Chaos-Confusion-Shut Down-Merry Trumpmas-Bob Davis Podcast 788

Chaos-Confusion-Shut Down-Merry Trumpmas-Bob Davis Podcast 788

I love talking about current events. These days it gets harder and harder because of a volatile President Trump. Learn more in Chaos-Confusion-Shut Down-Merry Trumpmas-Bob Davis Podcast 788.

Genius Or Idiot

Moreover all this talk of political polarity isn’t republican or democrat. Either you think the president is a genius or an idiot. There’s no in between.

Especially relevant is the question of whether we are able to take a step back and look at recent key events with some perspective.

Economics and Diplomacy Nobody Wants To Discuss

Not too long ago I asked listeners and subscribers to think about what US economic and foreign policy should be. A presidential election and midterm election have taken place since then.

Suddenly foreign policy and economic policy are front and center. We’ll talk about it fireside in Chaos-Confusion-Shut Down-Merry Trumpmas-Bob Davis Podcast 788.

Syria and Turkey

First of all, the president made a snap decision to withdraw US Troops from Syria while on the phone with the Turkish president. In the aftermath the defense secretary resigned, as well as a senior diplomat managing the alliances to fight ISIS. Now the president is talking about withdraws from Afghanistan and Iraq. Is he right?

Combined with Trump’s executive order ban of Bump-Stocks the Syria Withdraw has usually fawning talk show hosts apoplectic.

Government Shutdown

In addition the ongoing struggle between the White House and Congress has resulted in a government ‘shutdown‘. What’s more the struggle appears to be between a Republican president and his Republican majority in the House and Senate.

Firing The Fed Head

On top off all this the president wants to fire the Federal Reserve Chairman. Concerns about economic performance are rising and finally financial analysts are writing about government spending accounting for most of the so called ‘boom’ in the US economy over the last two quarters. This is conservative republican economics?

End Of Conservative GOP

Finally there’s talk of a big split within the republican party. Moderate Republicans fighting Trumpers. Trump fighting with all of them to get a wall built along the US Mexican border. Through all of this there’s been no legislation on key matters like immigration even with republican control of the Legislative and Executive branches of the government. It sure seems like the lack of principles and republican populism is tearing the so called ‘conservative’ coalition apart.

Merry Trumpmas

In conclusion the question of whether people thought about policy during both elections is key. New ideas, and international structures are coming. If we the people don’t start thinking about what kind of country we want, and how will the next America function? Trumpmas will look like child’s play. All of this has me aching to hit the open road!

Sponsored by John D Scott Personal Injury Lawyer, Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, and Reliafund Payment Processors

Chaos-Confusion-Shut Down-Merry Trumpmas-Bob Davis Podcast 788

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The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619

The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619

Different Mysteries Left and Right

Susan Rice is the leaker. A political Flack. Running an operation to discredit the new president before he took office. Rice is at least guilty of a felony. At least that’s the story the right wing commentators are telling. In The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619.

On the left it’s a different story. National security became a top concern after someone hacked the DNC computers. The Russians did it. The Russians did it because Trump did some kind of back room deal.

Opinion Is Not News

In America’s increasingly partisan media most people only want their beliefs confirmed. There’s no chance a political point of view different from my own can be right. Is there? A sea of information. Where opinion masquerades as fact and personalities beat the drums. We’re supposed to dance to their rhythm.

We Know Nothing…yet

Real Facts? In The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619 we’ll see there are few facts. Russians hacking the DNC? Not so fast. Trump making deals behind the scenes with Putin? Obama ordering illegal surveillance of a president elect? Maybe. Maybe not.

Tin Foil Hats Anyone?

Evidence supporting claims of the right and left in this case is thin. All of it has the classic elements of conspiracy theory. So we’ll take a moment in The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619 to detail the known facts. You can draw your own conclusions. Mystery lovers beware though. We’re along way from wrapping this one up in the final chapter.

Basic Framework

Is Susan Rice a political operative? What is the legal framework regarding National Security Agency intercepts. Why did the Trump administration leak NSA documents to a congressmen? What provoked the president to tweet he was ‘wiretapped’ in the first place? Is there a difference between a wiretap and an NSA intercept? Who gets to see intercepts? What are the significant legal justifications for executive orders in 2011 and 2017 allowing sharing in the first place. Lots of questions.

Where There’s Smoke

One thing is true. The dust kicked up by the Susan Rice story obscures real developments. North Korean Missiles. Syrian chemical weapons. Congressional action on the ACA, Tax Reform and Immigration. We’ll talk about it in The Strange Case of Susan Rice and Other Mysteries-Podcast 619.

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Podcast 611-Define Political Progress

Podcast 611-Define Political Progress

When it comes to politics these days noise is the norm. The latest outrage drowns out talk about political progress. Voters in 2016 made their choices for a reason. Not too early to ask whether the politicians are making progress toward addressing those reasons. We talk about it in Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

ObamaCare Repeal

Number one issue on the campaign trail. Bogged down in congress already. Republicans wanted a full repeal of the ACA. New GOP plan isn’t a full repeal. President Trump has already endorsed it. What happened to promises of a full repeal?

Economy

Somewhere around 96 million people are out of the workforce. Need to create 375,000 new jobs a month for several months to get those people back in the work force. For years we were less than impressed with a quarter of a million jobs each month. Economic growth has been promised. In Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

Cutting Federal Budget

Smaller government? Proposed budget cuts are accompanied with proposals to shift money to defense. Does this reduce the size of government? A hiring freeze can be considered progress. Corporate tax reductions can be progress. However making up corporate tax reductions with higher taxes somewhere else doesn’t cut the budget.

Foreign Policy and Military Spending

Resurgent Russia. Rising China. Political changes in Turkey. Expanding NATO. Cyber Threats. US troops in Iraq and Syria. ISIS. Terror. Climate Change. How will reducing foreign aid and increasing military spending address these concerns? What should the foreign policy of the US be? It’s all in Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

Too Early?

First benchmark on progress made by a majority republican government in the United States. Did you vote for republicans? Are they doing what you wanted them to do?

Sponsored by X Government Cars and Ryan Plumbing of Saint Paul.

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