According2Sam

Comparing the calls to defund the police during the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020 to the current calls to defund the FBI by members of Congress is utter sophistry. The calls to defund the police in 2020 were met with actual policies to defund local police agencies in several municipalities. Los Angeles, Austin, and New York City are a few examples of cities that actually defunded their police departments, despite criticism and objections to the policy. It was their prerogative! The people of those cities elect mayors and city councils that have oversight over those local police departments. In fact, it was only after the policy started polling negatively that Democrats started fleeing from it. When Congresswoman Greene tweeted "DEFUND THE FBI" she received lots of criticism as well, even some from her own party. Congressman Grenshaw said that it made Republicans look "unserious". However, Greene was the only one who was actually being serious about oversight of the FBI. Why is it Congress's job to do oversight of the FBI, and what leverage does Congress have to compel the FBI to comply with their oversight outside of funding? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #128.

After throwing every charge possible at Donald Trump to see if anything sticks to him Liz Cheney and her Democrat allies have settle on 'dereliction of duty'. They first claimed that President Trump incited his supporters to commit violence in an attempt to foment a coup d'etat and overthrow the government, but now they have made a more obscure accusation that they believe will be easier for the public to accept. Their focus now is on the 187 minutes of the riot at the Capitol and the actions taken by the president to stop it. Liz Cheney says that President Trump's inaction to stop the riot represents the most serious dereliction of duty of any president in American history. However, she may be overlooking the administration that her father served in as Vice President. The Bush administration was warned many times in the spring and summer of 2001 that Sunni fundamentalist were in the United States and that they were planning a terrorist attack. Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to stop it, they made no attempt to warn the American people. Three thousand Americans were killed on their watch. How does this dereliction of duty compare to that of other presidents in American history? Join the conversation and get answers to this question and more on According2Sam episode #127.

Last year seventeen recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences signed an open letter to President Joe Biden in support of his Build Back Better (BBB) package. At the time of this letter Democrats were proposing a bill that was $3.5 trillion in government spending. This was after they had passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package earlier in the year. The open letter from these economic experts said there was a robust recovery taking place in the American economy, and that the BBB package would provide much needed support for the recovering economy. These experts expressed some concerns over inflation, but projected only a small, short term, rise in inflation that would quickly come back down. Democrats used this letter and the credibility of these experts to promote their spending package, but as inflation started to climb and persist even without their new spending they had to admit that the experts had got it wrong. What are they saying now about the '17 Nobel Laureates', and how is one Democratic Senator using their miscalculation to promote his new spending bill? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #126.

There are many political parties in the United States, but we only hear about the two major parties. There is the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and a few other even less known political parties. However, the Republican and Democratic parties dominate our political landscape and wield all the power in this country. This is by design. The two major parties are the most powerful because it allows the elite oligarchs in this country to consolidate their power. The two parties play off each other, setting up the other as an existential threat to our way of life that must be defeated. The people fearfully support the party that they believe is fighting to preserve their way of life and the oligarchs remain in power, because they control both parties. Georgetown University professor Carroll Quigley writes about this in 'Tragedy and Hope'. He says the two parties should be "almost identical", so power can change hands "without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy." But what happens if the people take over one of the two major parties, how would that change the political landscape in the United States? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #125.

Mainstream media outlets went on a tirade this past week about how conservatives and right-wing media doubted the story of the 10 year old girl who became pregnant in Ohio and was forced to travel to the neighboring state of Indiana for an abortion. They attempted to shame people who were asking questions and trying to vet the story. ​When the story was first reported in a local Indianapolis newspaper there was only one source with no other corroborating details. It really shouldn't be surprising that people had questions about the authenticity of the story, especially when no one had been arrested and there didn't seem to be an active investigation into the sexual abuse of the child. However, the first news outlet to raise doubts about this story was not right-wing, conservative, media. It was the Washington Post who published an article from a fact checker who explained the trouble he was having in vetting the story. Why was the fact checker having so much trouble vetting the story, and how did his article in the Washington Post influence others to start doubting the story? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #124.

A recent Gallup poll found that confidence in United States institutions is falling to new lows. The poll asked participants about their level of confidence in public schools, the military, small business, big business, the police and more. In all participants were asked about 16 separate institutions. Gallup has been conducting this same poll since 1993, and this year's average was a new low. This year's poll found that Americans are less confident in U.S. institutions than they were last year, with significant declines in 11 of the 16 institutions tested. No institution in the test improved in confidence from the year prior. The institution in the test with the least amount of confidence is the United States Congress, and right above them is television news. Print news is also in the bottom 5 institutions that Americans have confidence in, meaning that Americans have almost no confidence in our news. It also seems that confidence in our news is on a rapid decline. This is a serious problem. Why do so many Americans have so little faith in our news, and what are the potential problems that can arise from this? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #123.

In a CNN interview a few days ago a representative from the Biden administration was asked about inflation, rising fuel prices, and the fact that Americans are struggling to cope with these issues. His answer has gone viral and it has shocked many people who can't believe the Biden representative said the quiet part out loud. The question he was asked was in relation to the war in Ukraine, since the Biden administration has blamed inflation and rising fuel prices on Russia's actions in Ukraine. The Biden representative said that it was necessary for the American people to suffer under the crippling inflation because what was at stake was, "the future of the liberal world order." Many Americans have no idea what the liberal world order even is, let alone do they care enough about it to justify paying higher prices. This answer from the Biden representative only confirmed that the American people are not President Biden's highest priority, and that there are influences outside of the United States that are a greater concern for him. What exactly is the liberal world order, and why is it so important that Americans must suffer for its survival? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #122.

The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic, meaning we are a collection of states and commonwealths that are united by a federation. However, the debates about the size and role of the federal government in relation to the states has been a consistent battle going back to the inception of this nation. Alexander Hamilton, who was a staunch federalist, argued for a large powerful federal government that played a large role in the happenings of the individual states. Other men, such as Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams argued for a small federal government, with a limited role in the states. In 1829 Andrew Jackson created the Democratic Party in opposition to a large powerful central government. He said it was the enemy of individual liberty. It is ironic that today so many democrats are upset by the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v Wade. How does this ruling give more power to the people in individual states, and how is the Democratic Party spreading fear and disinformation about this ruling to increase voter turnout in the fall? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #121.

Money has changed a lot throughout the millennia of human civilization. It's evolved from clay tablets, to metal coins, to papers notes and even digital currency. One thing that has not changed in those thousands of years is what makes money work, and how it is valued. That one thing is trust. Without trust money is nothing more than clay, metal, paper and digits. The only thing that makes those items money is that a group of people have agreed it is money and they are willing to trade their labor, products, and services for those items. However, on the flip side, if a civilization loses trust in their money it can cause an economic catastrophe that can destroy nations. This is something that is worrying economist like Lawrence (Larry) Summers who believes some Americans are losing faith in our institutions, and thereby losing trust in our money. He believes this loss of trust is contributing to inflation and the overall economic downturn. Are these concerns supported by facts, are Americans and other nations losing trust in the dollar, and if so, why? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #120.

The committee investigating the January 6th riot at the Capitol doesn’t seem to be interested in why security at the Capitol was so poor that day. They haven’t addressed questions of why Capitol Police were so ill-equipped, or why they were ordered not to use their most sophisticated tools for crowd control. They haven’t shown videos of Capitol Police opening doors, or of the police standing around while demonstrators loitered inside the Capitol. The committee thus far has been singularly focused on one issue, and one issue only: President Trump’s culpability in the riot. The committee has been biased to say the least. They’ve used selectively edited video of Trump’s speech at the Ellipse, leaving out the part where he told the crowd to be “peaceful and patriotic”. They’ve also failed to mention that the Trump administration offered to deploy the National Guard to the Capitol days before the riot, but were turned down. These hearings are just the latest episode in the Trump impeachment trilogy. How are these hearings like the two Trump impeachment hearings, and what is different about this 3rd episode? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #119.

We have been studying hurricanes for over a hundred years and we have learned quite a bit about these tropical cyclones. We can forecast the time of year they are most likely to form. We can also measure their size and strength before they reach land. We can even chart the course of the storm to predict where it is most likely to make landfall. With all of these advancements there are still limitations to fully understanding hurricanes. For example, it is not possible to predict exactly when or where a hurricane will make landfall, and there is no way to determine how much damage they will cause when they do. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgon & Chase, is the latest economic forecaster predicting an economic hurricane heading for the United States, and he is not the only one making such predictions. Many people have been predicting this storm for much longer, however no one can tell when or where it will hit us, or how much damage it will cause when it does, but everyone knows it's coming. What is the cause of the coming economic hurricane, and is it a natural disaster or manmade? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #118.

All signs are pointing to the Democratic Party getting destroyed in the Congressional elections this fall. Republicans need to pick up half a dozen seats in the House of Representatives to control that chamber, and a single Senate seat will give them control of that body. Even the Democrats own polling tells them this is a strong probability, and that they could possibly lose a lot more than that. The leader of the party, Joe Biden, has an approval rating in the 30's that continues to fall. The economy is likely to be in recession by fall, and inflation and shortages are likely to persist. Democrats have failed to get their most popular legislation passed despite controlling both houses of Congress for the past two years. This is mostly because Joe Manchin would not agree to eliminate the filibuster, but it still has had an effect on the lack of motivation and enthusiasm of their voters. Seeking to minimize their loses this fall, Democrats have seize on other ways to motivate their voters this summer, 'wedge issues'! How can keeping the country divided on wedge issues help Democrats this fall, and how are they planning to use these issues to maintain their power, even if it tears the country apart? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #117.

It is impossible to really understand the housing crisis that lead to the Great Recession without understanding the three phases of the crisis: the setup, the execution, and the coverup. This is the story of the execution. I tell the first part of the story in episode #79, and this is the part two of the three phases of the plot. In part one I show how the foundations of the financial structure that would eventually collapse were laid in the 1990’s during the Clinton administration. This foundation was deregulation, and in this episode I tell the story of the actual structure that was built on that foundation. The structure was a house of cards, a housing bubble that threatened the economy of the entire world. This was no accident! This was a well planned scheme that was used to show that the economy was growing despite waging two wars, massive increases in federal deficit spending, and 3 rounds of tax cuts. The economy was growing, but it wasn’t real growth. It was the bubble, and for many it all vanished when the bubble popped. How did George Bush purposefully initiate the housing bubble, and how did it help give him cover for his disastrous policies? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #114.

President Biden started branding his political enemies with a new moniker last week: "Ultra MAGA". Many believed that he had come up with this new label on his own, and that it was created off the cuff. However, it was later reported that Biden's use of this new label was not impromptu at all. It was a talking point that was paid for and created through weeks of focus groups. This got me thinking about another talking point that has sprung up just as the campaigning begins for the fall elections: "Great Replacement Theory". This talking point arose after the tragic mass murder in Buffalo, where the killer made reference to it in his 181 page manifesto. Biden and the media seized on this one part of the manifesto and amplified it! They immediately started blaming the Great Replacement Theory and Republicans for the tragedy, insinuating that the murderer was 'Ultra MAGA'. What is the strategy of the Democratic Party to turn out voters in November, and how far are they willing to go to maintain power? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #116.

We all remember the jab that President Obama took at Mitt Romney in a debate in the 2012 election. He said, "Governor Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that al Qaeda is a threat, because a few months ago, when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America you said Russia, not al Qaeda. You said Russia, and the 1980's are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back." In recent years, and especially over the past few weeks, many commentators have reflected on this jab and stated that Romney was correct in his assessment that Russia was our biggest threat. It seems that we are indeed returning to the foreign policy of the 1980's. However, the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers suggests that it's not only the foreign policy from the 1980's that we are returning too. The numbers show inflation at a 40 year high, and rising costs on everything from food, to energy, and almost everything that we use or consume. It seems that the 1980's not only called for its foreign policy back, but its economic policy as well. How is America's current economic policy actually much worse than the economic policies of the 1980's, and why are we in a much more volatile situation at this time in our history? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #113.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February it was the best thing that could have happened for Joe Biden and Democrats. Before that, Joe Biden was in a nosedivepolitically and there seemed to be no bottom to how far he could fall. After theshamefulwithdrawal fromAfghanistan, members of his own party killed Biden's agenda on voting reforms and the 'Build Back Better' package. Moreover, Biden was dealing withsupply chainshortages and inflation at a40 year high. Nothing seemed to be going his way, but as soon as Russian troops crossed into Ukraine everything changed. Biden and Democrats began talking about the "Putin price hike", and blaming all of their failed policies on Putin, and Russia. It was like overnight Democrats had someone to blame that wasn't them. This issignificantly important in a Congressional election year. How is inflation threatening the narrative that the economy is booming, and willAmericans buytheshift of blame that Democrats are trying to pull? Join theconversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #112.

John F. Kennedy was one of the greatest and wises statesmen in the history of the United Sates. In a century that was plagued with the holocausts of war, President Kennedy sought to make peace at all costs. He came into office in the middle of the Cold War and the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were volatile. There were many moments in Kennedy's short time as president that the wrong actions or even the wrong rhetoric could have escalated the Cold War into a hot nuclear war. In every instance you find President Kennedy using diplomacy and working vigorously to deescalate tensions and make peace. It stands in stark contrast to the current President, Joe Biden. The two men are of the only Irish, Roman Catholic, Democratic Presidents in the history of this country, and with all they have in common, they could not be more different in their approach to foreign policy. How is Joe Biden escalating tensions with Russia, and how is he making a peaceful solution less possible? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #111.

It is very interesting when you think about the fact that the biggest October surprises in the last two presidential elections involved laptops used by deviant individuals connected to candidates, that wereused by themto document their deviant behavior. It was Anthony Weiner's laptop that he was using to communicate and send lewd pictures to underage girls. When investigators seized the laptop they found troves of emails from Hillary Clinton's private server. This discovery forced James Comey to reopen the investigation into her mishandling sensitive information just days before the election, one of many things that Clinton cites for her defeat. Joe Biden was luckier in 2020, because the intelligence community (IC) helped cover up the discovery of his deviant son's laptop. How did the IC cover for Biden, and how might the 2020 election turned out different if they had not meddled in the election?Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #110.

In 2014, Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, and representatives from theseparatists regions in Donbas, began talks tonegotiate peacein Donbas. Representatives from these governments met in Minsk, Belarus, and on September 5, 2014 they signed an agreement for peace. It was called the 'Minsk Agreements', and it called for animmediateceasefire. Unfortunately, this did not stop the fighting in Donbas, so representatives met again to hash out a new agreement that was called Minsk II. Minsk II was signed on February 12, 2015, and it called for an immediate ceasefire, thewithdrawal of heavyweapons from thefront lines, prisoner releases, and anamendment to the Ukrainian constitution granting self-governing status to the separatists regions of Donbas. However, Minsk II also failed to bring peace. At the same time that these peace talks were taking place,representatives for the United States were visitingUkraine andencouraging them tokeep up the fight, and goon "offense". Was the United States working against these peaceagreements, and what is the Biden administration currently doing tonegotiate peace?Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #109.

After a violent coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014 that forced the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country, the Obama administration installed a new government. Under the new Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the first thing the new parliament did was pass legislation banning the Russian language, the native language of 20 million Ukrainians. In response to these actions and many other acts of hostility towards the Russian speaking people of Ukraine the communities of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk voted to separate from Ukraine. In Crimea the people voted for immediate annexation by Russia, which was accepted by the Russia Federation. The people of Donbas voted for independence and they have been fighting for their independence for 8 years, more than 14,000 people of that region have been killed. How are these two breakaway regions fueling the current war in Ukraine, and how are they key to ending the war? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #108.

Russian separatists explain why they want to be part of Russia, and not Ukraine. Website: https://www.according2sam.com Store: https://huntersstash.com

Kamala Harris explains the crisis in Ukraine for dummies. Website: https://www.according2sam.com Store: https://huntersstash.com

When Joe Biden first announced that he was running for president he claimed to be motivated to run by the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. He said he was appalled while watching the neo-Nazis and white nationalists marching with tiki torches, and said he wanted to return the 'soul of the nation'. He accused President Trump of encouraging white nationalist and neo-Nazis, and many Democrats even accused President Trump of being a white nationalist. White nationalism and white supremacy is all Democrats have been talking about in the United States for the past 6 years. They claim it is our greatest domestic threat. It's ironic they don't see the samethreat of white nationalism in Ukraine as they do in the U.S., and theyare currently leading us to cheer for white nationalism in Ukraine. How large is thewhite nationalist movement inUkraine, and what impact does this movement have on Ukrainian politics andsociety?Join the conversation and get answers to this question and more on According2Sam episode #107.

Condoleezza Rice says stops short at saying that invading a sovereign country is a war crime, but says it goes against every principle of international law and order. Website: https://www.according2sam.com Store: https://huntersstash.com

The Biden administration and mainstream media is claiming that Russias invasion of Ukraine is 'unprovoked'. Is that true? Website: https://www.according2sam.com Store: https://huntersstash.com