Edifice of Trust Podcast
Victor C. Bolles
September 19, 2024
The Framers of the US Constitution conceived of a government that prevented the development of excessive power in any one individual or group. They created three branches of government with separate powers that acted as a check against the development of excessive power in any one branch. These checks and balances have frustrated the progressive left from implementing much of their agenda and they intend to change that. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at how the left wants to change the nature of our democratic republic that has lasted almost 250 years.
Quote from the commentary:
“But with an ineffective Congress unable to approve their agenda, the progressive left desperately wants to bring the Supreme Court to heel. They see the Supreme Court as the last hurdle blocking their majoritarianist vision of the future.”
My Take on the So-called Debate
Victor C. Bolles
September 11, 2024
This so-called presidential debate was not as consequential as Mr. Trump’s previous confrontation with Mr. Biden but there was still consequences. Here’s my take on the so-called debate.
Quote from the commentary:
She was able to get under his very thin skin by needling him about Hannibal Lecter and people leaving his rallies sending him off on tangents about immigrants eating peoples’ pets in Ohio. I don’t know how Ms. Harris would do against Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping, but she handled Mr. Trump pretty easily (makes me wonder how Putin and Xi handled Mr. Trump).
The So-called Presidential Debate
Victor C. Bolles
September 9, 2024
These confrontations between presidential candidates aren’t really debates. But they are informative and can be consequential. Here’s what to look for.
Quote from the commentary:
But they are not debates. The moderator asks a question and the candidate answers with a campaign talking point that seems to be at least tangentially related to the question. The opposing candidate responds, not by addressing the points made by the speaker, but by claiming the speaker is a liar or delusional.
Victor C. Bolles
September 3, 2024
Today we are going to discuss taxes. I could go on and on about taxes but today we will just investigate some broad concepts and not the specific proposals of the presidential candidates. That comes later. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, outlines some of the problems with American tax policies and compares them to the Nordic welfare state policies.
Highlight from the commentary:
Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ economic plan, announced a couple of weeks ago, is also packed with mandatory programs and tax expenditures at a cost estimated by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget to be close to $2.0 trillion over ten years. But don’t worry. You won’t have to pay for it. Ms. Harris is going to make somebody else pay for it.
Victor C. Bolles
August 28, 2024
Replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris has not really improved the options we voters have in the 2024 presidential elections. The campaign promises of Trump and Harris run the gamut from dopey to scary. Most Americans do not support their radical agendas. Come this November we must vote wisely to protect America. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, explains why he recommends a vote for divided government to keep these radical policies at bay.
Quote from the commentary:
The problem we face is that it is not enough to block Donald Trump’s MAGA Republicans from sweeping to power if they can control both the executive and legislative branches. We also need to block Kamala Harris’ progressive Democrats from doing the same thing. And the only way we can do that is through divided government.
Victor C. Bolles
August 23, 2024
In her economic policy speech, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris blamed inflation on price gouging by greedy corporations. But Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman is famous for saying, “Inflation is made by Government and no one else.” Why does Ms. Harris and other progressives doubt that inflation is caused by government? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will investigate what is behind this belief.
Quote from the commentary:
“So why do our progressive friends always blame inflation on greedy corporations and price gouging (other than it is always easy to blame someone else for something you did. We all learned that as a kid.). It all comes down to Marxist thinking. Marx said that profits are derived by the exploitation of the workers, so profits – any profits – are bad.”
Victor C. Bolles
August 20, 2024
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. We were fooled by Barack Obama. We were told that Joe Biden was the centrist alternative. Now we are being told that Kamala Harris has changed her mind on her progressive policies such as banning fracking and Medicare for all. Amid all the excitement about her candidacy are we going to be played for fools again? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host Victor Bolles delves into her announced economic policy and its impact on Americans.
Quote from the commentary:
Ms. Harris recently announced her economic plan -a cornucopia of tax cuts, subsidies, debt forgiveness, cash giveaways and price controls that the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimates would cost between $1.7 and 2.0 trillion. She blames all the economic problems confronting us on corporate greed and exonerates the government from any responsibility for the economic situation we are facing.
What the Heck is National Conservatism?
And Why Should You Care?
Victor C. Bolles
August 12, 2024
The little-known movement of National Conservatism rose to prominence after its recent conference featured many speakers from Donald Trump’s Republican Party including J. D. Vance who was named Trump’s vice-presidential running mate only days after his speech at the NatCon Conference. But what is National Conservatism and what does it stand for? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles tries to help us to understand what National Conservatism is and how it will impact us in the future.
Quote from the commentary:
National Conservatism in its Statement of Principles emphasizes God and Country and rejects globalism and Enlightenment philosophy and values. National Conservatism states that only the national values based on traditional culture and religion are appropriate for each country and asserts that the universal values of the Enlightenment are not universal at all.
Victor C. Bolles
January 9, 2024
Once again, while our so-called political leaders are completely absorbed by their campaigns for reelection, they ignore the urgent national priorities that need to be addressed, or worse, use those issues as political levers to galvanize their base at the expense of the American people. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, revisits those priorities that have become even more urgent as we enter a tumultuous election year.
Quote for the Commentary:
“Critics on the left will moan that meritocracy would worsen inequality. But equality of outcomes in education would mean driving all children down to the lowest common denominator (which you would understand unless you had been taught the new “equitable” math). But meritocracy will provide equality of opportunity. In fact, you cannot have equality of opportunity without meritocracy.”
Victor C. Bolles
January 12, 2023
Last year I published a podcast (Urgent Priorities, December 30, 2021) on the urgent priorities that America had to confront in the year 2022. Since many of those priorities were addressed very ineffectively or were not addressed at all, I was tempted to simply republish that commentary again this year. But the world is dynamic, and conditions change so I felt that America’s urgent priorities had to be updated to reflect those changes. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles will discuss the unfinished business of 2022 and the priorities of 2023 and beyond.
Quote from the Commentary:
“There are priorities that affect all Americans, rich and poor, black and white, young and old, whatever. We live in a complex and dangerous world. While our country is rich and powerful, it is not invulnerable. We cannot ignore the events happening around us and we need to be able to influence those events or be prepared to suffer the consequences.”