Historic Trump Conviction: Political Shifts, Election Impacts, & WNBA Rising Stars

Can a historic conviction reshape the future of American politics? Join us as we navigate the seismic repercussions of former President Trump's unanimous guilty verdict on all 34 charges. We share our personal reactions to this unprecedented event and its implications on Trump's future as a potential presidential candidate. We also dissect the contrasting strategies of the DOJ and New York City in handling this landmark case, while gauging the public's mixed emotions and uncertainties in its aftermath.

The conviction has sparked a financial surge for Trump's campaign, with donations reportedly surpassing $200 million. We explore the polarized responses, ranging from die-hard supporters to conservatives who might now reconsider their stance. Delving into election impacts, we speculate on the logistics and repercussions of possibly moving the Republican National Convention ahead of Trump’s sentencing. Alongside this, we scrutinize President Biden's reaction to Trump’s claim of being a political prisoner, illustrating the escalating political tension.

Our discussion shifts to the lighter yet profound social media discourse surrounding the Stormy Daniels controversy, questioning the integrity of the justice system and the potential fallout if Trump is re-elected. We then spotlight the rising stars of the WNBA, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and examine the gender and racial biases affecting their careers. The episode concludes with reflections on the restructuring at The Washington Post and the significance of remembering D-Day 80 years later. This episode is a rollercoaster of political analysis, historical reflection, and cultural commentary that you won't want to miss.

Chapters

• 0:00 Trump's Conviction and Future Implications
• 7:26 Post-Verdict Donations and Election Speculation
• 13:38 Rumination on Future Political Climate
• 23:45 Potential Political Changes and WNBA Superstars
• 31:21 WNBA's Rising Stars Need Support
• 35:59 Gender Bias in Sports Media
• 41:53 Journalism Integrity and Reader Connection
• 50:54 Remembering D-Day 80 Years Later

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Well, hello everyone, I'm back. I feel like what's it from the Shining? Doesn't he say that? I know, I don't know where that's from. Somebody tell us in the comments where that's from. It's a character. He says I'm back. I feel like that's Jack from Jack Nicholson from.

Speaker 2: 0:16

The Shining. No, that was not the Shining.

Speaker 1: 0:20

No, what's it from?

Speaker 2: 0:21

Can't even think We'll have to figure it out.

Speaker 1: 0:24

Yeah, we will. Okay, all right, yeah, look, look, look at how brilliantly I've started the show off already. Anyhow, hello everyone. It's great to be back. It's great to be sitting here across next to Clay so we can chat. This will be so fun. Have you been, Clay? I've missed you.

Speaker 2: 0:41

I'm good. I'm good, it's good to be. Uh, you know, I've I've heard a number of fans and family members tell me that it's always better when it's the two of us together.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Clay did. Just before we started, clay did tell me that, uh, who would you say it was your mom? Yeah, your dad was like better. What do you say it's?

Speaker 2: 0:59

better when it's both of you.

Speaker 1: 1:01

Thanks, thanks pop family knows how to cut you right. They know how to cut you right in the heart.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Listen, I can always count on him for honest feedback. But yeah, lots to talk about tonight.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Yes, yes, indeed, all right, let's with. Everybody knows what we have to start with. We got to talk about this and you know, and of course we know, this has been the buzz, you know, since the trial started, right, I mean, what's what's going to happen? And and the general consensus for most people, I think, was that there's no way, there's no way that they're going to, they're going to indict him. It's not, I mean, convict him, thank you. And well, not only did they convict him, they convicted him on all 34 charges, wow, wow correct and you know we predict things that happen and but I blew that one big time.

Speaker 2: 2:27

I I would. I agree with you. I was in the majority, I think, of people who believed wholeheartedly that it was going to get. You know, not guilty, 34 counts and you know, move on to the next thing and right now, all 34 all 34. Don't you think say again, it's going to be an all or nothing like it. It had to be all 34, no 34.

Speaker 1: 2:49

I don't think there was going to be like a guilty on nine right on the rest yeah that although you know, honestly, I think you know somebody if I'd been really pressed to say, well, okay, so if they, you know, if they have to make some kind of big statement here, um, maybe they'll, maybe it will be like one or two, you know, and um, no, oh, funny enough, I did see someone, I and I have no idea what it was. It's like a legit political analyst, you know. I think he's like a lawyer, you know all that, all the things, all the credentials, and, um, he was adamant, he's like no, they're, they're, they're going to, they're absolutely going to convict him. I don't know on how many he said, but I, I fully, 100% believe, and that guy was dead on, I wish I could find him. I don't know how to find him, but I watched him like, oh, this guy is like, really confident about this. This is interesting, and and that stayed in my head.

Speaker 1: 3:43

So, you know, and before we started we were talking about, you know, like this is one of those historical moments that most people are going to remember, exactly where they were and what they were doing when they got the news of the verdict. And I'll tell you where I was. I was poolside in South Carolina, in Myrtle Beach hanging out with some friends and my friend answered her phone. Another friend called and she went and she went oh, you're kidding, and that was that was the moment she leaned over and she said they convicted him on all counts. And yeah, and you get that little sick heart, sick feeling. You know, whether you, I think, I like to think, whether you like Trump or not, that's a moment like this, is it? This is a former president, this is a presidential candidate. You know who is likely. You know he's the GOP nominee, of course. Wow, like we've never seen this. We've never seen this. We've never seen this before.

Speaker 2: 4:45

It's crazy yeah, and and we're gonna, we're gonna talk more about doj, because this, this wasn't doj, this was, you know, doj. You said this a couple weeks ago. Doj looked at this months ago and we're like, nope, no case there, I'm not even gonna pursue it. They let it go. And new york city jumped in you know alvin brag with both feet and said you, you know, they got it. Yeah, but you're right, like this has never happened to a former president, let alone a presidential candidate, which he is both. And you know there's a lot of.

Speaker 2: 5:18

You know, I saw a lot of reaction online, as I'm sure you did, as I'm sure everybody did, line, as I'm sure you did, as I'm sure everybody did, social media. There was a lot of bluster out there. There was a lot of people calling for anarchy and revolution and overthrow the government and all kinds of other crazy stuff, which obviously none of that happened. But that was the initial reaction. I think it was because people didn't really know how to react, because this is uncharted territory. People were know, does it, does it matter? You know people were asking the question well, can, can he still run for president? That was the biggest question. You know, people don't. It's not common knowledge. People don't know because I didn't know it's never happened before, right?

Speaker 2: 5:59

So you know there's a. There's a lot up in the air, still is a lot up in the air because we still haven't had sentencing yet. There's a lot of people that are saying and I'm not going to make a guess on this one because I've been so wrong on this whole trial there are people that are guessing, saying out loud, that he's going to get jail time, which I have a hard time believing Right.

Speaker 1: 6:23

Yeah, I think, after the conviction, I think a lot of us, including myself, including you, I'm not saying that I believe that's what's going to happen, but I'm saying I will not even bat an eye at a surprise and I won't gasp. There won't be one of those if that happens, gasp, there won't be one of those if that happens. And in fact I, yeah, no, I would not be surprised at all if that's what they went with the judge Mershen is that his last name? Yeah, I just, I mean, I feel like they're just very go big or go home with this, and they just want to go big, go big or go home with this, and they just want to go big, go big, make as much of a mess of this as you possibly can. I mean, you know this isn't.

Speaker 1: 7:12

You know, they talked about the red wave once upon a time and it was, you know, a little disappointing, to say the least. I think now this is a whole different conversation. Now, right away, right after the verdict, the site opened up for donations to help the Trump campaign and it was, within a matter of hours, like over 50 million, and correct me if I'm wrong, is he over 200 million right now? That was the last I heard and I may have missed it, he, over 200 million right now.

Speaker 2: 7:47

That was the last I heard and I may have. I think so. And yes, within hours it was like 54 million and then within 24 hours, I think it was 70 plus million donations. Yeah, Right after the verdict, which is crazy. Yeah, yeah, I mean, there was a lot of, you know, a lot of people have made the assumption, or made the assumption right away, like, oh well, they just handed. Made the assumption, or made the assumption right away like, oh well, they just handed Trump the presidency, because there are so many people that know that this is a farce and it's you know, they don't believe it to be true and they think it's. You know what are they calling it Lawfare? They're calling it lawfare now.

Speaker 2: 8:19

Yeah, yeah so, but but you know I have also seen some polls and we all know how reliable polls are, so take it with a grain of salt, but you know there are some polls. Where there were are some, you know, middle of the road, conservatives. You know some, some of the middle that we always talk about, who have now said they're not, absolutely not, going to vote for Trump as a result of the conviction. Vote for Trump as a result of the conviction. So you know you can only vote once. So while the people who are the most angry and the most MAGA and the most whatever, they're going to vote for Trump anyway. So you know that he didn't lose any of those people, but what it sounds like he potentially lost is some of the middle, which is what they're both fighting for. So you know the effect on the election is yet to be seen. There's also still more trials out there.

Speaker 1: 9:11

Right, we're going to have to wait. Was there like three more? Is there three more? I don't even know. Lost track, does it?

Speaker 2: 9:16

matter. Does it matter? There's still sentencing from this one. That's got to happen Right. We don't know what's going to happen there, so now tell me if you heard this.

Speaker 1: 9:24

Did you hear or I read I should say I didn't even hear. I read it the other day that the GOP or the who was it Well, I guess it was the GOP wanted to move the Republican National Convention to like July 5th or something, or maybe even 4th. They may have even said the 4th, but I doubt that's even possible. They wanted to move it ahead of the sentencing. So I don't know if there's any validity to that.

Speaker 2: 9:57

I had not heard that.

Speaker 1: 9:58

Yeah, I heard. I only heard it once and it was in passing. I really need to be better about like screenshotting my sources, and so I could cite my source and be like I saw it right here. I'll find it for you.

Speaker 2: 10:11

The logistics of that you know. Is it possible? Sure, would they have to find a different venue? Probably, um, you know, would you have people who are supposed to, you know, have already bought tickets and made hotel reservations and stuff? Would they be upset? Yes, could you find a million other people to replace them? Of course you could Easily right.

Speaker 2: 10:33

Yeah, so that would be very interesting. But again it goes back to the question of does the sentencing affect his potential as a candidate? And none of us know. I mean, you know, if the judge sentences him to prison first of all, is he going to go to a prison or is he going to be under house arrest, like that's question number one, like what does this really look like if he does, you know? Or is it time served? Obviously it's not going to be time served, because he hasn't served any time does you know, or is it time?

Speaker 2: 11:05

served. Obviously it's not going to be time served because he hasn't served any time, but yeah, um, you know uh, suspended sentence maybe um be interesting conditions for that, because I'm sure president Trump couldn't make it through the gag order We'll probably violate whatever you know uh no question about it. Yeah, Um no question about it.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. The options being thrown out, or the possibilities being thrown out, of course, our actual prison time, like you said, house arrest and then community service, which I got a big chuckle Because, you know, I'm sure the minute you say community service, I'm sure we all picture the same thing.

Speaker 2: 11:45

Yes, Into the bag on the side of the road right.

Speaker 1: 11:49

Yes, yes, we all got the same imagery going on there, man, I just don't know. Can they not?

Speaker 2: 11:57

just qualify his four years as the president, where he didn't take a dime of salary, as community service time served. How about that? I'm pretty sure he's contributed enough to the nation that that would qualify.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Yes, I don't know One would think, one would think. One who is a bit rational would think. But we know that we're not currently ruled by rational people. And speaking of not being ruled by rational people, I'll throw the clip in here at some point. But did you see the video of Biden being asked what he thought of Trump calling himself a political prisoner? Can you tell us, sir? Donald Trump refers himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What's your response to that sir? Refers to himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What's your response to that sir? Do you think the conviction will have to be directly? What's your response to that, sir? And oh, it's so. You know, because he's such a doddering old fool of a man, you know, a lot of people could say, oh, he just looks like he's baffled and lost, you know, and didn't understand the question. But to me, the way he turned around and looked back at the reporter and he just had this smirk on his face that I just wanted to smack it right off, oh it's awful.

Speaker 2: 13:23

White House had nothing to do with it.

Speaker 1: 13:25

Nothing. We're like we don't know anything yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:27

Yeah, please, nobody believes that.

Speaker 1: 13:30

Nobody does.

Speaker 2: 13:33

But yeah, I mean, it's that. Obviously the verdict is out there. You know, the Internet is undefeated. I love social media because people remember things that I'll never remember. They make brilliant points that you know are both funny and poignant. Like you know, I saw one today like so does Stormy have to give back the $130,000 because she actually never kept her mouth shut? You know? So she violated that. So does she get that money back? No-transcript. Know the, the points that I'll. I'll never think of myself Right Cause it's just when you got, you know, 8 million users out there. Somebody is going to make something funny, but yeah, it's.

Speaker 2: 14:40

We are in a. We are in a weird spot. You know. People keep using banana Republic. We are in a. We are in a weird spot. You know, people keep using banana Republic. I keep seeing the um, the, the flag upside down on everybody's social media, which I'm not a fan of. Um, you know. Are we a nation in distress? No, um, are people overreacting to this? A little bit, I think a little bit, but I think that the point that we all need to take kind of heat of is, in fact, has the justice system been corrupted? That's the real question and it's not about. Well, he's a president and they did this to him, although that is part of it, but it's like was this carried out in the way that our justice system is designed, because there's a lot of things in question? Right the judge should have recused himself is under scrutiny, right.

Speaker 1: 15:26

And his instructions. There's been a lot of instructions. Right Instructions to the jury and I try now, let's see. I think that is when I actually say gag order the whole way this was conducted?

Speaker 2: 15:37

was it conducted in the form and fashion that our justice system is designed? And the answer for most of us is I don't think so. But you know, some legal scholars got to take an unbiased view you know, like a legal scholar should and tell us if this is on the up and up or not.

Speaker 1: 15:57

Right. I mean, you know, to the lay person it certainly sounds not based on what we've heard, we've been told. But you know all of that, anybody can say anything and call it the truth, and that's not necessarily the case, especially when we're talking about getting your information from the Internet, as we well know. So yeah, I would be really curious to have somebody just break down each charge and you know where it's subject charge and you know where it's subject. Because I think a lot of people are into the misconception that the trial was about um, his affair with stormy daniels and and, and it's not really it's. It's about the, the use or misuse of funds, of campaign funds, and and, uh, falsifying records, and and, uh, falsifying records and documents and and all of those things. So it was really more like between him and and Cohen. Um was more of of what this was about.

Speaker 1: 16:52

She's just kind of like the, the, the origin contagion, I guess I don't know, but yeah, so that's right oh just horrendous people, just that whole thing, all of it is, is so absurd and ridiculous and and you know, we're all sitting here going. I can't believe that this is what's happening right now, like this is what we're. We're living through right now and participating and we are, we are like participants in in this circus right now like participants in in this circus right now, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 17:30

So I mean that's, you know, in the aftermath of this is also what's kind of scary because, like I said, there's been people, it's a lot of bluster and it's a lot of, you know, anger and you know, but, but calls for violence, which again never happened, calls for right, overthrow the government, civil war, all kinds of other crazy stuff, which I'm not, I'm not taking that stuff off the table, right, and I say that in the sense of another four years of president Biden. This country is going to be in such bad shape that I wouldn't, I wouldn't take anything off the table, right, but but right now, our reaction to this, this court case, I think it's a little bit much. But the aftermath too, is what if president Trump gets reelected? And because he's, he's already making the threats you know as, as we kind of transition topics here, but he, he has already made some, some outward threats that he's going to go after people, yeah, and it's.

Speaker 2: 18:27

You know, I'm not happy about that and it is on the you know what you would classify as unprofessional, but the DOJ has been weaponized against him, right, and I've been saying this ever since the raid on Mar-a-Lago. You know I don't like the term necessarily, but it's about as accurate as you can get. But I will tell you that that if he gets reelected, I and I said it when it happened at Mar-a-Lago I said this is Pandora's box. You can't undo this. You've still you know the, the, whatever you know saying you want to throw in there cat's out of the bag. You can't put it back in all that stuff. You can't undo that. And he is a vengeful man and he is going to come after some folks if and when he gets reelected because I think there's still a high probability that he is going to get reelected. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:17

I think the probability is exceptionally high and I think obviously the Democrats think so as well, because they wouldn't be going this hard otherwise, right, I mean, they just would not be wasting their time if it were a waste of time. They know that he is a clear, present, real threat to their reign of dictatorship and all of those things. And I get your point. I don't think, contextually, I don't think you're or generally, I don't think you're wrong by any means of moving into dangerous territory when presidents start using their platform, as we like to call it for social media, people using their position of power to go after their enemies, because obviously this is what we're witnessing right now, that's what's happening. So now we're, you know, we run the risk of that precedent. Well, the precedent's been set, it's been set. I mean, this is now the question will be will, will Trump, you know, carry on the this pattern? And I have a really hard time seeing how he could not like, how can you not, um, you know, make people answer this, because it's a huge. What's happening now is a, in my opinion, just the opinion, uh, it's a huge miscarriage and abuse of the justice system and abuse of us, uh, americans, you know for the values that we hold and and we're we're being abused by this.

Speaker 1: 20:42

I think greatly. He did not. You know, remember the whole lock her up. He didn't go after her. He didn't go after her when he could have. And you know, and I'm sure I don't know, are people sitting there saying, well, that was a mistake on his part or was that a good call on his part? Whatever the case, it was the call that he made back then to not go. You know, both barrels after her and I wish he had. I maybe I'm not sure if I do or not, you know. I mean, look at where we're at now when a president is using their power that way. But I don't know how he could not.

Speaker 2: 21:18

He's going to now, I think, right, you know, he gave a free pass, he followed what was past precedent and protocol in that he kind of a listen, I won the White House, I'm in, I'm just going to let it go and I'm going to move forward, right, and he did. He gave Secretary Clinton a pass and he gave, truthfully, everybody involved with the, you know, russian document, the collusion that happened with that, the dossier which we know now president obama knew about right came out, gave him a pass, didn't go after him, um and and just move forward. And then what happens? You know, they didn't give him the same kind of grace and they went after him and they continue to go after him. They go after him, like you said, both barrels and he is going to turn around and do the same and, I hate to say this, he's going to do a tenfold, because that's who he is.

Speaker 1: 22:15

Yeah, we're getting a different, harder version of him than what we had before. He talked hard then that time around, but I think he actually, you know, based on what we saw of his presidency, that the realities of his presidency, you know his mannerisms and his style of speaking aside his actual policies and the things that he actually did, his executive orders all of the things that he did were really actually incredibly fair level, just good right policies and things that he did that benefited the groups that are the most adamantly against him the LGBTQ, all the other letters and numbers and symbols after that that community he he enacted legislation on their behalf, on behalf of women and on behalf of indigenous people. You know he did a tremendous amount. Minorities, like the whole works. He did a tremendous amount of good.

Speaker 1: 23:14

Let's not forget about peace in the Middle East that you know we hadn't seen up until then. I'm not saying he's not going to be that guy this time around, but he's going to be that guy. But also the guy that isn't holding back anymore, isn't using restraint. Yeah, yeah, it's going to be it's going to get ugly.

Speaker 2: 23:35

They better run, but start getting on those private jets folks yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:41

If you are, you know you're going to see things. I think the ultimate kind of you know Trump card is the Epstein client list, which nobody's been prosecuted off of. They made it through an entire trial of a president for felony charges and convicted him, but we't see anybody off the epstein client list. Yes, still, uh, but, but those are the things that you're going to see. You're going to see those things come. He is that vengeful that if, if there is anything to that client list, which we all believe there is, um, yes, and expose it yeah, yes, I believe so.

Speaker 1: 24:19

He said as much. He reportedly he said as much. Yeah, it's all he's going to expose it. He said as much Reportedly. He said as much.

Speaker 2: 24:25

Yeah, he's going to go after everybody and he's not going to care about their health and he's not going to care about their age, and he's none of it. And the first thing that's going to happen listen, by the way, if you're a conservative law enforcement official that's been around for a long time there's going to be some job openings in doj here in a couple of months. Uh, because when he wins, I could tell you right now, the entire leadership at department of justice is going to get fired. Yeah, they're out. Yeah, they're out.

Speaker 2: 24:53

Yeah, fbi resumes yeah, atf probably board. Well, maybe not border patrol, because that no, actually that guy too, they're all. Everybody who, everybody who is a, is a friend of Biden. President Biden is all. They're all gone. If they played a hand in coming after him, president Trump, they're all gone, they're all going to get fired Now they're all going to go on the speech circuit.

Speaker 2: 25:13

They're all going to make a million dollars pop. They're all going to be rich people. However, they're all going to be. They're all going to be out of a federal job, that's for sure. But he's going to go after folks and he's going to find the attorneys to do it. He's going to load up as many of those judges as he possibly can. He's going to do a lot and I will tell you, a good portion of it is against our principles as a nation. There are some dangers. People say he's going to ruin democracy, he's going to become a dictator. He's never going to come out of office. I don't think it's going to go that far. He will come in for four years and he will leave in four years. I'm totally convinced that's going to happen.

Speaker 1: 25:54

Yeah, we got to also keep in mind his age, and that is an absolute factor. And you know, even though the man seems like the Energizer bunny, I mean he will slow down. He will slow down at some point and be done. He'll have proven his point. You know, now it's this term will be about a lot of things writing, you know, what he believes and he's not necessarily wrong writing wrongs that were done to him and and ending on, I think you know, a really powerful note for him. I think those are goals and I think once he feels that he's accomplished that, you know, we'll see.

Speaker 1: 26:35

There's so much speculation on all of it, you know. I mean, the only thing I feel strongly about is that he will be our next president. And you know, as I casually mentioned here and there on here and of course you well know, I'm a person of faith, so I don't actually worry about any of this, doesn't? I don't even I have a moment that's probably a little more factual there. I have moments of anxiousness and worry, and then I remember who's in control and it's all going to play out the way it has to play out. So anybody who's watching these things, you know and one of my girlfriends is she's so upset, she is so worried, she's so stressed out about what's going to happen. And I said, yeah, you know, there's no doubt it is. It is all scary for what it means for all of us. But you know you do. You do have to relinquish some of that control in some ways and just have some faith. Have some faith even when it's really really hard to.

Speaker 2: 27:33

And even if even if that's not your bag, right? Yes, it is clearly yours, but it's not for everybody you can always rely on the fact that politicians are politicians. They're going to do whatever it takes to stay in office. Yes, just and this is a side we hadn't even planned on talking about this, but just as an aside, if you didn't see it, today, president Biden stood up and said I'm doing what Republicans haven't done. I'm shutting down the border. There is no more asylum seeking period because the Republicans won't do it. I'm doing it as the president and I'm like isn't he our hero?

Speaker 1: 28:06

And all of his right half years, yeah, yeah. All of his fans, his fan base, are all going to say thank goodness for him. Oh idiots.

Speaker 2: 28:17

But? But again, he knows that that is you know, know, it's one of the biggest topics for all voters. Yeah, and with you know, just a few short months to go before the election, right, he's going to champion this and he's going to take control and he's going to fix it. So you can always count on politicians being politicians and they're going to write the things that are really of concern for the american public. So, yep, you've always got that in your back pocket.

Speaker 1: 28:42

It never ceases to amaze, not even for a minute, not even for a single second. What else do?

Speaker 2: 28:52

we want to say about this the weaponization of the DOJ, just as kind of a final point is that President Trump is not going to be shy about this, and it's not something that I think any of us should be happy about, and those of you that are probably need to take a step back and look at this and go listen. Revenge as a politician. That's not a road that we need our politicians going down. It's not who we are as a nation. It shouldn't be. That's our third world nation. That's their life cycle. That's not us. That's not who we're supposed to be. So, as much as you know, we would all like to see certain former secretaries of state sitting in a jail cell somewhere. You know, chasing that person, that individual down in her 80s, is probably not where we really need to go.

Speaker 1: 29:34

Right, yeah, I mean. The last thing you want to do is paint a sympathetic figure of, of that woman, or any one of them, really Making her a martyr. Oh God, can you imagine Terrible She'd be the first one implying that that's what she is.

Speaker 2: 29:47

Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1: 29:49

Oof.

Speaker 2: 29:50

Unreal Talking about bad business. Yeah, listen, we don't talk sports on here very often.

Speaker 1: 29:57

We don't, mostly because I couldn't carry my own in that.

Speaker 2: 30:02

And we talk about women's sports even less. But this right now there there's an interesting thing happening in the WNBA and if you are of of our age yours and mine you know I remember especially being a Chicago kid you know Michael Jordan, the Michael Jordan effect, right, you know. You go back and and they will tell you they that were older than us and paying attention to the NBA pre-Michael Jordan will tell you that even with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the NBA was dying, right, and then Michael Jordan showed up and then he changed everything for everybody. Superstar, yeah, changed the league, you know, with the shoe contract, everything that he did, right, and it was good business. And the nba truthfully managed some of that as a league as much as the bulls managed it as a team, right, um, because they knew what they had. Um, yeah, for like six years, every single game of the season, home and away, the bulls sold out because Michael Jordan was there, like they would go to arenas where you know, like back in, you know, pick your really, really bad NBA team from the 90s or from the late 80s, they'd sell that out too. It didn't matter because Michael was in town, Right, the WNBA has the potential for that going on right now in Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

Speaker 2: 31:21

Right, these two young ladies, you know they and more Caitlin Clark than Angel Reese, but they do have kind of a Batman Joker, you know, good guy, bad guy thing going on between the two of them. That started back in college, right During the last women's final four NCAA tournament. People watched because of them. Right, they watched because even the year before that they talked trash to each other during the tournament and it caught some attention. And then Caitlin Clark, you know, broke all the scoring records and you know they, both of the teams were very good and they were, you know, headed towards each other in the tournament and the one thing that the WNBA has that the NBA doesn't have is they the WNBA has that the NBA doesn't have, is they?

Speaker 1: 32:05

their season starts right after the college tournament. Oh okay, oh, wow, right.

Speaker 2: 32:08

And and and Angel Reese. Both their school year wasn't even over with yet. Wow, right, cause they just finished the tournament in crazy. Yeah, march, early April, got drafted and they're already playing. And oh, by the way, colleges still haven't graduated yet in some places. That's wild, yeah. So those two, specifically those two, came right out of college right into the WNBA and started going and the league is benefiting. There is more coverage, more viewership, more everything sports writers talking about the wnba than there ever has been right?

Speaker 1: 32:45

oh, absolutely that. I that I've heard things that I know. The name caitlin clark, right tells you everything you need to know right now, right, people? I? Don't follow at all, so right but?

Speaker 2: 32:55

but what's now? For those of you that follow this, maybe even on the fringes, what's happening is more caitlin clark than angel Reese, but she's been subjected to it too. The veteran players in this league that, truthfully, six months ago, nobody gave a crap about. Right To be honest.

Speaker 1: 33:09

They didn't.

Speaker 2: 33:10

You know, Brittany Griner was a story because she was in jail in Russia, not because she was a professional basketball player.

Speaker 1: 33:15

It brought really nothing to the sport.

Speaker 2: 33:22

Like it didn't bring more attention to the sport, so people didn't care about the WNBA, and not a not a secret, really, but a lot of something that people just don't know is the WNBA has never made money, never. It's subsidized by the NBA. The league itself has never made money, so and it's because people just don't pay attention to it.

Speaker 2: 33:38

It's not a thing that people watch but people are talking about it now because of these two young women, right, and more Caitlin Clark than Angel Reese, but they've both been subjected to really harsh treatment by on the court and and now in the media yes.

Speaker 2: 33:54

On the court by veteran players and really poor officiating in a lot of cases. But in the in the media where the me, I've seen reporters now who are already saying I'm sick of talking about Caitlin Clark. We're 12 games into the season or 10 games. I don't even want to talk about her anymore. Listen, if your full-time job is to cover the WNBA and you want to keep your job, you better write about one of the two of them every single day.

Speaker 1: 34:19

Every single day. Right, exactly, yeah. And did they say that about Michael Jordan, I wonder?

Speaker 2: 34:25

Maybe they did. I don't know, but probably in a way where they built him up not as a villain necessarily, but more along the lines of hey, look at what this kid can do, let's see what his future has. You know, is he, you know? Can he beat Magic Johnson? Can they beat the Celtics in the East? You know, it was all of those kinds of things. And then when Michael kind of hit his stride every single year it was who's the next? Michael Jordan, allen Iverson, grant Hill, all these guys from the past and the league and the media. They cultivated that. Right. I want to be like Mike Gatorade commercial.

Speaker 1: 35:02

I mean even his endorsements did it Endorsements for days.

Speaker 2: 35:06

Right, but right now, for whatever reason, the WNBA is not protecting these two young women. They're best assets in the league for the league. They're not protecting them, they're not cultivating them, they're not. You know, they're not doing their part to ensure their own survival. And you know, for everybody who has complained that women's sports doesn't get its due, this is it Like. This is the opportunity that you're going to get, probably the only one for a while. So, if you want women, if you want people to pay attention to women's sports, especially women's basketball, you have to work this. And I know people go ahead. No, I mean, people are trying to turn it into a racist thing, right.

Speaker 2: 35:48

Oh yeah, clark.

Speaker 2: 35:59

Cause she's white or people only like her, cause she's white, or people only like her because she's white, or people only pay attention to white and they here's an example of that yeah, yeah, right, right, white, pretty surprise, one of the cackling hens from the view, right, you know why. I mean really like who cares, right, seriously. Or or the villain thing of you know, because a lot of people don't like angel reese. You know she's a little bit rough around the edges, she. I mean she, even if you watch her play, I'm not even talking about her as a person, I'm just talking about her on the court, because I did watch a lot of the women's tournament and she's a physical player and she's got a little bit of a dirty streak to her and that's okay, it's part of basketball and they've got this good guy Right, it's all right there. Literally, you could write a movie about this and it could be, you know, but nobody's doing it, it's, they're dropping the ball.

Speaker 1: 36:39

They're dropping the ball Clay. They're so dropping the ball on this. Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 2: 36:45

I just I don't understand. In this day of you know attempted equality Right, everybody wants equality, at least on the face, and that's what everybody talks about. I mean, you know, equality for women, equality for races, equality in sports, equality and all this stuff, and now you've got an opportunity to really really make an impact and benefit the whole WNBA. Every player in that league benefits from those two young women.

Speaker 1: 37:14

Yeah, so I'll tell you what. You know what I think, clay, and you know I'll piss off the feminists, but what else is new? You know? Petty witches I was going to use the other word, I didn't proud of myself Petty, petty, petty, like that is a huge part of this. You know, women inherently have this thing that we do, and it's we are so good at being the drunk girl in the bathroom. You're so beautiful. Oh my God, I love you. Your hair looks so great. You are smart, you are right.

Speaker 1: 37:50

You know we are. We are one extreme that we're either drunk girl in the bathroom telling every other girl how beautiful and special and important they are, and but then, when they get a little too special, a little too important, a little too big for their britches, now we got to tear them down, now we got to rip them to shreds. And this, this is something that you see over and over again, and the perfect examples are because they're recognizable celebrities. You look at your Britney Spears that's probably your most perfect example right there. And even Taylor Swift, who, you know, I'm not really a fan. I acknowledge her incredible talent and her genuine gift at what she does, all of the things. She's just not my cup of tea, probably because I'm like a 52 year old woman, I mean, you know, like, but you know, because she is at such a height, now people got to tear her down, rip her to shreds. You know, I mean, she's her popularity hasn't suffered at all, but you see it and this is to me, this is another example of that, because of exactly what you just said.

Speaker 1: 38:48

Now you have these, these two young women who can, you know, essentially be, at least for the moment, the face of the WNBA and you can platform this huge like, you can do so much with this as far as branding and everything and getting people in, and what do you do Now? We're just going to tear them apart. We're just going to rip them to shreds. You know we're going to beat them up. We're going to do what we do as women, and I'm not saying men help at all. You guys don't help nothing. But I mean, geez man, we're our own worst enemies.

Speaker 1: 39:21

I think in so many ways and and it's such a shame and of course, there's so much more going on with that and I don't know if it's that the people at the top there don't know what they're doing. I mean because I would say get rid of these people, these CEOs and or you know whatever their title, name, position is at the head of these the WNBA. I would say get them gone. Put somebody in there who's actually got some business sense here and do something with this. You got the golden opportunity. Look at the Kelsey brothers. They revitalized the NFL. You know, so many people walked away I walked away a long time ago and you brought they brought people back. These, these girls could do that.

Speaker 2: 40:05

Yeah, no, you're right, I mean it's. You know it takes. Every league's got to have their star and I know that the departure of Tom Brady from the NFL left a huge hole and the Kelsey brothers jumped in with both feet and good for them, you know. You know Pat Mahomes was okay but his wife was a little divisive, so there was a different social aspect to that and you know there's just nobody that really jumped in and could fill that void. And then you had those two and these two young ladies you know, angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. They could be the face of the WNBA and it's amazing. You know you mentioned. You know that the guys don't necessarily help, but I will tell you that two of the biggest protectors of of Caitlin Clark right now are Stephen A Smith, who I'm not a fan of. You know the sports talk guy, yeah, and Charles Barkley, who I am.

Speaker 2: 40:54

I was just going to say Charles Barkley, I read that, yeah, they both are saying the same thing in that, you know, like this is not basketball, this is petty crap, you know, it doesn't belong on the court and it's bad for the league.

Speaker 2: 41:06

So, you know, while you do have the dedicated WNBA writers, I mean you know, and then you've got people like the View, but the dedicated WNBA writers, I mean you know, and then you've got people like the View, but you do have journalists that are covering this that are, you know, washing their hands of it and not, you know, doing what they should be doing. You do have other people paying attention and saying, yeah, we, we, gotta, this is bad for everybody. So it's. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out if the league steps up and fixes themselves and gives them a, gives the league itself a fighting chance to get better. I hope they do. I mean, the WNBA is kind of a loss. You know it's not something that draws a lot of people, but these two ladies could could make it something worthwhile. They really do have that potential and we'll just have to see what happens.

Speaker 1: 41:44

Yeah, yeah, it'd be interesting. I'll, I'll, I'll keep a casual eye on it.

Speaker 2: 41:48

We all will. It'll be a casual eye at best but, um, hey, look that. But journalism as a whole is tough stuff business. You know washington post for those of you that are paying attention to this you know they're doing a little bit of a restructure right now, so they had one of their, their editor-in-chief.

Speaker 2: 42:05

I think, step down, yes and uh, you know, it's being backfilled, sally busby, busby, right. I think, um, yeah, it's being backfilled by somebody else. They're doing a little restructure. I think they're going to three departments. I think they're doing a current news editorial and then, essentially, the third department is like hey, we got to reconnect. We got to reconnect with readers, because they've lost half of their readership in the last three years and they just last year lost $77 million, right?

Speaker 1: 42:38

That's painful, that hurts.

Speaker 2: 42:39

Yeah, so so that you know, the guy in charge stood in front of the entire newsroom and said hey, this is what we're doing. I'm replacing Busby with so-and-so and we're restructuring and this is what it's going to look like and instead of a newsroom that, truthfully, should be fearful of their, for their job and their livelihood, he got backlash. He's like yeah, he got yeah.

Speaker 1: 43:04

Because of who he put in Right.

Speaker 2: 43:06

Yeah, oh, now there's three old white guys running this place. Oh, that's great. Yep, Listen, be worried about getting paid next week, All right, Don't worry about DEI and all this other crap. You need to be worried about keeping your job because you know he said it himself Nobody is reading what you're writing because it's so divisive and it's so off the wall and it's so not. You know what our viewership or readership wants to hear.

Speaker 1: 43:38

Nobody cares what you say and that's what the newsroom didn't get and that's why they're losing. Yeah, yeah, absolutely it's. It's another example of the failed DEI initiative. It's just absurd, it's just stupid. Like, where is the? The common sense Doesn't matter, doesn't matter, nothing matters except for checking off boxes. Diversity boxes Doesn't matter if they're qualified, doesn't matter if they, you know, do their research, doesn't matter if they're even literate, doesn't matter. Long as you check this particular box, we're good. Well, you know, this is, this is how you pay for it, you know, and thankfully it's just a newspaper. You know, because you have the other cases of airlines and airplanes falling apart in the sky because DEI. I mean, when does it stop? Like right?

Speaker 2: 44:34

You know, that's the question when they they like many many other news sources have thrown their integrity, journalistic integrity, out the window, right and and have gone straight editorial in probably 80 to 90% of what they write. And that's why they're losing readers, right, because people contrary to popular belief, like people, want the news and they want to be able to draw their own conclusions. Yes, especially and I hate to say this, but especially people who read. There's a difference between those who solely watch, right, and they just get fed, versus the people who seek out and read and, you know, put the time and effort into, they, dedicate time to reading the news, versus having it on in the background and listening to whatever's talking ahead and telling them and those sorts of things. Somebody who's reading the news cares truthfully, they're interested.

Speaker 1: 45:45

Yeah, that's a great point. That's very true.

Speaker 2: 45:47

They don't want to be told what to think. They just want to be told the facts and then they figure it out on their own. For the most part and that's why they're losing readers is that it's not journalism anymore. It's editorializing.

Speaker 1: 45:59

Yep, and it's obviously like you said. It's not just them, there's so many others like that and it is exhausting. It's exhausting when you, you know, and I, along with so many people and I'm sure I can include you in that have been saying for years now just give me the facts, it's okay if they're not the facts that align with what I thought or what I believe or what I want them to be. I'm fine. I'm a big facts over feelings girl. You know, if I need to be corrected, I'm fine with that. If you have information that I don't have and you can enlighten me, I am so good with that. It's totally fine. But you know, I'm so exhausted from the it's. Everything is a hit piece. You know, everything is an attack on you know, one person or another person. You know we live in a really upside down world when it comes to, well, everything, everything, but specifically this.

Speaker 2: 46:51

And listen folks. Elsa and I have been saying this, we say this all the time.

Speaker 1: 46:55

We are not journalists, we are we don't even want to put a word on it.

Speaker 2: 47:01

It's punditry. We're pundits, you know. We provide information and we provide our opinion on the information. What we do encourage all of you guys to do is, if something we say spikes your interest, go look it up yourself. Go find out the facts, go look. As much as we love you guys and we appreciate you listening to us talk for an hour, you should question everything, everything that is said in the news, especially when it's not, when you don't know for a fact that it is unbiased. You should check it out. You know, and that includes us. You know we're, we're not journalists, never claimed to be. Unfortunately, what we've lost is journalism, and this is WAPO, is the, is the. You know the prime example. Their journalistic integrity is gone. They are no longer journalists, it's mostly editorializing and and this is what you get you lose $77 million in a year and you lose half your readership in three years because people stop paying attention.

Speaker 1: 47:56

I'll be very interested to see if they can and will essentially rebrand and reinvent themselves, Because I think that's the only way they could save themselves really at this point, just to go completely against the expectations of the mob. Against the expectations of the mob. You know the DEI mob, go completely against it and go straight journalism, and that. You know that. I think that's the only way, because then they would truly stand out. You know what I mean. Like then you'd say, oh, wait a minute. Oh, I know, I just want the facts. I want somebody to tell me exactly what you just said. You know, I want somebody to tell me you know the events that happened, or the situation as we know it. And let me draw my own.

Speaker 2: 48:39

If somebody presented that to me, if I knew that existed, I will pay for that subscription, no problem, Happy to so when I read the restructure, the thing that caught my attention and I think what would be a great indicator is, you know, they said it was going to be three departments. One of them reconnect with readers, bring readers back department. One department was journalism, current events kind of thing, and one was the editorialized, you know, editorial department. Current events department isn't four or five times larger than the editorial department. There's your indicator, right, because if they are of equal size with equal employment and of equal focus, that's where you have a problem, because you are no longer providing predominantly journalism and people lose track of what is true fact journalism and what is an editorial?

Speaker 2: 49:32

Because there's so much of it in the paper, like editorials used to be, that was a big thing. This is an editorial because they are. There's so much of it in the paper, like editorials used to be, that was a big thing. Like, this is an editorial. Right, it was very clearly designated. This is not a, this is an opinion piece. Don't mistake this for anything else. Now it's just, you can't even tell the difference anymore.

Speaker 1: 49:47

No, you can't, you can't. If it's even there, it's like really tiny letters underneath their name, underneath the date, underneath the you know it's. It's usually very small. I see that all the time. So I have a. Which one is it?

Speaker 1: 49:59

I think it's just maybe Google or MSN, I don't know what I have, but I like to look at all of the different things you know. So I have, like the browser page that opens up when I open up my computer, right, and it's all the, the quote, unquote news, the latest news going on, and every single one, you know, you click the tab and it slides to the next story and you just get the headline and the next blah, blah, blah, and every single one of them and I mean every single one of them is actually an opinion piece or an editorial piece. None of them are actual news, you know. I mean a couple here and there, but most of them, and it's always some sensational headline, you know, misleading clickbait, basically. And yeah, I mean, and that's where we're at, that's where we are right now in our society, and we need to, we need to change that quick and I think the only way we can do it is to do like the readers did with Washington Post and just say no, I'm done.

Speaker 1: 50:49

Right, I'm done. I'm done with it. You're not getting my clicks, You're not getting my subscription. None of them come back to real journalism, real stories and not all this. You know? Inquirer of the of 2024, you know, oh, remember the inquirer. There was another one too. I can't remember what the name of it was, but that was the big one. But, yeah, that's, that's, that is what our news is now. Inquirer 2.0.

Speaker 2: 51:15

Yeah, yeah, and you know, go back. You know we'll hit our last topic. Go back 80 years, yeah.

Speaker 1: 51:22

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 51:23

So this week, you know, this week you want to talk about a news story, right, invasion of Europe, right, 80 years ago. And again, we, you know this is Tuesday, we record on Tuesday, so it's Tuesday the fourth. And you know, for those that are less, you know, versed in history, you know today was tonight, the night of the fourth into the fifth was the actual original planned invasion date and and the channel was, you know, covered in fog and high winds on all the drop zones for the paratroopers. And so they pushed a day, so there was a day. They spent all day today, all those troops spent all day today, amped up all their gear, ready to go, thinking that tonight was the night, wow. And then they got told sorry.

Speaker 1: 52:11

Guess what.

Speaker 2: 52:12

Yeah, stand out. So can you imagine the adrenaline like the up and down crash that came with that? I can't even imagine. You know, listen, I was a paratrooper for 10 years. I'm wearing my 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment hat. You know, I was a member of that organization for a long time and they jumped on D-Day among you know, three other combat jumpster World War II. But you know those folks, my forefathers, you know in the Army. I can't even with the amount of time that I spent deployed, I can't imagine that Like that specific, you know, jump into combat. You know, get all your stuff together. You know, and even to the point I think some of the guys were even even putting on their parachutes, like they were rigging up Right, and then all of a sudden it was not no, you got to wait. You take that back off again, put it off to the side. We got, you know, you got 24 more hours.

Speaker 1: 53:05

Wow, yeah, the amount of mental energy and, like you said, adrenaline that you're putting into psyching yourself up like preparing for this, and then it's like hold on, yeah.

Speaker 2: 53:18

And then you know, so this will air on Thursday, the 6th, which is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. So as the sun came up that morning, you know there were, there were paratroopers behind the lines. The 101st and 82nd Airborne Division made massive parachute jumps, you know, behind the seawall. And then you had the beach landings were going on. So, you know, in Normandy and it was all going on and that was. You know, that is one of the examples of the greatest generation. Why they are the greatest generation is that specific day Pacific day and and what they as a, an entire military, were willing and did, sacrifice to liberate Europe from the Nazis. I mean, it was unbelievable. You know, if you need to, if you need to see it, if you need to feel it, you know, there there's.

Speaker 2: 54:09

There's nothing harder to stomach when it comes to this specific topic than the first 25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. If you want to see the carnage that happened on that day, you know you watch that beach landing or watch the first two episodes, really, the first, the second episode of Band of Brothers. You've got a feel for what the paratroopers were doing behind the lines and those kinds of things. Those are two great examples of really what happened on that day 80 years ago, and I salute all those folks. There are still some veterans around from D-Day. God love all of them. It's an amazing moment for the world and for our country and, 80 years on, we should never forget this. We should celebrate it every single year, never, never forget Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 54:56

My husband took me to see they brought Saving Private Ryan back to the movie theaters for a limited time. Oh, wow, yeah, this was like a couple of years ago. And my husband said have you ever seen it? I said no, I've never seen it. He's oh, we're going and I don't watch anything other than you can laugh at me light comedies. I watch very light, easy, chill, non-stressful things, and he takes me to see that on the big screen. I was traumatized for days because it's so. It actually makes me want to cry. I was so emotionally affected by it because, like you said, if you want to really immerse into the closest thing that you could possibly be in as a civilian, as just a average person, that's the thing to watch. But I warn you, if you're sensitive, if you're a wimp like me, it's really going to affect you very deeply and it is something else. It does give you an incredible appreciation.

Speaker 2: 56:06

Yeah, that first 25 minutes is rough.

Speaker 1: 56:10

Yes, it's rough. Yeah, he did not prepare me for how rough I can remember, I can remember, you know, two incidences in my life.

Speaker 2: 56:20

You know, I went with my dad as a kid and we went and saw a platoon in the movie theater and then, when the lights came up because that was so groundbreaking, when the lights came up at the end of the movie, I just remember a large number of clearly Vietnam veteran, vietnam era veteran guys that were in the theater and they were emotional, right. I mean, there was crying, there was a lot of things going on in that theater and I was a pretty young kid, but I remember that. Now, fast forward, saving Private Ryan, and it's just, it's one of those differences, maybe in generations, I don't know. But I went to see Saving Private Ryan in the movie theater when it first came out and I watched these two older gentlemen, clearly World War II veterans, had their baseball hats on and leather jackets and with their wives, you know. They walked in and they sat down right in front of me and that first 20 minutes lit up and I was like you know, and then the movie it's not like the movie slows down, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 57:14

No, it never slows down, yeah.

Speaker 2: 57:16

And I was fully expecting, when the lights came up, for these two guys to be sitting there and shook and you know that kind of thing, and uh, these two, these two old vets, they were like high fiving and uh, you know, okay, that's, that's why those, those, that's why those guys are a different breed.

Speaker 1: 57:37

They just yeah, absolutely well, there's always that, that uh meme. I guess it is uh the, the juxtaposition of men from that time and the men from right now, you know, with their blue hair and their skinny jeans and their, you know, fragile every like. Oh, that's not all men, thank God.

Speaker 2: 57:56

Thank God, that's not all men Thank.

Speaker 1: 57:58

God for that.

Speaker 2: 58:00

Thank God for real men, I spent 25 years around some real frigging warriors. They do still exist, I love it.

Speaker 1: 58:07

I will take that toxic masculinity all the time and it's not toxic. I hope everybody knows I was being very sarcastic.

Speaker 2: 58:21

Masculinity is the greatest thing to humanity. So, yes, but again, to all of those 80th anniversary of D-Day, a salute to all of you, past present. We, the world, owes you more than can ever be repaid, so thank you again.

Speaker 1: 58:30

Absolutely. And on that note, guys, we are saying goodnight to you, signing off, as always. Join us in the comments and let us know what you think, and we look forward to seeing you next week too. Take care, guys, clay, say goodbye, sign them out.

Speaker 2: 58:44

Sign them out, that doesn't even make any sense, as always for me, folks keep moving, keep doing it. We'll be you next time.