Rethinking Politics

A brief announcement confirming that we are on vacation for a couple weeks. Looking forward to being back and making new content.

Whether or not we should have left Afghanistan, we certainly should not have left in the way that we did. And we especially should not be actively trying to stop those who want to get out like the US state department has done. In this episode, we discuss some of the stories of those who have escaped, the massive failure of the bureaucracy to allow others to get out, and some of the heinous acts the State Department may have committed to prevent private efforts to help.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/22/politics/lawmakers-storm-out-afghanistan-briefing/index.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/us/politics/eviction-rental-assistance.amp.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/left-behind-afghanistan-immigrant-visas-11631473668https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/politics/blinken-americans-stranded-afghanistan-withdrawal.amp

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visa-afghans-employed-us-gov.html

If you're listening to any of the most popular political commentaries today, you've probably heard about the rising threat of modern China. In this episode, we take a look at recent events in the Chinese economy like Evergrande and how their system will affect their power as a player in the international scene in the future.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Everyone is familiar with Biden's proposed vaccine mandate and the arguments about the pros and cons are already pretty well laid out. So today we discuss how we got to this point. How haver we reached a place where an organization like OSHA is issuing vaccine mandates and the CDC creates rental policy? We then discuss what is so dangerous about this bureaucratic system and some of the alternatives.

With the new Texas abortion law going into effect, abortion is once again a hot topic. In this episode, we look at this new Texas law and the history of Roe v. Wade. While we cover the constitutional questions, we focus on the moral questions beyond the political rhetoric and explore where the legal system could develop these ideas further.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," - Hermann Göring.

Since the fallout from our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing cleanup, we have heard a lot from various pundits about “the will” to win wars and the failure of politicians to explain American interests in the Middle East. The result, or so the reasoning goes, is that we clearly should have stayed but our presence there was wildly unpopular with voters. Some pundits have gone so far as to say that we ought to embrace the reality of our empire so we can start doing a decent job of it.

History has always had a significant role in politics. Since the rise of the 1619 project, and the subsequent controversy, the role of American history is increasingly a mainstream concern. What we believe about history is at least as important as what actually happened. In this episode, we discuss historical narratives and their profound effect on shaping our worldview. To illustrate this connection, we do some myth busting of common conservative and liberal interpretations of the founding.

As the FDA approves the Pfizer vaccine, people are reconsidering Vaccine Mandates. Even though such mandates are unlikely in the United States, it's a good time to revisit a major question that we have only touched on: What are our social obligations to protect others from infectious disease? 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

After 20 years of direct U.S. military involvement, it only took days for the Taliban to take over Afghanistan. And as both Americans and Afghans struggle to flee Kabul, many in the American Media have condemned Biden for causing this whole mess. But like most things the answer is not so simple. Brad and Dan attempt to make sense of what happened and see if we can start to glean any lessons from this tragedy.

After the initial surge of businesses and employees returning back to work, the economy has stalled. In this episode we take a look at some of the causes of this phenomenon and why it’s been called “The Great Resignation”. We consider the role of bargaining power, unemployment incentives, and more.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod