Welcome to another deep dive. Today, we've got
a pretty fascinating mix of stuff to unpack for
you. We do. It's St. Patrick's Day as we're recording
this, so we've got some fun facts about that.
Yes. But also, we're going to dig into the economy,
politics, even some international relations stuff.
I think you're really going to find this one
interesting. Yeah, there's some some really surprising
stuff that we've uncovered in our deep dive research
So let's kick things off with a little bit of
festive spirit since it is st. Patrick's Day.
I gotta ask Do you have any idea how long it
takes to pour the perfect Guinness? I do not
I do enjoy a good Guinness from time to time
same here, but I've never actually timed the
pour So apparently and this is this very precise.
Okay, the ideal Guinness pour takes exactly 119
and a half seconds. Oh wow. Yeah and it's a two
-stage process. Okay. 92 and a half seconds for
the initial pour and settling. Yeah. And then
you top it off and that takes the rest of the
time to get to that 119 .5 seconds. Pretty interesting
huh? There's a real science to it. Yeah it's
fascinating how much tradition and ritual goes
into something, like even just pouring a drink,
it speaks volumes about the cultural importance
that we attach to those things. Totally. And
speaking of St. Patrick's Day, you know, there
are actually a few things that most people get
wrong about the holiday itself, even about St.
Patrick. Yeah, like for example, a lot of folks
might be surprised to learn that St. Patrick
was an Irish. What? Yeah. Really? Yeah. He was
actually born in Roman Britain. Wow. And he was
kidnapped by Irish raiders when he was, like,
16 years old. Oh, wow. That's crazy. Yeah. Pretty
wild story. And you know those big St. Patrick's
Day parades we see? Oh, yeah. Well, the first
one wasn't even in Ireland. Oh, really? It was
held in Boston way back in 1737. So America's
got, like, the original St. Patrick's Day parade.
It seems that way. Wow. OK. Yeah. All right.
So what about... What were the whole snakes thing?
Right, the legend of St. Patrick banishing all
the snakes from Ireland. It's a great story,
but turns out Ireland just never had snakes.
Oh. It's an eye lake. The last ice age pretty
much isolated it, and snakes never really made
it over there. So no need for St. Patrick to
banish them. While we're on the subject of things
people often get wrong, there's the color most
associated with St. Patrick's Day. Green. It's
gotta be green. Right, everyone thinks green.
But the original color, the one most closely
associated with St. Patrick, was blue. Oh, interesting.
How did it change over to green? Well, green
came later, probably around the 18th century.
And it was because of the shamrock and the beautiful
green landscape of Ireland. But it's interesting
how these national identities, they get formed
from this mix of actual history and popular story.
Makes you wonder what other things we just assume
are true that might not be. Yeah, I like that.
So the shamrock itself, the three leaf clover,
it had a specific meaning, right? It did. St.
Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity.
The three leaves representing the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Oh, I see. So not just about
luck. The four -leaf clover is about luck. The
shamrock is more about religious symbolism. OK,
got it. And before we leave St. Patrick's Day
behind, what about that toast? Ah, yes, slant.
Slant. OK, well, let's shift gears now from the
festive to something a bit more current events.
And it looks like we narrowly avoided a government
shutdown recently. Yeah, just barely. They passed
a continuing resolution or a CR. A CR, right?
Which basically keeps the government running.
Right. President Trump signed it, but the Senate
vote was particularly interesting. It sounds
like it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Not really.
The first vote was on cloture, which means 60
votes to stop a filibuster and move the bill
forward. Right. Senator Rand Paul, he was the
only Republican against it, but get this. Ten
Democrats actually sided with the Republicans?
Ten Democrats. Wow, that's definitely suggest
something's going on there, right? Definitely
some tension or strategy at play. The final vote
was 62 -38. Okay, so they cleared that hurdle,
but then there was the actual vote on the bill.
Right, and that's where it gets even more interesting.
The final vote on the CR was 54 -46. Senator
Paul still against it, but now two Republicans,
King and Shaheen, voted for the bill. Interesting.
And here's the thing, eight of the Democrats
who voted for cloture, they actually voted against
the bill. OK, so a lot of back and forth, different
positions. Yeah. Seems like there were three
main viewpoints among the Democrats. What were
they? Well, first you had the group that seemed
to want a shutdown. Let's call them position
37. These were the 37 Democrats and independents
who voted against the bill. Their thinking seems
to be that it didn't do enough to challenge Republican
priorities, maybe not tough enough on Elon Musk.
OK. a shutdown, even though it's risky, would
be a stronger message. So they were willing to
risk it? They were. And the fact that so many
were willing to go that far, that could mean
we're in for some really tough budget battles
in the future. Yeah, like drawing a line in the
sand. Exactly. Then you have position eight,
those who voted against the shutdown in the bill.
They probably agree with the first group on some
things, but they think a shutdown would do more
harm than good. Right. Weighing the risks. Exactly.
So what about the last two? Position two, they
voted for the bill. One was Senator Shaheen,
who's retiring soon. Right. They might have thought
the budget changes were OK. Or maybe Shaheen,
without having to worry about reelection, felt
she had more freedom to vote how she wanted.
Yeah, that makes sense. It's interesting to see
how, like, you know, it's not just a simple Democrats
versus Republicans. No, it's much more nuanced
than that. It shows there's real debate and different
strategic approaches within the parties. Absolutely.
And in the middle of all this, it seems like
Chuck Schumer's leadership is being questioned.
It is. Some Democrats think letting the CR pass
was the wrong move. They think he could have
stopped it if he'd opposed cloture. And then
there was that next question, comment. from Hakeem
Jeffries. Oh, yeah. When asked about Schumer's
leadership. Yeah, that spoke volumes. It did.
Do you think Schumer could actually be replaced
mid -session? That's really rare. It's only happened
twice before and both times because the leader
died. Oh, wow. It's hard to remove a leader.
But whether Schumer stays in charge after this
Congress, that's definitely up in the air. Yeah,
it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
So beyond this immediate budget deal, what does
it all mean? Well, one thing to consider is if
the economy goes south, Like if the stock market
pangs or inflation goes way up, then Trump and
the Republicans will be the ones to blame. It'll
be hard to point fingers elsewhere. Exactly.
OK, let's move on to something else pretty concerning,
and that's President Trump targeting law firms.
Yeah, it's a direct challenge to the rule of
law trying to punish anyone who represents people
he doesn't like. Can you give us some examples?
Well, first there was Covington and Burling.
They defended Jack Smith. Trump went after their
security clearances, making it impossible for
them to work on national security cases. So they
were first to back down? Pretty much. Then came
Perkins and Coy. They fought back, hired Williams
and Connolly, and a judge actually ruled against
Trump in that case. But now he's targeting Paul
Weiss. And what's he doing? Signed an executive
order to revoke the security clearances of their
lawyers. Specifically targeting Mark Pomerantz,
who had investigated him. before. So basically
trying to cripple these firms. Right. Taking
away security clearances stops them from working
on sensitive cases and restricting access to
federal property could stop them from representing
clients in federal court. What's the reason behind
all this? I think it's a few things. First, it
shows he doesn't care about the law. OK. Second,
it's revenge against anyone who opposes him.
But the scariest thing is what it does to other
lawyers. You mean like it'll scare them off?
Yeah, they might not want to take on politically
sensitive cases because they're afraid of what
Trump might do. That's a pretty chilling thought.
So you're saying people might not be able to
get legal representation. That's the worry. The
Sixth Amendment guarantees everyone a lawyer.
But what if there are no lawyers willing to take
the case? That's a scary thought. Will there
be legal challenges to this? Almost certainly.
These cases could end up before judges like Beryl
Howell, who already rule against Trump, or Tonya
Chutkin. And this might be something even Republican
-appointed judges have a problem with. Because
it's attacking the legal system itself. Right.
It'll be interesting to see how that develops.
Now let's talk about voters. Seems like some
people who voted for Trump... might be changing
their minds. Yeah, recent polls from Quinnipiac
show his approval rating going down from plus
three in January to minus 11 in March. That's
a big drop. What's causing that? A lot of it
seems to be the economy. People aren't happy
with how things are going. So despite his promises,
the economy isn't doing so well for everyone.
That's the sense we're getting. What else are
people concerned about? Trade with Mexico and
Canada, the war in Ukraine, even Elon Musk's
image is hurting him. Interesting. On a side
note, the poll also shows Marco Rubio is doing
pretty well. Yeah, he's got decent approval ratings.
OK, let's switch gears again and talk about the
impact of Trump's policies on farmers. This is
a big one. Farmers are really struggling. What
are some of the specific challenges they're facing?
Well, we heard from a farmer in West Virginia
who lost school lunch sales because of cuts to
the USDA budget. So real, tangible impact. Exactly.
And it's not just domestic sales. Terrace have
caused a loss of export markets. Oh, right, because
other countries are stepping in. Exactly. Chuck
Conner from the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
put it well. What does he say? He said food exports
are easy targets in trade wars, and once you
lose those markets, it's hard to get them back.
Yeah, makes sense. Especially for new sp— products
that don't have a big domestic demand, like certain
animal parts. So beyond trade, what else is going
on? Well, there are staffing shortages in the
USDA, which means delays in grants and loans.
Which farmers rely on. Exactly. We heard from
a blueberry farmer in Maine who waited months
for a $50 ,000 grant, but by then it was too
late to use it for planting. Wow, that's tough.
And there's John Boyd, a farmer from Virginia,
who puts the blame squarely on Trump. He does.
Yeah, he says Trump is the reason farmers are
in such a tough spot. It seems like this could
have a real political impact. Definitely. If
the Democrats can capitalize on this in 2026
and really connect these policies to the struggles
farmers are facing. Right. Speak to their economic
concerns. Exactly. They could win back some of
those rural votes. Makes sense. Now, speaking
of democratic strategies, there's this think
tank, Third Way. They're proposing a pretty interesting
approach to engage voters. Yeah, their signal
project is an 18 -month plan to focus on issues
that really matter to people. Like what? Things
like rising prices, food safety, nuclear security,
protecting children, air safety, veterans' health
care. Those are pretty big concerns. They are.
OK, so what's their strategy? To connect those
concerns directly to Trump's policies. Instead
of just focusing on his rhetoric. Right. They
want to make it about things that affect people's
daily lives. OK. Can you give us an example?
Sure. So instead of just talking about January
6th, they might focus on how tariffs could lead
to higher prices. Right. Something people feel
in their wallets. Exactly. Or they might talk
about how staffing cuts at the FDA could mean
less food safety oversight. OK. So connecting
the dots for voters. Yeah. Making it very real.
Makes sense. All right. Let's talk about Michigan
now. There are some reports that voters who switch
to Trump might be having second thoughts. Yeah,
focus groups with Michigan voters who flip from
Biden to Trump show a lot of regret and disappointment.
Why is that? They feel like their expectations
haven't been met and they're worried about the
economy. So they're not seeing the improvements
they were hoping for? Not really. And the way
they talk about Trump now is pretty telling.
They use words like erratic, frightening, even
dictator. Wow, strong words. Yeah, one woman,
Cheryl, said she's scared to watch the news now.
Oh, wow. Another guy, Phil, questioned why there
were problems with Canada. Right, a close ally
and trading partner. And Theresa straight up
said Trump's acting like a dictator. Oh, OK.
So they're pretty disillusioned. Does that mean
they're ready to vote for Kamala Harris? Not
necessarily. Only one person in the focus group
said they'd vote for her. So it's more like a
general dissatisfaction. It seems that way. People
are unhappy with Trump, but they don't see a
clear alternative either. It'll be interesting
to see how that plays out. Speaking of potential
candidates, what about Pete Bucketgig? He's made
an interesting decision. He's not going to run
for the Senate or governor in Michigan in 2026.
He just moved there, so it might be too soon
for a statewide campaign. But the bigger reason
is probably his presidential ambitions. In 2028.
Exactly. But there's a potential problem. Governor
Whitmer. Right. She's popular in Michigan. Yeah,
she's got great name recognition and she's very
popular with black voters, which is a key democratic
demographic. And that's something Buddy Geeks
struggled with in 2020. He did. He needs to improve
his standing with black voters if he wants to
win the nomination. Especially in states like
South Carolina, which votes early. Exactly. He'll
need to show that he can build a broad coalition.
It's a long game he's playing. Okay, let's finish
up by talking about Europe and their concerns
about relying on U .S. weapons. Yeah, there's
a lot of anxiety over there about their defense
capabilities. Especially with Trump potentially
back in the picture. Exactly. There have even
been rumors about a kill switch on the F -35.
Like the U .S. could just shut down their jets?
It's probably not that simple, but the worry
is real. Because they're so reliant on U .S.
technology. Exactly. The F -35 needs constant
software updates from the U .S. And if those
stop, the planes become much less effective.
Plus, the parts and maintenance all come from
the U .S. So it makes them vulnerable. Exactly.
And with Trump's unpredictability, they don't
know what to expect. So are they looking for
alternatives? They are. Portugal is already hesitant
about buying F -35s. OK, and others might follow
suit. They're looking at European -made jets
like the Typhoon, the Gripen, and the Rafale.
Are those as good as the F -35? They don't have
the same stealth capabilities, but they're still
very good. And against most Russian jets, they'd
be more than a match. Plus, they wouldn't be
reliant on the US. That's a big factor. It is.
This whole situation with Trump is really pushing
Europe to think about its own defense and maybe
move away from American weapons in the long run.
That's a huge shift. It is. OK, one last thing
before we wrap up. The brain drain and how abortion
policies are playing a part. This is a really
interesting trend Yeah, we're seeing highly educated
people especially young professionals Okay moving
from states with abortion bans to states with
more liberal laws and this is happening in significant
numbers Yeah estimates suggest around a hundred
and fifty thousand people a year are making this
move Wow, and these are often the people states
need to thrive. They're losing their best and
brightest Exactly. And it's not just any profession.
We're seeing a lot of doctors leave, especially
OB -GYNs. Makes sense, given the climate. Right.
This is leading to health care shortages in those
states. Women are finding it harder to access
even basic care, including prenatal care. That's
a problem. It is. And some experts are even worried
about an increase in remote assisted birth during
emergencies. Because there aren't enough. Doctors.
Exactly. Wow, that's a pretty dire picture. It
is. This could have a really negative impact
on these states in the long run. Yeah, something
to keep an eye on. Well, as we wrap up this deep
dive, I'm struck by how interconnected everything
is. Me too. We've covered politics, the economy,
international relations and social issues. And
it all seems to be pointing to a lot of uncertainty
and change. Yeah, there's a lot going on and
it's not clear where it's all headed. From government
funding to voter sentiment to international alliances.
It's a really complex landscape. It is. So as
you go about your day, we hope you keep these
things in mind. Yeah, think about how these trends
might affect you, your community, and the world.
And we'll be back soon with another deep dive
into something fascinating. Sounds good. See
you next time. See you later.