Author: Michael Baranowski

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Mike & Jay open this episode with a discussion of the FY 2023 federal budget, followed by a look at the movement to ban TikTok in the United States, and close with the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX crypto exchange, and what it says about our campaign finance system.

Mike’s Favorite Christmas Album
Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics

Mike’s Top 5 Christmas Songs
#5 Tiny Tree Christmas. Ryan Miller
#4 Fairytale of New York. The Pogues
#3 All I Want for Christmas is You. Mariah Carey
#2 Swiss Colony Beef Log. Eric Cartman
#1 White Christmas. Otis Redding

Jay’s Christmas Music Recommendations
Joy to the World. Handel
O Holy Night. Tabernacle Choir
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Bing Crosby
White Christmas. Bing Crosby
Christmastime is Here(Charlie Brown). Vince Guaraldi Trio

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This Mike & Ken episode features a discussion of the Brittney Griner Viktor Bout prisoner exchange, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement that she’s leaving the Democratic Party, the implications of Raphael Warnock’s victory over Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff, the 17 count conviction against the Trump Organization, independent counsel Jack Smith issuing subpoenas in his investigation of Trump, and the Democratic National Committee’s plan to upend the presidential primary system.

Ken’s Recommendation
Harvest Time

Mike’s Recommendation
Bullet Train

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Mike & Jay open the show by talking about the 11^th Circuit reversing District Court Judge Aileen Cannon’s order for a special master in the Trump document seizure case. Mike sees it as a clear rebuke of Cannon’s ruling while Jay thinks it’s not quite that and believes that despite the ruling there’s some justification for what Judge Cannon did.

Next they discuss legislation imposing an agreement between freight rail workers and railroads. Jay is no fan of government imposed labor agreements but he feels that in this case it was both justified and reasonable. Mike makes the point that the railroad industry is very profitable and that they should be doing more to take care of their workers.

After that it’s the Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear arguments in the case of the six states opposing the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness order. Mike and Jay agree that the Court is likely to find that Biden doesn’t have the authority to do what he did.

They close with a look at the sedition conviction of two Oath Keepers leaders and consideration of how the Capitol Breach investigation has progressed nearly two years later.

Jay’s Recommendation
Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford

Mike’s Recommendation
Tulsa King (Paramount+)

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This week, Kristin returns to the podcast! She and Mike start off by discussing Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel in the Trump investigations. They also unpack the Trump Tax Return saga, as well as the Biden Administration’s ruling that Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman has immunity in a civil lawsuit concerning the brutal torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They close with prospects for bipartisan cannabis legislation in the lame duck Congress in the form of the SAFE Banking and HOPE Acts.

Kristin’s Recommendations
The Splendid and the Vile. Erik Larson
Yellowstone

Mike’s Recommendations
Caravan. John Wasson
Inside Man

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Mike & Ken kick off the episode with a brief discussion of a story that just broke as they were starting to record – Attorney General appointing a special counsel in the Trump case.

Following that, they look at the nearly final results of the 2022 midterms, discussing what each party might take away from the elections, and then look toward the 2024 presidential and congressional races.

Then they turn to legislation – the Senate’s same sex marriage bill, which is expected to pass with bipartisan support and be signed into law by President Biden.

They close the show with a discussion of the meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Bali, the likelihood of even more aggressive Chinese action against Taiwan, and the G20 statement on the war in Ukraine.

Ken’s Recommendation
Chuck Berry: An American Life. R.J. Smith

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It’s all midterms on this episode, with Mike & Jay starting with the results and their reactions, thoughts on why the ‘fundamentals’ got it so wrong, how the polls (mostly) got it so right, the Georgia runoff election, how this affects the Trump / DeSantis battle for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, what both parties should take away from the midterms, and how ballot issues related to abortion, marijuana, and election law changes fared.

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Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of the response to the attack on Paul Pelosi, which sent the 82-year-old spouse of the Speaker of the House to the hospital with a fractured skull.

Next is a look at Supreme Court oral arguments in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard. It seems likely that the Court will find racial preferences in college admissions unconstitutional, overturning its 2003 precedent in Grutter v. Bollinger.

Then the Guys turn to Chief Justice Roberts order preventing the House Ways and Means Committee from seeing Donald Trump’s tax returns. They consider the right of the committee to obtain the records, separation of powers issues, and how much this is likely to matter in the end.

Following that it’s the tumultuous takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. Is Twitter being unfairly targeted by “woke” activists as Musk seems to think? Will Donald Trump soon be back on the platform and, if so, how much will this matter to his soon to be announced 2024 presidential campaign?

The episode closes with final thoughts on the 2022 midterm elections – Mike is preparing for what he sees as the almost inevitable, followed by some grim years for Democrats.

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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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