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Radio CG 16: COVID Edition
It’s no secret that we’ve devoted a lot of airtime to politics and the (still-ongoing, it seems!) presidential election. Today, we’re going to talk about the other big thing that’s been going on for most of the year: COVID-19, and its impact on, well, everything and everyone. For those of you who don’t know, co-host Pat and his entire family came down with COVID-19 in November. They aren’t 100% sure where they were infected; suspicion rests on a board meeting his wife attended, as everyone there ended up falling ill. Pat’s daughter and 84-year-old mother were also impacted; at showtime, his mother was still in the hospital receiving oxygen (though…
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Radio CG 15: And The Winner Is…
The election is sort-of over, and we have a winner – or do we? The media called the presidential race for Joe Biden, and those who voted for him are definitely rejoicing…but there’s 70 million + people who are existing in a state of grief. Emotions ran high for this episode, but we raised some legitimate questions: Do Democrats see the millions of Trump voters as racists? How do we secure our elections so there is no doubt about them? Can this country heal? Bringing Us Together The show aired right after Biden made his victory speech, where he described the need to unify the country and reach out across…
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Radio CG 14: Election Week Edition
As the music blaring at the beginning of the show suggested, we’ve definitely hit The Final Countdown portion of this very exciting (and intense, and at times scary) election. Today the guys discussed mandates, gun control, and even the polls – as well as what the country might look like once all the votes are in and counted. Should Masks Be Mandated? Masks work. They’re not 1000% effective – nothing is – but they help, and if we all wore them we’d probably have a lot more citizens with us today. So why not mandate it? Dean shares the viewpoint of a conservative friend who does wear a mask: “I…
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Radio CG 13: The Countdown Continues
Our thirteenth episode landed with eleven days left to go before the presidential election. We admit it: we’re definitely feeling the tension. As much as everyone hopes for a smooth election and happier days ahead, more and more people on both sides are dreading potential post-election unrest. What’s worse, both sides continue to blame each other. Pat and Dean tried to keep the peace as they discussed the relevant topics. What Is Voter Suppression? Before jumping into things, we want to back up and talk a bit about voter suppression. Not because we’re fans, but because like “Defund the Police,” there’s a lot of confusion over what the term means.…
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Radio CG 12: What Do We Still Have In Common?
It’s been another wild week in American politics. In lieu of a debate we had two some…interesting…town halls, and intensifying nastiness by representatives of both parties. We’ve also seen record voter turnout so far, and if this keeps up; at press time (Tuesday) over 34 million people have voted. This is a wonderful thing, and we hope it’s a record-breaking election in terms of who voted. But we’re also concerned about what’s to follow, and what’s going on right now. “It’s Rigged!” Historically, once a presidential candidate concedes to the victor, those who voted for them may feel disappointed, but will quickly get back to their regular lives. We’ve seen…
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Radio CG 11: Can We Still Speak Freely?
These days, there’s a lot of talk about our freedoms. We’re worried about them, and what impact the party in power has on those rights. We were not talking about those rights for this particular show; instead, we focused on the amount of policing we’re doing to each other. Right, left, or centrist, it’s getting harder and harder to voice an opinion about politics without getting absolutely dogpiled. On Saturday’s show, we tried to address the question: Are we “talking” ourselves out of our democracy? The Problem If you spend any time on the internet, then you’ve probably seen the following scenario play out at least once. Someone on Twitter,…
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Radio CG 10: The Craziest Week in Politics Ever
Our tenth episode capped one of the craziest weeks we’ve ever seen in politics – maybe the craziest week. We had tax returns, the wild debate, the first lady’s taped remarks…and then the president caught COVID. We had a lot of callers this week, and a lot of questions that needed answers. That Debate “So, what did you think of the debates?” We didn’t find a clear-cut winner. We did find an awful lot of yelling and accusation-slinging, which, unfortunately, seems to reflect a lot of what’s going on in the country in general. Republicans feel their boy came out on top; Democrats feel the same about theirs. But everyone…
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Radio CG 9: Healthcare, Scams, and More
What are our politicians doing? That was the first question we posed during what we admit was a slightly unorthodox episode. For our final September show, we discussed predatory scams and why they’re allowed to continue; the danger our tech-dependent society poses to our most vulnerable; and what might replace the ACA if it’s struck down by the Supreme Court. Protecting Consumers Does this sound familiar? Someone calls you and claims they’re from your health insurance, your bank, the IRS, or, more recently, Social Security. They explain to you a situation – maybe your Social Security number has been compromised; maybe someone has broken into your account – and you…
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Radio CG 8: Rest In Peace, Justice Ginsburg
This show started out a differently – with an agreement. As most of you know, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“The Notorious RBG”) passed away on Friday, September 18th. We’ve lost “one of the great ladies of American history,” Pat says, who paved the way for and inspired millions of women. Her death, unfortunately, was instantly politicized by both sides, and for the first few minutes of the eighth episode of Common Ground, we spent some time focusing on the loss of an incredible human being. What Did We Lose With RBG? “RBG,” Pat says, “represents what women can be in America.” She was a prominent fixture on the highest court…
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Radio CG 7: The First Amendment & Failed Parenting
Tonight’s episode was pretty wild: We found common ground right away, specifically regarding the new Netflix show Cuties. The guys agreed that the show was disgusting and set a bad standard. In fact, Republicans and Democrats across the country seem to be able to agree on Cuties even when they don’t agree on anything else. But how did a show like this get made? What does it say about parenting these days? The conversation that followed was one for the ages, with plenty of callers and even a couple references to QAnon. How Much Does the First Amendment Cover? We’re not going to chat too much about what Cuties is;…
