Author, and host of the Dismantling Doctrine podcast Clint Heacock returns to the pod to talk about how effectively the Project 2025 playbook is working, why it's terrifying, and how authoritarianism fits into it. We discuss the origins of our national motto "In God We Trust," adding "under God" to the pledge of allegiance, and the war Christian Nationalists are waging on civil liberty.

⁠NOT SO SHINY NOT SO HAPPY PEOPLE (THE BOOK)⁠

⁠DISMANTLING DOCTRINE PODCAST⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠

Our returning champion, former Federal Prosecutor for the district of Oregon, Amanda Marshall stops by to talk to us about the Comey indictment, national guard troops in her home town, due process, weaponization of the DOJ, mass resignation of career DOJ attorneys, selective prosecution, and why prosecutorial discretion matters.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠⁠⁠⁠

Friend of the Pod, Chief Warrant Officer Jon Molik, All-Source Intelligence Analyst for the Army National Guard, former All-Source Intelligence Technician for the National Guard, former Counterdrug Criminal Analyst for the DEA, former Director of Intelligence and Security for the National Guard, former Organized Crime Investigator for the New York State Attorney General’s Organized Crime division, and current host of the podcast Headlines and History with Jon Molik, stops by to explain why we should care about who controls TikTok, Charlie Kirk, US troop presence in US cities, free speech, peaceable assembly, SCOTUS, domestic extremism, foreign terrorists, government overreach, and more!

HEADLINES AND HISTORY: THE TIKTOK THREAT

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠⁠⁠

Our friend, Melissa Chureau, former state prosecutor, purpose and mindset coach, mindfulness teacher, practicing lawyer,  and the host of The Fully Mindful podcast brings her 25 years of personal mindfulness practice, her J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law, and her a B.A. in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley to explain that we aren't great at breathing. *She's not wrong* We talk about staying sane in a challenging political climate. And, how to maintain health and serenity, while remaining engaged and politically active.

THE FULLY MINDFUL PODCAST

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠⁠

Friend of the pod, Alyssa Ann Beall, co-founder of the People Too Alliance, and out trans woman, talks about her experience coming to her age of awareness, transitioning, and some of the barriers and hate she's encountered.  

PEOPLE TOO ALIANCE

TRANSGENDER RESOURCES

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠

Author, and host of the Dismantling Doctrine podcast Clint Heacock returns to the pod to talk about his book "Not So Shiny Not So Happy People, How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work." Clint talks about turning away from a lifetime of studying and sharing the gospel in favor of an atheistic ideology. After earning a PhD in theology, becoming an elder in the church, teaching at a bible college, being a respected pastor, Clint ultimately came to find the belief system he had been propagating irreconcilable with reality. He deconstructed and reconstructed. He shares some of the revelations of the damage the church wrought on his young psyche and how he got out.

NOT SO SHINY NOT SO HAPPY PEOPLE (THE BOOK)

DISMANTLING DOCTRINE PODCAST

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS

Former US Attorney, Amanda Marshall returns to the pod to try and make sense of the presidential immunity ruling handed down by the US Supreme Court. She tells a great story about Kamala Harris going to the mat to protect the people she serves. And, she walks us through what led to the reversal of Oregon's drug decriminalization efforts (Measure 110).

US SUPREME COURT DECISION (Presidential Immunity)

ACLU STATEMENT ON IMMUNITY RULING

NPR ON OREGON'S DECRIMINALIZATION RESULTS

MARSHALL ADVOCACY CENTER (CONTACT AMANDA)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠

⁠⁠

Elyse Maloni, leader in AI Operations at PanasonicWELL, stops by the pod to lament the end of human creativity! We discuss likely job disruptions and displacements caused by AI but soothe ourselves, remembering that militarized superintelligence will be the death of us all, anyhow!

THE NEURON  (newsletter)

THE IMPACT OF THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION ON THE BRAIN & BEHVIOR (NIH article)

HOW GENERATIVE AI CAN AUGMENT HUMAN CREATIVITY (HBR article)

ANDREW NG'S COURSERA OPTIONS (mostly free & approachable for anyone who wants to learn how to use & apply AI)

CONCERNING AI (podcast)

Links to popular AI models for people to experiment with (if so inclined):

OPENAI (ChatGPT)

GEMINI  (Google)

COPILOT  (Microsoft)

CLAUDE

PI

MISTRAL

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS

Intelligence Officer, Former Narcotics Investigator, and Host of the podcast Headlines and History, Jon Molik taps into our Zoom call to share some historical context on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. After reciting my Google search history, he puts us at ease about government surveillance of US Citizens and explains the FISA warrant process. We discuss Putin and the differences in dealing with rational vs non-rational heads of state. As a Senior Intelligence Warrant Officer in the New York Army National Guard and former Organized Crime Investigator in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, he sheds light on the inner workings of our intelligence and criminal investigatory bodies. Grab your security clearance badge and meet us in the SCIF for a great talk!

HEADLINES AND HISTORY PODCAST

HEADLINES AND HISTORY WEBSITE

HEADLINES AND HISTORY YOUTUBE CHANNEL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS⁠⁠

Lewis and Clark College grad (History major) turned Baltimore Maryland City Planner turned US Department of Energy Sustainability Expert, and former high school student Steve Bruno stops by the pod for an illuminating discussion of all things energy policy. We walk through our divided political climate, disinformation, advances in sustainable energy, and we're left slightly more optimistic about the future of mankind. Slightly.

OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

GLOBAL MONITORING LABAROTORY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

GLOBAL MONITORING LABORATORY BASICS OF THE CARBON CYCLE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CLIMATE CHANGE INDICATORS

US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION GREENHOUSE GASSES AND THE CLIMATE

US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT EXPLAINED

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONTACT THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE MEDIOCRE OBSERVER RANTS AND RAMBLINGS