"The Return of the King". The First Hundred Days of Trump's Presidency: Part One

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Adam opens the show solo because Jeff is on assignment overseas with a group of cartographers mapping the tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip for a new travel guide.  Jeff discusses the workplace hazards in Gaza as he and his colleagues make their way through boobytrapped tunnels, losing the occasional finger or toe to an explosive device.  Adam and Jeff then turn to the theme of the show which looks at some of the major policy changes that have taken place in the first 100 days of the second Trump presidency--most notably immigration.  Adam points out that people always act in their own self-interest and are willing to give their life savings to traffickers in order to come to the United States where they can receive food and lodging benefits not typically available to many Americans.  Jeff points out that the Biden Administration seemed to believe that open borders would allow enough people to come into the country who would have an undying loyalty toward the Democratic Party and thus reward it with an electoral majority for years, if not generations to come.  However, Adam and Jeff point out that most groups of immigrants typically split their votes among the major parties  by the second or third generation, rendering the "demographics is destiny" argument moot. They also consider instances in which government agencies such as FEMA and the Department of Education have been created and funded but have had little positive impact in recent years due to misallocated funds and bureaucratic sclerosis.  Adam believes the government should limit itself to certain core functions such as national infrastructure (e.g., TVA, interstate highway system), a universal postal system and national defense, whereas Jeff is hoping that he can avoid stepping on another explosive device before he returns home.