Beyond Politics

In this week’s episode, Matt Robison and I dive into an often-overlooked aspect of job selection: logistics. While most people prioritize salary and job responsibilities, we emphasize the significance of considering the logistical details that contribute to job satisfaction and work-life balance.

Washington Post columnist Philip Bump delves into navigating through political news with data and facts, discussing leadership transitions, media challenges, evolution of policy positions, impact of Baby Boom generation, data interpretation, and media perception in the U.S.

In a little-noticed filing, a Republican, Trump-endorsed attorney asked the Secretary of State of New Hampshire to keep Donald Trump OFF the presidential ballot. The panel discusses the massive ramifications, including whether this will unleash a wave of similar moves targeting not just Trump, but also President Biden and other candidates. Also, why Mark Meadows Maneuvers could be a BFD.

On the surface it seemed like just a lot of legal maneuvering, but underneath, the entire course of the January 6th trial of Donal Trump played out in a federal courtroom yesterday. Matt Robison joins radio host Howard Monroe to dissect what we heard and what it means. Also, the 14th Amendment cascade is about to begin.

The Wikipedia entry for Ted Strickland notes that “As of 2023, he is the last Democrat to serve as Governor of Ohio.” But when Ohio voters soundly rejected a cynical Republican ballot initiative a few weeks ago, it made us wonder, is that about to change? What happened to this onetime bellwether state, and have Democrats begun to figure out how to win it back, and other states like it? So we thought we would ask him. Ted Strickland served in the US House of Representatives for 12 years and as the Governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. He’s also been president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and he is an is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

Mike and I discuss the various labels you should be paying attention to in the stock market. For instance, a popular value index fund, the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (ticker IVE) includes Microsoft which is typically a growth company. Here is where knowing the ingredients of the fund is crucial.

Two expert pollsters wanted to know what swing voters thought of the Republican candidates in the Presidential debate -- so they tested them with dials as they watched. The results should make the entire Republican Party nervous.

The first debate may be other Republican candidates' best chance to make up some ground on Donald Trump -- who isn't even showing up -- but it seems like the other candidates are going to defend him rather than try to beat him. Can that work? Or are these candidates just cementing his place as the eventual nominee?

As part of our financial life planning series, financial planner Mike Morton and Matt Robison explore why it is liberating to embrace the idea that individual lives may not hold significant meaning in the grand scheme of things. In fact, embracing that notion can help you do things that are more fulfilling, spend your time more wisely, and make better decisions.

What if the laws that allow billions of dollars of dark money to drive American politics are based on...a mistake? One of America’s most prominent legal scholars thinks that’s exactly what’s happened, and he’s going to give someone $50,000 to help him prove it. Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School and the founder of Equal Citizens, an advocacy group whose mission is to fix democracy by establishing truly equal citizenship. On Labor Day, September 4, 2023, Equal Citizens will launch a video competition with (at least one) $50,000 prize for whoever can help clearly and concisely explain the legal argument for why SuperPACs can be regulated. To find out more about the contest and enter, go to the contest page: https://equalcitizens.us/crowdfund-video/ And to watch a longer explanation of Professor Lessig's argument, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPTY327iRJA&feature=youtu.be