Recently there have been several� stupid� stories in the news. There�s the USAF deciding that �Up in the Air Junior Birdman� is no longer their official fight song. Garth Brooks put on a show in Detroit while wearing a �Sanders 20� shirt. Technically, it was a Barry Sanders Hall of fame running back for the Lions jersey. The reaction proved that corporately we are pretty stupid.

But for my money, the dumbest story of the week was the news that 38% of Americans won�t buy Corona Beer now. Why? Well� of course it�s because of the Coronavirus-19 epidemic.

Or� is it?

In an attempt to prove that the Earth is flat, Mad Mike launched himself into the sky aboard a steam-powered rocket. He left his parachute behind with gravitationally predictable results.

Bad ideas have dominated human history, with the greatest impact in the arena of religion, where Religion A has battled Religion B (and occasionally Religion C) for pretty much as long as there has been organized religion. At one point, the battles destroyed a third or more of all human life in Europe.

So it�s not a big surprise that in the middle of a political campaign religion has entered into things, with Religion A telling us that Religion B is wrong and the Deity will be angry if you vote for the other candidate.

Which is every bit as dumb as it was 500 years ago or last weekend when the laws of gravity were once again proven.

At the close of the Nevada Caucus, Chris Matthews ranted about the Sanders victory, going so far as to compare his �victory� (54% of voters voted against him) to the 1940 Fall of France.

On the one hand, he wasn�t completely wrong. The inability of the Democratic Party to see what needs to be done is eerily similar to the French failures in June of 1940. The obvious solution to the problem escapes the Party because there is no ability to understand that sacrifices must be made. Nobody on the Democratic Party stage is willing to make that choice and do what must be done.

On the other hand, why now, Chris Matthews, why now? Sanders has been a Fellow Traveler his entire life. Where was your analysis three months ago, or even four years ago?

In any case, the Democrats seem poised to nominate a Fellow Traveler (communist) for the Presidency of the United States. They have no will to stop it. Their leadership is like Marshall P�tain and the French surrender monkeys all over again�

As we close in on Super Tuesday, the question once again arises: Why do we even bother to vote?

It seems like we always convince ourselves that this time things will work out differently. But no matter who wins, it seems like things don�t really change. At. All. Certainly not for the better.

The State of California has introduced a law � a law � that would require ALL registered voters to vote. Of course, it�s unconstitutional. More than that, it�s flat out stupid. So, of course, it�s from California.

At the end of the day, why do Diamond & Rod actually bother to vote?

There is much handwringing and worry over the idea that a self-avowed Communist �won� New Hampshire and possibly Iowa (although those results may not be available for another year).

Of all of Bernie Sander�s ideas and �plans� for the nation should he be elected, there are many that have generated comments, such as his Medicare for everyone, trillions of dollars for fighting Climate Change or gun control.

One of his ideas though isn�t getting as much attention � his plan for �re-inventing the Supreme Court.�

Now, on the one hand, his plan is both unworkable and un-Constitutional. That said, have we reached a point in our national life where those facts no longer matter? After all, if we elect a self-avowed Communist to the Presidency of the United States, does the Constitution really even matter anymore?

On his national radio show, long-time host Rush Limbaugh announced that he has �advanced lung cancer.� He will be taking some time off for treatment and recovery. To say that Rush has been an influence in the Talk Show Bizz would be an understatement. His impact has been � and continues to be � enormous. So much so that even Show Hosts with polar opposite views from his learn from what he does and use his techniques and methods.

Whether you love him, hate him, or like Dave, you have a love/hate relationship with him, he has impacted everything on the dial for more than three decades.

On this episode of Plausibly Live, Dave & Rodbo take a few minutes to talk about the news of Rush�s illness and how his show has impacted their own lives over the years�

There are less than two weeks before the Iowa Caucus and lately, there has been a focus on the military service of the Democrat candidates in the race. Like the Hobnobs of merry old England who wanted to tax Americans to pay for more Army units in Canada to allow them to gain a line on their CV, does the service of Pete Buttigieg as a �glorified Uber Driver,� really qualify him to lead the country?

There is a saying in the Talmud: �We do not see the world as it is. We see it as we are.�

The Mandalorian has captivated both Dave and Rod. A feature of the storyline is that there is a certain way of looking at things. The Way of the Mandalorian is another reminder that we see things are we are.

Which brings us to two ridiculous stories in the news. First, two politicians had a spat over who said what to whom and then lied about it on national television. At the same time, an undercover videographer purports to tell us exactly what we already believed about the world as we are.

Is there any hope that the Mandalorian will change The Way? Is there any hope that we will change ours?

Welcome to the new year! There are a few things new, including a co-host, so say �Hello� to RodBo, who will be joining us now.

Over the past few days, we have seen arguments over the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Most of them, like arguments found in the Talmud and the NFL, are more about personal likes and dislikes rather than the actual substance of the debate, which should be obvious, but maybe isn�t?

In the end, are we so blinded, as Rousseau said, by our hatred or our love, that we miss the real questions that we should be looking into?

"Best of" from 2018