Our Lives and Politics

When the Republicans narrowly won the majority in the House of Representatives in November 2022 many believed that accountability and retribution were on the way. Ten months into the GOP-controlled House and they have delivered extremely limited results.  Raising the debt ceiling to $3 trillion is the only tangible accomplishment of the 118th Congress. New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stepped into the mess that Kevin McCarthy’s leadership created. When Johnson started the job, he only had two weeks to solve the government shutdown. He showed some creativity in passing two continuing resolutions that get America into the new year without defaulting on its obligations. Kevin McCarthy had promised to release the 40,000 hours of the January 6 video, but never did it. Last week Mike Johnson delivered on McCarthy’s promise by releasing the video. Johnson has continued all the congressional hearings that the GOP had been working on this year. The impeachment inquiry and the weaponization of government on its people will continue to be investigated. Mike Johnson is only a few weeks into an excessively big job, and I am already seeing and hearing some conservatives mumbling about Johnson’s ineffectiveness. That makes me wonder and ask questions, are expectations for the House of Representatives way too high? Shouldn’t we understand there can only be limited results with split political parties controlling the federal government? On this episode of Our Lives & Politics, we go into a live X Space to get the pulse of the people. How do you feel about the Mike Johnson young speakership? What were your expectations for the 118th Congress? Are you satisfied? Or are you already frustrated with Mike Johnson? Plus, Booker Scott shares some evidence, despite the way things may appear that America is still functioning as the Republic the founding fathers intended.    

Daily reports of impending financial doom for the American economy over the last 2 years have convinced most of us that a recession is imminent. Most economists believe 2024 will be a down year and an American recession is almost here. Last week, it was reported that past-due property loans at Wells Fargo rose more than 50% in the third quarter of 2023. They reported more than $3.4 billion is past-due accounts compared to $400 million the previous year. Also, Americans hold the most debt on personal items ever, at $17 trillion. Real income has been shrinking just as American’s savings accounts. Whether the technical term and definition of a recession is ever achieved we still have lived through the highest inflation in forty years, the highest gas prices in American history and now mortgage rates closing in on 8%. Bidenomics is destroying middle and lower middle classclass lower-middle-class Americans. It is taking its toll on fixed incomefixed-income homes. How can you protect your financial future during these uncertain times? Author and financial expert Joe Lombardi joins the conversation on ‘Our Lives & Politics’ to share some ideas you can implement to prepare. Lombardi’s books include: “Be Your Own Bank” and “There’s a Better Way Than Your 401K.”

Over the last year this ‘Our Lives & Politics’ has dealt with the Human crisis at the border quite a bit. We have talked about the death to Americans from fentanyl overdoses, over 140,000 since Joe Biden took office. About 2,000 migrants have died just trying to get across the southern border. Over 300,000 unaccompanied children have entered our nation and somehow the government has lost track of 85,000 of those kids. And yes there have been hundreds of terrorists apprehended at the southern border. In just the last couple of weeks, foreign nationals on the terrorist watch list have been caught from Iran and Lebanon. And as we see Islamic Jihadists rise up all around Israel to destroy that nation, we see supporters of these Jihadists on American college campuses, in the streets, and around the world. Senate hearings this week revealed the truth about the Biden Administration's top immigration officials when they were unable to answer the simplest questions. How many immigrants are in our country? How many has our government deported? Where are all of these people? It is either incredible incompetence or a willing effort to destroy America. Regardless of why, F.B.I. Director Christopher Wray testified that Americans should be vigilant because the F.B.I. does not know where and who these foreign nationals are either. On this episode of ‘Our Lives & Politics’ we hear the testimony of beleaguered Department of Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas and others as they deflect Senators pointed direct questions. Plus, we get the pulse of the people as enter a LIVE X (Twitter) Space. People from across the nation share their feelings, thoughts, and emotions about the human crisis at America’s southern border.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton claimed the Russians rigged the election for Donald Trump, even though the Russian collusion hoax was started by Hillary Clinton. In 2018 Stacy Abrams in Georgia believed the race for governor was stolen from her. To this day, she still thinks she is the rightful governor of the state. Of course, we all know about the 2020 election and now we see Donald Trump fighting in court for the right to question the election of 2020.  The result of every election being questioned and portrayed as stolen may create voter apathy. Why vote if your vote will not matter? Many may feel that now. FreeandEqual.org is Christina Tobin’s organization.  They host a presidential debate every four years and their debates feature a wide range of candidates, ideas, and solutions.  The debate is designed to allow the voters to hear the issues instead of thirty-second sound bites and talking over each other we are accustomed to seeing. With over one hundred presidential candidates right now running for the position of the highest office in America, where does a voter start?  Free and Equal Elections gives you the opportunity to select the top candidates to see and hear in the debate series coming in 2024.  Christina Tobin joins the conversation on ‘Our Lives and Politics.’ Also, many of you may wonder, “How can I make a difference?”   What can I do? I am just one person, and I can’t make a difference.  It is understandable that many feel that way.  Christian Lamar (R-AZ) joins the conversation to offer actionable items that make a real difference. He shares how you can get involved and be the change you want.

You may be aware that over twenty veterans commit suicide daily and you may know that over 50,000 veterans will be homeless tonight. There are many reasons for the embarrassing stats, but one man and former Marine has identified the missing link to help veterans after their service to the country is complete. Mike McDowell’s organization is Onward Ops and was born from his studying the data of these lost soldiers and creating a way to take them to their new homes and new lives. The goals of Onward Ops are to mitigate military and veteran suicide, streamline the transition by providing a seamless movement into their community of choice, and show their capacity as leaders and potential employees. Hear Mike McDowell explain the program and the sad stats associated with the growing problem of veteran suicide.

As the world seems unhinged and the news cycle spins with such rapid speed it becomes hard to discern what is important, what is true, who to trust and who to ignore. Some may call it a psychological war with disinformation and misinformation. I have found, over the last few years, that people believe what they want to believe, and that belief comes from hearing and reading what a person wants to hear and wants to believe. Yet, it does not make it true because one may see it or hear it, does it? In the fog of information, we live in today there are a few voices of reason and common sense that stand out, that draw us to them. We search for voices we trust and voices that comfort us in the chaos. Dr. Carol Swain spent her career in academia as a tenured professor at prestigious Princeton and Vanderbilt University. She molded young minds for America’s tomorrow. The author of 11 books and frequent speaker and television political commentator Dr. Carol Swain joins us on this episode of ‘Our Lives & Politics” to share a perspective to bring clarity to the clouded world.

As Robert Kennedy, Jr. entered the presidential race as a third party Independent candidate many are curious whether that hurts the Democrat or the Republican presidential nominee in the ’24 election.  Typically, third party candidates hover around 2% of the popular vote in presidential elections. Exceptions are rare. Ross Perot in 1992 was the last to run for the highest office that made much of an impact.  An Independent or Libertarian party member always has an uphill battle.  Ralph Nader, Gary Johnson or Jill Stein can attest to that.  After years of failing federal government maybe some more attention should be showed to new ideas and fresh solutions. Over fifty years ago the Libertarian party was born. Their motivation was smaller federal government and more individual freedom and liberty.  The founders of the Libertarian party wanted the country to get back to the basics of the constitution and a Republic of United States. When the two parties currently in control continue to make terrible decisions, both foreign and domestic, many are looking for common sense solutions that work for all people not just a few.  On this episode of ‘Our Lives & Politics’ Libertarian presidential candidate Mike ter Maat joins the conversation to discuss some of those solutions. Mike ter Maat has a Ph.D. in Economics, he worked as an economist in the White House. He taught Economics at three universities. After a successful economics career he became a police officer in south Florida at the age of 49.  He brings a unique perspective and a lot of common sense into the conversation when a lot of common sense is needed.

The Prickly Vine is a story of patience and unwavering faith. Music-Song "Prickly Vine" by the creator: Luke Hanson known as Beats by Luke Youtube

The Prickly Vine is a story of patience and unwavering faith. Music-Song "Prickly Vine" by the creator: Luke Hanson known as Beats by Luke Youtube

A lot can happen in a week, can’t it? We went from the sky is falling government shutdown, to a historic removal of the Speaker of the House. And that was all in just five days. Now politicians on the right and the left have created the next. sky is falling moment in national politics. There is no Speaker of the House. It appears, in almost a coordinated effort that Matt Gaetz and 7 other Republicans are being blamed for all of it. That’s an interesting take, but one that I believe removes responsibility from an institution that has damaged itself all by years of out-of-control spending and no government accountability. The problems in the U.S. House of Representatives did not start with Matt Gaetz and the 7 who voted with him to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. The U.S. House of Representatives' failures have been years in the making. Booker Scott brings some highlights of the past week and there were many. We hear highlights from the government shutdown to the motion to vacate and an interesting press conference that may have revealed the Democrat and Republican ’24 election strategy. A three-month investigation by Newsweek and a revealing article about the FBI targeting Donald Trump supporters during the ’24 presidential campaign has many people concerned. How does the Democrat ’24 strategy work in coordination with what this Newsweek article reveals about targeting these supporters? Also, Elizabeth Helgelien (R-NV) is running for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, and she joins the conversation to share perspective and ideas for putting the U.S. House of Representatives on track to actually solve issues.