Apple News
Hey Guys, love the show but WTF on the Apple News hate? I just switched to iPhone and subscribed to Apple News. I LOVE it!! For 13.00 bucks a months I have access to my local paper, several nationals I like, and many work/hobby related magazines as well. It feels like a bargain and helps support a healthy balance of news sources. I guess I would have to ask, why do you only judge it based on the hogwash suggestions the app makes for articles to read? Did you know that you can navigate straight to your preferred publications and read what you want? I am 45 so does this mean I am now turning into a Boomer?? : ) Love the show - Josh
The State of The City of Detroit
Hey Breaking Points. This isn't a question but instead, I wanted to share something good that is happening in America: The Revival of the City of Detroit. Since the city is about to be in the national spotlight for the NFL draft, I wanted to give you some highlights of the progress that’s been made since Detroit exited bankruptcy nearly a decade ago. Fair warning: this isn’t your father’s Detroit anymore, lol. New factories, towers and hotels are opening up. The latest news is General Motors moving their headquarters from the Renaissance center to the new Hudson tower opening next year. Blight is down 89% from a decade ago. Detroit had 40,000 homes and buildings that were abandoned, now we’re down to 4,400. And by the end of next year, we’ll be down to zero. Detroit’s bond rating just recently returned to investment grade status so now the city will be able to attract more investors and borrow at lower costs. Detroit used to be the carjacking capital of America and now we’re down to just an average of 2 carjackings a week. Homicides are down to their lowest level in nearly 60 years. Thanks to various efforts, Detroit was able to hire more police officers and they teamed up with community leaders to create various community violence prevention projects, and crime overall is down by a lot from a decade ago. Thanks to a combination of local, state, and federal funding, Detroit now covers costs for a 4-years college degree for Detroit high school grads. You read that right, if you’re graduating high school in Detroit, college is free now. Solar panels are now getting installed on vacant land in various neighborhoods. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested into affordable housing projects so we don’t have to worry about tent cities unlike other in other major cities in America. Finally, property values are actually increasing in the city. For the longest time, they were on the decline, but since 2014, Detroit homeowners have gained $4 billion of equity from their homes, with 75% going to black homeowners. I recommend checking out Mayor Mike Duggan’s state of the city address from this week on YouTube because unlike other public addresses, he actually has the receipts to show what’s been done since he took office a decade ago. https://youtu.be/0rc_sUPO5hE?si=jaHYFNC8Ly2hplGN&t=291
Introducing The Pod To The Hard Right Or The Hard Left
Growing up in the middle of east Texas it is often hard to find peers that have the ability to acknowledge and investigate nuisance when it comes to politics. My family and friends are nearly equally divided into one of the two current categories: Maga and Blue no mater who. I myself consider myself to be a right leaning libertarian, with numerous conflicting political stances for both sides. I felt lost politically for most of my adult life until I found this podcast, and I mean that with all sincerity. I often disagree with both Emily and Saager as well as Krystal and Ryan, but love the ability to explore both sides of an issue. I want my family to course correct from absorbing and spreading information from sources like Truth Social, CNN, FOX, TikTok, and Facebook, and rather explore sources like BP. How do I introduce nuisance and alternative media sources to the conversations? These family members I speak of are mostly college educated, very smart, and often open minded, but rebuke and refuse to even glance at alternative narratives and opinions on the topic of politics. In my right wing family I am often looked at as a liberal, and on the left leaning side of my family a neocon. I can’t understand the disconnect but any advice would be greatly appreciated!