Biden Vaccine Mandates, DOJ Sues Texas over Abortion Law, 9/11 – 20 Years Later

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On this week’s show, Mike and Kristin are joined by Trey. They discuss the Biden Administration’s sweeping vaccine mandates as well as the DOJ suing Texas over its most recent abortion ban. Finally, the three hosts look back on 9/11 and 20 years of policy since – as well as the future of Afghanistan and the ramifications of Taliban leadership there.

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Abortion Ruling, Texas Voting Law, Afghanistan

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This week, Mike & Jay start off by discussing the Supreme Court’s refusal to halt Texas’ new abortion law, the strictest in the nation. They both agree that the law has serious constitutional problems, but Jay believes the majority got the ruling right, and that the correct course is to let things play out in the lower courts. Mike sees this as the Court’s conservatives (minus Chief Justice Roberts) allowing a blatantly unconstitutional law to go into effect.

The focus stays on Texas for a look at the state’s new voting law. Mike takes issue with a number of provisions that he believes will suppress likely Democratic votes and have little to connection to election security. Jay thinks that the law is mostly a good thing, pointing out that many of the provisions being rolled back were only put in place in response to the pandemic.

They close with a discussion of Afghanistan. Mike points out that there’s something to President Biden’s argument about how difficult it is to withdraw in the face of enemy forces, and says that some Americans would have been left behind initially in almost any withdrawal scenario. Jay doesn’t disagree, but argues that this reality wasn’t initially acknowledged by President Biden, and that he broke his promise that the US would stay in Afghanistan until all Americans who wanted out of the country got out.

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Afghanistan, Vaccine Mandates, The House Narcissist Caucus, Eviction Moratorium

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Mike and Ken open the show with a discussion of the situation in Afghanistan. Ken believes the withdrawal has gone very well all things considered, but is at least open to the argument that withdrawing might not have been the right call. Mike is similarly conflicted about withdrawing, but feels that the Biden administration has botched the withdrawal.

After that they turn to FDA approval of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and what it might mean for future vaccine mandates. Neither Mike nor Ken things we’ll see a surge of public sector mandates unless there’s a significant upswing in the COVID death toll. Mike wonders if it might be possible for President Biden to essentially mandate vaccines in higher education by cutting federal funds (including student loan money) to institutions that don’t comply.

Following that is discussion of the  $3.5 trillion budget blueprint passed by the House. It’s being called a victory of sorts for Democratic moderates, but Ken sees it as a PR win for what he terms the “House Narcissist Caucus”. Mike emphasizes the sweeping nature of the budget proposal and his general approval of all that it seeks to do. Both Mike and Ken expect a slimmed down version of the proposal, along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, to end up on President Biden’s desk before too long.

Finally, Mike & Ken discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling that the CDC exceeded its authority in declaring an eviction moratorium. They both disagree with the ruling, but Ken in particular sees at least some merit in the majority’s opinion.

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Afghanistan, COVID

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Its been a tough week. Mike and Jay discuss the Afghanistan debacle and how we get our people, and the people who risked their lives to help us, to safety.  Then it’s the state of COVID–booster shots, breakthroughs, and Biden.

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DeSantis & COVID, Senate’s $3.5 Trillion Budget, Legislative Politics

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On this week’s show, Mike and Kristin talk about the politics of COVID, FL Gov. DeSantis and his latest executive orders, and the latest vaccine studies. They also discuss the Senate’s passage of the $3.5T budget proposal and objections from the GOP and moderate Democrats as the proposal will face scrutiny later this year.

Kristin’s Recommendations
Shop App
The Salisbury Poisonings

Mike’s Recommendations
Bosch
The Varieties of Religious Experience. William James

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Eviction Moratorium, COVID & DeSantis, Infrastructure

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Mike & Jay kick off the episode with a discussion of the CDC’s eviction moratorium. Jay thinks it’s clearly unconstitutional whereas Mike feels that it’s only just barely unconstitutional. Following that, they get into rising COVID numbers and whether Florida governor Ron DeSantis is putting his presidential ambitions ahead of the health of Floridians. Then it’s a look at the almost certain to be passed bipartisan infrastructure deal.

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January 6th Committee, Infrastructure, COVID

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This week Trey is joined by Jay. They start the show discussing the recent developments in the January 6 Committee, but they disagree over its importance. Jay considers the lack of true Republican representation as a major issue and Trey argues Republicans missed their opportunity to engage. They also disagree over the extent to which certain Republicans violated their trust with the public. Next the pair talk infrastructure. Trey and Jay both agree that inflation will be the outcome of the continued spending projects when they are not coupled with increased revenues. Finally the pair tackle the most recent COVID updates and argue about the importance of institutional nudges in order to help influence human behavior.

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Jan 6 Commission, Infrastructure Again, Pegasus Project, Chinese Cyberhacking

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Trey and Ken open the show by discussing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi striking down two Republican picks for the January 6 commission. Neither disagree with the move, but both speculate about what happens next. Then it’s back to the bipartisan infrastructure deal and its merit. Trey isn’t sold on another large package and Ken thinks a completely partisan bill is the right thing. Next the pair talk about the Pegasus Project and the balance between digital liberty and law enforcement. Trey and Ken close the show discussing the DOJ’s indictment of Chinese hackers.

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DACA, Dems $3.5 Trillion Budget, Inflation, Schumer’s Pot Bill, Prosecuting Military Crimes

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Mike and Jay open the show with a discussion of a federal judge ordering a halt to DACA – which they both agree was the right call, although they’d likely support a similar policy were it passed by Congress. Then it’s a discussion of Senate Democrats $3.5 trillion budget framework (pre-framework?), whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell is being too cavalier about inflation (Jay thinks so, Mike disagrees), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s marijuana decriminalization proposal, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s push to change the way serious crimes in the military are prosecuted.

Jay’s (Re)Recommendation
The Pioneers. David McCullough

Mike’s Recommendation
Cancer Ward. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

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States Sue Google, Trump Sues Social Media Giants, Biden Order on Competition

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This week, Trey joins Mike in a discussion of the-multi state lawsuit against Google alleging anti-competitive practices in the Google Play Store (as Mike takes more than a few shots at Trey’s beloved Apple). They stick with the lawsuit theme as they move to a discussion of Donald Trump’s bizarro-world 1st Amendment argument underpinning his lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google – an almost certain loser in court, but maybe not as a fund-raising tactic. Finally, they look at President Biden’s expansive order on competition. If you’re interested in a deeper dive on declining American competitiveness, you might want to check out Thomas Philippon’s book The Great Reversal: How America Gave up on Free Markets, and listen to Mike’s interview with Professor Philippon (March 2020).

Mike’s Recommendations
A.P. Bio
The Power of the Dog and The Cartel. Don Winslow

Trey’s Recommendation
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

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