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PODCAST

Edifice of Trust

Victor C. Bolles

The Edifice of Trust is a podcast that provides discussion and analysis of today"s current events from the perspective of America"s Founding Principles. Based on Enlightenment philosophy as espoused by John Locke and economic freedom as described by Adam Smith, the host, Victor Bolles, provides listeners a path toward understanding current events from these timeless principles. Many Americans believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction, the podcast tries to point out a new course that

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All Episodes

12:36

The Difference between Lying and Delusion

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/06/29

Russian President Putin has a deluded vision of a Russian-led Eurasian civilization of which Ukraine is an integral part, justifying his invasion of that country. He lies a lot but it is hard to tell his lies from his delusion. But Putin is not alone. Many leaders around the world also suffer from delusions – and that includes in America. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the difference between lying and delusion and the impact those delusions may have on

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12:36

Postmodern Prehistory

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/06/12

In their recent book, The Dawn of Everything, Authors David Graeber and David Wengrow attempt to redefine human prehistory through the lens of their progressive left ideology using the analytical techniques of postmodern philosophy. Using narratives, feelings and a lot of guesswork they attempt to show that human can create complex societies without income or social inequality or hierarchy. The book was well received by many left-leaning periodicals. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host,

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12:36

War of Attrition

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/05/22

Historian Stephen Kotkin asserts that the War on Ukraine has evolved into a war of attrition. He further asserts that two key elements to continue such a war are the ability to resupply the unceasing casualties and the depletion of military equipment and munitions backed by the willpower to continue the fight. The Ukrainians are willing to fight but the essential willpower is not Ukraine’s but America’s. Now some Republicans are showing an unwillingness to support Ukraine’s struggle. In this

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12:36

Vivek Who???

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/05/08

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy? When Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States everyone (including me) said, “Who the heck is Vivek Ramaswamy?” Since that announcement, Mr. Ramaswamy has been writing position papers and appearing with the Sunday morning talking heads in order to become better known. But he still has a long way to go. In this podcast, The Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, tries to understand a little bit more about him and

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12:36

A Postmodern Future

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/04/27

The bizarre and previously fringe philosophy that is postmodernism has become mainstream among US academics as the principal Counter-Enlightenment school of thought. It is the philosophical underpinning of the woke ideology that has infected the American left. But while postmodernism can be effective in pointing out the past transgressions of Western Civilization, it has little to offer for the future. Most progressive activists of woke ideology would like to keep that future vague. In this podcast,

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12:36

Ideological Justice

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/04/13

The progressive left has long desired that the US judicial system become more activist in promoting their progressive agenda unconstrained by an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution. They want the courts to forge ahead on abortion rights, gun control and many other controversial issues due to the inability of Congress pass meaningful legislation on these issues. But such actions would essentially give the courts the power to enact legislation as was the case in Roe v. Wade, but the

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12:36

Explaining John Wayne

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/03/31

To kids growing up in the 1950s, John Wayne was the symbol of what those kids should grow up to be. A bit gruff, but honest. Fierce, but protective of those in need. And from westerns to war movies, he represented what it was to be a patriotic American. But today’s kids don’t know who John Wayne was and they don’t aspire to be patriots either according to a poll by the Wall Street Journal. Why not? Was it Covid? Was it Trump. Or maybe it was “woke” ideology. In this the Edifice of Trust host, Victor

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12:36

Perp Walk

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/03/23

Is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg trying to indict former President Trump in order to incarcerate him or to assure that he becomes the presidential candidate for the Republican Party? And what is going through the mind of the former president as he announces on social media is coming arrest and arraignment calling on his loyal followers to protest, protest, protest. In this Podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, analyzes the impact of the former president’s legal woes and what it means for the

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15:00

Two Decades

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/03/17

Where will we all be in two decades? A better question is where should we be in two decades? Seventy percent of American think we are heading in the wrong direction. But what is the right direction? We need to think about where we want to be in twenty years in order to determine what direction to go. And then we need to start going in that direction - starting now. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, ponders these important questions and tries to discover some answers to guide

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13:38

The Fed that Should Be

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/03/08

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System have been put in charge of running the US economy. But it shouldn’t be this way. The Fed wasn’t created to run the economy, but only to manage a small part of the economy. The Fed has the tools and the expertise to manage the money and the interbank interest rate in order to assure the stability of the financial system. Beyond that it lacks the powers and expertise to run an entire economy. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles

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12:36

Democracy is not a Verb

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/02/28

Yale professor Timothy Snyder recently did a Ted Talk where he asserted that democracy should be a verb, something that you do. He asserts, “democracy has to be understood as a spirit.” He appears to believe that the more democracy the better. Then why did the Founders include limitations on democracy in the Constitution? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, examines what Professor Snyder asserted in his Ted Talk and investigates why the Founders had their doubts about

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09:46

A Color Blurred Society

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/02/17

Despite heightened rhetoric about systemic racism and arguments about disparate outcomes, everybody from ordinary people to superstar quarterbacks are the blurring the lines that define racial and ethnic identity. There is a growing disparity between the world defined by diversity, equity and inclusion activists and the one we see around us. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at the changing demographics of America and discusses how that affects the conversation about

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15:44

The Junzi Way

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/02/13

Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 until 1990 incorporated the concept of junzi, the Confucian ideal of being a moral person, as a key element in his plan to raise Singapore from a swampy, corrupt backwater into a modern metropolis. Henry Kissinger describes how Mr. Lee accomplished this feat in his recent book on leadership. Twenty-first century America has a lot to learn from Mr. Lee’s accomplishments because we seem to have forgotten how we became rich and powerful ourselves. In

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12:28

Can Artificial Intelligence Cure Healthcare?

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/01/30

Healthcare in the United States is a mess. And it is a mess because of people. Different people want different things. And powerful people and the institutions they lead have the ability to enact policies that primarily benefit themselves. All these different people and different policies have resulted in a healthcare system that is costly and inefficient and doesn’t serve anyone very well. But maybe we can take people out of healthcare policy. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor

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12:32

Non-Trivial Pursuits

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/01/24

Gotchas, paybacks and vendettas do not make for a legislative agenda. They may appeal to the Freedom Caucus, but most Americans want Congress to address the important issues that affect their lives. Not raising the debt ceiling is another act of political theater that will not solve our public debt problem but only compound it. Speaker McCarthy needs to develop a plan to address perpetual deficits and unsustainable levels of public debt. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles,

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30:50

Urgent Priorities 2023

Edifice of Trust ·

2023/01/12

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

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11:11

Wakanda Dreamin'

Edifice of Trust ·

2022/12/27

On a recent podcast, professors Glenn Loury and John McWhorter were discussing how slaveowners had used techniques to break a slave’s bond to their past (their history, their language, their religion, their culture) to make them easier to control and dependent on the slaveowner - a process called natal alienation. But this process seems very similar to the role of the government in the modern welfare state, replacing familial and community bonds with the tendrils of state control. In this podcast,

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11:39

The Real Message of Welfare

Edifice of Trust ·

2022/12/07

Many people may need public assistance from time to time but the structure of the American welfare state encourages behaviors that perpetuate impoverishment and increase the need for taxpayer paid welfare. The only beneficiaries of the US welfare state are the politicians, the welfare administrators and their union. The poor remain poor. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at the impact of the welfare state on poor people and how government programs make sure they stay

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12:13

Conservatism is not Enough

Edifice of Trust ·

2022/12/01

Labels can be confusing, especially when they keep changing. They are more like brand names than descriptors of political philosophy. When a candidate says “I am a strong conservative” or “I am very liberal” it is hard to tell what they really stand for. But they need to stand for something. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles investigates the differences between labels and principles.

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10:08

Don't Twerk on My Parade

Edifice of Trust ·

2022/11/23

Cultural changes have come to Central Texas in the form of competing Christmas/Holiday parades in the rural town of Taylor. Change is inevitable but not all change is good. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some ways that the people of Taylor can manage the impact of demographic, technological and cultural change.

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137 results

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