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My face to face conversations with the American people took me to the south side of Chicago and a conversation with a long time political activist and advocate for black people, Maze Jackson. A fascinating conversation, today regarding black men. Also, speaking of men, Trump is the antithesis of a real man. That and more, today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Memorial Day, 2025. Today is a sad day, a day of remembering lives cut short, cut ridiculously short. Today is about lives not fully lived, love not fully realized, careers not fully pursued, promise not fully fulfilled. Think of those lives cut short today. Take a moment today, during the family celebrations & barbecues, take just a moment and give a thought to and a prayer for those lives cut short. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
More content today from our conversation around a kitchen table with 7 politically diverse folks in suburban Chicago. Today’s topic: Will America stay together or will we break up? And what to do we need to do to stay together? And…why don’t we get along anymore? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There are two big resistance protest opportunities coming up, and I sat down today with folks from two of the organizations helping to organize these days of protest. June 6th - huge rally on the Mall in DC to stand up for our Veterans. And June 14th will be a “No Kings” protest day, with protests taking place in every state in the country. Resist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
My conversation with a politically diverse group of folks around a kitchen table in the western suburbs of Chicago continues. We try to answer two questions: Do most Americans still believe in certain common American principles? And do you believe your kids and your grandkids will have it better than you’ve had it? Some surprising answers. Also, we’re disappearing people into countries that aren’t their countries of origin. Evil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
A recent study out show that at least 50 of the Venezuelans who were grabbed, put on airplanes, and disappeared into an El Salvador jail were in this country LEGALLY. They were here legally. Also, Trump pays off the family of one of his insurrectionists, and the issue is transparency. Transparency is so damn important. And team Biden really failed at that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our “face to face conversations with Americans” continues this week with a group of folks sitting around a kitchen table in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. How divided are we? I asked Harris voters why people voted for Trump. I asked Trump voters why people voted for Harris. I asked them all to put the best reasons forward. They all struggled with it. We lack understanding these days. We really do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Final look today at my conversation with former FBI/DHS intel expert Brian Murphy. How foreign adversaries influence our elections. Also, James Comey does something stupid, Trump world whines about it, way too many of us are way too easily offended, and Kristi Noem is pushing something utterly cruel & despicable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
My former political party, the Republican Party, is a cult. To stay in the party, you must pledge fealty to Trump. If you speak the truth about Trump or criticize Trump, you’re banished from the party. Democrats should be different. Voters would appreciate Democrats being different. Which is why Democrats should acknowledge the truth about Biden. Also today, my interview on small businesses with Vermont Senator Peter Welch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Continuing my conversation in Northern Virginia with former FBI and Homeland Security analyst Brian Murphy. Today we talk about misinformation & disinformation. Who’s responsible for the spread of both? What’s the result of both? What does it mean to be radicalized? Fascinating conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
They fought alongside American troops for years. They risked their lives siding with and helping American troops in Afghanistan. And because of that, they were promised refuge here in America. Yesterday, Trump broke that promise and is sending them back to suffer under the Taliban. Shameful. Also, the plane from Qatar isn’t the Statue of Liberty, and, we continue to normalize Trump’s lying. All today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, in my weekly face to face conversations with Americans, I sat down in Northern Virginia with regular guy/expert Brian Murphy, former Marine,FBI, and Homeland Security, to discuss the threats America faces at home and from abroad. Today, we dig into the threat of polarization. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A final clip today from my face to face conversation with folks from Lancaster, PA. Today they discuss whether a political party that ran on a “decency” platform could win. And this group of Republicans, former Republicans, and Democrats isn’t convinced it would win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nick Wilson at the Center for American Progress supports a ban on assault weapons. I don’t. We disagree. But we didn’t have a fight about the issue, we didn’t argue, we didn’t debate. We sat down and had a conversation. We listened to each other. We tried to gain understanding. We need to do more of this Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our conversation with Democrats, Republicans, & former Republicans in Lancaster, PA continues today, and the focus is on the best way forward for the opposition party, the Democratic Party. The good folks in Lancaster wrestle with the age old question of how big of a tent should the Democratic Party be. And they’re not quite sure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I spent way too much of my day yesterday explaining to Trump voters that that image of Trump as the next pope wasn’t “fake news.” Time well spent. Stephen Miller thinks the American people are cruel. He’s wrong. Republicans are growing “antsy” with Trump and his tariffs. Cowards. And, American support for Ukraine and for free trade is growing. Good news. All on today’s show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I sat down with a group of twenty Republicans, former Republicans, and Democrats in Lancaster, PA. We talked about the political divide in America. Why all the hate politically these days? Why won’t Republicans stand up against Trump? Why are people afraid to engage with those they disagree with politically. Fascinating conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Final clip from my conversation with a group of Los Angeles progressives. Today, their party. Should they go left, go center, embrace them all, do they want to big a big tent? Do they want to win? Is the party big enough for AOC and Joe Walsh? A conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the second time in a month, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, found herself palling around with Donald Trump. I think this is wrong for her to do, writer/producer Andy Ostroy applauds her for doing what’s right by the people of her state. We disagree with each other. So we sat down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Continuing our conversation with a group of Los Angeles progressives. They know the whole fight over pronouns hurt Democrats in the election. But they’re all over the map as to why. The left still doesn’t seem to know how to navigate the culture war battles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tariffs. Tax increases on Americans, plain and simple. And Trump’s tariffs are going to devastate the lives of working class Americans. And when people bring up these facts, what do Trump and his people do? They whine, and they’re cry, and they play the victim. Pathetic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Every week, I’m siting down with and having conversations with Americans. Of ALL political stripes. Recently, I sat down with a group of Los Angeles progressives. We talked about understanding the other side. They weighed in on why they think people are drawn to Trump. Interesting stuff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trump is selling ball caps that read “Trump 2028,” and MAGA thinks it’s hilarious. No. It’s wrong, and it’s dangerous. Also, most of America isn’t MAGA and most of America isn’t the Bernie/AOC left. Most of America is in the big middle. So why do the extremes dominate? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A conversation with Jonathan Allen, who wrote an amazing inside look at the craziness of the 2024 presidential campaign with Amie Parnes - “Fight: Inside The Wildest Battle For The White House.” What was really going on behind the scenes, most especially with Biden and Harris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Way too many Americans have lost faith in way too many of our institutions. And when that happens, it’s fertile ground for demagogues to come along and spread lies & conspiracies, dangerously furthering that distrust. Awhile back, I went to central PA and found out most folks I spoke with there believe it is possible to steal an election in America today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
California governor Gavin Newsom said the other day that talking about due process for Abrego Garcia is a “distraction.” A distraction that team Trump wants. No. Fighting to defend due process, to defend civil liberties is never a distraction. And Democrats, if you won’t fight to defend due process, then don’t bother fighting to defend anything. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Every week I’m out on the road having conversations with Americans, with regular folks, of all political viewpoints. Listening to their take on America. Today a clip from a conversation with 6 left of center Americans in Los Angeles. Their biggest worries and their biggest fears for this country they love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
we’re both very pro Israel. We both abhor antisemitism. Yet we differ strongly in what the government should or should not do to combat antisemitism. We differ strongly in what Trump is doing in the name of combating antisemitism. So we sat down to listen. And discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
One of Trump’s henchmen said yesterday that to advocate for due process for Abrego Garcia is to “aid & abet terrorism.” Screw that. And make no mistake what this is. It’s an attack on free speech. It’s the latest effort of the tyrant in the White House to silence private individuals, to chill & censor speech. We must not allow it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Every day it continues, Trump wreaks havoc on our institutions, ignores the Constitution, and attacks who and what America is, and every day Democrats hem and haw and hesitate and huddle to maybe figure out how to possibly respond. Huh? Dammit Dems, wake the hell up and fight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
