2021-01

Episode 19: President Bush Has Done More for Africa than Any Other World Leader

Chances are that the tragic blunders associated with the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina are what you remember most about the presidency of George W. Bush. I submit, however, that the karmic benefits associated with the Millennium Challenge Account for African Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (aka PEPFAR) should be mitigating factors in history’s judgment of his presidential legacy.
And perhaps nothing will seal that legacy in this respect quite like having the first Black first lady of the United States shower him with PDA every time they appear together on the world stage.
Contact:
ipinionsj@gmail.com
Length:  15 min 27 sec

Episode 18: The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Restoration of America

Donald Trump spent much of his presidency behaving more like the leader of a political cult than the leader of the free world.  Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that the whole world breathed a collective sigh of relief at high noon on January 20. Because that’s when, like a proverbial messiah, Joe Biden took the presidential oath that exorcised in an instant all the demonic forces Trump had come to personify.
No doubt Biden will do much to restore America. But beware that Trump's presidency said far more about America than Trump.
Contact:
ipinionsj@gmail.com
Length:  30 min 32 sec

Episode 17: End Indentured Servitude. Pay College Athletes.

Watching surreal and dystopian events unfold in America these days, it’s easy to imagine them aping the fall of the Roman Empire and the American Civil War – combined. But, if that’s too ominous for you to contemplate, this episode is for you. Consider it a little oasis in the vast wasteland of Trumpism is leaving in its wake.
That said, when you think of sweatshops, you probably think of child labor in factories across Asia, where Nike and other Western companies manufacture their expensive athletic shoes.
But sweatshops abound on football fields across America, where colleges exploit mostly poor and uneducated players to generate billions. This, in exchange for an educational degree that, for 99.9 percent of them, is not even worth the paper it’s written on.
Contact:
ipinionsj@gmail.com
Length:  14 min 59 sec

Episode 16: MAGA Madness: Trump Incites Insurrection at US Capitol

The world watched in shock and horror on Wednesday as President Trump incited thousands of his followers to storm the US Capitol.
He inaugurated his presidency on its steps with a speech fulminating against American carnage. Therefore, the irony cannot be lost on anyone that he’s ending it with carnage not seen there since the British burned the capital in 1814.
America has always been seen as a shining city upon a hill, offering a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. But Trump has spent the past four years breaking every light that made that city shine. No doubt, for him and his “Proud Boys,” it was lights out on Wednesday.
I maintain, however, that President Biden will need only four months to effectively repair all that Trump has broken in this respect over the past four years.
Contact:
ipinionsj@gmail.com
Length:  17 min 05 sec