

Join me on the walk and talk as the storms roll in and we’ll talk it out.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

Summer Without Air Conditioning-Reading More News-Midnight Walk Talk-Bob Davis Podcast 738