From Global Shocks to Domestic Political Waves

As the dust settles from the helicopter crash that claimed the life of the Iranian president, our latest episode grapples with the fallout and the delicate geopolitical tightrope teetering before us. We're not just scratching the surface; we're dissecting the complex layers of international politics, the surge for change by Iran's youth, and the daunting task the West faces in filling the gaps in intelligence. The conversation then pivots to the homefront, where political tides may be turning within the Democratic Party. We speculate on the machinations that could alter the Democratic presidential ticket and the reverberations this could have on the political landscape.

We examine the pendulum swing back toward traditional values, amid the cacophony of celebrity opinions and the media's malleability. The exchange of blows between Hollywood heavyweights and critiques of gender roles sparks a broader dialogue on society's evolving norms and where the majority finds common ground.

The episode reaches a sobering conclusion as we honor the gravitas of Memorial Day, a time to reflect on the sacrifices of soldiers who have laid down their lives in service to their country. We scrutinize the International Criminal Court's contentious decisions and their broader implications for justice and accountability on the world stage. Join us for an episode that traverses the emotional and intellectual spectrum, from the impact of global events to the core of American values, ensuring that your understanding of these complex issues is both deepened and enriched.

Chapters

• 0:00 Iranian President's Helicopter Crash
• 13:31 Potential Changes to Democratic Ticket
• 22:20 Speculation on VP Harris' Future
• 26:59 Criticism of Hollywood and Conservative Values
• 31:36 Cultural Emasculation and Society's Shift
• 42:57 International Criminal Court and Memorial Day

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey folks, clay Novak here, author of the novel Keep Moving, keep Shooting. I am flying solo this week. Elsa is traveling yet again to go see those great grandbabies or those grandbabies they're great, but they're not great grandbabies down in Florida. So you've got me this week catching you up on all the things happening and we'll get started right after this.

Speaker 1: 0:33

Okay, folks, biggest probably thing in the news right now, although it happened this past weekend, the Iranian president was killed in a helicopter crash while traveling inside of the borders of Iran, at first reported as a hard landing and then reported as a crash in some pretty rough terrain it sounded like, and it took him a while to get to the location and then finally confirmed that the Iranian president Rasi was killed in that crash, that the Iranian president Razi was killed in that crash. Now there's probably some folks that on initial reaction were jumping up and down very excited. You know he's known as the butcher of Tehran. He's put down a number of protests within his own nation, pretty violently, pretty horrifically, and not known, you know, for for having a soft hand even inside his own borders. So you know the reports of his death were, were being and are being celebrated even within. You know Iran as late as today. So you know why. Why wouldn't people be excited when someone like that, with a reputation like that and having done actions like that and activities like that, why wouldn't people be happy that he died in that helicopter crash? He's an he's an enemy to the West. He is an enemy to Israel. Obviously Tehran. Iran has been funding, you know, multiple terror groups Elsa and I have been talking about this for weeks, months really Hamas, houthis, hezbollah. You know it's all coming out of Iran. Even, you know, back in the days of Iraq for those of us that served there, you know we knew that a lot of arms and ammunition coming into Iraq and supporting a lot of the terrorist organizations in the country at the time was all coming out of Iran. We knew that it wasn't a secret. And that nation, obviously, and led currently, or at least up until this weekend, led by President Rassi, who has been an enemy of the United States and to the West. So again, why wouldn't we celebrate?

Speaker 1: 2:43

Well, you know, when you have something like this, an incident like this and you have a loss of a leader there creates a power vacuum and in a nation like Iran, which is unstable as much as they portray outwardly that it's a stable, you know, very conservative, religious led nation. There's a lot of instability inside of Iran, has been for for decades. You know there is a youth movement which, interestingly enough, if you go back in time to the late 1970s, the youth movement is what's turned over Iran into the conservative, ultra conservative, muslim nation it is today. And now there's another youth movement that's pushing to loosen the reins a little bit and less conservative and more liberal, and you know they're back to wanting the things from the West that they don't currently have access to. So you're starting to see some celebrations in the streets of Tehran and around the nation of Iran celebrating the death of the president.

Speaker 1: 3:49

But that power vacuum is what should worry all of us. You've got a nation that is on the cusp of nuclear capability, although between us and mostly the Israelis we've kept that at bay for a number of years. They're not nuclear weapon capable that we know of. They are not nuclear energy capable, I think, at this point, although pretty close. So that is of relief to all of us. But it is unstable and that destabilizes the region significantly because we don't know who's going to fill that power vacuum. We can all hope and wish and pray that it is somebody who represents this youth movement, this less conservative movement, but the reality is is it's probably not. They have an interim president in there. I don't know much about him other than he falls in line, obviously, with what the current policies and administrations of the nation are, which has a religious leadership chain, kind of in concert with the political leadership chain. For those that don't know, the Ayatollah has the grand leader I think they call him, has as much power, sway and has as much influence, or more influence than even the elected government officials have. So the loss of the president is significant, but it's not as significant. So, but that power vacuum matters.

Speaker 1: 5:13

You know there is the old saying of it's better to fight a devil, you know, than one you don't. We can talk about, you know that, over historical, you know examples throughout the decades. You know there was a number of attempts by the United States, or at least consideration to, you know, attempt to remove Hitler, to assassinate Hitler. You know there was an argument to leave him in power because we knew what he was capable of. You know other leaders the same thing you, you know, um, and we've, we've had our fair share of attempted removals. We tried it with Castro, um, you know we we forcibly removed some, some leaders down in Panama and some other places over the years. Um and Saddam Hussein as another one. Um.

Speaker 1: 5:58

But you know this vacuum could be filled by anyone and you know our intelligence gathering capability inside of Iran is probably not as great as we would like it to be and you know our intelligence gathering capability inside of Iran is probably not as great as we would like it to be. We do have, obviously, all kinds of electronic capabilities satellite radio intercept, you know, cellular communications, we've got capabilities to monitor and watch, but I don't think that we've got as clear a picture on the ground as what's going on, you know, in the human realm, as we would like at this point. So we don't know how this is going to turn out and that really should worry all of us. As much instability as Iran provides against, you know, iraq, against really even Jordan, against Israel, obviously you know they do provide a little bit of stability in just knowing what we've got facing us. We know Quds Force, irgc, we know what they're capable of, we know what the intent of Iran is in the, you know, in the current political climate. You know they are funding Houthis, hamas, hezbollah, you know, in their fights, their terroristic fights, against Israel, against you, know anybody. You know the Houthis launching missile attacks on US vessels, you know in the region and those sorts of things. We kind of know what's going on, we know what to expect, we know what precautions to take, we know what to monitor.

Speaker 1: 7:24

But anytime you've got a vacuum like this, it creates instability in a number of arenas and we all need to be concerned about who is the next in line and who becomes the next president of Iran, because as brutal as Razi was and as anti-Israel, anti-west, anti-anti-anti-anti-everything as he has led that nation to be, the next person could be worse, could be much worse. It could turn out to be a much worse situation across the entire region. They may push for much more international terrorism, support much more international terrorism. They may not be. As you know, they had that very hollow attack into Israel, you know, a few weeks ago, with the hundred or thousand drones, whatever it was. That turned out to be essentially nothing, you know, except to show a force that that really did absolutely no damage whatsoever. But you could have another. You know whoever replaces him, whoever becomes the next president of Iran. Could, you know, be more reckless, be less apt to, you know, be conservative in their actions against Israel or their outward actions against the West, so that the power vacuum is something to worry about? It's something we all need to pay attention to. It's also interesting the way it's being handled internationally, whether you guys saw it or not.

Speaker 1: 8:52

The UN, of all places, asked all the UN delegates to stand in a moment of silence for the president, and I understand, in the US, in the U? S ambassador to the UN or U S delegate to the UN, you know, said out loud hey, this is not uncommon, we do this all the time. Um, standing in a moment of silence doesn't mean we support the individual or even support the government or anything like that of that nation, but what it does do is, you know, kind of. You know we don't wish death upon anybody in a helicopter crash. Those are his. That's the generalities of his statement, not mine. So he stood, the US, us ambassador to the UN stood at the you know the request of the assembly to do that, as did a number of other nations.

Speaker 1: 9:40

Who didn't, though, is Israel, and they were frankly pretty pissed came out statement wise and said this is not acceptable. You know, honor, dead or alive, doesn't matter. You know, dying in a helicopter crash, tragic accident, we don't care, he's a horrific human being. You know atrocities in his own country, atrocities across the Middle East, he's responsible for him and we shouldn't honor him in any way, shape or form. And you know, even throughout the, the idea or the name, you know. What are we going to do next? Are we going to honor Hitler, which for an Israeli, for Jew, to to invoke that name, means a lot?

Speaker 1: 10:20

So you know, israel didn't didn't take kindly to the moment of silence honoring the, the delegate, in any, or honoring that, the Iranian president, his loss of life, in any way, any, or honoring that, the uh Iranian president, his loss of life, in any way, shape or form. And I don't blame him, um I I truthfully, I think the U? S should not have stood. I think we shouldn't have honored, I think we should should have, um, you know, followed the example of Israel and and not uh, abided the council and the assembly and probably just taking a seat through that entire thing. You know, you may differ in your opinion, but that's the way I see it. I don't think we should have capitulated on that one at all.

Speaker 1: 10:54

I think even the moment of silence, I think honoring that was too much for us. I think it was a mistake. I think it sends the wrong message, even with the verbalization afterwards, the explanation of why I don't care, the visual is what everybody's going to remember. Or the report that we stood in honor of, that of, you know, president Razi from Iran, his death. The fact that we stood in silence to acknowledge that is, I think it's absolutely the wrong message, internationally, diplomatically, to send to anybody. So I think that was a blunder. I do wonder if that was something that was left to the decision of the US representative to the UN, or if it was a directive from the White House or from the administration on what to do. My guess is it's probably a combination of both, you know, but I think it was the wrong call. No matter whose call it was, I think it was a mistake.

Speaker 1: 11:44

So we'll see how this plays out in the next coming days and weeks. It'll be very, very interesting to see what and who steps into power to fill that vacuum in Iran. Again, it's going to impact the entire region, has the potential to have international impacts region has the potential to have international impacts and outside of the region itself. So, you know, could see effects in Europe, could see effects here, even in the United States, as far as exporting terrorism, more so than what they've done in the recent past. So something to definitely pay attention to, as that, you know, progresses and it moves through the summer. Don't lose sight of that as our election is going on. Although I would imagine that they would probably hold some kangaroo election, some BS. You know it's fixed, it'll be rigged, It'll be who they want it to be. I have no faith that it's a fair and democratic election of any kind. So we'll have to watch that and it'll come within the next few weeks. It'll move very, very quickly. And it'll come within the next few weeks. It'll move very, very quickly. So don't be distracted by that one. Pay attention to it because it has the potential to have global impact on on everyone who who replaces the president inside of Iran. So keep your eyes on that one.

Speaker 1: 12:56

Now our our, our own, presidential election. There's been a lot of rumors. Elsa and I have been talking for months truthfully about the validity of the current Democratic ticket. We have been talking about President Biden potentially not being on the ticket. We've talked about Vice President Harris potentially not being on the ticket. We've kind of ruminated on neither one of them being on the ticket for a number of reasons, on neither one of them being on the ticket for a number of reasons.

Speaker 1: 13:31

We assumed that one or the other were going to have to come off the ticket to make a big move. As the polling numbers keep dropping and comparative to President Trump, who doesn't even have a VP pick at this point, the presidential approval rating, the vice presidential approval rating, is abysmal and comparative, especially in swing states, they're losing in every state to President Trump in all the projection polls. So a big move has to be, is expected to be made in some form or fashion to the current ticket because it's not a winner. People either are, you know, not approving of President Biden and they know that Vice President Harris can't take over for him because she's an idiot, or they don't want to risk the idea of reelecting President Biden and then him, in the earliest days of his second term, you know, falling out and Harris backing him, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. If there's any combination of all those things, one or both of them falling off the ticket is a big, expected move.

Speaker 1: 14:30

Elsa and I have talked a number of times about who do we think would replace because we assumed it would be Harris Vice President Harris falling off the ticket. We've talked about Gavin Newsom, we've talked about Michelle Obama, we've talked about some other folks, but the rumors are starting to swirl, they're starting to become more mainstream. I think you know, elsa and I kind of talked about this months ago with not a lot of expectation early on, but then kind of gained some, some momentum along the way. And now, you know, outside of the two of us and you know we're starting to see more of this I've heard in the last week or so a couple of interesting rumors, one of them being that Vice President Harris is talking about dropping off the ticket. Potentially she's not actually talking about dropping off the ticket, but she's talking about running for governor of California.

Speaker 1: 15:20

Going back to California and running for governor so that obviously is one option would require, you know, gavin Newsom to not be the governor of California. So that opens up a number of possibilities. So for, could there be a switch? Could there be a one-for-one swap where you know he says, hey, I'm going to back out. You know I'll step down as governor. I'll throw it to her, I'll endorse her as my replacement as long as you give me the VP slot to run under. By possibility that could be a behind closed doors DNC handshake deal.

Speaker 1: 15:58

That happens for a number of reasons and they can spin that any way they want. They can spin that, as you know, vice President Harris would rather stick to state politics. She would rather go back to California. She would rather you know, you know go have an impact in her home state. She would rather, rather, rather, rather right. They can spin that very positively, or probably one of the more positive options along the way, if that's what they choose to do. And it's a fair swap. It's equitable between her and Gavin Newsom, although I don't know how likely that one is. I did see that her numbers are actually a little bit on the rise in her approval rating, which is a little bit frightening. But it's because she's been out stumping for the president, she's been out campaigning, she's been on the road, she's been doing all the physical things that they know he can't do. She's on the road, she's at this location, she's at that location, she's flying, she's, you know, moving by ground vehicle, whatever. She's keeping a pretty hectic schedule to continue to campaign on behalf of both her and President Biden.

Speaker 1: 17:07

Again, the things he's got a, he's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a. He's got a.

Speaker 1: 17:21

We all know that he's not mentally capable to continue to a pace of campaigning that we would all expect out of the president, just exhaustion alone, let alone his mental faculties and mental acuity maintaining what it is in the poor state it already is.

Speaker 1: 17:39

But anyway, so her numbers are on the way up. So there's potential discussion, or there's potential that she would just flat out take his place, that he would step down from the ticket. She would be the DNC pick to be the next presidential candidate, understanding understanding that the DNC can choose whoever they want. They don't have to go by any kind of endorsement. They don't have to go by state selection, they don't have to go by anything. There could be every single state in the union at the DNC could say, yes, we want President Biden. Or the at the committee or the convention in Chicago that's coming this summer, every state and every territory could say, yes, we want President Biden on the ticket as a Democrat. And the DNC can turn around and say, yeah, well, we don't really care what you want. We're going to put Kamala Harris or we're going to put Michelle Obama or we're going to put Gavin Newsom. We're going to make them the presidential candidate. And they can do that. They have the power to do that.

Speaker 1: 18:45

So there is potential for her Vice President Harris to step in as the primary presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, frightening as that is. So we've got the potential for her to step off the ticket, be replaced by someone else, leaving President Biden in the driver's seat as the presidential nominee. We've got the potential for her to replace him as the presidential candidate and then open the door again for a new vice presidential candidate, again for a new vice presidential candidate. It would be very, very interesting to see who that selection is. I don't think it would be Michelle Obama. I really don't Listen. America is what it is.

Speaker 1: 19:36

Two females on the ticket, I think is not going to go over. Well, I think they'll lose. That's a horrible strategic decision and it's too much to risk not knowing the absolute reaction to what that is. So I don't think that's the answer. If Vice President Harris steps up and becomes a presidential candidate Gavin Newsom I don't think that anybody would want both him and Vice President Harris as the ticket to run for president. Two folks from California, coming from a state that's in an absolute downward spiral, essentially burning itself to the ground, went from a budget surplus to a budget deficit of billions, tens of billions of dollars in just a matter of years. The homeless crisis, all of it that comes out of California. I don't think anybody's going to want both of them on the same ticket.

Speaker 1: 20:33

I think for the DNC that's a poor decision. So the question is who? And I don't know the answer. I don't know who is waiting in the wings for the? You know the party, the Democratic Party that could backfill either President Biden or Vice President Harris out of outside of the names that we've talked about, but as a primary, you know if she stays on the ticket.

Speaker 1: 20:56

They've got to have a strong individual as the vice president or presidential candidate. Strong individual as the vice president or presidential candidate and I don't think and when I say strong I'm talking a strong order somebody who can speak clearly, someone who can address the issue, someone who has an aggressive tendency and not the you know, um, not the you know nervous cackling that you get out of vice president Harris. It's got to be somebody who can go toe-to-toe with President Trump in a debate, and really in a debate, as it gets very close to the election. So I don't know who that is. I don't think it's Gavin Newsom.

Speaker 1: 21:37

Again, I don't think it's Michelle Obama, but there's, there's something out there and in my gut, in my gut, I believe that there is going to be some change. I've been saying this for a while. Elsa and I have talked about a number of times. I believe there is going to be a change to the primary ticket on the Democratic side. One or the other. I don't think both will be pulled off the ticket, the other, I don't think both will be pulled off the ticket, but I think either President Biden or Vice President Harris one of them's coming off the ticket and it's being fueled by more rumors and it's gaining momentum in the press and speculation in the mainstream media. It's not just me and Elsa talking, throwing ideas back and forth.

Speaker 1: 22:20

This is actually picking up and it's starting to gain some notoriety in places. People are taking notes of the things that Vice President Harris is saying again, where she would. You know, I'd like to go back and run for governor of California If this election doesn't work out. I think it's the caveat that she's throwing on there, but saying that out loud means she's actually thought about it or someone's thinking about it. So those notes are being taken, people are paying attention and it's starting to gain some traction within the mainstream media. So another thing to keep an eye on.

Speaker 1: 22:55

Again, my guess is that one or the other is going to come off. I actually believe that it is going to be. Vice President Harris is going to come off the ticket. I don't think it's going to help off. I actually, I actually believe, um, that it is is going to be. Vice president Harris is going to come off the ticket. I don't think it's going to help. I think it's either one of them coming off the ticket. It's not going to help. They're not going to beat president Trump in the next election, uh, in a fair election, um. So it's not going to matter one way or the other, but I do think that they have.

Speaker 1: 23:18

The democratic party has to make a move to, to do something, shake things up to, to gain some, some positive momentum, because it's not going well. And you're starting to see it. You know you're starting to see it. You know a little bit change, change of topic, but but a related topic, but a related topic. You're starting to see Hollywood, of all places, change their opinion about the president. So what we've been seeing lately is this you know, a little bit of change in the, in the, their, their opinion of the president. Bill Maher I've said this, probably the last four or five shows that we've done is is really it's not necessarily that he likes Trump because he doesn't, but he, he really, really doesn't like the current administration.

Speaker 1: 24:12

He doesn't like the direction the nation's going. He thinks that Biden is, you know, incapable. I think he has a poor opinion of the vice president. He, he doesn't like the way the Democratic Party is leaning. He's very opposed to a lot of their policies. So it has nothing to do or very little to do with with President Trump and everything to do with his, his party. He's a Democrat, he has been for years, but he is, he is floating more towards the middle, been for years, but he is, he is floating more towards the middle and he's and he's not just on his own show, um, but on on multiple networks as a guest, as he come out and said these things, um and and what we're starting to see is too much of the celebrity tough guy as a result of these kinds of shifts, the ebb and flow within Hollywood, you know, and people tend to forget, you know, who they are really, who they are, especially in Hollywood, you know, and the first one is is happened between Bill Maher and Bill Burr the comedian.

Speaker 1: 25:19

If you know Bill Burr or his comedy, bill Burr is this angry guy from Boston, redheaded guy Actually I think he's shaved bald now, but he's just angry. He's an angry man comedian and he says he's pretty conservative to an extent in what he says in his comedy, but it's not really what he believes. He does it for the act and he kind of went toe to toe with Bill Maher this past week and really, you know, I think he kind of overstepped his angry man comedy and he kind of went at Bill Maher, who's you know, older and you know, not a big guy, not a physical guy, bill Burr, I think he's in his mid-50s, he's a few years older than I am. He's about my height, about 5'10 or so, not a big guy. But he forgets that he's a comedian and that all of that angry man thing is an act. He hasn't lived a tough life in decades. He may be angry but he's not a tough guy. And you know, that's kind of.

Speaker 1: 26:23

What I'm talking about is that he kind of went after Bill Maher in a way that I think if it was a younger man, I know we would not go after Joe Rogan like that, but I know we wouldn't. Joe Rogan's a pretty, pretty smart guy and I think he would take it all with a grain of salt. But I think if Bill Burr attacked him and kind of talked down to him like that, joe Rogan, who is a pretty strong guy, pretty UFC savvy kind of guy, physically fit, strong type A personality kind of guy, I don't think he would take any of that crap from Bill Burr. There was another occurrence too, again on the View. There was another occurrence too, again on the View. You know Robert De Niro, who is who's 80, and he's, and he's, you know, five foot nine, and he's small and he's frail, and he keeps going back to this. I want to punch Trump in the face Stupid. He's a punk, he's Stupid.

Speaker 2: 27:22

He's a punk, he's a dog, he's a pig, a mutt who doesn't know what he's talking about, doesn't do his homework. He's an idiot. Colin Powell said it best he's a national disaster. He's an embarrassment to this country. It makes me so angry that this country has gotten to this point that this fool, this bozo, has wound up where he has. He talks how he wants to punch people in the face.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Well, I'd like to punch him in the face. President Trump is three years, four years younger than him. He's six foot three. He probably outweighs De Niro by 60, 70 pounds. Okay, robert De Niro and I'm not saying President Trump is a tough guy. Ok, robert De Niro and I'm not saying President Trump is a tough guy, but but he's much bigger than De Niro.

Speaker 1: 28:08

Like in a man to man kind of way, de Niro is stepping out of his zone, right, de Niro is an actor. He's played a lot of tough guys. He's not a tough guy, right, I know he's played mobsters. He's played mobsters 50 times because his range is that's what his range is. He played boxer years ago. He played an old boxer not so many years ago in another movie. But he's not a tough guy. He pretends to be tough for a living and I think he's starting to lose sight of that.

Speaker 1: 28:36

You know the idea that you know he wants to punch Trump in the face because he doesn't like the way he talks to people, and it was very funny and it's been all over social media. But if you watch the things where he's like oh, you don't talk to people, you don't talk to people like that, you don't say those things to people and all the things that he criticized Trump for. People have pulled exact examples of President Biden saying the same thing Exact same thing. Biden saying the same thing exact same thing. Saying the same words, the same phrases, making the same hollow threats that upset De Niro when President Trump says them. But President Biden says the same thing and everybody blows it off like it's no big deal. But again it's this tough guy attitude out of Hollywood that gets kind of lost. They lose track of who they are and really where their station is in life. They're not who they play in the movies, although some of them think so, and really they've lived a protected life for a very long time.

Speaker 1: 29:31

And another prime example you know the kicker from Kansas City Chiefs. You know speaking at a. He's a Catholic conservative speaking at a Catholic college graduation and he spoke out and he said some things about you know, praising women for being mothers, praising and applauding women for choosing to be homemakers that's the word he used and saying that that, you know, is the career path that some of them will take as graduates from this graduation, but also that they know that their greatest achievement in life is going to be motherhood and making a home for their family. Now, people went bananas on this and I'm sure you've all seen it, oh, prepare for outrage, anger, disappointment, all of the things.

Speaker 3: 30:20

Why, you ask? Well, because Kansas City Chiefs kicker, harrison Butker had the audacity to espouse conservative values in his commencement speech. Take a listen.

Speaker 4: 30:35

It is only in the past few years that I have grown encouraged to speak more boldly and directly because, as I mentioned earlier, I have leaned into my vocation as a husband and father.

Speaker 3: 30:43

Ew, he takes his responsibility as a husband and father seriously. That sounds awful.

Speaker 4: 30:48

And as a man.

Speaker 3: 30:49

Clearly transphobic.

Speaker 4: 30:51

To the gentleman here today. Part of what plagues our society is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities. How?

Speaker 3: 30:59

dare he suggest that men are necessary Ew necessary?

Speaker 4: 31:02

as men, we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in uh, what a misogynist right this absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation. Other countries do not have nearly the same absentee father rates as we find here in the us, and a correlation could be made in their drastically lower violence rates as well.

Speaker 3: 31:23

Okay. Why does he insist on using like facts and data? It's so offensive to my feelings.

Speaker 4: 31:29

Be unapologetic in your masculinity.

Speaker 3: 31:32

Did he just did he just say the M word Ew.

Speaker 4: 31:36

Fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things, never settle for what is easy. You might have a talent that you don't necessarily enjoy, but if it, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Speaker 3: 31:52

He's saying that you should put God first and not yourself.

Speaker 4: 31:56

I speak from experience as an introvert who now finds myself as an amateur public speaker and an entrepreneur, something I never thought I'd be when I received my industrial engineering degree. The road ahead is bright, things are changing, society is shifting and people, young and old, are embracing tradition.

Speaker 3: 32:14

This is just madness.

Speaker 4: 32:16

I believe just as the God of the Old Testament was pretty particular in how he wanted to be worshipped, the same holds true for us today. It is through the TLM that I encountered order and began to pursue it in my own life.

Speaker 3: 32:28

I mean, what is wrong with this guy? He sounds like a monster. Okay, obviously you know I'm being very, very sarcastic throughout and if you didn't know that, you have bigger problems than this guy or this video.

Speaker 1: 32:41

But you've got the far left crazy haired, feminist, screaming and yelling about this, because they didn't actually listen to what he said All they heard was homemaker and and didn't listen to the whole speech and lost their mind and got manipulated by manipulated by the mainstream media, because that's what happens. Then you've kind of got the far right, which are, you know, tons and tons of educated women, exactly the women that he was talking about, women with degrees, advanced degrees, who you know will tell you that their greatest accomplishment is being a mother, that they are glad that they made the decision to be a homemaker and make a home for their family and for their children, and that's what they chose to do. And then you've got everything in the middle, right, you've got the people in the middle. Truthfully, most people don't care, but then you've got people speaking out, and my favorite one this is so funny Eddie Vedder. Of all frigging people.

Speaker 1: 33:34

This guy, he's a singer at Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder is 57 years old, he's 5'7", he's pushing 60. He's 5'7", he's wealthy. He's wealthy Truthfully. You don't see Eddie Vedder out there pumping iron and being fit and doing all this other stuff he talked down to, really insulted, in the middle of a concert, stopped the concert and insulted the kicker from the Kansas City Chiefs about what he said and again, didn't you know, took it out of context and basically said and I'm not going to repeat the words because we want this shown and not edited but he called them a word that starts with an F and a word that starts with a P, and that's what he said. And I can promise you, you know the kicker from the Kansas City Chiefs and I love that people criticize him for being a kicker, but he's 28 years old and he's 6'4". He's 6'4" and I guarantee you he's in fantastic shape. Because is he a kicker? Sure he is, but he's a pro athlete, right Strength matters of all kinds. I can promise you that, given no repercussions, um and and no, no limits, um, if eddie vetter was standing in front of the kicker of the kansas city chiefs at five foot seven and almost 60 years old, and he called him an f and p? Um butker, the kicker from the kansas city chiefs would put him in the hospital.

Speaker 1: 35:19

But just on size and youth alone. Because, ed, eddie Vedder is not a tough guy. He thinks he's a tough guy. He wears flannel because he's from Seattle. Oh boy but he's been wealthy for 30 years. That guy hasn't been working hard, he hasn't been grinding, he hasn't been, you know, greasy hands, he hasn't been a mechanic or a lumberjack or anything like that. He's a musician. The kicker from the Kansas City Chiefs is young, he's a professional athlete and he's huge. Eddie Vedder has no business insulting him like that. He can say what he wants, but again he's lost track of this tough guy personality. Because he's not tough. He acts tough.

Speaker 1: 35:57

Many of them in Hollywood do, happens a lot. There's a number of them that like to run their mouth and they forget who they really really are. They're not protected or, when they're not protected, if they're not protected, but it's, you know, it's rampant in today's society. You know keyboard warriors, those with the, you know that hide behind an icon or a monitor or whatever and they say what they want, you know, and they're completely unafraid because they know there's no repercussions. That's fine, and you can accuse me of the same thing if you want to. I can promise you that. You know, if somebody wanted to challenge me, I'd hold up my end of the bargain. That's fine. But I can promise you that. Eddie Vedder, standing up to the kicker of the Kansas City Chiefs is a no win to no win. He thinks he's tough and it's and it's. This is. This is going rampant through Hollywood.

Speaker 1: 36:54

But I think you're starting to see a lot of those that are that were very anti Trump, that were very anti-Trump, and I think this is part of the cause, of this Part of the. You know. You're seeing a crowd of folks who were liberal Democrat, anti-trump for the longest time and they're starting to see that their party is failing them. It's an embarrassment. President Biden is an embarrassment. Michael Rappaport's a prime example. That guy tromped up and down the streets of New York for four years insulting Trump, dropping F-bombs, walking with his cell phone, filming himself insulting Trump, threatening to punch him, to beat him, to do all this other stuff, and he's turned to, he's turned away from Biden. He says it's horrible. He says the administration's terrible. He's not necessarily endorsing Trump, but he would much rather have him in office than the current administration.

Speaker 1: 37:42

You're starting to see more of that, I think, in Hollywood and I think it's starting to irritate. You're starting to see it cause some friction inside of the show business industry as it stands. There's also going back to the kicker, the Kansas City Chiefs, the kicker, the Kansas City Chiefs. You're also not seeing a lot of opposition to what he said from those that actually read what he said and heard what he said, including from within the NFL. There's a lot of teammates, there's a lot of coaches. I know a lot of it is fabricated.

Speaker 1: 38:18

There are a lot of reports out there that are false of what people have said, including, I think, as Coach Andy Reid and some other folks. But regardless of that, whether they said things or not, they haven't said anything. In a lot of cases there hasn't been a lot. In fact, I can't think of a single NFL player who has come out and said I disagree with him. He's a piece of trash, get rid of him, get him out of here. The league should get you know, you should force him out. Nobody's saying that because, truthfully, what he said was not all that controversial. Really it really wasn't.

Speaker 1: 38:49

People took it at face value and in the snippet of time that you know was allotted in the newsfeed and they didn't listen to everything he said and they didn't read everything he said and and they decided to lash out, which is what Eddie Vedder did. It's the same thing, but again, it's a tough guy response to something that he doesn't know about and, truthfully, he wouldn't do in person. So for all those folks, you know, humility is in a little bit of that is is good for you every once in a while, and a little bit of that is good for you every once in a while. Sometimes I wish that we weren't such a litigious society and we could, you know, settle things a little bit in the old school manner of man to man style. But we don't get to see that anymore, because the first thing everybody does is call their lawyer and it becomes a court case versus, you know, two people settling things in a very final type manner. And I'm talking about throwing hands. You know, I don't I'm not opposed to it. I think it actually works in a lot of cases to resolve a lot of issues and to put people back in their place and show them a little bit of humility that people need.

Speaker 1: 40:01

Myself included, right, I'm not immune. You know there's those things, things happen and that's fine, um, but I think Hollywood itself is is getting a little out of hand. They're kind of losing, losing track of who they really are, um, you know, hiding behind the characters that they play or the lives that they lead in the gated communities they live behind and the bodyguards that they have around them all the time, and this false sense of security, um to run their mouth and say whatever they want. Um, and the reality is is that you know, they're not tough people. Very, very few of them are Um. And then you've got Hollywood interfering, sort of interfering. So you got the international criminal court um is I don't know if they've actually issued warrants I think they have uh for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, bibi um, the leader of Hamas for war crimes. And I say Hollywood's got a little bit, you know, input into it because Amal Clooney, who is an international lawyer, you know Clooney's wife, george Clooney's wife it played a huge role in this, evidently trying to push the ICC, international Criminal Court, to issue these warrants. Even the current administration has said no, like you want to go arrest the leader of Hamas, go ahead. But the one against Israel is outlandish. It's ridiculous.

Speaker 1: 41:31

That was kind of the point of Bill Maher on the View. He shut down one of the hosts because she was spewing a bunch of stuff and doesn't understand that civilian casualties happen in war. Because it is a war. Israel was attacked by Hamas and they are responding. They're not intentionally killing civilians like Hamas did on 6, 7 October last fall, where they attacked the music festival, killed and raped a bunch of civilians, beheaded people some horrific things, true war crimes. But civilians die during war. It happens, it's happened in every war in the history of mankind and it's not going to stop happening as long as there's war. So, yes, his answer, bill Maher's answer and I think this is the position the United States is taking is if you don't want civilian casualties to happen, stop attacking Israel. And there has been no purposeful intent by Israel to attack and kill civilians. They've taken a number of precautions to avoid that from happening, but it is unavoidable in war. It is Been there, seen it, seen the aftermath, and it happens. It's shameful, it's horrible. Nobody hopes for it, but it is a fact of life and it's a part of war and always will be a fact of life and it's a part of war and always will be. So that's the position that the United States is taking.

Speaker 1: 42:57

But the ICC, the International Criminal Court, has decided that they are going to issue warrants, or maybe even have already, for Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of Hamas, and I will tell you that the ICC has overstepped. They have no place, no business doing this. They're an organization that you know people have to agree to abide by. They hold no real jurisdiction and they hold very little real authority. Truthfully, because if they issue a warrant for Netanyahu and he doesn't show up, what are they going to do? They don't have a force to invade Israel. They don't have an international police force so they can invade Israel and go snatch him in the middle of the night and drag him off to jail. If he doesn't go. He doesn't go, there's nothing they can do about it and you can make him an international criminal. Maybe he doesn't ever leave Israel, ever again, who cares? Right, so it's a fruitless effort and, truthfully, it's wrong because, again, you know, hamas attacked into Israel, killed civilians.

Speaker 1: 44:03

Yes, war crimes were committed, blatantly, no question about it. There's evidence everywhere. They were broadcasting the kidnapping of the young lady. We all saw it. They pulled in, you know, open the back of the truck, guy jumps out, you know, celebratory fire shooting in the air and they haul her out of the back of the truck and then they put her in the front seat. And so we all saw the kidnappings that were happening. We all know there's hostages being held. We all know there was torture, beheading, all those kinds of things were happening, rape. You know that those war crimes were happening. We know that. We know that Hamas was active in that, from Jump Street, from the minute this started. And we know that Israel is not retaliating in kind. It's not happening and it's certainly not happening in a directive by the prime minister.

Speaker 1: 44:54

So holding him accountable for war crimes is fruitless and it's really just a, you know, a flag waving. Look at us, we're trying to do the right thing. And maybe it's some sort of effort to negotiate a ceasefire. I don't know, but it's garbage. And maybe it's some sort of effort to negotiate a ceasefire. I don't know, but it's garbage. Netanyahu doesn't deserve that. Does the president of Hamas? Yeah, yeah, I think he does and I think he should be tried if that's the direction Aviv.

Speaker 1: 45:29

But you know it is what it is. It's. You know it's an international body that thinks they have authority over everybody and I believe it's kind of the one of the basis for the you know, projected or suspected new world order that's out there, the consolidated government of the globe, or whatever you want to call it, where all the nations come together either overtly or covertly. Um, and I think ICC is is part of that. Um, and that's about as far down a conspiracy theory route as I'm going to go. But I think the projection of this whole thing is wrong. I think it's awful, um, I think it was a waste of time and, uh, and truthfully, I think it's baseless. So, um, we'll see how that plays out. I think, truthfully, you know BB is going to tell him to go piss up a rope. Um, I don't think he's going to abide by anything. I don't think he's going to appear in court. I don't think he's going to honor their warrant for his arrest.

Speaker 1: 46:53

No-transcript, bounce things back and forth off of um, and we don't get the banter going, which is, you know, probably the best part of this show. You guys don't want to listen to me run my mouth for 50 minutes and I'm sure there's a few folks out there in the comments section that are going to agree with me. That's fine, but you know, tonight I'm wearing a polo that I got last year at a fundraiser fundraiser shoot for the Alan J Lynch Foundation. Al is a. I consider him a friend. He's a Medal of Honor recipient, earned that medal during Vietnam. He's a great human being. He's got a foundation set up that that aids veterans in a number of different ways, um, and and you know he's he's got a number of events in his foundation. He's not the only one, there's other ones out there, um, but Al is a friend of mine and I'm wearing the polo tonight because this coming weekend is Memorial Day and you know people tend to lose sight of Memorial Day for a number of reasons.

Speaker 1: 47:59

You know, in the sporting world, you know you've got the double races, you've got the Indy 500 is this weekend. You've got the Coca-Cola 600 for NASCAR in Charlotte. There's a lot going on and it's a long weekend. Almost everybody gets Monday off federal holiday. It's Memorial Day, but a lot of people don't know, don't understand or don't think about the reason for Memorial Day.

Speaker 1: 48:42

So, as a career soldier and lost some friends along the way, 20 plus years the global war on terror went on. I participated in a lot of it, as a number of us did. There was a whole generation of us that did, and there were times where it was pretty rough. I don't think I know anybody that I served with who didn't lose somebody that they knew personally, whether it was a member of their unit, a friend, somebody that they'd served with in the past or something to that effect. We've all lost somebody along the way, and I'm not just talking about my generation, I'm talking about the generations previous to mine Desert Storm, panama, grenada, somalia, vietnam, korea and even back into World War II. There are some still still some World War II vets, but definitely some World War II family members that are still around.

Speaker 1: 49:39

And that's what Memorial Day is all about is honoring those that paid the ultimate sacrifice, you know, in defense or in honor of their country, and there's a lot of discussion I've heard a lot of debate over the years about what Memorial Day should look like. Should you be out barbecuing and drinking beer on Memorial Day? Should it be a solemn day? Should it be a quiet, respectful day? Should there be fireworks? Should they play sports that day? Should they not? What should you be doing to honor those that didn't make it back, those that paid the ultimate sacrifice?

Speaker 1: 50:23

And I've taken up a position that if you've lost someone along the way a friend, family member, acquaintance, somebody from your unit you should think about them. You should think about them and what they would want you to do what they would want you to do to celebrate Memorial Day, to honor them, to memorialize them, to think about them. If you think that they would want you to sit around in a dark room and brood and cry, okay, if that's what you think they would want you to do, then maybe that's what you should do. If they would want you to go visit them in the cemetery, then maybe you should go do that. If they would want you to play, you know, loud music, jimi Hendrix playing the national anthem, and, you know, drink some beers and fry some burgers and, you know, hang out by the pool and just have a good time and, and you know, enjoy a day, then that's what you should do. You know you can honor them in a bunch of ways, but I think my opinion is you should do what they would want you to do.

Speaker 1: 51:43

You know, don't worry about what everybody else thinks. Do what you think that that veteran, that service member in your life would have wanted you to do. You know, and I think that's enough. You know, if they would want you screaming and yelling at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, go do it. You know if that's what your weekend looks like, or you don't know what to do and you think maybe you're dishonoring.

Speaker 1: 52:07

You know those individuals who didn't make it back, or maybe somebody in your life that didn't make it back because you're enjoying your weekend, your long weekend. What do you think they would think? What did they do? How did they celebrate Memorial Day before they pay the ultimate sacrifice? Maybe you spent Memorial Day with them before that happened. Maybe they expressed to you what they thought. I don't know.

Speaker 1: 52:29

But I think it's up to you and I would tell everyone one celebrate it the way you think you should and the way that you think that that person would want you to celebrate Memorial Day. But I would also say don't worry about what people think. Let them talk. Who cares? They don't know who you are. They don't know what you lost. Maybe they do, or maybe they're just being judgmental. I don't know what. They don't know who, who you are. They don't know what you lost. Maybe they do or maybe they're just being judgmental. I don't care.

Speaker 1: 52:52

If you can do it with a clear conscience and you think it's the right thing to do, go do it. Sip some beers, have a cold scotch, you know, set an empty place, setting whatever it is that you think you need to do to honor that individual. Um, that's what I think you should do, and that's what I think you should do, and that's what I think Memorial Day is about from my perspective, and I think that those that came before us and those that pay the ultimate sacrifice, and those that will do the same in the future on behalf of this nation, would want us to celebrate that way, celebrate to honor them in whatever way. They would probably want you to. That's the best thing I can tell you. Um, so I've got some friends. I've got some friends.

Speaker 1: 53:34

I've got some, uh, you know, some folks that I lost along the way in the last 20 years that that I will definitely think about come monday. Um, monday's not the only day I think about them, but I will definitely think about them on monday and uh, uh, you know, I'll, I'll honor, I'll honor them the way they would want to be honored, as best I can, um, and that's what I'm going to do, and I recommend you do the same thing. So, with that, um, enjoy your Memorial day. Um, honor those that came before us, uh, honor those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for this nation and, uh, you know, I I appreciate everybody tuning in this week and uh, you know, I don't know, I don't think Elsa's back next week. You might get me two weeks in a row, uh, but uh, I appreciate everybody tuning in. And uh, again, thanks for everything. And uh, from me, as as always, keep moving, keep shooting. We'll see you next time.