Gun Violence, Governance, and Media Truths

Can Chicago's gun violence ever be tamed? Join Elsa Kurt and Clay Novak as we peel back the layers of Chicago politics, starting with a reflection on the 1968 Democratic National Convention and drawing parallels to the current political climate. Our in-depth discussion ranges from the tragic statistics of the recent Fourth of July weekend to Mayor Brandon Johnson's polarizing remarks and the city's struggle to balance resources between residents and new immigrants. 

We then broaden our scope, scrutinizing the impenetrable power structures in cities like Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Are genuine community efforts being deliberately sabotaged? This chapter uncovers the disturbing reality behind local governance and explores the public's mounting frustration. We also highlight NEA President Becky Pringle's fervent speech, addressing critical issues such as affirmative action and student loan debt, and how these topics are shaking the political landscape.

Finally, we turn a critical eye to the state of modern journalism. With the recent controversy surrounding Andrea Lawful Sanders' pre-coordinated interview with President Biden, we examine the erosion of journalistic integrity and its implications for public trust. From the over-sensationalized 24/7 news cycle to the nostalgic days of straightforward reporting, we discuss the urgent need for a return to honest, investigative journalism. Don't miss this compelling conversation that challenges current narratives and offers thought-provoking insights.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Kurt Show with Clay Novak conservative views on world news brought to you by the Wellness Company.

Speaker 2: 0:07

Prepare for the unexpected and Refuge Medical, and now it's time for the show.

Speaker 3: 0:18

Well, hey party people, welcome to another episode of the Elsa Kurt Show with Clay Novak. We are both here. We are ready to rumble, Not rumble. We don't ever fight, we don't fight, do we Clay?

Speaker 2: 0:31

We have got to find something to disagree on we have to, we have to.

Speaker 3: 0:36

There's got to be something right.

Speaker 2: 0:38

Somewhere something.

Speaker 3: 0:39

I like to think that we are both such nice, civilized people that even if we did disagree, it would be over so fast. We'd be like, well, we just agreed to disagree, all good.

Speaker 2: 0:52

You're right, it would be, there would not be an argument. Anyway, we'll find it, it'll come soon.

Speaker 3: 0:58

We'll find it. We'll find it guys, but until then, here's this what's going on, my friend?

Speaker 2: 1:22

Anything new and exciting with you? No, not much. I mean, you know kind of rolling through summer? I can't believe it's, you know, middle of July already. But that matters, right, Because one month from now, right, what's today? What's the day today? Okay, a little over a month from now, maybe five weeks, but five weeks from now in my hometown of Chicago is the Democratic National Convention now and my hometown in Chicago is the Democratic National.

Speaker 3: 1:51

Convention Yep, oh, my goodness Right, this is a very yeah, it's a very nerve wracking time for this country. Yeah, it's probably the understatement of the year right.

Speaker 2: 2:00

Like there's a lot going on, and this one you know, for a quick history lesson for those not old enough the last time that the convention was in Chicago was 1968. It did not go well. You should probably look that up. There were riots and fire hoses and truthfully, we expect more of the same. There were I just saw today there were two applications put in for applications for protests actually people doing things the right way but one was a anti-Israel, pro-palestine. I don't know who the other group was, but you know they've been anticipating this for a while. I think you and I talked about this a few months ago that you know there are a number of citizens of the city of Chicago who are not very happy with being put in second place behind all of the allocations being given to the illegal immigrants, and they plan to kind of express their feelings during the convention. So we've got that coming up, which is nice.

Speaker 3: 3:02

Yes, yes, indeed. Yeah, tensions are very high with all of that and we would be remiss to not mention Chicago. Chicago, come on man, come on man. Oh, my goodness, chicago's having a rough time already. They need that kind of activity. I was going to say like a hole in the head, but given the topic now, it's probably not appropriate to say a little too on the nose that is.

Speaker 2: 3:29

That is a little bit too. Yeah, fourth of July weekend, right, which, um? It was the peak peaks shooting season in the city of Chicago, Um. A hundred, a hundred shot, over a hundred shot, 19 killed over the four day holiday weekend, um, which included the NASCAR race by the way, nascar was in Chicago this weekend on top of everything else. But, yeah, 100 shot, 19 killed. Yeah, it's tragic, but it's also very much for this city, business as usual.

Speaker 3: 4:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. So I was doing a little bit of reading on this, of course, and, you know, and I wanted to see, I saw a couple different articles and I saw that CNN had actually written something about this and I was very curious about, you know, what they would say for spin on it. And of course, you know they give a little spin, like, well, you know gun violence. And course you know they give a little spin like, well, you know gun violence, and of course this will backfire on them. Gun violence is down this year, you know. So this wasn't that big. Oh, I know, I saw your face. Yeah, I know, and which is really funny, that they would say something like that, because that's so against their, their general narrative, like you know, gun violence is exploding, so somebody slipped one under there. But they also were quick to add that.

Speaker 3: 4:47

You know well, july is the, is the, always the number one. You know, summer, and particularly July, the July 4th weekend, is always like this, this is normal, like this happens all the time. You know, yes, sure, that's true, but I don't feel like we should be so flippant about it, right, like it's just normal. And I, I especially say that because, as I was reading, you know, one of those that was killed was an eight year old boy who was shot alongside two other boys ages five and eight, and that's according to the Chicago Police Department, you know. So how about those lives mattering? How about that?

Speaker 2: 5:27

Yeah, you know it's. Unfortunately, you know, chicago went from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was atrocious, to Mayor what is it? Brandon Johnson is his name, who is even worse. I don't know if you saw his press conference to address the weekend, but he decided to try and give folks a history lesson and used is blaming Richard Nixon for gun violence in Chicago, and and so here's the kicker cause he doesn't know his, his own history.

Speaker 2: 6:00

You know he said 60 years ago and, and this all revolves around race relations and black lives matter, and that's, you know that was kind of the messaging. But he said 60 years ago and this all revolves around race relations and Black Lives Matter, and that's. You know that was kind of the messaging. But he said you know we got it wrong. You know we had an opportunity with President Johnson and people didn't take him seriously and we ended up with President Nixon alluding to the fact that, you know, somehow all of this bad race relations in the city of Chicago and across the nation are President Nixon's fault. And of course that the Nixon Foundation jumped right in. I'm sure they did. Yes, vision is history, but but here's a little lesson for you know, mayor Johnson, about the city of Chicago. If you want to blame people, there has not been a Republican mayor in the city of Chicago in over 100 years.

Speaker 3: 6:45

There has not been a Republican mayor in the city of.

Speaker 2: 6:47

Chicago in over 100 years? Wow, 100 years. All politics are local, and especially in this case. So let's take it down to the local level, the city of Chicago. And if you want to blame people and you want to blame politics, hold your own party accountable. They've run the city and they've run it into the ground. Decade after decade after decade. It's been Democratic run. No, no, there's, there is no deviation, none and but. But he wanted to blame it on President Nixon, who died in 1994 for crying out loud. But that that was his, his point of blame, not not what's happened since then, not what's happened since Nixon was in office for crying out loud. Um, but he, he wanted to blame that decision point on everything that's wrong and going wrong in the city.

Speaker 3: 7:33

I'm so confused I've never, I've never heard a Democrat politician not being accountable for his, his or her own failings. It's that's such a strange thing to happen. I've never heard it before.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Yeah, and again he's. He's a product of all of that. He is and he's, amazingly like, as bad as Lori Lightfoot was and she was frigging horrible at the time the worst mayor in the city of Chicago, and that's saying a lot. And they found somebody worse. I don't know how they did it. They found someone worse than her to run this city. This guy is a complete idiot.

Speaker 3: 8:12

It's like it's. It's the meme, it's the joke. Like you know, lori Lifewood said nobody can be a worse mayor than me. Hold my beer. Hold my beer, I got this. I got this. I can mess it up more. That blows my mind, though, clay a hundred years of living the definition of stupidity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Like I don't I. I genuinely do not understand. How do people just say our world? Here, is right. Yeah, I know.

Speaker 2: 8:50

The thing to know about Chicago and Chicago politics is that all of those flippant remarks are generated, probably by the city of Chicago, but are definitely practiced. Vote early and vote often, even if you're dead right. That's Chicago right. All of the political corruption stuff that you hear about happens and has happened in this city, you know it's so funny that you said that, because that's what I was thinking.

Speaker 3: 9:16

I'm like are, have they like mastered the, the?

Speaker 2: 9:20

yeah, yeah, it's been going on for decades. I mean you go go all the way back to you know, um, yeah, yeah, it's been going on for decades. I mean you go all the way back to, you know prohibition, mafia times, like I mean, politicians bought judges, bought police chiefs, and it's been like that forever. Like that is just common practice here, you know, in Chicago or in that city, and it just is. It is what it is. So it's not even a matter of voting for the same thing over and over again. It's just that base of power that just doesn't change. They've got it wired and it and nothing's changing and it probably never will. You know, just like most of these very large Dem run cities not going to change. You know, call it Seattle, la, san Francisco, you know all of them. It's not changing.

Speaker 3: 10:03

Yeah, they would, they would have to change on such a fundamental level, on such a core level, and I agree with you. I mean, you know, history has already proven that nothing is going to change. You know, it's just a new name and a new face doing the same garbage. And you know, and I may have shared this story once before, but it's probably one of, to me, one of the most disheartening stories that I know of, on a not firsthand, secondhand basis, my husband shared a story with me about a coworker of his law enforcement police officer, of course, and this was when they were in the well, I don't know, I want to say the city, maybe I won't, it's easy to figure out, but that's okay.

Speaker 3: 10:46

But he was working closely with the local activists in the area and you know, it was like a community outreach type thing between law enforcement and these activists and they were making a change. They were making a difference. They were cleaning things up, they were getting people into you know programs, and, and they were making a difference. They were making a difference. They were cleaning things up, they were getting people into you know programs, and, and they were making a difference. They were making things better.

Speaker 3: 11:11

And then the craziest thing happened the activist that was kind of like the lead person said, hey, we gotta, we gotta stop, we gotta stop doing this. And our friend was like we gotta, we're making a difference here, things are getting better, it's improving. And the guy said, exactly, we can't have that. So they sabotage all efforts, real efforts, genuine improvement. Because why? Because they need to keep people down. And until people realize that the people who are are being kept down, until they fully get that and get tired of being kept down by this rigged system, then, yeah, nothing is ever going to change. You know it's bad right.

Speaker 2: 11:57

Yeah, no, it's atrocious, but that's that's the feedback that we're starting to see. To get back to the convention that's coming. Oh, by the way, this hyper violent city. But you know, some of the protests that we expect to happen revolve around exactly that is that you know the people who've been kept down are no longer. You know the priority, right, so even the things that they've been. You know the control items that have been in place, you know, to keep those people down, right, those incentives to keep them there.

Speaker 2: 12:30

Free this, free that Free this free, that Right that keeps them, you know, in the city. They're not getting that anymore, or at least they're not being prioritized for it. It's the illegal immigrants that are being brought in that are getting all the money and all the benefits and all the free stuff. And I'll tell you, the people in the city are pissed. So maybe this fundamental change that you're talking about, you know, is is you know, I don't know, but maybe this is the seed for it to happen, because they have, you know, people are starting to figure out you're, you're, you're a tool, you know you're, you're being used for the process, so we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks. You know you're being used for the process, so we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 2: 13:05

You know, I mean, we don't even know who the presidential nominee is going to be. We don't even know, you know, what the format of the convention is going to be. They're talking about all kinds of crazy stuff going on with President Biden, you know, potentially running, not running. So we'll see what happens, but one thing is for sure You're going to have a whole bunch of people in a city that is already under a lot of pressure and is already very violent, so I'm not hoping for more of it. But it wouldn't surprise me if it was 1968 all over again.

Speaker 3: 13:30

Yeah, it really. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, for catastrophe, really. I, I, I fear that this will be something in the history books, and definitely not in a good way.

Speaker 2: 13:43

Yeah, yeah, probably not, but it's all about a lot of factors. Yeah, but it's it's. It's all about control and it's all about power, right, which is, I mean, part of part of our next part, of our next topic. You talk about somebody who's trying to maintain control right, what the yeah, what the actual you that haven't seen this, the NEA president, who is Becky Becky Pringle is her name.

Speaker 2: 14:11

So the NEA obviously is the largest teachers union, right, right, Right, the largest teachers union in America, and they just had their national convention in the city in Philadelphia. I think it was national convention in the city in Philadelphia, I think it was. And so she got up on stage and this rant do you have this? Do you have any pieces?

Speaker 3: 14:31

I do, and, guys, this is so. I, I, holy cow. So Becky went bananas, okay.

Speaker 1: 14:40

Right and this is.

Speaker 3: 14:41

this is technically a a much longer clip than we would normally do, but there were so many points here that we're just going to run with it, guys, because it's you have to see it.

Speaker 1: 14:56

And then we'll discuss after. Here we go, shut the doors of affirmative action, refused to acknowledge the way student loan debt puts higher education out of reach for so many students and keeps millions of Americans from experiencing financial freedom in their lifetimes During a 24-hour period lifetimes during a 24-hour period. This radical court struck yet another blow against our LGBTQ plus community, nea. It is in this moment that we cannot rest. We cannot rest, nea. We cannot rest. We cannot rest, nea. We know that.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Justice Katonji Brown Jackson told the truth. She told the truth when she wrote her dissenting opinion. Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the truth when she wrote despite the court's unjustified exercise of power, the opinion today will serve only to highlight the court's own impotence. We all dissent, we all. You will not arm teachers. No. You will not shrink our students' curriculums. No, you will not leave them unprepared to lead a just society. No, michigan, all the things, all the things. We are the ancestors of future generations. So we must and we will leave this state and this representative assembly ready to take the kind of bold and tenacious and continuous and fearless action that we must. We must and we will reach up and realign the stars in a way that will serve our students, but this entire nation, to reclaim public education as a common good, as the foundation of this country, and then we will transform it into something it was never designed to be a racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student, every student, everyone, to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

Speaker 3: 18:19

Um, we're never loving like oh.

Speaker 3: 18:24

Lord, what the what, like? So here's the thing. Can you just teach our kids reading, writing, math? Can you just? Can you just do that? Can you just? You know geography? Um, like, maybe just do that. Like, calm the heck down, teach our kids the thing. Well, first of all, you're not coming near my kids. If I had young, if I had young kids, kids, um, you're not coming near my grandkids. You raging, fricking lunatics. Anybody, everybody, every parent who is of sane mind should watch that video and understand that these are the people you're trusting your children to. They are radical nut jobs.

Speaker 2: 19:09

So she, just like any union president, is elected into that position, right? So she is elected as the NEA president, which is representation of the union itself. So that is in and of itself a problem. Additionally, she has been to the White House 20 times, 20. Ok, that's more than Biden's doctor like that. So you know that's another issue right there. But you know clearly no prepared speech. But you know clearly no prepared speech, right, clearly not rehearsed. You know that was 100% off the cuff. Oh yeah, it was disorganized. It was huge.

Speaker 3: 19:55

I don't know how long that speech went on 30 minutes 30 minutes, 30 minutes of her ranting from one extreme to the other. The funniest part to me I mean a lot of it was funny in a horrifying way. The funniest part to me was at the very end. I don't know if anybody caught it, but they panned to the audience and some people did stand up and clap. But there was a good number of people that were like like what, what is even happening here? I thought we were just talking about our, our education strategies. What is this holy cow? That was like I was actually. I told you, um, we clay and I were talking about just before we started and I said, you know, watching her was actually making me angry, like I was getting getting really angry. That that, these people, they're just so audacious. They just really are.

Speaker 2: 20:52

Yeah, she is uh, she's uh, um. I I obviously the extreme I think you know I'm not going to classify all and we shouldn't classify all educators or all members of the NEA is exactly like her this is why I have Clay.

Speaker 3: 21:08

To calm me down, balance himself.

Speaker 2: 21:10

Like I said, she's a representation because she's elected into that position. So there's enough of the NEA that put her there, right? So she is speaking on their behalf very publicly. So the proof's in the pudding for the NEA is that do they want this crazy woman to continue to lead them going forward? But she is not shy about her political stance, the political stance of the NEA, right? Nothing in my opinion that she said there and I know we got the cut version. It's the short version of that speech, but those highlights are exactly that. They highlight the fact that that is a highly political organization, right?

Speaker 3: 21:51

They are right out Democrat yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:56

Attacking the Supreme court. Right, she's not a lawyer, she's not a judge, she has no clue. Like she's a, she's a teacher and no offense. Like, if she teaches law, okay, fine, pretty sure she doesn't. But but all of that was politically driven, right? Yes, politics, not education. And they're wrapping themselves, they're wrapping our kids, or they're, they're using our kids education, you know to, to drive political goals and vice versa. Right, and it's, you know it's. It's sickening to me that that the focus isn't what you're talking about, which is, you know reading, writing, arithmetic, you know three R's of the old days, or or you know what is the best way to educate our kids. Like, that's not what she's talking about. She's talking about the educational environment and the Supreme court and all of these other things, and it's, and she's missing it. And in front of her target audience, right, yes, that's the message that they're carrying forward is the NEA is a political organization. That's the way it comes off.

Speaker 3: 23:00

Oh, absolutely, completely, Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, you know, if I was an educator coming in there and I'd be, you know, I mean I you know justice and what, all the crazy things that she was spewing, all the insanity that had nothing to do with educating children and youths and young adults. So but it's, it was bizarre, it was creepy, you know, definitely a bad look overall, but this is, you know, this is what they're doing. This is like a representation of all of these public institutions. You know, these are now government. These are not now, but these have been. These are all government institutions and they are running it from the top down and they are running it from the top down. Well, and that's what you said at the end is public education, right.

Speaker 2: 24:08

She's not talking about private schools. She's not talking about charter schools. She's not talking. She's talking about public schools public funded, taxpayer funded schools right, and she's turning them political. That's not what this is about. If you want that stuff, go to a private school, right. We've seen what the private universities oh, by the way, who are taxpayer subsidized, but we see what they do there. Okay, fine, that's a little bit different, but these are public schools for kids, for all of our kids, K through 12, publicly funded, taxpayer funded schools. It's not politics, it's education, and you'll never convince me that they're. It's not that they're not connected, Don't get me wrong, but you'll never convince me that politics and the political spectrum and environment has that much of an impact on educating kids. You never will. It won't happen, Right.

Speaker 3: 24:57

Yeah, I mean I, I feel like the two should not, they should not cross. I mean I there, if, if there's going to be politics being taught as a course, that's fine and that I would expect and want heavily monitored, that it is balanced and fair and factual. This is what this party believes. This is what this party believes. Here's the history of this party, the real history of this party and the real history of that party, and you choose what makes sense to you, what resonates with you, without my influence, my opinions and my feelings about it intruding on that. You know, and I just I don't. I don't think you can get that in public schools anymore and I agree with you. I will.

Speaker 3: 25:45

I will say there are many, many teachers out there in the public school system who are wonderful and doing the best that they can, but I think a lot of them, their hands are tied as well because they are. They're handed a curriculum, they're told what to teach. I don't really know, you know, and again, I don't have kids in the school system. I don't know what's going on other than what you know. Acquaintances have told me and none of it sounds very good. I'm sorry. I'm hearing things about having litter boxes in the classrooms for the kids who want to be cats, and you know, and that teachers can't say or do anything like their hands are tied. They have to call them by whatever. Whatever it is they want to be called.

Speaker 3: 26:26

You know it's, it is a crazy time. There's just, there's just no, no, freaking way. No freaking way. If my daughter which she wouldn't, but if she said to me I think we're, you know we're, we got it. We have to work, you know, and, and we can't afford to stay home, both of us are going to go back to work and and you know, we're gonna have to put the kids in public school. I'd be like I'll be right there, I'm on my way, I'm sorry, clay, baby, like I gotta go, I gotta go teach those babies on in a lot of public school districts, it's, you know, they just they.

Speaker 2: 26:53

If they have an option, people are looking for the other option.

Speaker 2: 27:12

So, it's politicized, you know, and we're rolling, kind of rolling into our next topic. We're starting to see people pulling the veil back on things that are being politicized, that that don't need to be or shouldn't be, or that are being politicized that don't need to be or shouldn't be, or that are, you know, kind of changing the course. And we're talking about the former CEO of Home Depot, who's also the former chairman of Chrysler. So this guy's like he's no dummy, right? I mean, he understands the economy, he understands, you know, all of those things. And he he was saying the other day um, how the you know the administration and listen, they all do it to an extent. This one just seems to be more egregious than you know, than past. But how they manipulate the numbers in the economy and especially the unemployment, slash job numbers that are out there. We've talked about this. We know. You know, covid closed a lot of businesses, right, closed a lot of businesses. A lot of jobs were lost. And now the administration say we created 200,000 more jobs and what they're doing is reinvigorating the jobs that were lost. I'm convinced and I'd have to see number I'm convinced we haven't made it back to 2020 to pre COVID employment numbers like total job numbers, right.

Speaker 2: 28:30

But one of the things that he said which is very, very interesting is that one of the greatest, the largest creators of jobs right now is the federal government. Okay, the federal government does not contribute to the GDP at all Zero. They're producing nothing for the economy of this country Nothing. So whether they make jobs or not, and whether they're viable jobs or not, it has very little positive impact on the economy itself. Yes, people get paid, but they're not contributing to the growth of the nation by producing something, by exporting, importing, transporting. That's not what the federal government does. So it's manipulated numbers and it's all fake. It's all garbage, right.

Speaker 3: 29:19

What a surprise they're lying Wow.

Speaker 2: 29:23

Yeah, and the other thing he talked about is the silent killer is inflation. You know they're talking about inflation, but but they're not talking about inflation and it's being misrepresented. We know, we've talked about it. The price of gas, the price of price of everything is what's really wrecking the economy. And when you've got a guy like that, when you've got this, what's his name? Bob Nardelli.

Speaker 3: 29:49

Yep Bob Nardelli.

Speaker 2: 29:51

Right. Former CEO of Home Depot, which is the second largest or the largest. You know home improvement, you know company, and it's either them or Lowe's right I mean two big ones so that and Chrysler, former chairman of Chrysler. This guy knows what he's talking about and even he is pulling the veil back, saying why, it's all garbage, it's all BS and they're not telling you the truth.

Speaker 3: 30:15

Yeah, and I mean I don't understand people who are sitting here and I see them always, always in the comment section best economy we've ever had under Biden. Tell me, like have you been to the grocery store? Have you been to restaurants who are understaffed still to this day Cause they can't get people to work, businesses who can't get people to work, Like, gone to the gas pump? Are you living in the same world? The rest of us are. I mean, I'm still going into and I don't go into a lot of stores anymore, but I've gone in them and there's still half empty shelves that they can't or won't stock. It's not even that they can't stock, they can't afford to stock fully because they're not selling enough.

Speaker 3: 31:02

So these people that are sitting here going oh, yes, no, no, no I saw it on the news the economy is great. Or you know. So these people that are sitting here going oh, yes, no, no, no, I saw it on, saw it on the news the economy is great. Or you know, Kareem Jean, Kareem Jean-Pierre said our economy is great, we're in, we're in a major recovery right now. And they're like yeah, we are. No, you dummy, we are not. Are you out of your ever loving mind Like where, where are these people coming from?

Speaker 2: 31:23

Yeah, I heard today that like so, this is a very large. He was from New Jersey, but he was talking about the housing market in general, but specifically talking from where he sits in Jersey. And he said one there's a massive lacking for housing, and especially new housing across the country, right, and he said two things. One is everything is expensive. All the materials are expensive, whether it's lumber or shingles or electrical anything that you need to make a house, to build a house extremely expensive right now. Right, but also they're short. About 400,000 construction workers across the United States right now. They can't build houses, right, because we've prioritized as a massive mistake higher education, right. Right, you know, emphasize trade schools or working in the trades or working in blue collar jobs Right, that build houses. We don't do that anymore. We push every single kid to go to college, right, and this is what we're getting. We don't have houses right now. If you're a seller, if you're selling a house, bonus for you you're going to make a ton of money because it's just not available.

Speaker 2: 32:38

But if you're looking for a house, you're going to pay through the nose right now because they're not out there.

Speaker 3: 32:44

Yeah, and that's the catch 22,. Right, yeah, you could sell your house and make a killing, but good luck finding one, you know?

Speaker 2: 32:51

Yeah, it's a, it's it's nothing is being represented or nothing is being, you know, broadcast us in any sort of reality. So when I love to see guys like Nardelli and this this guy from New Jersey was talking about this People in the know who pull back the curtain and say, listen, we're all being lied to, right? Whether it's an economist, whether it's a business head, somebody like that who shows and talks about and tells us what reality is, not what the mainstream media, the administration or anybody else is telling us. And listen, this guy Nardelli's got nothing to gain from this. He's not employed by a company anymore. He doesn't work for Chrysler anymore.

Speaker 2: 33:31

He's just telling you like it is he knows what he knows and he's sharing it with the world, which is great.

Speaker 3: 33:36

Yeah it is, yeah it is, and I hope the people who need to hear that and get it through their thick skulls, I hope they do hear it. You know, because he's not like you say, he's not a politician, Nothing to gain from this. You know, I don't know where his politics lie, Don't care, doesn't matter. You know that's his lane, he knows what he's talking about. I hope people listen to him and realize you know. Again, I don't understand how they don't realize that it's a lie, but it's a lie.

Speaker 2: 34:01

You know the pendulum is swinging. We've been talking about this. It went so far, one direction. Now it's coming back the other direction. I'm starting to see, you know this, you know people exposing, you know what is being said, people who know, and we're even starting to see a little bit, a little bit of return of real journalism. Right, I think, a couple years ago independent journalism.

Speaker 2: 34:23

we're starting to see a lot of that happening. And now, for those of you that don't know, the W? U R D out of Philadelphia, which is a, which is an African-American owned, black owned radio station. They had a host who had agreed upon, you know, made an agreement with the administration to do an interview with president Biden. Here's how this works they sent that woman right the host.

Speaker 3: 34:48

Yep Andrea Lawful Sanders.

Speaker 2: 34:50

Andrea Lawful Sanders yep, hyphenated last name. They sent her eight questions and said pick these out of these questions, the questions you're going to ask, and let us know which ones. And she picked four and they said okay. So the president knew exactly what he was going to be asked. Right, right, and he went, he did the interview and after it was over with, she admitted that that's how it went, and now her and the radio station have parted ways two different reports and I think they're just politely agreeing to say we parted ways.

Speaker 3: 35:31

We'll leave it at that. We parted ways. So yeah, wow, and I, I'm curious now I don't know if you know, know or not but um, did she get thrown under the bus, do you think? Or was that legitimately like on her own outside of?

Speaker 2: 35:40

did she get thrown under the bus? I don't know. But you know, if you look, listen and watch guys like Fallon and all the late night stuff or anybody that's on a press tour for a book, a TV show, a movie, whatever, they know what's being asked. There's agreed upon questions, right, as they're promoting whatever it is they're promoting. I've said this a number of times I like John Krasinski and I like his wife, emily Blunt.

Speaker 2: 36:07

I know that a few years ago, I saw him tell this same story on three different shows Right, and it was about she was filming Mary Poppins, and in London. Right, and he went over to visit her and as he was going through customs, you know, he had this interactions with the customs guy, who was English, you know, of course, because he's flying into Heathrow or wherever and he's in customs. And the guy says well, who are you? I'm an American actor. Ok, fine, anything that you've ever, you know, I would have ever seen you in. Well, I was in your version or the American version of your show, the Office, you know which, you know which. The guy looks at him and then what are you doing here? I'm here to visit my wife. Oh, who is she? Emily Blunt, you, you're married to Emily Blunt. I saw him tell that exact same story three different times on three different shows, right?

Speaker 3: 36:56

I actually know the story, so I've seen the story.

Speaker 2: 36:58

Yes, there you go. So the idea of coordinating questions to be asked and that is not an uncommon thing in certain circumstances, right, I would tell you, it's probably not even out of the realm for an interview with the president. I would bet when he was on who is he on closed set? Was that Kimmel? Was it Fallon? He was a president. Biden was on somebody close set, you know, a year ago or something like that. I can promise you he probably knew the questions that were going to be asked.

Speaker 3: 37:30

Oh, definitely.

Speaker 2: 37:32

But the fact is is that this radio station in Philadelphia has taken the stance that that their host, who you asked if she got thrown under the bus, you know that's not the journalism, the type of journalism that they report, that they support. That's not honest journalism. That's coming from the radio station and that's why she is no longer employed there. So, whether she got thrown under the bus or not, I mean, it sounds like not.

Speaker 3: 38:00

Based on that, it sounds like not. I mean she'd have, you know, a good lawsuit.

Speaker 2: 38:05

Yeah Well, they agreed to part ways. So something tells me she got a nice severance out of it. Yes, but just that stance of that's not real journalism is like when was the last time you heard that With any like seriousness, I mean you?

Speaker 3: 38:25

know there's a lot of people who claim to be journalists who are are not. You and I are not. Oh, she had plenty of blustering, like real journalism.

Speaker 2: 38:29

Yeah, we're not journalists, we're pundits. We're just throwing our opinion out there.

Speaker 3: 38:32

Right yeah, I'll never call myself a journalist, definitely not.

Speaker 2: 38:35

No, but this is that's what that's. What this was about is real journalism and a news outlet, you know, getting rid of one of their employees because they weren't, you know, conducting real journalism. I think it's like that's a huge thing and it's a national story.

Speaker 3: 38:52

Yeah, yeah, that is big, that really is. And you know, I do hope that it is the an indicator of a return to real journalism, integrity and you know all of the things that have been lacking for, you know, an exceptionally long time. I don't know, you know. I mean I would need, like a good, a good historian to go back and be able to pinpoint when. When did this start happening? You know? Was it during the Clinton years? Was it during the Obama years? Was it during? You know, I mean I don't know. I honestly don't know.

Speaker 3: 39:30

You know I always kind of use Obama, for me at least, as the marker of when things notably started to turn really bad. And you know so was it then when they started exerting control over the media? Hasn't been going on longer. I don't really know. I just know that I think I speak for probably everybody when I say I'm sick and tired of 24 hour news, like nobody should be sitting or having having it in the background, unless that's your job having it in the background, unless that's your job, you know that you have to be doing this. But no average regular person should have CNN or Fox or whatever you listen to, running in the background all day long, because all they're doing is telling the same stories over and over again, different versions of it, different opinions on it, which are all basically the same opinions and the same everything you know and, like you said, they're pundits, they're talking heads, they're gossipers Like this isn't news, this isn't journalism.

Speaker 3: 40:34

It's news but it's not journalism, you know, and we can't tell the difference. And I don't mean we, I mean average, regular people. They can't tell the difference because they don't know any better. You know, they don't know any different, particularly the younger generation, some of us who are old enough to remember when news was news and journalism was journalism. But now it's just who can be more sensational, who can be more combative, who can be you know, who can get the story first, and it's exhausting, we are exhausted from it and we're warped. We're warped from it.

Speaker 2: 41:12

There's always been, you know, an interesting go back to like World War Two reporting, where you know things were kept secret Right Right by the press for you know operational reasons when they were covering the war. Of course you didn't have this type of news cycle, right, the rapidly responding. You know there was, you know Roosevelt. You know his debilitated condition was pretty much hidden. The press kind of knew about it. They agreed to not say anything. Right, that was a big thing.

Speaker 2: 41:43

You know the rumors about and live combat footage being put on during the nightly news, during dinnertime, like that was kind of a swing in the opposite direction, right, you know you had Watergate and then you know like it's just, and then you know the 9-11 coverage, and so it kind of ebbs and flows. I don't think there's ever been a great clear relationship. But at the same time there is a definite downturn in quality journalism, no matter what. I mean you always had guys like Walter Cronkite and others who you know were kind of the staple. 60 Minutes was a staple for years and years and years, tom Brokaw right on ABC and all of those. So you had all of that. Right, there isn't anybody like that anymore, like David Muir is a joke, right? I mean, that's the nightly news. All of that stuff is sensationalized, like you said, to the story, even if it's not true, right?

Speaker 3: 42:56

Doesn't matter. If it's true, just hurry up and get it out there.

Speaker 2: 42:59

Be the first We'll take a partial, unproven story to get the headline right and then throw social media in there Clickbait right. We all know about clickbait all these links and all this other stuff to get the clicks, because that's what pays now. So, but if we do have a return, please Lord, let it happen soon. Right, we need we all need Americans need some good quality, investigative, clean reporting journalism that just tells us the friggin truth. Yes, certainly not getting it from really anywhere right now.

Speaker 3: 43:35

No, no, we're really not.

Speaker 2: 43:38

And by the time you figure out what the truth is, it's gone. It's already gone. Do you know how many?

Speaker 3: 43:43

I don't know about you, but particularly, I get them from Twitter all the time. Whoever I follow on there, it's like every five minutes there's five minutes, there's a breaking news headline and it sucks me in. Sucks me in every time because I'm thinking it's going to be something big. And it's like Trump walked outside the building. That was breaking news. That's not breaking news. That's a guy walking.

Speaker 3: 44:06

Stop you know, everything is breaking news, because what happens, it's what happens to me. I open it up right away, thinking it's going to be some big breaking news. Like there was actually a time when breaking news was actually about something really big and now everything's a big deal. Like, everything's a big deal, it's a no wonder. It's no wonder that we are so high strung, so stressed out, so, um, you know, driven by our, our technology and and trained like dogs to respond to it like that every two seconds. You know it's.

Speaker 2: 44:42

I mean, it's intentional, of course, but it's the opposite or it's the opposite, and now it's the boy who cried wolf, right? We're so tired of the clickbait and the headline that we don't even pay attention to shit anymore, which works to their advantage. So when something happens that they want to cover up, that they want to push to the side, they just don't make it all that noticeable and we all look at it and we go I don't care, and we get rid of it and then off it goes, right.

Speaker 3: 45:06

Yeah, if everything's a big deal, then nothing's a big deal, right, like everything becomes and you do become immune to it. And you know and now is you know once, once the phrase fake news became part of our vernacular, you know that everything you see now, and of course, with the, you know, implementing of AI in every facet of our lives, it's like nothing feels real. Nothing is believable and, at the same time, everything's believable because all of it is certainly possible, because we live in a crazy world. So, like the answer is shut off all of this stuff for as much of the day as you can and only turn it on to watch our show. Just watch us, everything will be fine, Never mind those other ones.

Speaker 2: 45:56

So two things or one thing, and then you know, and then it kind of bleeds into the next topic.

Speaker 2: 46:01

We always have a saying. In the army, right, and in the military, the first report is always wrong. It's always wrong. So when you get that first report, look at it and go something is happening, but it's probably not this right, and then just move on with your day and then let it flesh itself out and then you'll find out what really happened. But let's talk about some not so real journalism, right, and he actually George Snuffleupagus.

Speaker 3: 46:22

George Snuffleupagus.

Speaker 2: 46:28

George Snuffleupagus conducted that interview with President Biden. He actually did refer to himself as a journalist during that interview. Right, Made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

Speaker 3: 46:33

Yes, I'm sure he wants to think he is Little Georgie Porgie.

Speaker 2: 46:36

Yeah, listen. He worked in the White House for the Clintons. He is not a journalist, not a journalist.

Speaker 3: 46:42

Never will be.

Speaker 2: 46:43

No.

Speaker 3: 46:44

I'm pretty sure once upon a time, like wasn't part of the you know credo for being a journalist is like objective. You know all those things yeah so. I feel like he doesn't fall in that category.

Speaker 2: 46:59

Because if he was unbiased, he wouldn't have gotten this interview with the president, exactly I mean, it's just that simple, they wouldn't have given it to him. So I mean you watched it, I watched it. You know it was what 36 minutes or something like that.

Speaker 3: 47:14

I mean it was yeah, it was like it was like round two of you know how much more can I cringe from secondhand embarrassment and just uncomfortableness Like this is so uncomfortable to watch. Like this man is struggling and they're they're not. It's like well, I don't think they're even trying to hide it now. Like they're just. They're just like well, it's it's you, it's you. Know this, this horse is, is out of the gate.

Speaker 2: 47:42

Like it here you go here, here it is because it was I will say this stephanopoulos, on a, on a number of occasions, probably four or five times during that interview he asked the question of the president about his can you do this? Are you physically capable? You, you know, are you mentally capable, you know. And he got to hey, listen, I'm being serious, whatever you know, no joke, right? And President Biden would ramble on about some crap that doesn't matter.

Speaker 2: 48:12

And then Stephanopoulos would re-engage and be like well, but the rest of you may feel that way, but the rest of the country doesn't feel that way. Or he would re-engage and be like well, but the rest of the you may feel that way, but the rest of the country doesn't feel that way. Or he would rephrase the question, or so he did push a little bit, a little bit real hard, but he didn't push a little bit. Probably the biggest pushback was the president said something about doing, a doing an engagement, and you know he brought in a big crowd and you know he's basically challenged big crowd and you know he's basically challenged President Trump. And Stephanopoulos was like Ms President, I don't think I would go down that road. You know, president Trump can bring in some pretty big crowds and the president's response was yeah, but who does he have what? What are you talking about? Like? His responses at times made no sense because he was the angry old man that we've talked about.

Speaker 2: 49:01

Yeah, and his response was to lash out. You know, was to you know, and he did give that zombie, like you know.

Speaker 3: 49:10

Yeah, yeah, the eyes, the mouth hanging open.

Speaker 2: 49:13

You know there was a lot of that, but, but again, not real journalism. This was supposed to be supposed to be a softball, this was supposed to be a freebie softball interview. You know, and I honestly think Stephanopoulos was reengaging with the president not to push buttons but to get a trained, rehearsed and known response out of him, in the sense of not only did Stephanopoulos know the questions and not only did the president know the questions, stephanopoulos knew the answers he was supposed to give and was supposed to elicit those responses out of the president, which he was unsuccessful in doing.

Speaker 3: 49:54

So, yeah, you know his responses to everything were in response to how his performance at the debate. You know, he called it a bad episode caused by being sick. He was jet lagged and and I think he did call him out a little like, like you travel, like you traveled like 11 days before and you were at Camp David for a week resting, so, so, so what, you know it was like. So what were you thinking? Like again, like you said, it's all. It was all like guided and rehearsed and manipulated, and he's like trying to massage the answers out of them and he's just so addled that he can't do it. He can't do it, yeah.

Speaker 3: 50:35

He came from Europe about 12 days ago, before the debate. Blah, blah blah. He spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn't that enough rest time, enough recovery time and again, like you said, highly rehearsed. He knew the answers he was supposed to get. He's just trying to coax them out of him.

Speaker 2: 50:51

Yeah. So again, while we did have the example in Philadelphia of that radio station, you know, taking the high road and doing the right thing when it comes to real journalism, you have me and George Snuffleupagus going down the other road, which is, you know, pandering to the president to try and help him truthfully try and help him specifically maintain whatever power base he is, you know, trying to maintain against the wave of his own party that are trying to get him out.

Speaker 3: 51:17

Yeah, yeah, and you know I don't know about you, clay, but I actually don't want him out.

Speaker 2: 51:22

No, no, keep running, keep doing it. It doesn't really matter at this point. It doesn't. I heard a poll today. This is scary. The highest rated ticket that they could come up with with the highest chance of beating President Trump right now you're going to love this and it's going to make you throw up at the same time is Hillary Kamala. That has the highest potential of beating President Trump with a non-president Biden ticket.

Speaker 2: 51:55

It is a 43, 43, 46 split with. You know with what is that? 11% or so undecided, but that was the closest ticket they could get was a 43, 46, with Hillary third time's a charm Clinton and Kamala as her vice presidential candidate a charm Clinton and Kamala as her vice presidential candidate.

Speaker 3: 52:24

I mean, just take a moment and picture that. Listen to the sound of that. Let that sound percolate in your eardrums, because I'm already getting ready to practice my impersonation. It's time to pull out my. I got to go get a. I got to get a wig for Hillary.

Speaker 2: 52:35

I'm not cutting my hair and a moo-moo right, Because she doesn't even wear pantsuits anymore.

Speaker 3: 52:40

No, she doesn't bother. She's like I'm done with that.

Speaker 2: 52:43

She's shuffling around in a house dress. That's what she's doing. Oh, man, yeah. And so every step of the way, the president continues to be adamant that he is staying in. He's not dropping out of the race, he's doing this, you know, and you've got his wife screaming in his ear. Oh, by the way, she made it through three. This is Dr Jill made it through three campaign stops yesterday stumping for the president. Where he made it through zero, he was prepping for the NATO summit starting today.

Speaker 3: 53:17

But in the meantime Is this the one he was supposed to go to, an early dinner and he didn't show up for it? Like they specifically moved it early for him, Is that?

Speaker 2: 53:25

that's today. I mean, if it was supposed to be today, then that sounds about right.

Speaker 3: 53:29

Yeah, I think he was supposed to have like a dinner, like the German chancellor. Um, they knew his sleep schedule, that he needs to be in bed by eight. So they're like, well, we'll move, we'll move up the dinner so that you can make it and then you can go to bed after. And, um, oh my gosh, you know we have to. I mean, I know we're running out of time, but mashed potatoes and pudding all soft foods right, all soft foods.

Speaker 3: 53:51

And how about the whole um uh, blinken and Kareem both using the term big boy conference. Did you catch that?

Speaker 2: 54:01

I did not.

Speaker 3: 54:02

I am going to play it for you guys and for you, Clay.

Speaker 1: 54:05

The president will hold a press conference I guess a big boy press conference is what we're calling it, and take some questions from y'all. This week, president Biden will speak to national labor leaders of AFL-CIO, hold a press conference a big boy press conference. According to Justin Sink from Bloomberg.

Speaker 2: 54:21

And he's referring to the president.

Speaker 3: 54:23

President of the United States of America. Yes, it is. Of all of the shocking things, this was the shockiest.

Speaker 2: 54:33

Listen, you know me. I try as much as I can and I think I'm pretty successful. I try to address people by their title, the office that they served under. I try not to just go with the last name. I'm not always successful, but I try very, very hard. Um that this, that those sorts of statements come from the fact that we have stopped the, the, the um media has stopped addressing the president as the president and it started with.

Speaker 2: 55:05

It started with president Bush and it started in the aftermath of nine 11. They were calling him Bush Bush Bush, bush Bush Bush. I think a lot of it had to do with um words. I think a lot of it I hate to say this a lot of it had to do with Twitter right Because you were limited right 40 words.

Speaker 3: 55:22

Yeah, good point. Yeah, you're, right.

Speaker 2: 55:29

So they started getting rid of those titles. They started the media stopped using them and they stopped with the president, and then it bled into everything else. So when you say things like we're having a big boy conference, that's the evolution of you know disrespect, you know as, as, as we've gone forward from you know about 25 years ago, that's, that's unbelievable to me.

Speaker 3: 55:47

That that was the um pinnacle of disrespect. Like big boy conference actually spoken about the president Like wow, Wow, I, I mean I, I, the writing couldn't be any more on the wall than it is. But again there it appears that their hands are tied and you know, unless they could put that ticket together in extremely short order and uh, and again, like it's the whole issue of of they have to raise, oh, no wait, she can, she can get Kamala, can get ahold of the war chest, right, or not even Biden-Harris ticket, right.

Speaker 2: 56:31

So as long as she stays in, that money is available. But I know by the way, I think we talked about this the optics of bypassing the vice president, who is a black female, to go to anybody else right now is the worst optics that Democrats could ever imagine. So, as much as the president is now holding the party hostage right, that's the new phrase. They really have two options they have him and they have her, and that's it.

Speaker 3: 56:56

Yeah, that's it. That is all they've got, that's that's where they're at.

Speaker 2: 56:59

And then James Carville and some others have been like well, we should run a new open you know what are they like? A mini primaries or something like that at the convention. Like, basically, have an open, you know, an open election for all of the delegates at the convention, which, again, is too late for the state of Ohio.

Speaker 3: 57:20

That's right.

Speaker 2: 57:21

So that's a problem swing state, um, but anyway they're, they're stuck and and that that interview that he had with George Stephanopoulos that we're talking about was supposed to be the dig himself out of a whole interview and it did nothing. It did absolutely nothing to help him. If, if anything, it probably made things worse, but it certainly didn't help.

Speaker 3: 57:40

It made for confirmation.

Speaker 2: 57:42

Yeah, so that was not. That didn't turn out the way that they wanted it to. I don't think any of us believed that it would, but I think you know the end is nigh for this president. I think he's done, whether he likes it or not. I think there's going to become a medical issue that's going to pop up Now they're talking about Parkinson's disease. There's been a Parkinson's specialist that's been there eight times in the last-.

Speaker 3: 58:07

Eight times right.

Speaker 2: 58:09

It's something's going to pop. He's not going to be on the ticket. That's the way it's going to be. But regardless, unless they dig up JFK, they're not going to win this election or unless they let. Obama or Clinton run again. Right, bill has no interest. But no, no, president Bill Clinton, not Secretary Hillary Clinton. But unless they let President Obama run for a third term, yeah, it's lost.

Speaker 3: 58:33

I'm sure if they could find a loophole to let that happen, to make that happen, they would do it.

Speaker 2: 58:37

He's, he's pretty much running it now.

Speaker 3: 58:40

Everybody knows that. Yeah, anyway, we're all over the place.

Speaker 2: 58:47

I think we've wrecked this hour. We even had a topic we didn't get to.

Speaker 3: 58:50

I know that's crazy. We usually were so much better than that. Typically, listen, the topics led us. Tonight it happens. What are you going to do? Oh, guys, we love having you along for the ride, though, that's for sure, and we love for you to join us in the comment section. So share your thoughts and your opinions, your rants, your raves, all of the things. We look forward to it and we love it. And Clay, you do the honors.

Speaker 2: 59:13

Listen, we thousands of people. I can say that in all honesty. Now, across multiple platforms, we have thousands of people that watch this every week, which is the just the coolest thing in the world. So, um, but let's, let's keep growing. Tell your friends and neighbors, right, invite them over. Actually, don't, don't invite them over, don't have a watch party. Everybody log in separately on different places, on on phones and laptops, and like your YouTube on your smart TV, like, get logged in everywhere. As many places, yes, please, no. Really, we love having you guys. This is great for us and we love the feedback, we love the comments. So, as always from me, keep moving, keep shooting.

Speaker 3: 59:49

Take care, guys. Bye-bye.