Inappropriate Conversations

I suspect we know few, if any, people who have directly caused inflation. When it comes to pushing the button that raises prices in hundreds of stores, though, I am that exception. Whether economic pundits on talk shows want to acknowledge it or not, my reasons were simple and obvious. It was crucial to update prices in stores to cover the cost of tariffs, the kind of "across the board" tariffs that one presidential candidate is proposing to impose (again). Just because something is regrettable doesn't mean it wasn't necessary.

Different Drummer: Joseph R. Biden

The politics of abortion has long been a game of state legislatures passing laws they know are unconstitutional. It's a bit like asking a question over and over again when you already know the answer. The situation has now devolved into something worse, an abuse of concepts like "standing" and "damages" in civil litigation. And the current U.S. Supreme Court seems to be aiding and abetting Texas in what could be called, at best, a foolish mistake.

Different Drummer: George Carlin

Your questions about Texas' new abortion law, answered

My plan is to observe Pride this year with TalkBack episodes that address homophobia pretty directly. This one is my rejection of someone I've named a Different Drummer in the past. His podcast hesitantly, but I also would say proudly, proclaimed some highly misinformed views about human biology, scripture, and more. I believe the result, if not the intent, could be very harmful to a broad range of LGBTQIA* people. So, as an ally, I spoke up. It wouldn't be the last time, either.

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/106-the-violence-of-denial/

Ten Areas of Agreement about Abortion, Part 2

Or,

both parts edited together for SoundCloud

How to summarize everything related to the 2020 presidential election in the United States? So much happened from before November 3rd until today, January 20th, and yet so little seemed certain along the way. One thing is certain: 11,780 additional votes in Georgia wouldn't have accomplished anything for the former president, and the fraud he was pushing certainly wasn't worth the risk of criminal charges. Reasons should be obvious, but I cover some anyway.

Different Drummer: Stacey Abrams

ALL IN: The Fight for Democracy

I never took a class in debate or participated in a club when I was in school. I've also never seen it as some sort of sport. To me, matters worth debating should be taken more seriously than that, and we ought to commit to higher standards than anything we've seen on television in decades. I'm not only referring to the presidential election cycle. No, my complaint covers punditry today in its entirety. 

Introductory material includes perspectives on this and the previous presidential election, recorded on the official election day in 2020 with important references to past Inappropriate Conversations podcasts.

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/55-a-better-way-to-debate/

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/190-dear-family-member/

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/195-telling-your-stories-before-its-too-late/

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/24-elections-are-not-horse-races/

Consider this the background material for the previous Inappropriate Conversations (#IC #231). Things have not improved in the past five years, and an argument can be made that the standards for law enforcement have gotten worse. I say this with as much sadness as anger, although I'm sure the anger cuts through. It's painful enough to bring even a mildly empathetic person to his knees, at a time in American where that gesture is inexplicably controversial.

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/157-letting-justice-roll/