Plausibly Live! - The Official Podcast Of The Dave Bowman Show

According to a recent report, people who read The Lord of the Rings and 1984, are “more likely” to become “right wing extremists.” Unfortunately, the report had no information about middle aged men who follow crypto currency scams on Instagram. Meanwhile, the National Park service has some advice in case of bears, and we are now living in the final hours before the world no longer has a History of the World Pt II… All that and more, this week on What The Frock with Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod…

As I get closer to my surgery (Mar 18), my voce is continuing to degrade. It is very frustrating to me, but as long as you tolerate it, I can live with it. The good news is that the long dry spell is over. The Government announced yesterday another $400+ Million in military aid for Ukraine AND another $600+ Million for Taiwan. It had been more than a week since we announced more aid for Ukraine, so I was getting a little worried. That said, it’s time that we started asking more than a couple of questions about where this whole thing is headed… A week ago I was having one of the most wonderful meals I have ever had. The night before last I was sitting in the synagogue learning about the concept of the esoteric ideas of the Torah. And yes, in my head, they are related…

Look, it’s NOT that I don’t see some value in a college education. The problem I have with it is that you don’t actually need a college to get that education. But you DO need the college to give you the sheepskin that says that you have it. I’ve said it before, I would love to go and get my degree in history. But the education that I have received makes it clear that the ROI on such a move would be precisely zero. Meanwhile, the Article V “Convention of the states idea” continues to plod onward, allegedly gaining momentum all the while stuck at nineteen States which have actually taking official action on it. One State that will NOT be joining the movement is my beloved Wyoming (Dave4Gov 2028) which came to its senses yesterday and voted not to join the call for a Convention of the states. Why, you may ask? Because Wyoming gets it…

Last week President Joe Biden was asked about his read of China’s intention vis-à-vis Russian and Ukraine. He said that he did not see” China helping Russia with weapons and/or ammunition. This was, of course, after his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said that China was planning to do exactly that. And China, said that they were not considering it. Then for good measure Blinken threatened to have McDonalds leave China. It hardly seems like it, but it was just over half a century ago that the Vulcan proverb was born: Only Nixon could go to China. Which he did, after more than a year of secret meetings with Kissinger and his Chinese counterparts. Fifty-one years ago, Nixon and Zhou Enlai signed a document know as the Shanghai Communiqué. And for the past fifty-one years, it has guided American foreign policy towards the Peoples Republic of China…

I had some stuff on the war to talk about, but late last night, for the first time in my lifetime, something happened to my family that we always joked about and certainly knew about, but finally touched down in our world. Long ago, Scott Adams write one of the best management books I ever read. In that book, he introduced me to one of the rules I have lived by ever since. I suppose that now I can’t even say that because it makes me… “racist?” Or does it? The Adams Rule may give us some guidance…

Good day, hosers! Rabbi Dave has returned from his voyage across the mighty Pacific Ocean! While he was gone, things changed… Dilbert got canceled, Project Veritas got rid of James O’Keefe, and even James Bond got rewritten to make him less… James Bond… Turns out Coke and Pepsi are good for something’s, while telling people that we orbit the sun will get you thrown in jail. All that and more today on What The Frock?

NOTE: No video today. I screwed up the recording. Sorry. So... couple of things that I need to clear up. The name of the show is "Plausibly Live." For those of you who might not get that, it means that the show is conducted and recorded live. But there is no giant red light and buzzer that alerts me when somebody pushes play on their device and then I run upstairs to the studio and start talking. I write shows sometimes days in advance, and whenever I can, I record them as early as possible. So... well... now you know... Putin gave a speech yesterday in which he took on a number of issues including the West's perversions. China is having major internal issues (according to reports). Where is this all headed?

On February 21, 1945, the newly upgraded aircraft carrier USS Saratoga was supporting the landings on Iwo Jima. The night before she was detached with a small escort to bomb Japanese forces on Chichi Jima. The next day is overcast with very low cloud cover. Out of the low clouds screamed six Japanese planes, who manage to hit the Sara's forward end, causing heavy damage and killing one hundred and twenty-three of her sailors. Another one hundred and ninety-two are injured. Sara will survive the attack, but she will never serve in combat again. She is converted into a training Carrier, and then into a transport for operation Magic Carpet at the end of the war. She was then determined to be obsolete and surplus. On 25 July, 1946 she was sunk during Test Baker of Operation crossroads, the first large scale test of the atomic bombs effects against naval vessels. Of those one-hundred and twenty three men killed on February 21, 1945, sixty-four could not be recovered and were sealed in the ship as she traveled

Happy Washington’s Birthday! Yes… that is the “real” name of today’s holiday, but thanks to slick marketing and lack of civic virtue, we somehow or another have converted this into a day when the USPS, which is NOT a federal agency, gets the day off. We talk Presidents, good and bad…

A recent article has the Good Friar and the Rabbi discussing whether or not a sermon, written entirely by AI, can have any “soul,” whatever that means. Of course it dredges out the past for Dave and it turns out that he has no empathy. For anybody. K.K. Rowling gets an apology, but it has a weird vibe to it. The military is shooting down balloons, but they ain’t West Taiwanese. And in the audience participation segment, we have an HR nightmare of a set up…

It IS February 17th. I actually had a person yell at me today because he was certain that today is February 18th, and he is expecting me to do something for him on the 18th. But… for the record it is not the 18th. February 17th, 1600ce, was the day that the Government authorities took a man from a prison cell, clamped a vice on his tongue, and then took him to be burned alive at the stake. His crime? Not adhering to and openly questioning the narrative. Sound… oddly familiar to anybody?

I’m late to the party on the Superb Owl, that said, why does anybody take anybody talking about Superb Owl Commercials seriously? The days of the commercials being “the show” are long gone, thanks to parity, officiating and the inundation of advertising we now see everywhere. Look, people say weird and dare I say, controversial things, on social media. Just because I am friends with somebody – including you – doesn’t mean that I am in lock-step agreement with everything you say. Also, the fact that I do not take to my social media to ridicule and/or condemn you for your nonsensical post comes from my faith in which we are taught not to say everything that comes to mind.

Look, nothing happens in a vacuum. Whether it’s a Papal Bull that results in the eradication of cats that seems to lead to millions of human deaths, or a grain shortage in the middle of a violent revolution that leads to a Economist and Reverend watching what is going on and coming up with what will become one of the most impactful theories in human history…

Last week I was wondering out loud about the whole fentanyl situation. Luckily, one of my compatriots from the US Navy Submarine Force is involved with a Florida non-profit that aims to educate people about the dangers of fentanyl. Today I am joined by Judd Spitzer, who is the Co-Chair and Technical Director for the Blue Plaid Society. We talk the story of fentanyl and what each of us needs to know and can do to protect our children. NOTE: Judd refers to Fentanyl as more powerful that oxycodone. He meant to say morphine.

Recent developments in the world of AI have the good Friar and the Rabbi concerned about the things that might be coming in the future. It's more than just using AI to create deep fakes that offend and outrage. In a politically charged atmosphere, how will you discern truth from the fake? It appears to be open season on UFOs. The Pentagon told us that at least three have now been shot down. West Taiwanese satellites are now being used to put on laser light shows in Hawaii. All that and more Burt Reynolds than you ever wanted this week on What The Frock?

Seymour Hirsh is not a source that I take overly seriously. That said, his latest story about the Nordstream 2 Pipeline is rattling some cages, including mine. If, and that’s a super big “IF,” Hirsch is correct, then we got bamboozled and almost dragged into WWIII. In Washington State the Legislative Privilege debate rages on. Now, the Legislators in question have released documents that show us the things that they were redacting were… well… banal. The Superb Owl goes down on Sunday. The over/under on punts is seven. In a counter intuitive move, I’m taking the over.

In practical terms, how many people does it actually take to approve and enact a law that is binding of the people of the United States? Now… you might think that the answer is obvious, but… is it? More importantly, when you finally get that number, does it make sense to you as “representative” of the people of the United States? Brutus continues his explanation as to why the proposed Congress is too small. Not only is too small a group of people subject to easier bribery and influence, it is also not possible to be very representative of the nation as a whole. One of the biggest issues Brutus has though, is just how few people it actually takes to pass a law that effects the entire country. Think about this, in 1791 it would take roughly seventeen Congressmen to actually pass a law. Assuming that the Senate and the President went along with it, that would mean that just thirty-one people were in effect, speaking for the entire (just under 4 Million) people of the United States. You may have thought that t

It's a fact that most people today form their opinions long before that actually have anything close to the full information about... well... anything. And, those opinions more often tell us more about the person who has them than it does about the actual subject at hand. Now we have reached the point where the jokes about it are not just written before the subject has even been broadcast, but the opinions were also reached long before things resolved. A local murder up here has people debating a few issues. Is mail theft worth a death?

The first American Civil War was every bit as vicious and hate-filled as the second. And... like the second, it eventually resulted in amending the US Constitutional to try and make things better. It all started when the state of Georgia decided that it wasn't going to pay the guy who sold their militia supplies during the war. It led to an intense debate during ratification over the concept of State Sovereignty, then went before the US Supreme Court, where the court... got it "wrong." On February 7, 1794 We the People of the United States made that absolutely clear. Or... did we?

Do you understand the difference between the Chinese Spy Balloon, er, meteorological airship, and the Grammy's?