Well, it certainly didn’t take long for President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to revive the Ugly American brand.
Welcome to Season 3: Episode 5 of A View from the Left Side, New Strategies for a New World Order.
As the seventh week of Trump’s second term comes to a close, the United States, the world and the global financial markets are reeling from his decisions and walkbacks. Trump is not just a flimflam man. He’s a flipflopping flimflam man. It’s mind-boggling how much has happened since I recorded my last podcast a week ago.
Casting off our long-term allies, jumping in bed with Russia, starting a trade war with our biggest trading partners, crashing Wall Street, tanking world financial markets, pissing off consumers—and lying about all of it during a joint session of Congress on primetime TV. Wow, Trump had a big week!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that – also this week—we learned that several states have measles outbreaks. The upside of the measles outbreaks is that DOGE has rehired some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff they fired. Perhaps we do need a few public health people! (Will Arizona have a measles outbreak? We have the same personal exemption for vaccines that Texas does.)
So much winning!
Ugh … pass the anti-depressants before RFK Jr. outlaws them!
Today’s episode features a wide-ranging interview with three long-time political authors from Blog for Arizona. Tucson lawyer and former prosecutor Michael Bryan founded Blog for Arizona more than 20 years ago. B4AZ has been published continuously since then. Retired lawyer and former newspaper journalist, Larry Bodine is the past chair of the Legislative District 18 Democrats in Pima County and has been on the Board of Democrats of Greater Tucson for five years, including three years as president. Phoenician David Gordon has had a career in education and is a successful science fiction author, in addition to being a prolific political blogger. His experience in science fiction writing probably informs his coverage of the Arizona Legislature.
Podcast Time Stamps
| The Ugly American Brand Returns | 0:29
| It's the Economy Stupid | 4:02
| The 'Stable Genius' at Work | 5:51
| Shadow Group [DOGE] Dismantles 'Shadow Government' [Deep State] | 7:14
| Is Trump's Election Part of a Antisystems Revolt? | 8:14
| Democrats Shouldn't Defend Systems that Are Broken | 8:38
| Podcast Interview: Today's Guests | 9:55
| Strategic Alliances Crumbling | 11:31
| DOGE Is a Challenge to Constitutional Order | 17:05
| Are We Watching an Antisystems Revolt Unfold? | 23:51
| Egg Prices and Where the Democrats Went Wrong in 2024 | 27:49
| Disinformation and the Media Landscape | 40:27
| Do the Dems Need 'Better Stories' or Better Listening Skills? | 42:42
| Institutional Change | 50:23
| The Resistance Can't Be Invisible | 57:54
| Arizona Politics | 1:02:23
| Diversity Equity and Inclusion | 1:09:37
| 2026: Can Dems Keep the Statewide Offices They Hold and Oust Ciscomani? | 1:14:49
| Parting Thoughts | 1:27:03
You can watch my podcast on YouTube or listen to it on popular podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Listen Notes and True Fans.
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New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
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