Podcasts about agriculture committee

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes represents Connecticut's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Agriculture Committee, where she is Ranking Member of the Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. Her legislative priorities include education, healthcare, labor, agriculture, and veterans issues. A former history teacher and the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Congresswoman Hayes was the first African-American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, elected in 2018. And she has successfully had 11 bills signed into law and advocates for equitable access to opportunity for all. Rep. Hayes discusses Trump's tariffs, trade wars, attacks on colleges and universities, spending cuts and what's at stake for public education, public broadcasting, farmers, SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and more.. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

This episode aired May 5th 20259:00 to 9:45Meghan SullivanVice President of Government AffairsVermont Chamber of CommerceLegislative updatesand how long will this session go9:45 to 10:00Open segmentCinco de Mayo (Mexican Spanish: [ˈsiŋko ðe ˈmaʝo]; Spanish for 'Fifth of May') is an annual celebration held on May 5 to celebrate Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 186210:00 to 10:30Elliott GreenblottAARP Fraudwatch10:30 to 11:00Senator Steven Heffernan, Addison County SenatorEducation Committee and Agriculture CommitteeLegislative updatesEducation bill moves through Senate committees 

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast, hosts Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois take on some of the hottest topics, shaking up the Canadian food industry. There's plenty to discuss, from McDonald's latest attempt to crack the plant-based market with a new veggie burger to the disruptive impact of China's tariffs on Canadian seafood and agricultural products.Kicking off the episode, Michael and Sylvain dissect McDonald's surprising re-entry into the plant-based space after previous failures. They debate whether the new veggie burger will finally resonate with consumers or if it's another attempt destined to fizzle out. As one of Canada's biggest beef buyers, McDonald's faces a delicate balance between satisfying traditional customers and appealing to the growing demand for plant-based alternatives.Next, they turn their attention to China's tariffs on Canadian seafood and other agricultural exports, which pressure producers and create economic uncertainty. The hosts discuss how Canada's food export strategy is being tested and why policymakers seem more focused on protecting the automotive sector than agriculture despite the latter's massive economic footprint.Amid these challenges, the episode spotlights new leadership in agriculture. Canada has a new federal Minister of Agriculture, Kody Blois from Nova Scotia, and Ontario has appointed Trevor Jones as its new Minister of Agriculture. Sylvain shares insights on how Blois's background as chair of the Agriculture Committee could bring a pragmatic approach to the role. At the same time, Jones's rural roots could positively shape Ontario's agricultural landscape. The hosts debate what priorities these ministers should address first, especially given the ongoing trade disputes and the economic pressure on Canadian farmers.In the second half of the episode, the hosts welcome Michel Gagné, CEO of WeCook, to the show. Michel shares his journey from managing primary Cargill and Maple Leaf food operations to leading one of Canada's top fresh meal delivery services. He discusses how WeCook differentiates itself by offering fully prepared, high-quality meals rather than meal kits, making busy weeknight dinners simple and convenient.WeCook's strategy includes local sourcing and a commitment to freshness, with meals made daily and delivered to customers within just a few days. Michel also discusses challenges like price volatility in ingredients—especially chicken—and how the company has become profitable while maintaining its quality standards. He highlights the importance of brand partnerships, like working with chef Gabrielle Drapeau and ambassador P.K. Subban, to build credibility and expand into new markets. The episode concludes with Michael and Sylvain reflecting on how the food industry can innovate in the face of global trade issues, shifting consumer preferences, and evolving political landscapes. Whether you're interested in food policy, fresh meal innovation, or how Canadian companies adapt to the times, this episode delivers fresh insights with every bite.https://www.spraguefoods.com/  The Food Professor #podcast is presented by Caddle. About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph's Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre's Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Massachusetts state Rep. Natalie Blais of Deerfield was named to co-lead the Legislature's Agriculture Committee.

The Senate's Agriculture Committee has released its highly anticipated Critical Ground report on the state of soil health in Canada. We chat with one of the senators involved in the study coming up on Rural Roots Canada, where we amplify Canadian Agriculture. The Canadian Senate has released its much-awaited Critical Ground report looking at the state of soil health in Canada. Paula Simons, an independent senator representing Alberta in the Senate, says they visited farms across the country as part of the study. To read more about the story go to ruralrootscanada.com.

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office on January 20 and Congress will have a Republican majority in both chambers.Some members of Minnesota's congressional delegation will have influential roles. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer will serve as the House GOP Whip. Minnesota will have a big role in shaping farm policy and nutrition programs - U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is now the third ranking Senate Democrat and the lead Democrat on the Agriculture Committee and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is taking on a new role as the top-ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how the state's congressional delegation will fit in to a second Trump presidency.

There are some fresh faces in taking over as ranking members in some key House Committees. Congresswoman Angie Craig talks about her new upcoming role as ranking member of the Agriculture Committee. Plus, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su discusses President Biden's legacy with union workers and labor. 

Ralph welcomes retired diplomat Ambassador Chas Freeman to discuss the United States' disregard for international law, the incoming Trump administration's approach to foreign policy, and the decline of the American Empire (among other topics).Ambassador Chas Freeman is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman was previously a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. In addition to Chinese, Ambassador Freeman speaks French and Spanish at the professional level and can converse in Arabic and several other languages.He concluded his thirty years in public service as Assistant Secretary of Defense, responsible for managing defense relations with all regions of the world except the countries of the former Soviet Union. Ambassador Freeman is the author of several well-received books on statecraft and diplomacy, including The Diplomat's Dictionary, America's Misadventures in the Middle East, and America's Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East.I think it's fair to say that our country led the drive for international law, a world order that was based on rules established by consensus and legitimized at the United Nations. But we have also led the drive away from the rule of law, both internationally and domestically. And I think the connection is contempt for procedural justice or due process.Chas FreemanThat whole area of international law—which was a stabilizing force in the world—has gone [when Trump removed us from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Agreement in Europe.] And the UN Charter is disrespected—not just the US Constitution is—in its fundamentals. We invade the sovereignty of other countries with no serious regard for the legal prohibitions against that. And in fact, those legal prohibitions—which once were something that smaller countries could rely upon when they confronted the great powers—are no longer effective. Therefore, we see at the local level, the regional level, a proliferation of weapons designed to counter and defend against attack by greater powers. So the whole world is in effect arming itself. This is very good for arms manufacturers, but it's very bad for the prospects for our species.Chas FreemanThere are no realistic threats against the United States—except those that we are provoking. Our view seems to be that the best way to deal with the hornet's nest—I'm speaking of West Asia, the Middle East here—is to go and poke the hornets in their nest.Chas FreemanThe real risk now…is Israel has so much power in the US that it could create incidents which would flip the United States into a blazing barrage of empire expansion— and suppression in the United States domestically. And they have an incoming president who is ripe for that kind of manipulation to begin with.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 12/11/241. On December 4th, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan. Clues indicated that the killing was political; most notably, the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were each written on one of the three bullets fired at the scene. As AP notes, “The messages mirror the phrase ‘delay, deny, defend,' which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.” Following nearly two full days of nescience, authorities turned up a suspect – Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of an established Baltimore family who had shown signs of increasingly erratic behavior in recent months, perhaps related to ever-worsening back pain. When Mangione was apprehended in an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald's, he was found with “a three-page handwritten document that indicated ‘motivation and mindset,'” the BBC reports, however authorities have not released this manifesto. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ABC 7 New York reports that Mangione's actions have unleashed a torrent of “‘volcanic' anger,” toward health insurance agencies, which many regard as capricious and cruel. It remains to be seen how this public sentiment will factor into what is sure to be a highly-publicized criminal trial.2. The reverberations of Mangione's actions are already being felt. Back in November, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued a statement decrying Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield's unilateral declaration that it would refuse to “pay for anesthesia care if [a] surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes.” The ASA called on Anthem to reverse that proposal, but their pleas were ignored. That is until December 5th – just one day after the UnitedHealthcare shooting – when the company abruptly reversed themselves and even scrubbed the announcement of the policy from their website. Of course, Anthem insists that the outcry was based on “misinformation” and denies any correlation between the assassination and their decision, per NBC, but the timing frankly makes that difficult to believe.3. Another New York City killing also made the news last week: the trial of Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine on trial for strangling Jordan Neely to death in a New York subway car. Neely was an African-American street artist who had been experiencing homelessness. CNN reports Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, already a lesser charge than the original second-degree manslaughter allegation, which Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed Friday after jurors “twice told the court they could not come to a verdict on the count.” Neely's father, Andre Zachary, is quoted saying “I miss my son. My son didn't have to go through this. I didn't have to go through this either…What's going to happen to us now? I've had enough of this. The system is rigged.”4. Turning to the Middle East, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has fallen. Assad, with help from Russia, has clung to power since the country descended into civil war in 2011, beating back all manner of rival forces ranging from U.S.-backed rebels to left-wing Kurdish militias to ISIS. The faction that finally did wrest power from Assad is called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, which splintered from Al-Qaeda but is now engaging in a so-called “charm offensive” per France24, and promoting itself as a tolerant faction that will not subjugate women or oppress ethnic and religious minorities such as Syrian Christians, Druze, and Kurds. In a statement, the group told the Kurds of Aleppo “You have the right to live freely … Diversity is a strength of which we are proud…We denounce the actions of the Islamic State group against the Kurds, including the enslavement of women … We are with the Kurds to build the Syria of tomorrow.” ABC reports the U.S. will “recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.” So far HTS seems to fit the bill. And if this all wasn't enough, the Syrian situation is further complicated by Israel using this moment to expand its foothold in the country. CNN reports Israel has “launched airstrikes at military targets across Syria and deployed ground troops both into and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone for the first time in 50 years,” setting the stage for a possible new front in Netanyahu's ongoing regional war.5. In Palestine, the Intercept reports five Palestinians in the West Bank, along with the councils of the three villages they hail from have filed “a formal regulatory complaint in Germany accusing the media giant Axel Springer of contributing to human rights abuses in Palestine.” Specifically, the complaint concerns Yad2, a classified ads platform and subsidiary of Axel Springer that has been compared to Craigslist, which the plaintiffs allege enables illegal settlements. According to the complaint filed by Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre, Yad2's facilitation of settler activity violates Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which “requires German companies to identify and mitigate human rights risks within their global supply chains, including in subsidiaries which they control.”6. In more Israel/Palestine news, the student body at Yale has “overwhelmingly,” passed three pro-Palestine referenda, including two demanding that the university “disclose and divest from its holdings in military weapons manufacturers, ‘including those arming Israel,'” per Yale Daily News. These measures passed with around 80% of the vote. Han Pimental-Hayes, an organizer with the pro-Palestine Sumud Coalition, is quoted saying “University leaders have long tried to paint pro-Palestine and pro-divestment students as a fringe minority. The results of this referendum demonstrate that in reality, the movement for a free Palestine and a more ethical endowment is overwhelmingly popular.” Yale Friends of Israel however expressed that they are “certain” Yale will not change its investment policy regarding Israel's weapons of war.7. Looking to Africa, Semafor reports that the incoming Trump White House appears set to recognize the breakaway state of Somaliland, spurred on by right-wing elements who wish to use the unrecognized country as a base for anti-China intelligence operations. This piece highlights that this move would rattle the governments of East Africa and draw the ire of the African Union, but Trump's China hawks see it as a critical element of countering Chinese influence in the region and particularly in Djibouti where the People's Liberation Army has set up one of its handful of foreign military bases. Even if Trump does not recognize Somaliland however, and instead hews to the traditional American “One Somalia” policy, Republicans are calling for Trump to take an approach akin to Taiwan – treating it as independent without formal recognition.8. Turning to domestic politics, POLITICO reports Democrats are staging a “mutiny” against the old guard who have monopolized power in the House. This report focuses on Rep. Jerry Nadler, 77, who will vacate his position as the top Democrat on Judiciary to clear the way for Jamie Raskin, Rep. Raul Grijalva, 76, who announced he would step down as the top Dem on the Natural Resources Committee, and David Scott of Georgia, 79, who is looking down the barrel at multiple challenges for his spot on the Agriculture Committee. Since this piece was published, another major challenge has emerged – NBC reports AOC is gunning for the top Democratic spot on the Oversight Committee. The POLITICO piece emphasizes Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' approach of letting the challenges “speak for themselves,” as an indication that he will not fight this wave of challenges.9. Washington Post labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley reports the Teamsters are demanding Amazon agree to bargaining dates by December 15. In a statement, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien writes “The Teamsters are done asking nicely for Amazon to stop breaking the law. Amazon must commit to come to the table and bargain a Teamsters contract with its workers — or face the consequences of its inaction.” This gambit by the Teamsters comes just as the winter holiday gift deliveries are getting into full swing, maximizing the union's leverage. Moreover, the Teamster's Faustian bargain with the Trump administration may yield results for them, as the normally business friendly Republicans may be inclined to put the screws to Amazon on behalf of this particular union. Whatever the circumstances, the Amazon Teamsters deserve a contract and it is heartening that O'Brien is fighting for his members.10. In decidedly worse Trump news, the president-elect has announced former Missouri Republican Congressman Billy Long as his pick to lead the IRS. A story by the Lever sounds the alarm on how he might use the “non-profit killer” bill to pursue political vendettas against tax-exempt organizations he dislikes. This piece exposes Long's role in trying to pressure the IRS to launch a probe into, of all things, the Humane Society following their support of a Missouri ballot measure strengthening dog breeder regulations. Put another way, if Long was ready to use the long-arm of the IRS to crack down on an organization whose sole political goal is the protection of animals, what might he do to organizations devoted to civil rights or social justice?This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Jim was first elected to Ards Borough Council in 1985 and served as Mayor in 1991/92.He was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 until it completed its work in 1998. He was then subsequently elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing Strangford.Within the NI Assembly Jim served on both the Public Accounts Committee and Agriculture Committee. He was re-elected in both 2003 and 2007, stepping down from the NI Assembly in 2010.Jim was elected to Parliament at the General Election of 2010 where he received nearly 15,000 votes, with the next closest unionist receiving just over 9,000. He was again re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019.Jim is currently the DUP spokesperson on Health and Human Rights. He is also a member of the Ecclesiastical (Joint) Committee.In this episode we talk about his faith, his principles, his love of Leicester City FC and his service in the Armed Forces.Support the show✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...

Tuesday's Second Hour: Our celebration of Iowa Ag Week continues today as we talk with Iowa Farm Bureau Community Research Manager Ronnette Vondrak discussing their investment in the future of agriculture through scholarships available for students. Iowa State Representative Mike Sexton, Chair of the Agriculture Committee, joins us to discuss the session so far and the importance of the fake meat bill working to be passed. Al Kluis from Kluis Commodity Advisors gives us a look at his charts for the next few weeks for grain markets.

In this much-anticipated episode, we're honored to have Representative Mark Alford from Missouri's 4th Congressional District back in the studio. It's been a whirlwind year for Mark since he last joined us as Representative-Elect back in December 2022. Now, having served a full year in the House of Representatives, Mark shares an insider's perspective on the unexpected twists and turns of his tenure. Join Ronnie and Jillian as they dive deep into Mark's eventful journey. From being a crucial part of the House votes that elected Speaker Kevin McCarthy in January, to witnessing the unexpected shift in leadership to Representative Mike Johnson from Louisiana, Mark sheds light on the internal dynamics and challenges faced within the Republican ranks. The demise of Speaker McCarthy and the friction between Representative Matt Gaetz and Speaker McCarthy are explored, alongside intriguing insights into the considerations involving Representatives Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan for the Speaker's position. Mark opens up about the nuances and tensions within the party, including revealing some surprising issues between Steve Scalise and McCarthy. In a touching revelation, Mark shares a bonding moment with Democrat Representative Jonathan Jackson (son of Jesse Jackson), highlighting a unique camaraderie amidst their roles on the Agriculture Committee. The conversation steers toward the Washington "Swamp," as Ronnie delves into Mark's experiences navigating the intricate political landscape. Mark candidly addresses this complex environment, offering his perspective on the challenges faced by newcomers in Congress. The episode doesn't shy away from the big topics, as Mark discusses the potential legal concerns surrounding Hunter Biden and offers insights into the pending impeachment hearing of President Joe Biden. But the intrigue doesn't stop there. Ronnie asks about Speaker Johnson's recent visit with former Speaker Paul Ryan, teasing out the behind-the-scenes moves in Washington. To cap it off, Mark shares his take on the upcoming presidential election, providing his opinion on the Republican nomination and his predictions for the 2024 election's outcome. Tune in for an illuminating discussion packed with insider insights and revelations from Representative Mark Alford, offering a unique glimpse into the inner workings of Congress and the political landscape shaping the nation's future. Follow Representative Mark Alford on Instagram and X (formally known as Twitter): @RepMarkAlford Also, please visit our sponsors:  Dirty Duck Coffee Company: When purchasing anything from Dirty Duck, use Promo Code: PAPA to save. Also, consider purchasing the blend “Gratitude & Empathy” that was created by The Papa Ron Podcast. By using Promo Code “PAPA” or purchasing Gratitude & Empathy, a portion of the proceeds directly supports The Papa Ron Podcast. www.dirtyduckcoffee.com Brown-Pearcy Cattle Company: https://brownpearcycattle.com Clean AF: www.cleanabsolutelyflawless.com & www.dellspowersports.com Follow The Papa Ron Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok: @paparonpodcast To inquire about sponsorship on The Papa Ron Podcast: www.paparonradio.com Also, visit the website for Ronnie's TV show, Heartland Waterfowl on Sportsman Channel: www.heartlandwaterfowl.com. Also, subscribe to Heartland Waterfowl's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HeartlandWaterfowl --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paparonpodcast/support

The Agriculture Committee of Cheshire meet to discuss plans to ensure enough food can be grown for winter. Their problem is that there isn't enough farmland to grow both crops and hay to feed the cattle and workhorses. Their meeting is interrupted with the prisoner, the captured raider. He tells what he knows of the raiding schemes. This provides some clues that suggest Quinn might be the information source used by the raiders. Show your support for the Siege of New Hampshire podcast by buying Mic a cup of coffee on Buy Me A Coffee. You can also become a monthly supporter on both Buy Me A Coffee and on Patreon.

News Fednow, the Federal Resrves new payment system for instant payments, has finally launched (https://www.frbservices.org/news/press-releases/072023-fednow-live-announcement) with '35 early-adopting banks and credit unions, as well as the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service' The US House of Representatives Fianncial Services Comittee, a House subgroup focusing on financial law, submitted a bipartisan crypto market bill (https://www.theblock.co/post/241508/democrats-oppose-crypto-market-overhaul-but-stablecoin-deal-possible) to the Aggriculture Comitte (which oddly is above it) This bill would then be submitted to the house, likely would not pass Contains the language for ICOs to become sufficiently decentralized and graduate into commodities Economics Commodity traders Goehring and Rozencwajg the patterns of commodity bull runs (https://blog.gorozen.com/blog/the-us-reserve-currency-and-commodities) and the relation to shifts in global monetary standards Jesse Myers, aka CroessusBTC, observes the shifting Overton window of bitcoin (https://www.onceinaspecies.com/p/bitcoin-overton-window-lurches-forward) and how very little interest it needs to get really bullish Dedollarization slowly proceeds with Argentina using Chinese RMB to pay off IMF debt (https://www.ntd.com/imf-hints-allowing-countries-to-use-chinese-yuan-for-debt-repayment_931020.html) Privacy The Director of Investigations at Chainalysis, a blockchain surveillance and ant-privacy firm, unaware of scientific basis (https://archive.ph/MYkId) of their surveillance product The actual recorded testimony clarifies that Chainalysis does not validate (https://archive.ph/pGdx7) their results (why would they? Just trust us) The FBI arrested the admin of a Mastadon server on charges unrelated to the server, but seized all his electronic devices (common clause in arrest warrants) wich included a backup of all server data (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/fbi-seizure-mastodon-server-wakeup-call-fediverse-users-and-hosts-protect-their?ref=nobsbitcoin.com) Just getting off twitter doesn't solve the problem of privacy online Energy and Bitcoin Yet another bitcoin argument for mining logically reaching zero emissions (https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/07/24/the-single-most-important-truth-about-bitcoin-mining-energy-and-the-environment/?utm_source=breakdown.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=worldcoin-controversy-reactions) But what's the real energy disconnect between Greenpeace/COP21 and bitcoin energy maximalists? Doomberg thinks that the core fallacy is the economic theory of degrowth (https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22408556/save-planet-shrink-economy-degrowth) that associates growth and environmental destruction. Listen to Doomberg, Rozencwag, and Anas Alhaji on energy investing and shfiting ESG narratives (https://youtu.be/nDYtMvf0aKI?t=1551) Bitcoin Education Bitcoin Optech #261 covers lightning protocol discussions (https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2023/07/26/?ref=nobsbitcoin.com) on the bitcoin dev mailing list, as well as an interesting stack overflow where Peter Wuille explains why a bitcoin seed should probably have more than 128 bits of entropy (https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/118928), but individual addresses don't Feedback Remember to get in touch bitcoindadpod@protonmail.com or @bitcoindadpod (https://mobile.twitter.com/bitcoindadpod) on twitter Consider joining the matrix channel (https://matrix.to/#/#bitcoin:jupiterbroadcasting.com) using a matrix client like element (https://element.io/get-started), details here (https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/community/matrix/) Thank you Boosters If you get some value from this show, please consider sending a boost. Hearing from you means a lot to us! Send a Boost via the Podcast Index web page. No Podcast app upgrade required. Install Alby (https://getalby.com/) Find the Bitcoin Dad Pod on the Podcast Index (https://podcastindex.org/podcast/5049889) Boost right from the page! Send a re-ocurring or one-off lightning boost to the show with no message at bdadpod@getalby.com or directly to Chris at chrislas@getalby.com Value for Value Podcasting 2.0 to support an indepenent podcasting ecosystem (https://podcastindex.org/) Recomended Podcasting2.0 apps: Fountain (https://www.fountain.fm/) podcast app (Android) Podverse (https://podverse.fm/) (Cross platform and self hostable) + Alby (https://getalby.com/) for boosts Castamatic (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/castamatic-podcast-player/id966632553) (Apple) Sponsors and Acknowledgements Music by Lesfm from Pixabay Self Hosted Show (https://selfhosted.show/) courtesy of Jupiter Broadcasting (https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/)

Welcome back everyone!  It's Friday, July 27th, 2023, and this is your Web 3 Unpacked Weekly Crypto Review. Here are some highlights to bring you up to speed:- Twitter is officially rebranded to "X" after owner Elon Musk changed its iconic bird logo Monday, marking the latest major shift since his takeover of the social media platform. Elon Musk's grand vision is to create an ‘everything app'.  More to come on this.- Federal prosecutors told a Manhattan judge they wouldn't pursue a campaign finance charge against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Prosecutors want SBF sent to jail after witness-tampering allegations. Judge issues gag order.- Ben McKenzie, the ‘OC' star's new crypto book is an ill-informed flop. Maybe his mind has been changed after being destroyed in several Crypto debates including the most recent CNBC interview.  Check it out, Very Entertaining!- ‘Pro-crypto bill' passes out of US House Agriculture Committee. The bill, co-written by Republican members of the Agriculture Committee and Financial Services Committee, seeks to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.- Crypto Venture Funding Sees Unexpected Investment Spike With $201.4M Venture Funding Injected Last Week.- Robert F. Kennedy Junior confirmed Wednesday that he did own bitcoin, something he had previously disputed but had been recorded in a financial disclosure form. Keep stacking SATS, RFK!Thanks for listening. For more insights into the world of Web3 and how to navigate the rapidly changing crypto and blockchain landscape, visit arctaai.com and look for Web3 Unpacked on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today we speak with the Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Congressman 'GT' Thompson. As we learn more about the FARM Bill and the importance of constituent engagement.   ABOUT the GUEST Chairman Glenn 'GT' Thompson is the descendant of a long line of dairy farmers and lifelong resident of Howard Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, Thompson represents Pennsylvania's Fifteenth District. As a proud and active Member of the House Committee on Agriculture for more than a decade, Thompson formerly served as Ranking Member of the full committee during the 117th Congress and as Vice Chairman during the 116th Congress. He's also served as Chairman of the Subcommittees on Conservation and Forestry and Nutrition, and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Prior to being elected to Pennsylvania's Fifteenth District, Thompson spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager, and a licensed nursing home administrator. Thompson is a proud graduate of Penn State and Temple University, where he earned a B.S. and a Master of Education, respectively. He and his wife, Penny Ammerman-Thompson, have three adult sons; Parker, Logan, and Kale, and two grandchildren; Noem and Gabriel.     Thank you to our sponsor: Rap Index, tell them Roger sent you. https://www.rapindex.com   This podcast is dedicated to the art of advocacy. Contact Voices In Advocacy at: www.VoicesinAdvocacy.com 480 488-9150 At Voices in Advocacy, we work with organizations that want to inspire, educate, engage, and activate their supports to become even better influential advocates

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by friend of the show, Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Later in the program, we speak with Dr. James Bosbotinis, a UK-based specialist in defense and international affairs.-Dusty Johnson brings an energetic and optimistic style to Washington as South Dakota's lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. A recognized leader in issues related to rural America, agriculture, and welfare reform, he serves on the Agriculture Committee and as Chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee. As a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Dusty has been focused on finding solutions to the supply chain crisis through his Ocean Shipping Reform Act which passed the House in 2021. Appointed to the Select Committee on China, Dusty addresses the 360-degree threat posed by China, especially their ownership of American ag land and ag businesses and control over tech. Prior to being elected to Congress, he served as chief of staff to the Governor and as vice president of an engineering firm specializing in rural telecommunications. Dusty lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons.-Dr James Bosbotinis is a specialist in defence and international affairs. He has particular expertise in the study of contemporary maritime strategy, assessing naval and air force developments, geopolitical analysis, and generating understanding of the connections between maritime strategy and national policy. Dr Bosbotinis has extensive experience encompassing academic and policy-relevant research and analysis for a range of customers, including UK government bodies. He has written widely on issues including the development of British maritime strategy, maritime airpower, Russian maritime doctrine, naval and wider military (including nuclear) modernisation, long-range strike technologies (including hypersonic weapons) and their impact on strategy, and China's evolving strategy. He is the Book Reviews Editor of The Naval Review, and an Associate Member of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, King's College London.”-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds- TranscriptionSam Stone: [00:00:11] Welcome to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. Folks, up first as our guest today, a returning guest and friend of the program. Welcome to Congressman Dusty Johnson, the lone representative from South Dakota. He serves on the as chairman of the Commodity Markets Digital Assets and Agriculture Committee. Or sorry, I am all over the place reading this today. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and as chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets and Rural Development Subcommittee and as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He's also been doing a lot of work as part of the Select Committee on China. Dusty, thank you so much for joining us and welcome to the program.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:00:53] Well, thanks for having me again. I'm glad I didn't flunk the first appearance.Chuck Warren: [00:00:57] We are, too. I've been horrible for ratings. All right. So China has made a secret agreement with Cuba, which is about 100 miles south of Florida. For those of you who bet on geography that they're going to do electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba, is this alarming or should it be?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:01:16] It is alarming. It's alarming for two reasons. Number one, I mean, they're going to have the capability to do all kinds of electronic surveillance across the southeastern United States from there. That's going to give them access to stuff that they don't otherwise have. They can't get this same stuff from space. They could get it from balloons. But obviously, balloons are pretty easy to to bring down. So this is going to give them new capabilities, particularly to scoop up information communications from military sites in the southeastern United States. But the second reason it's concerning is that it shows additional provocation by Xi Jinping. They just keep pushing the envelope. They keep pushing us. They want us to know that they're going to be the bosses of the next 100 years. And it's a problem. I mean, we have a rules based international system was largely erected by the United States after World War II and our allies. And China hates it. They just hate it. They don't think those rules of fair play make any sense. They want to knock down that system and build a new international system with their values at the core of it. And all of these provocations are just part of a longer term strategy. And I would just say this by way of closure. They have a strategy. I'm not sure our country does. I think we just we don't have a thoughtful and deliberate plan on how to make sure that the next century continues to be part of, you know, an American century.Chuck Warren: [00:02:46] Speaking of that, so now we're talking about Cuba. Is the United States with really no strategy neglecting Central and South America, which China seems to be focusing on?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:02:58] Yes. Yeah, we. So many Americans. I mean, we're in a little bit of an isolationist time. People want to, you know, America first. And listen, of course, when we make policies, we should look first to how is it going to impact America, How is it going to strengthen American prosperity and security? But America first can't mean America. Only some people will sometimes say, well, why would we care about Guyana? Why would we care about, you know, Qatar? Why would we care about Ukraine? But when we recede from international leadership and create a vacuum, China is all too willing to step up and fill that void. They love it. They love it when Americans put our head in the sand. They what I would call the Southern globe. They really are trying to be the dominant force there. China is the largest trading partner with every single South American country. That's it used to be America, and now it's China. In public opinion surveys, increasingly, citizens of African nations are saying that it is China that is the leader of the world and not the United States.Sam Stone: [00:04:03] Well, and that is a matter of world opinion, not U.S. Opinion, too. I think we have to take that into consideration. You can't be the leader of the world just because the people in your country say so.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:04:14] Right. Yeah, that's a really good point. And I just think a world where people think China is in charge is a more dangerous world for freedom. And the thing that I've loved about America through the last 247 years is that to a greater degree than any other country in the history of the world, we have been on the side of the right guys, of the good guys, and we've fought for values. And, you know, we haven't been perfect, but we've gotten it right way more often than anybody else has. And that is not China's track record.Chuck Warren: [00:04:46] Well, and it's interesting. China has sort of become the world's loan shark. It's loaning money to these third world countries for ports, infrastructure. When they can't pay it back.Sam Stone: [00:04:57] They kneecap.Chuck Warren: [00:04:57] Them. They kneecap them. Exactly. And trademarked that term. And so we do that. And so that brings me to we talked about I feel the United States for decades has ignored Central and South America. Right? I mean, we have every abundant resource in the world in our hemisphere. We seem to ignore it. And now you have The Washington Post came out this morning with the Saudi crown prince privately threatened a major economic pain on the US amid a showdown over oil cuts. Leaked intelligence show. And now you have Saudi Arabia inviting China over. We just dropped the ball here. I mean, I don't I don't think I have felt this insecure about our ability in the world right now since I have the late 70s.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:05:44] And I would tell you, this sort of sense of populism that's growing on both sides of the aisle is contributing to that. Free trade is out of vogue. It used to be that that was a key Republican value, that a willing buyer, a willing seller, that kind of free trade without undue government intervention that made both sides more prosperous. Again, it's voluntary. I mean, they're only going to enter into it if they if it makes their individual lives or country stronger. Correct? At least in theory. I mean, Colombia is the fifth largest market for American corn. Is that because Colombia's a top five nation in population or wealth? No, is because Colombians have some unique tastes for corn. No, it's because we have a free trade agreement with Colombia. And so the invisible hand just kind of wants this American product to flow toward that country. And this administration, the Biden administration has no trade policy, Zero. There have been no there's been no progress on any trade deal in the last two and a half years. And the world when I have people come to my office from other countries, they they want to do business with America. They want to buy our beef, our dairy, our corn. They want to buy our manufactured goods. And we are not making it very easy for them. And you're right, that kind of stepping back of American leadership is absolutely. Injuring American competitiveness.Sam Stone: [00:07:14] Well, they want to buy our products because our products are well made. They're safer than food coming from China. Know all of those things. We have this really good capitalist system, but at the head of it is a government that has no idea what it's doing and keeps making radical course changes between administrations. That has to be throwing out all of our allies for a loop.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:07:37] That it is they they still realize that, you know, when we lead, we're the best leader in the world. There's nobody else can bring to the table what America does. They get a little nervous when they feel like America is too inward focused. Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, told me a few months ago that America's political division is a global security threat, that when our Republicans and our Democrats are bickering, the rest of the world gets concerned. And when we're getting along, when America is united, the whole world just breathes a sigh of relief. Oh, thank goodness. Mom and dad, they're the cops on the beat. There's going to be more security. There's going to be more free trade. There's going to be more prosperity across the globe. When we drop the ball, everybody feels it.Sam Stone: [00:08:30] How much is what China is doing right now is really reminiscent of an economic version, if you will, of the Empire Building of the 18th and 19th and early 20th century. How did they how do Chinese people view what they're trying to do in their territorial ambitions? Have you gotten any information on that from your briefings? I mean, do they have real popular support in their country for this sort of muscular foreign diplomacy?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:09:00] We heard from two survivors of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Last week, it was the anniversary of the massacre. And what was most interesting to me about that briefing wasn't just replaying the terrible events of that day, but about how little awareness there is among the Chinese people about the actions of their government. The Great Chinese Firewall is for real. It is very difficult for everyday Chinese people to gain understanding of what their government is doing. And this is the most sophisticated surveillance state that has ever been constructed with human knowledge. And I don't I think Americans don't understand how bad it is. I mean, there are regions in China where you can only get toilet paper in a public restroom by scanning your ID. They want to know where you are. They want to know what you're doing. They want to know how much toilet paper you're using. This is an almost breathtakingly deep invasion of people's privacy, so people are not comfortable speaking out there. There is not a free media. And I not only do they not understand what their government is doing today, there is almost no historical memory of the fact that this has been a repressive and oppressive regime for decades. It is a major problem. The Chinese people are not are not an adversary to our nation. It is just Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party.Sam Stone: [00:10:35] Well, and that brings up a good point. You talk about the digital wall that they've created. I mean, one of the ways that we've really advanced towards ending the Cold War and ending the antagonism with the Soviet Union was with Voice of America, with other communications, where they started seeing on TV the lies their government was telling. Because their government says everyone in America, its poor, it's racked by race riots. All the time. It's a terrible place to live. And then I talked to one ex-Soviet who said, hey, they showed us that. But then they're saying these are the ghettos and everyone has cars and none of us had cars. How do we break through the digital wall? I mean, is there a way for us to start trying to to direct more information to these folks?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:11:25] Yes. And I think things like low earth, low orbit satellites can can play a role in giving people access to Internet that doesn't go through the great Chinese firewall. It can help, you know, one, 1.5 billion Chinese people understand that their regime is evil and is working to make them subservient every single day. But that requires an investment like putting satellites up in space and giving people access to, you know, the World Wide Web. This is not something that happens for free. And I think in our political system right now, if somebody said, well, we want, you know, X hundreds of millions or, you know, a few billion dollars to be able to deploy these satellites like the Voice of America to cut through these tyrannical regimes. What do you all think? I mean, I think a lot of Americans would say, well, why do I care what's going on in Hong Kong? Why do I care what's going on? I mean, I just it seems like it doesn't affect my life.Chuck Warren: [00:12:24] And well.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:12:25] The so I think we've got some information sharing we got to do. Well.Chuck Warren: [00:12:28] We're almost out of time here for this first segment. But I think my final comment here real quick is there's just so much going on in the world. You're saying, how much can I handle mentally? I think that's a big part of it. Now, we're with Congressman Dusty Johnson, South Dakota. This is breaking battlegrounds. Find us at breaking battlegrounds, dot vote or your favorite podcast. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds. I'm your host, Chuck Warren and Sam Stone. We are honored to have friend of the show, Congressman Dusty Johnson, Republican from South Dakota, a true leader in Congress. And folks, are you concerned about your retirement? You probably should be. Things aren't getting cheaper. Social Security going to have to be altered some, whether you like it or not, in the future. That's why Sam and I are recommending to you Yrefy? They are a great opportunity to help students pull out of their private loan college debts, and you can get up to a 10.25% return. That's right, 10.25%. So learn more about how to make your investment dollar go further better than the stock market, actually. And that's why we suggest you call Why Yrefy at eight, eight, eight. W Yrefy two four? Again, call eight, eight, eight Yrefy two four and tell him Chuck and Sam sent you.Sam Stone: [00:14:00] Congressman, thank you for sticking with us, folks. He's going to be on for one more segment after this. Also. So, Congressman, we very much thank you for your time this morning. But one thing we wanted to touch on before we move on to other topics is we've been talking about China. You're part of the China Select Committee. We had Congressman Dunn on the program a couple of weeks ago, and he told us something that I actually was not aware of and hadn't heard that all those little South Pacific islands that MacArthur used as essentially the latter to Japan and that we would, quite frankly, need in a war between Taiwan and China to be able to effectively operate in that theater. The Chinese, just like you were talking about in South America, they're making both economic and military overtures and essentially weaponizing that ladder against us. Can you tell us any more about that or is what are they doing? Because it seems very clear that they are gearing up for an attack on Taiwan.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:01] Everything you said is absolutely spot on. And we talked about in the first segment about American leadership receding a fair amount across the broader world. There are diplomats who say, oh, you know, from from these smaller countries who say, when I talk to the Chinese, I get an airport. When I talk to the Americans, I get a scolding.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:22] And.Sam Stone: [00:15:24] I'll take the airport. Thanks.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:27] Yeah. And that's what they're saying now. They know that the airport is going to be built in a very shoddy manner. They know that there's this loan shark mentality that you described, but these are poor countries. And there are times when they've got their backs up against the wall where they don't really know what else to do. They also don't get the sense that this is I mean I mean, Americans have a tendency to view things in pretty stark terms in kind of black and white. I think, by the way, that's when we look at the Chinese Communist Party. We are right to look at them as the bad guys. I think it is that simple. I think Xi Jinping is every bit as big a villain and a tyrant as the famous tyrants of the 20th century we all learned about in third grade. And so I do think that that we are right to look at it in those terms. The rest of the world, you know, these poor countries, they're not so sure. They're trying to make sure their people are fed. And so when these overtures that you're talking about are made, they are far more open to them because America is a little missing in action. Now, I think we have an opportunity here to step up our game because they don't want to cut these deals with the Chinese, but we have to give them an alternative. One more thing in there have been some recent years where where China's Belt and Road initiative invested more money in the developing world than the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund combined. And so it's not just America that's getting outspent by the Chinese. It's really the entire free developed world. We just were getting lapped.Chuck Warren: [00:17:00] Do you think the American public, especially those under the age of 40, really understand what communism is?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:17:05] No, and in part because both political parties are free to use those terms whenever they think that it will provide a short term political benefit. So we really don't I mean, there's not a deep understanding of different political philosophies. No, it is with some communities. It's very clear. I mean, Carlos Gimenez from Florida is on the Select Committee on China with Neal Dunn and myself. And he having spent some time early on in his life in Cuba, I think does understand the backbreaking poverty that can be caused by communism, by socialism. So it's not I mean, it is not unusual among Cuban Americans or among people who emigrated from Eastern Europe for them to understand those concepts. But native born Americans, we just don't get it.Chuck Warren: [00:17:56] I want to switch subjects real quick here. Let's talk about Isgs for a moment. So there's a report out today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation that says under Biden, oil and gas investment is down 80%, 80%. So we just talked earlier about Saudi Arabia threatening economic sabotage on the American economy because Biden doesn't know what he's doing. And now you have these folks that are afraid to put capital on new oil and gas wells, refineries, pipelines, etcetera. We have a problem here because we can be you know, look, there's two things. America should always be self-sufficient on food and energy. There's no reason for it. How do we turn this around?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:18:38] And that is really well said. I do think food and energy are they are the very base of the pyramid. It's hard to build anything upwards if you don't have those as the foundation. And we know that it's almost impossible to cite big projects, whether they be energy or infrastructure in this country. The same project that you can get done in two years in France or Germany takes you five years to get done in this country. I mean, France is not generally considered a paragon of regulatory efficiency. So when we are getting our butts kicked by France, I think that is a should be a major wakeup call. And this is bipartisan, by the way. We've had Secretary Buttigieg come to our transportation committee and talk about how we need to streamline permitting. We have clearly, Senator Manchin has tried to be a leader on this issue. We have really made no meaningful progress until last week. Where the debt ceiling deal, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which I think was pretty unfairly maligned by, you know, far right conservatives for the first time since the 1970s made major improvements in how we can streamline these things. It gives a shot clock for environmental review on energy projects and other projects. So you can't take five years to complete an environmental impact statement. It makes sure that there's a federal government, one agency who's the coordinator who's trying to drive these decisions to fruition. I mean, it does a lot of things that we've been talking about for a long time, but we need even more of it because I think affordable energy is a is an American competitive advantage and we are squandering it.Sam Stone: [00:20:21] Yeah, that's also very well said. It's a huge advantage. We have just about a minute here before we go back to break. We're going to be coming back for our third segment with more from Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Congressman, how do folks follow you and your work? Stay in touch with both what you're doing at the Capitol and while you're at home there in South Dakota?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:20:41] Well, at Rep Dusty Johnson, so Rep, Dusty Johnson kind of on all of the social media platforms, not TikTok, because that's just Chinese malware, but basically everywhere else, that's where we're at. And we'd love to have people join the conversation.Sam Stone: [00:20:56] I did a thing not too long ago for a group of folks asking about different social medias. I went through the purpose of each one of them. I got to Tik Tok and I said, If you have this, throw away your phone.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:21:06] Yep, yep. It's true.Sam Stone: [00:21:09] Congressman, thank you so much. We're going to be coming back here with more from Congressman Dusty Johnson on breaking battlegrounds in just a few moments. We want to touch a little bit on something else that's going on that the congressman has been working on, particularly relating to food security here in the United States and to our our food systems. That has been a major focus of his. And thank goodness we do have some folks in there focusing on it. Folks, make sure you download and tune in to our podcast only segment. You can get that wherever you get your podcasts. We are doing quite a bit on that these days. Those segments keep getting longer and longer and Chuck and I have a nice argument for you at the end of this one. So folks, breaking battlegrounds. Back in just a moment. Welcome back to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. On the line with us right now, Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Congressman, one of the things that you've been working on really since the pandemic has been our food supply security, its supply chain crisis overall. You've been working on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. Tell us what's going on in both of those areas, because I think Americans still don't realize how fragile our supply chain has been ever since 2020 and continues to be right now.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:22:37] There are a lot of factors that make that supply chain pretty fragile. I mean, we're 80,000 truck drivers short. We only have five major ocean carriers. And so if 1 or 2 of them decide that they're not interested in fairly hauling American products to market, we've got a problem. We had done somewhat of an underinvestment in infrastructure over the previous 20 years. I think that's beginning to move back in the right direction. So we do listen. We have some work to do. And just to give you an example, during the kind of the 18 months after the worst of the pandemic, so we've moved past the worst of health issues, but we were still dealing with some economic fragility. 60% of containers that were going back to Asia were going back empty. This at a time when we had American food products literally rotting on the on the on the docks there because the foreign flagged ocean carriers just wanted to make a quick turn. They didn't want to haul American goods. They wanted to get back, grab Chinese iPhones and bring them back quickly. And I totally get it in a in a true free market system. Okay.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:23:49] Listen, you get to decide how you want to make your money. If you can make more money doing that, I guess, good on you. But these guys are using American ports. And I just think at some point you need some basic reciprocity. And we pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. It was signed into law last year that said, there has to be if you're going to use American ports, you've got to play by some very basic rules of the road, like not ignoring American goods just because you think it's convenient to do so. And then we're also passed out of committee two weeks ago, a bill that would allow trucks if they add a sixth axle to increase weight so we can have those truck drivers when they're on the road do so safely. It doesn't cause more damage to the roads, it doesn't cause more accidents. It just allows those hardworking men and women to to work smarter and more efficiently. But we've got about 100 other things like that we've got to do throughout the system. If we fail to act, we're just going to give China that much more control over the global economic system.Sam Stone: [00:24:48] Congressman, how much do you think and you touched on this earlier, talking about China, but also talking about just our investment, whether it be a low orbit satellite system here in the southwest. We desperately need some new consideration for desalination and pipelining of water. The power grid across the country is very vulnerable and needs to be hardened. There are all these major infrastructure needs or or project needs here and around the world that we should be participating in investing in. How much more would the American public trust our government if we just started getting these things done?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:25:29] There is a sense that the era of big projects in America is kind of in the rear view mirror. And I think that's sad because I think the story of the 20th century in this country was so much about big projects, big dreams coming to fruition. I mean, rural electrification. The universal service where we everybody got a dial tone. The interstate highway system. We connected every one of the states. The the damn system that provides, you know, 15 or 20% of the electricity for this country. I mean, it was just major homerun after major homerun where we said this is America, this is the land of builders. And now it's like you can't I mean, you can't get anything built without spending, you know, ten years in litigation.Chuck Warren: [00:26:20] Right. Right.Chuck Warren: [00:26:21] And and it's people it.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:26:22] Makes me sad because we need we need to bring back that American swagger of just competence and construction. That doesn't mean we're going to roll over any landowners rights, but I think it does mean that these getting a maybe answer after ten years is obnoxious. Let's give these companies a yes or no so they can figure out what to go invest in.Chuck Warren: [00:26:44] Well, maybe he's the third worst answer. The best answer is yes. Second best, no. The worst answers may be and that's what we keep doing and what's finally what's funny is the progressives want to keep pushing these things that delay these projects, which would help a lot of low income and middle income families. And I sort of have to agree with Sam. Sam thinks this is on purpose because they want to break America. Congressman 30s, tell us what's going good in America right now.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:27:06] Well, research and development, technology, I mean, those are really the things that make people's everyday lives better. Government tries to screw that stuff up, but thank goodness we're failing and innovation continues.Chuck Warren: [00:27:21] We're with Congressman Dusty Johnson. Congressman, thank you for joining us today. You can find him on all social media, on Twitter at Rep. Dusty Johnson, same thing on Instagram, same thing on Facebook. Congressman, thanks a million.Sam Stone: [00:27:33] Never on TikTok.Chuck Warren: [00:27:34] Never on TikTok. It's communist. Thank you, Congressman. We appreciate it.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:27:38] You bet. Thank you.Chuck Warren: [00:27:38] Bye bye. Bye.Sam Stone: [00:28:06] All right. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. Folks, are you concerned with stock market volatility, especially with Joe Biden in office? What if you could invest in a portfolio with a high fixed rate of return that's not correlated to the stock market? A portfolio where you know what each monthly statement would look like with no surprises, you can turn your monthly income on or off, compound it, whatever you choose. There's no loss of principle. If you need your money back at any time, your interest is compounded daily, you're paid monthly and there are no fees. So go to investyrefy.com that's invest the letter Y, then refy.com or call them at 88yrefy 24 and get yourself in line to earn up to a 10.25% fixed rate of return. That's right, folks. 10.25% fixed. It's the best deal out there in investing today. So give them a call.investyefy.com or 888 y refy 24 and tell them Chuck and Sam sent you? All right, Chuck. Next up, a guest I'm very excited to talk to doing some very good work in the area of military affairs particularly, he is a specialist in defense and international affairs. They focus on maritime and Air Force developments. Welcome to the program, Dr. James Bosbotinis, He and thank you for joining us this morning. You have some fantastic pieces out on hypersonic weaponry that's being developed. Can you tell us first what is a hypersonic weapon?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:29:29] Thank you very much. And, uh, it's my pleasure to be speaking to you today. A hypersonic weapon is basically a missile that travels at speeds of in excess of Mach five or faster than the five times faster than the speed of sound. The difference between a hypersonic missile as attention is being drawn to now and a traditional ballistic missile which travel at speeds above Mach five and have been in service, uh, for decades now, is that the new generation of hypersonic weapons that are being developed? Hypersonic glide vehicles and hypersonic cruise missiles can maneuver within the atmosphere. Which complicates detection, tracking and defense.Sam Stone: [00:30:27] That's one of the first questions. Thank you. That was one of the first questions I was going to ask, because obviously a traditional ICBM is actually coming in faster than than these things go. And we have developed some systems to try to at least target those and be able to shoot them down. But your concern, you say, with these.Sam Stone: [00:30:46] Is.Sam Stone: [00:30:48] There's almost no way to for our current defense systems, our ship point defense systems, our national defense systems to deal with this threat as it evolves at this time.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:31:00] Defense against the latest hypersonic threats at present is very limited. The United States has said it has a nascent capability against, for example, hypersonic glide vehicles, with the Sm6 deployed on US Navy warships. And it's working to develop a glide phase interceptor, which will enter service later this decade, and that will be capable of intercepting the latest hypersonic threats that are being developed, as we have seen most recently in Ukraine. The Patriot Air defense. Air and missile defense system does offer a capability against the Russian kinzhal The Kinzhal is described as a hypersonic weapon system. And strictly speaking, it is. It travels faster than Mach five. But. It's a sort of entry level hypersonic system. It's an it's effectively an air launched ballistic missile. It's an air launched version of the Russian Iskander Ground launched tactical ballistic missile. So it it falls within the intercept capability of existing systems such as Patriot. The higher end systems glide vehicles such as the Chinese DF 17 or a hypersonic cruise missile. They are much more taxing.Chuck Warren: [00:32:30] Why should Americans, our brothers and sisters, the United Kingdom, freedom loving countries be concerned about Russia and China having hypersonic missiles? Explain to them what is the danger of them in practical terms.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:32:46] A hypersonic weapons by virtue of their speed, their flight paths, their unpredictable trajectories and maneuverability, make detecting, tracking and engaging them very difficult. So they are particularly well suited to striking very high value targets. It's why the United States, for example, is working to develop its own hypersonic weapons capability. If you want to hit something that is extremely high value, such as an aircraft carrier or a deeply buried, hardened command facility, a hypersonic weapon provides. That effective means of penetrating an adversary's own missile defenses and striking it. Are not a panacea. They're not going to be silver bullets. They form part of a wider strike complex, but because of those particular characteristics, they pose particular challenges. And that is why they are eliciting so much concern in terms of potential adversaries deploying them.Chuck Warren: [00:34:02] The United States obviously omits and shows its power around the world through our aircraft carriers. There are amazing vessels. They show amazing presence. Why would a hypersonic missile mean to our aircraft carrier presence throughout the world? Let's say Russia or Iran have one. What does that mean?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:34:24] It provides a potent means of targeting the carrier. But a carrier is inherently an extremely difficult target to prosecute. It's mobile. A US carrier will be moving hundreds of miles a day. The maritime environment is inherently dynamic, and to find, fix, track and target a carrier is difficult. You need a very robust supporting kill chain or intelligence surveillance reconnaissance systems that can locate the carrier, keep track of it and help cue long range strike systems onto it. And those systems can be targeted kinetically so reconnaissance aircraft can be shot down. They can be targeted for electronic warfare and cyber means. So the system can be disrupted in a in a variety of means. But. Assuming that it's still functioning, the adversary can launch a hypersonic missile, which because it travels so much quicker than a long range than other subsonic long range strike systems, the time a subsonic cruise missile would take to travel, say, 600 miles in an hour. A hypersonic missile can do in, say, ten minutes. So because it's compressing the time that it takes to travel to the target, it means that the carrier and its strike group have a much shorter window in which to detect, track and engage the incoming threat. So that is why hypersonic weapons are seen as posing such a challenge to time critical targets such such as an aircraft carrier.Chuck Warren: [00:36:07] You need people who think on their feet.Sam Stone: [00:36:09] Yeah. One of one of your recent articles on that same point, it's not just compressing the time that a carrier or carrier group has to deal with an incoming threat, But the potential for these missiles to be used in both conventional and nuclear configurations means that for political decision makers, these may compress the time in ways that really, really restrict their ability to react to a situation intelligently. Right.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:36:39] Yes, there's always the problem with dual capable systems, that is weapon systems which are both nuclear and conventional, that when one is traveling towards you, you don't know whether it is a nuclear weapon on its way or a conventional weapon. And that poses all sorts of challenges in terms of escalation control. Uh, for example, the Chinese DF 26 intermediate range ballistic missile is both conventional and nuclear. And if one is launched in the event of hostilities at Guam, uh, there is no way of telling until it detonates what warhead it it is carrying. So with any dual capable long range strike system that discern that, discerning whether it is nuclear or conventional is a particular problem. And, uh, certainly hypersonic missiles would be would be no different. And, uh. The Russian Kinzhal system, which is being employed against Ukraine, is a dual capable system. And. It's likely that other hypersonic weapon systems will also be dual capable.Chuck Warren: [00:37:56] With Dr. James Bosbotinis, he is a United Kingdom based specialist in Defence and International Affairs. He is co CEO of JB Associates, a geopolitical risk advisory. What have we learned about Russia's military capabilities in Ukraine?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:38:13] We have learnt that pre-war assessments governing how Russian military modernisation efforts have proceeded over the past decade or so were. Overoptimistic, shall we say, the rush, the deep, deep structural flaws in the Russian military, which are reflective of the wider Russian state, have not been addressed. The Russian. The Russian military. Has. Made fundamental errors. For example. In the employment of the ballistic and cruise missile forces. They spent 20 plus years developing a doctrine of how to employ these. And when war broke out, they didn't actually use them as they had written about how they would use them, which was extremely fortunate for Ukraine. The Russians haven't conducted large scale combined arms training. Their air force does not train to anywhere near the level of Western air forces. They haven't developed the joint command structures, all various issues. Their logistics system is, as we have seen.Sam Stone: [00:39:39] When I was about 11 years old, I had a chance to visit still the Soviet Union, and we were there with a group of writers who were it was the start of glasnost. They were talking about some of the environmental damage. We came back. Everyone was plowed drunk one night from a Georgian restaurant in Moscow. One of the big writers in front of us was trying to open his door to his hotel room. He fell into the door, the door frame and all fell into the room, splintered apart. He rolls over, laughing. He looks back at us and says, And you were afraid of our missiles. I think that in certain sense still describes the nature of Soviet manufacturing and weapons propaganda.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:40:14] Yes, a lot of Russian weapons systems are not anywhere near to the same standard of equivalent Western missile systems or other weapon systems. On the other hand, they're the they're long range strike systems. They're iskandar's. They're cruise missiles, for example. They have worked uh, it's a question more of the human element in how in how the weapons are employed rather than the actual effect themselves. When a when an Iskander hits a target, it is detonating and it is causing damage and their cruise missiles have proved devastating. But the Russians, instead of launching these weapons at critical national infrastructure targets at the start of the war. Air defense systems, command and control facilities, they used them against civilian targets and firing, for the most part, firing a ballistic missile or a cruise missile against a civilian apartment block is apart from being an absolute war crime, it's also a complete waste of a weapon system. So they didn't actually employ their systems, right? Had they employed them differently, we could have seen a very different. Progression of the conflict.Sam Stone: [00:41:35] Do you think that's partially because they were trying to simply get the Ukrainian people to force a capitulation at that point? Or because that seems like the only reason you do that instead of targeting military assets.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:41:50] Yes, indeed. The operational planning was guided by completely false assumptions. The Russian government, the Russian government thought that a Ukrainian resistance would collapse after about three days and the Ukrainian people would simply greet the Russians with open with open arms. And so perhaps they thought that there's no need to conduct air strikes against infrastructure targets. Yeah. Dr..Sam Stone: [00:42:20] Dr. James Bosbotinis is a UK based specialist in defense and international affairs, particularly focus on maritime and Air Force development. Dr. How do folks follow you and your work?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:42:29] I'm on Twitter, I'm on LinkedIn. I write on a freelance basis for a variety of publications.Sam Stone: [00:42:36] We appreciate you having having you on the program here today. I want to bring you back on again in the future. Thank you so much. We're running out of time here in the program, Dr.. But I very much appreciate your time this morning. Well, welcome to the podcast. Only segment of breaking battlegrounds. Want to say thank you to both of our guests today, Congressman Dusty Johnson and Dr. James Bosbotinis. Good discussions there from both of them, Chuck. But there's obviously some really big news kind of stirring the country right now. Broke last night with the indictment of Donald Trump on a number of charges, which are frankly hard to deny that that he did do those things. And it's hard, hard to say he didn't commit a crime, on the other hand. The prosecution. I have a real issue with the prosecution of Donald Trump. When you're not prosecuting Hillary Clinton, when you're not prosecuting everyone else who's taken the documents, it's this way.Chuck Warren: [00:43:40] It's again, a double standard. And that's the problem with it. You know what? I understand and this could be wrong, is he was contacted by our archives and he delivered in January 20th, 22, 15 boxes of documents that they said should not have been taken from the White House. So he gave those back. And then through tips or something, I don't know. It's a little unclear. He supposedly had more documents and that's hence we end up getting a raid in August. So the question is, you know, what they're saying is different versus other people is that when he was approached about it or confronted however you want to term it, he sort of dug his heels on some documents. Now, again, you and I have discussed this. I have always believed that there was such chaos in that White House in the last days that who knows what's packing those boxes, right? Well, yeah. I mean I mean, who knows? I mean, stuff gets thrown in boxes all the time. I mean, they're talking about finding pictures within there and Newsweek and and magazines. So it tells me this wasn't a really well conceived conspiracy to take documents. So the question is, I think.Sam Stone: [00:44:52] They were just throwing everything in the offices in boxes and moving.Chuck Warren: [00:44:55] Out the door. And I think and I think they're going fast because they were disputing 2020. So I think that was their focus plus running the country. And then I think, oh my goodness, it's Sunday and we got to leave Tuesday or whatever. And but I.Sam Stone: [00:45:07] Also don't think that's terribly different than what ends up getting taken out of there by every previous president. Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:45:13] And and that's what I just don't know. I really wish they would tell us what these documents supposedly are that are endangering national security.Sam Stone: [00:45:19] I mean, my problem with that is claiming it's endangering national security at all, because at the end of the day, Donald Trump is not some foreign asset or weapon that whole narrative has been garbage. If anything, he kept these things for ego. You know, I mean, it's as many presidents do, have a giant ego and they want to be able to, you know, show people after their career this letter they got from the president of France or whatever.Chuck Warren: [00:45:46] Well, there's going to be so much more to come. Again, it does show why Hillary Clinton is not biased, why DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden. These are concerning matters. And if you're going to apply the rule of law, I want it to be applied. Even Steven, I don't want you to be picking who you decide should be prosecuted and who should not. And right now, I think this is the problem for DOJ. Now, I think it's really funny. Look, if you prosecuted.Sam Stone: [00:46:17] Clinton, I would have no problem with them.Chuck Warren: [00:46:19] Prosecuting. I think I think a real funny thing is here's the Biden administration saying we didn't know anything about it till we saw the indictment come through. Oh, come on. Just just I mean, just it's just better say I don't know. It's just such a lie. And the thing is, it puts when they do that.Sam Stone: [00:46:32] Well, they can't be honest because they're using the DOJ to target their political adversary.Chuck Warren: [00:46:36] So if you are a Trump supporter or are you inclined to believe the government is doing rotten things, making a statement like that, people like, come on, of course you know about this, right? And so it will be interesting. You know, we still have the investigation of January 6th. We still have the Georgia investigation, which I'd be surprised if indictments don't come out of that. I mean.Sam Stone: [00:47:01] They're going to.Chuck Warren: [00:47:02] It's a big it's a becoming. Is it becoming just such white noise now that people are ignoring it? That's my.Sam Stone: [00:47:08] Question. It's white noise right up until the point where they actually convict him and lock him up. I mean, which they're really threatening, like lengthy prison sentences with some of this. Yeah. I mean, so we'll see how this plays out. But I got to say, I mean, yeah, I agree. He broke the law and there should not there should be consequences when you break the law. But on the other hand, if the consequences apply only to one side, then you don't have a law.Chuck Warren: [00:47:31] You just. Well, that's.Chuck Warren: [00:47:32] Well, that's that's not rule of law. Yeah. And that's the problem with it. So, you know, it's got to be clearly implemented for everybody or not at all. And that's what apparently that's not what we're even at. We're just like we're going to depending who the political party opponent is, we're prosecuting.Sam Stone: [00:47:48] So this is this is a really politicized federal law enforcement and DOJ right now. And it's really damaging to.Chuck Warren: [00:47:54] It really needs to be cleaned up. It would be I would truly be interested in Congress passing something about some sort of lack of a better term term limits in the DOJ.Sam Stone: [00:48:07] Yeah, absolutely.Chuck Warren: [00:48:09] Something has to be done. It's too entrenched with bureaucratic attorneys.Sam Stone: [00:48:12] Well, you know what I was thinking about the other night and I didn't realize it at the time, but I remember some of these articles from the time period Clinton towards the end of his term, and then Obama went big with this. They didn't place people leaving their administration in your typical political appointee positions. They got them jobs inside the bureaucracy in all these agencies. And now we're seeing the the fruit of having ceded all the federal agencies with political Democrat political activists rather than people who were there to actually do the job. They are infiltrated in every bureaucracy from the mid levels up. Right. And that's a hard thing to dis entrench.Chuck Warren: [00:48:54] Exactly. Exactly.Sam Stone: [00:48:56] You're talking about trenches switching topics here, Chuck, But there was a big announcement recently by the governor of Arizona about our water situation here, where they project a 4% deficit in water over the next hundred years.Chuck Warren: [00:49:11] How much was.Sam Stone: [00:49:11] It? 4% over 100 years. So we're not talking end of the world stuff. But the way they did the press conference, it certainly made it sound that way. And they made a big announcement about we're going to stop new construction in Arizona. Now, what they meant was new construction outside of areas served by water grids. Right. If you're on the Phoenix Water or Tucson Water, Flagstaff, water, whatever, that wasn't what they were talking about. But the way they present it, I really believe the environmentalist movement is pushing for planet wide population reduction. They don't want any new growth. They don't want any of this stuff. And this governor fell in this trap. And all week long I've been dealing with businesses from across the country going, hey, we were considering Arizona. We don't think that's viable. Now, if what your governor just said, they botched this thing from top to bottom. Katie Hobbs is utterly incompetent when it comes to handling the routine business of government, because you could have put this out in a press release with nothing else, instituted the exact same policy. We're not going to allow growth in these wildcat areas where you don't have water. That's that is smart policy. Right. But the implementation of it and how she went about it. So Ham handed that it's literally hurt the state of Arizona and that ties to what we're talking with Congressman Johnson. Look, the solution to all of this. The entire US Southwest needs water enhancements. We need new water, whether from the Snake River to the north, the Mississippi, Missouri's to the east or from the Gulf of Mexico, You.Chuck Warren: [00:50:44] Know, And the.Chuck Warren: [00:50:45] Technology is there to.Sam Stone: [00:50:45] Do it. Yeah, it is. But the problem.Chuck Warren: [00:50:47] Is you're gonna have a bunch of environmentalists sue, which you're going to delay at 10 to 20 years. And this is literally issues you can resolve in two years.Sam Stone: [00:50:54] It absolutely is. And that's the other point we brought. I brought this up with one of the other congressmen we've had on the program. But I don't understand why we don't just declare if something is environmentally beneficial and taking the southwest off of groundwater and off of river water would be massively environmentally beneficial. Augmenting our river water, taking us off of groundwater would help the environment here tremendously, period. No question. In that case, why? Why are these why are they allowed to sue on Nepa or any of this other stuff? The project should go forward. You just do the engineering reviews and you're done.Chuck Warren: [00:51:31] Well, it should be like something. Eminent domain. Yeah, that's.Sam Stone: [00:51:33] What I mean.Chuck Warren: [00:51:34] Come on in. And just this needs to be done and it's just ridiculous.Sam Stone: [00:51:37] Like in this case, Look, all your lawsuits. No, you know, we don't even entertain those things in this type of situation because it is an issue of national security and safety for our citizens here in the southwest and to have an assured water supply.Chuck Warren: [00:51:49] And it helps the environment.Sam Stone: [00:51:51] And it helps the environment.Chuck Warren: [00:51:52] Yeah. What do you say? You support helping the environment, but you're fighting something that can absolutely help the environment, right?Sam Stone: [00:51:59] That that is the ridiculousness of the modern environmental movement, which to me is frankly just a eugenicist movement in hiding.Chuck Warren: [00:52:07] Let's finish one last topic here. The Tampa Bay Rays are a third through the season and they are almost 30 games above 500.Sam Stone: [00:52:16] Chuck, I'm a Red Sox fan and this is the podcast segment, so I can say what I really feeling right now, which is f**k you, man. Seriously, they are. No, they're amazing.Chuck Warren: [00:52:25] They're amazing. They are an amazing organization.Sam Stone: [00:52:28] What they do with no money, I mean, no money.Chuck Warren: [00:52:32] And you sort of get the sense the Diamondbacks have taken a page from them, what they've building up on their farm system.Sam Stone: [00:52:36] I've said for years, if you if you watched and do what Tampa does, but just add a little money to the mix where you can keep some of your best players from time to time and you don't watch them go to the Padres. That's that's the that's the formula.Chuck Warren: [00:52:49] I agree.Chuck Warren: [00:52:49] I agree.Sam Stone: [00:52:50] Well, in which the Diamondbacks can go lock up Corbin Carroll right now.Chuck Warren: [00:52:55] Well, they have, haven't they.Sam Stone: [00:52:56] Did they? Yeah. Did I miss.Chuck Warren: [00:52:57] That? Was that the ten year deal?Chuck Warren: [00:52:59] I don't. Corbin Carroll? Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:53:00] Corbin Carroll, ten years.Sam Stone: [00:53:01] We're looking at the girl in the studio who's getting married to a professional ballplayer. And she doesn't.Chuck Warren: [00:53:05] She knows.Chuck Warren: [00:53:05] Nothing. She knows nothing. Corbin She hasn't.Sam Stone: [00:53:08] Even given us an update on the Idaho murders.Chuck Warren: [00:53:10] I believe. I believe Corbin Carroll signed a ten year deal. That's what everybody's been going on about early. They just tied him in. So. Okay.Sam Stone: [00:53:15] Well, thank goodness for that. Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:53:17] By the way, anything before we close off on the Idaho murders that we should be aware of?Kiley Kipper: [00:53:20] No, not too much. I think they had like a few 20 days ago or something like that. They had 60 days to determine if he was going to get the death penalty or not. And then Brian Kielburger has now come out and said that he doesn't want cameras in the courtroom. So now that's the whole hot discussion is like, well, then let's have them, because why does he not want why do we care what he says?Speaker4: [00:53:40] Chuck.Sam Stone: [00:53:41] You okay with the death penalty? In this case?Chuck Warren: [00:53:44] I'm always okay of the death penalty.Speaker4: [00:53:46] It's a rare.Chuck Warren: [00:53:47] Exception that I'm not okay with the death penalty.Sam Stone: [00:53:50] And that's the final.Sam Stone: [00:53:51] Word today from Chuck.Chuck Warren: [00:53:54] Maybe with those 9% shoplifters you wrote about.Sam Stone: [00:53:56] Oh, yeah. No, we can start with them for sure.Sam Stone: [00:53:59] Right?Sam Stone: [00:54:00] Retail theft off with his head.Chuck Warren: [00:54:03] Sam, closing here. How much does it cost the average American annually for shoplifting?Sam Stone: [00:54:07] Yeah. So go go on. Our substack folks, because we ran the numbers on this Capital One putting out a survey and then I broke the numbers down $318 per person.Chuck Warren: [00:54:17] That's probably.Chuck Warren: [00:54:17] Undercounted and.Sam Stone: [00:54:18] That's undercounted. If you read the article, you realize that's the direct cross from the losses that they're taking from shoplifting. Then you add in all the additional security, the other measures that they're putting in place. Those things all cost money, too. There's probably a lot, as we saw with Lululemon, that's not reported because of politics, essentially where they're fired, two employees for even just reporting a theft to the police. I doubt they're reporting their numbers accurately and probably there's a bunch like them. This might be a $5,600 per person a year tax is what we're facing.Chuck Warren: [00:54:53] Well, and folks, if you are purchasing from Lululemon, realize there is a shoplifting tax assessed on your clothing, whether whether they listed or itemized it or not, you're paying for.Sam Stone: [00:55:03] It before they go to Lululemon, though, Chuck, and this is a free plug. Isn't your former assistants, Katrina, doesn't she have a a clothing line or company that she.Chuck Warren: [00:55:12] Works with a clothing line in Salt Lake knowing the ownership, they will not tolerate shoplifting.Chuck Warren: [00:55:17] So okay.Sam Stone: [00:55:18] What's the name? Do we do you know? Do I know?Chuck Warren: [00:55:21] We'll tell We'll put.Chuck Warren: [00:55:22] It on our social.Sam Stone: [00:55:23] On our substack. Yeah. Hey, look. Good opportunity to pay pay for a product from someone who actually feels the way you do.Chuck Warren: [00:55:29] Exactly. Well, folks, we hope you have a great weekend. We hope you enjoyed our guests today, both wonderful people to have on the show and we hope you share it. You can download our podcast, go to breaking battlegrounds, dot vote, share it, rate it. We'd appreciate it. Help our audience grow. Have a great weekend. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

On Friday, the chairs of the House Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee shared draft legislation that is meant to comprehensively deal with the thorniest issues of crypto regulation, including securities-commodities designation. NLW gives a 101 on what the bill says, and what comes next.  Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto Subscribeto the newsletter: https://breakdown.beehiiv.com/ Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

Senate Agriculture Committee Economist John Newton says the current farm bill doesn't reflect today's economics.

3-16-23 AJ DailyGet BQA'd, Win Money for Your State Angus AssociationAdapted from an article by Morgan Boecker, Certified Angus Beef House Agriculture Committee Takes Farm Bill Tour Through Waco, Texas Adapted from a release by the House Agriculture Committee Beltway Beef Podcast: NCBA Calls for Suspension of Brazilian Beef Imports Adapted from a release by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Journal. For more Angus news, visit angusjournal.net.

Grocery CEOs testify to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee Haruun Ali, community organizer based in Edmonton who started a petition calling for an investigation into Loblaws for greedflation discusses how much he believes Canadian grocery store CEOs testimony to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee over just how much profit the big grocers are making during a period of inflation. Why should Port Coquitlam's budget management be a template for other cities? Brad West, Mayor of Port Coquitlam describes how he's been able to manage the city's budget effectively. International Women's Day - highlighting pilot Jessica James Guest: Jessica James, commercial pilot and co-star of The HISTORY Channel's Lost Car Rescue Video game loot boxes and Twitch gambling streams on the rise   Dr. Luke Clark, Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC discusses the rise of video game loot boxes and Twitch gambling streams.  The Vancouver singer performing a viral TikTok in a hot air balloon  Emilee Moore, artist and songwriter from Vancouver discusses why and how she made a viral TikTok in a hot air balloon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Haruun Ali, community organizer based in Edmonton who started a petition calling for an investigation into Loblaws for greedflation discusses how much he believes Canadian grocery store CEOs testimony to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee over just how much profit the big grocers are making during a period of inflation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, knows there's a sense of urgency to pass a Farm Bill before the current legislation expires on October 1. “Rural America needs it,” he explained on the most recent episode of Farm Policy Fact's Groundwork podcast. “Our farmers, ranchers, and foresters, our processors – key stakeholders in rural America – demand it. And we need to do our job.” Listen to the full episode to hear Chairman Thompson's insights on the 2023 Farm Bill and learn more at FarmPolicyFacts.org. 

Ag Committee Chairman Glenn GT Thompson, Congressman from the 15th Congressional District in Pennsylvania, joined us as a guest on our podcast to talk about the 2023 Farm Bill. During our conversation we started talking about the Congressman's scouting career and how important that was to him. We felt it was very remarkable and with his permission pulled out a clip of our conversation focused on scouting.Today, on the anniversary of the creation of Boy Scouts of America, Congressman Glenn G.T. Thompson will introduce a resolution onto the House floor, celebrating the birthday of scouting!!!!

Congressman Glenn "G.T." Thompson (Pa.14th), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, visits with show hosts Jay Matteson, Ron Robbins and Alan Walts to discuss the work that is about to start on the 2023 U.S. Farm Bill. Chairman Thompson talks about the challenges facing agriculture and where the Farm Bill might help specialty crop growers and dairy farmers. The Chairman also talks about the importance of the nutrition side of this legislation. We also discuss meat processing capacity problems and how to address them.

Jackie Cahill, Fianna Fáil TD and Chair of the Agriculture Committee, discusses a Coillte deal with a UK-based venture capital fund, on the acquisition of 100,000 hectares of forestry across the country.

In this week's Capitol Chats, freshman U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, in an interview recorded before the new year says former U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, La Crosse, won't return his phone calls. Van Orden also says he wants in on the House Agriculture Committee.

In this week's Capitol Chats, freshman U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, in an interview recorded before the new year says former U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, La Crosse, won't return his phone calls. Van Orden also says he wants in on the House Agriculture Committee.

FTX, at one point the world's third largest cryptocurrency exchange, went bankrupt, causing the entire cryptocurrency industry to crash. In this episode, hear highlights from Congressional testimony that will explain how FTX was able to grow so large while committing blatant fraud, how it's possible that the government didn't know and didn't do anything to stop it, and hear about a Senate bill that's branded as a solution but has concerning flaws of it's own. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd265-policing-ftx Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD264: Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain CD235: The Safe Haven of Sanctions Evaders What is FTX? “What is FTX?” Timothy Smith. Dec 22, 2022. Investopedia. Crypto Regulation “U.S. Senate Is Still Confused About How to Regulate Crypto After FTX Collapse.” Kyle Barr. Dec 1, 2022. Gizmodo. “Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC's Inquiry Into FTX.” David Dayen. Nov 23, 2022. The American Prospect. “We Already Have Laws to Stop Crypto Fraud.” David Dayen. Nov 17, 2022. The American Prospect. “Why Is Congress Still Writing Crypto Regulations?” David Dayen. Nov 10, 2022. The American Prospect. “Letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler Regarding Cryptocurrency Inquiries.” Tom Emmer et al. Mar 16, 2022. “Letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler Regarding Cryptocurrency Inquiries.” emmer.house.gov. Lead-up to FTX Collapse “In about-face, Crypto exchange Binance pulls out of FTX acquisition.” Elizabeth Napolitano. Nov 9, 2022. NBC News. "Crypto exchange FTX saw $6 bln in withdrawals in 72 hours." Tom Wilson and Angus Berwick. Nov 8, 2022. Reuters. “Crypto exchange FTX saw $6 bln in withdrawals in 72 hours.” Tracy Wang and Oliver Knight. Nov 6, 2022. “Binance to Sell Rest of FTX Token Holdings as Alameda CEO Defends Firm's Financial Condition.” Tracy Wang and Oliver Knight. Nov 6, 2022. CoinDesk. “Divisions in Sam Bankman-Fried's Crypto Empire Blur on His Trading Titan Alameda's Balance Sheet.” Ian Allison. Nov 2, 2022. CoinDesk. “Re: Potential Violations of Section 18(a)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.” Seth. P Rosebrock, Assistant General Counsel, Enforcement, FDIC. Aug 18, 2022. FDIC. Tom Emmer “SEC Chair Gary Gensler Must Testify Before Congress, Says Rep. Tom Emmer.” André Beganski. Dec 11, 2022. Decrypt. “Meet Tom Emmer, a powerful crypto advocate in a crypto-wary Congress.” Tony Romm. Dec 8, 2022. The Washington Post. “House GOP picks Emmer as GOP whip, Scalise as leader.” Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell. Nov 15, 2022. The Hill. FTX Collapse “FTX Effort to Save Itself Failed on Questionable Assets.” Shane Shifflett, Rob Barry, and Coulter Jones. Dec 5, 2022. The Wall Street Journal. “FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Says He Can't Account for Billions Sent to Alameda.” Alexander Osipovich. Dec 3, 2022. The Wall Street Journal. “5 major revelations about the collapse of crypto giant FTX.” David Gura. Nov 23, 2022. NPR. “FTX says it owes more than $3 billion to creditors.” Steven Zeitchik. Nov 20, 2022. The Washington Post. “Declaration of John J. Ray III in Support of Chapter 11 Petitions and First Day Pleadings” [Case 22-11068-JTD] Nov 17, 2022. PACER. “Exclusive: At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX.” Angus Berwick. Nov 11, 2022. Reuters. “FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried resigns as firm files for bankruptcy.” Jacob Bogage and Tory Newmyer. Nov 11, 2022. The Washington Post. “FTX Tapped Into Customer Accounts to Fund Risky Bets, Setting Up Its Downfall.” Vicky Ge Huang, Alexander Osipovich, and Patricia Kowsmann. Nov 11, 2022. The Wall Street Journal. Lobbying and Campaign Donations “Lawmakers who benefited from FTX cash probe its collapse.” Tory Newmyer and Steven Zeitchik. Dec 1, 2022. The Washington Post. “Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's courtship of a Washington regulator.” Tory Newmyer and Peter Whoriskey. Nov 28, 2022. The Washington Post. “Congress took millions from FTX. Now lawmakers face a crypto reckoning.” Tony Romm. Nov 17, 2022. The Washington Post. “FTX Collapse Sets Back Crypto Agenda in Washington.” Paul Kiernan. Nov 14, 2022. The Wall Street Journal. “Washington lobbyists sever ties with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after crypto exchange implodes.” Brian Schwartz. Nov 14, 2022. CNBC. “Sam Bankman-Fried charmed Washington. Then his crypto empire imploded.” Tory Newmyer. Nov 12, 2022. The Washington Post. “Meet the mega-donors pumping millions into the 2022 midterms.” Luis Melgar et al. Oct 24, 2022. The Washington Post. “A young crypto billionaire's political agenda goes well beyond pandemic preparedness.” Freddy Brewster. Aug 12, 2022. Los Angeles Times. Aftermath of the FTX Collapse “Factbox: Global regulatory actions against FTX.” Dec 12, 2022. Reuters. “FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Is Said to Face Market Manipulation Inquiry.” Emily Flitter, David Yaffe-Bellany and Matthew Goldstein. Dec 7, 2022. The New York Times. “Clashes Over FTX Bankruptcy Go Global.” Alexander Osipovich, Alexander Saeedy and Alexander Gladstone. Dec 4, 2022. “Hot Wallets vs. Cold Wallets.” Mar 10, 2022. Cryptopedia. December 13 Hearing “Memorandum To: Members, Committee on Financial Services From: FSC Majority Staff Subject: December 13, 2022, Full Committee Hearing entitled, “Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I.” Dec 8, 2022. House Financial Services Committee. “Chart: Four Silos for Recover Purposes.” House Financial Services Committee. Sam Bankman-Fried Indictment “Here is the criminal indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried.” Dec 13, 2022. The New York Times. Bills S.4760 - Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 Audio Sources Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I December 13, 2022 House Committee on Financial Services Witness: John J. Ray III, CEO, FTX Group Clip Transcripts Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO): Have you read the full testimony that was planned by our missing guest [Sam Bankman-Fried]? John Ray I have not read his full testimony. Some pieces of it been relayed to me, but I've not read it. I've not read one word of it actually. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO): Yeah, I don't know him personally and probably don't want to. But this testimony is so disrespectful. I mean, there's not a person up here would like to show this to their children. In line two of this message, he says, and I quote, "I would like to start out by firmly stating under oath...* And yeah, I can't even say it publicly. The next two words, absolutely insulting. This is the Congress of the United States. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): So when when customers deposited funds into their FTX accounts, where did the cash go? John Ray: Well, sometimes the money wasn't deposited in the FTX account it was sent to Alameda to begin with. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): It was misdirected from from the start straight to Alameda. John Ray: There was certainly some time period where there's no bank account at .com and then ultimately, if you look at the structure of this, Alameda is essentially a customer on that .com exchange, and effectively, you know, borrowed money from or just transferred money from FTX customers to take its own positions on the Alameda hedge fund. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): So Alameda research and the venture capital business, what did Alameda research do? John Ray: Essentially made crypto investments, engaged in margin trading, took long and short positions in crypto, essentially invested in crypto. But of course, we now know also invested in over $5 billion of other assets which are in a variety of sectors. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): Can you describe the differences between the FTX.com and FTX.us silos? John Ray: Yes. Very simply FTX.us was for US citizens who wanted to trade crypto; FTX.com, US citizens were not allowed to trade on that exchange. That's very simple. And I would make one other comment, which is separate apart from any of those two silos. It was ledger x, which is a regulated entity regulated by the CFTC, solvent and separate from the FTX.us silo. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): Okay, and that is a distinct silo, that's a distinct company? John Ray: That is a distinct company within the US silo, yes. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): Okay. Patrick McHenry (R-NC):: What was the relationship between FTX.com and FTX.us? Was is there a distinction between the two? John Ray: There was a public distinction between the two. What we're seeing now is that the crypto assets for both ftx.com and for FTX.us were housed in the same database. It's called the AWS system, which is just an acronym for Amazon Web Services. It was all housed in the same web format. Patrick McHenry (R-NC):: And is that distinct from Alameda's assets? John Ray: Yes, it is. John Ray: In essence you know, Alameda was a user, effectively a customer, of FTX.com. That's how it was essentially structured. John Ray: There was no audit at Alameda, no audit at the venture silo. There was audit at the US silo and also audit at the the .com silo. I can't speak to the integrity or quality of those audits. We're reviewing, obviously, the books and records. And as I've said earlier, you know, much of those books and records were maintained on a fairly unsophisticated ledger ledger which works workbooks. John Ray: It's an extensive list, it really crosses the entire spectrum of the company, from lack of lists of bank accounts, hundreds of bank accounts dispersed all over the world, lack of a complete list of employees and their functions by group or name, extensive use of independent contractors as opposed to employees, lack of insurance that you'd normally would see in certain businesses, either inadequate insurance or complete gaps in insurance. For example, the Alameda silo had no insurance whatsoever. So those are I mean, there's, the list goes on and on. You know, we could spend all day on them. John Ray: While many things are unknown at this stage, we're at a very preliminary stage, many questions remain, we know the following. First customer assets at ftx.com were commingled with assets from the Alameda trading platform. That much is clear. Second, Alameda used client funds to engage in margin trading, which exposed customer funds to massive losses. Third, the FTX group went on a spending binge in 2021 and 2022, during which $5 billion was spent on a myriad of businesses and investments, many of which may only be worth a fraction of what was paid for them. Fourth, loans and other payments were made to insiders in excess of $1.5 billion. Fifth, Alameda's business model as a market maker required funds to be deployed to various third party exchanges, which were inherently unsafe and further exacerbated by the limited protections offered in certain of those foreign jurisdictions. John Ray: I accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of FTX in the early morning hours of November 11 [2022]. It immediately became clear to me that chapter 11 was the best course available to preserve any remaining value of FTX. Therefore, my first act as CEO was authorized the chapter 11 filings. John Ray: It's virtually unlimited in terms of the lack of controls: no centralized records on banking, no daily reconciliations of crypto assets, silos where there's no insurance, inadequate insurance, no independent board, no safeguards that limit, who controls and asset. So senior management literally could get access to any of the accounts in any of the silos. No separateness between customer money and other customer money or other other assets. It's virtually unlimited in terms of the lack of controls. And that's really the point of the unprecedent comment. I've just never seen anything like it in 40 years of doing restructuring work and corporate corporate legal work. It's just a dearth of of information. John Ray: But again, users had multiple accounts. For example, if they had a different trading position, they may have opened multiple accounts. We know it's a big number. It's in the millions on the customer accounts, and we know it's several billion dollars in losses. Assigning those losses to customer accounts will be our next challenge. John Ray: The FTX group's collapse appears to stem from absolute concentration of control in the hands of a small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company entrusted with other people's money or assets. Some of the unacceptable management practices identified so far include the use of computer infrastructure that gave individuals and senior management access to systems that stored customers' assets without security controls to prevent them from redirecting those assets; the storing of certain private keys to access hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets without effective security controls or encryption; the ability of Alameda to borrow funds held at FTX.com to be utilized for its own trading or investments without any effective limits whatsoever; the commingling of assets; the lack of complete documentation for transactions involving nearly 500 separate investments made with FTX group funds and assets. In the absence of audited or reliable financial statements, the lack of personnel and financial and risk management functions, and the absence of independent governance throughout the FTX group, a fundamental challenge we face is there in many respects we are starting from near zero in terms of the corporate infrastructure and record keeping that one would expect in a multibillion dollar corporation. John Ray: The FTX group is unusual in the sense that, you know, I've done probably a dozen large scale bankruptcies over my career, including Enron, of course. Every one of those entities had some financial problem or another, they have some characteristics that are in common. This one is unusual. And it's unusual in the sense that literally, you know, there's no record keeping whatsoever. It's the absence of record keeping. Employees would communicate, you know, invoicing and expenses on on Slack, which is essentially a way of communicating for chat rooms. They use QuickBooks, a multibillion dollar company using QuickBooks. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO): QuickBooks? John Ray: QuickBooks. Nothing against QuickBooks, it's very nice tool, just not for a multibillion dollar company. There's no independent board, right? We had one person really controlling this. No independent board. That's highly unusual in the size company this is. And it's made all the more complex because we're not dealing with, you know, widgets or, you know, something that's tangible. We're dealing with with with crypto, and the technological issues are made worse when you're dealing with an asset such as crypto. John Ray: I've just never seen an utter lack of record keeping. Absolutely no internal controls whatsoever. John Ray: The operation of Alameda really depended based on the way it was operated for the use of customer funds. That's the major breakdown here of funds from ftx.com, which was the exchange for non US citizens, those funds were used at Alameda to make investments and other disbursements. John Ray: There's no distinction whatsoever. The owners of the company could really run free reign across all four silos. John Ray: The loans that were given to Mr. Bankman-Fried, not just one loan it was numerous loans, some of which were documented by individual promissory notes. There's no description of what the purpose of the loan was. In one instance, he signed both as the issuer of the loan, as well as the recipient of the loan. But we have no information at this time as to what the purpose or the use of those funds were. And that is part of our investigation. John Ray: At the end of the day, we're not going to be able to recover all the losses here. Money was spent that we'll never get back. There will be losses on the international side. We're hopeful on the US side. He'll answer to others related to what happened here. Our job is just to find the assets and try to get customers their money back as quickly as possible. John Ray: Essentially, they had two exchanges that allowed users to trade crypto, and then there was the hedge fund. It's as simple as that. The users were allowed to make a variety of investments. They had a more expansive ability to trade crypto if you are a non-U.S. citizen on the .com exchange, but I know what's been described publicly is very complex. It is to some extent, but essentially, you had two exchanges, and you had a hedge fund. Inside both the US silos I've mentioned and inside the silos for .com there were regulated entities. We have regulated entities that are, for example, in Japan that are solvent, we had a regulated entity, ledger X, that was solvent. Those are sort of distinct from the other basic operations that we had, which are the two exchanges. John Ray: The principal issue that the company is facing in the crypto area, and from a technology perspective, it is different from the other bankruptcies because it's not a plane, not a boat. It's this crypto asset and it has inherently some difficulties. You know, the assets can be taken or lost. We have assets there in what are called Hot wallets, and those are in cold wallets. Hot wallets are very vulnerable to to hacking. If you've done any looking on the internet, you'll find that hacking is almost ordinary course in this business sector. They're very, lots of vulnerability to the wallets. So that's this company, unfortunately had a very, very challenging record here. You know, for some transfers there was no pathway for it. Our keys aren't stored in a centralized location. We don't know where all of our wallets are. Passwords were sometimes kept in just plain text format. So this company was sort of uniquely positioned to fail. John Ray: So funds were taken from customers, funds were invested, trading losses incurred in Alameda and then funds were deployed, that will never be valued at the same dollar amount. There was over $5 billion of investments made. Certainly, there's some value there and we'll try to get that value and sell those assets. But oftentimes, even when he made those sorts of investments, whether it was directly or through others in management, sometimes he would do that really without any pro forma or any valuation. Not really quite sure how some of the purchase price numbers were derived. So it gives you a sort of worry obviously, that the purchases were overvalued so there's a concern there as well. John Ray: Alameda was a customer, if you will, of the exchange and it's through that customer relationship, plus other arrangements, that allowed Alameda to borrow those funds, and then pick positions on the exchange like anyone, you know, who would hedge an asset in the market. He had unusually large positions, of course, and sometimes they were wrong in those positions, and they resulted in big losses. But ultimately, the commingling issue is the same in a different issue. He took the money from FTX to cover those positions and ultimately, when customers went to get their money back from .com there was a run on the bank. John Ray: The Alameda fund, well that's just the fund that drew resources from the exchanges, so it's really separate, it was not for customers per se, it was just simply a hedge fund. John Ray: For structural purposes and just for ease of presentation, we tried to take the over 100 entities and we put those in four silos. To demystify that, it's very simple. There was a U.S. silo, which was the FTX.us exchange for US investors. There was an international exchange called FTX.com. Again, for non-U.S. persons that invested in crypto. There was Alameda, which is purely a crypto hedge fund, which made other investments, venture capital type investments. Then there's a fourth entity which was purely investments. And although our investigation is not complete, those investments were most likely made with either Alameda money or money that originally came from ftx.com. But that fourth silo is just purely investments Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): And who owned those four silos? John Ray: All those entities are owned or controlled by Sam Bankman-Fried. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): Now I've heard from some on the other side criticizing the SEC and in July in this room I criticized the Head of Enforcement at the SEC for not going after crypto exchanges. But the fact is that without objection I'd like to put on the record a letter signed by 19 Republican members designed to push back on the SEC, a brushback pitch if you're familiar with baseball, attacking the SEC for paying attention to and I quote, "the purported risks of digital assets." And I'd like to put on the record without objection comments from eight members made in this room that were designed to attack the SEC as being Luddite and anti-innovation for their efforts. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY): Mr. Ray, a number of their debtors in the FTX group are located in offshore jurisdictions. Will this complicate the efforts to retrieve the assets of those there? If so why? John Ray: No, I don't think it will complicate it at all. The various jurisdictions, historically in bankruptcy, and I've been in a number of cross border situations, the jurisdictions will cooperate with each other. The regulators in all these jurisdictions, I think, realize that everyone's there for a common purpose, to protect the victims and recover assets for the victims of these situations. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY): How much have you been able to secure and where are most of these assets located? John Ray: We've been able to secure over a billion dollars of assets. We've secured those two cold wallets in a secure location. It's an ongoing process, though, which will take weeks and perhaps months to secure all the assets. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY): Are most creditors located in the US or foreign jurisdictions. John Ray: The majority of the creditors trade through the .com silo and are outside of this jurisdiction, although there are some foreign customers that are on the US silo, and vice versa. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO): Reports suggest that ftx.com transferred more than half of its customer funds, roughly $10 billion, to Alameda research. Is that accurate, sir? John Ray: Our work is not done, we don't have exact numbers for you today, but I will say it's several billion dollars, in that range, so we know that the size of the harm was significant. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA): Have you seen evidence of such a cover up? Have you seen evidence that there was any independent governance of Alameda separate and apart from that of the exchange? John Ray: The operations of the FTX group were not segregated. It was really operated as one company. As a result, there's no distinction virtually, between the operations of the company and who controlled those operations. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA): Did FTX have sufficient risk management systems and controls to appropriately monitor any leverage the business took on and the interconnections it had with businesses, like again, Alameda. John Ray: There were virtually no internal controls and no separateness whatsoever. Why Congress Needs to Act: Lessons Learned from the FTX Collapse December 1, 2022 Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Witness: Rostin Behnam, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Clip Transcripts 18:30 Debbie Stabenow (D-MI): I've said this before and I'll say it again: the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act does not -- does not -- take authority away from other financial regulators. Nor does it make the CFTC the primary crypto regulator, because crypto assets can be used in many different ways. No single financial regulator has the expertise or the authority to regulate the entire industry. 24:30 John Boozman (R-AK): Many have asked why is the Ag Committee involved in this? The Ag Committee is involved because this committee and no other committee in the Senate is responsible for the oversight of the nation's commodity markets. Bitcoin, although a crypto currency, is a commodity. It's a commodity in the eyes of the federal courts and the opinion of the SEC Chairman, there is no dispute about this. If there are exchanges where commodities are traded, be it wheat, oil, or Bitcoin, then they must be regulated. It's simply that simple. 32:45 Rostin Behnam: I have asked Congress directly for clear authority to impose our traditional regulatory regime over the digital asset commodity market. 33:00 Rostin Behnam: I have not been shy about my encouragement of bills that contemplate shared responsibility for the CFTC and the Securities Exchange Commission, where the SEC would utilize its existing authority and reporting regime requirements for all security tokens, while the CFTC would apply its market based rules for the more limited subset of commodity tokens, which do not have the same characteristics of security tokens. 41:00 Rostin Behnam: I can though share with this committee with respect to me, my team and I have taken an initial review of my calendar and what we've observed is that my team and I met with Mr. Bankman-Fried and his team. Over the past 14 months, we met 10 times in the CFTC office at their request, all in relation to this DCO this Clearinghouse application. Nine out of the 10 times we were in Washington, one was at a widely held conference in Florida earlier this year. In addition, there were two phone calls, I believe, and a number of messages, all in relation to the DCO application, providing us updates suggesting that they were answering questions from different divisions, and trying as I said, to doggedly move the application along and to get it approved. 48:00 Sen. John Boozman (R-AK): If ftx.com had been a registered U.S. exchange, would the CFTC have been able to mitigate what happened. Rostin Behnam: Senator, you know, with our current authority, the answer is now. We need the authority to get into a CFTC registered exchange, as you point out. If we had that authority, and they were registered, given what we know from the facts about conflicts of interest, commingling funds, books and records, we would have been able to prohibit it. And I would point to what we're doing with Ledger X. On a daily basis our staff is in direct communication not only with Ledger X, but the custodians themselves, able to identify customer property, and customer money. Imagine that scenario with FTX.us if we had a daily lens into the location of customer money and customer property, you can imagine, given what we've learned about what's happened with FTX, we could have certainly prohibited many of the actions that we're hearing about. 1:16:00 Rostin Behnam: In terms of regulation of cash markets, right, the spot market, we simply do not have authority to register cash market exchanges or any intermediary broker dealer entity within that structure and that's what concerns me, this is the gap. 1:59:30 Rostin Behnam: Unfortunately, when we act, it's often after the fact because the information that allows us to bring an enforcement action in digital asset cash commodity markets, is only because information is coming to us from outsiders, from referrals, from tips, from whistleblowers, and this is in stark contrast to some of the surveillance tools and examination tools that we would have if we had a comprehensive regulatory framework over digital asset commodities. 2:07:00 Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): There'll be a reporter waiting in the hall -- I've already talked to her this morning -- who will ask you, "Did he ever contribute to your campaign?" I said "Oh, no, I never heard of the man." She said "You're wrong, Senator, he contributed to you." So the cryptocurrency people are active politically. And they are trying to achieve a political end here. It is their right as citizens of this country to do that. But it really calls on us to make sure that whatever we do is credible under those circumstances. 2:22:30 Rostin Behnam: I can't speak to what Mr. Bankman-Fried or anyone at FTX was thinking when they were advocating for regulation, but the remarkable thing is to think about it in the context of compliance and what we've learned about the FTX entities and just thinking about the bill that Senator Stabenow and Boozman introduced, they would have been so far out of compliance that it just wouldn't have even been possible. Legislative Hearing to Review S.4760, the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act September 15, 2022 Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Witnesses: Rostin Behnam, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Todd Phillips, Director, Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance, Center for American Progress Shelia Warren, Chief Executive Officer, Crypto Council for Innovation Christine Parker, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Coinbase Heath Tarbert, Chief Legal Officer, Citadel Securities Denelle Dixon, Chief Executive Officer, Stellar Development Foundation Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States December 8, 2021 House Committee on Financial Services Witnesses: Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Circle Samuel Bankman-Fried, Founder and CEO, FTX Brian P. Brooks, CEO, Bitfury Group Charles Cascarilla, CEO and co-Founder, Paxos Trust Company Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director, Stellar Development Foundation Alesia Jeanne Haas, CEO, Coinbase Inc. and CFO, Coinbase Global Inc. Clip Transcripts 23:30 Sam Bankman-Fried: We are already regulated and licensed. We have many licenses globally. Here in the United States, we are regulated by the states under the money service business and money transmitting regime, and we are regulated nationally by the CFTC where we have a DCO, a DCM, a swap execution facility, and other licensure. 1:13:30 Sam Bankman-Fried: One of the really innovative properties of cryptocurrency markets are 24/7 risk monitoring and engines. We do not have overnight risk or weekend risk or holiday risk in the same way traditional assets do, which allow risk monitoring and de risking of positions in real time to help mitigate volatility. We've been operating for a number of years with billions of dollars of open interest. We've never had customer losses, clawbacks or anything like that. Even going through periods of large movements in both directions. We store collateral from our users in a way which is not always done in the traditional financial ecosystem to backstop positions. And the last thing that I'll say is if you look at what precipitated some of the 2008 financial crisis, you saw a number of bilateral bespoke non-reported transactions happening between financial counterparties which then got repackaged and releveraged again and again and again, such that no one knew how much risk was in that system until it all fell apart. If you compare that to what happens on FTX or other major cryptocurrency venues today, there is complete transparency about the full open interest. There is complete transparency about the positions that are held. There is a robust, consistent risk framework. 1:34:00 Sam Bankman-Fried: In addition to a bunch of international licenses in the United States, we are participating in that system you referenced with the money transmitter and money service businesses license is in addition to that, however, we are also licensed by the CFTC. We have a DCO, a DCM, and other licensure from them through FTX.us derivatives and we look forward to continuing to work with them to build out our product suite. We just submitted a 800 page, I believe, proposal to them a few days ago, which we're excited to discuss and we're also happy to talk with other regulators about potential products in the United States. 2:37:00 Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN): Now it's my understanding that FTX uses surveillance trade technology akin to the technology national Securities Exchanges use to protect investors and ensure sound spot markets. What does this technology and any other tools FTX uses to protect the spot market from fraud and manipulation look like? Sam Bankman-Fried: Yeah. So, you know, like other exchanges, we do have these technologies in addition to the, you know, new customer policies that we can identify individuals associated with trades. We have surveillance for unusual trading activity. We have manual inspections of anything that you know, gets flagged either by the automated surveillance or by manual inspection. And we do this with the trading activity with deposits and withdrawals and everything else. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN): Sounds like you're doing a lot to make sure there is no fraud or other manipulation. Thank you Mr. Bankman-Fried, again, for helping us understand the extensive guardrails a cryptocurrency exchange like FTX has in place to ensure sound crypto spot markets for investors. 2:52:30 Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa): Mr. Bankman-Fried, I'd like to start by asking you the first question. FTX.us has a derivatives platform and recently bought ledger x as part of that. Is that correct? Sam Bankman-Fried: Yes. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa): Okay, thank you. And that platform is registered with the CFTC. Is that correct? Sam Bankman-Fried: Yep. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa): Okay, perfect. So I just want to clarify something. And this isn't to say anybody's doing any wrong. It's just to get the lay of the land. You also have an exchange for Bitcoin and other tokens, but that is not registered with either the CFTC or the SEC. Is that correct? Sam Bankman-Fried: That's correct. Currently, neither of them are primary markets regulated for spot Bitcoin to USD markets. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa): Okay, thank you. And I know you're registered as a money transmitter, but that's not the same kind of oversight that we'll see from a federal market regulator. I also sit on the Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, so a gap like this is especially concerning to me. And the big problem that I see here, from what I understand, is that the CFTC doesn't have regulatory authority for spot trading of commodities, just their derivatives. So that leaves consumers with inconsistent protections, which is a concern that I have. 2:55:00 Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa): Bitcoin, which has almost a trillion dollars invested in it, has CFTC oversight for people who are trading futures and options, but not for people who are trading the currency itself. Is that right? Sam Bankman-Fried: That is essentially correct. Full FTX Superbowl Commercial with Larry David Tom Brady FTX Commercials Steph Curry FTX Commercial Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

12-9-22 AJ DailyPeople: Invest in Your Biggest AssetAdapted from an article by Ian Kane, American Angus Association Chairman David Scott Statement on Incoming House Agriculture Committee Chairman Adapted from a release by the House Agriculture Committee Protocol Amending the Beef Safeguard Provisions of the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement to Enter Into Force on January 1, 2023 Adapted from a release by the United State Trade Representative Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Journal.  For more Angus news, visit angusjournal.net.

“If we're not careful, the United Kingdom is going to have its Notre Dame moment…. that Parliament is going to burn to the ground.”Ian Paisley, Jnr. Member of Parliament, United Kingdom“It's very politically sensitive because no politician wants to be the one who tells the public that a very large amount of taxpayers' money has to be spent on MPs' place of work.”Rowan Moore, Architect Critic for The GuardianIn this episode, Rats and Other Disasters in the Palace of Westminster these two experts delve into the danger of this historic place.Urgent intervention is needed to save the Palace of Westminster which is not only on its last legs but is potentially hazardous in various ways. This is not fresh news sadly but our two distinguished experts will certainly offer you some fresh perspective.Rowan Moore, Architecture Critic, The Guardian & ObserverRowan Moore is architecture critic of the Observer and was named Critic of the Year at the UK press awards 2014. He is the author of Slow Burn City and Why We Build. Follow him on twitter: @rowanmoore“Obviously, the longer it takes to do the work, the greater the risk, you simply multiply the risk per year by the number of years it takes. And also all the work done on a project so far says the more slowly you do it, the more it costs.”Ian Paisley, Jnr. MP, Westminster Spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and SportsMember of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Refurbishment and RestorationIan has represented North Antrim since 1996 when he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue. In 1998 he was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Antrim.As a member of the Assembly Ian served as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee and also as a Junior Minister in the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister from 2007 until 2008. He was also a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board from 2001 until 2007.“You have to have a crew of four man walk that building constantly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and they spot fires, fire hazards and put them out and we're working in that building.”After Dr Paisley stepped down as the Member of Parliament for North Antrim Ian contested the General Election of 2010 and comfortably retained the seat for the Democratic Unionist Party. He was again re-elected at the General Election in 2015, 2017 and 2019.Ian is currently the DUP spokesperson for Communities, Local Government and Culture, Media and Sports. He is also a member on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.Read the full page here on Constructive Voices.Constructive Voices: Inspiring change within the construction industry and related sectorsFollow Constructive Voices on:LinkedInTwitterFacebookRequest a media pack: jackie@constructive-voices.com

The Senate passes a bill forcing a labor agreement in an effort to avoid a costly railway worker strike. The House Ways and Means Committee has former President Trump's tax returns in hand. The Agriculture Committee is looking at possible regulations for cryptocurrency following the collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX. The Supreme Court will be reviewing the legality of Biden s student debt relief program next year. Anti-semitic comments from Ye spark the deletion of tweets from the the House Judiciary Committee GOP's Twitter account.

The Senate passes a bill forcing a labor agreement in an effort to avoid a costly railway worker strike. The House Ways and Means Committee has former President Trump's tax returns in hand. The Agriculture Committee is looking at possible regulations for cryptocurrency following the collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX. The Supreme Court will be reviewing the legality of Biden's student debt relief program next year. Anti-semitic comments from Ye spark the deletion of tweets from the the House Judiciary Committee GOP's Twitter account.

The Senate passes a bill forcing a labor agreement in an effort to avoid a costly railway worker strike. The House Ways and Means Committee has former President Trump's tax returns in hand. The Agriculture Committee is looking at possible regulations for cryptocurrency following the collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX. The Supreme Court will be reviewing the legality of Biden s student debt relief program next year. Anti-semitic comments from Ye spark the deletion of tweets from the the House Judiciary Committee GOP's Twitter account.

A looming railroad strike could have disastrous consequences for American energy, agriculture, and countless other industries. One of the House's foremost experts on railroads, Congressman Rick Crawford, joins us to break down the negotiations between the railroads and their unions, why the Biden Administration is at fault, and what Republicans need to do moving forward to prevent this from ever happening again. Rick Crawford is the U.S. Representative for Arkansas' First District. He serves on the Transportation Committee and is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. He also serves on the Agriculture Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @RepRickCrawford.

What is causing the inflationary trend in food prices in Canada? - What foods remain or have become most affected by food inflation? - Four weekends from Christmas. What should we expect as far as cost of Christmas food staples is concerned? - Licences granted for the creation of lab-grown food, including chicken. Survey shows who is willing to eat lab grown meats - What to expect from the Grocers Code of Conduct? Guest: Sylvain Charlebois.Director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Laboratory and professor at Dalhousie Universsity. (testifying before parliamentary Agriculture Committee next week). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast: China's interference with Canada's elections.PM Trudeau continues to insist he was not briefed about Beijing interfence in Canada's 2019 federal election. Meanwhile, much is written and said about former B.C. CPC MP Kenny Chiu who has no doubt he was directly targeted by China during last year's federal election. Eventually Kenny Chiu did lose his seat. Guest: Kenny Chiu. What is causing the inflationary trend in food prices in Canada? - What foods remain or have become most affected by food inflation? - Four weekends from Christmas. What should we expect as far as cost of Christmas food staples is concerned? - Licences granted for the creation of lab-grown food, including chicken. Survey shows who is willing to eat lab grown meats - What to expect from the Grocers Code of Conduct? Guest: Sylvain Charlebois.Director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Laboratory and professor at Dalhousie Universsity. (testifying before parliamentary Agriculture Committee next week). The Emergencies Act Inquiry. Public testimony is complete, but the work of the Inquiry continues and our guest is scheduled to testify at two Inquiry roundtables this coming week in Ottawa. Guest: Professor Christian Leuprecht. Queen's University and Royal Military College. Expert in security and defence. Regularly called as expert witness before committees of parliament. Book: Intelligence as Democratic Statecraft. Continuing with our look at Canada's immigration numbers and public response. By 2025, immigration as projected by the federal government will reach 500,000. The Association for Canadian Studies released it's national poll findings last week and 75% of Canadians have concern this number of immigrants may negatively affect housing, social programs and government services. What does one of Canada's leading immigration lawyers and advisor to federal and Quebec governments on the issue of immigration add to the conversation? Guest: Richard Kurland. Immigration lawyer, Vancouver. --------------------------------------------- Host/Content Producer – Roy Green Technical/Podcast Producer – Tom McKay Podcast Co-Producer – Matt Taylor If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Roy Green Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/roygreen/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Control of the House of Representatives remains in doubt nearly one week after last Tuesday's elections. But regardless of who is in charge in 2023, dairy's priorities will move forward, says Paul Bleiberg, NMPF's Senior Vice President for Government Relations, in a Dairy Defined podcast. “The basic policy priorities remain the same,” said Bleiberg. “There are some areas where we might have more support from Republicans, some where we might have more support from Democrats, some where we might have more support on regional lines, and it's really a question of strategy. Who's going to be on the Agriculture Committee? Who's going to be on the Appropriations Committee or the Ways and Means committee? Who are the members that we might go to kind of champion different priorities in those or other committees? That sort of is subject to those dynamics, but our priorities will be our priorities.”

Khair Ull Nissa Sheikh | Executive Director of World Trade Center IndiaKhair is Presently working as the Executive Director of World Trade Center India Services She is the Vice Chair of the WTCA Business Club & the Vice Chair for the Agriculture Committee. She is also an active representative of the Executive Committee, Real Estate Committee, APAC Trade Services Committee & the Digital Committee.Khair has been conferred with various awards and accolades in recognition of her commitment and achievements from various Real Estate Industry Associations, Prestigious Trade Organizations; Global Women Leader in Trade and Investment 2022; Economic Times Inspiring Woman 2022; India Achievers Award for Building Nation 2021 and the Women ICON Awards of 2021

Shayne Wiese, a fifth-generation cattle producer from West Central Iowa, testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. The hearing focused on Title II Conservation Programs in the Farm Bill. Wiese testified on behalf of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association. He advocated for voluntary programs, as well as flexibilities within the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and enhanced support for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Today's update includes tips on how to tighten the calving season (https://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/2022/06jun22/0622mg_B_CalvingSeason.html), projected costs for fourth of July cookouts (https://www.fb.org/newsroom/cost-of-july-4th-cookout-17-higher-compared-to-year-ago), announcements about the new summer interns for the Democratic staff of the House Agriculture Committee (https://agriculture.house.gov/news/email/show.aspx?ID=LV2OP2W2PJSPTOBQYV35VC5M6Y), and safety information regarding foodborne illness (https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/06/28/july-fourth-fireworks-not-foodborne-illness).  

The subject of this episode is, “What is a conference committee and why are they so rare today?” My guest is https://joshmryan.github.io/ (Josh Ryan). He is an associate professor of political science at Utah State University. Josh studies Congress, the president, state legislatures and executives, as well as electoral institutions. Importantly for the purpose of this episode of Understanding Congress, Josh is the author of the book https://amzn.to/3iQ9WuP (The Congressional Endgame: Interchamber Bargaining and Compromise) (University of Chicago Press, 2018). This book examines conference committees and the other ways the two chambers of Congress come to an agreement—or not—on legislation. Kevin Kosar: Welcome to Understanding Congress, a podcast about the first branch of government. Congress is a notoriously complex institution, and few Americans think well of it, but Congress is essential to our republic. It's a place where our pluralistic society is supposed to work out its differences and come to agreement about what our laws should be. And that is why we are here: to discuss our national legislature and to think about ways to upgrade it so it can better serve our nation. I'm your host, Kevin Kosar, and I'm a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, DC. Josh, welcome to the podcast. Josh Ryan: Thanks so much for having me. Kevin Kosar: Let's start very simply, Schoolhouse Rock! style. What is a conference committee? Josh Ryan: We think of Congress as one branch of government, and Congress is actually two different institutions. The House and the Senate are separated from each other. They have almost no control over what the other chamber does. They have their own legislators, obviously. They have their own procedures, their own norms, their own committees, their own ways of doing things. And when they write a bill, even if the House and the Senate generally agree on the parameters of the bill and what's going to be in the bill, because of all these differences, they usually write two different versions of a bill. So we can think of the House as developing some version of a bill to address some policy problem. Typically the Senate takes up legislation after the House, but not always. Senators are their own people and they like to do their own thing, and they typically change the House bill in some way. So even though the House and the Senate are supposed to kind of be working together, if the bill is anything more interesting or substantive than some trivial piece of legislation, we're going to end up with two different versions of the bill. The Constitution requires that Congress can only send one version of the bill to the president, so the House and the Senate have to have some way of resolving their differences, of agreeing on the exact same language for a given bill. Historically, one of the main ways that they've come to an agreement is by using a conference committee. This is a temporary committee, so it's different than the standing committees in Congress, like the Agriculture Committee or the Armed Services Committee, which exist and are more or less permanent. The conference committee is ad hoc. It's created just to address the differences between the House and the Senate on a particular bill. The House and the Senate will each designate conferees. These are individuals usually who serve on the standing committees which dealt with the bill. And those people will go to a conference where they sit down and they try to hash out the differences between the House and the Senate version. Once they've done that, the conference committee sends the bill back to both chambers, and both the House and the Senate then have to vote on the bill again. But importantly, they can't make changes to the bill at that point, and the House and the Senate have the exact same version of the bill, exactly the same words, etc. At that point, if they both approve the bill, the bill...

It was a pleasure and a privilege to sit down in person with Ian Paisley Jr who has been an MP for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland since 2010. Ian followed his father into politics and had big shoes to fill as his father was the most well-known figure in Northern Ireland for 40 years. The DUP are quite unique in Westminster as they are a pro union party from the only nation of the UK that is separate from the rest and are unique in being the only party with a strong Conservative Christian ethos. During this chat Ian shares stories of his maiden speech in the House of Commons in 2010, on life growing up in the media spotlight with the surname ‘Paisley' and also what the impact of Brexit is on Northern Ireland. Ian Paisley has represented North Antrim since 1996 when he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue. In 1998 he was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Antrim. As a member of the Assembly Ian served as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee and also as a Junior Minister in the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister from 2007 until 2008. He was also a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board from 2001 until 2007. After Dr Paisley stepped down as the Member of Parliament for North Antrim Ian contested the General Election of 2010 and comfortably retained the seat for the Democratic Unionist Party. He was again re-elected at the General Election in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Ian is currently the DUP spokesperson for Communities, Local Government and Culture, Media and Sports. He is also a member on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Follow Ian on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008888739665 Democratic Unionist Party Website and Twitter https://mydup.com/ https://twitter.com/duponline @duponline Interview recorded 15.3.22 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestream platforms and more go to https://heartsofoak.org/find-us/ Please like, subscribe and share!

We preview the 2022 legislative session that starts this week with first-term Democratic New York state Senator Michelle Hinchey, chair of the Agriculture Committee.

We preview the 2022 legislative session that starts this week with first-term Democratic New York state Senator Michelle Hinchey, chair of the Agriculture Committee.

Cattle Market Conditions and Solutions Discussed during House Agriculture Committee Hearing

Today's guest on "In Touch with Cail & Cormier" is Barbara Comtois from Barnstead, NH. Barbara is a republican member of the House of Representatives and is also on the Environmental and Agriculture Committee.

The Honorable Legislator Kara Hahn, MSW - Representing the 5th Legislative District of Suffolk County, NY. Legislator Hahn is the National Association of Social Workers(NASW) NYS Chapter 2020 “Public Elected Official of the Year” Kara Hahn(https://www.karahahn.com/)is the Suffolk County Legislature's Deputy Presiding Officer. First elected in 2011 to represent the very same community in which she was raised and is now raising her family, Kara has worked to make government more open and responsive while strengthening the County's central mission of protecting public health and safety. Legislator Hahn's initiatives to better our environment and open spaces has earned her the role of chairwoman of the Legislature's Environment, Parks & Agriculture Committee, while her leadership on issues ranging from domestic violence to drug overdoses has earned her key roles on the Legislature's Health; Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services & Preparedness and Public Safety Committees. During her time in public office, Legislator Hahn has championed forward thinking public policies that have saved hundreds of lives by putting opioid antidotes in the hands of first responders and training lay persons to use the antidote in cases of suspected overdose; allowed County health professionals to follow-up with overdose victims who were saved in order to get them into treatment; enabled victims of abuse to better gauge their risk of being re-assaulted or killed by an abuser, and kept guns out of the hands of individuals deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Because of her thoughtful leadership, Kara was elected to serve as the Legislature's Majority Leader from 2016 through 2019 and chosen as the body's Deputy Presiding Officer earlier this year. Prior to her election, Kara held roles as a Public Policy Coordinator for a child care advocacy organization, a Senior Public Relations Specialist for a multinational high technology corporation and the Director of Communications for the Suffolk County Legislature. Kara holds a Master's degree in Social Work Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. She is resides in Setauket with her husband Christopher and two daughters. Legislator Hahn is presently running for Congress. ***This is a "Kelsunn Communications" Production(www.kelsunn.org) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kelsunn-on-the-air/support

Two producers, two market economists, and one social engineer appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee in the latter days of June to discuss cattle market transparency and current market happenings.

On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held an official hearing on market transparency and the need to fix the markets. Two cattle producers, two market economists, and one social engineer were involved, totaling five witnesses who presented to the senators.

This week we hear a report from An Taisce’s time in front of the Agriculture Committee, what new land classifications mean for farmers, Gardaí on TikTok tractor drivers plus an interview with the Irish Limousin CEO.

Meeting recorded on Tuesday, April 13, 2021

An Interview with Former U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly by Carson Whitesell Summary: In this episode of “Students Talk Security,” former United States Senator Joe Donnelly discusses the domestic terrorism in the United States with an emphasis on recent events like the storming of the Capitol on January 6th. Donnelly brings a special perspective to the problem because of his time in the Senate, which gives him insight into what Congress and the federal government in general can do to combat this preeminent national security threat. Biography: Joe Donnelly served as the three term U.S. Representative from Indiana’s Second Congressional District from 2007 to 2013 and the United States Senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Senator Donnelly is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School. While in the House of Representatives, Congressman Donnelly served on the Veterans’ Committee, the Financial Services Committee, and the Agriculture Committee. While in the United States Senate, Senator Donnelly served on the Aging Committee (primarily Senior Issues), the Agriculture Committee, the Banking Committee, and the Armed Services Committee. Senator Donnelly was the Ranking Member of the Banking Committee’s National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee. Donnelly was also the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Senator Donnelly was a member of the Armed Services Committee’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and the Airland Subcommittee. Senator Donnelly currently teaches National Security at the University of Notre Dame, practices law at the firm of Akin, Gump and is the Board Chairman of the Soufan Center, a research center dedicated to global security issues and emerging threats.

https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/ - where Taylor works currently, https://takingtimewithtaylor.wordpress.com/ - Taylor's Blog: Taking Time w/Taylor, https://arkansasffa.org/ - Arkansas FFA, https://www.ffa.org/ - National FFA, https://web.saumag.edu/ - Southern Arkansas University, https://www.uark.edu/ - University of Arkansas, https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/ - Texas A&M Ag School, https://www.arfb.com/ - Farm Bureau, https://www.lsuagcenter.com/ - LSU Ag School, www.comgroup.com - Communications Group, https://www.comgroup.com/women-in-industry - WIN Communications Group Page, https://www.comgroup.com/women-in-industry/agriculture/recipients - Ag Women via Communications Group website, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/525XB2M - ag nomination form for WIN campaign, https://www.arbeef.org/ - Arkansas Cattleman's Association, 

In this February 10 stimulus update I go over how the House committees are marking up the stimulus plan.Stimulus Committee Markups:- Education and Labor Committee: https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/d...​- Financial Services Committee Markup: https://financialservices.house.gov/u...​- Agriculture Committee: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG...​- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: https://transportation.house.gov/imo/...​4 Free Stocks: http://go.moneydoneright.com/Webull

All eyes are on election day. While the presidential election is dominating the headlines, down ballot races have the potential to transform state legislatures, county commissions, and city councils across the country.In this episode, we focus on a state-level race in a district that includes a mix of urban and rural communities. John Ager serves in the North Carolina General Assembly, representing the 115th district in the state House of Representatives since 2015. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and comes from a farming background (his family owns and operates Hickory Nut Gap Farm). Rep. Ager speaks to Kat Johnson about this strange campaign season, his vision for agriculture and climate policy in North Carolina, and why a Democratic majority in the state's House of Representatives would create an opportunity for him to push for the changes he envisions.This is part one of our conversation with Rep. Ager. Part two will be recorded and air after the election on November 3rd.Have a question you want answered? Email us at question@heritageradionetwork.orgThis project is funded in part by a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act. This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.The Big Food Question is powered by Simplecast.

In an unprecedented move, a group of German Green MPs and one MEP have backed the use of gene editing technologies in a new paper, lawmakers on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee reacted angrily as their colleagues on the Environment Committee decided to halt cooperation on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy file, and EURACTIV takes a closer look at how the hospitality sector will play a vital role in the process of “re-connecting” European citizens socially after the coronavirus pandemic.

Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn has said this week that it is very difficult to make the EU’s main farm policy greener when figures on the bottom line are red, a new report exposes the vulnerabilities of the global meat sector, and lawmakers in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee have turned down a section of an aid package proposed by the Commission for wine, fruit and vegetable producers, as it was not ambitious enough to cope with disruption caused by the pandemic.

Anthony Ray talks to Congresswoman Alma Adams(D-NC-12)about the great news for HBCUs with the passage of the Farm Bill. Congresswoman Adams and other Black Congressional leaders on the Agriculture Committee lead a bipartisan effort in securing major funding for HBCU Land-Grant Universities. Congresswoman Alma Adams is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. https://adams.house.gov/ Twitter.com/repadams

In today's Federal Newscast, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton wants a joint session to analyze the legality of the Agriculture Department's proposal to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture out of the nation's capital by the end of 2019.

This week's guest on Open Mic is U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho. As a member of the Agriculture Committee and the House Freedom Caucus, the Florida Representative offers insight into the failed vote for a new farm bill and key points for debate on immigration reform. Yoho, who was once a food stamp recipient, says there's much to gain from approving new farm and nutrition policy this year and much to lose if Congress is forced to extend the 2014 law. He supports a new NAFTA agreement and says his farmers have suffered under the previous agreement.

This week's guest on Open Mic is House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway. In this interview, the Texas Republican offers support for the GOP tax plan and identifies agriculture's gains from the House proposal. Conaway embraces the challenge of the NAFTA renegotiation and offers full support for President Trump's efforts to get a better deal for both farmers and industry. The chairman outlines ag committee preparation and work toward writing a new farm bill and supports significant change in the nation's renewable energy policy and RIN's structure.

In this wide ranging interview, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., shares his thoughts about why it was so difficult to pass a new farm bill and his perspective on issues like the definition of “actively engaged” as USDA works on implementation. The Oklahoma Republican is also concerned about pending rules and regulations regarding the EPA's proposed rule on the “waters of the U.S.” and how it impacts the ability of farmers and ranchers to make a living off the land.SELECT NOW FOR DAILY AUDIOFrank Lucas, R-Okla

Dr. John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas, is in his first term in the U.S. Senate following five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and is keenly aware of the needs of Arkansas farmers who grow a wide variety of crops. Boozman addresses the long process of getting the Farm, Food and Jobs bill through Congress and delves into specifics on commodity and food and nutrition titles. He also challenges his northern counterparts in their efforts to tighten the definition of "Actively Engaged In Farming". He explains the workings of Congress, or lack thereof, in a contentious environment and the challenges it brings to producing good legislation.Dr. John Boozman

Fresh from voting on a split farm bill that creates a new permanent farm law, Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, tells why GOP leaders decided to pursue this path. Neugebauer represents the 19th Congressional District of Texas that covers several counties of the Texas Panhandle and the cities of Abilene and Lubbock and serves as a senior member on the Agriculture Committee. He describes last week's farm bill vote as a "first down, not a touchdown" as the measure hopefully heads to conference on at least the commodity title.Randy Neugebauer

Rep. Marcia Fudge, who represents the 11th District of Ohio, talks about her commitment to ending childhood obesity, stamping out hunger, and protecting the SNAP program on Open Mic. She also addresses efforts to grow more local food in her district surrounding Cleveland, one of the top five cities in the U.S. for the most urban farm acres. On the Agriculture Committee, she is the Ranking Member of the Department Operations, Oversight and Credit Sub-committee of the Agriculture Committee and also sits on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. In the 113th Congress, she will lead the Congressional Black Caucus, setting the political agenda for more than 40 black members of the U.S. House of Representatives.Marcia Fudge

Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW (PCPAN) http://preservingcommunitypharmacy.com  is a coalition of consumers, businesses and community-based pharmacists from across the country that have come together for the purpose of opposing the planned merger between Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. PCPAN is a project of the Pharmacy Choice and Access Now (PCAN) coalition, which fights on behalf of patients to preserve access to quality and affordable health care and pharmacy services. PCPAN exists because patient well-being and access to pharmacy services are being immediately threatened by the planned merger between two of the largest pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies, a merger which could go into effect as soon as the first part of 2012, providing the combined mega-PBM excessive dominance and control over the health care of tens of millions of Americans. PBMs, which serve as middlemen between corporations or insurance companies and patients already wield a one-sided advantage in setting prescription medicine contract and reimbursement terms for community-based pharmacies. This merger would only make a bad situation worse for the American health care system. It would result in a consolidated PBM controlling a significant part of the market, thereby eliminating choice and access for patients who depend on local pharmacists for their prescription medications and other health care services. A consolidated PBM of this size would control a large share of the supply line of brand-name and generic drugs, especially in markets where the PBMs are already highly concentrated, thereby raising the prices of prescription medications and leaving employer health care plans and patients with few remedies outside of absorbing the cost increases. To prevent these anti-competitive effects in the health care delivery system, the consumers, pharmacists and small businesses that make up PCPAN are working to stop this planned merger. The bottom line is clear: the merger between Express Scripts and Medco is not in the best interest of patients, employers or health care in America. It must not be allowed to move forward. Eva Clayton – PCPAN ChairpersonEva M. Clayton is a former member of Congress who represented eastern North Carolina (1992-2003). She served as Chair of the Nutrition & Operations Sub-committee of the Agriculture Committee, Member of the Budget Committee, and Co- Chair of the Rural Caucus. Upon retirement, she accepted the position of Assistant Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (2003-2006). She remains active with agriculture, rural development and food security issues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.