Hey All!

from part of the transcript of the show…

“I went out to go do an errand, and while I was driving, I was listening to the radio, and In a God of the Vida came out by Iron Butterfly.

I don’t know if you guys remember them, but they’re a band from San Diego, started in 1966, and became Success with In Agata De Vida. Anyways, here’s the thing. Two DJs were arguing over heavy metal. And they were saying about when heavy metal started. And one DJ claims it started with Black Sabbath and Ozzy in London.”

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Mark & Patti

Hey All!

I’m not using AI as promise. These are my notes about the show.

I did what I promised not to do which is talk about that idiot in the White House, but after what he did to a reporter the other day I felt it was necessary to discuss it today.

Bringing kid into a situation isn’t right. The admin attacked this reporters kids in a tweet. Unprofessional and unwarranted if you ask me.

Then I discussed other reporters not supporting the CNN reporter as they should. They are a team and should act like that. That separation so to speak is something this admin takes advantage of.

Have you ever wanted to come up with your own philosophy for dealing with life in general?

Do you have a philosophy now that you follow or try to follow?

I’m working on a new philosophy that I have followed over the years and it worked. Being retired now I find myself still clinging to it, and I am going to bring it forward in the coming months for others to try.

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Mark & Patti

Hey All!

Instead of the 5 key points I’m just going to give you a quick summary of what’s in store for you on today’s podcast.

It’ll be easier and my own words instead of relying on AI.

I read this story this morning about these ‘earthworks’ in the Amazon and was amazed at not only the idea of them, but also about how many they believe are out there.

They found them to be as big as several football fields and are signature of the ancient Aquiry Civilization.

Here’s the link to the story: Scientific American

Then I went on a rant about Trump. Afterwards I admit I need to take my own advice from the podcast to heart. I will!

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Mark & Patti

Hey All!

Ii didn’t mean to go on a rant, but I just felt I needed it out of my system. I want to start covering more stories that fit into the category of mishegoss in the future.

Here are 5 key takeaways from today’s episode of the WTM podcast:

1. The Air Force One Decoy Incident:The president was covertly transferred from Air Force One to Air Force Two (reportedly using a catering truck), leaving the press corps and some staffers on the original plane. This was done to use the passengers on Air Force One as “bait” in case the Iranians attempted to shoot the president’s plane down.

2. The Secret Service Bears Most of the Blame:Although the internet is heavily criticizing the president and calling him a coward, I argued that the Secret Service deserves at least 80% of the blame. Pointing out that the Secret Service is responsible for devising and executing these complex security plans and threat assessments, not the president.

3. Putting Civilians in Harm’s Way is Unacceptable:I strongly condemn the decision to endanger unarmed civilians. Emphasizing that while it is a Secret Service agent’s job to take a bullet for the president, no one has the right to risk the lives of photographers, reporters, flight staff, and regular aides by using them as decoys.

4. Strong Opposition to Altering Vaccine Schedules: I expressed outrage over a recent executive order signed by the president that changes how children are vaccinated, specifically by spacing vaccines out. Drawing on my own personal struggles with polio as a child and post-polio syndrome as an adult, and past work in polio eradication, I am fiercely defendsingvaccines, stating they should not be cancelled or changed, and firmly debunks the claim that they cause autism. I also criticized Kennedy for repeatedly failing to provide proof for such claims.

5. A Pivot in Future Podcast Content: Moving forward, I plan to shift the focus of the WTM podcast away from being strictly political. Starting with the next episode on Thursday, he intends to cover a wider variety of news events, including local stories about mishegoss.

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Mark & Patti

Hey All.\!

Here’a the 5 key points of the podcast. I used AI to pick the 5 key points again although I edited the text a little. I’m still on the fence using AI for this, so it may change in the future.

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Mark and Patti

1. Personal faith over structured religion: I identify as a lapsed Catholic who believes in God and faith, but not in structured religion, emphasizing that individuals should not force their religious beliefs onto others.

2. Prioritizing family before country: Im frustrated with people who place their country above their family, arguing that while God should come first, family must be the immediate second priority, in my opinion.

3. A direct relationship with God: Advocating for praying and repenting directly to God rather than going through “middlemen” like priests or formal confessionals.

4. The necessity for taking risks: Taking risks is essential for achieving benefits and rewards in all walks of life, including online content creation and business.

5. Rewards go beyond monetary gain: While people often view rewards as transactional or financial, the greatest reward can simply be personal satisfaction and the thrill of the experience, such as the exhilarating feeling a friend had after jumping off a 45-foot cliff into a lake.

Hey All!

I’m trying something out. I’ve been using AI to pick out the top 5 key takeaways from the podcast.

While in the past few episodes I took what was written by AI and changed it around a bit. Today I’ve made very little change on the 5 key takeaways since I felt AI did a great job of covering the podcast transcription.

I hope you don’t mind me using AI to make life easier.

Here are 5 key takeaways from the WTM (What the Mishagoss) podcast episode hosted by Mark:

1. A doorstep encounter sparked the discussion:The host was prompted to share his thoughts after a young man and woman knocked on his door and asked for his honest opinion on whether he was happy with the world today.

2. Concern over the blurring of church and state: Mark’s primary source of dissatisfaction with the world is the current intersection of religion and politics [2]. He is particularly frustrated with the “Christian right,” arguing that politicians are using religion to push political agendas and vice versa.

3. A shift from historical political norms: Mark points out that in the past—such as during the era of John F. Kennedy—politicians kept their personal faith separate from their public duties and did not use religion to steer political conversations [2, 3]. He finds the current departure from this norm confusing and upsetting, and worries about its impact on younger generations.

4. Disdain for religious “blackmail”: The host expresses frustration with religious messaging that relies on fear or ultimatums [5]. He contrasts his traditional Catholic upbringing with encounters with born-again Christians, stating that he dislikes being “threatened” or “blackmailed” with the idea that one must be born again to see heaven.

5. A call for audience engagement: At the end of the episode, Mark turns the original question back to his audience, asking his Substack listeners to comment on whether they are happy with the current state of the world regarding politics, religion, or education.

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Mark & Patti

Hey All!

I know for a fact I didn’t fall of a turnip truck and I’m sure you didn’t either!

Here’s the scoop!

Here are 5 key points from the podcast:

1. Skepticism regarding a recent political agreement: expressing strong doubt about a supposed agreement to end a political slush fund, pointing out that it is essentially meaningless because it was only signed by one party [1, 2]. Warns his audience not to take these deals for granted because a new slush fund could be created at any time [2, 3].

2. Personal history with political slush funds: IN the past set up hidden slush funds for local and national politicians “on the sly,” noting that it is very easy to hide these funds if you have the right connections [1, 2].

3. Severe political news fatigue: Frustrated by repetitive political antics, politicians’ inaction, and a general lack of transparency, current state of politics stresses him out [4]. As a result, he is considering deleting all of his Substack news feeds [4].

4. Relaunching “Health in the Laugh as a podcast: Announces plans to bring back his old health blog—which previously earned him a fellowship at the USC Center for Health Journalism—as a dedicated podcast on platforms like Spotify and Apple [5].

5. A revised Sarcastic Mishegoss newsletter is coming. Planning to launch a new written newsletter about his 72 years of living in a “Mishegoss World” [3]. Before signing off, he highly recommends that his listeners watch Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s “takedown” response regarding Blanche describing it as excellent and interesting [6].

Be Well!

Mark & Patti

Try something different. Don talk about them. Don't encourage them. Don't say their name.

Hey everyone and welcome to another edition of WTM, What The Mishegoss.

Below is the unedited transcript of the podcast. If you want it?

Anyways, one thing, two things actually, before we get going into today’s show. First one is the newsletter is going to be switching over to the same name, What The Mishegoss. Seems to make more sense and it’s going to all kind of groove together. Second thing is I know I was kind of hard on our president last week, but I do have opinions about that, but I’m going to try to Tone them down a little bit so I don’t get so much hate mail. Anyways, look, today, who, what, when, where, why, and how. Those words always make me think of different things to do. You know, but what it ties to right now is the world. I’m kind of like, what the heck is going on? People have changed, attitudes have changed. Everyone’s uptight. Everyone’s nervous. Everyone’s anxious. There’s anxiety. There’s people depressed. There’s people happy. And the funny thing is all these people are clashing because of what’s going on. Now, I mean, the easiest thing to say is, okay, let’s blame the president. But look, you can’t blame him for everything. And the reason I say that is everyone knew What he was about. So it doesn’t matter. We can’t blame him. Because there’s other people involved. There’s how it affects everyone. Whatever’s going on. And it’s not just that. I mean, the war is one thing. But rising prices and everything else. And it’s all mishegoss. And it’s crazy. It really is. It’s insane the way things are changing. And things are changing rapidly. And to be honest, we’re not used to that. You know, if you go back and look at history, things always change in a certain, I don’t want to say grammatical, but a certain way. It wasn’t like multiple things daily. It was just, it went along. Like it was scheduled, like it was pre-programmed. This is how things are going to work for the year. Nowadays, it’s instant, instant, News things, newscasts, breaking news constantly throughout the day. And no matter what you watch, whether it’s CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, whoever you, News Nation, I don’t care who you watch, they all have breaking news. And no matter what it is, it’s the fact that it’s affecting us mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically. It puts people on edge, it puts people on notice, it keeps people worried about life, what’s going on, worried about your kids, worried about your parents, worried about yourselves. Everything is happening at the same time, not spaced out. So it’s causing a mishegoss of stuff. And I can never say mishegoss right, but that’s how it is, mishegoss, not mishegoss. So there’s no H at the end, it’s mishegoss. So the thing is, it’s not ending. It’s only increasing. The volume is getting louder. One of the reasons I quit for a few weeks is I got so fed up with the noise on Substack, I walked away. Couldn’t take it. And sometimes that’s what you have to do. You have to know your limits. You have to know when to walk away, change your latitude, change your attitude. You know, Jimmy Buffett sings it. I did the post about it. You have to be able to move around. And changing just a few steps one way or another, or go for a drive, go for a walk, go for a run, whatever it may be to help you change. Go to the gym, go to Starbucks, go... Hey, that’s a plug for Starbucks. Go someplace different. Get out of the norm. Put yourself in another location at the right time. Use a visualization technique. That’s what I was taught how to deal with ADHD, was visualize a certain thing that made me feel comfortable. Sit someplace in your backyard. Just close your eyes, though. Put some music on, close your eyes. Visualize a different location. You know, if you have to have a margarita or a pina colada so you think you’re in the islands, do it. It’s the way you deal with what’s going on in this world. You have to have that ability to put yourself out of it, take yourself out of the box, as they say. Now, is it easy? Heck no, it’s not easy. But you know, that’s what’s going on right now. Everything is about who, what, when, where, why, and how. Constantly throughout the day, no matter how you think about this, that’s what you’re thinking. All those words are making you think about the who, the what, the why, the when, the where, and how. And you’re dealing with that. Even if it’s subconsciously, you’re still dealing with it throughout the day. So anyways, my advice is change your attitude, change your latitude, and listen to some Jimmy Buffett today, and take it easy. This is WTM What The Mishegoss!, and this is Mark And I’m out of here.

Be Well!

Mark & Patti

Hey All!

5 take aways from today’s podcast.

1. The podcast may be shifting to a video format: I’m considering adding both live and recorded videos to his content strategy to allow for more audience interaction. He plans to maintain his current style, which means no scripts, no notes, and no editing.

2. Criticism of proposed tariffs on Canada: I strongly disagree with the idea of imposing a 50% tariff on Canada due to smoke from their wildfires drifting into the US. I Point out the hypocrisy in this, noting that California wildfires frequently send smoke to other regions without resulting in tariffs or lawsuits, and I question why the US would aggravate a friendly neighbor.

3. Allegations of presidential insider trading: Donald Trump is charging banks and brokerage houses $100,000 a month for early access to his social media posts. I previously went to prison for insider trading and bank fraud, argues that Trump’s actions are a clear form of legalized insider trading that only serves to enrich the president.

4. Trump is compared to a cult leader: I believe that Trump does not care about the American people and is effectively running a “cult”. I’m frustrated that people continue to follow him despite the fact that Trump’s actions—including an Iranian war—are costing lives while making Trump billions of dollars.

5. Concerns about a private army for the next election: I allege that Trump pardoned or released January 6th rioters, including members of the Proud Boys, as a strategic move [6]. I’m positive that Trump will refuse to accept the results of the next election and claims these exonerated individuals will act as an “army” to return the favor to Trump.

Mark