Apolitic: A Progressive Discussion For People Who Hate Politics

The First Words (10”) On The Podcast: Kevin McCathy on Fox News

https://youtu.be/gOcUqhw351Y

Fact check on Kevin McCathy’s claim that 9% of the Covid Relief Bill is being spent for Covid Relief: False! Get the details here:

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/6887487002

And here from American Association of Retired Persons (AARP):

https://feeds.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2021/covid-19-relief-bill.html?_amp=true

Discussion of Where The Republicans Are Headed (Part 3): Misinformation: Beware!

The current direction of the Republican Party needs to be recognized and responded to at the ballot box particularly by people who have not voted regularly or at all. The current situation of the Republican Party as of November 2020 through May 2021 indicates that the party regulars believe that Trump won the 2020 election. Republicans in 2021 want to oppose government spending to help with pandemic relief, oppose extensive infrastructure restoration (including roads, bridges, the electrical grid, the family structure, renewable energy, broadband internet access for all), and (in The in the case of many Republican state legislators, to put many barriers in front of prospective voters to reduce the size of the electorate—All in the name of fraud prevention. Many conservative commentators have spoken words of caution to the leadership of the Republican party and these commentators have in many cases resigned from the party as long as Trump tries to control the direction of Republican ideology. There are many other criticisms of Trumpism which we will not address today but we will be speaking about this topic of Trump’s weaknesses over the next 18 months. The main thing now is to convince people who have not voted or people who are undecided why they should vote for progressive candidates—In some cases for the Democratic candidate and in some cases for the progressive challenger in primary elections.

George Will Article March 2021 “Will Republicans Let The Louts Rule Their Party?”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-senate-republicans-allow-their-louts-to-rule-the-party/2021/02/11/ce082db6-6caf-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html?outputType=amp

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-senate-republicans-allow-their-louts-to-rule-the-party/2021/02/11/ce082db6-6caf-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html?outputType=amp

Cuomo 5/3/21 Chris Cuomo leads a discussion of Republican Party confusion and division in which a variety of commentators and politicians outline the dysfunction in the Republican ranks as of May 2021. It will only get worse from here in my opinion!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuomo-prime-time-with-chris-cuomo/id1393858741?i=1000519975774

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

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips

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

The speech by Mitch McConnell and to interview with Lindsey Graham are linked here. If you listen one or both men bare in mind that they both, in my opinion speak with “forked tongues” as our native peoples used to say.

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-mcconnell-s-full-remarks-following-senate-vote-to-acquit-trump-100994117808

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips

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

The speech by Mitch McConnell and to interview with Lindsey Graham are linked here. If you listen one or both men bare in mind that they both, in my opinion speak with “forked tongues” as our native peoples used to say.

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-mcconnell-s-full-remarks-following-senate-vote-to-acquit-trump-100994117808

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6232137591001#sp=show-clips

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

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

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

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In this episode, Apolitic focuses on the views that average Americans—black and white, men and women—have of the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on their lives. We will also be highlighting the men and women who influenced Dr. King.

Meet the forgotten woman who forever changed the lives of LGBTQ and workers: Pauli Murray.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2020/06/26/pauli-murray-lgbtq-rights-civil-rights-act-title-vii/?sh=6e9e7c497620

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We examine the Republican Party which appears to be led, as of February 7, 2021 by two leaders: Representative Lynn Chaney

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

https://ballotpedia.org/The_Republican_Party_Platform,_2020

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2016-republican-party-platform

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2012-republican-party-platform

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2008-republican-party-platform

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2004-republican-party-platform

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2000-republican-party-platform

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

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