Musings for a Brave New World

Welcome to Season 3: Episode 1 of A View from the Left Side (AVLS). 

It's a Brave New World out there -- the perfect time to restart my podcast. 

Time Stamps for Season 3: Episode 1
 Introduction  | 00:17
 Is This What You Voted For?  | 1:47
 Trusted News Sources  | 5:48
 Turn Off Tune In and Be Here Now  | 9:29
 Tarot for a Brave New World  | 12:21
 Closing Remarks  | 15:53

As of today, Trump's second term is just a little over a week ago. A cloud of Trump-generated chaos has engulfed the world -- after  he talked about taking Greenland and the Panama Canal by force (so much for being the "peace candidate"); started the deportations; threatened pretty much everyone (including us) with tariffs; fired federal employees he believes are enemies; stopped publication of public health reports and warnings; eliminated diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) programs; paused and then restarted grants;  inserted fetal personhood language into the official governmental definition of the genders; suggested that Palestinians clear out of Gaza; nominated a boat-load of unqualified candidates for this cabinet; signed 200+ executive orders not all of which are legal; and a lot more.

Obviously, there is a lot of national and international political and economic news swirling around us. Although I'll discuss these topics and conduct interviews, AVLS won't be an echo chamber for national news outlets, any political party or any special interest group. 

AVLS will continue to be a podcast that includes news and commentary about goings on at all levels of government, but as I have in the past, I plan to cover an eclectic blend topics including health policy, lifestyle, economics, women's rights, arts and culture. The content will be a bit freer now that I am a former elected official.

Yes, it's been a  while since I published Season 2: Episode 13 on August 5, 2022. Ironically, many of the bad ideas that Arizona Republicans proposed during my six years in office are now being proposed nationally. I debated these topics and covered them in Seasons 1 and 2 of this podcast -- another reason why it's a perfect time to restart the AVLS.

Twenty-twenty-two was my last year in the Arizona Legislature. It was a wild ride with increased power of the Libertarians in the Freedom Caucus, after the 2020 election. The Republican Caucus in the Arizona Legislature was fractured between the Freedom Caucus [who backed the 2020 election lies and included two fake electors] and the old school Chamber of Commerce Republicans [who accepted that President Biden won and wanted to move on]. 

Even with that hardline fracture, the Republicans managed to pass many bad bills in the waning months of Governor Doug Ducey's governorship and my tenure in the House. There were intense floor battles over the 15-week abortion ban, fetal personhood, anti-trans bills, voter suppression, the Flat Tax, expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Awards (ESA school vouchers), the Border Wall and more. 

You can hear about those debates and other intrigues of the Arizona House by listening to previous episodes of AVLS. Those scenes from Arizona in 2022 are being replayed in Congress today.