The View from Down Here: October 9, 2012
The presidential campaign had a possibly game-changing moment last week with challenger Mitt Romney almost universally declared the winner of the first presidential debate and seeing his poll numbers take a nice jump. But will it last? What do the new unemployment figures mean? Will the vice-presidential debate be meaningful? And why is David Letterman calling Romney a felon? Brendan and Gavin also find time to talk about a soon-to-be-canonised American religious sister and declining birth rates. Thanks for listener feedback, too. We’d love to hear from more of you out there.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The View from Down Here: September 25, 2012
Well, they say video killed the radio star. Could the Mitt Romney video and talk of the 47 per cent kill the Republican nominee’s presidential campaign? It’s six weeks till the election, and talk of the campaign dominates this week’s episode of The View from Down Here. Brendan and Gavin talk about the leaked Romney video, the likely damage it will cause and the overall state of the race. Will the Obama administration’s mishandling of the Libyan terrorist attack on the US embassy hurt him? Or is it still all about the economy? And what of that Jesus’ wife gospel nonsense? A busy show. We hope you enjoy it.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The View from Down Here: August 28, 2012
With about 10 weeks till the presidential election, The View from Down Here returns with a typically busy show, with discussion of a poll formula that’s predicted the past eight elections, the choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s VP candidate, a couple of convention controversies, a couple of foot-in-mouth situations and efforts to hold the campaigns accountable for spreading falsehoods. Included in the discussions is this exchange between CNN’s Anderson Cooper and DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Enjoy the show.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The View from Down Here: June 6, 2012
After a one-week hiatus, Brendan and Gavin catch up on some of the big stories in US politics, culture and religion. They include the changing face of the presidential election, as criticisms mount of President Barack Obama, even from “friendly” quarters, a marked shift in the proportion of pro-choice and pro-life Americans, and the law suit filed by 43 Catholic organisations, including the archdioceses of New York and Washington, DC. We’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The View from Down Here: April 10, 2012
In this week’s episode, Brendan and Gavin talk about the big news of the past week — President Obama’s comments about the possible fate of his health care legislation as the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality. What does it mean for the separation of powers in the US? What does it tell us about President Obama and his re-election bid? The guys also talk about the latest deal between the US and Afghanistan about night raids in the latter, the ongoing debate on religious freedom and give a quick Republican primary update. We hope you enjoy the show.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The View from Down Here: March 6, 2012
On the eve of Super Tuesday, the three self-proclaimed experts on American politics and culture break down the current state of play in the Republican primary contest as Mitt Romney looks to continue the momentum he gained in a series of victories from Michigan to Arizona to Washington last week. Will he be able to do so? Or will Rick Santorum bounce back? What about Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul? The panel also discusses the way Catholics have voted in the primaries thus far, Rick Santorum’s criticism of JFK, a group declaring war on the US Government and a new movie assessing if America is broken and, if so, how to fix it. Just another week in The View from Down Here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Station XV – Episode 16 – Priests and politics
We promise – this is the last one where we’ll be talking about this election. But with both the N.Z. and U.S. elections complete, we’ll talk about Obama and Key, but also about the plight of Christian parties and MMP, the persecution of Christians around the world, the flurry of ordinations in New Zealand in the next couple of months, and we end with a great rendition of “Panis Angelicus” from the new album by The Priests (www.thepriests.com).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Station XV – Episode 15 – Well, what did you expect?
It would be very difficult to have an episode a few weeks out from a general election here in NZ (and one in the States too) and not talk about politics, now wouldn’t it? So, in this episode, we talk about the NZ election, the American election, welfare and the election, the synod of Bishops and the Bible, and an IronicCatholic story about complaining parishoners becoming diocesan hermits?!? Something for everyone.
Links:
– Bishop’s statement (http://www.catholic.org.nz/statements/0808_elections.php)
– Value Your Vote (http://www.valueyourvote.org.nz/)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Familia – Episode 2 – Election Special
With just over 5 weeks to go until the NZ General Election and the US Presidential Election, we thought that it would be a good idea to have a special election edition of the Familia Podcast. In this edition we speak to Father Peter Fitzsimons about politics, morality and voting, and we offer some practical tips to consider when thinking about casting your vote.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Station XV – Episode 14 – Politics at the dinner table
It’s kind of hard to ignore it with an election both here in NZ and over in the USA. This month we talk about an open letter from the NZCCSS to all political candidates on poverty issues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting things very wrong with regards to the Catholic teaching on abortion, an Auckland-based homosexual publication slamming the Catholic bishops’ pre-election statement as bigoted and ignorant, the tragedy in Orissa, and the cancelled beauty pageant for nuns!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS