Season 3, Episode 11

 S3E11

Welcome, and thank you for putting your ear to season 3, episode eleven of the Listening Tube! I’m your host, Bob Woodley. On this edition, we’ll hear about a war with no fighting, the Gettysburg Address, and seceding from the United States. But first, (not the headlines…)

The United States isn’t the only country in the world that’s dealing with an influx of migrants. But just like at the southern border of the US, there are people moving organizations who are benefiting from the human trafficking. But that still doesn’t get them to their destination, because the border they need to get to is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Just like Mexico, people from other countries are making their way to Libya. That’s where they meet the human traffickers who get them to the northern coast and put them on rickety boats. There’s practically no chance these boats will make it all the way across the sea to find a place to come ashore at their ultimate destination, the coast of Italy. But that’s part of the plan. You see, the criminal organizations can’t just put you on a seaworthy craft and take you to Italy, you have to be rescued at sea. So why would people get on a rickety boat and set off into the Mediterranean Sea with only a hope of being rescued and not being lost at sea? Because the odds of being rescued are pretty good. That’s because there are private organizations that patrol the waters looking for migrants who have been cast away from the shores of Libya. Unlike the organizations that got the migrants to the north shore of Libya, the organizations who pick them up at sea are humanitarian organizations. They enable the human traffickers by picking up where they left off, helping the castaways to a safe port. But even if the closest port isn’t Italy, that’s where they were being taken. And these weren’t Italian ships. They were ships from other countries, including Germany and Norway. They dropped off thousands of people at Italian ports in a weeks time. They justify the drop-offs by citing international law, which says that people rescued at sea qualify for port entry. That’s why these people are set adrift on the sea with little chance to get very far. If it looks like you can make it from Libya to Italy on your boat, you’re not allowed, but if it looks like you might die trying, and somebody picks you up and gives you a ride the rest of the way, you are allowed! Welcome to Italy! Thank you for risking your life to be here! Not exactly. The Italian government felt that their immigration laws were being overridden by this loophole, so they declared that they would only take migrants who are rescued by Italian-flagged ships, and Germany and Norway-flagged ships had to take their migrants back to Germany and Norway. Even if your border is mostly coastline, you still have a right to guard it and a responsibility to your citizens to do so. As you can imagine, Italy’s move made some other countries mad, including Germany and France, both of which called for Italy to let the ships disembark, promising to help shelter the migrants. Other than migrants rescued by Italian ships, the Italian government did let minors and those needing medical attention to come ashore. France has since agreed to accept the migrant taxis, but it will add hundreds of miles to the journey. The additional cost of fuel and food may deter the non-governmental organizations from their mission. If so, the question becomes, “How many people are going to die before the migrants realize there’s nobody there to rescue them?” Somewhere there’s a line between risk and reward. By establishing the policy, Italy has shifted that balance. You are now less likely to be rescued while adrift in the Mediterranean Sea. On the bright side, if you are lucky enough to get rescued, I would recommend you ask to be dropped off on the French Riviera. Saint Rafael and Frejus are very nice. The port between them is large enough to land a super-yacht.

Have you ever taken a vacation and then felt like you needed another vacation to recover from your first vacation? Yea, me, too. There’s a reason for that, especially if you’re visiting somewhere new. You only have so many days to soak in all the tourist attractions, and even if you’re not a fan of tourist attractions, you still try to work in as much as you can with the limited amount of time you have. When you’re on vacation, you don’t want to waste a minute of it. My wife is great at planning vacations. All I have to do is help pack the car then enjoy the ride. She’s got all kinds of things planned ahead of time. We went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee this past spring and our first morning there began with a 5-mile hike. Two and a half miles up the Smokey Mountains, and two and a half miles back down. Had it been up to me, we would have begun with miniature golf, but I wasn’t part of the planning process. Anyway, the last thing we think of when we’re on vacation is how much sleep we get. Unless you have an R-V and take your bed with you, you may end up in a hotel room next door to a family with four kids, or the air-conditioner is loud, or the pillow isn’t the kind you like. We generally accept these inconveniences as a by-product of traveling. Even though we book hotel rooms so we have a place to sleep, the circumstances of the location and unfamiliar surroundings can often lead to a lack of sleep while on vacation. Many of us don’t sleep that well at home to begin with, and going on vacation can be more stressful and more sleep-deprived than our everyday working lives. Well, it seems the hotel industry has noticed. There is now such a thing as sleep tourism. You booked your hotel room because it’s better than sleeping in the streets. But now instead of booking a hotel nearby a bustling vacation spot or sporting event, you can book one that’s focused on providing a quiet, peaceful rest. No tourist traps, no busy schedule, no sacrificing sleep to soak in all the sights and the nightlife. No, the idea is to provide you with all the amenities that contribute to a good night’s sleep. To that end, some hotels now offer such things as recorded sounds designed to make you sleepy, weighted blankets, varieties of evening tea, aromatherapy, and a menu of pillows. Yes, I would like the 1973 goose feather, please. No, it’s not quite like that, but everybody has a type of pillow they like, and providing one similar to your preferences is a perk. But just like there’s no one pillow that everyone likes, there’s no one formula that works for every person. So the hotels will continue to come up with new ideas to help you sleep while you’re there. To take it a step further, some hotels are partnering with sleep experts and medical professionals to help determine if a guest might even have a sleep disorder that none of the hotel’s amenities can fix. So while we often think of vacation time as a time of rest and relaxation, it rarely is. A lack of sleep can have negative effects on both our physical and mental health. But if you need a vacation to recover from your vacation, maybe one of these sleep-inducing hotels is your cup of decaffeinated tea. Or you can get a spouse who makes you go on a 5-mile hike on the first day of your vacation. Either way, I’m a proponent of sleep. It seems to me that the older we get, the more we appreciate it. As a younger man, I considered sleep an interruption of my life. I’ve also discovered that I now need less of it. While I hope that you and every one else gets a good night’s sleep every night, I hope the topic hasn’t put you to sleep! 

Let’s go back liner 

534

A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published. A predecessor of the United States Constitution, the Codex Justinianus was Roman law. Not the first Roman law, but a compilation of them. Codex simply means it’s written in book form and not on a scroll. Justinian was East Roman Emperor, and saw the need to bring laws up to date and organize them in a useful way. Wikipedia says it was 12 books, the first of which addressed religion, sources of law, and the responsibilities of office-holders, books two through eight were private law, book nine was criminal law, and books 10,11 and 12 were administrative law. There have been attempts to translate the writing into English, with the most recent being published in October of 2016. Almost 1500 years later. 

1307

William Tell shoots an apple off his son’s head. Now, why would he do that? 

Look that up liner

Because he had to. At the time, the area, in what is now Switzerland, was ruled by a tyrant named Albrecht Gessler. The legend cited by wikipedia tells how Gessler put up a pole at the town center and perched his hat on top of it, declaring that all who pass by must bow to the hat. William Tell, walking by with his son, neglected to bow to the hat, and was subsequently arrested. Gessler, having heard about Tell’s marksmanship, decided that the father and son would be executed, unless the father could shoot an apple off the top of his son’s head with a single try of his crossbow. William Tell pulled two bolts from his quiver, and with the first one, split the apple in two. When Gessler asked Tell why he pulled two bolts from his quiver, Tell told him that if he had accidentally killed his son, the other bolt was to kill him. Enraged, but keeping his promise to not execute the father and son, Gessler instead sentenced Tell to life in prison. However, on the way to the dungeon, Tell was able to escape. On the run, with Gessler in pursuit, Tell was able to put the second bolt to its intended purpose. With Gessler now dead, William Tell’s acts of defiance led to a rebellion that resulted in an alliance the Old Swiss Confederacy that promoted peace along the trade routes through the area. 

1777

Articles of Confederation are submitted to the states for ratification. The Articles of Confederation are basically an agreement between the 13 original states for how they would respect and cooperate with each other, as well as establishing a guideline for the federal government. As it turned out, the Articles of Confederation were too restrictive of the federal government in a number of areas, including the ability to tax and regulating commerce, as well as assembling delegates from the growing number of states. As a result, it was replaced by the the Constitution 12 years later.

1810

Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place. Sweden only did it to comply with France, who, under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte insisted that no European country that relied on France for anything could trade goods with the United Kingdom. Bonaparte had it in for England, and invaded both Spain and Russia for trading with the English. When he found out Sweden was as well, he threatened to invade Sweden if they didn’t declare war on the United Kingdom. So they did. On paper. But in reality, the trading continued, although in a less conspicuous manor. A peace treaty was signed two years later, ending the make-believe conflict. 

1859

The first modern revival of the Olympic Games takes place in Athens, Greece. Unlike the original olympic games, the athletes didn’t perform naked in the 1859 games, which I’m sure outraged some purists. The 1859 games were much different than what we know the olympics to be today. First of all, they were privately funded by a man named Evangelis Zappas, a Greek business man living in Romania. And the idea of the games themselves wasn’t universally accepted as a good idea. The Greek government balked at the idea, claiming that countries no longer displayed their superiority with brute strength and speed, but by innovation and industry. But when Zappas offered to fund the games and the prizes for the winners, the revival of the games was set in motion. The competitions included running, discus, javelin, wrestling, jumping and pole climbing. It would be hard to call it a success, but the press looked upon it favorably. It wasn’t the international event it is today, as the participants were all from Greece or Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire. They weren’t all athletes, either. Pretty much anyone attracted by the prize money could compete. 

1863

During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery. Fifteen thousand people were in attendance at the ceremony, and Lincoln was invited to say a few appropriate remarks about the cemetery and the reason for it being there. This is what he said: 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

What people didn’t know at the time was the President Lincoln was very sick when he delivered the remarks. He had complained of feeling weak and dizzy while on the train to Gettysburg. Afterward, he suffered from a fever and headache. As it turned out, he had a mild case of smallpox. Meanwhile, the Civil War continued, as this week in 

1864

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman burns Atlanta, and starts Sherman’s March to the Sea. On his way, he would also burn down Macon. I only know that because the lady at the Georgia Welcome Center told me so. I had just arrived at the Georgia border, and stopped to get some information about the area I was planning to visit. When I told the pretty girl behind the counter where I was headed, she said, “You could go to Macon. They have historic buildings there...the ones that General Sherman didn’t burn down..” So yes, nearly a hundred fifty years later, they’re still mad about it. 

1926

George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, “I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize”. He later accepted the title of Nobel Prize winner at the urging of his wife. She thought it would reflect nicely on their native Ireland. He would not, however, accept the cash that came with the title, instead suggesting it be used to translate the works of a Swedish playwright, August Strindberg, into English. George Bernard Shaw also won an academy award for adaptation of his play, Pygmalion, which would go on to become the film My Fair Lady. Only one other person has won an Oscar and a Nobel: Bob Dylan.

1938

LSD is first synthesized by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. LSD stands for lysergic acid diethylamide, but it’s commonly known as acid. While popular folklore associates it with the 1960’s, Timothy Leary and the San Francisco counter-culture, Dr. Hoffman was the first acid tripper. He accidentally ingested some of the substance while working on a fungus that grows on rye and other grains in his laboratory. He noticed he perceived, “extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors.” according to an article on history dot com. Well, three days later, he did what just about anybody would do: He ingested some more, in a larger dose. You know, for science. As he rode his bicycle home that day, he experienced the world’s first intentional acid trip. Many others have taken acid trips since then, but not all of them intentional or even voluntary. The CIA Project MK-Ultra used both volunteers and otherwise to conduct tests to determine if LSD could be used as a tool to control people, or at least their minds. You don’t hear about LSD much these days, but as with any other hallucinogenic, I’m sure there’s still a demand for it and people who are able to create it. 

1944

during World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the 6th War Loan Drive, aimed at selling US$14 billion in bonds to help pay for the war effort. War bonds served two purposes: Raise money to pay for the war, and to control inflation by reducing the amount of cash in circulation during a robust wartime economy. War bonds were a way for the public to invest in the country. To show support for the cause. If you couldn’t enlist, you could invest. War bonds were made so that everybody could get some. You didn’t need to invest a lot, as a war bond could be purchased for just over 18 dollars, and after ten years, you could cash it in for 25. Top Hollywood stars would pitch war bonds. Charlie Chaplin even financed his own film to get people to buy war bonds. They were a popular way to show your patriotism and support for our boys fighting the war. You don’t hear about them anymore. I don’t know if it’s because our federal government has taken it upon themselves to finance our conflicts, or if Americans lack the patriotism required to make war bonds a successful endeavor. The good news is, America is not currently at war.

1947

The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath. As it is now, Hollywood was a bastian of left-leaning socialists in the 1940’s and 50’s. As the chill of the cold war spread around the globe, the threat of Communism taking hold in the United States was a great concern of the federal government. Steps were being taken to insure that communist propaganda wasn’t woven within our motion pictures. Investigations were threatened unless the Screen Actor’s Guild reigned in those who were opposed to the American way. Ultimately, 96 percent of the union voted to approve an anti-communist oath for all actors joining the union. The oath said, “"I am not now and will not become a member of the Communist Party nor of any other organization that seeks to overthrow the government of the United States by force and violence." Today, of course, as an American, you’re free to be a socialist or communist or just about whatever you want to be when it comes to political affiliation.

1961

United States President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam. Exactly how many people needed advice that it took 18,000 advisors? As it turned out, they didn’t have very good advice to give.

1967

American physicist Theodore Maiman is given a patent for his ruby laser systems, the world’s first optical or light laser. Now there are different kinds of lasers like gas lasers, semiconductor injection lasers, and carbon dioxide lasers. There are more ways to use lasers than there are types of lasers. They’re now used for targeting and leveling, eye surgery and other types of medical applications. The first time I saw a laser was in the early 80’s at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The laser was being used to create a hologram. That was also the first time I saw a hologram.

1968

Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the United States. Since then, the only thing that can interrupt the end of a televised game is a contractual obligation to show the beginning of the next game. Otherwise, networks will stay until the end of the game unless one team has such a lopsided lead that for the losing team to mount a comeback is virtually impossible.

1970

A 150-mph tropical cyclone hits the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). It’s estimated that a half a million people died in one night. This is regarded as the 20th century’s worst natural disaster. 

1978

In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple cult to a mass murder-suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. California Congressman Leo J. Ryan and others are murdered by members of the Peoples Temple hours earlier. Jones referred to it as a “revolutionary suicide” and held rehearsals for it as a loyalty test. During the rehearsals, the people thought they were actually being poisoned, only to find out as time went on that they would continue to live. When a delegation from the U.S. arrived at Jonestown, the paranoid Jones concluded that the end of the communist commune was near. Rather than surrender to capitalism, Jones convinced his followers to go through with the mass suicide, partly by surrounding the place with armed guards with orders to shoot anyone who tried to get away. So, the options were to drink the cyanide-laced punch, or get shot by a guard. Jones told his congregation, "Die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity; don't lay down with tears and agony." He also said, “I tell you, I don't care how many screams you hear, I don't care how many anguished cries ... death is a million times preferable to 10 more days of this life. If you knew what was ahead of you—if you knew what was ahead of you, you'd be glad to be stepping over tonight. Confirming that the congressman and others had been murdered, he convinced the people that paratroopers would soon be invading Jonestown, and the only way to escape was to die. While the event is remembered as a mass suicide, many of the dead were later determined to have been injected with the cyanide rather than ingesting it. The day marked the most American civilian lives lost in a single intentional event until the terror attacks of September, 2001. Despite the orders from Jim Jones and the surrounding security guards ordered to kill anyone who didn’t participate, there were some survivors. Two of Jones’ followers had been dispatched to deliver money to the Soviet Embassy on behalf of the communist cult. Another, a hearing impaired man who didn’t hear the announcement to assemble, eventually laid down in a ditch and pretended to be dead, and a woman who hid under a bed until the poisonings were over. 

Although there were some who wanted to leave the compound with the visiting congressman, most of the people there were happy. In fact, the congressman indicated he would submit a positive report of the settlement. Today, the area has been reclaimed by the jungle. Television crews returned in 1998 and 2003 for documentaries, finding artifacts of Jonestown, including the metal drum used to mix the poison punch.

1986

The Compact of Free Association becomes law, granting the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and eventually, the Republic of Palau, independence from the United States. Independence might not be right word to describe their status, as they still have agreements with, and depend upon, the United States for economic support, military operations, and all kinds of other services, such as those provided by the Federeal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Education, the National Weather Service, Postal Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the FDIC. Guam, which is also in the area, is an unincorporated territory of the United States, much like Puerto Rico. 

1988

U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill into law allowing the death penalty for drug traffickers. This was six years after declaring a war on drugs, and First Lady Nancy’s “Just say No” campaign. In addition to the death penalty law, Reagan also created the Office of National Drug Control Policy. It was a centralized clearing house for all drug-related issues, including research and health policy, as well as diplomatic, legislative and security issues. President Clinton would elevate the office to a Cabinet position in 1993. Today, there is no more official government war on drugs. The Obama administration deemed the term “war on drugs” to be counter-productive. It’s clear the federal government has no idea how to manage the drugs Americans use to entertain themselves. While the relatively harmless marijuana is still on the federal list of the most dangerous substances, fentanyl continues to flow across our southern border, killing more than 200 of us every day. If America wants to fight a war on drugs, the clear enemy is fentanyl, and it’s manufacturer, China. Something that’s killing hundreds of Americans every day certainly deserves federal attention. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. The father of one victim equated the fentanyl problem with a passenger plane crashing every day. Certainly, if that were the case, there would be a nation-wide effort to put a stop to it. I cannot figure out why the Biden administration hasn’t done more to prevent this mass-poisoning of Americans.

Phone and email liner

Let’s talk about election deniers. First of all, that’s a stupid title, because nobody is denying an election happened. It’s like climate denier, as if some one is denying we have a climate. It’s almost as dumb as the Democrat rallying cry, “Democracy is on the ballot!” which is a contradictory statement. The ballot is democracy. Do I really have to point that out? So if nobody is denying an election took place, what exactly is an election denier? Well, it depends on who you ask. Of the top of my head, I’d say it’s someone who refutes the results of an election, not the election itself. Right? It’s someone who feels in some way that the election may not have been fair, or they question the accuracy of the tally. Well, I’m sure all the votes counted said what was recorded. The tally is probably pretty accurate. Those who question the results of an election are usually more concerned with the methods used to gather the votes, not the counting of the votes. There are various reasons for suspicion. Where I live, in Pennsylvania, the Democrat Governor changes many of our voting rules during the Covid-19 pandemic. The stated goal was to make voting more accessible without exposing yourself to a potentially deadly virus. Many saw those changes unnecessary, and cautioned against changing the rules in the middle of the game. But changed they were, and that made many people, including myself, to wonder what effect those changes might have on the security of our election. If you have doubts about the security of the ballots, then it’s easy to follow a path that leads you in the direction of wondering if all the votes were legitimate. For example: How do we know who filled out the ballot if it was done at home and mailed in? Were people taken advantage of; coerced into filling out a ballot at home in a different way than they might have at the polling place? How many people suddenly registered to vote once the rules were changed? It’s easy to believe that mail-in ballots were bought and sold, complete with a signature that matched the registration. Do these questions make me an election denier? All I’m going to say is, “If something smells fishy, there’s probably a fish nearby.” Believe it or not, there actually is a definition of “election denier” and it’s rather focused. You might think that an election denier is anyone who doubts or questions the results of an election. While that sounds like an accurate definition, you would be wrong. If you follow politics at all, or even celebrities, you probably know that there are so-called election deniers among both major political parties, as well as folks in the entertainment industry, who have said that one election or another has been stolen or manipulated in some way. In the most general terms, anyone who even questions the results of an election can be considered an election denier. Regardless of how trivial the question might be. You might think that the election would have turned out differently if people had more time to vote, or a free ride to the polling place. You’re an election denier. If you believe that a candidate’s vote tally was influenced by a foreign government, you’re an election denier. But that’s how the people who use the phrase the most define an election denier. For the media and politicians and talk-show hosts, the title of election denier only applies to people who dispute the results of the 2020 Presidential election. So, even though there are people on both sides of the political spectrum who believe elections were stolen, it’s only those who doubt the results or methods employed in the Biden victory over Trump who are now classified as election deniers. So, while the Washington Post claims that 291 of the Republican candidates in the recent election are election deniers, they didn’t list any election deniers prior to the mid-term elections after Trump was elected. Is that because there were none? No…. Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton publicly proclaimed that Trump stole the election with help from the Russians, when it was her camp paying for fake dossiers made to look like Trump and the Russians were working together. How many times did Stacy Abrams claim she lost the Georgia Governor’s race because of the states election laws? Then when they were changed, she claimed they were racist, as did President Biden. But then the latest election saw record numbers of voters in Georgia. Much to Stacy’s chagrin. How many times have the hosts on The View claimed an election was stolen or manipulated? So even though parties on both sides of the aisle have questioned the results of an election, the current definition of the term only applies to Republicans, because it only applies to those who question the 2020 election of Joe Biden. It’s only a derogatory term if it’s aimed at conservatives. Here’s the bottom line: As an American citizen, you have every right to question the results of an election. Just as evidence of a crime has a chain of custody, our election process should, too. So if you have doubts, the First Amendment allows you to ask. So when you hear somebody use the term election denier, or accuse someone of being and election denier, or ask how you can continue to support an election denier, what you’re really hearing is an attempt to stifle transparency, openness, honesty and fairness. You’re hearing somebody trying to deprive another citizen of their Constitutional rights. A Trump supporter is allowed to say he doesn’t trust the election results just as much as a lady on the View doesn’t trust election results. Just because it’s two different elections doesn’t make a difference. But the press will create these titles to try to pigeonhole one side while letting the other side slide. You could call them “obvious deniers.” 

Here’s something I noticed about reporting when it came to Donald Trump’s problem with the result: Every time I saw a headline about a suspicion or claim about improprieties with the election, it always included the word “baseless.” Let me just begin by saying it’s very presumptive for any reporter to call a claim by anyone, let alone the President of the United States, baseless. By putting the word “baseless” in the headline, the editor immediately implies that the claim has already been disproved, even though the case hasn’t even been adjudicated. While many reporters have law degrees, they are not the court of law that will decide weather or not the claims are baseless. As the editor of a publication, I can discourage someone from even reading the story if I write a headline that includes a conclusion. When a reporter says a claim is baseless, what they’re really trying to say is that it doesn’t matter what the claim is, so there’s no need to even read about it. You can just trust me, and agree that the claim has no merit whatsoever, even though it hasn’t yet been through the legal system. Many journalists today don’t just want to be reporters, they want to be influencers, and you have to keep that in mind when you read what they write. It’s important to wonder about foreign influence on our elections. It’s important to question the integrity of our systems. It used to be the job of the press to ask those questions. If they’re not doing it, and instead denigrating those who do, then it’s left to us to ask the questions. What questions do you have now?

The Listening Tube is written and produce by yours truly. Copyright 2022. Thank you for putting your ear to the Listening Tube. I’m your host, Bob Woodley for thou ad infinitum.