We will be taking callers during this show.

SHOW AUDIO:

Houston Mayor Annise Parker [L] with Mike (Dec. 14, 2015)

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio), a listener call-in show  airing live every Monday night from 9-10 PM (CT) on KPFT-FM 90.1 (Houston).

Listen live on the radio or on the internet from anywhere in the world! When the show is live, we take calls at 713-526-5738. (Long distance charges may apply.)

For the purposes of this show, I operate on two mottoes:

• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts;
• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.

POSSIBLE TOPICS:

SIGNOFF QUOTE: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” ~ Perhaps wrongly attributed to Sinclair Lewis. (From WikiQuote.org) It appears to come from Lewis’ 1935 novel “It Can’t Happen Here”.68.20.216.193 11:41, 11 February 2007 (UTC)The Sinclair Lewis Society has been wrestling with this for years and I received several phone calls during the last presidential election campaign. This quote sounds like something Sinclair Lewis might have said or written, but the Sinclair Lewis Society has never been able to find this exact quote although we’ve been asked a number of times. [More at WikiQuote.org]

• TEXAS PRIMARY: Tomorrow is ELECTION DAY!
  • The Primary Election Day is March 1, 2016
  • Find your polling location and sample ballot:
    • Polls open 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
    • HarrisVotes.Com
    • http://www.VoteTexas.gov/
      • also http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/ )
    • REGISTER TO VOTE FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION
• THE TRUMP REPORT
  • Christie Endorses Trump: Handing the mantle from one bully to another. Makes perfect sense.
    • Gives a whole new meaning to the presidential “Bully Pulpit”.
  • EXISTENTIAL CRISIS FOR THE GOP: Quotes From The Republican Party’s implosion over Donald Trump’s candidacy has arrived (VIDEO)
    • Great quote from South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley “It’s scary … I think what he’ll do to the Republican Party is really make us question who we are and what we’re about. And that’s something we don’t want to see happen.”
    • Former senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, who is backing Rubio said: “This is an existential choice. … Asked how the party could unite, Coleman said: “It gets harder every day when you hear things like not disavowing the KKK and David Duke. It’s not getting easier; it’s getting more difficult. . . . I’m hopeful the party won’t destroy itself.”
  • Trump to protesters: ‘Are you from Mexico?’ and ‘All lives matter’ (VIDEOS), By Fenit Nirappil February 29, 2016 (WASHINGTON POST) at 4:49 PM
    • Recurring phrase: “Get him out of here” and “Get her out of here” and “Get them out of here.”
  • Watching and listening to Trump is like watching old B&W films of Mussolini. I’m tempted to to do a Fascist salute and chant, “Duce! Duce! Duce!”
  • Can the Republicans Party survive as the party of racism, intolerance, hate, divisiveness, and the thinly veiled “Make America WASP Again.”?
• With Scalia gone, what is the future of what was informally ‘The Scalia Court’?
  • Some cases have already settled without Scalia’s ‘pro-business’ vote being assumed on the SCOTUS.
    • Justice Scalia’s death prompts Dow Chemical to settle price-fixing case: The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has prompted Dow Chemical to settle a class action lawsuit and pay out $835 million, by Chris Isidore   (@CNNMoney) February 26, 2016: 12:32 PM ET
    • Scalia’s Death Is Already Making Biz And Conservative Activists Avoid SCOTUS, ByTierney Sneed (TalkingPointsMemo.com)Published February 29, 2016, 11:37 AM EST
      • Last week, Dow Chemical made headlines by opting for a $835 million settlement in a class action lawsuit rather than risk having the case heard by a Scalia-less Supreme Court. A lower court had already ruled against the company for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for industrial chemicals, and prior to the settlement, Dow had appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. In the absence of Scalia’s vote, taking the case to the eight other justices risked the company not just a loss in the specific case, but the potential for a broader ruling that would have put companies in a tougher position in future class action lawsuits. So Scalia died while participating in the St. Hubertus secret hunting society. No one wonder he was against disclosing campaign contributors. Secret membership was in his nature.

      • Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of this secretive society of elite hunters, By Amy Brittain and Sari Horwitz (Washington Post) February 24, 2016

    • GOP Sen. Mark Kirk Says He Has A Duty To Consider Obama’s Supreme Court Pick: Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), one of the most at-risk GOP incumbents this cycle, has broken with his party and said he’s open to considering a Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Barack Obama.“The Senate’s role in providing advice and consent is as important and significant as the president’s role in proposing a nominee,” said Kirk, a vulnerable Republican incumbent.By Amanda Terkel Senior Political Reporter, The Huffington Post [02/22/2016 03:07 pm ET | Updated 2 hours ago]
  • UPDATE: 4:35 p.m. — Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the final GOP member of the Judiciary Committee to weigh in, said Monday that he will not support a Scalia replacement this year. 
• • Who do you see (or want) as possible nominees?
  • How possible is it that Barack Obama or former US AG Eric Holder could take Scalia’s place on the Supreme Court?
• TERMINOLOGIES: Words Matter
  • The term “Conservative” is so inaccurate as currently used by the Media, the Media and all of us really need to rethink their classifications and terminology.
  • There are Liberals/Progressives and there are Conservatives. Both of those are fine and serve a useful purpose in civil opposition to each other.
  • Todays “Conservatives” are conservative in name only
• Should we touch Social Security Benefits?
  • We should add the option for Americans to participate in a Federally guaranteed pension program alongside Social Security, funded by contributing a person’s IRA/401k etc to a form of Federal annuity with a guaranteed return.
  • Such a thing sort of exists if you buy inflation-guaranteed US Savings Bonds
• Ted Cruz Sacks His Spokesman: Under fire for “dirty tricks,” the Texas senator abruptly fires his communications director for spreading a false story about Marco Rubio and the Bible, By Russell Berman (TheAtlantic.com) Feb 22, 2016. 4:55 PM ET
• Carolyn Hax: Badgering a husband over her body-image problems, by Carolyn Hax Columnist [Washington post] February 7 at 11:59 PM
• Start by discusing the “Blondie” cartoon.
  • Discuss danger points in relationship discussions.
• How much influence does the media really have over elections? Digging into the data: “My sense is that what we have here is a feedback loop. Does media attention increase a candidate’s standing in the polls? Yes. Does a candidate’s standing in the polls increase media attention? Also yes.”By Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray [www.niemanlab.org] Jan. 11, 2016, 2:49 p.m

 SOURCES WHICH MAY BE RELEVANT TO OTHER DISCUSSION:

=======================================================

• Obama claims credit for strong economy, says ‘Americans are working’

  o   … In spite of Republicans doing all they could to extend the recession by crippling government infrastructure projects that are normally both cheaper to build and necessary for ‘pump priming’.

• Enacting Sanders Agenda Would Catapult Economy, Shatter Inequality, By Lauren McCauley, staff writer Published on Monday, February 08, 2016 By Common Dreams
  • First comprehensive, independent analysis shows that incomes would rise, job markets would grow, and prosperity would be more widely shared if Sanders’ proposals were put into practice
• Texas’ new laws for 2016, Posted: 4:02 PM, December 30, 2015 (com) Updated: 4:04 PM, December 30, 2015
• The dos and don’ts of open carry, By Robert Arnold – Investigative Reporter (click2houston.com) Posted: 9:37 AM, December 31, 2015 Updated: 10:04 AM, December 31, 2015
• Heavily Armed Conservative Militia Seizes Federal Building in Oregon, January 3, 2016, by Tim Peacock (peacock-panache.com)
  • White 2^nd Amendment Privilege
    • What if African-Americans with guns had done the same thing?
      • What would the reaction be from white conservatives?
    • Should any occupation involving guns be considered ‘peaceful’?
    • What should be the punishment for those involved aside from any breaking/entering, etc. Laws?
      • Lifetime suspension of gun rights?
      • Confiscation of any guns owned?
    • FBI takes lead on investigating armed takeover of federal building in Oregon; ranchers turn themselves in: Ranchers at center of Oregon protest to turn themselves in, By Carissa Wolf and Mark Berman (Washington Post) January 4 at 6:11 PM Comments 2203
      • “Federal authorities said they would not elaborate on how they plan to respond, while the occupiers said Monday they did not believe law enforcement would try to force them off of the refuge.”
    • Meet the veterans who have joined the Oregon militiamen, By Thomas Gibbons-Neff January 4 (Washington Post) at 5:37 PM
• Poll: Whites and Republicans Rank as Angriest Americans, by Andrew Rafferty (Meet the Press) Jan 3 2016, 11:54 am ET
• Obama’s team says the GOP earned Donald Trump: Loyalists say that after two terms of obstruction, Republicans are getting the anger candidate their rhetoric created. By Edward-Isaac Dovere, 12/27/15 (com, 07:45 AM EST) Updated 12/27/16 11:17 AM EST
  • “’It’s not that the country has changed, it’s that a narrow band of mostly white, low- and middle-income Americans are supporting a candidate who is speaking to their anxiety about being left behind in this economy,’ said Bill Burton, a former deputy White House press secretary.”
  • “Blue collar anxiety” is a real thing with real causes. That’s why so-called “Post-industrial Economies” are a fraud perpetrated against semi-skilled workers, and why industry needs to be re-invigorated in this country. We NEED blue collar jobs. Not everyone is cut out for ‘service’ work.
• The Crude Oil Export Ban–What, Me Worry About Peak Oil?, by Art Berman, Contributor (FORBES.COM) Dec 27, 2015 @ 12:18 PM 10,512 views
  • Peak oil is not about running out of oil. It is about what happens when the supply of conventional oil begins to decline. Once this happens, higher-cost, lower-quality sources of oil become increasingly necessary to meet global demand.
  • Congress ended the U.S. crude oil export ban last week. There is apparently no longer a strategic reason to conserve oil because shale production has made American great again.
  • The 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) that banned crude oil export was the closest thing to an energy policy that the United States has ever had. The law was passed after the price of oil increased in one month (January 1974) from $21 to $51 per barrel (2015 dollars) because of the Arab Oil Embargo.
  • The 1975 export ban was enacted because of the disastrous economic consequences of becoming dependent on imports following the peaking of U.S. oil production in 1970. Now that oil production is again close to peak levels, we have apparently forgotten that imports were the problem then and that we import twice as much today as in 1975.
  • Production of crude oil is higher today by 7% but consumption has grown to more than 16 mmbpd, an increase of 32%. At the time of the Arab Oil Embaro, consumption was only 12 mmbpd.
  • So, consumption has increased by one-third and imports have doubled but we no longer need to think strategically about oil supply because production is a little higher?
  • The technology behind tight oil has also made it the world’s most expensive barrel.
• Houston Toll Road Authority (HTRA) is slowly going all-electronic. What does this mean to you?
  • Rates – Sam Houston Tollway Counter-Clockwise
• Booming Britain to become world’s fourth largest economy as France and Italy face G8 exclusion: Europe’s largest economies will struggle to remain members of the world’s elite economic club as UK races ahead, finds new report, By Mehreen Khan (UK Telegraph) 11:30AM GMT 26 Dec 2015
  • As Brazil and India meet the political criteria for membership of the exclusive G8 club of developed democracies, their ascension could see France and Italy kicked out of the group, or the club expanded to a G10 as more economies join.
• Study: Presidents die younger than unelected candidates, By Julia Belluz 1 day ago (com)
• Narco submarine carrying 3 tons of cocaine captured off Galapagos Islands , 2015 DW.COM, Deutsche Welle (2015-12-20) 1 day ago com: The semi-submersible drug boat was captured and three crew members arrested after the vessel encountered mechanical problems 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the Galapagos Islands.
• 40 Percent Of Ford Models To Be Electrified By 2020, by Sarah Shelton December 21, 2015 (http://www.hybridcars.com): By 2020, Ford wants 40 percent of its global lineup to be offered as a plug-in or hybrid variant.
  • To reach this goal, Ford will be investing $4.5 billion and adding 13 electrified models to its lineup, calling [this] the “largest-ever electrified vehicle investment in a five-year period” for the company.
• Stupid Quote: “This wasn’t an act of terrorism. We’re treating this as an intentional act.” -Dep Pol Chief Zimmerman http://it/1m2WLYe
• Study: Presidents die younger than unelected candidates, By Julia Belluz 1 day ago (com)
• Hillary Clinton targets corporate inversion with new ‘exit tax’ plan: Tax is part of Democratic presidential frontrunner’s strategy to ‘rein in Wall Street’ on the heels of Pfizer’s plan to merge with Allergan and move to Ireland. The proposals are part of Clinton’s larger economic agenda, which includes boosting infrastructure spending by $275bn. Photograph: Jose Luis Magana/AP
• Donald Trump:
  • The best example of why highly successful business people should absolutely NOT be president?
    • Authoritarian?
    • Unable to tolerate – or even comprehend – limits on their power?

• World leaders have taken to calling ISIS “Daesh,” a word the Islamic State hates, By Laura Reston (New Republic), 10 hours ago
• Rejecting Syrian Refugees: Republican governors are turning away those fleeing the civil war, while Jeb Bush suggests only welcoming Christians.
• The Empathy Gap Between Paris and Beirut: Why have attacks in France gotten so much more attention than bombings in Lebanon?, By David A. Graham, (Nov 2015, 1:58 PM ET) The Atlantic

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