Views on the News from the Couch

Send us Fan Mail This piece explores how someone open to climate science became skeptical—not of the science, but of how the issue has been communicated. It argues that exaggeration, selective framing, and social pressure have undermined trust, even as legitimate risks remain. The essay calls for a more honest, data-driven conversation and outlines a pragmatic energy path forward that includes nuc...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I take on a label that gets thrown around way too casually: ‘far‑right fascist.’ I walk through how mainstream politicians, academics, and media smear conservatives as fascists, starting with Biden’s ‘semi‑fascism’ line and moving through Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams, Antifa, the 2020 riots, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I argue that election denial and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I push back on the idea that Boomers “had it easy” and owe their kids a softer life. Starting with the story of Rufus—a kid who walked into an auto shop two weeks before his 14th birthday to ask for a job—I connect three generations: my dad shoveling outhouses, a young hustler running a repair shop in his teens, and today’s grads struggling with housing and work....

Send us Fan Mail What happens when key institutions in a 50–50 country start operating like one-party systems? Today’s episode digs into the growing imbalance across universities, media, and the legal world—where certain viewpoints aren’t just debated, they’re increasingly pushed out. From commencement speaker controversies to the ideological tilt of organizations like the ABA, the pattern is hard...

Send us Fan Mail In an earlier episode I supported Trump attacking Iran.  The last few weeks I got wobbly and played a game where I asked AI If Churchill was was in charge in 2026, what would he do?  For the results, you will to listen to the episode.

Send us Fan Mail A walk down memory lane of my golfing memories.  Might be more suited for a diary but I think some may find it interesting.

Send us Fan Mail The April 4, 2026 episode of Views on the News from the Couch looks at the firing of Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey after he criticized the NBA’s Pride Month promotion on his own time, away from the court and team facilities. The Bulls labeled his Instagram post “conduct detrimental to the team,” even though the comments focused on the league’s embrace of Pride Month rather than a...

Send us Fan Mail When I first started to think about the No Kings subject, I have to admit the No Kings rallies bothered me. How dare they insinuate we have a king—particularly when aimed at a Republican. Republicans believe in less government, not more. But then it dawned on me, I have been celebrating No Kings Day for years. Maybe the liberalss just want to celebrate it more often.  That is a go...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Views on the News from the Couch , Jeff walk's through why he  believes there really was a “deep state” — and how it targeted Donald Trump. Drawing on newly declassified ODNI material, House and Senate findings, and Jonathan Turley’s reporting on the Florida grand jury, he argues that senior Obama‑era officials and their allies helped manufacture and sell a...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Views on the News from the Couch , I start with the age‑old question: am I Team Mary Ann or Team Ginger—and what does that say about how I handle politics? Using a light, nostalgic argument over two sitcom icons, I dig into why not every disagreement is a moral emergency and why reasonable people can see the same reality differently. From The Office’s “Is Hilary...

Send us Fan Mail For many years I have said I’m for single‑payer healthcare—mostly because we’ve screwed up the system we have but that does not mean I understand the issue.  Today I am exploring what “socialized medicine” actually means, what it would cost, and what we’d have to give up to have it.  And a bit on what I recommend.

Send us Fan Mail Today’s podcast was a journey. Lot’s of rewrites. Lot’s of probing questions. I did not start with an answer and try to explain it; I started with some questions, and did a lot of thinking. It started with a simple question:  If you thought bombing Libya in 2011 was at least a close call, maybe even defensible, how on earth do you turn around in 2026 and say bombing Iran is beyond...

Send us Fan Mail In the early part of this millennium, 2006 or so, from a race standpoint it felt like we were on a roll—more mixed neighborhoods, more interracial marriages, more boring, everyday life together. Then somewhere around the Obama era, we took a hard turn.  Suddenly every dispute was racial, and every outcome gap was “systemic racism.” And it seemed the answer to everything was to ree...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Views on the News from the Couch, I take apart the fantasy that we can fix America’s $35‑trillion‑plus debt and multi‑trillion‑dollar deficits just by “taxing the rich.” We run a thought experiment: what if we confiscated all billionaire wealth, then everything from people worth over $100 million, then over $10 million? Even after blowing up the entire top of th...

Send us Fan Mail My goal is to explore subjects that interest me – and might interest you – with some occasional humor and less partisan spin.   I call myself a conservative at about the 40‑yard line for Republicans but even that gets confusing given how far crazies and the media have moved the goalposts.   My aim is simple: call out the crazy on all sides and pull the conversation back toward a s...

Send us Fan Mail Let's add one more historical piece to this discussion that a lot of listeners will think of: the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Send us Fan Mail We love to say, “If I’d been around in the 1930s, I would have stopped Hitler early.” We curse the people who appeased him, who let him tear up treaties, who watched him send a few battalions into the Rhineland in 1936 and did nothing while his army was still relatively weak. We sit here with perfect hindsight and ask, “Why didn’t somebody move when the cost was still low, before...

Send us Fan Mail If you live in the modern Western world, your default setting probably ought to be “basically happy.”  Not ecstatic, not Instagram‑perfect—just generally okay. And if you’re not, at least some of that might be on you. Because look at what we’ve got.....

Send us Fan Mail Today’s February 19, 2026 Views on the News from the Couch podcast asks the important question: Why do I think the left, littered with smart people and many academics, has more stupid ideas than the right? Not that the right doesn’t have its own stupid ideas—we absolutely do. I’ve voted for Trump three times, but most of my conservative friends and I are unhappy with the tariff si...

Send us Fan Mail I float a theory I’ve been working on since 1977, long before Donald Trump came down the escalator and announced he was running for President.  It’s a theory about pronouns, prejudice, and why the same person can be both charming in private and toxic in public.

Send us Fan Mail The February 1, 2026 episode of Views on the News from the Couch started in a weird way. I basically spent a morning arguing with my AI assistant so I probably should call this one “Questions from the Couch,” but instead let’s go with: “I’m pissed my reasonable views are called racist, fascist and Nazi‑ish—and AI helped me understand why.” I’m going to walk you through the convers...

Send us Fan Mail ICE, A few Views from the Couch on What is going on in Minneapolis.  Summary, play with fire, get burnt.

Send us Fan Mail  I’m back. Not sure for how long or how often, but I just can’t let Views on the News from the Couch die. Lay dormant, sure. Not die.   This podcast started a few years ago for me to share views and opinions based on a lifetime of experiences. As you get older, you realize our politics can be a bit like NASCAR: drive fast and turn left. By “turn left” I don’t mean liberal; I mean...

Send us Fan Mail Why are Republicans asked to confess but not Democrats?  That is it.  That is the subject for today's podcast.

Send us Fan Mail April 5, 2025 edition of Views on the News from the Couch discusses Trump’s tariff proposals.  A quick summary?  They suck.