Just Two Good Old Boys

152 Guam, Cables, And Politics

Send a textA sunrise drive around Guam turns into a lesson on power you can’t see: undersea cables threading through a tiny island that quietly anchors the world’s data and money. From there we jump—hard—into the forces reshaping politics and security, from Rubio’s sharp warning to Europe to the UK’s meme‑powered insurgency and what a “restore” movement could actually deliver. The throughline is culture: why a melting pot needs rules, why a nation needs a center of gravity, and how identity, borders, and institutions either cohere or crack.We pull the map wider across the Pacific. Japan signals it’s done living under postwar limits, and we unpack what that means for deterrence, supply chains, and the semiconductor race. Taiwan’s future gets stress‑tested—votes, blockades, factories—while Vietnam’s manufacturing boom and China’s patient leverage complicate the picture. Then we flip to the Caribbean and ask what Cuba’s energy lifelines really tell us about soft power, blockades, and missed windows. Threaded through it all is a media critique: the spectacle around “lists,” apologies, and information dumps that bury truth under noise.We don’t dodge hard history or hard policy. There’s a bracing segment on slavery, indenture, and narrative shortcuts—used to frame current debates on immigration, civic order, and why asylums might return as a necessary civic tool. Energy geopolitics gets its own spotlight: Venezuela’s reopening, Canada’s awkward bind, BRICS experiments, and Russia’s signals on SWIFT hint at a world where alliances get shorter, more transactional, and relentlessly interest‑driven. The case is simple even when it’s uncomfortable: choose clarity over drift, capacity over dependency, and measurable outcomes over vibes.If you’re ready for a fast, unvarnished tour across travel, tech, culture, and statecraft—with a few sharp laughs and a surprising musical closer—press play. Then tell us: which shift should America prioritize first? Subscribe, share with a friend who loves geopolitics, and leave a review to join the conversation. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community! https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music Check out Gene's other podcasts -podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

151 Upgrades, Jet Lag, And The Politics Of Power

Send a textA coral-blue sunrise in Guam sets the stage for a sweeping conversation that starts in seat 34B and ends at the fault lines of politics, privacy, and power. We trade hard-won travel lessons from a packed Dreamliner and a bumpy hop across the Pacific—why Polaris pods can be worth the points, how to survive a seven-hour squeeze without losing your shoulders, and the simple jet lag rituals that make a 16-hour time swing livable. A whirlwind Honolulu layover—Diamond Head, the Mighty Mo, and 11 miles on foot—reminds us why we put up with the grind.Then the view zooms out. We dig into the Texas primaries and the Brandon Herrera challenge, the growing impatience with party-line incumbents, and a broader cultural recoil from performative policy. From Olympic controversies to city-funded signals, we ask what representation really looks like when institutions lean into ideology. The conversation sharpens around privacy and law: attorney-client privilege is thinner than most think, email is a discovery trap, and “helpful” call transcripts can become exhibits. The practical playbook lands hard—encrypted messaging with auto-deletion before litigation holds, voice over text where possible, and ruthless discipline about what gets written at all.Markets and geopolitics push in with equal urgency. Rumors of China trimming U.S. Treasuries lead to a sober explainer on bond selloffs, yields, and how perception can raise America’s borrowing costs. We weigh rare mineral and Bitcoin dips against a potential Fed chair pick and ask what “personnel is policy” means for your savings. And we take on election integrity from a systems mind-set: closed-source, foreign-made machines erode trust before any allegation does. Our proposal is clean and firm—separate federal ballots, federal-owned machines, in-person ID verification for federal races—while leaving states to run local contests as they see fit.What starts as a travelogue ends as a blueprint for stability: master the small levers, demand clarity from the big ones, and don’t outsource trust to black boxes. If you found this conversation useful, follow the show, share it with a friend who obsesses over seat maps and policy maps alike, and leave a rating with the one insight you’ll use on your next trip—or your next vote. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community! https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music Check out Gene's other podcasts -podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

150 From GPUs To Geopolitics: Builds, Power, And Border Fights

Send us a textA new PC arrives with a satisfying thud, but the real story isn’t RGB—it’s what powerful, affordable hardware unlocks. We compare notes on an AMD-based build that outpaces an older flagship, then get into the gritty work no one sees on YouTube: wiring a dedicated 20-amp circuit, crawling the attic, and running clean Cat6 drops that still punch 10G when you do it right. That practical setup talk blends into projector life, burn-in tests, and the strange fact that a “gaming rig” might spend its life on VMs and local AI.Then the tone shifts. We unpack the ICE shooting through the lens of carry laws, duty-to-notify differences between Minnesota and Texas, and how a single frame can reshape perception in a chaotic scene. From there, it’s coordinated protests, doxxing threats, and the political calculus around DHS funding and the Insurrection Act. The pivot into nuclear power is just as direct: why NRC rule changes could finally let data centers and heavy industry build their own generation, slash power costs, and de-risk the grid. We swap stories from Comanche Peak and Zimmer, talk AP1000s and SMRs, and map the downstream effects on steel—where cheaper, steady baseload can reignite U.S. production and bring prices down from pandemic peaks.One unexpected throughline is a new political bloc emerging at the edges: socially conservative, economically liberal, and unapologetically Christian in moral framing. That opens bigger questions about wages, feminism, workforce supply, and why two incomes became the floor for modern families. If abundant power accelerates reindustrialization, real wages can finally outrun inflation, and the single-income option becomes real again for those who want it. We close on pragmatic wins: delegating DMV services to everyday locations and treating USPS as a broker rather than a fleet. It’s a long arc from GPUs to geopolitics, but the throughline is simple—tools matter, power matters, and incentives shape everything.Enjoy the ride? Follow, share with a friend who loves builds and big ideas, and leave a review with your favorite chapter so others can jump in fast. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showWant to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community! https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music Check out Gene's other podcasts -podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

149 From Stealth Jets To Snap Elections And A Winter Power Crunch

Send us a textA stealth jet coordinating ten autonomous wingmen. A chaotic arrest that spirals into a national debate over force and consequence. A winter storm with the teeth to test Texas’ grid, and a gathering in Davos where the rules of the game sound like they’re being rewritten. This conversation moves fast, but the thread never breaks: power—who has it, how it’s applied, and what it costs when things go wrong.We start with the F-47’s promise and pitfalls. Beyond the promo reels, we unpack why networked autonomy matters more than any single airframe, how a “fighter plus drones” model reshapes sortie math, and where affordability meets risk in contested airspace. Then we swing to Minneapolis, where a tangle of bodies, a dropped gun, and a bitten fingertip force hard questions about escalation, mental health policy, and the line between protest and protection. It’s not neat, and we don’t pretend it is.From city streets to big geopolitics, we dive into Japan’s snap elections and identity signals, the gap between how Americans talk about China and what China can actually build, and Davos talk that sounds like the end of the rules-based global order. The “Board of Peace,” a billion-dollar buy-in, soft-power threats, and Greenland’s mineral leverage—this is realpolitik with receipts. Europe’s confidence meets a reality check on blue-water fleets, export controls, and who really controls the operating systems that keep modern economies alive.And then the weather turns. We break down ERCOT’s mechanics—spinning reserves, forced outages, frequency stability—and why open-air plants struggle when sensors freeze. You’ll get practical, field-tested prep: water strategy, safe generator use, heat retention, and why ice-over-snow changes how your tires behave. We close with energy’s next moves: new Permian potential, Venezuela’s messy return, Alberta’s secession drumbeat, and why data centers and AP1000 reactors are suddenly getting a green light.If you want sharp takes that connect stealth jets to street-level policy to the megawatts behind your screen, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves systems thinking, and leave a review with the one insight you’ll be watching this week. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community! https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music Check out Gene's other podcasts -podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

148 We Accidentally Nuked Greenland And Other Bargain Ideas

Send us a textStart with a rumor in orbit and you quickly find the real turbulence on Earth. We open with the ISS “medical emergency” chatter and how institutional silence supercharges speculation, then follow the breadcrumb trail to a different kind of vacuum: the attention economy. Alex Jones and Nick Fuentes aren’t the story as much as the playbook is—edge toward the mainstream, sand down the spikes, and monetize controversy while the comments do the heavy lifting.From there we head to Iran, where connectivity becomes a battlefield. Blackouts, alleged jamming, and surging protest footage hint at a regime squeezed by demographics and inflation. We weigh signals from China, Saudi, and Russia, and whether outside help can enable a revolution that still looks homegrown enough to last. The wider read: if a secular-leaning Iran reemerges, the shockwave hits regional politics, trade flows, and security doctrines far beyond Tehran.Then: borders and bandwidth. The UK freezes out controversial voices, a symptom of a new Western reflex—control the perimeter when you can’t win the argument. Meanwhile Europe’s grid fragility reappears, and across the Atlantic, the U.S. contemplates a very practical empire mode. Greenland becomes a case study in strategic shopping: rare earths, basing rights, Arctic lanes, and natural cooling for hyperscale data centers. Pair that with AI’s appetite—silver and gold for interconnects, self-built power and water systems—and you get why metals are rising and why infrastructure, not vibes, will decide winners.We close by untangling border law myths: immigration enforcement sits with the executive, not the judiciary, and due process there looks different than people think. Add in Venezuela’s oil reshuffling, Canada’s exposure, and NATO’s dependence on U.S. capacity, and a pattern emerges. Control the pipes—data, energy, minerals, flight paths, and narratives—and you control outcomes. Press play for an unvarnished, first-person walk through the week’s real leverage points, and if it sparks a reaction, we want to hear it. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves geopolitics and tech, and leave a review with the one take you’d challenge us on next. Support the showWant to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community! https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music Check out Gene's other podcasts -podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com