Month: October 2022

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Mike & Jay open the episode with a discussion of the debate between Pennsylvania US Senate Candidates John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz. They agree that Fetterman’s performance was difficult to watch, though Mike suggests that Fetterman’s difficulty on the debate state doesn’t necessarily tell us that much about his ability to function as a United States Senator. Jay raises concerns about the Fetterman campaign deceiving voters and wonders whether the Democratic Party shouldn’t have replaced Fetterman as a candidate. He also suggests some parallels between Fetterman and Georgia US Senate Candidate Herschel Walker.

After that, they discuss the midterm elections more generally. Both Mike and Jay stick with their predictions from a few weeks back, though Mike is more pessimistic about the chances of the Democrats maintaining control of the Senate and Jay more optimistic about his party’s shot at being in control of both chambers in January of 2023.

They close with a discussion of if a GOP-controlled House will continue to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Both Mike & Jay believe that Republicans will support Ukraine, and Mike points out that there are legitimate concerns about sending billions of dollars to the Ukrainian government, which has some not-insignificant problems with corruption and institutional capacity.

Jay’s Spooky / Holiday Recommendations
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving
H.P. Lovecraft Short Stories. H. P. Lovecraft
Mayflower. Nathaniel Philbrick 

Mike’s Recommendation
Keychron Q-Series Mechanical Keyboards

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Trey & Ken start the episode with Liz Truss and her 44 days as Prime Minster of the United Kingdom. They consider not only what led to this moment, but also what the probability is for her successor. This includes the possibility of Boris Johnson returning.

Next, they discuss both Putin’s use of martial law, his implementation of strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, and the involvement of Iran. Ken believes Iranian behavior is solely due to the miscalculation of former President Trump, Trey believes it is more likely related to the inherent biases of authoritarianism.

After that the pair discuss the numerous Senate debates over the weekend, but focus a lot of time on Ohio, Georgia and Nevada. They also include a discussion of their predictions for the midterms as we move closer to November.

They close the show with quickly looking at two court rulings: the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal denying Lindsey Graham’s immunity claims and Justice Barrett’s denial of an emergency injunction on the Biden administrations Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

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Mike & Jay kick off the episode with a discussion of the January 6^th committee, including allegations that Trump knew he lost the election and chose to knowingly promote a false narrative as well as encourage the January 6^th rioters. They also consider what the committee has accomplished overall, with Jay admitting that they ended up doing a better job than he expected. Jay predicts that Trump will be indicted for January 6^th related charges, whereas Mike doesn’t think so.

Next, they move into the latest in the Trump documents seized by the FBI. Both Mike & Jay agree that the Supreme Court was right to not grant Trump’s very narrow emergency request. Mike wishes Attorney General Garland would make a statement condemning the leaks in the investigation, which Jay thinks Garland may have possibly had a hand in orchestrating.

They close with a look at the trial of Igor Danchenko, the third person Special Counsel John Durham has indicted as part of his two-year-long investigation in the FBI’s ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe into Trump collusion with Russia in the 2016 election. Mike says that while Durham’s investigation hasn’t led to the sort of widespread, high-level convictions some Trump supporters might have hoped for, it served to point out the sloppy nature of the FBI’s investigation. Jay agrees, though he takes a somewhat less charitable interpretation of the Bureau’s motives than does Mike

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Mike & Jay open the show with a few updates followed by a discussion of President Biden’s comment that. “We’ve not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis”. The guys agree that while this may be technically true, it wasn’t the most politically astute thing for Biden to say, and it’s yet another example of his penchant for less than helpful public statements.

Next they consider the recent Biden administration ban of advanced computer chip technology to China. While Mike & Jay favor free trade as a default, in this instance they feel the administration made a wise decision.

Following that, it’s a look at Biden’s mass pardon of everyone convicted on federal marijuana possession charges. Once again, the guys are in agreement that this was a good thing to do. They get into a broader discussion of pot legalization where they express some concerns over the move to legalize it in the absence of a solid body of research on the long-term effects of marijuana use.

After that, they turn to the latest developments on the documents seized by the government in the search of Donald Trump’s home and office. Jay explains the legal technicalities, and both Mike and Jay conclude that even if the Supreme Court gives Trump what he wants, it will ultimately be a delay that probably won’t have a major effect on the outcome of the investigation.

They close by discussing the state of the federal judiciary as the Supreme Court starts up its new term. The focus is on corruption – why Ken regularly uses the term to describe actions of various conservative judges, what he means by the term, why Jay takes issue with that usage, and how bias and motivated reasoning are inherent parts of any human decision-making process.

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