New Indictments won't Affect Trump

 Former Trump advisor Stephen Bannon and two others have been indicted by a grand jury for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering. The indictment was handed down by a federal court in New York City and names Brian Kolfage, an air force veteran and coffee entrepreneur, and Andrew Badolato, a venture capitalist. According the the indictment, Kolfage knowingly received money for his part in raising money for a border wall after multiple assurances he would not get anything.

This indictment is the latest "death knell" for President Trump, who as publicly voiced his opposition for private funding for the Mexican border wall, a key point in his 2016 campaign. The website gofundme.com has multiple efforts for this exact project and the subject of a border wall between the United States and Mexico has been a source of contention for many political debates. The sticking point with this particular effort involves a promise made multiple times by Kolfage that he would not accept any money from this endeavor. In fact, Kolfage asked people to buy his coffee so he could support his family since we was not taking anything from the wall efforts. That statement turned out to be false.

Trump's history with Bannon is well-documented and it is safe to say that everybody knows the two know each other. If the charges are true, and according to the grand jury indictment they appear to be, then Bannon and the other guilty parties should be subject to the appropriate punishments as provided by the law. Some are saying this presents another problem for the White House. This is not true. The White House has already distanced itself from this effort long before it was known that Kolfage, Bannon, and Badolato were skimming funds. Donald Trump has wanted a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico for a long time. He never wanted Badolato, Bannon, Kolfage, or anybody to go out on their own and raise money privately for this endeavor. Anyone who wants or thinks that the President is responsible for any of this is simply holding on to their hopes of Impeachment. 

Would People be Willing to Tune in?

I listened to the radio a lot when I was younger but I didn't listen to music. I listened to AM talk radio. I don't remember all of the names of the people I listened to but I do remember some of the shows. There would be some new sprinkled in during the shows but a lot of the material came from people calling in with their own stories or concerns.

Shows back then weren't heavy on political material and if they were, they were people calling in with their opinions on matters. Shows today like Howie Carr have an obvious slant and there is no attempt to hide it.

That's fine. There is an audience and a market for that. I'm wondering if there is a market for shows where people just call in to talk about life and issues that aren't politically slanted. Just talk about local, state, or national politics without bashing liberals or conservatives.

In Boston, there is Dan Rea's NightSide, a nightly program on WBZ-AM. Rea's program allows people to call in and discuss issues and topics introduced at the start of the program. There are plenty of people with opinions to share and the opinions are rarely on the same side but it does allow for people to explain why they feel a certain way about an issue.

There are many podcasts now with people conducting interviews. It's disappointing to turn on the radio and find nationally syndicated programs. If stations looked a little closer at the communities they "serve", I think they would notice something missing. Local voices. People wanting their thoughts heard and a forum to make that happen.