This is the website of Abulsme Noibatno Itramne (also known as Sam Minter). Posts here are rare these days. For current stuff, follow me on Mastodon

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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Head in a Vat

It isn’t going to slow down, it is? Ivan and Sam take on Week 2 of the Trump presidency, which was just as nuts as the first week. They cover the immigration executive order and the reaction to it, the NSC shuffle and Trump’s contentious calls with Mexico and Australia, the riots in Berkley, the SCOTUS nomination and the Democratic response, what Republicans are planning on Obamacare, 25th amendment possibilities… and a lot more! Oh, and it was Ivan’s birthday. Happy Birthday Ivan!

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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-02-03
Length this week – 2:16:23

  • (0:00:36-0:20:22) But First
    • Happy Birthday Ivan
    • Agenda
    • Busy week
    • Ivan’s campaigns
    • Attending protests
    • Opinions changing?
  • (0:22:21-1:00:45) Immigration Order (mostly)
    • Was it a Muslim ban?
    • What the order did
    • Incompetence or cunning?
    • Process and purpose of EOs
    • Polling on the Order
    • Impacted people
    • Spontaneous demonstrations
    • Defying court orders?
    • Monday Night Massacre
  • (1:01:54-1:31:01) International Issues (mostly)
    • NSC shuffle
    • Russia call
    • Mexico call
    • Australia call
    • Yemen raid
    • Berkley riot
    • Quebec attack
  • (1:31:50-2:16:03) Domestic Stuff (mostly)
    • SCOTUS Nominee
    • Democratic Response
    • Trump vs Republicans
    • Bowling Green Massacre
    • Obamacare
    • 25th Amendment
    • How will the Trump presidency end?
    • Retreating from the news

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Sitting on my Porch

This week on Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan’s main topics are the debate on Donald Trump’s “legitimacy”, the fun of the final week of the transition, and the Chelsea Manning commutation. In addition though, they discuss reviving old computers, the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, Joe Biden, an odd Presidential succession edge case, and more!

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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-01-19
Length this week – 1:57:57

  • (0:00:10-0:20:34) But First
    • 2017
    • Agenda
    • Reviving old computers
  • (0:21:13-0:45:08) Legitimacy
    • Trump “legitimate”?
    • Comey, Dirty Tricks, Fairness
    • Voters made their choice
    • Unfollowing Trump?
    • Skipping the Inauguration?
    • Anti-Trump Protests
  • (0:45:56-1:04:56) Transition
    • Cabinet not talking to Trump
    • Cabinet incompetence
    • Cabinet Hodgepodge
    • Unstaffed positions
    • Normal policy disputes vs Crazy/Unqualified
  • (1:05:41-1:25:11) Manning
    • Why this release date?
    • Manning vs Snowden
    • Consistency on leaks?
  • (1:25:50-1:56:37) Lightning Round
    • Wet Foot Dry Foot
    • Book: 2001 (1968)
    • Old Postcard from Sam
    • Movie: Rogue One (2016)
    • Biden for President
    • Succession Edge Cases

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Under the Thumb

Election 2016 is done! Trump won! Everybody is surprised! So of course we have a super-long election wrap up! Darryl joins Sam and Ivan to discuss the Election Graphs and Horsesass electoral college models, what went right, what went wrong, and what we can learn for next time. Then all three discuss the reaction to and ramifications of Trump’s victory. For maybe the last time for a few years, it is an all election, all politics show!

Click below to listen or subscribe… then let us know your own thoughts!

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1-Click Subscribe in iTunes
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Show Details:

Recorded 2016-11-11
Length this week – 2:24:32

  • (0:00:10-1:05:00) Polling Post Mortem
    • Surprise!
    • Darryl’s Final Projections
    • Suspicious Polls
    • Where polls went wrong
    • Sources of poll uncertainty
    • Last minute Trump surge?
    • Actually very very close
    • National polls
    • Sam’s post mortem
    • Problems with the odds
    • Turnout
  • (1:06:10-2:24:12) The Aftermath
    • Our reactions
    • Reactions from the right
    • Trump’s appeal to the white working class
    • Clinton’s weaknesses
    • Republican Obstruction strategy
    • Would Sanders have won?
    • Should Democrats obstruct?
    • The Republican agenda
    • Anti-Trump protests
    • Which Trump do we get?
    • Future of the parties
    • Bold Predictions
    • Calling Trump voters racist
    • Radicalization

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: All Rockets Do

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner with Sam and IvГЎn:
* Sam losing a pet
* Baltimore
* Tech Earnings
* Lightning Round

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Recorded 2015-05-01

Length this week – 1:10:41

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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Too Many Books

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam talks about:
* Book and Movie Reviews
* Orion / TNR / Eric Garner / Protests / GettingRacistsFired

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Recorded 2014-12-05

Length this week – 48:29

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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Won’t Take Six Years

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan talk about:

  • NSA Feedback
  • Snowden Chase
  • Brazil/Turkey Protests

Recorded on 24 Jun 2013

Length this week – 1:13:03

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Watching Occupy ( #occupyla #occupyphilly )

It seems like tonight coordinated actions are going on in Philly and LA. In Philly the occupiers peacefully left the park when the police asked them to leave, and instead started marching around the city. In LA things are tense, with tons and tons of police surrounding the areas where the protesters are. No idea what will end up happening. Expectation seems to be that something will happen after midnight Pacific time. We shall see. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t.

I’m watching intently, mainly at these locations:

To reiterate what I’ve said a couple of times on the podcast my basic position is this: I generally don’t like protesters. I find them annoying. You will not find me at a protest. And Occupy in specific I believe has raised awareness of a few issues, but it isn’t as if there are any particular realistic actions that could be taken to make them happy. And Occupy has lived up to the annoyance level of most protests and more, and the 24 hour occupations really seem unnecessary and excessive to me. For the most part they are just making noise and being annoying.

However… I believe that this kind of expression, and the ability to do so whenever and wherever people want, and without restriction or unnecessary intervention by the government, is or should be one of the most important values of a democracy. I don’t care if these guys are Occupy, or the Klan, or the Tea Party or whoever, the government should stay the hell out, and let people express their political thoughts. Yes, in certain circumstances when health or safety are really in danger, some actions may be necessary. But we as a society should bend over backwards to help facilitate end encourage the free and varied expression of political thought, not spend resources to restrict, confine and repress it. And certainly we have not seen anything yet in this series of protests that would warrant any of the responses we have seen nationwide so far, let alone anything more.

Luckily, so far, none of these things have spiraled into a really violent situation (despite a handful of serious injuries), but each time we get an official response trying to remove these guys, we run that risk. And for no real reason. There is no compelling need to remove any of these protesters.

And does nobody remember that trying to repress movements often just makes them stronger and more radical than ever? Is that what is wanted here? Are all these mayors (and whatever national people are “helping” and “coordinating” between them) just absolutely nuts? Why? Just why? The best thing to do is just provide public safety support when needed, but let the protesters do their thing. If left alone, eventually they would get tired, declare victory and go home. Instead, on a regular basis we are risking violence and chaos as confrontations are forced by the police.

And that is before you even consider reports tonight of restrictions on media movement and what the media is “allowed” to report or show live. That is so beyond the pale for a democracy. Thank goodness we now live in a world where everybody with a smartphone can report live from the scene and you don’t actually need the local TV stations and newspapers to get a view of what is happening, as they seem to be willing to roll over and live with any restrictions the authorities ask for.

I look at the protesters and I shake my head and think they are nuts.

But I look at the government responses to the protesters and I weep for my country.

Alex Audio / Back in the Saddle

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner…

Sam and Ivan talk about:

  • Alex Being Born
  • Regulation of Markets
  • Government vs Corporations
  • Financial Suicides
  • Obama Support Levels
  • G20 Protestors
  • Merrill and Ikea

Just click to listen now:

[wpaudio url=”http://www.abulsme.com/CurmudgeonsCorner/CC20090921.mp3″ text=”CC recorded 21 Sep 2009″]
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