FF 05: May 5th, 2017 News and Chat About the Show

In the News

House resolution 1628, The American Health Care Act, passed  with a 217 to 213 vote on   Thursday. The President remains convinced that insurance premiums will come down and the bill will pass the Senate.

Democrats continue to be concerned that some Americans will lose any type of health coverage.

HR 1628:  https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1628/text

President Trump signed the Promoting Free Speech and Religious LIberty  executive order today which aims to remove the threat of action by the Internal Revenue Service if religious leaders were to speak out on behalf of political candidates.  

Opponents of the bill worry that the bill will encourage discrimination against certain groups.  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi stated, “While the President’s executive order claims to serve religious liberty, in practice, it is a license for a few to violate the rights and freedoms of everyone else.”

According to Pew Research, the public’s trust in government remains at historic lows.  The research that was conducted last April found that Republicans were more likely to trust government than Democrats (28% of Republicans trusted government versus 15% of Democrats).  However, the overall trust in government for the last decade has remained consistently low with only 2 in 10 Americans saying that they trust Washington to do what is right.  

Public Trust in Government Remains Near Historic Lows as Partisan Attitudes Shift:  http://www.people-press.org/2017/05/03/public-trust-in-government-remains-near-historic-lows-as-partisan-attitudes-shift/

On Thursday, Bitcoin, the digital currency, rose over 4% in value to reach above the $1500 value mark.  That beat the value of an ounce of gold which was trading a little over $1200 per ounce yesterday.  Many traders indicated that Japan’s new interest in Bitcoin helped drive up the prices.  

For an understanding of blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, be sure to check out yesterday’s episode as Mark Mueller-Eberstein, CEO of Adgetec, explains the technology.

Delta Airlines is now under scrutiny after it surfaced that a family of four was asked to get off a Delta plane last month.  The issue began when the family was asked to give up the seat they purchased for one of their children who did not take the flight.  The parents wanted to use the seat for one of their younger children.

In International News

Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed a deal that is supposed to create four de-escalation zones in Syria.  The zones are meant to reduce violence in those areas, however, the Syrian rebels and the government did not sign the agreement.