ORLY-EP0153 - A Conservative on the Panel

ORLY-EP0153 - A Conservative on the Panel

Welcome to ORLYRADIO #153 recorded Friday, May 5th, 2017 - where we dismantle the current events for your edutainment through mostly rational conversations that make you go ‘Oh Really’! I’m your host Andy Cowen with my usual suspects, Daniel Atherton, Stephen Griffith, and a special guest - Mr. Truelove.
 

We make mistakes. Please, if you find one, pause the podcast, and send us a note. orlyradiopodcast@gmail.com or phone it in 470-222-6759

Thank you to our Patreon Supporters!

Donald Davis

Melissa G.

Henry

Daniel Duncan

 

  1. Gleb Tsipursky

    http://www.glebtsipursky.com/

    http://www.intentionalinsights.org/

    is slated to join us on May 12th. He will be here to talk  about effective ways of fighting post-truth politics and political deception.

  2. Mr. Truelove, who the heck are you?

  3. American Health Care Act, AKA: AHCA, TrumpCare, RyanCare, CouponCare, Expletives Deleted.

  4. And all sorts of other stuff!

Andy's Pick - The Expanse Series https://www.amazon.com/The-Expanse-Collection-Books-1-3/dp/B014KWUBXE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494560862&sr=8-2&keywords=the+expanse

Daniel's Pick - The Royal Game of Ur (20 Boxes) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Game_of_Ur  https://www.britishmuseum.org/ https://www.youtube.com/user/britishmuseum

Stephen's Pick - http://gaming.logitech.com/en-us/product/g502-proteus-spectrum-rgb-gaming-mouse http://amzn.to/2qaNWyR

Mr. Truelove's Pick - http://www.benchmade.com/saddle-mountain-hunter-family.html

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License, including the music Rocket and Pamgaea created by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)

ORLY-EP0132B - SPECIAL: President Elect Trump's Plan-First 100 Days

ORLY-EP0132B - SPECIAL: President Elect Trump's Plan-First 100 Days

Welcome to ORLYRADIO #132b recorded Friday November 11th, 2016 - where we dismantle the current events for your edutainment through mostly rational conversations that make you go ‘Oh Really’! I’m your host Andy Cowen, with my usual suspects, David O’Connor, Daniel Atherton, Amber Biesecker, Jason Watson and Paul Castaneda.

Audience Feedback From Previous Shows:

We make mistakes. Please, if you find one, pause the podcast, and send us a note. orlyradiopodcast@gmail.com or phone it in 470-222-6759

  1. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-executive-power-20161110-htmlstory.html

  2. In late October, Donald Trump released an action plan for what he hopes to accomplish in his first 100 days in office. Below, NPR reporters and editors from the politics team and other coverage areas have annotated Trump's plan. We've added context on several of his proposals, including whether he can really repeal Obamacare and what a hiring freeze on the federal workforce would actually look like. You can see a nonannotated version of "Donald Trump's Contract With The American Voter" here.

  3. http://www.npr.org/2016/11/10/501597652/fact-check-donald-trumps-first-100-days-action-plan

#

The Donald’s Desire

Can It Happen?

Why?

Six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC

1

* FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;

Nope

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said“it will not be on the agenda in the Senate” and "I would say we have term limits now — they're called elections."

2

* SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);

Maybe / unlikely

if he wants to hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement patrol officers, it seems unlikely he will be able to shrink the federal workforce much through attrition, as retirement rates average around 3.5 percent a year

3

* THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated; Trump, at one campaign stop said 70 percent of regulations "can go”.

Maybe / unlikely

During the campaign he said he wanted to "get rid of" the Dodd-Frank law that reshaped the banking industry after the 2008 recession.

one possibility would be to try to eliminate the so-called Volcker rule, which prohibits banks from making risky investments

Federal Communications Commission ruling that protects net neutrality.

Repeal a regulation that makes more workers eligible for overtime.

4

* FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;

Maybe / unlikely

Maybe a tough request for Congress, where plum lobbying jobs are seen as a payoff for the sacrifice of public service.

5

* FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;

Maybe / Likely

Same as above, but less risk for the law makers.

6

* SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.

Maybe / unlikely

Follow the money… They rather like money.

On the same day, I will begin taking the following 7 actions to protect American workers:

7

* FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205

Unlikely

Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University said. "Could NAFTA be killed? Not in letter, but in spirit — yes,"

8

* SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Likely

9

* THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator

Yes

Words

10

* FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately

Yes

Words

11

* FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars' worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.

Likely

12

* SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward

Likely

A Trump administration could greenlight the project by granting TransCanada Corp the permit.

13

* SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America's water and environmental infrastructure

Yes

The Paris Accords are voluntary, and were to be visited in two years and increase in action levels at each meeting. Pretty sure Billions were never spent for what this claims.

Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

14

* FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama

Yes

Nothing prevents a POTUS from eliminating other POTUS’s Executive Orders. This should be read as remove the ones that aren’t beneficial to me and my rich buds.

15

* SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States

Yes

He just has to pick one that the Senate approves of.

16

* THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities

Maybe

Sanctuary cities are American cities that have policies protecting immigrants in the country illegally from federal immigration law, such as restricting police from turning them over to federal agents. Trump has not said which federal funds would be withheld from sanctuary cities. A few of these cities are Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Austin. Even removing Federal funds may not change the cities stance.

17

* FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won't take them back

Yes

Without the approval of Congress, a President Trump could instruct his immigration agents to round up every immigrant convicted of a crime and deport them all. There are currently 23 countries considered “recalcitrant” by ICE because they will not accept criminal aliens sent home from the U.S. -- among them Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran and Zimbabwe. Trump could instruct his State Department to withhold visas for the citizens of these countries unless they agree to accept their deportees.

18

* FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

Maybe / Likely

A simple Executive order *should* be able to make this plan a reality.

Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

19

Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.

Maybe / Likely

It will require help through the House. Will they go for it? It is more likely that they will but Paul Ryan may have a few things to say about his tax plan, as he has far fewer ways to bring in revenue than will be required to balance the budget much less pay down deficit spending much less the actual debt. - AC

20

End The Offshoring Act. Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.

Maybe...

S.3816 - Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act
111th Congress (2009-2010), would have done this and did not get enough votes to pass. Trying again may work.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/3816 

21

American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.

Maybe...

What’s in it? $1,000,000,000,000 is a lot of money, especially to be revenue neutral, to claim. It smells of hyperbole, though we do need such an investment...

22

School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.

And more on his education plans:
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/25/494740056/donald-trumps-plan-for-americas-schools 

Not likely

FUCK. Please no… just no...
Learning standards, including the Common Core, are adopted (and replaced) at the state level, and the new federal education law, ESSA, will make it very difficult for Trump to change that.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/10/501426803/can-president-trump-get-rid-of-common-core 
How will he pay for it? Not with new money, he has been clear, but “redirects education dollars” is vague. The fact is, much of the money the U.S. government spends in schools goes to districts that serve low-income, at-risk students. Under Trump’s plan, at least some of the Title I dollars would likely end up going to more affluent districts or leaving the public system entirely.

23

Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.

Maybe...

He will have the support of the house and senate. But there are things in the law that will take time, Years… So, I suspect we will see a rebranding of services not really a repeal since they have no idea how to do that. Insurance companies are going to make out like bandits.

24

Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.

Maybe...

This will be confusing for elders and only benefits insurance companies as you contribute money to these and then they make it hard to be reimbursed and don’t allow it all to roll over and you love the money and they pocket it. So of course they will pass it.

25

End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.

Mostly no.

Mexico will never pay for a wall.



WALLSINO ©
2016

26

Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.

Unlikely

It would raise taxes… Most law enforcement money comes from local municipalities.

27

Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values

Unlikely

2011 Budget Control Act, which imposed automatic, across-the-board spending restrictions, since it was first passed. Repealing it even with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress would require new consensus about exempting both defense and nondefense spending from the restrictions, as well as an agreement about how to pay for any new spending that Trump proposes.
His VA proposal sounds a lot like the Veterans Choice program that Congress enacted after high-profile VA scandals in 2014, one that enables veterans to go outside the VA system.

28

Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

unlikely.

Drain the Swamp? Really? I hope it happens, but until I see what’s in it, it’s garbage.

Personal Picks:

Acknowledgements:

Music: "Rocket and Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)

ORLY-EP0132A - SPECIAL: Election 2016 DNC Post Mortem

ORLY-EP0132A - SPECIAL: Election 2016 DNC Post Mortem

Welcome to ORLYRADIO #132 recorded Friday November 11th, 2016 - where we dismantle the current events for your edutainment through mostly rational conversations that make you go ‘Oh Really’! I’m your host Andy Cowen, with my usual suspects, David O’Connor, Stephen Griffith, Daniel Atherton, Amber Biesecker, Jason Watson and Paul Castaneda.

Audience Feedback From Previous Shows:

We make mistakes. Please, if you find one, pause the podcast, and send us a note. orlyradiopodcast@gmail.com or phone it in 470-222-6759

  1. F

  2. U

  3. C

  4. K

  5. Trump won... Discuss...

ORLY-EP0121 - DNC Platform Wrap and Back to Normal

ORLY-EP0121 -  DNC Platform Recap, And back to a  “normal” show.

Welcome to ORLYRADIO #121 recorded Friday August 5th, 2016 - where we dismantle the current events for your edutainment through mostly rational conversations that make you go ‘Oh Really’! I’m your host Andy Cowen, with my usual suspects, Stephen Griffith, and David O’Connor.

Audience Feedback From Previous Shows:

We make mistakes. Please, if you find one, pause the podcast, and send us a note. orlyradiopodcast@gmail.com or phone it in 470-222-6759

Potpourri: Guests/Rants/Etc:

Democratic Wrap up, takeaways...

  • No real gotchas - if you are liberally and socially progressive, in fact there are some great things on that front. Policing the police, Reforming mandatory sentencing, closing private prisons, and generally being science minded about many things. There was copious pandering, or swaying if if comes to pass, to the Berni-crats. Most of his campaign stump speeches was seen throughout the document. Each section reiterated at least something towards that camp.

  • Race relations, gender disparity, civil rights, voters protections, Native/Indigenous Americans and Tribal law, LGBT (sorry no QIA), fixing the broken immigration system, climate change - all had their paragraphs and positive notes of encouragement.

  • There was a little bit of privatization pandering to religious institutions rather than corporate america, calling on support for AmeriCorps. But on the bright side, strengthening our education systems, including student debt.

  • And while on Education, the platform adds the A to STEM, So Democrats believe in Science,. Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.

  • The Agriculture industry was mentioned in continuing financial aid, while also backhanding them with increased EPA worker protections. Unions and collective bargaining are heavily supported and eluded to by the platform

  • Families who depend on programs like SNAP and WIC would not have to worry about those social programs being pulled.

  • Generally towing the Obama line and continuing his legacy in every avenue and likely advancing it where he was unable to, like the ACA, the party states on page 34, that they are in favor of universal healthcare, not the stop gap that the Obamacare was. IN this section, both mental health and autism care received recognition as a commitment bullet point. Even planned parenthood was supported. This is a pro-choice platform.

  • The national motto actually made an appearance, E Pluribus Unum, rather than just the Christian Nation crowd that we saw on the GOP side.

  • Gun violence is also a platform line items.

  • They want to audit the Pentagon in an effort to reduce defense spending in a smart manner rather than an arbitrary figure.

  • Though as to the middle east, we will continue to pour dollars and blood into the region to combat isis and reign in Iran’s attempts to eliminate Israel.

  • One thing to really note, in rough numbers, about a third of the document pandered or said very little or repeated itself. Another third was comparisons and what they believe in. The last third, plans on how to accomplish goals. Not set in stone and codified into law, but just like Bernie's platform, there was a way to do it all listed in the platform.

  •  

Science Bitches!  

  1. http://www.thedrive.com/news/3208/uc-irvine-accidentally-invents-a-battery-that-lasts-forever

  2. http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-develop-a-new-vaccine-that-could-reverse-dementia-and-alzheimer-s

  3. http://nber.org/papers/w22170 The Effect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions on Financial Well-Being
    We find that the Medicaid expansions significantly reduced the number of unpaid bills and the amount of debt sent to third-party collection agencies among those residing in zip codes with the highest share of low income, uninsured individuals. Our estimates imply a reduction in collection balances of around $600 to $1,000 among those who gain Medicaid coverage due to the ACA. Our findings suggest that the ACA Medicaid expansions had important financial impacts beyond health care use.

  4. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36855705 - Adamantium is now a thing.

Law & Order:

  1. http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/08/court-enters-at-least-temporarily-the-fray-over-transgender-rights/ The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the dispute between a Virginia school board and a transgender student who identifies as a boy.  In June, a federal district court in Virginia ordered the Gloucester County School Board to allow “G.G.” to use the boys’ bathroom at Gloucester High School until the case can be fully litigated.  A federal appeals court turned down the school board’s request to halt the district court’s order, so the school board went to the Supreme Court, where it found more success:  today the Court blocked the district court’s order while the school board seeks Supreme Court review of the dispute.  Today’s action means that “G.G.” will not be able to use the boys’ bathroom when school resumes on September 6; it also suggests that four Justices – the number needed to review a case on the merits – could be willing to take the case on, possibly as soon as this fall.

  2. Transgender woman robs bank, hands out cash, so she can return to jail http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/08/transgender-woman-robs-bank-hands-cash-can-return-jail/

Good Ideas:

  1. A Unitarian Universalist church is suing the town of Bedford, Massachusetts for denying a request to install solar panels on its property, arguing that authorities are infringing on the congregation’s right to express their religious belief in clean energy solutions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/08/03/3804896/unitarian-universalist-solar-panels-religious-liberty/

  2. A Tesla Semi. Here's Musk at the Tesla Blog, "In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate."

Bad Ideas:

  1. Giving Trump the football. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O13kaQAg5KE http://www.vox.com/2016/8/3/12367996/donald-trump-nuclear-codes

  2. Nuke Map!  http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

Personal Picks:

Acknowledgements:

Music: "Rocket and Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)