The Omaha Bugle-Global News Network: Recent Episodes
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A thought-provoking look at the news--offering entertaining insights into politics, economics, and popular culture--which are occasionally grounded in actual facts.
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With their invitations to Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding apparently having been lost, Adam and Jeff offer some insights into the cryptocurrency recently founded by him and his brother Eric. Both Adam and Jeff, who grew up at a time when capital, labor and land were the primary inputs for generating wealth, have admitted that they are perplexed about the value of cryptocurrency. Jeff talks about the various problems associated with cryptocurrency--not the least of which being that it is not backed by anything of value. The Trumps are only several of many individuals who have launched digital tokens in recents years and apparently sold hundreds of millions or even billions of these very same tokens to investors who seem to view digital assets as something more than electronic flatulence. Both Adam and Jeff admit that they are hard pressed to find value in cryptocurrencies especially as they are not backed by any government authority. Moreover, Adam points out that cryptocurrencies do not enjoy a legal monopoly like a national currency such as the dollar. However, Adam and Jeff are considering launching their own digital token that will feature their likenesses on each side or, perhaps, pictures of famous dictators in history--even though they admittedly have no idea what they are doing.
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Noted political philosophers Adam and Jeff discuss some of the positive achievements of Trump's second administration. First, Jeff points out that all the stops have been pulled out to enable the United States to become the dominant energy producer in the world. Energy self-sufficiency brings about both economic independence and permits greater freedom of movement in the international arena. The war with Iran highlights the fact that much of the world's energy must pass through chokepoints which highlights the vulnerability of China's economy to potential disruptions. Adam and Jeff also applaud Trump for continuing to bring an America First approach to most issues. Trump has also avoided becoming bogged down in a protracted land war. Finally, Adam and Jeff suggest that the Trump Administration's execution of the laws as in the case of border security underscores what can be done when a chief executive actually enforces the law instead of ignoring it.
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In their continuing effort to fix all of the wrongs in human society, Adam and Jeff discuss the concept of birthright citizenship. In rendering a Shakespearean-worthy reading of the Fourteenth Amendment, Adam points out that the basis for granting birthright citizenship is that a person born in the United States is subject to the laws of the United States. However, this is a weasely standard because a foreign national could commit a crime in the United States and be subject to its jurisdiction. Birthright citizenship also creates a "divided loyalty" issue because most birth tourism babies are born in the United States and then immediately whisked back to their homeland where they will be raised with little likelihood of having any attachment to the United States. In the case of China, Jeff points out that you could eventually have hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens who are ordered to vote a particular way in American presidential elections to elect candidates who are more sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party. Jeff argues that the inclusion of the word "reside" in the Fourteenth Amendment is more important because it conditions citizenship on actually living in the country and paying taxes as opposed to conferring citizenship on a baby who happens to be born while his or her parents are visiting Disneyworld.
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Almost-but-not-quite-billionaires Adam and Jeff consider whether a national wealth tax on billionaires would be a good way to balance the federal budget. After considering the extent to which the $38 trillion national debt is compounding upon itself and the limited supply of billionaires, they are not optimistic that such an approach will work. They also point out that the fundamental problem is not a lack of tax revenue with tax collections totaling $5 trillion per year but persistent overspending which is now in excess of $7 trillion per year. So even if you tax every billionaire into abject poverty, it will only be a drop in the bucket and the annual shortfalls will continue to compound. Jeff offers the radical idea that maybe, just maybe, the solution might be that we spend no more than we receive in tax revenues each year. Adam pointed out that Jeff was suffering from a high fever and probably needed to go home until his hallucinations went away.
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Global strategists Adam and Jeff ponder the historical cycles that have seen empires in the past decline when their commitments exceed their ability to project economic and military power. Jeff talks about the rise and fall of the British Empire and marvels that such a small island with such poor food choices and regrettable dental hygiene was able to assert control over much of the known world when colonization was all the rage. Adam and Jeff bemoan the structural deficits that are adding $2 trillion dollars per year to the national debt even though almost all of the $38 trillion debt has accrued in the past 4 decades. Of course this was at a time in which the United States was not threatened by another power; instead it has been a structural deficits fueled by increased entitlement spending. Adam points out that in a few years the entire budget will be consumed by spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the debt. In other words, all other spending including government subsidies to the Omaha Bugle will be crowded out. However, Adam and Jeff agree that in the event the dollars become tight, the Fed can always starting running another printing press 24/7.
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Adam and Jeff discuss the state of Russia's 4-year misadventure in the Ukraine and point out that this conflict has lasted longer than Russia's involvement in World War II. Jeff points out that Russia has suffered about 1.2 million military casualties. This conflict has taken a toll on the Russian economy because there is a severe shortage of young workers to man the factories. The war has also exposed the poor state of the Russian military and highlighted the "fight to the death" mentality of the Ukrainians. Jeff points out that Ukraine's tenacity is rooted in part in Russia's repeated invasions and engineered famines of Ukraine over the centuries. Adam and Jeff also discuss the fact that Texas-sized Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe and should not have been viewed as a low-risk high-reward adventure like Putin's previous outings in Georgia and the Crimea. Ukraine's historical animosity toward Russia has fueled unprecedented nationalism and drained Russia's military capacity while also causing both Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Even though Russia may end up occupying a strip of territory on Ukraine's eastern frontier indefinitely, it is hard to see how this conflict has helped Russia in any way, particularly as it has become ever-more reliant on its "eternal friend" China.
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Almost-billionaires Adam and Jeff discuss the recent proposal in California to implement a "one-time" 5% tax on the net worth of all persons with assets in excess of $1 billion. Despite the repeated failures of such taxes in other parts of the world, California seems determined to press ahead with this ballot initiative. Adam believes many billionaires will choose to move to a state other than California in order to evade this tax if it should become law. Jeff points out that most billionaires do not necessarily have the cash or liquid assets to pay a significant tax because much of their value is tied up in their own companies and other illiquid assets. He also points out that other politicians seeking to tax "unrealized gains" on stock holdings are strangely quiet about the idea of issuing refund checks on "unrealized losses." Adam notes that New York's current $12 billion budget deficit could be fixed right away if only each of its 120 or so billionaires would write a check for about $100 million. Adam and Jeff believe that there are far too few billionaires to make a dint in the revenue shortfalls on either the state or the national level and that people will actually have to start living within their means--which is not a very popular solution. However, Adam and Jeff urge that the threshold for any wealth tax be just above the combined amounts of their individual portfolios of assets in order to be "fair."
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Always ready to spotlight instances of government waste and folly, Adam and Jeff turn their attention to the boondoggle that is the government effort to purchase electric mail delivery vehicles from a defense contractor that has never built trucks for the civilian market. As about only 612 vehicles have been delivered at a cost of $3 billion, which is equal to a price of almost $5 million per vehicle, Jeff and Adam wonder if there is a better way to deliver the mail. They consult the want adds and find out that there are numerous lightly used trucks available for $20,000 to $30,000 each that could be used as mail vehicles. However, Jeff takes it one step further and proposes that the nation's children become mail carriers and deliver the mail on their bikes--offering a solution that is environmentally green while getting the kids outside for some fresh air.
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Adam and Jeff discuss whether they think Congress should spend its time promulgating non-binding resolutions. A recent resolution passed by the House condemning the horrors of socialism is considered. Adam and Jeff wonder if the Congress might have better spent the time on other things such as ending the recent 6-week government shutdown. They also discuss whether it makes any sense for Congress to concern itself with something that is not legally binding as there is already so little time for members to devote their attention to matters of great importance such as their own re-election campaigns. This resolution leads Adam and Jeff to consider the achievements of the greatest mass murderers in history and to wonder why people of each successive generation think socialism will solve all of their problems--despite the attendant historical wreckage.
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Cultural anthropologists and nude volleyball magazine collectors Adam and Jeff gather at the desk of the Omaha Bugle to talk about those people who yearn for the “good old days.” As most people who yearn for the fun of subsistence living and widespread disease and death have no idea how bad things were back then, Adam and Jeff waste no time in describing some of the fun when life was “nasty, brutish and short.” They also point out that everything in the good old days took so much time to do whether it involved collecting wood for a fire or trapping animals or even drawing water for a bath that there was no time to contemplate the lack of leisure time.
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Noted coinage experts Adam and Jeff convene in an effort to calm down the public, which is panicking over the halt in production of the penny after 232 years. Jeff points out that there are almost 300,000,000,000 pennies floating around and that there is very little likelihood that we will run out of pennies anytime soon. Adam also notes that younger people do not use cash much at all, preferring to carry out their financial transactions with debit and credit cards. As the end of penny production will save an estimated $56 million per year, this awe-inspiring example of financial brilliance will doubtless help the government get its $2 trillion in deficit spending under control in the next few weeks.
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Noted government shutdown experts Adam and Jeff offer their opinions as to who won the most recent government shutdown. Jeff points out that most shutdowns accomplish very little because they are typically instigated by the party out of power who then must bear the wrath of the public when they are unable to secure any concessions in short order. Jeff points out that the Democrats, who won several elections a couple of weeks earlier, decided that there was nothing more to gain and had several senators not up for re-election next year vote to end the shutdown. Adam bemoans the fact that the Congress cannot do a budget anymore and believes that the Omaha Bugle should produce a TV show called "Real Housewives of Washington D.C." which would feature both the backbiting and catfights of similar reality shows but also show the housewives working together to balance their family budgets in order to maintain their lavish lifestyles. Finally, Adam and Jeff consider the possibility of locking the board of directors of the Omaha Bugle into a board room and creating their own shutdown in order to increase their take home pay.
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Adam recounts the story of a man who was released from prison after 26 years for having stolen a gold chain and a wedding ring. The sole witness against him was a repeat offender who had various drug and alcohol issues that caused his credibility to be called into question--but apparently not enough to secure the release the accused. Jeff talks about how District Attorneys have enormous discretion and the full power of the state so that they can secure an indictment against anyone for almost any offense. He points out that ordinary people have no real chance because they cannot afford high priced defense attorneys; they will often cut a deal to avoid being forced into bankruptcy. Adam wonders about corruption in the political arena, particularly when members of Congress, for example, have access to legislation that can impact the prices of stocks before this information is released to the public. Both are concerned about the unwillingness of members of Congress to reach across the aisle--even though the aisle is barely 3 feet wide.
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Recent proposals that lenders be permitted to offer 50 year mortgages to help make housing more affordable to homebuyers has sparked intense debate. Never ones to shy away from wandering into the crossfire, Adam and Jeff consider the pros and cons of having an exciting new loan product that can encumber your property for your life, your childrens' lives and, possibly, much of your grandchildrens' lives. Jeff admits that he is concerned about the fact that the monthly payment on a $500,000 loan at 6%, for example, only drops by about $300 a month if the borrower chooses a 50 year mortgage over a 30 year mortgage. Unfortunately, the borrower then gets to pay that reduced amount for an additional 20 years--long past the time when he or she will even be able to remember where he or she lives or anything else for that matter. Adam thinks longer mortgages are nothing more than financial gimmicks that are offered by politicians anxious to show they are doing something without really doing anything at all to lower housing costs. Jeff suggests lavish tents could be a possible low-cost housing substitute. Adam and Jeff believe that the solutions are much more challenging because policymakers have to deal with the high costs of land, labor and materials as well as a regulatory environment that often discourages higher density building.
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Noted White House historians and French postcard collectors Adam and Jeff offer their thoughts on the recent demolition by the Trump Administration of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a grand ballroom. Jeff points out that renovations are nothing new to the White House as it was first completely gutted when the British burned it down in 1814. Other improvements followed such as the construction of the East Wing during Franklin Roosevelt's administration where First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt could be housed in an office as far away as possible from the Oval Office on the other side of the building. Harry Truman presided over the most massive reconstruction of the White House in the late 1940s when its interior was largely rebuilt--leaving little more than the exterior walls intact. Although Truman's renovations were criticized for being out of character with the existing architecture, no body could answer how any such character could be preserved if the White House collapsed. Donald Trump's desire to build a 25,000 square foot ballroom to house up to 1,000 guests is the latest attempt to make the "people's house" a more pleasing experience for visiting dignitaries who might otherwise have to go fetch their plates at a tent on the front lawn or relieve themselves in one of the many convenient exterior portable toilets. In keeping with this patriotic duty to make a bigger, more beautiful East Wing in which the offices of the First Lady and the White House Calligrapher will be relocated, Adam and Jeff have called on the Omaha Bugle to contribute funds to participate in this magnificent building project.
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Both Adam and Jeff retrieved their Nancy Pelosi t-shirts to honor her legacy as both the first female Speaker of the House and one of the foremost stock traders of all time. Adam pointed out that Mrs. Pelosi had begun her political career in 1987 with about $700,000 in stocks and bonds, most of which were jointly-owned with her husband, Paul. By the time she announced her retirement earlier this year, the value of her portfolio had increased more than 160-fold to over $130 million. Jeff and Adam applauded her stock picking prowess, noting that she had lapped the returns chalked up by that also-ran investor, Warren Buffet, by about 400 percent. Experts have wondered what sort of stock picking strategy she might have used with some malcontents suggesting that she may have had access to inside information in pending Congressional legislation before it was made public to assist in her selections. However, Jeff and Adam think this may be just a lot of sour grapes and that Mrs. Pelosi was very lucky and had access to a truly first-rate ouija board that they would both like to borrow. As far as Mrs. Pelosi's legacy as Speaker of the House is concerned, Jeff points out that she did lead efforts to impeach President Donald Trump on a weekly basis and offered several memorable quotes including the gem that "you have to first pass the bill to know what is in it."
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Listeners of the Omaha Bugle who enjoy working with masonry products will enjoy this learned discussion by Adam and Jeff about the BRICS organization--an international collection of "bad actors" who have tried to set up an alternative banking and trading system. Although founded by Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa, BRICS is dominated by China, who wants to supplant the United States as the numero uno actor in the global trading system. More to the point, BRICS wants to replace the U.S. dollar with some sort of alternate currency such as the Chinese renminbi. Jeff points out that China is not exactly known for its transparent financial system or its enthusiasm for intellectual property rights--both of which would be needed to attract a greater share of trade denominated in renminbi. Adam points out that BRICS is far more dependent on trade with the U.S. and the other Western powers than the reverse and may not be a very strong alliance if those markets were to be closed off. Jeff also wonders why many countries would want to join an organization that is geared to benefiting its largest members; they can obtain observer status in BRICS which confers no real benefits but imposes no real burdens. Observer nations also receive nifty BRICS t-shirts and athletic wear.
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Having completed a review of numerous academic periodicals that feature thought-provoking articles and scantily-clad models, Adam and Jeff offer their insights as to how best to end the war in Ukraine. Jeff points out that the so-called security guarantees being bandied about by England and France are not necessarily cast in stone but are "situational" and can disappear when a new government is elected or the existing government simply weasels out of its obligations by claiming that the guarantee does not apply to a particular situation. Adam and Jeff discuss the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in which Russia, among others, agreed not to use military force against Ukraine "except in matters of self defense." Fast forward to 2014 and Russia apparently concluded that invading Crimea did not constitute a violation of the Memorandum because the Kremlin really wanted to have a port on the Black Sea. More recently, President Putin decided in 2022 that he really wanted the rest of Ukraine so he went ahead and launched an all-out invasion that has since bogged down and become a war of attrition--which has caused Russia itself to suffer more than a million military casualties. Jeff believes that the only likely outcome is a sort of "frozen peace" in which a permanent ceasefire occurs--possibly without a recognition of changed borders. As far as security guarantees are concerned, both Adam and Jeff feel that Ukraine is the only actor that can ensure its own security.
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Kamala Harris' recent announcement that she would not be seeking to become the next governor of California was not a total surprise given the shellacking she suffered in the 2024 presidential election coupled with the squandering of a $1 billion campaign fund in 3-months. Many anonymous donors have said that they do not view her as a viable candidate for future presidential runs but acknowledge that she would be the leading candidate for governor in California due to her name recognition and the fact that she is unburdened by what has been and what will be. Adam and Jeff, noted experts in career opportunities for ex-presidents, suggest that she might be better suited for a university position as a linguistics professor or perhaps a name partner at a leading law firm if she could be locked into a sound proofed corner office without access to a phone or email. Turning to Gavin Newsom, the Omaha Bugle correspondents both concede that whoever is the head of the Democratic Party in California is virtually immune from challenge because policy results simply don't matter very much. Adam and Jeff believe that Newsom's disastrous record would not play well at the national level but they do acknowledge that his hair will not move even in hurricane-force winds.
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Would-be Fed governor applicants Adam and Jeff consider whether the incessant demands by American presidents that the Fed lower interest rates really makes any difference. Jeff points out that the historical interest rates for the past century or so have averaged around 6% to 8% with a few outliers in which rates were extraordinarily high or low. Politicians want lower rates because it reduces the costs of borrowing which theoretically causes people to borrow more money to build homes and factories and improve productivity. Or maybe it does nothing at all in the end. Adam, who is very accurate on occasion, suggests that the Fed funds rate has very little to do with the actual interest rates that banks charge their customers. However, Jeff argues that the Fed acts as a signal-caller for the national economy and that its actions carry tremendous psychological weight when lenders are deciding whether to raise or lower the rates for credit cards, for example, from a comparatively low 28% to a lofty 33% rate. Both Adam and Jeff feel that the fact that the dollar, like every other modern currency, is not tied to any actual tangible asset such as gold, creates enormous potential for banker mischief--which has resulted in a 96% reduction of purchasing power in the dollar in the past century.
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In the wake of the American bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, Adam and Jeff discuss the apparent lack of response by either Russia or China to the attack. Adam believes that the lack of response is due to the reluctance of both countries to call attention to themselves due to their failure to respond in any meaningful way. Jeff suggests that neither Russia or China have any type of mutual defense treaty obligations with Iran, because they would both be concerned that Tehran would pull them into a war with Israel and the United States. Indeed, any patronage by Russia and China of Iran may be nothing more than a coldhearted calculation of influence buying in the Middle East. Iran could be seen by both Russia and China as a foothold whereby they can challenge the hegemony of the United States in the Middle East without getting their hands too dirty. Jeff suggests the muted responses of both China and Russia to the bombings reflects the increasingly poor prospects facing both countries due to declining economic growth rates, declining populations, and a generally deteriorating geostrategic position in the international system.
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Adam and Jeff turn their attention to a recent report that the United Nations has lowered their predictions that the global population in the year 2100 will be at least a billion less than past estimates. Adam and Jeff return to a recurring theme that demographers, like everyone else, get caught up in the trends and forget to question the long-term viability of those very same trends. Jeff points out that many demographers take a bird's eye view of population trends whereas others ask individuals about their preferences and draw their own conclusions. In short, it appears that most women do not want to have 6 or 7 children and sit in a grass hut all day long, instead preferring to pursue careers and other opportunities that were not always available to them in the past. This mystifying trends appears to have surprised most demographers who have had to drastically revise downward their predictions about the world's population in the coming decades. In the spirit of efficiency, Jeff predicts that there will be 7 billion people in the world in the year 2100, pointing out that he did not waste any time hiring an expensive, credentialed staff that was going to get the prediction wrong anyways.
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In an attempt to reach listeners who are not necessarily interested in the pseudo-fact news stories that are typically featured on the Omaha Bugle, Adam and Jeff talk about Jeff's recent trip to Iceland. Jeff provides an account of some of the "touristy" things that he and his family did while roaming through southern Iceland including venturing into warm mineral springs baths, shopping and dining in the capital city of Reykjavik (where absolutely no bargains are to be had), and roaming around the countryside. Although Iceland is about the size of the state of Kentucky, it has only about 400,000 people--all of whom are legally required to be blonde. Jeff did attend the Independence Day parade in Reykjavik where he saw exactly two floats go down the main thoroughfare. However, he was disappointed that there were no balloons floating overhead. Jeff also talks about the cuisine of Iceland, much of which is sea food--including delicacies such as fermented shark--which is so appalling in taste, texture and odor that some masochists find it oddly alluring. Other delicacies for the more adventurous types include ram's testicles. Jeff also admits to some frustration with driving in Iceland because the top speed is only 90 kilometers per hour--which is around 55 miles per hour.
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Noted trade experts Adam and Jeff discuss the new American trade policy of greatly increasing tariffs on most foreign imports.
They debate whether across-the-board increases in tariffs on imported goods is a strategic action or simply a blunt instrument approach to cutting down America’s enormous trade deficits. Jeff points out that the current policy is prompted by the desire to reshore industries and rebuild our domestic supply chains. Adam sees the increases in tariffs as a strategy to force other countries to build their products in the United States so that they do not get shut out of the American market by higher tariffs as the Japanese car industry chose to do when its auto exports were limited to the United States in the 1980s. Both see tariffs as a way to force other countries to the table now as opposed to waiting a decade or more to possibly work something out at the WTO.
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Anxious to display their recently acquired knowledge about all things Greenland, Adam and Jeff address whether the United States should take over Greenland and the means by which it should do so. They talk about the fact that Greenland is heavily subsidized by Denmark and that if the United States should take it over, it will inherit that same open-ended obligation to keep the Greenlandic economy, afloat for years and years to come. They also talk about past efforts by the United States to buy Greenland outright from Denmark for cash. However, Jeff points out that this approach (which has been rejected repeatedly by Denmark) does not have any appeal to the Greenlanders themselves because the money would be going to the Danish government.. Adam and Jeff discuss a more innovative approach whereby the United States would bribe every man, woman and child in Greenland with large sums of cash to persuade them to switch sides and join the United States. They even offer to oversee the money transfers in person by taking trunks full of cash to the various Greenlandic settlements and obtaining proxy votes in favor of joining the United States.
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Adam opens the show solo because Jeff is on assignment overseas with a group of cartographers mapping the tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip for a new travel guide. Jeff discusses the workplace hazards in Gaza as he and his colleagues make their way through boobytrapped tunnels, losing the occasional finger or toe to an explosive device. Adam and Jeff then turn to the theme of the show which looks at some of the major policy changes that have taken place in the first 100 days of the second Trump presidency--most notably immigration. Adam points out that people always act in their own self-interest and are willing to give their life savings to traffickers in order to come to the United States where they can receive food and lodging benefits not typically available to many Americans. Jeff points out that the Biden Administration seemed to believe that open borders would allow enough people to come into the country who would have an undying loyalty toward the Democratic Party and thus reward it with an electoral majority for years, if not generations to come. However, Adam and Jeff point out that most groups of immigrants typically split their votes among the major parties by the second or third generation, rendering the "demographics is destiny" argument moot. They also consider instances in which government agencies such as FEMA and the Department of Education have been created and funded but have had little positive impact in recent years due to misallocated funds and bureaucratic sclerosis. Adam believes the government should limit itself to certain core functions such as national infrastructure (e.g., TVA, interstate highway system), a universal postal system and national defense, whereas Jeff is hoping that he can avoid stepping on another explosive device before he returns home.
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Adam and Jeff discuss some of the more recent executive orders signed by President Trump and suggest that the sheer number of these executive orders may be diluting their effectiveness. One order which directs that Washington D.C. be made safe and beautiful is little more than a directive that the relevant officials do whatever they can to make Washington D.C. great again. As with other orders such as one which directs that bank payments be made safe and efficient, many of these orders appear to be more aspirational in nature instead of offering concrete steps to take. Unfortunately, Jeff and Adam are both painfully aware that the modern banking system is incredibly efficient insofar as debiting monies from their accounts is concerned. However, the speed with which deposits are credited back to their accounts harkens back to the days of the Pony Express. Yet another executive order directs that the White House set up a task force to deal with FIFA (the governing body of professional soccer competitions throughout the world) even though most people in the United States do not watch professional soccer or even realize that FIFA is not a light and flakey bakery treat. Yet another executive order directs that a strategic bitcoin reserve be established; Jeff is unsure, however, how you stockpile something that is basically an imaginary asset.
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Never shy about foisting their views on others, Adam and Jeff invite Chris Eddy, the retired general and recent GOP candidate for the 25th U.S. Congressional District in Florida to talk about what went right and what went wrong in his election bid. Chris provides a statistical analysis of the early voting and election day voting and focuses on some of the factors that may have prevented him from unseating the incumbent in a very tight election. Jeff asks Chris why Democrats appear to be willing to "die on the hill" for various issues that appeal to very small groups of voters. Chris also talks about the changes made in the last four years in the election laws of many states that caused the 2024 election to appear like a seamless process compared to the 2020 clown show that resulted in the Biden victory. Adam points out that President Trump is bringing in more loyalists the second time around due to the very mixed results he obtained during his first term when he relied heavily on Washington "insiders". All three seem to agree that Trump framing his policies as "common sense" rather than being motivated by ideological concerns would explain why Trump's policies are more popular than Trump himself--who is not exactly known for his cuddley demeanor.
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Always happy to offer their opinions to the public free of charge, Adam and Jeff convene to discuss the enormous number of executive orders executed by President Trump during his first few weeks in office. Some of them such as the banning of paper straws in federal agencies seem to be silly (except to those who have accidentally swallowed a soggy paper straw) while others such as the reaffirmation of the Second Amendment seem redundant since the Constitution (assuming we still have one) protects the right to bear arms. But Jeff and Adam suggest that these executive orders--all of which could be cancelled by the next president--are designed to change the mood of the country and the way in which the government is perceived. Whether the concern is the weaponization of the Justice Department or the inability of the country to speak to foreign nations with a single voice, Trump's numerous executive orders reflect a new energy (whether you like it or not) that has been largely absent during the past four years of the "Weekend at Bernie's" Biden administration. These executive orders also allow Trump to stake out positions and set goals for the always energetic Congress to achieve--if it can manage to get its act together for even a few hours. All in all, these executive orders may help to show that a new sheriff is in town and that the old ways of doing things (or not doing anything) are no longer acceptable.
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Adam and Jeff return to the air after receiving pre-emptive pardons from out-going President Joe Biden for any crimes they might have committed while not in the employment of the Biden Family Business or for any actions they might have taken while not serving on the J6 Committee. Adam and Jeff pay homage to the recently-passed President Jimmy Carter and point out that he was a decent person who was caught up in challenging events that defined his presidency in a negative way. To his credit, Adam notes that Carter never weaponized the government against any individuals even though Adam and Jeff could provide a lengthy list of people who should have been targeted for weaponization. They also discuss some possible future job possibilities for Kamala Harris and, based upon her campaign having lost $1 billion dollars in a losing effort and still ending up $20 million in the red, believe that anything having to do with money or counting might not be a wise choice. Jeff believes her unique speaking techniques would lead to an impressive career as a speech therapist. She could also work as a grade-school teacher due to her ability to incorrectly explain complex concepts using simple words. Jeff thinks she might be perfectly suited to be a cruise ship activities director due to her deliriously happy laughter which would no doubt encourage hung-over passengers to get up at 4 a.m. every morning to do their exercises. As far as Joe Biden is concerned, Adam and Jeff suggest he could be an outstanding Walmart greeter so long as he was tethered to the front door to keep him from wandering off. Another possibility might be for him to sit in a Christmas window display in a store on Fifth Avenue in New York City while eating an ice cream cone.
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In discussing the outcome of the 2024 election, Adam and Jeff said that they were surprised by both the speed with which the winner of the election was decided and the almost complete lack of dirty tricks on election night. Indeed, they were expecting that a dump truck load of ballots would be found on a country road in Pennsylvania or Michigan or any other swing state. They also suggested that the Harris campaign suffered from several almost insurmountable challenges--not the least of which was the fact that Vice President Harris was the running mate of President Joe Biden--who was probably one of the worst chief executives in the history of the United States. So Harris had the unenviable task of running as an incumbent and having to tout the record of an extraordinarily inept administration. Moreover, she did nothing to convince voters during her tenure that she was anything other than one of the worst vice presidents in the history of the United States and, in fact, refused to do interviews for many weeks on the campaign trail to offer different ideas as to how she would handle things as president. The litany of failure including the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the weaponization of the Department of Justice, the dismantling of the southern border which enabled at least 10 million illegal migrants to enter the United States without any vetting at all, and the passage of enormous spending programs that kicked off the worst inflation in a generation all created enormous hostility toward the Biden Administration and probably made it impossible for his vice president to secure an election victory. Moreover, the Vice President's confusing speaking manner and her difficulty in connecting with ordinary individuals (particularly those who do not wear thousand dollar pants suits) made her prospects for victory even less likely in hindsight.
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Adam and Jeff return to the airwaves after an unexpected hiatus of several weeks that was prompted by a storming of the Omaha Bugle headquarters by local college students who occupied the broadcasting center and shut down operations to underscore their support for free speech. Fortunately, the students eventually left when they ran out of snack foods and energy drinks in the break room. However, they still vandalized the building and sprayed graffiti on all of the cars in the employee parking lot (except for the car owned by Jeff which was in a parking space that was apparently deemed to be too far away to be worth the trouble). Anyways, order was eventually restored and the first broadcast by the Omaha Bugle was released; it focused on the fact that national populations are shrinking throughout the world. East Asia, particularly Korea, Japan and China, have seen their populations begin to decline in absolute terms with Korea itself having a birth rate that is only 1/4 that of which is needed to stabilize the population. This decline is being mirrored to varying degrees throughout the world. Being males, Adam and Jeff then proceed to discuss why women might be choosing to have fewer children while acknowledging that the broadcast would probably have been better served had an actual woman been asked to discuss why women might not want to have as many children as in past generations. Nevertheless, they do offer a number of reasons such as the high costs of raising children, the desire of more women to have careers, and even the preference for a childless lifestyle that is viewed by many as being less problematic. Jeff then brings up some of the ways in which shrinking populations will invariably affect everything we make and consume; it will mark a complete reversal of the centuries-old paradigm of steadily expanding production and steadily increasing consumer demand for many products.
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Adam and Jeff welcome a good friend of the Omaha Bugle, Chris Eddy, back to the program, for an unprecedented third appearance--an honor that would typically be reserved for presidents, kings and deep-pocket program sponsors. Chris provides Adam and Jeff with an update of his campaign to win the 25th Congressional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In particular, he talks about his recent win of the GOP nomination and his upcoming electoral battle with his Democratic opponent. Chris discusses the importance of bringing common sense to Washington, D.C., and reports that inflation and immigration are the two biggest issues cited by most of the thousands of voters with whom he has spoken. He also talks about the uneasiness that many voters have about the inability of the federal government to control its morbidly obese spending programs. Of particular concern is the fact that mandatory social programs and interest on the debt will swallow up almost the entire budget if things do not change in the next two decades--leaving nothing for defense, education or any other worthy discretionary programs such as possible broadcasting subsidies for the Mandarin version of the Omaha Bugle podcast.
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The third and final installment of the epic discussion of artificial intelligence by Adam and Jeff marks yet another towering contribution to the intellectual legacy of Western civilization. Adam points out that artificial intelligence has merely accelerated the trend toward greater technical sophistication while increasing the vulnerabilities of nearly every aspect of modern society. Jeff argues that our computerized world is increasingly vulnerable to unauthorized users who are able to inflict massive damage to databases and electronic systems alike. The fact that an electric power grid could be disabled by high-school aged hackers playing hooky is a scary thought, especially when you consider how quickly society degenerates into a sort of moldy, dusty preindustrial abyss when the power gets shut off for a few days. On a brighter note, Adam points out that hacking the power system will not affect his ability to shoot looters with his guns. The fact that people create algorithms which arguably enable machines to think in ways not originally contemplated by the programmers is of great concern but Jeff is not optimistic that global leaders can agree to a set of binding principles to restrain the malevolent aspects of AI--especially when everyone assumes the worst motives of their adversaries.
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In their continuing efforts to point out that artificial intelligence has nothing to do with preservatives and food dyes, Adam and Jeff continue their discussion regarding various issues posed by recent advances in the field. Certainly they are both keenly aware of the fact that AI has helped to create a self-generating surveillance state in which everyone with a phone can collect photos and data and essentially provide enormous amounts of information to virtually anyone who might wish to access that information--whether for good or evil. As far as the ability of AI to offer predictive algorithms as to when future crimes will occur, Jeff suggests that we already have a pretty good idea where we want to focus our policing efforts based upon where most crimes have occurred in the past. Adam and Jeff are also both concerned about the lack of privacy and the fact that any conversation overheard by a cellphone usually brings about a torrent of advertisements for products that might have been referenced in that particular conversation. Jeff is quite adamant that he does not want to have a virtual assistant such as Alexa in his household as he already has too many people telling him what to do. Adam and Jeff also wonder about complaints that AI could be biased because most of the scientists in the field are male and from leading developed nations. Jeff's best suggestion is that everyone learn English as a universal language for commerce and science so that they are not excluded from advances in AI. Finally, Adam brings up Asimov's three laws of robotics which basically were designed to prevent humans from being strangled by sentient robots while they slept.
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Never reluctant to showcase their artificial intelligence about matters of culture and politics at fancy cocktail parties, Adam and Jeff consider some of the pressing concerns about the brave new world of artificial intelligence. They also discuss the fine line between extremely sophisticated calculators and sentient machines that are able to reason independently of any inputs or commands. They point out that many pioneers in the AI field want to restrict or limit its use even though it is likely that bad actors and bad governments would evade or simply ignore any global treaties restricting the uses of AI. Although Jeff has great faith in the wisdom and judgment of government regulators, he is concerned that there are very few bureaucrats who know enough about AI to be able to offer meaningful regulations. Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics are cited by Adam as a possible general code that could be incorporated into the development of future AI applications but there is always the nagging concern that nasty countries will do whatever they can to take advantage of any self-imposed limitations undertaken by other signatories to AI-related treaties.
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Having returned from their worldwide concert tour as the opening act for Taylor Swift, Adam and Jeff discuss the idea proposed by both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that college be made free to everyone. They consider the staggering amount spent each year for post-secondary education and the number of households filing tax returns to determine that the actual bill for "free college" for each taxpayer each year would amount to thousands of dollars. Jeff points out that a government mandate that everyone be able to attend college for free would simply result in the schools jacking up the tuition as much as possible because college would be a basic right available to all--no matter how qualified or motivated each student might be. As college loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, lenders have no incentive to restrict the amounts of money they loan to applicants. As a result, there is an enormous amount of money sloshing around in the system which merely encourages schools to keep jacking up their costs year after year. Jeff points out that college is supposed to be a learning experience and not a 4-year visit to an amusement park so there is no reason that education costs cannot be contained. Unfortunately, the vast expansion in recent decades in non-teaching (e.g., administrative staff) has compounded the incessant rise in college costs.
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Presidential politics experts Adam and Jeff offer their opinions as to how Joe Biden could be enticed to leave office. This podcast was recorded before Biden decided to end his quest to be the 2024 Democratic nominee and subsequently misfiled by an intern who happens to be the daughter of the chairman of the board of the Omaha Bugle. The intern was subsequently promoted to news bureau manager and the podcast is being posted for its historical value. Also of interest is the fact that the podcast was recorded in the Omaha Bugle bomb shelter so the sound quality is a little off but that may be of little concern if the bombs start falling. Anyways, Adam and Jeff offer the several possible ways that Joe Biden could be enticed to resign the presidency before the end of his term including impeachment (for which the Democrats have become very proficient in filling out the paperwork), an Article 25 removal of President Joe Biden based upon his unfitness for office, and, most importantly, a golden retirement package that would give the Biden family tens of millions of dollars in cash, create a slush fund to build a presidential library twice the size of the Obama library, and provide million-dollar annuities for all the Biden grandchildren (or, at least, the ones whom the family decides to acknowledge).
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Noted political analysts and green belt judo students Adam and Jeff compare notes on the first 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Adam managed to sit through the entire debate believing that he had stumbled onto an hour-long parody on the Comedy Channel. However, Jeff was more fortunate, having elected to go to an all-you-can eat buffet while the debate was on and thus missing the entire performance. However, both correspondents drew similar conclusions: Joe Biden was floating around in space and Donald Trump was shadow boxing and no one in the country who listened to the debate emerged the better for the experience. Biden's performance caused his loyal political allies to call for Biden to get off the ticket--which only goes to show that politicians form the most long-lasting friendships. Trump, for his part, merely had to breathe in and out steadily for an hour to cruise to an easy win. The White House blamed Biden's political advisors who had helped him prepare for the debate for his poor performance because they were apparently responsible for him rambling on incoherently and staring off into space. Biden's performance will probably not earn an Emmy but it did cause all of his potential replacement candidates such as Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris to pinky-swear that they have absolutely no interest in Biden's job . . . until such time as they are forced to accept the job for the good of the country.
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Adam and Jeff, who know almost everything about everything and are not reluctant to regale their listeners with endless facts and opinions, consider why the U.S. military continues to shrink even as the defense budgets continue to rise. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer defense contractors available to bid on weapons systems that are increasingly complex and costly. Jeff points out that high-tech weaponry is also more vulnerable to technical glitches and may not be as durable as older weapons systems in battlefield conditions. The Pentagon has also outsourced much of its manufacturing capabilities so that the U.S. Navy, for example, builds very few ships because it no longer has neither the shipyards nor the skilled personnel to do so. This loss of defense manufacturing capacity has forced the United States to rely on foreign suppliers--some of whom, such as China, may not be totally concerned with our welfare. In sum, Adam and Jeff believe that the entire military weapon procurement system needs to be streamlined with less emphasis on cutting edge technology with its incessant change orders and cost overruns and more emphasis on sheer numbers. After all, even the most sophisticated weapons can fail in a hostile military environment.
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The recent visit of several Russian ships to Cuba strikes Adam and Jeff as nothing more than a tit-for-tat move by Putin in response to President Biden's recent decision to allow Ukrainian troops to fire American weapons into Russian territory. Of course there is not much tit or tat because Putin started the war in Ukraine and has disingenuously proclaimed that the Russian ships are in America's backyard due to America's aggression against Russia. Adam and Jeff talk about Cuba's dependency on foreign benefactors such as Russia and Venezuela in the past and the sad fact that these patrons have hit the economic skids in recent years and cut back their assistance to Cuba. They then wander over to the topic of the recent peace offer by Putin which would require that Ukraine give up its four eastern provinces in their entirety (even though Putin only controls a fraction of those lands) and, to show good faith, disband their military forces altogether. Because Putin has not done a very good job keeping his word, Adam and Jeff believe that the Ukrainians would be very unlikely to enter into any type of agreement with Russia. After all, Russia and other autocratic countries such as China view treaties as tactical devices for obtaining additional advantages from the counterparts whereas Western countries consider treaties to be solemn promises that must be kept by all parties. Given the frequency with which Russia breaks treaties, Jeff wonders why another country such as Ukraine would ever enter into a treaty with Russia as it has shown over and over again it cannot be trusted.
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Adam and Jeff consider the increasingly blurred line between science and theology in the climate change world where many people--regardless of whether they are actual scientists or people who like to hang out with scientists--assert that humanity is in global warming death spiral. They point to the past two centuries beginning in 1800 with the start of the Industrial Revolution during which time the global temperatures have ticked upward between 1 to 2 degrees. However, Jeff notes that two centuries is a tiny blip in the 4 billion year life of planet earth and that we should be very careful not to extrapolate short-term changes in temperature over longer periods of time involving thousands of years or more. After all, if we were to assume that the global temperatures will rise 1 degree each century going forward, then in 10,000 years we would be living on a planet with boiling oceans and far fewer cruise ship passengers--a swing in temperature that has not occurred in billions of years. Adam and Jeff also point out that many factors contribute to the temperatures on earth in addition to human activities such as ocean currents, solar activity, weather patterns, planetary wobbling, and flatulent livestock--which cannot be neatly separated from each other. Jeff also asks about the temperature measurements taken a century or more ago and wonders about the accuracy of these these readings since he has trouble differentiating the degree marks on the normal-sized rectal thermometer that he keeps handy for recreational reasons. Adam and Jeff also caution their listeners not to take the predictions of computer models very seriously because their results are obviously going to reflect the assumptions made by the programmers which may reflect their own political views about climate change.
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Noted political analysts and knick-knack collectors Adam and Jeff offer their opinions about what they view as an appalling display of prosecutorial, judicial and jury bias in the New York case in which Donald Trump was found guilty 34 times for the same expired misdemeanor that had somehow been magically bootstrapped into a federal election law violation. Because the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, managed to stretch the limits of the law out beyond the orbit of the planet Pluto, Trump was found guilty by a jury of his quasi-peers who were drawn from a pool that voted 90% in favor of his opponent, President-for-Life Joe Biden, in the last election. As a result, these jurors were thus just possibly not concerned with Trump's guilt being established beyond a reasonable doubt or even at all. Adam and Jeff believe that the case will eventually be overruled due to its numerous procedural and substantive errors, but they are convinced that this attempt to pin any sort of conviction on Trump will send a strong signal to businesses in New York and businesses considering doing business in New York that they might want to consider a locale with a more democratic system of justice such as Moscow or Beijing or Pyongyang. Jeff points out that this decision will certainly end any discussions by the corporate brass at the Omaha Bugle to locate a news bureau in New York City--which will no doubt cause the city overlords much loss of sleep and prestige. The decision has also prompted the Omaha Bugle to reconsider its policy of paying disgruntled former employees to keep quiet because they always open their mouths to the media as soon as the checks to purchase their silence have been cashed. Finally, Jeff declares in solidarity with the founding fathers that he will not purchase an apartment that he cannot afford in New York City under any circumstances.
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Alway happy to meet up-and-coming power brokers, Adam and Jeff welcome Chris Eddy back to the show to provide an update as to where things stand with his candidacy to seek election to the 25th Congressional District of Florida. Due to Chris's background with the intelligence community, Adam and Jeff pepper him with questions about the current administration's decisions on a variety of topics including the continuing open border, exploding government deficits, the politicization of the Justice Department, and possible solutions for what appears to be an increasingly incompetent federal government. Happy to lend a boost to lagging government efforts, Adam and Jeff also offer to oversee the federal government's EV-charging station installation effort which has thus far seen only 8 such stations installed despite a multi-billion dollar budget. No doubt Adam and Jeff could install two or three times that same amount of charging stations for only a billion dollars or so and they will assemble the stations themselves in person. They also discuss the value of sweat equity in all walks of life--noting that legal immigrants are incensed at the illegal migrants who show up and expect to be showered with government goodies when they have done nothing to work for those benefits and thus do not appreciate the sacrifices most people go through to become legal residents. Chris also points out that the out-of-control government spending is going to increasingly swamp the government budget so that in a few decades almost the entire budget will be consumed by Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the debt.
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Never reluctant to let actual facts or expert opinions get in the way of their own views of the world, Adam and Jeff offer their predictions for the next year about a variety of international issues. Even though neither Adam nor Jeff have ever been to Ukraine nor eaten in a Ukrainian restaurant, they both believe that the war against Russia will continue to be a stalemate with comparatively few changes in the battlefield lines. Russia currently occupies the eastern band of Ukraine as a "buffer" against "Ukrainian attacks" even though Russia boasts three times the the population of Ukraine and has a land mass that is 28 times larger than that of Ukraine. Jeff believes that Putin's fate is tied to his success in Ukraine and that Putin is obsessed with rebuilding the old Soviet Union--which can only be a good thing given the joy that the original blood-soaked version of the Soviet Union brought to the world. He thinks that Putin might seek to divert domestic attention by attacking a less formidable adversary such as Kazakstan or even Minneapolis. But attempts to conquer new territories typically drain a country's coffers so it can be too expensive to take over and control other countries--which is basically what caused the original Soviet Union to fail. As far as China and Taiwan are concerned, Adam and Jeff believe that the next year will see more provocations by China but probably no real attempt to invade the island nation because China is not very sure about its ability to project naval power. Jeff does commend China for managing to alienate every country with which it shares a border--which shows a degree of consistency that is not often found in the modern world. China may also find itself increasingly constrained by a rising India which could displace China as the leading economic power in Asia in the next generation.
In a switch from the usual hard-hitting news program that millions of listeners have come to expect from the Omaha Bugle, Adam and Jeff carry out their very first cooking show. Adam is the actual chef who describes how to prepare a German recipe for green bean soup. As Jeff is kitchen-challenged and has never ventured far beyond burning toast and overboiling eggs, Adam does not confer the coveted status of sous chef upon Jeff but tries to keep him at arm's-length in order to avoid a kitchen fire. Adam points out that this cooking show is being done in part to placate upper management so that he (unlike Jeff) does not lose his parking space next to the building and get exiled to the auxillary parking lot used by the interns and the local chop shops. Adam then proceeds to take the audience through the preparation of green bean soup, throwing in a few choice words in German pulled off of Google Translator in order to underscore the authenticity of his German roots. Adam also provides helpful hints about the proper care of kitchenware--most notably the endlessly versatile and extremely heavy iron frying pan. He also talks about the ways in which listeners can prepare other dishes such as cream of celery soup (which does not have the consistency of latex paint) and the Dutch baby (which is a pastry that inflates much like the old Jiffy Pop popcorn but without the aluminum siding coating). Adam also announces his plans to write a new cookbook (because there is apparently a severe shortage of cookbooks available to the bookbuying public) called The Offal Truth. This tongue in cheek title cleverly masks the fact that the book is all about preparing tasty meals and treats (using the entrails and internal organs of animals) for all sorts of popular occasions including weddings, funerals, and children's birthday parties. Finally, Adam talks about his preference for cooking with gas over electricity due to the greater control that gas affords. However, Jeff points out that you cannot blow up your house using an electric burner.
Anxious to avoid cliche´d January 1st predictions for the New Year, Adam and Jeff kick off their first annual prediction show on April 25th and offer a few ideas about what will happen in the upcoming 12 months with regard to inflation, the presidential election, and housing prices. Jeff points out that inflation can increase or decrease however much you may desire so long as you construct the index properly. So if you want to avoid a lot of inflation, you can load the index up with items that are either stable in price or declining in price. He also blames the vast expansion of the national money supply for much of the inflation we have seen in the past quarter century because there is simply too much money chasing too few goods. Adam is concerned that there is no one who talks consistently about cutting the debt or balancing the budget because spending cuts are simply not very much fun. The other problems is that comparatively little government spending is for capital improvements on a national scale--most of the money is spent on transfer payments or, increasingly, debt servicing costs. As far as the presidential election is concerned, Adam believes that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be replaced by a ticket consisting of Gavin Newsom and Taylor Swift--both of whom have very good hair. Jeff believes that Joe Biden will not go quietly into the night and that he and co-President Dr. Jill Biden, Ph.D, will run for another 4 years to complete their destruction of the American nation. Jeff also believes that Donald Trump will run for President and, if there is a reasonably fair election, win a second term. Adam and Jeff have both indicated that they would be receptive to serving as vice president should Trump come calling but they acknowledge that the likely candidate will be the person who has least irritated Trump on the day that he makes his vice presidential selection. Finally, Adam believes that housing prices will remain relatively stable because there do not appear to be any black swan events that will tank the housing market in the next twelve months.
Somewhat alarmed at the extent to which President Joe Biden seems to get lost on stage or while reading a teleprompter, Adam and Jeff discuss whether he might be replaced by another candidate prior to the November election. Numerous polls show that Biden is trailing prospective GOP nominee Donald Trump, prompting many Democrats to begin whispering that a change at the top of the ticket might be in order. But who would be the best replacement if you do not consider Dr. President Jill Biden Ph.D+++. The most likely possibility would be Vice President Kamala Harris who has served as border czar and done a "bang up" job without having ever spent much time at the southern border. Jeff suggests this apparent lack of interest in border policies is due more to the iffy shopping available at the southern border even though no one can deny that you can find great prices for items such as sombreros and tequila. But Harris has even worse polling results than Biden and has managed to alienate almost everyone which is no small accomplishment in the modern era. Moreover, she has never run a national campaign except when she ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020 and her campaign disappeared without a trace after about 10 minutes. Jeff also downplays the possibility of a so-called "mythical perfect candidate" such as Michelle Obama or Oprah Winfrey or perhaps even the entire cast of "The View" because they seem to lack the gravitas that is necessary to be taken seriously by the voting public. Moreover, they all live very comfortable lives and would probably not want to sully their brands with the grubby day-to-day groveling that constitutes modern political campaigns. This leaves Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom, the governors of Michigan and California, respectively, who are making numerous appearances across the country to tell everyone that they are not interested in running for president. Of the two, Newsom seems to be the most likely prospect because he has governed the most populous state in the nation and has managed to run a $68 billion deficit in the past year alone--which shows that he is serious about living beyond his means and will be able to continue even more out-of-control spending on the national level. As far as predictions are concerned, Adam believes Joe Biden will step aside at the convention in favor of Gavin Newsom and that Gretchen Whitmer will serve as his running mate. Jeff suggests that the Republican presidential nominee will be Donald Trump and the vice presidential nominee will be the only person whom Trump truly respects--namely, Donald Trump. Jeff does not think there is anything in the Constitution that prevents Trump from running as both President and Vice President so it seems like a sound theory.
Not to be outdone by the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Adam and Jeff bring the first annual Omaha Bugle Dog Show to their millions of adoring fans. Because podcasts lack a visual component, however, they decide to tell stories about some of their favorite dogs. Jeff is proud to point out that he is solely in the dog corner after having flirted briefly with the dark side of cat ownership. Adam questions the idea that anyone can "own" a dog since the so-called "owner" is generally at the beck and call of the dog and must feed it, walk it, and provide it with a steady supply of high-priced doggie toys. Plus, dogs are able to recharge their batteries each day with up to 22 hours of needed sleep followed by 2 hours of vigorous activities including chewing and swallowing the latest gourmet chef brand dog food which is typically tastier than the meals being eaten by the "owner." Jeff talks about his "genetically engineered" morkie who has enormous separation anxiety issues and must be comforted constantly (sort of the reverse of the traditional comfort dog concept). He also recalls the beautiful, photogenic samoyeds that he has had over the years, all of whom were keenly aware of their good looks. Unfortunately, this awareness translated to repeated failures to complete dog obedience training courses as samoyeds simply do not like to follow rules. For his part, Adam has had a bevy of dogs and continues to foster dogs. As such, the Von Romer household can boast a wide variety of dogs ranging in size from a few pounds in the case of a terrier to well over a hundred pounds in the case of his labrador retriever and his German shepherd. Adam points out that every time he has put his foot down and laid down the law about not getting any more dogs, he is ignored and the size of the Von Romer household increases accordingly. Jeff cannot figure out why little dogs that are constantly barking and presumably enduring very high blood pressures levels outlive big dogs who appear to be far more easy-going than their smaller canine counterparts. In a sop to philosophical students, Adam suggests that dogs live longer when they are happy, a profound insight that will be chiseled on government buildings for many years to come.
Noted Ukraine boosters Adam and Jeff turn their attention back to the ongoing war in the Ukraine. Jeff suggests that Russia's image as a military colossus has taken an enormous hit due to it having become bogged down in a war of attrition in the Ukraine over the past two years. Although Russia managed to seize about 20% of Ukraine's territory in the early weeks of the invasion, Ukraine has fought back valiantly and essentially held the Russians in check for nearly two years. Jeff and Adam are in favor of new military aid packages to Ukraine but want to make sure that they do not fund the purchases of Beverly Hills mansions by mid-level government clerks in Kyiv. Although there are concerns about Russia having designs on Europe, Jeff points out that there is a big difference between wanting something and having the ability to go out and get it--a dilemma that every high school teenager must face at the school dance. Adam and Jeff also point out that the EU population and GDP are roughly 3 times and 15 times larger, respectively, than that of Russia and that it is unlikely that Russia, having already been bloodied in Ukraine, would be able to mount any real attack against Europe, particularly a regional power such as Poland. Indeed, Jeff argues that Poland, like Ukraine, would be a very tough customer for Putin to take on for many reasons such as the Poles' undying hatred for Russia due to its past historical atrocities against Poland.
Both Adam and Jeff are surprised that President Biden chose to celebrate America's newest heartwarming holiday--transgender visibility day--on Easter Sunday. Even though Hallmark has not yet issued a set of holiday cards to commemorate transgender visibility day, Adam and Jeff do not feel that this holiday will enjoy the enduring popularity of Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas unless transgender advocates can come up with some catchy traditions such as a anthropomorphic mascot that leaves baskets of candy behind for sleeping children. Adam considers Biden's proclamation of transgender visibility day on Easter Sunday--perhaps the holiest day of the Christian calendar--to be a stunning example of cultural insensitivity, particularly since it was acknowledged with the phrase "in the year of our Lord". Not surprisingly, Jeff argues that it is yet another example of the on-going efforts by the far left wing of the political spectrum to trivialize Christianity in general and Christian holidays in particular. Both agree that Easter and transgender visibility day are probably not destined to co-exist with each other as Jeff has noted that the Bible does not seem to have any chapters devoted to transgender issues. He also points out that very few denominations in the Christian Church have embraced transgender visibility day but are probably somewhat hostile to its basic tenets.
Adam and Jeff consider the merits of an immigration moratorium despite their concerns that stricter immigration laws might crimp the supply of low-priced gardening talent to tend the grounds at the corporate headquarters of the Omaha Bugle. They discuss the current situation in which millions of largely unvetted migrants have been allowed to enter the United States courtesy of the Biden regime and debate whether the country has been benefited as a whole from this massive influx. Because the government continues to run enormous multi-billion dollar deficits each year, it is hardly in a position to add millions of newcomers to the welfare rolls. Adam and Jeff suggest an immigration moratorium would provide a "breather" for the country to both assimilate those individuals who should be here and chase down and deport those other individuals who should not be here. They argue that certain exceptions should be made for non-citizen spouses with minor children and people with special talents such as advanced degrees. However, all other migration should be stopped indefinitely while the moratorium is in effect. Jeff points out that all countries have the right to control their borders even though a number of poor countries have argued that there should be an international right to migrate. Of course this position is not very popular with the wealthier developed countries which would be the destination of tens of millions of poor migrants.
Always anxious to impart their vast knowledge about everything that matters to their millions of listeners, Adam and Jeff turn their attention to the Federal Reserve and its repeated insistence on flooding the economy with dollar bills in order to prop up asset prices and, purely coincidentally, the fortunes of the poor, starving 1 percenters--who might otherwise have to sell their megayachts or fifth summer houses. They also talk about whether a house can be considered an investment or a money pit or both. Adam suggests that prospective condo-buyers may want to buy a unit second-hand because developers nowadays require a down payment of half the purchase price with delivery to take place in two or three years. The problems of developers (another disadvantaged group needing a fund-raising telethon) are also considered because many of them purchased properties before COVID when interest rates were lower and occupancy rates were higher. Both Adam and Jeff are against "crony capitalism" because they do not travel in the same circles as those people they need to meet in order to be crony capitalists. The discussion then switches to a comparison of people who are incompetent and typically think they know more than they know and those who are competent who say that they know less than they know. As members of the former group, Adam and Jeff have no concerns about lacking competence in any subject, which is a refreshing perspective in which no apologies are made for any intellectual shortcomings.
Despite their vast knowledge about many important topics, Adam and Jeff are forced to admit that they know virtually nothing about supply chains and the logistical networks that facilitate the transport of goods from point of manufacture to point of sale. As a result, they have called upon eminent supply chain and ocean shipping tech space expert Caroline Weaver (who coincidentally has the same last name as one of the hosts) for an explanation as to how supply chains work. There is a special urgency to this podcast as several containers of highly desirable Omaha Bugle swag are sitting in containers in China awaiting shipment to the United States for the upcoming gala celebration of the 100th podcast of the Omaha Bugle Global News Network. Caroline patiently describes the various actors who are involved in trans-ocean shipping and lists several factors can causing shipping prices to gyrate wildly. Caroline also points out that shippers are having to confront renewed piracy attacks in the Red Sea which is causing most container ships to be diverted around the southern coast of Africa. Unfortunately, these pirates are rather grubby individuals and not at all lovable like Captain Jack Sparrow of the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean series. Adam learns that container ships--which may contain 15,000 or even 20,000 40-foot containers--do not welcome tourists aboard to cross the ocean because of the risks that the containers could shift and fall on top of the lounging tourists while they are sipping their cocktails. Caroline also advises Jeff that the Omaha Bugle should not employ smugglers to bring the company swag to the United States because of the possibility of confiscation and criminal prosecution.
In continuing their review of what was arguably the most politicized and, perhaps, loudest State of the Union speech in recent memory, Adam and Jeff considered the many tidbits of wisdom and warmth offered by President Biden. Jeff points out that Biden once again called for all wealthy people to pay their fair share of taxes but failed to define what amount or percent would be fair--even though the top 1% of earners reportedly pay nearly 50% of all income taxes. Biden offered all sorts of fantastical statements such as claiming 15 million jobs had been recreated during his tenure even though most of these jobs involved people going back to work after COVID. He also focused on the January 6th "Insurrection" which Jeff likened more to a tired (and unarmed) crowd shuffling through Disney World than a military assault on the Capitol. Adam and Jeff agreed that if they were to ever mount a successful takeover of the government, that they would first secure control over the military and the media and at least give realistic-looking toy guns to the foot soldiers. Biden also patted himself on the back for the supposed decline of the inflation rate from 9% to 3% in the past year but neglected to point out that his legislation such as the curiously-named Inflation Reduction Act had jacked up the inflation rate to 9% in the first place. They also wondered about Biden's claims to have cut the budgetary deficit by $1 billion which they suspect was a figment of his imagination when the annual deficits were projected by the CBO to exceed $1.5 trillion as far into the future as the eye could see.
Although Jeff was the only member of the Omaha Bugle staff who was fortunate enough to watch the entire State of the Union address given by President Biden, he was happy to share the many profound insights offered by the President with the listening audience. Adam, for his part, found his time to have been more profitably spent preparing a rib roast dinner and reviewing the White House transcript of the speech afterwards to uncover any nuggets of wisdom or truth. In both cases, however, Jeff and Adam were struck by the wide range of disconnected statements offered by President Biden (who appeared to be overmedicated) and the ferocity with which he attacked his political opponents. Both Adam and Jeff felt that the speech was less about the state of the union and more about demonizing Biden's political adversaries in front of an enormous television audience. The State of the Union speech was not about building bridges but instead burning bridges or blowing them up altogether. Indeed, it did not offer much in the way of solutions to any problems but seemed to indulge in an on-going fantasy about the things that a president could do in an alternate universe if only he were given dictatorial powers. Jeff believes that the speech will be cited by psychologists for years to come as an extraordinary example of primal scream therapy-- in which the President strung together a very impressive array of totally unconnected fragmentary thoughts and rants. Unfortunately, it offered little in the way of a vision for the future except to reveal that Joe Biden enjoys Snicker's bars and is very upset with shrinking snack food packages.
Seeking to answer the most daunting questions about the human condition, Adam and Jeff wonder why the American dream of owning a home is becoming more and more elusive. But they are forced to admit that housing is only one of a wide variety of basic necessities (e.g., cars, food, fuel, hush money) that are becoming more costly and, in the aggregate, making the middle class lifestyle unattainable. But why? Jeff suggests that the answer lies with the massive expansion of the money supply that the government has foisted upon the citizenry over the past 20 years, which has cut the purchasing power of the dollar in half. The sad fact is that this inflation has cascaded through the economy making people feel wealthier because their homes have doubled or tripled in value--even though their actual purchasing power has likely declined. Unfortunately, inflation increases faster than most wages so that rising prices hurt the most vulnerable members of society. Another culprit is the near-zero interest rates that persisted for more than a decade and caused enormous speculation (and inflation) in all types of assets including classy Omaha Bugle memorabilia, thus making such important items all but unattainable to nearly everyone except the superrich.
Diving into the morass of modern Anglo-American jurisprudence, the Omaha Bugle's senior correspondents, Adam and Jeff, discuss how the rule of law is absolutely crucial to the long-term success of any modern economy. They point out that companies abhor uncertainty and chaos and are extremely reluctant to invest large sums of money in new plants or hire additional workers when they fear that the laws governing their operations might be changed at a moment's notice--particularly if they are operating in a worker's paradise such as Xi's China or Putin's Russia. They also raise concerns about excessive regulations which can choke off economic activity even though these regulations might be undertaken "with the best of intentions". The advantage of being a dictator is that you do not have to worry about a pesky court invalidating your actions because you will have--if you have properly seized power--already locked up all of the judges. But such regimes in which a single person makes all the big decisions are extremely scary to entrepreneurs. Indeed, foreign investment in China, for example, has dropped off a cliff in recent years to about one-tenth (1/10th) of what it was during the COVID-19 epidemic because companies are very concerned about the arbitrary and capricious actions of the CCP which have been enacted to restrict the power and autonomy of many of China's largest companies.
Adam and Jeff wonder why the citizenry has become so disenchanted with the federal government and conclude that much of its dissatisfaction stems from the failure of elected officials to do what ordinary people must do every day--namely, live within their means. They are disturbed by the increasing tendency of the government to rely on open-ended continuing resolutions instead of actual budgets. Indeed, the fact that a single piece of legislation running 500 or 1,000 lively pages or more can be dropped on the members of Congress to be voted on within a couple of days strikes both Adam and Jeff as idiotic and reckless. The use of massive appropriations bills for such things as military aid to allies or even domestic border security in which little time is given for the legislators themselves to actually try to understand what is contained in these bills appears to Adam and Jeff to be symptomatic of a complete lack of discipline and focus in today's federal government. Adam believes that the only way to rectify this complete disregard for financial sanity in government will involve the installation of his benevolent dictatorship which is currently scheduled to be spontaneously created in the summer of 2028.
Adam and Jeff delve into the vexing questions that arise when a spoiled diplomat's son who runs over a police officer directing traffic claims diplomatic immunity. Jeff offers a scintillating history of the concept of diplomatic immunity--pointing out that it was devised to enable representatives of warring nations to confer with each other without fear of death (most of the time). Adam points out that there is a sort of sliding scale of immunity from prosecution in the diplomatic world--ambassadors not only get to attend fancy parties but they are often immune from lawsuits or searches or even having their cars towed due to parking violations. Lower level staff members are not so fortunate and may risk prosecution for comparatively minor offenses. Snotty children of diplomats who intentionally run their motorcycles into police officers are apparently offered no immunity under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and may be prosecuted for such crimes or, at the very least, declared persona non grata, and tossed out of the United States. This discussion of diplomatic immunity causes Jeff and Adam to wonder how they might obtain diplomatic immunity due to their extensive travels around the world and their desire to avoid being prosecuted for "unfortunate incidents' that sometimes arise when they drink too much in a pub. Jeff points out that the Omaha Bugle National Bank & Trust, which is always on the look out for projects that can help it become "too big to fail" in a short amount of time, might want to help by permitting Adam and Jeff to purchase a country such as Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) so that they could appoint themselves roving ambassadors and thereby avoid possible jail sentences in any countries in which the aforementioned "unfortunate incidents" occur.
Due to the numerous mishaps that occur both in government and corporate America, Adam and Jeff wonder if the problem is due to the unbridled arrogance of many in the "credentialed class"--those individuals possessing advanced degrees from overpriced universities. Indeed, Jeff offers a proposition that the quality of the decision-making in any large organization is inversely related to the number of credentialed individuals participating in that process--which he is offering to the world of knowledge free of charge. Adam talks about the Bud Lite controversy in which a transgender spokesperson was hired to pitch Bud Lite to a younger, more inclusive audience due in large part to company concerns that its traditional blue collar customers were dying off. But Jeff and Adam wonder why Bud Lite, given its enormous marketing division, did not reach out to a much wider, more inclusive audience such as women in general. Although some women already drink Bud Lite, Adam thinks it would have made far more sense to have a prominent female such as Taylor Swift (up-and-coming singer-songwriter) or even Dr. Jill Biden (EdD University of Delaware at Newark. Topic: Student Retention at the Community College: Meeting Students' Needs) do commercials showing either one of them chugging a mug of Bud Lite. Adam then recounts a number of other corporate marketing boondoggles in the past before switching to one of the most famous marketing disasters of all time--the reformulation of Coca Cola as a sweeter Pepsi-like product known as New Coke. Not only did the Coca Cola Company alienate many of its diehard customers by removing its traditional Coca Cola product from grocery store shelves for several months but it suffered a significant drop in sales due to nationwide boycotts.
President Biden continues to set dubious records with the recent report that the Border Patrol nabbed more than 250,000 illegal migrants trying to enter the United States along the pretend southern border in December 2023 alone. Adam and Jeff talk about the so-called $100 billion proposal to link a new "border security" bill with continued funding for Ukraine and Israel; these funds were apparently found in a couch in the west wing of the White House by the cleaning crew and so should not cause any concern to the three people in Washington, D.C., who still think that federal budgets should be balanced. Unfortunately, the "border security" bill does little more than to simply authorize the flow of illegal migrants to the United States, giving visas to almost anyone who can breathe and continuing to provide tax-payer funded vacations across the United States to anyone who promises that they will show up for an asylum hearing in the next ten years or so. Adam and Jeff point out that they are not anti-immigration but are certainly opposed to unfettered mass migration. Instead they support a point system used by many other countries in which potential applicants are ranked in terms of educational and critical skills so that only the best and the brightest are permitted entry. They also applaud Governor Abbot of Texas who has taken it upon himself to do everything he can to defend Texas from this illegal invasion of millions of persons while fighting a federal government that seems to have no interest in protecting its own citizenry. Jeff points out that the Great Wall of China provides an example of the way in which a big border wall can also be a profitable tourist attraction and suggests that the funding could come from the ever-growing Omaha Bugle National Bank & Trust.
Noted baby care experts Adam and Jeff weigh in on the Kyte Baby controversy in which an employee with a 22-week-old baby in NICU sought to work remotely in order to care for her baby but was told that her services would no longer be needed by the CEO. The CEO offered two apologies on Tik Tok after news of the firing went viral and, in the process, managed to anger mothers of young children throughout the country who called for a boycott of the company's products. Adam and Jeff point out that consumer boycotts have become powerful weapons that disaffected consumers can use to change corporate policies as shown by the Bud Lite fiasco in which a transgender individual was hired as a spokesperson to market Bud Lite to a younger, hipper audience that indulges in wine spritzers and hard ciders. In short, Bud Lite essentially ignored its traditional older blue collar consumers. This ham-fisted marketing approach also prompted a nationwide boycott and forced Bud Lite to cancel its marketing program altogether after the value of the parent company dropped by some $40 billion. Instead Bud Lite hurriedly roll out ads featuring lots of men carrying guns and driving fast cars (none of whom was shown taking a bubble bath while drinking a beer), prompting Adam and Jeff to volunteer to advise any company (for a hefty fee) about any future marketing campaigns beforehand so these companies can avoid shooting themselves in the foot.
Although still waiting for their nomination for the Nobel Prize in Economics to be announced, Adam and Jeff dismiss reports that the Pentagon has hired Taylor Swift to serve as a covert political operative. Aside from the fact that the story came from arch-rival Fox News which continues to flail away in a jealous rage at the ascending Omaha Bugle, neither Adam nor Jeff can understand why anyone with the personal wealth and sterling brand of an entertainer like Taylor Swift would become involved in a grubby political operation. Adam and Jeff also discuss whether she or anyone else can speak with credibility on any issue across the board because everyone has their own areas of expertise. Once you decide to venture outside of your area of knowledge, then your statements do not carry much weight and your voice ceases to be authentic--even though Adam and Jeff have never let that concern get in the way of their podcasts. Even so, a good illustration of this limitation occurs when celebrities endorse products about which they have no actual understanding such as cryptocurrencies. Jeff also provides an update as to some of the new applicants seeking loans from the rapidly-growing Omaha Bugle National Bank & Trust, one of the most interest ing of which is an interactive zoo in which visitors enjoy unprecedented "hands-on" experiences with dangerous animals. Hence, this new kind of zoo will feature exhibits that will allow tourists draped in bloody cuts of meat to swim with man-eating sharks or enable visitors to pet venomous snakes or even to wrestle grizzly bears.
In an unusual departure from the usual format of Shakespearean prose and grade-school humor, Adam and Jeff talk with Dr. Fuxian Yi about his predictions that China will not be able to overtake the United States as the leading economic global power due to its rapidly ageing population. Having polished up his command of the English language with 4 lessons from a computerized language course, Jeff reads Dr. Xi's written responses to Jeff's previously submitted questions about China's future. In short, Dr. Xi predicts that China's population will decline from almost 1.4 billion now to less than 400 million by the year 2100--thus calling into question how China can double or triple its GDP over the next few decades when there will be increasingly fewer people to work in its factories or purchase homes, appliances, cars and the complete works of the Omaha Bugle. As a result, Dr. Xi predicts that China will go the way of Japan and see its GDP and its population steadily fall. Over time, China will likely cease to be the ascendant superpower that it has so desperately sought to be for the past four decades and instead be relegated to the middle ranks of world powers. Dr. Xi also points out that few efforts to encourage Chinese couples to have more children have been successful--due in large part to the fact that any government incentives such as subsidized child-care amount to little more than a drop in the bucket when compared to the costs of raising a child to adulthood.
Adam and Jeff infuse a little culture into the Omaha Bugle by talking with Virginia-based architect Richard Forbes, well-known designer to the stars. In their usual hard-hitting style that has endeared them to millions of listeners, Adam and Jeff ask Richard if he is related to the publisher Steve Forbes. They also talk about the ways in which architects are trained and how they differ from engineers, pointing out that both carry a heavy burden because one miscalculation can mean the difference between a building that stands for hundreds of years and one that collapses the following weekend and results in all of the underlings not related to the CEO being fired. Richard recalls some of his more interesting jobs for his wealthier (and, sometimes, more eccentric) clients. Richard also talks about the clients who ask about restoring colonial-era properties to their original grandeur, unaware of the fact that this means living in candle-lit homes lacking electricity or plumbing which can burn down in a matter of minutes. Richard does provide an update on the Leaning Tower of Pisa which has apparently been stabilized, pointing out that the engineers on that job never intended to straighten the Tower up because that would have ruined the Pisa tourist trade. Richard also offers his views as to why homes are so expensive and possible ways that costs for new home-buyers can be cut--aside from moving back in with Mom and Dad. Finally, Jeff asks Richard to discuss how medieval builders managed to construct the Cathedral of Notre Dame, given the absence of cranes or mechanized equipment of any kind. He also asks Richard's advice as to how best to proceed in building a full-scale replica of the Cathedral of Notre Dame on his front lawn--due to his concerns about the bossy homeowners' association even though there is nothing in the documents that prohibits the construction of a gothic cathedral.
In preparing for their annual reverse New Year's Eve party at the Omaha Bugle in which the consumption of champagne begins three days before the ball drops in Times Square and ends exactly at midnight on New Year's Eve with a traditional stomach pumping at the local hospital, Adam and Jeff consider the boasts of the Chinese Communist Party that it will soon bury the United States based upon China's long-term double-digit economic growth rate. They point out that China, which has enjoyed an average 10 percent annual growth rate in GDP for more than three decades, has stumbled in recent years with its published growth rate barely above 2 to 3 percent per year. Leaving aside whether these government statistics are even accurate, Jeff criticizes the so-called "declinists" who have almost gleefully projected that China's GDP would continue to grow at double digit-rates for the foreseeable future, thus setting it up to displace the United States as (to use the language embedded in today's political science scholarly literature) the "numero uno bandito" in the global economic system. He characterizes the analysis of the declinists--who are among the most dour people you could ever meet--as being inadequate at best because their projections are nothng more than straight-lines extending outward for decades. Unfortunately, the declinists (who would make misery expert Robert Malthus, by comparison, appear as enthusiastic as a cruise ship activities director) fail to take into account the fact that the Chinese population is projected to drop by at least half and perhaps as much as two-thirds by the end of the century--thus cutting severely both the number of workers available to produce all of this stuff and the number of consumers able to buy all of this stuff. In short, these projections are delusional fantasies and China's economy will likely contract severely over the next several decades because there will not be enough people around to buy all the goods that it would need to make in order to overtake the economy of the United States.
Having both dug themselves out of various piles of consumer debt over the years, credit experts Adam and Jeff turn their attention to the massive $97 trillion in debt weighing down the global economy. Adam points out that even though the United States has 1/3 of the world's debt totaling $33 trillion, it has accumulated most of this debt over the past four decades. Jeff believes that our policymakers are suffering from "dissonance" in that they cannot comprehend the scope of the debt burdening the country and so they are unable to do anything to rein it in. Jeff's alternative theory is that those very same policymakers are utter morons who do not seem to care when this spiraling debt loop is going to end. Adam points out that the world's top three economies--the United States, China and Japan--are collectively responsible for nearly two-thirds of all global debt whereas there are many economic powerhouses such as Peru and Denmark that have no debt at all (even though Denmark makes very tasty sugar cookies in bullet proof tins). Jeff believes that the United States blew a golden opportunity to pay down its debt during the previous decade when financing costs were near zero percent. Unfortunately, our overlords saw the low interest rates as a wonderful opportunity to shift the government printing presses into a higher gear. The fact that the U.S. dollar is the global reserve currency has given the United States an unlimited checkbook whereby it can spend itself into oblivion. Indeed, the annual debt service of the U.S. debt is projected to exceed $1 trillion per year by 2030--an amount that exceeds even the value of Jeff's private collection of tasteful oil paintings featuring nude portraits on black velvet backgrounds.
Adam and Jeff marvel about how a Georgia jury managed to come up with a $148 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani for exercising his right of free speech because the jury employed an innovative method of piling on duplicative damage awards over and over again in order to show that they do not like him very much. Jeff wants to hire that jury to sit in on the numerous defamation suits that he and Adam are typically subjected to on an ongoing basis. In turning to the Ukraine War, Jeff wonders if the goal of policy makers is merely to bleed Russia to death, as opposed to trying to secure a victory that drives Russian forces out of Ukraine for good. They also wonder about how much longer our own hollowed out defense industries can continue to supply the Ukrainian military with arms. Adam and Jeff also offer an update on the exploding popularity of the newly chartered Omaha Bugle National Bank & Trust, which is paying people not to bank with the bank in order to further augment the bottom line and build a bank that is too big to fail in record time. This popularity is also been aided by the fact that the Bank of Lithuania handles all check processing matters for depositor at the OBNB&T which means that it can take months for the checks to clear, thus enabling depositors to live a lavish lifestyle for months on end until their checks are finally processed.
Although the Nobel Committee once again inadvertently omitted them from the list of candidates for the Nobel Prize in Economics, Adam and Jeff persevere in their efforts to educate and entertain the general public about all things financial. They consider the inflation that has been experienced by the United States over the past two years. They also discuss how all administrations try to spin any news about rising prices in the most positive way for their own political purposes. Adam cannot understand how the Consumer Price Index (CPI) can only be 4.1% as proclaimed by the Biden Administration's lackeys when nearly every component of CPI has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in the past two years. Adam and Jeff note that inflation can be eliminated immediately if one drops such things as food, rent and utilities from the CPI and instead substitutes items that have not changed greatly in value such as construction sand and brussel sprouts. Adam complains about recent increases in his home electricity bill but Jeff points out that Adam is probably receiving premium electricity and not low-grade ethanol electricity as one possible explanation. They also consider a recent article by David Stockman which claims that the purchasing power of the dollar has fallen by 45% since the year 2000 due to the printing of money; a phenomenon that is reflected in exploding prices for everything from housing to cars to the food that tastes good (but not brussel sprouts).
Noted non-banking experts Adam and Jeff continue describing the steps they will take to build up a bank that is too big to fail. They regard their lack of banking experience as a solid plus and believe that through innovative contrarian actions, they can build up a bank that will be so huge that the federal government will be too terrified to let it go under in the next economic downturn lest it pull down the entire banking system. New programs designed to fatten the bottom line include a never ending debit card that enables customers to avoid the unfortunate stigma that can occur when they are standing in line at Walmart and are unable to get their debit cards to work. Another innovative program is one in which the bank pays its customers $25 for each bounced check. The bank also offers a revolutionary "lifestyle enhancement" program due to it having hired the Bank of Lithuania to process each of its customer's checks by hand, resulting in a delay in presentment of the checks that can go on for months or even years. This nearly endless float enables those with even the most modest of incomes to live like kings because their checks--regardless of the amounts--will not be presented for payment for a very long time. Jeff also describes the highly successful program in which numerous advertisers have paid a premium so that they will not be mentioned in any way on the Omaha Bugle Global News Network. This has inspired the even more ambitious program of paying people not to bank with the OBNBT which is only serving to compound the extraordinary rate of growth that the bank is now experiencing. Jeff and Adam are somewhat concerned that their lack of experience running banks into the ground will put them at a disadvantage relative to the hotshots that have managed to run the country's largest banks into the ground over and over again but they view themselves as quick learners and expect to enjoy great success in their new banking endeavor.
Adam and Jeff talk about the views on inflation espoused by their pretend friend, David Stockman, the budget director for the Reagan Administration. Like the brain trust of the Omaha Bugle, Stockman is not particularly enthusiastic about the way in which "Bidenomics" has caused inflation to spike throughout the economy, pushing prices up on almost everything at a rate not seen since the late 1970s. Adam and Jeff are also puzzled how the official CPI rate as announced by Biden's Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has remained at 4.1% when nearly every component of the CPI has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled since that triumphant day on which Joe Biden was wheeled into office. Jeff points out that the CPI depends on the types of constituent goods in the index as well as the time period being considered and can, of course, be easily manipulated by government minions who are always trying to paint even the most failed economic policies in a bright shining light. Jeff and Adam agree that the CPI can be reconstituted to show virtually no inflation overnight by dumping such luxury items as food, rent, and utility costs and substituting in their place other essential items such as steel bars and playground sand. Although they acknowledge that it is difficult to live on playground sand, one can always buy some seeds and make a nice vegetable garden. The bigger issue, of course, is that inflation is always the result of too much money chasing too few goods: Stockman points out that the purchasing power of the dollar has declined 45% since 2000 due to an average annual increase of 13%+ in the money supply over the past two decades. Unfortunately, no one in the Washington bubble seems to understand that massive inflation is bad and ultimately harms the most vulnerable members of society including those broadcasters at the Omaha Bugle would would like to make friends with David Stockman.
The Omaha Bugle's senior correspondents, Jeff and Adam, announce that the Omaha Bugle Global News Network is establishing a new kind of bank that will ultimately take a very unorthodox path to grow very big very quickly and thus become "too big to fail." Once the Omaha Bugle National Bank & Trust or OBNBT (pronounced ob . neb . ta) opens its doors, it will offer CD and savings accounts rates that are far above its competitors while throwing in gifts to new depositors such as toasters, flat screen TVs, and thirsty cotton robes monogrammed with "OBNBT", making it that perfect Valentine's Day gift. As the goal is to build the bank to a collossal size in a very brief time and thus ensure that it will be subsidized by the federal government forever, the OBNBT will also seek to acquire other banks--but only those banks that are spiraling into bankruptcy. As such, the OBNBT will be a contrarian financial institution with the goal of becoming the black hole of the American financial system and thus so important that the government will never let it go out of business but instead subsidize it to the tune of billions and billions of dollars. For example, Adam points out that the bank will utilize "blue-lining", an innovative technique whereby blue lines are drawn on maps around communities that boast well-to-do-consumers who are likely to pay their loans back. However, the bank will avoid those areas like the plague and seek borrowers who are not interested in making monthly payments at all but who consider loan defaults to be a badge of honor. Moreover, Adam states that borrowers will be evaluated based upon a proprietary inverse credit score standard; the lower the score, the better your chance for approval. Because many banks have failed with career bankers at the helm, Adam and Jeff, who have absolutely no banking experience at all, will guide the fortunes of the OBNBT but will make sure that they get their performance bonuses paid in cash (not bank stock) ahead of time--just in case things go sideways with the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Noted experts about everything, Jeff and Adam, consider the factors that caused several would-be challengers to America's global preeminence to ultimately fail. The Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, and China in the 2000s and 2010s, all burst onto the scene with supercharged economic growth rates coupled with increasing populations. From there, it was only a matter of time before the "declinists" (the Debby Downers of the American political and media establishment) decided that they could extrapolate the growth rates of each of these prospective rivals out 20 or 30 or even 40 years to conclude that the American economy would be lapped by two or three times and ultimately sink to the status of a second-tier power. Unfortunately, the real world, as Adam and Jeff are quick to point out, invariably gets in the way of these neat projections and the ambitions of the newest bully on the block (most recently, China) invariably run aground. Jeff points out that you can project any country's growth rate out to infinity so that even tiny tourist hotspots such as Liechtenstein could eventually overtake the United States's economy if it continued to grow at a faster rate for enough centuries.
The Omaha Bugle continues its efforts to carry the torch of Western civilization by sitting down with retired Brigadier General Chris Eddy, who is running for Congress against incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz--well known for her innovative hair styles and her inability to keep up with her laptop. Chris states that he is running on a fiscal responsibility plank because the growing national debt is now increasing by nearly $2 trillion per year. Chris believes that the biggest issues are the lack of leadership and trust in government which stems from the inept mismanagement of the economy by our Washington D.C., overlords. Jeff asks Chris about how we can get more weapons for the same dollars and rebuild our Navy before it gets eclipsed by the principality of Liechtenstein. They also talk about the fact that the massive shipments of weapons to Ukraine have left American weapon stocks dangerously low--which President Joe Biden was happy to point out to all of our potential adversaries. Chris also criticizes costly open-ended government mandates such as unrealistic appliance efficiency ratings which are little more than blatant power grabs by all-knowing, heavily-credentialed federal bureaucrats. Because the interest on the federal debt is now threatening to exceed the annual defense budget, Chris believes that the United States must get its fiscal house in order if it hopes to continue being able to project power across the globe. Otherwise, it will soon find itself unable to respond to the aggressive actions of nasty adversaries such as China and Russia. Chris also politely declines Jeff's request to be made emperor of Florida if Chris gets elected to Congress--which probably means that Chris will not be visiting the studios of the Omaha Bugle anytime soon.
In the hopes of saving the United States from the clutches of the highly-degreed overlords who know very little about actual governance and appear to be completely devoid of common sense, Adam offers additional policy positions for his benevolent dictatorship. In short, Adam explains how he would end our dependence on foreign oil, pursue a foreign policy that avoids costly nation-building in places where nations do not exist, modernize our national infrastructure, and limit graft and corruption in government to a few of his closest advisors. Jeff points out that if Adam is inclined to dole out a few states to his allies, then Jeff would like to have either Montana or Wyoming since those are the states the house America's land-based ICBMs. That way, Jeff can deal with any problems created by those ornery Canadians before they become unmanageable.
In the interest of helping to elect candidates who should not be locked up in rubber-walled rooms, Adam and Jeff continue their interview with Chris Eddy, Republican candidate for Florida's 25th Congressional district. They talk about the need to secure the southern border with Jeff pointing out that borders can be easily secured as shown by East Germany. Of course it is easier to deter would-be border crossers if you shoot them but Jeff and Adam and Chris agree that actual physical barriers coupled with economic disincentives to illegal entrants could solve the border issue very quickly. They also talk about the so-called "green theology" that seems to have infected the brains of many Washington politicians where taking economically idiotic measures such as mandating impossible efficiency standards on household appliances is the goal regardless of how many people are harmed by these policies. Chris reveals that people in his district are extremely frustrated by and distrustful of the government and its mismanagement of the economy. In particular, many voters are sick of the two-tiered system of justice in which conservatives are targeted for harassment and, in some cases, legal warfare.
Always on the cutting edge of all important cultural trends, Adam and Jeff talk about the recurring tendencies of otherwise intelligent people to become caught up in manias in which they will pay almost any price to purchase an item that a 5-year old child would think is worthless. Jeff points out that humans have an infinite capacity to rationalize incredibly stupid decisions whether they involve investing in absurdly overpriced assets or implementing government policies that have failed repeatedly in the past while hoping for a different outcome. Adam suggests that the Federal Reserve's repeated flooding of the economy with essentially worthless dollars has not contributed to any meaningful increase in physical output but instead made everyone a little wealthier on paper but probably resulted in a lower standard of living. Peter Drucker is quoted for his insight that when businesses run out of ideas, they try to merge with other businesses--most of whom have also run out of ideas so that everyone can go down the tubes together.
Distinguished maritime strategists and self-mutilation hobbyists, Adam and Jeff, consider the alarming 50-year trend in which the United States Navy has shrunk from nearly 1,000 ships to less than 300 ships today. Jeff points out that the freedom of the seas that we take for granted and which permits enormous quantities of commodities and goods to be shipped around the world is really a recent post-World War II phenomena. Indeed, the high seas have historically been infested by pirates and other bad actors who have plundered ships from all nations. Nowadays, nations such as China have become the new "pirates" of the seas, threatening their neighbors and laying claim to vast swaths of the high seas in violation of international law. China has the world's largest navy by ship count but no one knows how good it would perform in wartime. Drawing on his vast experience as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve in college, Jeff suggests that it might be better for the U.S. Navy to focus on building larger numbers of smaller ships and not tie up so much money with its carrier groups--which may be increasingly vulnerable to massive drone attacks. Adam and Jeff also consider whether the Omaha Bugle could acquire a bunch of armed drones and extort millions of dollars from competing media companies such as CNN and CBS.
Noted geopolitical analysts and tequila enthusiasts, Adam and Jeff, turn their collective attention to the recent slaughter of more than 1,500 Israelis by Hamas terrorists crossing into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7th. Jeff points out that that mainstream media beacons of journalistic integrity in the United States such as the New York Times and the Washington Post seem to be content to rely primarily on Hamas press releases so that they can write their articles quickly and efficiently--without having to bother with annoying tasks like checking facts and possibly even talking to the Israelis themselves. Jeff and Adam find it sad that there are still many journalists urging that Israel not respond or simply declare a cease fire or somehow work with the Palestinians themselves to isolate Hamas--an approach that has been tried without any success for decades.
In yet another thought-provoking discussion about the do's and don't of investing in commercial real estate, Adam and Jeff talk about how a buyer who has put a property under contract may not wish to trust the seller's assurances that the property is "fabulous!" but instead bring in some professionals to evaluate the property. There are a number of companies that will help prospective buyers figure out whether the property is "fabulous!" or has one or more problems such as an unmarketable title or a stew of hazardous wastes on it that render it worthless even though it glows with many colors at night. Jeff points out that a buyer will want to have an inspection company look at the property and the building to see if there are any subtle concerns such as a missing roof or a floor that has disappeared into a sinkhole. A surveyor will determine if anything is encroaching on the boundaries of the property or, indeed, if the property has actual boundaries. Hazardous waste inspections will looks for signs that the seller may have dumped some volatile chemicals in the back to save on his waste disposal fees. Finally, the title company will comb the public records and determine if the property has been adversely impacted by prior owners in such a way that it cannot be used for the purposes intended by the buyer. Assuming that everything goes well with the inspections, then the purchaser can approach the bank and beg for enough money to help close the deal. Adam points out that banks are always happy to lend a helping hand except when you actually need a helping hand.
In a move that has shocked both the political world and the corporate board of the Omaha Bugle, Adam announced the start of his 2028 campaign to become benevolent dictator of the United States. Because the word "dictator" can have unpleasant connotations due to misunderstood historical figures such as Hitler, Stalin and Mao-- who were collectively responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people--Adam outlines some of the policies that he will immediately adopt once he is swept into office on a wave of public adoration and idolatry. With an eye toward making America number one in all things that matter, he proposes to fire the Congress, dismantle the federal bureaucracy, merge the different military branches into a single force with non-duplicative weapons systems, eliminate the IRS and replace it with a 10% national sales tax, and get rid of all preferences in hiring throughout society. In the interim, he will also beef up his personal security detail to thwart any efforts to derail his march to absolute (but friendly) power.
Adam and Jeff demonstrate their intellectual versatility by venturing into the Orwellian world of digital currencies. More specifically, they wonder what good can possibly come from the government, discontinuing actual, tangible dollars in favor of a digital currency that is controlled by the Federal Reserve. They argue that digital currencies may be a solution in search for a problem because most people are fearful that the government could shut down the cash economy and then be able to control every transaction engaged in by every citizen. Jeff declares that he is not a fan of this sort of financial voyeurism and worries that it is merely a pretext to seize control of every citizen’s bank account and thereby strongly encourage or discourage particular political activities.
The Omaha Bugle‘s senior correspondents, Adam and Jeff, examine the wisdom of the government’s latest efforts to convince people to give up their comparatively efficient gas appliances in favor of electrical appliances in order to save the world from a global climate catastrophe. Or at least make them feel more socially virtuous for a while. The use of efficiency mandates promulgated by untouchable government bureaucrats is a basic strategy of the new green theology. Adam and Jeff wonder if any of these green theocrats have ever thought about the consequences of their actions in terms of costs and benefits, or if it is all simply a good, old-fashioned power grab. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be do not seem to understand that their attempts to make everything electric merely overloads an already-creaky grid that is still powered largely by fossil fuels.
In continuing their Award-winning series on commercial real estate as recently recognized by the Azerbaijan Academy of Arts and Sciences, Adam and Jeff discuss the sad fact that there are not very many sellers who seriously underprice their properties. Unfortunately, there is also an acute shortage of stupid rich buyers who will happily overpay for any nondescript piece of real estate. Because both sides tend to arm themselves with financial and legal advisors and other buzz-killers, the parties to any commercial real estate transaction have to be willing to be realistic about the value of the property they are trying to exchange. Jeff points out that real estate--unlike stocks or bonds--is a tangible asset that will not typically lose half its value in a single day. But real estate is also illiquid and cannot be easily hidden from the view of nosey revenue agents. Adam and Jeff also point out that they type of real estate you want to own depends on your own risk tolerance and your need for higher income. The lower the risk, the lower the return.
Always eager to show off their knowledge of all things related to real estate, Adam and Jeff continue discussing basic considerations for investors anxious to buy income-generating property. They point out that it is dangerous to make sweeping statements about real estate investing because there are numerous markets throughout the country and various product types (multi-family apartments, office buildings, industrial properties, shopping malls, etc.) that can be a good investment in one market and a financial weapon of mass destruction (for the owner) in another market. Banks like multifamily apartments because of the many tenants and the incentives they have to pay their rent so that they do not get tossed out by their heartless landlords. Industrial properties are also a flavor of the day because they are simple to operate and do not typically require a lot of tenant improvement expenditures. Jeff cautions that if you are planning to invest in a real estate project with others, that you should take any projections about the project with a grain of salt because no projection has ever been correct in recorded history. Adam talks about his dislike for hotels as an investment because they, like restaurants, are very time-intensive and can become an all-consuming enterprise that still may not make much money.
Adam and Jeff, who pride themselves on knowing almost everything about everything, turn to the wonderful world of commercial real estate and take their listeners on a gripping, scintillating trip through the due diligence process buyers use to investigate prospective acquisitions. Adam points out that sometimes sellers exaggerate or even outright lie about the features and characteristics of their property but Jeff points out that mere puffery ("This is the best property on the block") is not a quantitative statement of fact. Buyers of commercial real estate conduct physical inspections of the property to make sure that it has a floor, walls and a roof as well as plumbing and electricity. Environmental companies are usually hired to see if there are any signs of contamination on the property itself or any nearby properties. Adam and Jeff point out that you should never love a building so much that you skip the inspections because such a drastic move will almost invariably bite you in the rear end. Jeff also points out that kind-hearted bankers willing to finance your purchase will make you promise to indemnify them forever for any environmental contamination on the property--and forever is a long time.
Adam and Jeff, who are both known for their fondness for Chinese cuisine, wander into the debate over whether China is fudging its economic statistics to puff up its presence on the global scene. They discuss how the media and the government have sounded the alarm about a series of ten-foot-tall adversaries beginning with the Soviet Union in the 1950s, Japan in the 1980s and China in the 2000s to prove that the United States is going down the tubes. The fact that China reports steady growth year after year, decade after decade is questioned and compared to the above-market financial returns that were claimed by Bernie Madoff for nearly a generation. They cite studies by economists showing that China's real growth is probably at least 2% per year less than that claimed by the CCP, thus indicating China's economy may be much smaller than it has previously claimed. Adam and Jeff also talk about China's dropping its youth unemployment statistics because they exceeded 20% and point out that it is nothing new for governments to bend the truth with the selective use of statistics.
Noted social activists and corporate apologists Adam and Jeff talk about the prevalence of identity politics and the way in which it has caused certain groups to overreach and thus alienate much of the general population. They discuss the Bud Lite fiasco where the company's marketing geniuses essentially ignored their core audience by hiring a trans spokesperson to try to reach a younger, wine-sipping audience that has no real interest in beer. The assault on women's athletics by biological male competitors is also considered with Jeff attributing the blame to the sanctioning authorities who allow male athletes to compete in women's events. Although the American public is generally sympathetic and fair-minded, Adam and Jeff point out that there is only so much in the way of preferential treatment that they will tolerate. Adam declares that his benevolent dictatorship will not give any preferences to any cronies but will hire only those persons who are the best and the brightest--thus disappointing Jeff who was hoping to be named the Viceroy of Montana.
In a departure from the usual hard news format at the Omaha Bugle news desk, Adam and Jeff talk about some of their favorite cars and trucks over the years. Adam gets misty-eyed talking about several of the pick-up trucks that he enjoyed in his earlier, carefree years, before having to shoulder the burden of media superstardom. Jeff also talks about some of his favorite and not-so-favorite vehicles including one car that had a clairvoyant electrical system that would invariably shut down on interstate highways and another car that featured a lovely peeling silver exterior with an elegant red velvet interior. Jeff also recalls the time one of his cars was recalled due to leaky glass ceiling panels (which it did not have beforehand) only to find after leaving the dealership that the unnecessary repairs had been made so that the ceiling did in fact now leak. As a result, he was able to enjoy being drenched in a rainshower while driving his car with the windows up. Adam and Jeff also revisit the unanswered offer made by the Omaha Bugle to Taylor Swift to hire her to rewrite the opening overture of the show and wonder if she might be able to bolster her career by teaming up with another goody-two shoe performer such as Ted Nugent or Ozzy Osborne.
Always ready to pass their wisdom onto the millions of listeners who hang onto their every word, Adam and Jeff discuss how the the real estate market and, indeed, the economy as whole, goes through 7-10 year business cycles over and over again. Jeff points out that lower interest rates do not necessarily lead to better deals because crafty buyers simply raise the prices of their real estate properties accordingly. The problem with the proliferation of new apartment buildings throughout the country is that they are so expensive to build that the average family has no hope of affording the monthly rents. Adam and Jeff suggest that this overbuilding is no different than overbuilding in the past because major real estate projects take so many years to design, permit, and construct. Adam points out that developers have resorted to requiring condo buyers to put half of the purchase price down ahead of time because the banks do not want to finance real estate construction any more. As a result, the builders are able to use buyer deposits to construct the buildings. If things go bad, then the prospective condo buyers--not the banks--will be the ones who suffer the loss.
In the wake of the third set of criminal indictments being issued against Donald Trump for his actions contesting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, Adam and Jeff put on their thinking caps to discuss whether the American justice system has become irretrievably broken. They also talk about how the grand jury system works and the ease with which an indictment can be secured. Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret and orchestrated by the prosecutor. Jeff points out that there are also fewer limits on the types of evidence that can be heard by the grand jury as compared to a traditional court case. He also wonders why prosecutors are spending so much of their limited budgets on such weak cases. Adam asks whether these lawsuits are motivated by the prosecutors' own post-office ambitions.
Noted constitutional scholars Adam and Jeff discuss the latest twists and turns in the on-going series of indictments being filed against Donald Trump. Jeff points out the inconvenient fact that a losing candidate can seek to overturn an election through legal means without being indicted for "attempting to defraud the United States." They both wonder if these indictments against Trump are nothing more than an on-going war of attrition being waged by the Biden Administration against its leading political nemesis. They also see the danger of legitimate rights of protest being criminalized in all spheres of everyday life. Adam points out the curious timing between ominous news being released about the Biden family's financial dealings and yet another indictment being issued against Trump. Adam also mentions that it is not a crime to be a "sore loser" in a political campaign even though Hillary Clinton would probably being a leading candidate to be prosecuted under any new "sore loser" laws.
Noted etiquette experts and taxidermy hobbyists, Adam and Jeff, discuss the vast profusion of etiquette courses for "couth-challenged" employees in corporate America. Employees are being taught how to make polite conversation and write professional (e.g., coherent) emails because they apparently missed those lessons at school. Jeff believes that many younger workers are ill-mannered due to their isolation growing up when they spent most of their time by themselves gaming and writing political manifestos on the internet. Sadly, they did not learn valuable social skills by playing games in their frontyards with the neighborhood kids because such activities are now apparently illegal throughout the country. Although Jeff is concerned that his words will be seen as "micro-aggressions" due to his membership in the "patriarchy," he believes that these problems stem from our society becoming one in which mere participation is rewarded with 5 foot tall trophies and slavish praise. Adam is pleased to announce to Barbie fans that they can rent a "Barbie office" in Miami that is completely decorated in Barbie pink. Indeed, Jeff acknowledges the advertising juggernaut that is the recently-released Barbie movie and notifies program listeners that the wife of the chairman of the Omaha Bugle has decorated the newsroom in Barbie pink and required Adam and Jeff to wear Barbie pink suits.
The Omaha Bugle's famed economic commentators, Adam and Jeff, discuss a recent article by David Stockman, former head of the Office of Management and Budget under the Reagan Administration, that industrial production has essentially been flat for the past 15 years. Jeff points out that the Industrial Production Index, known by the snappy acronym "IPI," has not changed at all since the end of 2007. This result suggests that the industrial sector of the economy has not grown at all during this time. Unfortunately, the government's propensity to overspend continued unabated during this same time period, increasing the national debt from $10 trillion in 2007 to the lofty $32 trillion that it totals today. Despite this massive fiscal and monetary stimulus, Americans have little in the way of material wealth to show for this massive spending spree. Jeff suggests that we can get out of this predicament by following the advice of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and requiring every one of the nation's 22 million millionaires to "pay their fair share" of the national debt which would only cost about $1.5 million each. However, neither Adam nor Jeff are confident that wiping out the national debt would deter our freewheeling government spendthrifts from simply firing up the printing presses once again and continuing on as they have before.
Adam and Jeff talk about the Big Mac Index which was first introduced by The Economist to compare consumer purchasing power in different countries. This vaunted measure shows how expensive a single Big Mac is in over a hundred countries around the world to help Big Mac enthusiasts find the best deals for Big Macs and thereby hone their travel plans. Although Big Macs tend to be more expensive in wealthier countries such as Switzerland, this index is not a foolproof guide for making all lifetime business decisions. Jeff points out that Big Macs could serve as an asset-backed currency that could replace today's fiat currencies that are backed by nothing more than crossed fingers and fervent prayers. However, the disadvantages of carrying a Big Mac around in a billfold or trying to shove it into a vending machine would weigh against its widespread adoption as a global currency.
After enjoying a fine meal at the local steak house, Adam and Jeff discuss the newest craze in the food industry--meat grown in laboratories. They consider the pros and cons of lab-grown meat and are unsure whether children will fight over the six drumsticks of a Thanksgiving turkey grown in a metal tank. They also wonder if lab-grown meat is another form of virtue-signaling whereby people who profess to love animals and hate meat can enjoy these products without all of the attendant guilt. The costs of lab-grown meat are compared to those of traditional livestock. Jeff is concerned that the fact that a 1 lb. steak can be grown in a lab in eight weeks as compared to the roughly 3 1/2 years that it takes a beef cow to reach maturity may create some unforeseen gastrointestinal issues for consumers.
Adam and Jeff discuss the recent 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Biden Administration's plan to forgive $400 billion in student loans. Unfortunately for the free-wheeling President Biden, the Court ruled that he does not have the authority to waive his magic wand and make loan obligations of up to 46 million borrowers disappear. Because the U.S. Congress is empowered to appropriate money, the Court concluded that it is also the only branch of government that is authorized to forgive debts, particularly when they run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Adam and Jeff wonder why the geniuses running the White House think it is a good idea to saddle the unpaid loan obligations of those who chose to attend college on those who either did not attend college or who did attend college and paid off their student loans. They also point out that Biden's loan forgiveness program seemed to be little more than a blatant attempt by the Administration to pander to a large constituency of voters--regardless of the amount of stress it could cause the economy as a whole.
The Board of Directors of the Omaha Bugle authorizes Jeff and Adam to offer $1,000.00 to Taylor Swift, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter, to compose a new overture for the show. Adam even tries to sweeten the offer by offering to give Taylor a few master-class guitar lessons. Jeff and Adam then discuss the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action programs in college admissions. Jeff believes that this impact will be felt more at the most prestigious schools because most second-tier colleges are having difficulty simply filling up their classes and will likely admit almost anyone who can "fog a mirror and write a check. " Jeff also argues that there is no codified discriminatory laws in existence that would support any claims that America is systematically racist. Indeed, the Supreme Court seemed to view affirmative action as having outlived its usefulness because there is no logical endpoint to these sorts of preferential programs.
Adam and Jeff discuss the recent settlement of income tax evasion charges by Hunter Biden in which he was given probation if he promised to try very hard to pay his taxes in the future. Jeff acknowledges that Hunter Biden must have had very good lawyers because the typical outcome of a tax evasion charge is a lengthy trial with the attendant public ridicule followed by a few years in a federal prison. Adam doubts that any member of the Omaha Bugle would have received such lenient treatment. Adam and Jeff point out that the IRS is not shy about sending notices warning of tax liens being filed against a taxpayer's property when it determines that taxes are owed. The fact that it took 5 years to resolve these charges against Hunter Biden raises some questions (not really) as to whether there is a different standard of justice for some individuals and not others--depending on their family connections. Jeff also announces that the Omaha Bugle is trying to persuade America's favorite couple, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to become roving social commentators so that they can offer their keen insights on the issues most important to everyday Americans.
Still smarting from not having been invited to the bigwig economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, Adam and Jeff consider some of the changes caused by globalization over the past 30 years. They also discuss whether a country with no democratic tradition (name any country that the United States military has ventured into in the past 50 years) can become a functioning, self-sustaining democracy. The current arguments over "climate change" formerly known as "global warming" formerly known as "global cooling" are recounted by Adam and Jeff. They conclude that climate change has been going on as long as the earth has existed; the debate is over the extent to which humans are contributing to what many believe are increasingly volatile weather patterns.
China's continuing threats against Taiwan, its Asian neighbors and, basically, the rest of the world except for a few scattered grubby dictatorships and thugocracies illustrate its hostility to the current international legal and economic system. Renowned armchair geopolitical experts Adam and Jeff consider the likelihood that China could successfully invade Taiwan even though it has never historically projected military power very far beyond its borders. The United States, by contrast, has utilized its worldwide military presence to become involved in one remote war after enough, usually in countries lacking luxury hotels and Michelin-rated restaurants. Jeff also points out that the highly-successful Rent-A-Royal program is reaching out to Prince Harry in view of his having lost a $20 million Spotify deal so that Harry could supplement his income by cutting ribbons at a couple of fast food restaurants and perhaps attending the occasional wedding as a "plus one." Finally, Jeff bemoans the fact that Tucker Carlson has still not shown up for work, despite the proximity of his shared cubicle to the office vending machines.
The grossly-overpaid podcasting dream team of Adam and Jeff wonder why Joe Biden keeps falling down flights of stairs. They conclude that his recent mishaps are probably not merely his personal renditions of traditional Serbo-Croatian folk dances. Jeff points out that the Biden family, which is renowned throughout the world for its business prowess, is missing out on the opportunity to have President Biden be the "face" of the company that markets medical alert devices that go off whenever the wearer falls down. Adam and Jeff rack their brains to come up with safer ways to get President Biden up the stairs of Air Force One including building a special golden throne that the President could sit upon while being lifted upward by four swarthy attendants accompanied by the sounds of "Hail to the Chief."
Adam and Jeff discuss whether corporations should donate company funds to charities of any sort. Because companies are owned by shareholders, they argue that the corporate officers themselves should not be able to allocate monies for their own pet projects or political causes. They also look at the Bud Lite marketing debacle whereby Anheuser-Busch hired a trans activist to reach a new younger progressive audience which does not drink beer while also managing to alienate their core conservative blue-collar audience. They also talk about some of America's worst charities.
With cryptocurrencies posing a possible threat to the currency monopoly enjoyed by national governments, Adam and Jeff discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages of a digital currency backed by the full faith and credit (or whatever is left of it) of the United States. Both are skeptical that there is any real benefit to be obtained by a full-blown switch to a digital currency because it would allow well-meaning nosy government bureaucrats to track every expenditure made by every citizen. More to the point, if the government knows how you spend every dollar, then they can tax every dollar as well. Adam and Jeff are not overly confident that the government would use the additional tax dollars any better than they have in the past. They are also concerned that such information could be used to construct a social credit system similar to that now being used in the sunny worker's paradise of China in which each individual's actions can be penalized or rewarded based upon the favorability with which they are viewed by the all-knowing government overlords.
Adam and Jeff (who are not known for their mathematical skills or their ability to solve a Rubik's cube) examine whether mathematics is racist. They suggest that the fact that much of modern mathematics was created by European pigment-deprived men does not mean that mathematics itself should be viewed as somehow hostile to non-white minorities. The claims of racism seems to be more a sociological argument which focuses on disparate achievement levels in mathematics by different ethnic groups. However, Adam and Jeff suggest that trying to dumb down mathematics in the name of equity so that everyone can pass the same class exams is nothing more than bigotry; those arguing in favor of equal outcomes apparently do not believe that non-white students can learn mathematics. Jeff thinks that the equality of outcome argument is a byproduct of our society become less disciplined and less appreciative of the value of an education, particularly one that includes rigorous topics such as mathematics, chemistry and physics--even though he acknowledges that the United States is producing thousands of world-class gamers.
Adam and Jeff discuss recent negotiations by the corporate offices to bring an up-and-coming talent named Tucker Carlson to the Omaha Bugle so he can learn first-hand about becoming a hard-hitting journalist. Jeff talks about China's recent role in helping Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to restore diplomatic relations--at least until they decide to sever them again. China's recent offer to try to mediate an end the Russia-Ukraine was is also pooh-poohed by our erudite broadcasters as Ukraine wants all of its territory back and Russia want to keep those parts of Ukraine including Crimea that it has illegally occupied. China's approach is to offer platitudes about respecting each nation's territorial integrity but not specifying if that means respecting what would be Russia's new territorial borders if it were to keep the occupied lands in Ukraine. Because Russia and China have pledged to be best friends forever (BFF), China's role as an impartial peacemaker is dubious at best. Because China is not known for doing anything altruistic, Ukraine and the West are suspicious that China is really just trying give its BFF a face-saving way out. Whether Putin--the man responsible for wreaking such death and destruction on Ukraine--deserves a face-saving solution (as opposed to a war crimes trial) is highly debatable.
Adam and Jeff congratulate the newly-crowned King Charles but are still somewhat bitter about having been left off the guest list. The coronation organizers' failure to coordinate scheduling times with the broadcasting segments of the Omaha Bugle is pointed out. Adam suggests that the challenge for King Charles is to make the monarchy more relevant and more efficient in a less-deferential age. Adam and Jeff complain about the lack of royal etiquette in that neither King Charles nor his toadies have bothered to return any calls from the Omaha Bugle ever since he got his big promotion. The on-going popularity of the Rent-A-Royal program is discussed with kudos to Prince Andrew who will show up at events ranging from weddings, funerals, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies for newly-opened fast food restaurants. Jeff also talks about the Omaha Bugle's ill-fated attempt to embrace British cuisine in the company cafeteria featuring such delicacies as tripe and haggis--which sent several interns to the emergency room. Adam and Jeff wish King Charles well and hope that he can establish his own unique and heartwarming style.
Adam and Jeff discuss the always popular battles that occur on Capitol Hill every year or so about increasing the debt ceiling. Although the debt ceiling was created to require Congress to go on record to approve ever-greater spending, it does not seem to have deterred too many politicians from larding up the system. Adam and Jeff believe drunken sailors are unfairly maligned as example of irresponsible spending when they in fact do not spend more money than they have on hand whereas the geniuses that run the federal government do not let such mundane issues as the amount of revenues received constrain their profligate ways. They also talk about the true peril posed by ever-increasing deficit spending--the huge increases in the costs of financing the national debt. They also express concern about the proposed creation of a national digital currency which would enable the powers-that-be to monitor every financial transaction carried out by every individual and--not surprisingly--tax every such transaction.
Recent decisions by California and Oregon to allow homeless people camping in front of residences and businesses to sue property owners for "harassment" are considered by Adam and Jeff. Would social justice warriors be so enthusiastic to have homeless camps in their own neighborhoods? Do government officials even try to solve intractable problems such as homelessness or do they merely want to look like they are trying to do something? Why are some states doubling down on self-destructive policies that are driving aways hundreds of thousands of taxpayers? Do people care more about not infringing upon the rights of homeless individuals than they do about actually helping these same persons through more "coercive" approaches such as providing housing with security guards and implementing strict personal conduct rules?
The Omaha Bugle broadcast considers whether the concept of moral hazard exists in an age where the federal government seems hell-bent on rescuing every bank from every self-inflicted wound. Adam and Jeff wonder who decides which banks survive and which banks are allowed to go out of business. They are surprised that the people in power at both the banks and the federal government invariably forget about the circumstances that led to the previous banking crisis. They are also shocked that such smart people seem to do such stupid things in terms of bank management over and over again. Adam and Jeff conclude that they should open up the Omaha Bugle Bank because they could not do any worse than the credentialed "geniuses" who have managed to destroy trillions of dollars of shareholder value in numerous failed banking ventures over the past few decades.
Adam and Jeff talk about the latest digital dump of classified documents and draw comfort from the Pentagon's soothing assurances that it will not happen again--at least not this week. They also wonder why a Department of Defense budget of nearly $800 billion apparently does not have much funding for designing software to compartmentalize document retrieval systems. Adam thinks we were far more secure during World War II when anyone who wanted to steal a classified document had to sneak into the building in which it was stored and then physically remove it or photograph it page by page and then escape without getting caught. Jeff thinks that there are too many bureaucrats in the Pentagon who have too much access to classified documents; this problem is further compounded by the fact that many individuals are accessing classified documents from remote locations using their laptops. Unfortunately, these laptops tend to get left behind in hotel rooms, restaurants, planes, and massage parlors.
Adam talks about the trauma of nearly being banned from Facebook due to his having posted a quote by an urban terrorist named Benjamin Franklin. Jeff wonders if the Facebook punk determining the worthiness of Adam's posting even knows anything about Benjamin Franklin. Adam and Jeff point out that many people would simply prefer to silence individuals having opposing points of view because it is far less taxing than actually debating the merits of a given topic. Both Adam and Jeff see the arrest of Donald Trump for paying a stripper hush money as the newest level of vindictiveness by politicians who are trying to prosecute Trump for crimes that either do not exist or have already been barred by the statute of limitations. They also wonder how the district attorney prosecuting Trump was able to run on a platform to get Trump and still have any credibility as an impartial public servant. The danger of this "banana republic" vindictiveness in going after a former President so that he cannot win another presidential election is also considered, particularly once the karmic wheel rolls back around the other way.
Adam and Jeff acknowledge that their office jobs which require them to labor under harsh florescent lighting and bear the discomfort of irregular air-conditioning cycles are, surprisingly, not among the most dangerous jobs in the world. Indeed, the U.S. government has published a survey that states the top U.S. job in terms of deaths per 100,000 workers is logging, followed by fishing and hunting. Jeff points out that the perils of logging are accentuated by the fact that very big trees can fall on loggers who happen to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fishers, by contrast, can be hit by swinging crab pots or whipsawing winch lines or simply fall overboard. However, these jobs are a walk in the park compared to that of the Russian oligarch, whose members frequently die under what cynical individuals would consider to be "suspicious" circumstances such as falling out of hotel windows, dying from drug-induced heart attacks, hangings, and suicides involving dozens of gunshot wounds.
The Omaha Bugle's highest-paid correspondents, Adam von Romer and Jeff Weaver, discuss President Biden's most recent executive order which is designed to promote "equity" and support underserved communities even though it has, by its own statement, no legal effect. They conclude that this executive order is little more than a sop to the far-left wing of the Democratic Party. Jeff points out that executive orders are little more than presidential vanity projects because they typically get overturned by the next administration. Moreover, this executive order is geared to combatting "racial inequality" by essentially encouraging redistributive justice (e.g., money) by using terms such as "underserved communities" to avoid ethnic or racial terms that would be struck down by a court. Although this order has received a lot of attention, Jeff considers it as nothing more than a puff piece that has no real teeth and does not divert from the antics that the equity police in the federal government have already been involved with up to this point for many years.
Adam and Jeff discuss China's most recent statements blaming the United States for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They point out that China--which is seeking to end the liberal economic trading system--has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the open markets that have been encouraged and protected by the United States for the past seven decades. China's vulnerability to any oil supply disruptions and its heavy reliance on the export markets of the countries it routinely insults and attacks are highlighted. They also discuss China's hyper-aggressive reaction to any real or imaginary challenges posed by other countries and conclude that China is not a warm and friendly country that has any actual allies in the real world. As such, it is vulnerable economically to concerted actions by the West even though its shrieky representatives do not seem to know when they should stop their endless diatribes. Adam and Jeff conclude that the war in Ukraine has become one of attrition, much like the trench warfare of World War I in which both sides have dug into fortified positions in the eastern four provinces that Russia illegally annexed. As such, there may be no real prospect for ending the war so long as President Putin remains in power.
Adam and Jeff discuss the international crisis caused by the Chinese balloon laden with spy equipment that recently floated across North America before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. Jeff wonders whether our defense dollars are being well-spent if we cannot detect a slow-moving "hostile" balloon before it crosses over U.S. territory. Adam and Jeff think that China should have plastered "Happy Birthday Britney!" on the balloon so that it could have plausibly denied any involvement with the balloon. As an alternative, Jeff suggests that the CCP should have offered a young boy named Han to the news media to formally apologize for his Heath-kit balloon floating out of his backyard near Beijing and crossing the ocean in order to deflect blame from the Chinese government. Because the Biden Administration claimed that it did not want to shoot the balloon down over a densely-populated area, Adam and Jeff wonder why the balloon was not shot down over the Alaskan tundra which is not exactly a bustling metropolis. They also debate whether the ballon was merely a provocation to see how the U.S. would react to intrusions into its airspace. Adam also marvels at the route followed by the balloon over the United States as it managed by sheer coincidence to pass over several missile launch sites and military installations.
The Omaha Bugle's crack broadcasting team discusses whether members of Congress should be subject to term limits. Adam points out that the decision to limit the President to two terms occurred in part due to concerns that elderly and infirm (but popular) presidents could keep getting re-elected even if they were totally out of their minds. Many people believe that lifetime politicians lose touch with their constituents and look out for themselves more than the voters. Jeff points out that incumbency is an enormous advantage in that 90%+ of the members of both the U.S. House and Senate are re-elected--even though you might not trust them alone with your fine china and silver. Term limits might cause members of Congress to be less beholden to lobbyists but they could also cause members to weigh the views of lobbyists more heavily if they expect to be seeking a job outside of Congress sooner rather than later due to term limits. Adam and Jeff agree that most voters detest Congress as an institution but typically give high marks to their own representatives. Unfortunately, term limits for presidents do not always guarantee outstanding (or even mentally coherent) chief executives so it is ultimately the voters who must bear the blame for the quality of our political leadership.
Adam and Jeff describe the recurring appearances of new classified documents that keep showing up in President Biden's house, his garage and in the offices of the Penn Biden Center. They try to make sense of the assertion by Biden supporters that it is different when you offer to give the documents back after getting caught than if you (like Trump) assert any presidential privileges after documents are seized from your home in an early morning raid by the FBI. They also wonder why Biden would be possessing classified documents from his vice presidential days in the first place because vice presidents--unlike presidents--lack any authority to declassify such documents. Jeff and Adam agree that if Biden kept the garage locked, then maybe storing classified documents there would be okay because no one would ever be able to break into a locked garage. Jeff points out that his 7-year old grandson could have found the documents sooner than the battery of government lawyers going through Biden's house. Both Adam and Jeff agree that if Biden's garage is piled floor to ceiling with assorted junk, then it might be safe to store anything in there including the nation's nuclear codes.
Adam and Jeff continue carrying the torch of civilization forward and consider how best to rework many traditional nursery rhymes to purge them of their damaging patriarchal white-supremacist homophobic contents.
Adam and Jeff begin their discussion of what Victor Davis Hanson has called the "parasitic generation"; the current governing elites who seem to be content to live off the achievements of past generations. The politicization of formerly stalwart institutions such as the FBI is discussed. Jeff asks how we have managed to increase the national debt from $1 trillion to $31 trillion in the space of four decades, particularly since our infrastructure continues to crumble and our schools sink into mediocrity. The lack of an orderly budgetary process is discussed; it has become little more than a grab-bag of pork and payoffs that has no coherent theme and does not address the most pressing issues facing the country. Adam and Jeff also voice their concerns about the fate of the blue collar workers such as electricians, plumbers and carpenters who are seeing their livelihoods destroyed by unrestricted mass migration and wonder why the trade unions do not speak up for their members.
Adam and Jeff return to familiar territory in calling out the socially virtuous drivers of electric cars who are ingnorant of the actual source of the electricity powering the grid. They point out that more than two-thirds of the electric grid is powered by fossil fuels. The recent (and illegal) attempt by California's governor to ban internal combustion engines by 2035 via executive order is discussed. Jeff suggests that politics is becoming less a legislative process than a forum in which ideologues try to forment hostility toward whatever thing they oppose to deter opponents from voicing their own opinions or pushing their own agendas. Adam and Jeff talk about the "groupthink" that has characterized the government effort to convince drivers to switch to electric vehicles, pointing out that government tax credits are nothing more than subsidies to the wealthier tax payers who can actually afford to buy electric vehicles. Adam also wonders why the socially virtuous drivers of electric vehicles do not worry much about the child labor used in developing countries to secure materials for manufacturing lithium batteries or the environmental costs of disposing of and recycling these materials.
Adam and Jeff convene at the Omaha Bugle headquarters at Asgard to discuss the presence of steroids among celebrities and athletes. Adam talks about his own experiences with performance-enhancing steroids during his power-lifting career. Jeff wonders what anyone who is trying to attract attention on the internet to bolster their audience membership can do to stand out. Can people who are arguably victims or subject to traditional prejudices be held to a lesser standard when they commit crimes? Adam talks about the recent swap of a WNBA basketball player imprisoned in Russia for drug possession with the so-called "merchant of death" and concludes that the deal only made sense for an American politician who is trying to "check all the boxes" to mollify his constituents. Do plain-old heroic marines who have been kidnapped not merit the same priority as basketball players? Jeff and Adam conclude with a discussion of their concerns about the lack of respect shown by both the government and corporate America for the nation's blue collar workers--the only people who know how to make stuff.
Adam and Jeff talk about the apparent contradiction of President Biden's abysmal job approval ratings and the absence of any challengers for the 2024 Democratic nomination. Jeff suggests that since you do not have to show up in person to vote, you should not have to show up in person to run for office--a tactic successfully pioneered by Biden in the 2020 campaign (the now praised "basement campaign strategy"). The absence of any effective policing at the southern border of the United States is regarded by Adam as a dereliction of duty by Biden but one which will bring a vast new dependent class into the United States that will name their children "Joe" or "the Big Guy". Jeff argues that a balanced budget amendment is pointless because there are a myriad of ways money can be spent off-budget. Adam and Jeff wonder if appearance in politics matter more than actual achievements: They contend that Biden's executive order to forgive student loans was a well-timed but unconstitutional action to motivate younger voters to vote for their Democratic overlords. Given the delays in challenging over-reaching government actions in court, Jeff wonders if politicians believe they can do whatever they want for as long as they want until they are slapped down by the courts?
Adam and Jeff discuss their on-going efforts to purchase CNN after having passed a hat around the office. They express their sympathy for a CEO who was admittedly drunk on an earnings call. Adam points out that you get what you pay for after authorities determined that cheaper imported "chicken wings" from China were actually succulent rat legs. He also talks about former President Trump, who recently announced his candidacy for President in 2024. Jeff wonders whether it would have made more sense to conduct the G-20 summit on a zoom call instead of sending hundreds of officials on private jets down to Bali. He also worries about the "geritocracy" that currently runs the executive and legislative branches of government. President Biden's lack of knowledge about his current location does not seem to affect his popularity; Jeff wonders if it is due to much of the general public not being sure about their own geographical locations.
In their detailed post-midterm election analysis, Adam and Jeff conclude that not much changed except that the two parties traded a few seats and the GOP got to pick better parking spaces in the House parking garage. Although tens of billions of dollars were spent and the GOP took control of the House, Jeff thought that the return of political gridlock would be a positive development as it might lead to an absence of new government programs. Noted election analyst and occasional Omaha Bugle contributor Josef Stalin points out that all of this election spending is misplaced because it is far more important to count the votes than to be the one who gets the most votes. President Biden is given some credit for thinking outside of the box and the bounds of the U.S. Constitution for his arguably illegal effort to wipe out hundreds of billions of dollars of student debt with the stroke of a pen. He also gets kudos for pointing out that he cannot guarantee he can get rid of inflation unless Congress passes a new $10 trillion Super-Duper Inflation Elimination Act which will get rid of the problem altogether by making inflation illegal. Adam and Jeff consider the problem of hyperinflation and the issues that arise when you have to get change for your $100 billion dollar bill to feed the parking meter. Also considered by our correspondents is the bankruptcy of FTX, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Although Binance, another leading exchange, offered to buy out FTX (presumably using more cryptocurrency instead of cold hard cash), the deal fell through; this event prompted Jeff to propose that he and Adam mint their own "Von Romer" cryptocurrency so that they can become metaverse billionaires overnight.
Adam and Jeff discuss buying CNN with the spare change laying around the newsroom. The recent assault by a hammer-wielding assailant on Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, prompts Adam to propose a national registry of hammers complete with background checks and "cooling off" periods. Jeff talks about the Founding Fathers having failed to include any reference in the U.S. Constitution to the right to bear hammers--or, indeed, any other hand tools. The need for mandatory hammer safety courses is considered by Jeff and Adam as well as the glaring lack of hammer-related instruction in America's schools. Adam wonders if nails should be regulated in the same way as bullets so as to limit the destructive impact of hammers. To better ensure that nails are used for construction purposes only, Jeff proposes hiring 87,000 people (perhaps those newly-hired IRS agents who want to earn some extra cash) to follow anyone who buys nails around until they can verify that all of the nails have been used appropriately. Due to the fact that most mass shooters in schools murder their victims within the first few minutes, Jeff proposes that every student (most of whom have honed their shooting skills and eye-to-hand coordination on shoot-'em-up video games) be given a loaded pistol so that they can empty their rounds before a would-be perpetrator gets the first shot off,
Jeff and Adam, who are never shy about venturing into areas that they know little about, talk about the motoring experiences reported by recent Tesla drivers. The advantage of fewer moving parts in the motor of an electric vehicle is offset somewhat by the concern that the enormously-expensive battery packs that fuel electric cars will fail and have to be replaced (and not by D-sized Ever-ready batteries). Jeff talks about his test driving several Tesla cars, largely to impress his children--who were horrified by his continuing to drive a 10-year old Honda Accord, particularly when he would pick them up at school in front of their friends. The thrilling slingshot acceleration provided by electric vehicles is dampened only by the staggering sticker price which probably limits Tesla purchases to the wealthest quarter of the population. Adam wonders if people are buying electric cars to feel socially virtuous even though the electricity used to power these cars is generated mostly by burning fossil fuels. Finally, our correspondents talk about "range anxiety", the malady which affects electric vehicle owners, who find that charging stations are not particularly plentiful in most parts of the country. But the Omaha Bugle listeners can take solace in the fact that two of the Bugle's sponsors, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, will soon have a morphine-based treatment for this debilitating emotional condition.
In deference to Jeff's background as an attorney, Adam does his part to bolster the image of the profession by pulling up attorney jokes off the internet. Jeff and Adam discuss many of the bizarre conspiracy theories that have cropped up about the death of Ivana Trump and wonder if there are better places to store classified documents than a New Jersey golf course. They also wonder if you can get a tax break by burying your family members in your front yard and, more importantly, how many ex-wives you would have to bury around a golf course to be classified as a tax-exempt cemetery. In considering the controversy of Trump's valuation of his real estate properties, Jeff and Adam point out that it is up to the banks making the loans to order appraisals and do whatever due diligence they need in order to decide whether to make the loans; the New York State Attorney's office (surprise! surprise!) is not typically viewed as an authority on real estate values.
Always in search of bargains, Jeff recounts his visit to the Trump Store on Fifth Avenue in New York where you can take care of all of your holiday shopping needs. Adam and Jeff talk about the deeply discounted Trump Pence T-shirts, Trump sportswear, oversized Trump golf balls and MAGA hats actually made in Mexico. Adam brags about his luxurious Trump robe which he may have purchased from a hotel. Adam and Jeff discuss the enormous marketing possibilities that would be available by adding the luxury handbag throw as an Olympic event with numerous sponsors such as Gucci and Fendi. The FBI raid on Mar-o-Lago appears to Adam to be nothing more than a playful panty raid of Melania's undergarment drawer. Adam and Jeff worry that Barron Trump may be communicating with foreign spies while playing Fortnite on his laptop. The fears of a nuclear strike or even nuclear blackmail by North Dakota is also considered--another subject that has been completely ignored by the legacy media.
Adam and Jeff discuss the current proposal to have President Biden forgive up to $20,000 of student loan debt per borrower but wonder if there is any plausible legal basis other than the regime's own delusions to justify the exercise of such powers. Jeff points out that rapid rise of college tuition over the past 40 years has outstripped even our most bloated health care costs; college tuition has increased--depending on the institution--20, 30 and even 40 times since the late 1970s. Adam and Jeff argue that the biggest reason for these cost increases are the well-intentioned but idiotic government loan guarantees that enable 18-year-olds with no discernible income to borrow $50,000, $100,000 or even more in order to pay for the tuition of even the most non-renumerative degrees. Because these student borrowers cannot easily discharge their loan obligations in bankruptcy, the higher education system has little incentive to reduce its tuition rates. Jeff and Adam point out that the major universities all watch each other's tuition pricing and adjust their rates in tandem so that their tuition rates do not vary too much from each other. Adam and Jeff suggest that this loan forgiveness program reflects our society's unwillingness to confront difficult choices and actually fix the problem instead of simply throwing more money at it. Jeff thinks that the only solution is to phase out the government loan guarantees which will force universities to be more efficient because the pool of available loan money will drop dramatically and force significant cost reductions. Should that ever happen, Adam and Jeff believe that the overlords of higher educations will throw a temper tantrum that will make World War II look like a tea party.
Jeff and Adam turn their towering intellects to the so-called "HGTV-ification" of the United States based upon a recent article in the Atlantic magazine and talk about the differences between reality show renovations and the grubby real world of house repairs and remodeling replete with unobtainable materials and unavailable contractors and uninterested buyers. Flipping houses on TV shows appears to be an enjoyable, low-stress adventure in which enormous profits can be made even by people with no construction background and, indeed, no brain functions. The plentiful availability of materials and sympathetic contractors on TV is contrasted with the Dickensian world that most actual homeowners experience as they try to locate their wayward contractors who are busy working on other jobs and who often forget how to speak the complaining homeowner's language once the check is cashed. Adam and Jeff wonder how permits can be obtained so quickly on reality TV shows when it might take the first two seasons of a true reality house flipping show to get a building permit from a city. They suggest that shows in which a buyer visits three houses and then picks out his or her favorite may be staged because the buyer will often have purchased the house before the production begins; this avoids what would be a very depressing home search program if the buyer failed to get his or her desired home week after week after week. Adam and Jeff also talk about the interior features of new and newly-renovated homes which are a delightful palette of grays and whites, harking back to the tapestry of colors used in America's mental hospitals. Finally, they debate the usefulness of ripping out most of a kitchen's cabinetry so that floating shelves can be installed to show off the homeowner's favorite knick-knacks as well as the wisdom of having 48 water nozzles installed in the master shower which can blast the showering person with enough force to exfoliate his or her entire body.
Adam and Jeff turn their attention to long-simmering disputes between states and factions within states that have prompted calls for secession. They find that there is a rich history of secessionist movements in the United States which began even before the country was formed. Indeed, South Carolina and most of the other southern states waged an unsuccessful 4-year war against the northern states (the so-called Civil War which was not really that civil) in trying to secede from the United States. The most famous event of secession occurred when the people of what is now West Virginia decided to dump their Confederate overlords in Richmond, Virginia, in the middle of the Civil War. Adam and Jeff question whether a state going out on its own would be able to afford all of the goodies that it would need to maintain its independence--such as customs and border officials, a new currency, a bloated military force, a hip looking flag, a money-losing postal service, fabulous highways and bridges, and, the social welfare payments that enable many people to avoid meaningful employment. If a state with nuclear weapons such as North Dakota secedes, is there anything that can stop it from holding its neighbors hostage with the threat of nuclear destruction? Jeff suggests that secession is really the ultimate manifestation of people wanting nothing more than to be left alone.
Adam and Jeff discuss the Federal governments response to Transitory Inflation...and the efficacy of anti-inflationary legislation.
In this episode Adam and Jeff talk about his recent stay in the hospital and the notion of managed...or mismanaged care.
Jeff travels across the country experiencing the joy that is modern flying...How the airline have shrink seating leg room...and who can fit in the new seats. Jeff puts forth some alternative seating styles.
In this episode we discuss the command and control structure of the Russian military and how the Russian generals have been losing their heads,,,literally!
In this episode, we look into the mystery of managed health care...or the more appropriately named mismanaged health care.