Retail Politics Podcast

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S01E45 Carol Leonnig, The Politics of the Secret Service Aug 15, 2021

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Now, the “not so Secret Service”

August 15, 2021 -- In her new book, “Zero Fail,” Washington Post Pulitzer prize-winning report Carol Leonnig exposes failures of America’s elite agency.

“It was a culture, the service had partied hard for decades,” Leonnig said. “They had worked hard and partied hard.”

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S01E44 Dr. James Lopez, The Politics of Cuba Aug 09, 2021

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Cuba in Turmoil -- Again

August 8, 2021 –Recent Protests in Cuba continue a history of turmoil from Columbus to Castro. And once again eyes are on the United States to respond.

“The Cuban economy is in free fall,” said Dr. James Lopez, co-director of the Center for Jose Marti Studies at the University of Tampa. “There is great economic hardship, food shortages, the collapse of the medical system, COVID cases are on the rise.”

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S01E43 Leo Raymond, Politics of the Post Office Aug 01, 2021

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Save the Postal Service Now

August 1, 2021 –The nation’s foremost postal service expert believes Congress has an opportunity to right the financially struggling agency established in 1775 by adopting a business model that separates its tasks.

“You’ve got something that is expected to do things that are service oriented but not necessarily profitable, while at the same time keeping yourself reasonably balanced financially,” Leo Raymond said. “You’re going to end up in a self-conflicting situation.”

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S01E42 Dr. Edna Greene Medford, Politics of the Presidency Jul 25, 2021

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Who was the Best --- and Worst?

July 18, 2021 –Howard University history professor, Dr. Edna Greene Medford, discusses the best and worst presidents in American history. Trump detractors thought finish last in the C-SPAN poll. Guess again.

“When we’re looking at them, we are looking at more than just what is happening in the four years or eight years that they’re leading the country,” Greene says. “We’re also looking at what they did when they got into the presidency and certainly what they do when they leave.”

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S01E41 Bill Cowles, The Politics of Voting Rights Jul 18, 2021

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American Voting System Upended through New Laws, Courts

July 18, 2021 –New voting rights laws in several conservative states combined with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding them have thrown the American voting system into disarray, a Florida Supervisor of Elections said.

“The irony is that the 2020 election was the highest turnout in our country,” said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles. “As an elections administrator who is trying to figure out how to run the election in 2022, we’re trying to figure out what the norm is going to be.”

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S01E40 John Fritze, Politics of the Highest Court Jul 11, 2021

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The Politics of the Supreme Court

Highest Court in the Land Didn’t Steer Right

July 11, 2021 –Despite the hue and cry over Donald Trump creating a 6-3 conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority, the justices ruled more moderate than detractors and supporters anticipated.

“For the vast majority of the term, that’s right,” said USA Today Supreme Court reporter, John Fritze. “That definitely didn’t happen.”

S01E39 David O. Stewart, Politics of George Jul 04, 2021

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The Politics of George

Former President, Commander, Also Skilled Politician

July 4, 2021 –Though George Washington was America’s first president and Commander, he also stands out as one of the greatest political figures in the nation’s history, winning four key elections without having a single vote cast against him.

“The man was incredibly successful politically, and that’s not how we think of him,” said biographer David O. Stewart, author of the new book: George Washington: The Politic Rise of America’s Founding Father.

“We think of him as the soldier, a farmer, as an all-around upright guy,” Stewart said. “But we don’t think of him as a political actor, and he really was for much of his life.”

S01E38 Gary McLinney, Politics of Violent Crime Jun 27, 2021

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The Politics of Violent Crime

Murders Spike in America Post George Floyd Protests

June 27, 2021 –Murders across the nation have reached their highest in a half-century, and many blame the demoralization of American policing in the wake of the George Floyd killing a year ago.

“They’re doing the job that elected officials and some communities want them to do,” Gary McLhinney, former president of the Baltimore Fraternal of Police, told the Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields.

“They don’t want them engaging with criminals,” McLhinney said.

S01E37 Jon Allen, Politics of Ransomware Jun 20, 2021

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The Politics of Ransomware

U.S. Ill-Prepared for Cyber Hijackers

June 20, 2021 –A U.S. Defense Secretary once ranked the United States a three out of 10 in its ability to stop computer hacker cyber-attacks. That number hasn’t changed much in a decade; an NBC News reporter told the Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields on Sunday

Computer hijackers are extorting tens of millions of dollars from American businesses handcuffed by the seizure of their technical operations.

“There really seems to be no solution,” Jon Allen said. “Our government has not figured them out, our corporations have not figured them out, and other organizations have not figured out how to stop this from happening,”

Allen, an award-winning former congressional reporter and author of the new book, Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency, discusses how the president is faring and the road potholes ahead.

S01E36 Former Congressman Charlie Dent, Politics of Ethics Jun 13, 2021

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The Politics of Ethics

Past Committee Chairman: House Ethics Not Contradictory Terms

June 13, 2021 – The former Republican chairman of the U.S. House Ethics Committee found most members honest but recalls the greatest hit list of our generation’s most ridiculous congressional scandals.

Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania also admonished House Trump supporters for blocking the establishment of a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and Trump’s attempt to overthrow the government.

“I thought Congress should have enacted an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the events of Jan. 6 that led up it, the day of the event, including the actions of the president,” Dent said. “I think it was a mistake that one was not established.”

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