According2Sam Podcast

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee released transcripts of sworn testimony that FBI lawyer, Lisa Page, gave to them in a closed door hearing. They plan on methodically releasing Page's testimony, along with the testimony of others who testified privately. As one member stated, they plan on releasing it in small, easily digestible, pieces so that the American people can get a better under...

The roots of modern populism in America go back to the early 1990s with rightwing populist leaders such as Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot. There were many issues driving these movements, but the biggest was the issue of trade. Move forward to the end of the decade when leftwing populism manifested itself during the World Trade protest in Seattle in 1999, and then in the Ralph Nader campaign a year la...

This Jussie Smollett story has a lot of angles, but essentially it’s a story about a troubled man who wanted to be seen as a victim of a hate crime by a Trump supporter. He gave it two attempts, and became angry when the first attempt to mail himself a threating letter didn’t received the attention he hoped. He then planned the more elaborate scheme to pay two men to attack him, pour bleach on him...

No one can deny that the Grand Ole Party has gone through a transformation in the past decade, from the neoconservative movement to the Republican Party currently being lead by President Trump. Yet, the vestiges of the neocon faction remain and they are actively working to subvert the current republican movement. It started with the ‘Never Trump’ call to prevent him from winning the nomination, an...

When Fareed Zakaria released his book “Post America World” at the end of the of the Bush administration in 2008 the nation was at the beginning of the Great Recession. The nation was engaged two wars, both with no end in sight. Meanwhile, as he writes, the rest of the world was advancing, and becoming more modern and competitive. Countries such as China, India, and Brazil seem do be going in oppos...

When Donald Trump launched his campaign for president with the slogan ‘Make America Great Again (MAGA)’ it was like a beacon of light to Americans who believed the nation was on the wrong track. Many of these people were the same Americans who believed the nation was on the wrong track in 2008, when they voted for Obama who ran on the campaign slogan ‘Change you can believe in’. However, the MAGA...

Roger Stone has been indicted and arrested by the Grand Jury in the Mueller investigation. In the early morning a 29-man swat team with automatic weapons, boats, and a helicopter raided Stone’s home and took him into custody. The entire spectacle was captured by CNN, who just happened to be at Stone’s house to document the arrest for the world. Stone was later released on a signature bond. He main...

The key to understanding the significance of John Podesta’s emails, from his personal Gmail account, being leaked to the world by WikiLeaks, is understanding who John Podesta is. He was the Chief of Staff to President Clinton, and a chief advisor to President Obama. He was the Chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and was on track to become Chief of Staff in the Hillary Clinton ad...

The digital information age has made it easier for governments to spy on their people. It has made it easier for corporations to track us and sell us products. Yet, the technological advancements of the information age have also made it easier for average everyday individuals to fight back against corrupt and unjust people in power. Hackers from around the world, whistleblowers who leak from withi...

It is a common belief among less cynical people that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was an intelligence blunder, a mistake. They believe President Bush was just trying to protect America after the September 11 attacks, and he was acting on faulty intelligence. Nothing could be further from the truth. The push to war in Iraq was a diabolical and cleverly crafted scheme. President Bush wasn’t acting on f...

Unfortunately, corruption and malfeasance is endemic in human institutions and organizations. Perhaps it has something to do with humanity. However, it is also human to have a conscience, and to want to expose corruption and abuses of power when you are in a position to do so, and for a greater human good. This is the role of the whistleblower. There are many examples of corporate and institutiona...

When President Kennedy gave a speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Association in 1961, just a week after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, he asked them to take on the tremendous task of informing the American people. Despite the lack of an official declaration of war, he also asked them to employ wartime disciplines in protecting national security. He said with respect to every story ask, “Is it ne...

Hillary’s Clinton’s emails where a constant theme throughout the 2016 election, going back to the primary when ‘Bernie Bros’ tried to raise the issue to give Sanders an advantage. Bernie Sanders famously said in a debate with Clinton, “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!” It was ominous, because the American people were going to hear a lot more about Clinton’s...

When President Trump proclaimed that he was a “nationalist” it sent shockwaves around the world. He had been championing nationalist views and policies from the moment he came down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy. He had been using nationalist terminology, such as “America First” and the term: “Americanism”, but until now he had never used the word nationalist. Many in the m...

You may have heard, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question”. Yet, people ask stupid questions all the time. Sadly, many of these stupid questions come from the mainstream media directed to the Trump administration. However, many times they are not questions at all. They are cleaver, and not so cleaver, accusations masking as questions to create a false narrative. This tactic has been used man...

The October surprise is about the only thing you can count on in American politics today. Sometimes it is an organic surprise that benefits a Party or candidate, but other times it is a well-planned and well-organized surprise meant to benefit a certain Party or candidate. When two weeks before the 2018 Congressional election crudely made bombs were sent to prominent Democrats everyone knew it was...

The murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Turkey was a ripple that cause a wave in Washington DC. The President of the United States and others in Congress who have been ardent defenders of Saudi Arabia in the past are caught in a PR nightmare as they weigh the relationship between the Kingdom and the United States. Businesses and investors are pulling out of the Saud...

As a caravan of thousands of migrants move towards the United States from Honduras, immigration is once again front and center in the national debate just weeks from the 2018 Congressional elections. Recent polling, particularly among Latino voters, suggest immigration is not generating the support for Democrats that they expected. The same polling suggests that Republicans are doing better with L...

The conformation of Brett Kavanaugh has been one of the most controversial political events of the Trump presidency, even before the allegation by Dr. Ford was made public. Her claim that Kavanugh attempted to rape her 35 years ago when he was in high school has created an even greater fervor around his conformation by those on the Left and Right. Yet, no matter how you feel about the Judge or Dr....

Section 1 of Article Two of the Constitution states that no Person except a “natural born Citizen” shall be eligible to be President of the United States. For years, legal scholars have debated the meaning of “natural born Citizen”. Several candidates for president have been accused of being ineligible to hold the Office based on this clause, but the issue has yet to be settled by the courts. In e...

The Tea Party was a conservative, grassroots, movement that started in America towards the end of the George W. Bush administration. It was a reaction to failures of the Bush administration and the loss of power by the Republican Party. The Tea Party was focused on fiscal responsibility, the national debt, and the size and scope of the federal government. When Obama was elected the Tea Party turne...

The power of persuasion has taken on a new meaning in the age of mass media and mass communication. It goes from the micro to the macro, from the individual to the group, and it has been an effective tool in the project of mass persuasion. What are the roots of these mass persuasion techniques? How are these techniques being used right now? How is racism being used in mass persuasion? Is President...

It looks like immigration will be a leading issue in the midterm elections this year, and prominent Democrats are calling for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to be abolished. Many other Democrat constituents are calling for no borders at all, and President Trump has seized on the calls for open borders. How will the calls for open borders help or hurt Democrats this fall? Where does...

The immigration debate is really heating up this week. It must be an election year! Why has this been an issue for so long and when will we finally solve this problem? Why didn't Democrats address immigration when the controlled both Houses of Congress, and why won't they work with the president to solve it now? Why are Democrats using the Bible and religion to push forward their policy of open bo...

If Russia didn't hack the DNC the Russia investigation is over and Spygate is completely valid. Why is the media acting like our intelligence agencies are above reproach? What is the history of our intelligence community in the world? Why won't the DNC allow anyone outside of their orbit inspect their servers? How can we be sure Russia hacked the DNC without an outside inspection of the servers. J...