Episodes

Gonzaga University's Institute of Hate Studies, located in Spokane, Washington is a center focused on understanding the roots of Hate in the public square and working to eradicate it. The ADL's Pyramid of Hate is a graphic visual depiction of the five progressive steps of hate culminating in Genocide. During the 20th Century, 21 genocides were perpetrated with 14 of them in the last four decades of the century, when most of us were alive. (Mount Holyoke College). Hate speech in particular is one...

The 3700 California prison inmates who volunteer to be firefighters as we wage war on the Wildfires, will be eligible to have their records expunged as a result of their service. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation into law yesterday. It's an important step for former inmates to obtain a professional certification as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) the pre-requisite to apply for a civilian firefighter job. the 3700 inmate firefighters make up 26% of those on the frontlines of the ...

San Francisco's skies turned the color of Irish Single Malt Whiskey, even down to that hint of smokiness on Wednesday morning. The deep orange/amber twilight persisted most of Wednesday forcing everyone to turn on their headlights and don N95 surgical masks against the ash that swirled in the air. As if the Coronavirus were not enough. Massive wildfires, 100 miles to the North East of San Francisco exploded to life during overnight wind storms. The resulting mountains of smoke poured into the Ba...

Over the last 6 weeks, five major police departments have lost their Chiefs, in large measure because of a breakdown of trust between the Mayor and Chief. Most police chiefs serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and their ongoing working relationship is critical to the morale of the rank and file police officers and to the safety of the community. Trust, confidence and sharing of goals are key to a successful working relationship. In the five cases we cite, the Mayor became beholden to the street p...

The recent murder of right wing Patriot Prayer member Jay Danielson by Antifa activist Michael Reinoehl on the streets of Portland, was a dangerous escalation in the street protests of this Summer. Reinoehl was subsequently killed by US Marshals in a gunfight near the Washington state capital Olympia. Does this mark the start of right versus left street killings ? The Southern Poverty Law Center tracks 52 right wing groups in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, but not Antifa. What's wrong with tha...

Michael Reinoehl, the confessed murderer of Patriot Prayer member Aaorn Jay Danielson, in Portland Saturday, August 29, has died in a gunfight with a law enforcement Task Force led by US Marhalls, close to Olympia, Washington, Thursday, September 3, 2020. In a series of fast moving events Thursday, Reinoehl acknowledeged that he shot Danielson in self defense, in an interview with Vice News. When the Task Force attempted to arrest him on a murder warrant, a gunfight ensued and he was killed. The...

Aaron Danielson a 39 year old Trump supporter and Patriot Prayer was shot and killed by Michael Reinoehl, 48, years old and a self described 100% Antifa follower. The killing brings into sharp contrast the ideological battle lines of a divided country against the backdrop of 90 nights of continual protests in Portland, Oregon. Will this murder enflame the political debate or could it serve as a timeout for both sides to stop and take stock ? Portland's fraught racial history and the profusion...

11,000 dry lightning strikes hit the Golden State overnight August 16 and 17, igniting 347 wildfires. Here in Wine Country, 50 miles North of San Francisco, the fires continue to burn two weeks later, sending massive columns of smoke and ash South to San Francisco and the Bay Area. 2020 marks the fourth straight year the Wine Country has suffered the consequences of massive wildfires. Governor Gavin Newsom says this is what climate change looks like. But is that a cop out ? Mismanagement of Cali...

Qanon is a right wing conspiracy movement with a formidable Social Media presence on Twitter, Facebook and several bulletin board sites like 4Chan, 8Chan and 8kun . Its' theories have been embraced by many Republicans and 14 current Congressional candidates have prominently espoused their views. One, Marjorie Taylor Greene won the Republican primary in Georgia's 14th district, a safe Republican seat with the endorsement of President Trump and is likely to win in November. But Republican Minority...

Kamala Harris and Facebook. 4 conspiracy theories quickly emerged after her selection. In today’s episode we will look at each one, and while trying not to give them oxygen, debunk them --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

6 months into the pandemic,transmission rates are dropping and our changed behaviors wearing masks and socially distancing are making a difference. But the Fog of War on Covid 19 at least initially meant that many mistakes were made and lives lost unnecessarily. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

An illegal alien felon shot and killed a father and his two sons in a working class residential neighborhood of San Francisco in June 2008. District Attorney charged Edwin Ramos with three counts of murder but declined to seek the death penalty despite pleas from the widow and Senator Dianne Feinstein. The controversial case brings together three of Harris’ vulnerabilities - death penalty, sanctuary cities and referring to ICE agents as equivalent to KKK. --- Send in a voice message: https://anc...

Dementia and Alzheimer’s are brain diseases of older age. The former can be treated to an extent with lifestyle changes, but the latter is far from finding a cure. Cognition Testing became a presidential campaign issue when President Trump challenged former VP Biden to take one and make the results public. We will focus on both illnesses and the test. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

Science tells us that 95% of the population has implicit biases yet there is only a 16% correlation between the bias and behavior. So is racist, homophobic and misogynistic behavior not principally triggered by implicit bias ? That's what the science says according to Fast Company magazine, but politicians would have us believe otherwise. I attended a 5 hour Implicit Bias class sponsored by the San Francisco Police Department - the same one that all sworn and unsworn personnel must take. It w...

Mass surveillance and totalitarianism are two prominent themes in Orwell's dystopian novel published in 1949. But there are two major mass surveillance systems at play in the world today. In the West, the data mining strategies of the FAANG internet giants with combined market capitalizations of $4.1 trillion dollars, exploit users' personal data for profit. The other system is the Social Credit Report program established by the Chinese Communist Party to reward conforming behaviors and sanction...

California's Summer surge in C-19 cases has put the Golden State in the dubious first place position of 452,000 cases versus 412,000 for New York. What went wrong ? Back in March and April, California had an enviably low number of cases versus New York which was being ravaged by the Coronavirus. But a series of missteps in the last two months set California on its current downward track. Meanwhile, cases in New York are plummeting. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/...

California’s powerful teachers’ union the CTA and Governor Gavin Newsom seem to be taking a very slow and hesitant approach to reopening the state’s schools. He has announced that online learning rather than in person classroom instruction is the way to go. But Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley’s HQs is taking the lead asking for waivers to reopen its schools. The state’s Catholic bishops are also urging more clarity. After 4 months of lockdown, California is unprepared to open its’ schools. Wh...

Tik Tok the popular lip syncing video app has exploded in popularity globally during the Covid 19 lockdowns. But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to ban it in the US. India and Australia have already done so. Is Tik Tok a Trojan Horse for Chinese Communist Party espionage ? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

Over 20 European countries have re-opened their schools but the US lags far behind. Our decentralized and locally controlled as well as politicized schools - school boards are elected and funded with local property taxes - are slow off the mark to re-open. Meanwhile our kids suffer. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

The world's population stands at 7.8 billion today and has increased by 5.8 billion since 1950. But the British medical journal The Lancet and the University of Washington in Seattle have authored a study which posits that the 21st Century will end with a net decline of 1 billion people. 23 countries will see their current populations cut in half and 90 countries will experience net declines. After an unbroken upward trajectory in population trends since 1800, what is the catalyst for such a rev...

With San Francisco"s gyms closed for four months, hiking the urban environment of one of America's most beautiful cities affords lots of opportunities for vigorous exercise. But how is urban hiking different from walking ? We want some physical challenge which is demanding and satisfying at the same time. Listen to today's podcast for some tips on changing your city scape into an exciting outdoor adventure venue, --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

The Social Media giant is weathering a month long boycott by some of its advertisers, a critical civil rights audit and controversy about political speech. Yet Mark Zuckerberg’s founding principles for Facebook remain: voice and inclusion. How is the company faring ? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

With the 2020 Presidential election less than 4 months away, Social Media and with it Fake News stories will loom large no doubt, much as they did in 2016. The BBC has a dedicated weekly program called BBC Trending which focuses on Disinformation stories. Why would the world's most respected broadcaster want to give any oxygen to conspiracy theories and disinformation stories ? It is a measure of how far the Internet and its' no holds barred culture has impacted how we get our news. In today's p...

35 million Californians live within 50 miles of one of the 21 historic Franciscan Missions: They are a key part of the California identity. But the recent destruction of statues of Father Junipero Serra, have challenged the legacy of the Missions. Urban legend versus a large, detailed historical record. Set the record straight ! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message