Apolitic: A Progressive Discussion For People Who Hate Politics

The First Words (10”) On The Podcast: Kevin McCathy on Fox News https://youtu.be/gOcUqhw351Y Fact check on Kevin McCathy's claim that 9% of the Covid Relief Bill is being spent for Covid Relief: False! Get the details here: https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/6887487002 And here from American Association of Retired Persons (AARP): https://feeds.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2021/covid-19-relief-bill.html?_amp=true Discussion of Where The Republicans Are Headed (Part 3): Misinformation: Beware! The current direction of the Republican Party needs to be recognized and responded to at the ballot box particularly by people who have not voted regularly or at all. The current situation of the Republican Party as of November 2020 through May 2021 indicates that the party regulars believe that Trump won the 2020 election. Republicans in 2021 want to oppose government spending to help with pandemic relief, oppose extensive infrastructure restoration (including roads, bridges, the electrical grid, the family structure, renewable energy, broadband internet access for all), and (in The in the case of many Republican state legislators, to put many barriers in front of prospective voters to reduce the size of the electorate—All in the name of fraud prevention. Many conservative commentators have spoken words of caution to the leadership of the Republican party and these commentators have in many cases resigned from the party as long as Trump tries to control the direction of Republican ideology. There are many other criticisms of Trumpism which we will not address today but we will be speaking about this topic of Trump's weaknesses over the next 18 months. The main thing now is to convince people who have not voted or people who are undecided why they should vote for progressive candidates—In some cases for the Democratic candidate and in some cases for the progressive challenger in primary elections. George Will Article March 2021 “Will Republicans Let The Louts Rule Their Party?” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-senate-republicans-allow-their-louts-to-rule-the-party/2021/02/11/ce082db6-6caf-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html?outputType=amp https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-senate-republicans-allow-their-louts-to-rule-the-party/2021/02/11/ce082db6-6caf-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html?outputType=amp Cuomo 5/3/21 Chris Cuomo leads a discussion of Republican Party confusion and division in which a variety of commentators and politicians outline the dysfunction in the Republican ranks as of May 2021. It will only get worse from here in my opinion! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuomo-prime-time-with-chris-cuomo/id1393858741?i=1000519975774 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode begins with a quote from Lindsay Graham On Fox News Sunday from February 14, 2021 where the senator tells the country that the future of the Republican Party, for at least the next few years is aligning with Donald Trump since he managed to get 77 million votes in the 2020 election—the numbers are, for many Republicans, all the evidence that you need to convince the objective observer that the direction for Republicans need to take for the next 19 months—double down to support the former president at least until the level of his prosecutions finally becomes too damaging. In the mean time the Republicans will continue to fight (Liz Chaney vs. Kevin McCarthy), deny the significance of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, pass restrictions on voting in many states, crack down on civil protesting, complain about how much Democrats want to spend on pandemic treatment/economic relief/infrastructure restoration, claim (falsely) that the Democrats want to raise taxes on everyone, and continue to engage in denial of spectacular scandals (like Matt Gaetz and Rudy Guliani/Donald Trump). We all need for the person who has never or rarely voted to become informed, speak up, and cast your vote. Apolitic will continue to give you high quality information. In episode 59 we will tell you what long time conservative George Will recently said about the Republican Party is headed in the next two years. https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we are discussing the future strategy of two leading Republicans—Mitch McConnell the Republican Minority Leader in the Senate and Lindsey Graham the Minority Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. These men are considered by many pundits as the leaders of the Republican Party. On February 13, 2021 the Democrats from the House of Representatives concluded their impeachment arguments against Donald Trump, the now former President. Their intention was to set a precedent of condemnation for the President who they believe encouraged, on January 6, 2021, thousands of demonstrators to “Stop The Steal” (Trump's false claim that he had been re-elected president in a landslide victory) by disrupting the House and Senate members who were trying to confirm the results of the Electoral College, who had voted to finalize the November election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in December of 2020. The Republicans chose to avoid hearing the impeachment charges while Trump was still president and then voted 43-7 (on February 13 as we cited above) to acquit President Trump because they felt that because Trump had been defeated in the election and had left town following Biden's official installation as president, making the impeachment invalid. So officially Trump was not officially barred from running for re-election in 2024 (at least as of February 23). Immediately after the vote Senator McConnell surprised many observers by making a long speech on the Senate floor that he thought that Trump was guilty of grave misconduct that could still be convict-able in court—thus communicating a break with the 74 million voters who voted for Trump and the loyalists in congress who still felt that Trump hadn't done anything all that bad (especially because they did not accept the election results from November-December and plan to go on resisting the Democrats for the next two years). Lindsey Graham went on Fox News Sunday and declared that Mitch McConnell was still his friend, but Graham was of the opinion that Trump was the best hope for the Republican Party to lead the party to victory in 2022 and it was vitally important for all loyal Republicans to back Trump as much as possible for the next two years. The American People are going to have to speak again clearly in 2021 and 2022 to either stop the progress proposed by progressives or clearly signal that the corruption of both Republicans and conservative Democrats must end and it is finally time to pass laws and implement programs that will put the interests of the American people ahead of all other agendas. The speech by Mitch McConnell and to interview with Lindsey Graham are linked here. If you listen one or both men bare in mind that they both, in my opinion speak with “forked tongues” as our native peoples used to say. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-mcconnell-s-full-remarks-following-senate-vote-to-acquit-trump-100994117808 https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we are discussing the future strategy of two leading Republicans—Mitch McConnell the Republican Minority Leader in the Senate and Lindsey Graham the Minority Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. These men are considered by many pundits as the leaders of the Republican Party. On February 13, 2021 the Democrats from the House of Representatives concluded their impeachment arguments against Donald Trump, the now former President. The Democrats' intention was to set a precedent of condemnation for the President who they believe encouraged, on January 6, 2021, thousands of demonstrators to “Stop The Steal” (Trump's false claim that he had been re-elected president in a landslide victory) by disrupting the House and Senate members who were trying to confirm the results of the Electoral College, who had voted to finalize the November election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in December of 2020. The Republicans chose to avoid hearing the impeachment charges while Trump was still president and then voted 43-7 (on February 13 as we cited above) to acquit President Trump because they felt that because Trump had been defeated in the election and had left town following Biden's official installation as president, making the impeachment invalid (but remember that Trump and many Republicans still maintain the fraud that Trump was re-elected in a landslide victory). So officially Trump was not officially barred from running for re-election in 2024 (at least as of February 23). Immediately after the vote Senator McConnell surprised many observers by making a long speech on the Senate floor that he thought that Trump was guilty of grave misconduct that could still be convict-able in court—thus communicating a break with the 74 million voters who voted for Trump and the loyalists in congress who still felt that Trump hadn't done anything all that bad (especially because they did not accept the election results from November-December and plan to go on resisting the Democrats for the next two years). Lindsey Graham went on Fox News Sunday and declared that Mitch McConnell was still his friend, but Graham was of the opinion that Trump was the best hope for the Republican Party to lead the party to victory in 2022 and it was vitally important for all loyal Republicans to back Trump as much as possible for the next two years. The American People are going to have to speak again clearly in 2021 and 2022 to either stop the progress proposed by progressives or clearly signal that the corruption of both Republicans and conservative Democrats must end and it is finally time to pass laws and implement programs that will put the interests of the American people ahead of all other agendas. The speech by Mitch McConnell and to interview with Lindsey Graham are linked here. If you listen one or both men bare in mind that they both, in my opinion speak with “forked tongues” as our native peoples used to say. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-mcconnell-s-full-remarks-following-senate-vote-to-acquit-trump-100994117808 https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

The day after the conclusion of the United States Presidential (And Other) Elections November 3, 2020 was ironically the day that the United States formally withdrew from the International Paris Climate Treaty. Reducing the production of greenhouse gases that are causing the increase of global warming was first proposed by President Obama in 2015. 200 countries, backed by the vast majority of the world's climate scientists, agreed to reduce the production of so-called “greenhouse” gasses with a goal of slowing down the warming of the earth's climate and slowing down the melting of the polar ice caps, causing sea levels to rise which are expected to cause world wide damage and many other unpleasant and unhealthy consequences. But the politicians who have been financed by the fossil fuel industry in alliance with other special interests tried to stop the Paris Climate Agreement from being implemented when President Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the treaty due to the “fake” ideas of climate change and global warming. Amazingly, no other country agreed with President Trump's plan and as a matter of fact such major polluters as the People's Republic of China realized that they must make even more efforts than they first thought to reduce carbon emissions as soon as possible. For more information on this topic there is an NPR audio podcast on the topic at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-wave/id1482575855?i=1000497452785. There is also a longer article https://www.nrdc.org/stories/Paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know. The good news is that the newly elected US President Joseph Biden has pledged to re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office! Elections have consequences! So keep tuned about this topic—we will be following it closely. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

The foundations of Progressivism are good health and good education prepares each citizen to maximize their expression of individual and public potential. The potential of each person to overcome disabilities and other limits has been greatly increased over the past 50 years. Much more progress is needed to help no person be left behind. Public funding of education must be reformed to help failing schools. The Supreme Court of Ohio has declared that the current funding system is inadequate. The legislature continues to fail to act. What is the remedy? As usual the public must vote solutions. That means you and me. Don't want to vote? Well if not prepare to be disappointed. But, if we all put in the effort, study the options, and vote we will see progress and positive change. Our kids and grandkids cannot be expected to thrive in inadequate schools. We must study to learn about the options, vote and evaluate the results. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we begin to discuss how Progressivism demands that we increase our ability to discuss issues with a culture of respect for one another. I may or may not agree with you, but I may not allow myself to be offended by what you say and I will not hate you no matter what. We cannot progress until we can listen to each other and explain our positions with facts. We discuss how that has been done in the and how we can get back there to a foundation of honoring one another. (Part 1 of 2) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode, Apolitic focuses on the views that average Americans—black and white, men and women—have of the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on their lives. We will also be highlighting the men and women who influenced Dr. King. Meet the forgotten woman who forever changed the lives of LGBTQ and workers: Pauli Murray. https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2020/06/26/pauli-murray-lgbtq-rights-civil-rights-act-title-vii/?sh=6e9e7c497620 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

We examine the Republican Party which appears to be led, as of February 7, 2021 by two leaders: Representative Lynn Chaney (R-WY) and the immediate ex-president Donald Trump. These two leaders are representing: 1) the more traditional (the last 20-25 years) Republicans like Chaney who favor the interests of the wealthy class of Americans (the so-called “Country Club” Republicans—who favor smaller government (especially less emphasis on government back Social Security Retirement, Medicare, Medicaid, Educational, Environmental Protection Programs, free trade globally and active support for the carbon-based energy industries), concern about the national debt (especially when the Democratic Party was in control of spending), muscular military equipment spending with active use of military action to promote “defense of the homeland” including active use of the intelligence services to keep foreign and domestic terrorism under tight control and 2) the newer form of Trumpian Republicans who favor “America First” policies such as promoting religious freedom and reducing LGBT rights and gay marriage, increasing tariff barriers, increasing physical and diplomatic barriers at our borders (such as a wall at the Mexican border), withdrawal from treaties such as the Paris Climate Accord and the Iranian Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA—Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action), distancing from with traditional allies such as NATO (North American Treaty Organization), Japan and South Korea (to balance the problem of North Korea's military increases, greater military support by our allies, closer ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia, having a more neutral relationship with Russia and a more strict relationship with China. Both wings of the Republican Party were in agreement on making abortion illegal, keep taxes low with 80% of the benefits going to the top 1% of that 80% going to the top 0.1%), giving billions of dollars of tax credits to the corporate giants and large banks, a distrust of any plan to reform immigration laws, and a hostility toward healthcare reform, especially the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as “Obamacare.” President Trump was very vocal about how much better the Republican healthcare plan would be, but the Republican plan never quite saw the light of day—some people even doubted that the Republicans even had a comprehensive alternative. We will discuss the ongoing Republican struggle and some programmatic alternatives in future programs. https://ballotpedia.org/The_Republican_Party_Platform,_2020 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2016-republican-party-platform https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2012-republican-party-platform https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2008-republican-party-platform https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2004-republican-party-platform https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2000-republican-party-platform --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode, Apolitic focuses on the views that average Americans—black and white, men and women—have of the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on their lives. We will be highlighting the published works of Dr. King as a part of this broadcast. The first work that I would like to recommend is “Martin Luther King Jr. : The Essential Box Set.” This is an audio book which contains many audio recordings of speeches that Dr. King gave during his 13 year public career as a civil rights leader. The collection begins with the 1955 speech Dr. King gave to kick off the Selma Bus Strike that was designed to support the legal defense of Rosa Parks who was arrested for defying the law that expected her to give up her seat near the front of the bus to a white person. 1955 was a year of great turmoil in Selma, Alabama for it was during that year that the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed—4 little girls were killed in that attack. Dr. King gave the eulogy at the funeral and during that memorial he spoke these words which rang so true: “Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to a more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into a life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days.” Well said Brother King! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we examine this question of how we rebuild our society after the disasters of the global pandemic, the economic meltdown in the United States, the highlands divisive presidential and general election of November 2020, and the post-election chaos of President Trump and some of his followers to storm the national Capitol building on January 6, 2021 and interrupt the certification of the new president. We discuss Ann Applebaum's ideas as presented in The Atlantic Magazine and add a few thoughts. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/seditionists-need-path-back-society/617746/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode examines the question of whether or not this twice impeached president who still (as of February 5, 2021) calls himself the 45th President (and will not let anyone use the modifier “former” in his presence) does not recognize that there is a new, duly sworn-in, legally and legitimately elected replacement named Joseph Biden, should be convicted of high crimes and misdemeanors in the form of violating his oath of office, when he swore to protect and defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. 45 members of the senate (all Republicans) voted that the question of impeachment and conviction were now irrelevant and moot because Donald Trump is no longer sitting in the Oval Office—ignoring the fact that Mr. Trump still claims to be president, maintaining that he was re-elected in a “landslide.” Here are three opinions: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/02/01/why-mcconnell-dumped-trump, https://theweek.com/10things/962326/10-things-need-know-today-january-21-2021, https://theweek.com/10things/962326/10-things-need-know-today-january-21-2021. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode continues and concludes our discussion on the legislative tool called “The Nuclear Option.” The main point is that a simple majority should replace the term “Nuclear Option.” We need to progress into the 21st century whereby a simple majority is going to be needed to exercise responsibility to make sure that the American form of democracy will flourish far into the future. We need all of us to participate in the American experiment. Here are some suggestions about dealing with the financial side of the pandemic (https://time.com/nextadvisor/in-the-news/what-to-know-about-every-stimulus-program/). This is more of the history of the nuclear option (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option). Conservatives claim that the nuclear option is very threatening to liberals, but this is, in my opinion, much more of a downside for conservatives (https://www.heritage.org/political-process/commentary/5-years-after-going-nuclear-democrats-have-reaped-what-they-sowed). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we examine the historical use of the “Nuclear Option” by our House Of Representatives and our Senate to take care of Urgent or Emergency problems without excessive delay. These show notes link you to the fuller stories of how the legislature has taken care of extraordinary situations—such as the pandemic of 2020. In this emergency many businesses and organizations had to drastically alter their operations either by allowing their employees to work from home or closing down their operations—this was particularly harmed on the restaurant and bar segment of our economy. Also many service sector businesses were forced to go through major difficulties. The unemployment level rose from about 4% (which was a 50 year low rate) to over 10%—and that doesn't really include all the unemployed and under-employed people. Companies like airlines were not able to operate on a normal schedule and were threatened with bankruptcy. Also millions of people who rent their living space were not able to pay their rent. Millions of people paying for a home mortgage loan were also left up in the air. The first signs of this problem led both parties to come up with a major $2.2 trillion economic stimulus program called the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The CARES Act was designed to help the American people and our businesses to cope with the fallout of the crisis. Everyone knew that there would need to be another relief bill we just didn't know when and how much would be needed. The Republicans made sure to help businesses very generously as well as the top 5% of society. The Republicans started questioning a second Bill about the same time that congressional Democrats started to pass a second relief bill—only they also wanted to help state and local governments who had many unreimbursed expenses during the pandemic. Ted Cruz, for example, said that many restaurant workers would rather take money from the government rather than go back to work—https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/07/27/sen-ted-cruz-significant-resistance-from-republicans-against-their-own-partys-coronavirus-stimulus-package/?sh=1415ae1d6c9c. But as of today (February 4, 2021) the story of corona virus relief is still not over. The second relief bill is still being negotiated and the Republicans and Democrats are still going through much drama. A relief package is waiting for the Democrats to act on the pandemic crisis and millions of people especially to lower half of our people are quietly waiting for more help. Again, this is the reason that I hope many of you non-voters will become interested in our history, current events, and in your power to swing the balance in the favor of progress by coming back and becoming active voting citizens again. We the people can change the course of history if we only vote based on an in-depth knowledge of the facts. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we examine the historical use of the pardon by our president to either cut short a person's criminal sentence or to wipe clean the criminal record of a person convicted of a crime. These show notes link you to the fuller stories of how President Washington pardoned every person involved in the Whiskey Rebellion. There are many interesting stories of presidential pardons in the show notes. But as of that day the unfinished story of the Trump administration at the time of this recording (January 21, 2021) was completed when Donald Trump left office without pardoning himself and his children—that was a greatly anticipated event which never happened. Some times we think we are sure something will happen and we are surprised to see what really happens. But as of today (February 3, 2021) the story of Donald Trump's presidency is still not over. The second impeachment is still ahead and the Republicans and Democrats are still going through much drama. Again, this is the reason that I hope many of you non-voters will become interested in our history, current events, and in your power to swing the balance in the favor of progress by coming back and becoming active voting citizens again. We the people can change the course of history if we only vote based on an in-depth knowledge of the facts. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/12/controversial-history-presidential-pardons-from-watergate-to-whiskey-rebellion/ https://www.insider.com/list-of-most-famous-shocking-presidential-pardons-in-us-history#george-washington-issued-the-first-presidential-pardon-by-excusing-two-men-who-participated-in-the-whiskey-rebellion-1 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we examine the tragedy of Flint Michigan in the first of several parts of this complex story. These show notes link you to the fuller but as of today unfinished story of this epic struggle of people versus an unjust government that is non-democratic and promotes entrepreneurial ideas without accountability to the people Who are being governed. This undemocratic plan also demonstrated a lack of common sense to determine whether or not the public good is being served by these ideas. We will link you to programs by Rachel Maddow and Michael Moore that give a pretty fair depiction of more details of the story. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rumble-with-michael-moore/id1490354763?i=1000505529809 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rachel-maddow-show/id294055449?i=1000505409017 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode discusses the second impeachment of Donald Trump. The big news was that 10 Republicans voted for the impeachment. On the one hand the 10 Republicans were given great credit by many people for breaking ranks with their fellow Republicans in voting for Trump to be impeached and removed from office. On the other hand the number of Republicans who were willing to register their disapproval in this current climate is a palling Lee small and subject to the question why are they not more concerned about trumps behavior and The direction of the country in general. So we ask why were you not more concerned about the taking over of the capitol building and what will it take to get you more concerned about the direction of our country? What about the pandemic which is killing 4,000+ people per day? In the last few weeks President Trump has only done two things: 1) he has visited Texas to show off a very small portion of the border wall that he pledged to build 4 years ago (“and Mexico will pay for it”—complete fiction which any sensible person would have immediately rejected as a suckers bet), 2) he has released an executive order citing China as deserving sanctions for being threatening to the United States. We release the link to the statement (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/text-letter-speaker-house-representatives-president-senate-011321/) and question the validity of trumps analysis the China is so threatening to our position. Btw, the congressional representative that Steve called and very respectfully asked to consider the duty to put the consideration of the violation of our constitutional rights above party politics (Steve Stivers R-15-OH) and vote in favor of impeaching President Trump Rep. Stivers voted against impeachment and by extension to accept Trumps false claims and incitement of the demonstrators to take over the Capitol. The impeachment resulted from Trump's false claim that he was re-elected in a “land slide” and then Trump encouraged the demonstrators at his rally to battle the House of Representatives and the Senate to confirm the results of the electoral college voting. Rep. Stivers is also a major general in the Ohio National Guard and, according to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, “Newly promoted Ohio National Guard major general [is] among [the] highest ranking currently serving in Congress.” https://www.dvidshub.net/news/385347/newly-promoted-ohio-national-guard-major-general-among-highest-ranking-currently-serving-congress In other words, a member of congress and major general in the Ohio National Guard did NOT think that the President Of The United States did anything wrong in falsely claiming that he was re-elected by a LAND SLIDE and then encourage his supporters to walk up Pennsylvania Avenue to enter the Capitol Building and assault the Capitol Police, and on and on—we will deal with more details in future programs. Now just in case your impression of Rep Stivers' judgement not to join the impeachment movement was “well this was a partisan attempt to attack our president,” I will share with you that Anthony Gonzales (R-16-OH) a fellow Republican voted in favor of the impeachment. “The President of the United States helped organize and incite a mob that attacked in United States Congress in an attempt to prevent us from completing our solemn duties as prescribed by the Constitution. In doing so, five people have died—including a Capitol Police Officer—and many more have been injured, and our democracy has been shaken,” Gonzalez said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. https://fox8.com/news/ohios-rep-gonzalez-crosses-party-lines-votes-to-impeach-president-trump/ Stivers should be held accountable for his decision！ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode addresses the question of where the members of the House Of Representatives and Senate who are also members of the Republican Party stand on the most important questions of the day: 1) Who won the presidential election of November 2020–Joe Biden or Donald Trump? 2) Was the assault on the Capitol building a big deal or not? Should Donald Trump be held responsible for instigating of this demonstration and be impeached for violating his oath of office. We are again giving the link to the YouTube https://youtu.be/ht20eDYmLXU which is about 4 hours—the first hour is music and lesser figures; Don Trump Jr is in the second hour; a number of higher ranking figures such as Rudy Giuliani are in hours 2-3 and finally President Trump takes the stage for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. So Trump has put the congressional Republicans in a bind—is Trump the victim of voter fraud? Is Trump in political and/or legal jeopardy for his claims of “disgrace” and “we will never let the country be destroyed ....by the radical left.” Your support for Trump or your opposition to Trump is critical—Trump supporters are totally in support of their man. Where are you Republicans? Where are you the great numbers of current non-voters? The next election in 2022 will be critical in helping the country clarify our future direction—forward or backward? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

We were anticipating a major day of confrontation in the Congress given that there was a run off election in Georgia the day before on January 5, 2021. Many of the pundits (i.e., the people who make a living giving their opinions) expected that the voters of Georgia would vote to return one or both Republicans to the Senate. What actually happened was that the voters of Georgia elected two Democrats! Then, the next day, the Congress, newly realizing that the Democrats were in a newly elected razor thin majority, met to affirm the voting of the electoral college which had voted to elect Joe Biden the 46th president. But President Trump scheduled a rally which after 3 1/2 hours (the full event is linked to a YouTube recording https://youtu.be/ht20eDYmLXU in which the President falsely claimed that the election had been stolen by the Democrats) led to an assault by several thousand people on the Capitol Building which led to 5 people dying, 1 death being a demonstrator being shot by a Capitol policeman, people chanting “Hang Mike Pence”, erecting a scaffold and collecting hangman's nooses, multiple assaults on Capitol police, and many other destructive and larcenous acts (https://apnews.com/article/us-capitol-attack-14c73ee280c256ab4ec193ac0f49ad54). This assault was very similar to the assault of the Bastille in Paris, France in 1789. There are obvious differences between the two demonstrations, but the main point of comparison is the public outrage which led to mob violence. In France, the Bastille Day is remembered as a day when the public stood up to the power of the monarchy—they were saying “no.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille is the link which gives the history of the storming of the Bastille prison. The French people of 1789, very importantly, did not have the right to vote, unlike the crowd in 2021. The videos of the actions of January 2021 are numerous—the listeners can look these up. Significantly, there was condemnation of the President from both Democrats and Republicans. Surprisingly a second impeachment of Donald Trump was initiated by the congress on January 13, 2021. The result of that action will be the subject of our next episode. The inauguration on January 20, 2021 seems a long way away. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

Episode 43 “This Day In History: December 31, 2020: The Storm Gathering Around The Congressional Affirmation Of The Electoral College Vote For The 2020 Presidential Election January 6, 2021” The issue of electoral college affirmation of the 2020 presidential election became a big deal when Donald Trump decided that he was going to claim victory in the election in spite of no evidence that the result was different than was accepted by the new major news outlets, the courts, and the majority of the voting population—Joseph Biden was considered the winner of the election. Since Trump has continued to claim that he actually won the election and then he was robbed of the legitimate victory many of his 74 million supporters have continued to believe the myth that their candidate was the victim of a massive fraud. The normal process of counting the electoral college votes and finally certifying The official results of the election is being complicated by the ongoing process of confusion courtesy of Donald Trump. We will discuss the 2 senatorial runoff elections in Georgia on January 5 and the expected finalizing of the 2020 vote. There's significant conflict between the Trump supporters and everyone else that will be played out in Congress on January 6. Ari Melber interviews a Trump supporting legislator who tries to explain his opposition to the 2020 election results (not very convincingly to me ears—this was previously linked on the 39th episode): https://youtu.be/S3tm3ID0eDM. The show down on January 6, 2021 will be the subject of our next episode. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

Barak Obama was unique in the modern post World War II presidency as a chief executive who could lead the country and write about the experience in a reasonably accessible style that could describe the journey in terms that the average person could easily understand. His philosophical and spiritual foundations were clearly evident. His practical and technical grasp of domestic and foreign policy were obvious as well. To enter the presidential office at a time of economic calamity and to set our country on the road to recovery and growth is quite remarkable. While his critics have been strenuous in raising concerns about the direction his team led us in many areas, the recovery and growth of the economy over this last 12 years is undeniable. And as James Carvel famously said if you want to boil down the American people's judgment of the success of a presidency in normal times, “It's the economy stupid!” The thing that caught my eye in the preface of this book is these sentences: “What I can say for certain is that I am not yet ready to abandon the possibility of America—not just for the sake of future generations of Americans but for all humankind. For I'm convinced that the pandemic they we're currently living through is both a manifestation of and a mere interruption in the relentless march toward an interconnected world, one in which peoples and cultures can't help but to collide. In that world – of global supply chains instantaneous capital transfers, social media, transnational terrorist networks, climate change, mass migration, and ever increasing complexity— we will learn to live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize the dignity of others, or we will perish. And so the world watches America—the only great power in history made up of people from every corner of the planet, comprising every race and faith and cultural practice—to see if our experiment in democracy can work. To see if we can do what no other nation has ever done. To see if we can actually live up to the meaning of our creed. The jury is still out.” (page xvii-xviii) This book is an important document that comprises a first draft of history. It's worth a read. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we continue with the sad story of the Republican parties attempt to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. 17 attorneys general from republican states join in a lawsuit with 126 republican congressional representatives to ask the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the elections in four states that were won by President elect Joe Biden. The Republicans asked the Supreme Court to find in favor of President Trump, that the election was fraught with fraudulent vote stealing. The Supreme Court turned the lawsuit away without hearing it because there was no evidence of fraud and because the attorneys general had no constitutional basis for challenging the elections in other states. This is Part 2 of a continuing story. This is a copy of the link from Part 1 In which Steve Schmidt characterizes the republican party as having hit a new low and it's history. And he was formally declaring that he was changing parties as a result of the violation of principle. tps://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/12/10/lincoln_project_founder_steve_schmidt_warns_the_republican_party_is_an_organized_conspiracy_and_they_just_crossed_the_rubicon.html --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we continue with the sad story of the Republican parties attempt to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. 17 attorneys general from republican states join in a lawsuit with 126 republican congressional representatives to ask the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the elections in four states that were won by President elect Joe Biden. The Republicans asked the Supreme Court to find in favor of President Trump, that the election was fraught with fraudulent vote stealing. The Supreme Court turned the lawsuit away without hearing it because there was no evidence of fraud and because the attorneys general had no constitutional basis for challenging the elections in other states. This action by the Supreme Court upheld the principle of democracy in the states in question because they had recount of the votes several times and had found no significant problems. Steve Schmidt, one of the founders of the Lincoln project, a new advocacy group of former Republicans, called this action by the attorneys general and the congressman an act of treason toward our people. We will publish the link to Mr. Schmidt's comments for the interested reader to be able to verify what was actually said. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/12/10/lincoln_project_founder_steve_schmidt_warns_the_republican_party_is_an_organized_conspiracy_and_they_just_crossed_the_rubicon.html --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

The Failure Of President Trump And His Supporters To Deal With Reality (17 Attorney Generals Fight Democracy)” (Part 2) This episode continues the story of how President Trump failed to deal with his defeat in the election of 2020. He claimed victory before November 4 was over and later learned that the vote count did not go his way. This is part 2 of the discussion where we recognize the historic significance of a president who refuses to accept reality and how his party also refused to accept the reality of his defeat. The attorney general of the state of Texas (Ken Paxton who has coincidentally been under federal investigation for corruption and thus might be interested in obtaining a presidential pardon if needed) filed a lawsuit with the supreme court protesting how other four states had conducted their elections and he felt that the results should be reviewed and overturned. 16 other attorneys general (all from pro-Trump states) filed in amicus status to back up Texas. To add further fuel to the fire 126 Republican Congressional Representatives filed in agreement with the 17 attorneys general to petition the Supreme Court to overturn the election results of the four pro-Biden states. Both Chris Cuomo (CNN) and Ari Melber interviewed pro-Trump officials who tried to explain the rationale for their legal strategy. These programs are linked here. Listen and think about the arguments. https://youtu.be/S3tm3ID0eDM (This is the YouTube link for the program on December 14, 2020 where the MAGA delegate from Wisconsin Bill Feehan explains to Ari why he wouldn't concede Biden's victory in the presidential election even after the electoral college certified Biden's election). This clip https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuomo-prime-time-with-chris-cuomo/id1393858741?i=1000502132109 from the Chris Cuomo show on December 11, 2020 begins at the 39' mark when congressman Doug Lamalfa (R-Ca) refuses to concede the election of Joe Biden as POTUS #45 although the congressman does call the 9-0 refusal by the US Supreme Court to hear the case a “setback.” As the judicial losses are piling up Trump won't stop raising money from his supporters and crying “foul.” And we will extend the discussion as needed because this is truly a unique time in American history. We hope that all those in the 33% to 40% of voters who did not register and did not vote will finally discover that their votes are important and that is important for them to investigate the issues and vote. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

“The Failure Of President Trump And His Supporters To Deal With Reality (17 Attorney Generals Fight Democracy)” (Part 1) This episode begins the story of how President Trump failed to deal with his defeat in the election of 2020. He claimed victory before November 4 was over and later learned that the vote count did not go his way. When he won 309 electoral college votes but lost the popular vote by 3 million votes he called it an historic landslide. He called it one of the great elections of all time. But when his opponent won 309 electoral college votes Trump called the election result “fraudulent” which he refused to accept. He is refusing to accept the vote as of December 20, 2020. This is part 1 of the discussion where we recognize the historic significance of a president who refuses to accept reality and how his party also refused to accept the reality of his defeat. We will continue this discussion in episode 39. And we will extend the discussion as needed because this is truly a unique time in American history. We hope that all those in the 33% to 40% of voters who did not register and did not vote will finally discover that their votes are important and that is important for them to investigate the issues and vote. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode Chronicles the origin of Donald Trump‘s strategy of communication which was first outlined in the book the art of the deal. Trump was advocating that he could keep his opponents off guard by the use of “creative hyperbole”—That is, not telling the truth, using confusion, exaggeration, misstatements and if necessary out right lies to gain any and every advantage in his quest to win at all costs. The Art Of The Deal was a New York Times bestseller that was actually dictated to ghost writer Tony Schwartz. Soon after announcing his candidacy for the nomination Trump continued to beat on the lie that Barak Obama was not born in the United States and was therefore not a legal and legitimate president. Trump admitted that he had been promoting a false conspiracy about for five years about Obama on September 16, 2016 https://youtu.be/FVNLWTQ9VH0. Strangely no one brought up this lie again during the 201 6 presidential campaign. And stranger still, 38% of people describing themselves as strong Republicans and 11% of people describing themself as strong Democrats continued to report in November 2018 that they believed that Obama was not born in the United States https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-race-ethnicity-and-politics/article/genesis-of-the-birther-rumor-partisanship-racial-attitudes-and-political-knowledge/8C13EDF7D45A475E97B5D2B35BC8979E. Trump has, according to The Washington Post, not a pro-Trump newspaper, told 25,000 falsehoods as of November 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/22/president-trump-is-averaging-more-than-50-false-or-misleading-claims-day/. Whatever the true number of lies, Trump has abused the public with his “creative hyperbole.“ This strategy was expanded by a method developed in the Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation called “Firehouse of Falsehood.” This strategy is designed to be so disorienting that people cannot keep up with the pace of trickery. Firehose is further explained by guest Jonathan Rauch on the podcast “Reliable Sources” at the 14' mark of the episode https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reliable-sources-with-brian-stelter/id466789756?i=1000500726062. All citizens must be vigilant in checking out all information for validity and reliability, because freedom is not free. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

Today's episode looks at the issue of global warming as a part of our Principle 13 (“Increases Protection Of Nature And The Environment”) through the lens of the new documentary movie “Planet Of The Humans.” This movie has been viewed over 10,000,000 times on the internet and is now available for a nominal rental fee. The main idea of the movie is that it may be too late to undo the damage to planet earth from global warming and that the path to a safe temperature for our world may be unachievable due to the fact that technology is still too primitive to safely get to carbon neutrality. A final major theme is the fact that the environmental movement has been invaded by the billionaire class and the carbon based energy companies who want to profit off of the movement to save the planet, There are a number of critics who have made some legitimate points about how the movie does not accurately portray the problems and the complications of the solutions. We will include some of those links here, There is no doubt that critics' validity aside, that global warming is really a thing, the environment is reflecting the effects of the warming and there will be a greater and greater price for damaging the earth. We need you people who have not yet decided to enter the political process to register to vote, to become informed about the issues, our history as it relates to how things got so messed up, and where we go from here to help ourselves and our children and grandchildren to correct these problems. Here are the links to the critics of “Planet Of The Humans.” 1) https://youtu.be/3Ya7Sb_lV5Q 2) https://youtu.be/cDqZVjAiAvs 3) https://youtu.be/__UJ09PZFoI 4) https://youtu.be/ZmNjLHRAP2U Michael Moore responds to some of the critics 5) https://youtu.be/qcqSTX2yDNc. Let's vote Georgia between December 14, 2020 and January 5, 2021! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

The forces of peaceful co-existence in the world (especially in the United States and Russia) have maintained a program to allow the two main nuclear super powers to keep and eye on one another and their allies to minimize the possibility that either side could surprise the other with warlike actions and threaten world peace: The Open Skies Treaty. President Trump recently withdrew (November 22, 2020) the United States from this treaty with no rational explanation. https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-to-withdraw-from-open-skies-treaty-moscow-says-all-options-are-open-to-us-/30962981.html. We recognize that a new presidential administration has the option to bring us back into the treaty, but the question remains, why the sudden withdrawal? There are many such questions that demand answers, but it may be that you non-voting soon to become voting citizens will have to join the rest of the country to get our answers. Is this the end of imaginative thinking to keep humanity out of war? Some say “Yes!” https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/06/16/a-farewell-to-the-open-skies-treaty-and-an-era-of-imaginative-thinking/. We say “No!” Now get out there and vote! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

It is very common for many workers to think about saving part of their paycheck for the future and more and more people have thought about investing that savings in the US Stockmarket. They dream of keeping their investment safe until retirement and then using the investment to boost their income in older age. Steve and I were talking about this idea when he happened to see an article in the local newspaper that “Millionaires in the Stockmarket Reach An All Time High.” We were intrigued to see how many people had reached $1 million or more in their balance. President Trump was constantly referring to how well the stocks were doing. Well, the number was about 240,000 which was about a 15% increase over the past 4 years, but the overall number of millionaires was shockingly small to us (less than 1/10 of 1%). And what is worse the average balance of the average 401k/IRA is about $110,000 which again is a pretty low number. You can't live very well off of the interest and if you withdraw the money to live on, the money will soon be gone—it's much easier to spend money than to earn it. And to make matters even worse our representatives in the US House of Representatives and US Senators are legally allowed to invest in stocks freely in spite of the inside information that they have access to as a result of doing their jobs. For example, David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler have taken advantage of their positions to make millions of dollars trading, buying, and they are now running for re-election to the US Senate. Kelly Loeffler's husband is the President of the New York Stock Exchange! So, while we do not begrudge people being successful and doing well financially, it does appear that stock market reforms are in order and we need to give the politicians some new limits on investing to make sure that there is much more fairness in the laws governing investing. The limits of the politicians are completely in the hands of the voters. So if you needed one more reason to consider voting look at the following articles for more information. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/how-to-invest-in-stocks/. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/16/401k-millionaires-record-high/. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/congress-insider-trading-problem/608488/. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/25/senators-dumped-stocks-amid-coronavirus-crisis-heres-what-we-know-about-congress-financial-self-interest/. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

The answer by the majority of voters in the city of Columbus, on three occasions, to the above question was “No!” However, investors in Columbus would not be denied by the voters. In this episode we examine what happened to the City of Columbus, Ohio when a group of private investors decided to bring a National Hockey League team to Columbus. The voters voted against the idea of building a $100 million sports arena three times. So the investors built the arena then arranged for the elected leaders to agree to sell the building to the city through the back door (the city owns the building and the $80 million dollar mortgage plus the $100 million dollar proposed maintenance and upgrade package). The elected leadership of the city agreed to buy the arena on behalf of the public. Now we have an arena, but the people who bought the arena gave the investors a nice profit. The investors did not act responsibly toward the public and the elected leaders are not accepting accountability to the public. The voters can hold the elected leaders accountable or not—but they must pay attention to developments with the arena and organize a campaign to renegotiate the deal and/or remove the elected leaders, Voter non-response invites more abuses of the system. A new soccer stadium may be more the same. Voters must be vigilant! We must all pay attention. More information: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2020/11/25/nationwide-arena-repair-fund-short-need-upgrades/6277161002/. If you don't live in Columbus, something similar may be going on in your city, --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode describes what “Ascertainment” is and how it aids in the peaceful transfer of power from one presidential administration to the next presidential administration, Ascertainment became an issue for the first time since the General Services Administration (GSA) was ordered in 1962 to begin ascertaining a new president because President Trump claimed that he won the election in November 2020 and he did not authorize the head of the GSA Emily Murphy to “ascertain” the apparent winner of the election—Joe Biden. Now Emily Murphy was appointed to her position by President Trump, but she is not legally bound to make her Ascertainment call according to the permission or lack of permission of the sitting president. So, Emily Murphy finally did her job and made the call to ascertain Joe Biden's being the “president-elect” on November 23, 2020–20 days after the election. Normally the process takes two or three days, but this is an unusual year and the false claim by Trump that he won the election is only one of the strange events of this year. So, on we go with the strange journey of 2020. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

One of the foundational issues of the United States of America is the issue of one person, one vote. Each and every person over the age 18 has the legal right to participate the the choice of all of our leaders from the top to the bottom. Tens of millions of people have died so that we all have the right to vote and it could be secure and safe. No one has the right to manipulate the vote for their own agenda: not the Democrats as (in 1960 and many other elections), not the Republicans (in 2000 and many other elections). Donald Trump wants to appoint a Postmaster General who raised money for Tump's re-election then strip the US Postal Service of it's normal ability to delver the mail and undermine the postal service's long term health in order to let UPS and other private companies to take over mail and package delivery, I say No! Donald Trump wants to file lawsuits in every state that he lost by less than 100,000 votes to try to undermine the vote of the people. I say No! More importantly many judges (including many of the judges that Trump appointed to the federal bench!) said No! The people of this country have spoken and their vote was no more president Trump, not as much Democratic Party power in the House of Representatives, and we still have to see about the Senate but we saw the Republican Party lose power in the Senate. Whether they lose control or not we will see January 5, 2021. But we need more of you 33% who have not voted to get registered and vote in Georgia! Again, I'm not advocating for a party, I'm advocating for progress for everyone! Trump has lost all but 1 of his law suits (38 as of December 1) because the was no significant fraud. It may take years for everyone to understand the truth: The election of November 2020 was not impaired by fraud, the election was not stolen. Our democracy held. For more info see John Oliver's examination of the claims of fraud and 60 Minutes interview with the head of the federal program that prevented fraud. John Oliver: (https://bypass.the week.com/speedreads-amp/948764/john-oliver-celebrates-trumps-defeat-recaps-absolute-year-week-happened). 60 Minutes (11/29/20): (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/60-minutes/id81210923?i=1000500745564). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode begins the conversation about how the elections of November 2020 will impact our future. A record number of nearly 160 million people voted (the highest percentage sine 1900, but both candidates for president received record-setting support. Joseph R. Biden received 68.6 million votes (the most ever for the winner of any US presidential election) while Donald J.Trump received 65.9 million (2 million more than in 2016). BUT, 240 million people are eligible to vote so we are still far short of our goal to see at least 95% of our citizens vote (about 228 million)! The story of George Washington's re-election in 1792 is a fascinating look at our history. Only white male property owners could vote, so it was really “rigged” but Washington was elected by 6% of the voters—not 6% more than the other candidates, 6% of the voters! Times have changed for the better. (See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1792_United_States_presidential-election. For the voter results see https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/amp34574744/2020-election-voter-turnout-high/ or https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/amp34589422/voter-turnout-2020/. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode begins the discussion of how spirituality and consciousness are central to so much of progressivism—the values of progressivism, the definition of what progressivism consists of, the direction and future of progressivism. The question of spirituality and consciousness are relevant to progressivism because, I believe, we are created and our Creator has given humans the ability to think and the power of perceiving senses and emotions. The thoughts and feelings of people over the centuries eventually led to the idea of political authority residing in the people who make up the state—democracy. And through the American experiment a nation founded upon the idea that the will of the people should be the basis of making the laws, deciding the political direction of the country, and electing the leaders. The founders of the United States could see that the forces of history were operating under a new set of principles (the enlightenment), but they also recognized that the new principles did not invalidate the understanding that we humans were created and the Creator must be factored into our new system of government. Little could they imagine the developments of the last 250 years when they began the experiment of self-government. Little can we imagine what will take place in the next 250 years. But we are sure that progress will lead to many wonderful miracles here on earth and we propose that Progressivism will be part of the future. To that end we share the link of the Hubble Telescope's view of the “empty” universe which is actually full of marvelous unimaginable treasures and promise you that in spite of some dark days ahead we are headed into a beautiful progressive future—under God's mighty loving hand! But we didn't forget what we said in the beginning of this podcast—you atheists might be right, in which case forget everything I just said! https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS899US900&hl=en-US&sxsrf=ALeKk02JMtQcrvjsRBqq3G0X3PabjQg2Eg%3A1604330703197&ei=zySgX6XJC8_5tAbb54OgBQ&q=society6.com+hubble+telescope+deep+space+view+of+the+universe&oq=society6.com+hubble+telescope+deep+space+view+of+the+universe&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAM6BAgjECc6BAgeEApQ8oUCWLO3AmD00wJoAHAAeACAAYcBiAGFCpIBAzQuOJgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#imgrc=Oa7NSXwGXvfXFM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode opens up the subject of the history of the United States encouraging international cooperation after both world wars when we have been operating out of our highest and healthiest principles, while at the same time we have an undeniable history of interfering in the internal affairs of our countries at times in the most underhanded and despicable of ways—all in the name of righteousness. This must change and it will change as more and more people clearly examine the facts of our history. For a very brief overview of the subject please look at Wikipedia (not the most solid reference but generally pretty accurate): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_interventions_by_the United_States --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

In this episode we begin the discussion about how defense spending impacts governmental efficiency and contributes to the waste of precious resources that are needed to make our society healthier and more sustainable. Over the next 10-20 years goals, objectives, policies, and procedures must be adjusted to reflect new priorities. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode begins our look at the spending side of government and helps us see that all spending must be tested for results—does this spending help the people, does it help solve a problem, does this spending pass the test for efficiency or is it wasteful? The national debt is a very serious issue—the accumulation of spending to help accomplish our national goals. Is the annual over spending (deficit spending) leading to a strategic result? Is the deficit helping to accomplish something useful? We will continue this discussion in the next episode. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode continues the series of brief introductions to big topics—the progressive view that we must think about governmental and non-governmental policies, laws, and actions affect Nature in general and the environment of planet Earth. Political theories of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries did not consider how the environment might be affected by their views. Beginning in 1970 Earth Day ushered in a massive movement of considering how the Earth was being affected by the activities of humans. Now we see that the health of the environment on Earth is much more fragile than was previously thought. We must look at how policies and products affect the wider world. “Dark Waters” (2019) is a movie which illustrates the point very well. A labor saving chemical coating on cookware has by now completely penetrated all life on the planet. The damage is incalculable. But we must persevere and try to correct our narrow thinking to reverse the course of the future. Progressive thinking will hopefully help organize our thinking. In the mean time vote on or before November 3, 2020! Keep on getting informed and voting in each election. Every subsequent election will be eve3n more important! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode discusses the roles of renewability of resources especially energy and maximizing sustainability of human activities on earth in the 21st century (and beyond) in progressive political thinking. The excesses of late 19th century industrialization began to show that raw resources were not unlimited. Theodore Roosevelt (possibly the first progressive president) led a movement to preserve some landmarks that would be preserved for the public benefit for the indefinite future. Later in the 20th century the effects of colonial exploitation began to be seen around the world and people began to see that the Earth's resources were limited and that it would be more and more important to factor renewability and sustainability into public policy although some people challenge the idea that limited resources should be managed and maximized. Progressivism recognizes that we are able to renew some resources, but we want to use finite elements and compounds wisely and sustain our lives for the long term. The Earth rise photo can be seen at https://s.yimg.com/aah/skyimage/apollo-8-earth-rise-50.jpg. Some other great resources can be found at https://www.activesustainability.com/renewable-energy/ and http://weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/renewable-energy-is-not-enough-it-needs-to-be%20sustainable/. Now go out and express your power and vote! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This is the true story of Kenny as told by my friend Mark. Kenny married Mark's aunt a number of years ago and at the time Mark had no idea of Kenny's background, Eventually Kenny shared his story with Mark and Mark shared the story with us. Prejudice can be overcome and unlearned. We can learn to love one another and that's what I call progress. Hope you're planning to vote! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode briefly discusses the story of Flint Michigan. Flint was a very important town in Michigan as a hub of General Motors automobile manufacturing in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Before that the workers made thousands of bombers and tanks that helped the allies win World War II. Before that the auto workers began unionizing in a way that allowed General Motors to become a world leader in automobile maker and the workers to live a good life with dignity and a living wage. By 2014 those days were long gone and the local politicians decided that it was time to “improve” the city by switching the city water supply from clean Lake Huron to the terribly polluted Flint River. By 2020 the problems that have plagued the residents have not been corrected and the people of Flint have suffered massive damage. We believe that progressive thinking would not only lead to the correction of the problems and begin to undo a little of the damage, but it could signal a change from apathy, cover-up, and denial of the public damage that is happening all over America due to crumbling infrastructure, We need to proactively eliminate the many toxic threats in our communities and build an environmentally sustainable infrastructure that can become a model for the many disasters that are currently threatening people and the planet around the world. For more information on the Flint story there are many documentaries on the subject. One of the best is “Here's To Flint” (the internet link is YouTube.com/watch?v=x7ULFSaMooA. Hope you are registered to vote and will go out and cast your vote, Exercise your franchise! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

Progress presumes that we take science into account and we use reason to help us in decision making. Science helps us not be driven in our decision making by emotion, but we must also be sensitive to our higher intuitive reasoning because science does not give us the ultimate truth—science is relatively true but those on the forefront of any branch of knowledge will remind us that just when we think we've arrived at the ultimate realization then BOOM there is a fresh new and improved view of what we thought was so well known. But, we must try to keep ourselves grounded in the best understanding possible so we can make the wisest decisions regarding any given situation. Take COVID-19 for example. You may not have known much about viruses before this year other how to get through the common cold or annual flu, but finding out the latest understanding on this virus will pay off as you seek to protect yourself and your family. The same goes for climate change and any number of other issues that we confront today. So Apolitic will help you get ready to understand the intersection of science and politics all ‘in a brief moment of time'. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode begins the discussion of how we in the USA have an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of progressive thinking and promoting the value of respecting the humanity and cultures of people of all nations. We return to a more humble attitude of member nation of the world community rather than the unquestioned leader of the world economically, militarily, technologically, and in all other ways. We are not the world leader in all ways. We do not have to disparage our experiences and achievements or devalue the ways in which we have done good things. At the same time we will make more effort to include humility and openness to learn from others, treat others in all other countries with respect. We are not better than others and no one is better than us. Just as we treat all of our citizens as equally valuable and significant, so we treat others as valuable and significant. The time has long past for anyone in this earth to think of themselves as better or more significant than anyone else. While there are differences in the activities that we engage in, and society or the marketplace provides different benefits for different activities, we must reorient ourselves to a new values system that de-emphasizes materialism and material accumulation or material consumption as our greatest goals. The top 10 conflict zones identified in the 2019 article “10 Conflicts To Watch In 2020”(https:///www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-conflicts-watch-2020) give us some places to focus our attention to see if progressive or regressive thinking is predominating and we will be able to communicate with our leaders political and non-political what we care about. People power goes through cycles of empowerment—we need more focus and action from Mr. And Mrs. And Ms. America to get used to expressing ourselves publicly and privately to promote progress. Register to vote! Vote!!! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode concludes our initial discussion of Principle 8–Racial and Economic Integration throughout our society. People who study our genetic structure find that there really is no such thing as race. Skin color is only 1/1000 of an inch of our outer layer. Cultural differences are real, but progressive thinking indicates that embracing our diversity is a healthier approach to life. We want to feel good about ourselves and loving all other people is the best way to view others. In this episode Steve tells the rest of the story of his experience with bigotry in high school. Maturity brings about a positive resolution to Steve and his attacker. Another data point in our discussion is the 2016 study by Devah Pager entitled “Are Firms That Discriminate More Likely to Go Out of Business?” The study showed that when two groups of employers were compared (I.e., racial discrimination in hiring policies vs. pro-racial diversity policies) the pro-racial diversity firms were much more likely to survive in business when surveyed after 6 years. This study is not meant to be more than a first look at the issues of hiring practices in business, but the promotion of racial and economic integration and diversity are important values and principles of progressive thinking in social policy. We want to promote healthy functioning in our country and in the world. Register to vote by tomorrow (October 5, 2020). Early voting begins October 6 for the November 3, 2020 election! See you at the polls! Vote and express yourself!!! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

If you haven't watched the YouTube video https://YouTube.be/ELQ1hAjMFmk you should really take 10 seconds to watch it. It's really what we are talking about in a progressive society. This Apolitic episode focuses on the point that we cannot enjoy a truly progressive society until all people of all races, colors, national origins can have the freedom to work together, live together in the same neighborhoods, and our children go to the same schools. What we are not talking about is everybody living in identical homes and identical looking homes, but that our communities consist of a mixture of options. Not everyone wants the same things. Some people choose a simpler lifestyle and some choose more grand. We can't all afford to live in a mansion on the top of a hill—not many can. But that's Ok. The point is that nothing in our community should be below a certain level of decency. No family or individual should feel ashamed of their situation. The progressive view of society is that racial and economic justice should promote integration of the the people—segregation should not be tolerated. Edddie Glaude Jr. wrote about this in his book ‘Democracy In Black: How Race Still Enslaves The American Soul' (2017) where he notes “In his last book, ‘Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?', Martin Luther King Jr. argued, among other things, that white supremacy stood in the way of democracy in this country, that it was an ever-present force in America frustrating the dreams of the nation's darker citizens and undermining any pretense to racial justice. He wrote: “Negroes have proceeded from the premise that equality means what it says, and they have taken white Americans at their word when they talked of it as an objective. But most whites in America...proceed from a premise that equality is a ‘loose expression for empowerment.' White America is not even psychologically organized to close /the gap—essentially it seeks only to make it (equality) less painful and less obvious but in most respects to retain it (power and privilege).” Steve ends the episode by coining the term “social vaccine” in which perhaps the young people can finally eliminate the racial, sexual and class distinctions in our society. One can HOPE. In the mean time Register to Vote! Vote!!! The deadline in Ohio to register for the November 3, 2020 election is October 5. Early voting starts October 6, C U THERE! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

Today's episode marks the beginning of a new phase of the podcast—we are shortening the length of episodes. We RESPECT you and your time. We will shoot for quality information and interesting stories in 5-10 minute time frames. We hope that you will follow the flow of explaining progressivism. We want you to feel empowered to reclaim your citizenship and the power of your vote. The YouTube video of the two boys: https://youtu.be/EIQ1hAjMFmk. The important part of the video is really only 10”. We recommend if you've seen the video to watch it again with a view to putting yourself into the place of one of those kids and ask yourself “How might my life be different if I had grown up in a world where people of all colors could really love and respect each other?” Progressive thinking makes the integration of people at work, in neighborhoods, and schools. Such integration has been slowed by income inequality which we believe will be improved by increasing education achievement by students who will be given more years of publicly supported education (from the current K-12 system to the future pre-K beginning at age 2 when language skills are at peak potential through grade 16 when students can complete college or trade school mastery). Another strategy to increase integration by improving economic functioning of all people will be helped by the increasing of the minimum wage to $15 an hour. People will be more able to mix, live, and go to school when they are not separated by finances. Register to vote! THEN VOTE! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

2020 has been a year of some of the most extreme examples of police abuse of people of color on the street: George Floyd being choked to death, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake being fatally shot (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/09/george-floyd-breonna-taylor-jacob-blake-what-we-know/5753696002/). The ongoing legal cases will take much time to resolve (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/breonna-taylor-settlement-good-step-activists-say-more-can-be-n1240261), but in the meantime we must vote for a process of change. The US Congress has tried to negotiate a next level of changes (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-congress/republican-senator-sees-effort-this-week-to-revive-police-reform-debate-in-u-s-congress-idUSKBN23Z0QV) but the fall election seems to give the people in office a sense that they can do nothing while conditions in our country deteriorate. We must take back our sovereignty and use our vote to encourage the people who are trying to work for improvement such as the “problem solvers caucus” (https://gottheimer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2194). Change laboratories such as in Newark, New Jersey demonstrate that viable improvements are possible. The current system in most cities in our country can no longer stand. Progress is mandatory! Register to vote!! Vote and make your voice heard. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This is the 5th episode of our discussion of Principle 6 of the Progressive political philosophy. We are not favoring any political party, but we do wish to promote progressive ideas that will help all people to improve their prosperity and lead to a healthy and sustainable society. These progressive ideas and policies are aimed at eventually improving conditions for all people around the world. We look at the following sources: 1) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/08/for-the-fifth-time-in-a-row-the-new-congress-is-the-most-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-ever/ 2) https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-next-covid-19-relief-bill-must-include-student-debt-cancellation/ 3) https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/181#:~:text=Lilly%20Ledbetter%20Fair%20Pay%20Act%20of%202009%20%2D%20Amends%20the%20Civil,individual%20is%20affected%20by%20application 4) https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/ 5) https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/ 6) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/11/01/how-wealth-inequality-has-changed-in-the-u-s-since-the-great-recession-by-race-ethnicity-and-income/ 7) https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/04/21/about-half-of-lower-income-americans-report-household-job-or-wage-loss-due-to-covid-19/ Ohio Registration Voter Deadline: Mon October 5! Early voting begins Tues October 6! Register!!!! Vote!!!!! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode will continue the discussion of how progressive thinking led to the passage of the Civil Rights legislation between 1957 and 1967 moved our country forward to promote the increase of Equity in our country. But, as we will see in future episodes, even as progress was being promoted, we made maddeningly slow progress. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were just a few of the African-American leaders who challenged the status quo. We were very far behind where we need to be in the areas of civil equity and equal opportunity—we have very far to go in 2020 in my opinion. YouTube Resources on the subject include “Eyes On The Prize” which is an excellent 6 part series on the Civil Rights Era. Another interesting perspective is the 2016 movie “I Am Not Your Negro” in which James Baldwin gives his perspectives on the black experience during the 1950s-1970s. Also, web address https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act gives an excellent presentation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Now see if you can register or get someone that your know who isn't registered to register to vote! Remember to vote! We need to get more of our citizens to vote! 60% or less voting is pathetic! We can change our country and the world if we will stand up and speak! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode is Part 3 of our examination of how African-Americans have been denied equity and opportunity between 1865 and 1965. While we barely scratch the surface of the question of increasing equity and opportunity in our society we provide some important introductory facts that will lead us to some progressive ideas to fix this mess. We need a voting majority to implement governmental solutions, but we need ideas from all corners of our society to follow the governmental fixes with a full range of ideas from the people, organizations, and institutions from within all sectors. For those who are looking for some good reads on these topics of the history of inequity please look at -- Two histories of Reconstruction by Eric Foner: Reconstruction and The Second Founding -- Richard Rothstein's book The Color of Law, on the federal role in housing segregation -- The Equal Justice Initiative's lynching project, which documented the extent of lynching (check the interactive maps and the EJI reports on related subjects) -- Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns and her new and thought-provoking book Caste -- A highly recommended op-ed piece in the New York Times a few days ago on an iconic massacre of Blacks by a white mob in Colfax, Louisiana, in 1873 and the Supreme Court decision (US v. Cruikshank) that allowed the perpetrators to go free and set a long-lasting precedent. The last paragraph of this article nicely sums up what I'm trying to say about why all this history is critically relevant. For a corrected link to yesterday's show please see https://www.colorlines.com/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-slavery-and-wont-learn-django --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support

This episode discusses some surprising new insights about slavery that have been unearthed in recent years. PBS has given new insights into slavery between 1600 and 1865. “10 Things You Should Know About Slavery and Won't Learn at ‘Django.' (From Colorlines.Com/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about slavery-and won't-learn-django) and (https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/10-black-history-little-known-facts/) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/friday13/support