The Politics Guys

This week’s top story is the international climate agreement reached after two weeks of negotiations outside of Paris. Mike says that while it won’t prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change, it’s a step in the right direction. Jay feels that nothing will come of it, and that that’s probably a good thing. Next is a look at Obama’s response to the terror attack in San Bernardino (not much) compared to Trump’s response (mindless over-reaction – in other words, typical Trump). After that, Mike and Jay find themselves agreeing with almost everyone else that No Child Left Behind is best left behind, before turning to college affirmative action. Both of the Guys feel that diversity is a worthwhile goal, but they differ on how far colleges should go to achieve it.

The top story this week is the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which is the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Mike and Jay talk at the calls for more gun regulation, the decades-long decrease in gun violence, and why Congress has been keeping the CDC from studying gun-related deaths. Next is a discussion of the Pentagon’s move to allow women in all combat roles. Jay is skeptical of using the military for social engineering purposes, but both Mike and Jay agree that if women in combat roles don’t make the military less effective, women should be allowed to serve in any position for which they’re qualified. After that, the Guys look at the big bipartisan agreement on a $305 billion transportation bill, the Paris climate talks,  Donald Trump’s perfect health – despite a horrible lifestyle, and the lesson Jay’s daughter Emma learned about knowing your audience.

This week starts off as it has too many times before – with discussion of yet another mass shooting, the latest tragedy being at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Guys also talk about the recently passed defense authorization bill that keeps the Guantanamo Bay prison open and makes President Obama’s executive order banning ‘enhanced interrogation’ a law. (Meaning that if Donald Trump wants to torture prisoners there should he win the presidency, he’ll have to do it illegally – not that that would be much of a deterrent to him.) Mike and Jay also discuss Kentucky governor Steve Beshear’s executive order restoring voting rights to 140,000 nonviolent felons who have served their time, so-called greedy companies and the dysfunctional U.S. tax code, and the time FDR moved Thanksgiving and some Republicans went completely nuts in response.

This week, the Politics Guys lead off with the effort to halt the admission of Syrian refugees into the US. Both Jay and Mike believe that the US has a moral obligation to take in refugees and that the media has done its usual awful job explaining how the current process works. Donald Trump made news by suggesting that we should register all Muslims in the US, an idea that both Jay and Mike find not just stupid, but deeply offensive (in other words, typical Trump).The Guys also look at combating ISIS in the wake of calls from Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton to increase our military presence in Syria. On the domestic front, Jay and Mike discuss the first GMO animal product approved for human consumption, a legislative race in Mississippi decided by drawing straws, and Hillary Clinton’s sense of humor (or lack thereof).

This week, the Guys start things off by briefly commenting on the tragic terrorist attack in Paris – while it’s not directly an American politics story, it’s something that should deeply offend everyone who cares about Western Civilization. Next, they talk about why the federal courts are stopping President Obama from implementing his immigration reforms and the two big camps in the GOP on immigration (roughly, the Wing Nuts and the Not-So-Wing-Nutty). After that, Mike and Jay get into the week of student protests, particularly at the University of Missouri, before ending with Baby Hitler and, in honor of the Marine Corps Birthday and Veterans Day, a Medal of Honor awarded to a truly heroic Army Captain.

This week’s episode starts with a look at Tuesday’s elections, the latest in a series of disasters for the Democrats. Not only did Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin trounce Jack Conway to become Kentucky’s next governor, but Ohio voters decisively defeated a marijuana legalization measure. Mike and Jay survey the electoral landscape, where things look pretty bleak for the Democrats, especially at the state and local level. Next, the Guys talk about the increasing media scrutiny Ben Carson has been under and how much it matters, concluding that it really doesn’t matter much at all seeing as how Republicans are too smart to nominate a nut, regardless of what the polls say right now. Then they turn to domestic policy, where the big news was Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, despite analyses from Obama’s own State Department finding that it wouldn’t significantly contribute to climate change. Finally, they talk about the upcoming George H.W. Bush biography, in which the 91-year-old former president takes some well-deserved shots at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

This week’s lead story is the multi-year budget deal Congress sent to President Obama. Both Mike and Jay agree that it’s nice to talk about something Congress actually managed to do for a change. Next is the third GOP debate, which Mike hated – but then again, Mike hates all political debates. After that is a look at what the future might hold in store for newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan, more on Syria (things still look pretty bad) and the Army’s runaway blimp.

This week’s podcast opens with Mike and Jay discussing Paul Ryan’s decision to run for Speaker of the House. Jay is a Ryan fan from way back, and even Mike respects Ryan – though he doesn’t agree with him on very much. Does this sort of inside-baseball thing matter to Real Americans? Jay thinks maybe not, but Mike disagrees, seeing it as one of those ‘boring but potentially important’ issues. Next, the Guys talk about Hillary Clinton’s testimony before the House Benghazi Committee. Jay feels that the Committee uncovered some important things about the attack on the US Embassy, and while Mike doesn’t disagree he argues that House Republicans focused far too much on trying to destroy Clinton, and not nearly enough on getting to the truth. After that, it’s presidential politics: Biden’s announcement that he won’t be running, the floundering Jeb Bush Campaign, and finally, Lincoln Chafee (who?) announcing that his delusional quest for the Democratic presidential nomination has finally, mercifully, come to an end.

This week, the guys lead off with a discussion of President Obama’s announcement that he won’t be pulling all US troops out of Afghanistan, a reversal of earlier promises that all troops would be gone by the end of his presidency. Next, Mike and Jay turn to presidential politics, where they take a look at the essentially meaningless Democratic debate and the hugely meaningful candidate fundraising totals. After that, they turn to Ohio, where on November 3 voters may make it the fifth state to fully legalize marijuana. Finally, Mike talks about a new kind of political pork, and Jay wants everyone to take a look at Buddy – the Ohio marijuana legalization movement’s creepy mascot.

Mentioned in this episode:
The Case for Democracy. Natan Sharansky