Centered From Reality

Throwback Thursday: Guns, Terms & Their Appeal (A Conversation with Jon Friesen)

In this throwback episode from June 2021, Alex sits down with Jon Friesen, an old friend. Jon grew up around firearms and was taught at a young age to give them the utmost respect and responsibility. From competition shooting in high school to eventually serving in the US Navy as a Master at Arms(Military Police), he carried a firearm on a daily basis and has a broad understanding of many weapon systems. 

 

As of April 30, 2021, there were 178 mass shootings that fit the Mass Shooting Tracker project criterion. This left 206 people dead and 693 injured. Over the month of May, it looks like the trend has only been getting worse. Alex uses this opportunity to have a discussion with Jon around shootings in the U.S., gun control, and how Americans can help change this issue. Jon debunks several myths about guns that many gun control advocates may believe. The two also debate and at times disagree over the meaning of the Second Amendment, gun culture in the U.S., and the efficacy of “red flag laws,” and personal responsibility versus societal safety. The two don’t agree all the time, but it hopes to be an informative back and forth discussion! 

Aaron Rodgers, Astroworld & Building Back Enough?

In this episode, Alex decides to focus on three topics - Aaron Rodgers, the Astroworld tragedy, and the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. He discusses - 

•  Last week, Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the Packers, tested positive for COVID-19. Then it came out the same day that he hadn’t been vaccinated. This stirred up a lot of controversies because Rodgers had said he was “immunized” back in August and there are videos of him not following the NFL protocol for unvaccinated players. Since Rodgers has doubled down, he has called out the woke mob, has done his own research, and seems to have become a vaccine contrarian. Alex worries that this has been an unseen side effect of the pandemic - intellectuals who have become contrarians. 

•  A $1.2 billion infrastructure bill has finally passed. The bill saw support from 13 Republicans in the house but also 6 Democrats voted against the bill. Alex mentions that the bill is a good start in focusing on “hard infrastructure” like repairing roads, bridges, the electrical grid, railway systems, and more. However, he feels that it may only be a short victory for Biden and is only the beginning. Of course, the 13 Republicans that voted for the bill have received death threats, calls to oust them from house leadership positions, and even Marjorie Taylor Greene has put out their personal information. 

•  A tragedy at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas left 8 dead and many injured. Travis Scott, who headlined the festival, has received several lawsuits. He is getting backlash from some because he apparently didn’t do enough to tell the crowd to calm down. Alex feels that just blaming one party would be too simple, he thinks it was the perfect storm between poor crowd control, too many people, Scott pumping up the crowd, and post-pandemic craziness. 

Winter Has Arrived for Democrats!

In this episode, Alex focuses on some worrying revelations from a myriad of different elections that took place around the US on November 2nd. He discusses - 

- Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia Gubernatorial Election, seeing the highest voter turnout for a gubernatorial election since 1997. Biden won the state by ten points but swing voters seem to have swung to the right. Exit polls indicated that close to half of voters said parents should have "a lot" of say in what is taught in their child's school. This was a problem for Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate, who made out of touch comments about school boards and ran a milquetoast campaign. Do the Republicans have a template for the midterms on how to run a candidate that appeals to Trump supporters and moderates? 

- In New Jersey, the incumbent governor, Phil Murphy, beat the Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, by as close as 30,000 votes and with only 50% of the vote. This was in a state that went 57% to Biden in 2020 and 56% to Murphy in 2017. Pandemic restrictions, taxes, and social issues seem to fire up the Republican side, which also saw a very high turnout. 

- Minneapolis voters struck down a proposal to eliminate the police department and replace it with a public safety agency. According to FOX out of Minneapolis, “Fifty-seven percent of voters voted ‘no’ versus 43 percent for ‘yes’ on the ballot question.” 

- Republicans had their most successful election cycle in Seattle since the 1970s. The Seattle Times called the election “a fright night for progressives.” A Republican, Ann Davison, defeated a popular policing abolitionist named Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, and the city council president, Bruce Harrell, hammered a progressive candidate who wanted to cut the police department by 50%. 

- In Buffalo, New York, a write-in candidate named Byron Brown was able to defeat India Walton, a self-proclaimed socialist. 

- Alex worries that the Democratic Party doesn’t understand the severity of the moment and is being unrealistic with their control of the government. "Wokeism" may not be a popular term on the left, but this election cycle seemed to be a referendum on woke rhetoric. 

Jeff Bezos’ Jet Won‘t Fix the Climate Crisis

In this episode, Alex starts with an update from the Virginia gubernatorial election that is currently taking place (November 2nd). Currently, Youngkin (Rep.) and McAuliffe (Dem.) are neck and neck. It is looking like the election could lean towards Republicans, as recent election polls have seemed to undercount Republican turnout. Alex then discusses the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference which started on Monday and is taking place in Glasgow. Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, and other leaders have expressed that the threat of climate change is almost beyond repair, calling it a “one minute to midnight moment.” Other leaders have expressed the need for a public-private partnership to incentivize green technology in developing countries, Germany has offered to help South Africa ease off of coal, and Japan is offering to help Asia change their sources of fuel. The event has always led to a new deforestation agreement that was signed by highly forested countries like Russia, Brazil, Canada, and the US. Alex also mentions how the event has also led to calls of hypocrisy as Jeff Bezos showed up in a private jet and other wealthy elites have expressed no urgency and 20-30 year goals. 

 

In the second part, Alex discusses growing concerns that the 2024 Democratic presidential election cycle may center around Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg. An article in Business Insider mentioned that the Harris team is concerned that the 2024 cycle could be a “free for all” if there is a challenger. Alex finds this entire issue ridiculous because establishment democrats seem to be out of touch with what the country wants. Also, Kamala Harris is highly unpopular with the left and the right. Pete Buttigieg has also been on paid paternal leave during a supply crisis, while the democrats just gutted paid time off from the reconciliation bill. It seems like 2024 (and the midterms) could be a bloodbath for democrats unless they get their agenda and messaging together. 

Halloween Special: the Five Scariest Political Trends

In this Halloween episode, Alex breaks down the five scariest political events happening right now. In this episode, his five are - 

1. The Rise of a French Trump
2. Charlie Kirk’s Quasi-Denial response to a call for violence
3. The ADL calls out Tucker Carlson’s new documentary that retcons January 6th and calls it a false flag
4. The US may have lost all credibility for the “new Iran Nuclear Deal”
5. The strange and disturbing instances where people compare COVID mandates to the holocaust 

The Virginia Election May be a Playbook for 2022

In this episode, Alex discusses the upcoming Virginia Gubernatorial election that will take place on November 2nd. Virginia is a strange state in which a governor cannot be in office for two consecutive terms. This election is between the Former Democratic Governor, Terry McAuliffe, and the Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin. Alex breaks down: 

 

• How this election may be a test run for both Republican and Democratic strategies going into the 2022 midterms. Should Republicans distance themselves from Trumpism but run on his policies and culture war issues? Should Democrats focus on Trump or on policy? Currently, Youngkin has said that Biden is the legitimate president and has criticized the January 6th riots, yet he has focused on Critical Race Theory, attacks on school boards, and mask mandates.

 

• According to early polls (CNBC/Suffolk University), at least 667,012 Virginians have submitted early ballots and they are currently in favor of McAuliffe. However, Trump’s conspiracies around voting by mail may lead to many Republicans on the day of the election. Suffolk University, as of Monday, has each candidate receiving an identical 45% in support. 

 

• Virginia sued the US Postal Service a few days ago over potential delays of election material, including ballots. These issues have been in three counties that went to Biden in the 2020 election. Alex worries that the USPS Board of Governors, which is run by Trump’s pick, Louis DeJoy, has gutted the post office and this has led to these delays. This may not impact the election on Tuesday, but these voting by mail issues need to be addressed.

 

• Both sides in this election have voiced worries of voter fraud or at least, irregularities. Alex worries that voicing concerns over “fraud” may be a new playbook that could corrupt both sides. 

Spineless Senators, Cancun Cruz Goes on Tour & A Tale of Two Fascisms

In this episode, Alex focuses on intensifying concerns inside of the GOP over Trump’s control of the party, as well as the global far-right movement, and his thoughts on how the US must work towards unity again. He discusses - 

• Iowa’s 88 year old senator, Chuck Grassley, accepted Trump’s endorsement for reelection at a rally in Des Moines over the weekend. Grassley had been a “Sometimes Trumper” who diverged from the president over the “big lie,” January 6th, and Trump’s rhetoric. This highlights that Trump’s control over the party has only intensified and even creatures of the senate like Grassley have accepted this truth. 

 

• Last weekend, Sen. Ted Cruz joined a virtual rally in Madrid held by the far-right party, VOX. He spoke  of the “shared values” between him and VOX leader Santiago Abascal. Even for Ted Cruz, this is a troubling shift in values and rhetoric. VOX is a populist party with a nostalgia for the fascism of the Franco dictatorship. They also have an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-feminist agenda. Alex highlights how it feels like right-wing parties from around the world aren’t treating each other like foreign entities but instead as a shared global movement. The only connection seems to be Steve Bannon’s presence and a shared distaste for modernity and liberal society. He mentions Tucker Carlson’s trip to Hungary, Victor Obran’s erosion of democratic institutions, and more. 

 

• Alex ends by discussing how the country needs to focus on unity before massive policies. The need leaders that aren’t focused on “big D” or “big R” politics, it needs to focus on the “small d” democracy politics first. He mentions how the country is seeing two extremes that could borderline on having authoritarian tendencies. He discusses how the aspirational patriotism of the progressive left and the nostalgic patriotism on the far-right must be tamed down. He draws parallels between this time and the onset of the Spanish Civil War. 

The CIA Lost a Step, Taiwan is Heating Up & Ethiopia is Getting BAD

In this episode, Alex takes a day off from discussing American issues and focuses on international events. He finds three events that somewhat relate to one another and can help describe larger trends around the globe. He discusses: 

• There are reports of growing issues at the CIA. A recent New York Times article by Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman discusses how “Counterintelligence officials said in a top-secret cable to all stations and bases around the world that too many of the people it recruits from other countries to spy for the U.S. are being lost.” The report looked at dozens of cases where informants had either been compromised or killed over the last few years. Alex discusses how the CIA is struggling to keep up with the digital era, seems to put the mission over security, and needs to reform its intelligence gathering methods. 

 

• China was again caught performing beach landing drills off the coast of Taiwan in another symbolic gesture to Taiwan and the world. In the last week, China has also flown more than 50 warplanes over Taiwan’s aerial defenses. This led to Taiwan stating it will defend its land and the US calling out China for challenging the region’s stability. Alex worries that this escalation is at its worst in years and he hopes that the US/China aren’t close to an open conflict. It seems like relations between the two have deteriorated since the pandemic and both sides are waiting for the other to blink. Does Xi Jinping want Taiwan as part of his legacy? Was Hong Kong a practice? 

 

• The humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has only gotten worse since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has waged close to an all-out war against the region. There has been an escalation of violence between the government and the Tigrayan people after an election dispute in 2020. Since, there have been reports of mass violence, rape, and starvation mainly to the Tigrayan people. The Tigrayan people need aid, but the Ethiopian government and Eritrea soldiers are stopping aid and making the situation worse. Many fear this could lead to close to a million deaths and even some world organizations are calling this a genocide. 

Nihilism is America’s New Preexisting Condition

Nihilism is a philosophy that looks to reject aspects of human existence such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. In this episode, Alex argues that nihilism is a major factor that is driving extreme and divisive politics in the United States and around the world. He gives a case for why nihilism (or apathy) towards democracy and our institutions has led to angry populism and violent rhetoric. 

 

In this discussion, he feels that nihilism has become a preexisting condition as to why many Americans believe democracy is no longer working. He uses a range of examples as to why society has become so nihilistic, these include 

 

• An Atlantic article from 2016 that reads “there is no meaning (in politics) other than political theater behind it. The consequences of this political nihilism will be catastrophic and will reverberate down through the decades of the 21st century. If you doubt this, think of climate change and the global economy…” 

 

• Leaks like the Pandora papers, which “reveal hidden wealth, tax avoidance and, in some cases, money laundering by some of the world's rich and powerful.” The papers also show that South Dakota is a new tax haven where “hundreds of billions of dollars sequestered in South Dakota trusts generate no taxes and are effectively off-limits to anybody who might have a legitimate claim on them.” 

 

• The Commissioner of the IRS wants banks to report annual cash flows for ordinary account holders who have over $600 dollars in their accounts. The justification is to find people that are dodging taxes, but some skeptics think taxing everyone a small amount could bring in more revenue than expending resources and time to get the wealthy to pay more in taxes. 

 

• The “race to the bottom” in welfare program quality between states in the US. Because different states have different welfare programs with different costs and different levels of quality, other states don’t want to be over-generous if other states are stingy, so they all are just stingy. This leads to a lowering of welfare coverage for those that may need it the most.

 

• Nihilism has culminated in the rise of political grifters who don’t care about ethics or the truth. Trump may be the ultimate grifter who has come out of American distrust in the system. The problem with what Trump did was that he mixed his own nihilism about democracy at a time when the American people’s nihilism towards the system was growing as well. This was a perfect cocktail of systematic disdain that lead to Trump’s unique form of populism. 

Karl Marx, Socialism & the Future of Capitalism (with Cole Costello)

In this episode, Alex sits down with Cole Costello to discuss socialism, the future of capitalism, and what people get wrong about Karl Marx. Cole is a friend and currently in the graduate program for history at Cal State Los Angeles, focusing on early twentieth-century American urban/race/labor history. Cole falls somewhere on the left, with some Marxist tendencies and a sense of loss and confusion in modern politics. In this episode, some topics they discuss/debate are - 

 

• Does the US system still work? 

 

• What Marxism actually means and would it work in a country like the US? 

 

• Is the US heading towards a Civil War or conflict? 

 

• What does history tell us about socialism? And why did the Soviet Union fail? 

 

• Is Capitalism the best system? 

 

• Should there be billionaires?