“We need human contact to help people succeed.”

Sean’s Monologue: Epstein, Espionage, and Inconvenient Truths

Today, Coup Save America has a conversation with Lance Hillslinger, a veteran social worker and author of the advocacy books: Build a Better Bridge: Social Policy for the 21st Century and In Place of the Parent: Inside Child Protective Services.

The episode begins as Lance describes his career as a Child Protective Services agent in the state of California and shares a bit about how the system works. He talks about how his experiences inspired him to write books that will educate and advocate for change. Lance briefly addresses the Jeffrey Epstein controversy and asks the question, “Where were the parents of the girls on Epstein’s island?”

Lance and Sean discuss the correlations between poverty and our country’s various social problems, talk about the governmental standards that define poverty, and decide that the War on Poverty has only made things worse. Lance tells us that the most common reason why children are removed from homes is because their parents neglect to care for them because of drug use. He expresses empathy toward these parents, pointing out the underlying causes of drug addiction, how drugs can alter a parents’ perception of what a child needs, and the roadblocks these parents face while living in poverty, such as the difficulty of securing things like affordable dental care for their children. Do poor people have more children? Why has poverty increased? And is homelessness a gender inequality issue?

Lance talks about how our government is “pennywise and pound foolish” when it comes to funding social services. He shares how child support works when the non-custodial parent is low income, goes through the history of social services, then describes the shortages of resources and how the decline in home ownership rates is detrimental to future generations.

Lance and Sean go on to discuss the importance of education. What can be done to increase the graduation rate for boys? Would adjusting our methods of teaching English be helpful? Lance shares a couple of cost-free changes that California has made in their school systems to increase attendance and academic success.

Sean asks Lance about the intent of the War on Poverty and why it didn’t succeed. They discuss issues such as age-adjusted food stamp benefits, public transportation, job availability, and metrics to measure the success of anti-poverty programs. Lance stresses the importance of the government supporting outdoor recreation and schools doing a better job of encouraging music and sports. Are men being left behind in current society? Gender disparities in education and the work force seem to suggest so.

Lance opines on the importance of a social network for parenting, developing morality in kids, and the strengths/weaknesses of Child Protective Services. As always, Sean brings up the Nordic model of social safety, and he and Lance discuss why politicians demonize any systems – working or not – that suggest any level of “socialism.” Could a Universal Basic Income make a difference? Lance points out the misunderstandings and misinformation about welfare programs, and then shares ideas about how to combat chronic unemployment.

You can find Lance’s books at:

http://lancehillisnger.net

For every book purchased, Lance donates money to Razom, a humanitarian program in Ukraine.

“Voters are looking for an economy that works. From anyone…even an orange-haired reality host.”

Sean’s Monologue: An Empire in Peril

Today Sean talks with Cameron Cowan of The Cameron Journal. Cameron is joining us to promote his new book America’s Lost Generation and to discuss various current events. He launches right with telling us how there really is no hope for Millennials, the Americans born between 1980 and 1996. Sean and Cameron discuss the possibility of Social Security collapsing in 2035, micro-transition generations, and how Millennials don’t deserve the bad reputation that the media likes to promote. What will our country look like when all of our politicians are Millennials?

Cameron points out that progressives urgently need better PR. As time passes, will they return to center or go for broke? He uses the example of fascist Italy to explain how the right-wing is realigning itself with the economic populist message. Cameron goes on to answer questions about what AI could do to our workforce and whether we can still use the old paradigm to build an economy that works for everyone. He talks about how young men are being left behind in current society…and what the heck is happening now in Japan?

Cameron explains how WE are the ones paying the cost of tariffs and tells the story of how America lost its manufacturing power. Could massive government subsidies restore our working force and economy? Learn how the Boomer generation benefited from an older system and how our country accidentally destroyed its own steel industry.

Cameron uses the universal healthcare debacle as an example of how we can’t make major changes because just enough Americans are doing okay, so there’s not enough push to upset the apple cart. Just wait until a few more of us hit bottom. Cameron tells us how and why inflation became the biggest issue for the last election, then he talks about the need for progressives to find the right message to make people who are not affected care about social problems. The concept of individual exceptionalism makes it necessary to keep your message “personal and local.”

Sean and Cameron discuss the ever-popular topic of corporate influence on elections. Listen to learn what quietly happened during Trump’s first term to help the rich get richer while keeping the poor down in the muck. And how did Joe Biden help facilitate the 2008 financial crisis? Cameron talks about going around state capitals to get things done, how owning assets gets you ahead while labor no longer can, and that crypto currency is a Ponzi scheme that our society embraces out of desperation. Is there anything we can do to save the middle class? Cameron says, “Well, disenfranchise the rich -but good luck with that!”

This leads to remembering the revolutions in Russia and France. Cameron tells us about the acute devastation that had to occur before suffering people rose up against the wealthy and reiterates that our system “still works enough” to keep revolution at bay. “The collapse has to get a whole lot more collapse-y,” he explains, but it will happen very soon. Maybe by 2032, the 100th anniversary of America’s last economic upheaval – which was heartbreaking but left us with a functional society in the end.

Who will be our next FDR? Could it be Zohran Mamdani? Would the democrats allow that now that the whole party is so gun shy? Cameron talks about the importance of securing the black vote and how leftist progressives should start hobby podcasts so they can slip in political topics. Finally, he ends the episode by sharing his own life story.

Hear and connect with Cameron Cowan:

http://cameronjournal.com

http://cameronjournal.com/podcast

http://instagram.com/cameroncowan

http://tiktik.com/cameronjournal

http://twitter.com/cameroncowan

https://linkedin.com/in/cameroncowan

Have you ever noticed how the word “outrage” is so close to the word “outrageous”?

Sean’s Monologue: The One Big Ugly Bill

Today Coup Save America welcomes Scott Grace – an uplifting song writer, comedian, author, and public speaker. Scott is not on the show to “get political”, but to teach us: “How to Evolve During the Trump Experience Whether Humanity Joins You or Not.”

Scott begins with a quick run-through of his life story and how he developed his entertainment (and cop dodging) skills working as a street vender in NYC…which led to him opening as a comedian for the likes of Robin Williams and Dana Carvey.

Once a self-proclaimed “MAGA Liberal”, Scott explains his disenchantment with being a member of the “Outrage Olympics” and talks about what inspired him to start his Beyond Red and Blue project, where he blends humor, music, story, and spiritual insight to help people feel less polarized, rise above outrage and reconnect—with themselves and with people with different points of view, and, dare I say it, people who voted differently.

Next, Scott tells us how nonviolent communication can be used to address political polarization and reads us a poem by his alter-ego, The Spiritual Dr. Suess. He goes on to talk about two world views – “survival of the fittest” and “we’re all in this together.” And he brings up that dirtiest of words – socialism.

Scott believes that outrage without action can be crippling, so what do we actually do with problems like The Big Beautiful Bill. He reminds us about times of change in history and points out how there is opportunity in crisis. Is it time for the American empire to die?

Scott tells us his story of meeting a MAGA couple on a plane & what he discovered about them and their hopes for the future. Then he answers Sean’s question about how he remains politically neutral while still honoring his true values. Then Scott brings out his guitar to play a little John Lennon and illustrate how music changed the world back in the 60’s and continues to do so today. There’s a shout out to Randy Rainbow as Scott entertains us with his own satirical cover – what Kenny Loggins’ Danny’s Song would sound like if Donald Trump had written the lyrics.

Scott tells us about his career as a musician, doing opening acts for a variety of celebrity public speakers, and in the process learning how to be a public speaker himself. Then Scott needs a bathroom break, so we play the trailer for Beyond Red and Blue.

When Scott returns, he and Sean discuss the history of polarization in politics and how to conquer social fears – both real and imagined. Scott uses the example of experiencing No Kings Day in Mexico to describe the power of social action, and when Sean presses him to come up with solutions beyond public protests, Scott plays us an awesome improvised song about Sean and his ideals. One thing Scott learned while working with famous changemakers is that “passion is messy.”

Scott tells us about the intuitive training involved in improvised comedy, the effects of AI on the economy, and why speaking with people who are ideologically different has been both encouraging and disheartening. He talks with Sean about wars, people who see Trump as a conduit to destruction, and is it for real that the NYT reports a global trend of less war and poverty?

Listen to hear about Scott’s “commit, don’t criticize” philosophy (but don’t commit suicide yet!), his book about mindful masculinity, the takeaway from the emergency meeting Scott attended after Trump’s first presidential victory, and another Suess-esque poem about peace and Trump.

Connect with Scott Grace at:

https://www.scottsongs.com

https://www.facebook.com/scottkgrace