Iran Talks And Political Aftershocks

We track how the Iran negotiations ripple into energy markets, media narratives, and real life costs at the gas pump. We also zoom out to political instability in the UK and major US cities, then end on why keeping perspective matters when the headlines feel nonstop.
• status of the Iran framework and why IAEA inspections cannot wait
• why gas prices rise fast and fall slowly plus the price gouging argument
• what an MOU is and why it is not a finished peace deal
• why we think JD Vance leads negotiations and what that signals
• Vance on The View and the optics of taking hostile interviews
• UK leadership churn since Brexit and the Reform Party pressure on Labour
• policy contradictions on minors including social media limits and puberty blockers
• early signs the younger generation may be swinging back to common sense
• New York primaries and what a hard-left shift means for the Democratic Party
• Chicago weekend shootings and the limits of the usual gun control talking points
• reflecting pool algae and why PR and accountability would defuse it
• Tucker Carlson leaving the Republican Party and the America First split
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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Life Updates

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Well, hello everybody. Hello, Clay. How are you today?

SPEAKER_04 0:34

I'm good. I am just back from a week-long family. Uh, my one of my sisters just had a birthday, and we had a high school graduation, and my nephew got a Zegle Scout, and like I was uh I was up your way, but I had zero spare time. I c I couldn't even make it to you. I was uh up in that and uh I was uh I was chalk full, but I drove. We I drove. Oh we drove and uh you know to have cars instead of renting cars.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

Uh but we drove and uh you know it's like 13 hours back yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

I was just gonna ask you what the drive time was from your neck of the woods to my ish neck of the woods.

SPEAKER_04 1:21

13 hours, yeah. So yeah, I'm I'm good. A little tired, but I'm good.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Yeah, yeah. You should you you earned that tiredness, but it's a good kind of tired, right? Family time, all the kind of stuff is really it's all good stuff, so that's good. Uh, I was not as fortunate to get to do such fun things. I was actually under the weather all week, and so it worked out fine, worked out fine in that regard. I would have been so bummed if you were able to get together and I was uh, you know, a train wreck, which I was for a few days. I am on the mend back to pretty close to normal functioning, let's put it that way. I've still got that like that that low key headache that just doesn't want to uh get lost, but that's okay. That's okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:03

Normal's a relative term anyway.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

I exactly. I mean, like what's normal? What is normal, please? Eh.

Iran Deal Returns To The Headlines

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Uh speaking of not normal, um, everything that's going on in the world is not normal. I guess it's our version of normal, right? Um, because it's just constant. Uh no surprise to anyone whatsoever. If you've been following the show, which I know that you all have faithfully, loyally, religiously, watching every week with us. Um, you know that we're starting, you know, lately. Uh, I don't know how many weeks, Clay. You could probably guess better than I could. How many weeks?

SPEAKER_04 2:38

We're I think we're 12 or 13 at this point.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

All right, 12 or 13 weeks that this has started our top of the hour each time. Um, we are talking once again or still about Iran's, and I guess we're putting in an air quotes peace deal. Um, so synopsis here. We're we're talking about this because it never really leaves the headlines. After the framework, inspectors are supposedly coming back. Um, let's see what else. Oil's flowing a bit, but Trump is um popping off some warning shots kind of left and right, right? Uh, let's see. Uh, I don't know. I mean, we we all want this to, we all want this to be done and over. We're we're seeing positive impacts on our um uh in our our gas pump prices there. So, you know, those are those are positive reflections uh of things going on. But Trump hasn't really um he hasn't pulled any punches here. He's he's let some shots get fired for sure. And and also with the uh with the gas pump prices, right? I mean he was um he's calling him out for the gouging, right?

SPEAKER_04 3:47

Yeah, so you you hit it, IAEA, you know, the international atomic, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The inspectors, right? They are they're gonna come back in. The I the chief of the IAEA said today, like there's no rush, which I I disagree with completely.

SPEAKER_06 4:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:09

Um, but they are gonna be allowed to come back in, do their inspections, uh, oversee the destruction of the you know, radioactive material, which has been kind of the center of this whole thing. So that's happening. Um, there is no uh from coming from Israel, the Israelis are saying there's been no pressure from the US for them to stop fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, even though Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terror organization, and Iran said, you know, we're not gonna agree to this peace deal, you know, blah, you know, if Israel continues their aggression and all. And so that's been a point of friction, and it continues to be. We talked about it last week. You know, uh President Trump kind of went off on Bibi a little bit. Uh yes, which is fine. I there's nothing wrong with that.

SPEAKER_06 5:00

Right.

SPEAKER_04 5:00

Um, in fact, I think in this case it's pro it's overdue. Uh, but so that is still a point of contention. What else we got? So the house, the house, our house of representatives passed one of those stupid, useless resolutions yesterday that mean absolutely nothing. Uh, that that basically directed President Trump to withdraw all U.S. military forces from the from the region, you know, anybody that's in danger of being uh, you know, this part of this conflict with Iran means absolutely nothing. In fact, they wasted our time by even going through that crap, but they did it.

SPEAKER_06 5:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:33

Um, but you're right, the strait is open. Um, there are ships flowing. Oil, of course, is not is down. The price is down. I think it's yesterday was 73 bucks a barrel, I think.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Was it okay?

SPEAKER_04 5:48

But at the but at the pump, it's not going down as quickly as it went up, as is the case always, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Always, every time.

SPEAKER_04 5:55

Yeah, we always see it, you know, that it spikes whenever anything crazy happens, and then it's the slow decline on the backside.

Gas Prices And Alleged Price Gouging

SPEAKER_04 6:04

I actually saw a guy who claimed to be an economist from Dublin who said this is normal economics. And I was like, no, no, it's not. This is exactly what President Trump is talking about, which is price gouging. And if you're gonna, if you're gonna gouge somebody on the front side, in other words, you know, if you're buying, and I most folks understand this, if you're buying barrels of oil and it goes up all of a sudden, you know, the price of gas at the pump goes up immediately, even though the high-priced oil has yet to be shipped, refined, you know, turned into gasoline and and and then you know transported to the pumps. But yet when the price goes down per barrel, we don't see the rapid decline commensurate with the rapid incline, so or increase. So that's uh, you know, that's what president and President Trump said that these oil companies are gouging people at the pumps. Did he say something about trying to get DOJ to investigate them or something like that?

SPEAKER_02 7:03

I think he did. I I think he did. I don't know if that's gonna happen, but I I think he did.

SPEAKER_04 7:08

Um I'll tell you a very strange, not strange, but surprising uh statistic number that I saw was there were are have been six hundred ships stranded on the back side of the strait. Okay, full, empty, like there are just various six hundred ships. Wow. The strait is open, they can only move, evacuate about 50 per day. So it's gonna take about two weeks to get all of those ships that are stuck back there to the other side of the strait to do what it is that they're gonna do.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:48

Um, and then, oh, by the way, they've got to manage inflow at the same time because you've got things coming in.

What An MOU Really Means

SPEAKER_04 7:55

So yeah, this is the uh there was a lot of did you see the consternation about the term Mo U? I was surprised at the national.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Yeah, tell me a little bit about that, please, and any everybody else who doesn't really know.

SPEAKER_04 8:10

Yeah, so memorandum of understanding, this is something that um uh we used in the military a lot. And it is a it's a formal agreement uh between organizations that says, you're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, you're gonna do that, we're gonna do this, right? And it's and it kind of lays out the basics now. It doesn't go into detail. It is a and in this case, my belief is that it's the MOU memorandum of understanding, which is what MOU stands for, outlined listen, we are gonna negotiate, you are gonna stop shooting people, we're gonna stop, you know, closing the straight, the kind of general guidelines, but the nuts and bolts of it still had to be negotiated and then signed off on. So really it was a step in the process of moving forward. It wasn't a a signed and delivered peace deal. Um, but but people got wrapped around this MOU thing, one, because they had never heard of it, and two, because nobody in the media explained it. Literally. They, in fact, my guess is this is one of those acronyms that even the media didn't know and they just kept using it because it sounded cool.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Yeah, it's probably like one of those things like it sounds like we're supposed to know what that means. So let's just act like we do. Yeah, yeah. Which is which listen, listen, I've done things like that. I've done that, yeah, yeah. No, absolutely. You know, like I don't know. I hate when I hate when people call you out too, by the way. Don't do that, don't call people out when they act like they know something. Be like, you know what that means, and you're like, I'm I'm guilty. So cruel. But yeah, that is that's definitely one of those things. And I and honestly, Clay, I did not know it before you know, I was doing the research for the topics. I knew it for about three seconds while I was reading it, and I had already forgotten it by the time gone, just gone. My brain is very, very selective, it keeps only what I absolutely need in it, and that is it. And that apparently was not not one of the things my brain decided that it needed, but we yeah, but it is good to know. We do need to know.

SPEAKER_04 10:13

It's it's such a part of my vocabulary, and anybody who's ever been in the military, because we do memos for everything, right? So we have memorandum of understanding, memorandum of instruction, memorandum for record. We memo everything, so yeah, mo you is common vernacular, and I think governmentally, I think it's also common vernacular, but it's not one of those things that makes its way into the media very often. Sure. And again, I think the media just used the phrase because they heard it from you know people in positions of influence and decided to go with it. But um, listen, folks, we we said this last week. Uh, and by the way, the 19th was the day that all of this was supposed

Why Vance Leads The Negotiations

SPEAKER_04 10:48

to happen. The 19th was supposed to be, and what's today? Oh, by the way, folks, it's Wednesday the 24th, and uh we are recording at approximately 4:30 on the East Coast. Uh, but you know, the 19th, all of this was supposed to take effect, and Vice President Vance is still negotiating. Uh, and uh, you know, we'll see when this actually kicks in.

SPEAKER_06 11:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 11:14

I had no no illusions that the 19th was gonna be the date. Like that was not there was no way that was feasible. What do you think of him being the primary negotiator for this?

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Yeah, interesting. I I you know, I know he's he's uh taken some flack for it because they're like, what experience does he have? He's not prepared for this, blah, blah, blah. And he actually, you know, it's funny. I was I was gonna save this for when we talk more fully, but uh, you know, we're we're gonna kind of merge the two, I think. Um, he, you know, as most of you know, and of course you know Clay, he's been making his rounds to all of the um uh pundits and stations and all of those

Vance Takes On The View

SPEAKER_02 11:51

things. He's got a book out or coming out. Is it released? I don't even know if it's released yet, but he's got a new book out. And uh, so he's making the rounds and he's taking the hard questions. And one of the stops that he made among many uh was to the uh cackling hens over at The View. And there, you know, there was a lot of feelings about that, of course, right off the bat, before even watching it, which you know, I even was one of the people that are like, why would you even give these people the time of day? And then, of course, the counter to that is like because he's not afraid to. He's not afraid of these women.

SPEAKER_06 12:24

Good at it.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

He's extremely good at he's extremely good at we're gonna talk about how good at it he was um after I show you this clip.

SPEAKER_04 12:33

So before you jump into the clip, though, the one thing I want to say about him being the primary negotiator, right? And he's got help from Rubio, but you know, Secretary Rubio has got like a million other things to do, right? The guy literally lives that meme of like, yes, what job is the president gonna give me today? Um but you know, people have asked why President Trump is the one, isn't the one negotiating this, and the the real, you know, you never go all, especially with that culture, you you never bring in the top dog until the very, very end. Uh if you don't have to. You always keep that kind of in reserve, uh in case that you have then then you've got somewhere to go. Sure. You also disassociate the president, and you also have the ability to buy yourself some time. You know, if they bring up something crazy like, hey, you know, we want you guys to fund, you know, free food for all of Iran for the next 20 years, you know, you could listen. I gotta go back and talk to the president about it.

SPEAKER_06 13:33

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 13:34

As opposed to him sitting in the room where he's gotta essentially, you know, face the problem with without any time to really give it the title. It's a tactic, is putting Vice President Vance in there. I think he's fully capable. In fact, I think if it's not him, it's gotta be Rubio, it's gotta be one of the two negotiating this. Um, and I think he's doing a great job. He's been uh he's racking up the frequent flyer miles. I could tell you that he's been a punch.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

Yeah, my goodness. Yeah, lots of travel, lots of uh face time with these people. Yeah, I I think, you know, I mean, why are you the vice president if you're not gonna be doing these things? You know what I mean? So of course he's gonna do it, and whether he's qualified to do it or not, or capable of doing it, but I guess we're gonna find out. We're gonna find out. That's his job. He's in the position, so do your job. And and I love him. Um and I say that as a fan, but also as a you know, real to uh realist and and a practical person, like this is your job. Let's see how you handle it, you know. And if you drop the ball or screw up, well, uh, we're gonna deal with it then, won't we? Um, but he he gave a cheeky, fun little response to uh that criticism of him uh, you know, being capable or being the one to do it. So here that is.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

Um, President Trump said yesterday that he was gonna blame you if the uh talk to the man goes sideways. But are you worried that he's gonna make you the form guy?

SPEAKER_03 14:58

Uh no, not at all. I mean, I think the president was joking, uh, but as as he often does. But no, I think look, the entire team has worked very well on this, and we've got this thing to a very good place for the American people. Now, I have seen some progressive criticisms of me personally saying, what experience does the vice president of the United States have with hostile high-stakes negotiations? And I would point those progressive critics to the fact that just two days ago I spent over an hour on the View. So I actually have great experience in very hostile negotiations. And I've used that. I mean, look, Joy Behar is way tougher than the Iranians, and she and I are best friends now. So we're gonna get to a good place here.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

I love it, I love it. That's fun stuff. Um, yeah, so you know, uh in regards to all of that, um, I initially, like I said, I initially I did not love that he was giving these women the time of day. And then, you know, with a little more reflection, it's like, no, it's really good because, you know, one optics, if he declined or if he refused to go on, whatever the case would be, um, you know, then they've got that. Then they're like, oh, he's too scared to come on, he's too chicken, because you know that's exactly where they'd go. They can't take the heat from us women, like, give me a break, your child's play, ladies. Um, and then, you know, the the second thing that I actually ended up finding more interesting about this whole, you know, going on the view uh episode there is uh the whole him and uh Joy Behar um relationship, friendship that that came of this, or or rather, shall we say, the fangirling uh on her part, you know, which obviously that's an exaggeration. I don't think it's by much though. Um, she walked away, you know, openly, basically stating, you know, she said to him on air, or something to the effect of you're you're not so bad, or something to that effect. And then after the fact, she had stated, you know, essentially that uh he was all right. He was okay. She liked him, you know, she liked him well enough. And then her co-host do ex did exactly what the left does to their own, which is go on the attack because she dared to say something nice to find a positive uh in somebody who they deem an adversary or the enemy uh or a terrible person. So they didn't get to pig pile and just spew their venom and hatred towards him just simply for existing. You know, they had to turn it on her, and they were, you know, good naturedly uh rousing her and kind of giving her to, oh, he's your best friend. Oh, you love him now, you know, oh, you love him. And you know, I I wish it's not going to be, but what it should be is a little bit one of those wake-up calls that so many people get that, you know, have been long-term on the left until the left turns on them for not falling in lockstep. And you know, that was just a a taste of of what that looks like, and she really did get the kinder end of the stick when it comes to that type of behavior, but should be enough for her to kind of go, hang on a second. Just because I said I liked him, like that he was a nice guy, you're coming for me, really?

SPEAKER_06 18:24

Yeah, but whatever.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

I mean, I'm not gonna hold my breath on that, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:28

So he he he is making the rounds. Uh, he did he did the view. I watched him on Gutfeld again, more for him than Gutfeld. I watch Gutfeld for everybody but Gutfeld, truthfully. Um, and and he has some great guests on. Uh, and even his normal crew, Tyrus and Kat Timf and the rest of them that rotate in and out are usually really good. Um, but he was on and he did a great job, and it was right after the view. Um, I think he I think the initial with him and Joy Behar was during a like one of the early commercial breaks in the show. She she did turn and at least this is the way I remember him relaying the stories that she turned and looked at him and said, You're pretty good at this. Um, and that was kind of the initial, and and she caught some flack for that. You know, like the co-hosts are like, Don't say that to him, don't, you know. Um, and he just kind of laughed him off. But um, there's there's a lot of speculation that as he's making the rounds, and you know, and I know he's doing it part of it with the book,

2028 Talk And Rubio Comparison

SPEAKER_04 19:27

right? So it is the book is released, and it's uh what is it, Finding My Communion? I think it's called Communion, Finding My Way Back to Faith. So that's what he's talking about. That's the name of the book. So he's doing he's he's pimping the book a little bit, but he's also, you know, he's the vice president. He's not getting away from being the vice president. Um, but there's a lot of speculation that if you look at him, he's lost some weight. Um, he's uh he was got a little more color. Now that could be from spending a lot of time, you know, traveling. Sure. Um, but he's lost some weight, he's a little thinner in the face, he's got some color to him, people are calling it a glow up. Um, but uh and now, of course, the speculation is happening about his 2028 run. Is it gonna happen? Is this the beginning of his run for president in 2028? And I would tell you, yes, I think that's exactly what this is, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

As well, it should be really. I mean, this is you're you're doing your audition this entire time. This is your audition, and you should be treating it that way, essentially.

SPEAKER_04 20:30

Yeah, and and like you said, he's also at the same time bouncing this very important negotiation, right? Which is gonna be, you know, in his back pocket as a presidential candidate. You know, that's the that's the hard part, is that him to Rubio, uh, it's a coin flip because they're both gonna have this very deep resume that President Trump is is facilitating. He is allowing them, he's putting them in positions where they're taking responsibility for this stuff, and they're gonna have both of them super deep resumes for domestic and international issues and and all these other things that nobody on the left, no candidate that they bring can compare to what those either one of those two have done in this job. So yeah, um, good for him. I I think it's awesome. Uh I do, you know, that view appearance was ballsy because that would be that could have been a disaster, and I give him a lot of credit.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Yeah. No, he handled uh everything that they threw at him. He handled with uh intelligence and grace and intellect, of course. Um, yeah, I mean, I can't find any follow as you well know, and anybody who watches the show well knows I am I am a diehard uh Rubio fan, you know, currently, and and I hope that stays that way the entire entire time forever. Um, but having said that, I have exactly zero against Vance. I I think he also is truly wonderful. I will be ecstatic with. Either one of them uh as our potential uh presidential nominee. Either one, I would be thrilled. Um, I just simply have uh a deeper uh connection and affection for Rubio. Um, I don't know. I I always jokingly, maybe even half seriously call it the Cuban connection. I don't know. You know, it's the Cuban connection. I can't help it.

SPEAKER_04 22:21

And I I think for me, I'm I'm probably a 60-40 Rubio. And I say that because the one thing that I haven't seen from Vice President Vance, not that he's not capable, but we haven't seen it yet. Where Secretary Rubio, you know, he I won't say he uses it regularly, but he uses it enough that we all know about it, is he's got some bite to him. Like he is not afraid to look at somebody and go, hey, that's wrong. Here's the fact. And he does it in a very, you know, it's even, but it is a very um, there's some bite behind his tone, right? And and that's not an accident. I have not, and that's a great tool to have, you know, as a as a diplomat, especially and as a leader. Yeah, I haven't seen that from Vice President Vance. Again, not that he doesn't have it and not that he's not capable. We just don't know because we haven't seen it. Um, and so you know, I think the closest we came was Zelinski, you know, whatever it was a year and a half ago.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Yeah, he got a little spicy there.

SPEAKER_04 23:18

He got a little spicy, but you know, that's why I said I think it's a 60-40 for me for Rubio, but this is definitely Vice President Vance announcing to the world very informally that he is uh presidential candidate for 2028. I think you can't uh you can't ignore it.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Yeah, and you know, and I hate to go superficial, but I will. Optics, optics-wise, what a what a beautiful uh presidential site to see him and his wife and uh soon to be four beautiful kids, and like, oh, what a beautiful site that is. And again, you know, I I mean I'm proving my point here. I I am such a Rubio fan, and uh I'm also such an advanced fan, but I really like what you said. I think there's a that's a really valid point and uh something to be watching for with him. How does he handle uh those tense uh conflicts, interactions, and and you know, it's not that I don't think he can hold his own, um, but it'll be just a matter of how he does it, right? Rubio, like you said, he has a very particular, uh almost deadpan, very, very direct, uh, you know, straight face style. Uh Vance can do things in a little more of a snarky kind of, you know, messing with you kind of tone. Can he can he do that sharp, you know, direct um come back? I don't know. We'll see. I don't I'm I'm enjoying this part of it. You know, I enjoy otherwise, nothing else do I enjoy about uh the political realm. I find it, you know, mostly abhorrent, to be honest with you, which is always ironic, isn't it? Like this is, you know, this is what I I spend a good portion of my time talking about, or we uh spend talking about the political and and I despise it. I I just find it so unpleasant and gross. But uh, but we're not done with it, guys.

Starmer Pushed Out In The UK

SPEAKER_02 25:10

We're not done. We're gonna move on. We're gonna move on to Starmer. Um, you called this. I I mean, we've been talking about this uh loosely for what maybe two weeks?

SPEAKER_04 25:19

Yeah, two, two and a half weeks. Yeah, and maybe this is the third show, probably.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

Yeah, yeah. Um, so he he's out, he's uh resigning, he's been pushed out. I mean, let's be real, right? Um, it was a short, bumpy ride, polls tanked, party revolted. Andy Burnham uh is waiting in the wings, which uh, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I mean, really no better, right? A same party, same thing. You're not getting you're just trading one guy for another that really isn't going to be of any help or benefit to us or our relations, I don't think, right? I would love to be wrong. I mean, I honestly don't know.

SPEAKER_04 25:58

So um, another right doing the research on this, I didn't realize I knew that it had been a high turnover rate in recent years on PMs. But what I didn't realize was, you know, they did Brexit 10 years ago, right?

SPEAKER_06 26:13

10 years ago?

SPEAKER_04 26:14

2016 they left. They have had seven PMs since Brexit, right? So in the last 10 years, they've had seven different prime ministers. Like, could you imagine the upheaval and the turnover in this country if we had seven presidents in 10 years? Yeah, that's insane. Absolutely insanity.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

It's such a bizarre way of doing it.

SPEAKER_04 26:36

I I don't get it. You're right, Andy Burnham. So he is the mayor of Greater Manchester. Uh, I don't know how expansive that is, but that's that's his current job. He they owe nominations. Um, Labor Party owes nominations by the 9th of July. He is expected to be the guy uh that gets nominated. And you're right, by reputation, we don't live there, but by everything I've read, is he is more of the same. Um the criticism is you know, they've got a conservative party like we do, labor is more of their, you know, closer to our democratic party, but there's a reform party that is growing in momentum. Yes. Um, and the accusation is that labor very much like if our democrats, if the DNC is not studying everything that's going on in England right now, they're idiots. Because everything they're they're a couple of years in front of us, uh, but everything that they're doing, we're uh behind them. We're doing it, we're on the same path, or at least the Democratic Party is on the same path. And so the accusation from the reform party, especially, is that labor has turned their back on the working class, which is their base. So think about it, right? Our base, the democrat DNC's base for years was union working class, middle class people, and we know that they're now turning their back on them. Yes, right. They are completely yes, and in all the same ways, right? It's yes, prioritizing immigrants, it's immigrants, prioritizing criminals, it's it's you know, DEI, it's all of these things that you know we are have are rapidly figuring out are more harmful than they are good. Yeah, and that's that's what's killing the labor party. Um, and and you know, reform's calling them out on it, and that's why they're gaining momentum. Is that they're the ones, they're the third party, kind of our I don't know if you want to call it tea party or even just being independent, um, but they're the ones standing kind of on the side, jumping up and down and yelling and going, Look, like this is exactly what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Um, and so is there a chance that they could upset this whole little apple cart, or no?

SPEAKER_04 28:57

I don't know. I I think probably in the same way that Ross Perot, you know, and we were afraid that you know Kennedy was gonna do in this last election, they might be disruptive enough to one party or the other that they take votes away. Um, but I but I'm I'm I'm not as well versed in that as I am in ours. So I don't know. But you know, this is

Social Media Limits And Puberty Blockers

SPEAKER_04 29:22

another one. Like we did you hear the 16-year-old, 11-year-old thing that's going on over there?

SPEAKER_02 29:28

Oh, uh yes, they they cannot, what is it? They can't say anything on social media, right? Or they can't have social media.

SPEAKER_04 29:36

16 years and under, or no, under 16, you can't have social media. So you can get in 17-year-olds, you can have it, but it's very, very restricted in what accessibility you have and and all those other things, right? But they can all get hormone puberty blockers, they're doing yeah, this is no kidding. Human experimentation on puberty blockers, 12-year-old boys, 11-year-old girls, they are experimenting on them long term. They're gonna feed them puberty, they're asking for volunteers. You know, they're gonna feed them these puberty blockers, and then they're gonna see the psychological, physiological, uh, even environmental effects on their socializing and those kinds of things. They are literally, and this is authorized by the government, they're doing human experimentation on these kids. So at 11 years old, you can raise your hand and say, Hey, I want to get puberty blockers, and the government says, Cool, come on over here, right? Yeah, until you're 16. Like it's the most absurd, but this is exactly what reform's talking about. These are the stupid things that labor party is leading and leading the way on that the average working class Brit is like, this is nuts, this is crazy.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Um it truly is. It is so monstrous, it is flat out evil. It's just so shocking to to witness and to see, you know, to your point a little just a few moments ago, like we're not far behind. We're just lagging a few steps behind. Uh and I don't mean that in a positive way by any means, but you know, there they've got it going on there. We've got it, you know. You look at New York, of course, and we'll be talking about that, of course. Um, you know, you you look at this and it's like, how do people not see this? How is this even happening? That's the part that blows my mind, Clay. Every single time, every single day as I read and watch these things, like one, how how does history not teach you anything? How does common sense not teach you anything? How does morality and you know, ethical everything? How does uh love and care for and the the desire to protect children not trump everything in your minds? How are people allowing this? And I and I honestly, Clay, I can't wrap my brain around it. Like my brain refuses to wrap around how we're allowing this to happen after everything we've seen throughout history, what we see happening right now to these kids.

Signs Of A Youth Pendulum Swing

SPEAKER_02 32:21

It's the most depressing thing uh imaginable.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

Yeah, so I you know, again, did this family thing this past week, and I was around not just nieces and nephews and kids and like friends of you know, kids and kids from your neck of the woods, right? From in and around New York City. And um, I caught some great tidbits from them. Um, I things about mom Donnie and and hearing, you know, 18-year-olds and below, 20-year-olds and below, talking about him saying, you know, he um the youth, and when they say the youth, they're talking about people older than them, they're talking about 20-year-olds, right?

SPEAKER_06 32:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 33:00

Um are you know, he appeals to them. Um, and and that's but the younger, right? Those kids who are not yet a voting age, there's gonna be a pendulum swing. And we're already starting to see indicators of it because you're starting to see more young men and women, more young men especially, going back to the church, churches, religion in general. But you've also got the turning point USA swing, and even those kids who aren't affected by that, who are even younger than that, are looking at everything that's going on and they're saying, This is crazy. And so there is this, I am hopeful that there's this generation of common sense that's approaching, approaching voting age. I the funniest thing I heard was a kid who said, uh, you know, I I asked, I said, Well, you you guys are all saying that mom don't, you know, appealing to you know younger people, people in their 20s. I said, What's that all about? And this kid goes, two words, free shit. And I was like, and and this is a this is a high school kid. Yeah, he sees, yeah, you know, that what what this is all about in the politics that's going on. So I am a little hopeful. It's I know it's a snippet, I know it's just a very small sample size, but to see that um, you know, across kids from different regions because you had family that came in from out of town and other places, um, but to see that coming out of kids that age was pretty hopeful.

SPEAKER_02 34:26

Yeah. You know, it's funny. I was just talking with uh someone earlier today, and we were discussing how you know our perception as a society, a society, um our perception of the youth, you know, and I'm talking about the teens, you know, pre-teens through early 20s. We'll we'll call that the youth, right? And um, you know, our perception of them is largely based on these jackasses that we see on social media and in the news, you know, protesting um, you know, anything and everything that there is to protest, getting the the free stuff, you know, all of those things. That is the slice of life we keep seeing all over the place. And then, you know, then we have to remind ourselves, like you just gave the reminder, you know, you were talking to an actual living, breathing youth who is, you know, who's saying these very intelligent, practical um things. You know, uh, I was talking to a young woman, she's uh 25, I think it is. This girl, her head is on so straight. Like, I mean, she I would I would go to her for advice because she is so squared away. Like, she has got it together. She's got her goals set, she knows what she wants out of life, she's working towards achieving all the things that she wants. She's respectful, she's kind. She's, I mean, she is like all of the things. She's the perfect girl, she really is. But she's taken, guys. No, I'm not gonna fix you up with her. Um, she's she's wonderful, but you know, she's um, you know, she is, and she's got that, she understands the balance. She's, you know, uh worked towards her career that she's in right now. Uh, she's done all the things for that, but she has this timeline in her mind. She's like, I want to be a wife and I want to be a mother, and I want to be a stay-at-home mom. And then when they get to a certain age, then I will work part-time. Like, she's just got it all set. And I think she's actually a very good example of how much of that there really is out there, you know, loves her family, everything.

SPEAKER_04 36:41

She's not an anomaly at all.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Yeah, she's really not. And we kind of brainwash ourselves accidentally into believing that she is. And and you know, just just we we have to keep reminding ourselves that there they're there's so much more than what we're seeing on stupid social media and all that stuff. And, you know, don't we we all have to go outside and touch grass? And I'm sure we're all sick and tired of that phrase. I'm not tired of it yet. I still like the touch grass, so I'm gonna keep saying it. Sorry. Um, but yeah, but you know, we we've mentioned a couple of times here in this um uh

New York Democrats Shift Hard Left

SPEAKER_02 37:19

New York. So let's let's kind of skip over and go right to that. Whoo! Now now we gotta swing that pendulum back to the other side, to the negative, right? And um, and just acknowledge this. So it was a big night in New York primaries, radical left, radical left, man, took over the Democrats. Mom Donnie and the far-left socialists crushed the establishment last night. Uh, big losses for Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi's hand-picked candidates.

SPEAKER_06 37:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Um, there were loud boos. I didn't see this. I'm just reporting what I read here. Uh, erupted when Jeffries appeared on screen. Um, uh, you know, I guess it's fair to say, like the Democrat Party is is kind of like in full civil war with each other right now. Not to say that the Republican Party doesn't have their stuff going on too. I mean, there's definitely there's a lot going on in both parties that for the parties themselves is probably not good. I I think we're a little bit better off than they are um you know, as far as direction of things. I like to believe. Um, but my goodness, I mean, for the Democrat Party, you either have your old school Democrats who, you know, traditional Democrats, I guess you'd call them, or you have these flat out socialists. They're not democratic socialists, they're socialists, period. Like, let's stop giving them, let's stop falling into their, you know, their fluffy names to make everything sound more palatable, right? Like you're socialists, period. End of story. So yeah, I mean, clearly no lessons are being learned there. Um, it's going to get way, way darker before um, before it gets lighter there. This is this is an indication of it, obviously. But yeah, this is, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, Clay, but this feels like the absolute fall of the Democrat Party, as everyone once knew it, right?

SPEAKER_04 39:23

Yeah, I uh we've said this a million times is that you know, used to be elections fought for the middle. Uh-huh and and you know, you had the extremists on both ends, the vast majority of America was in the middle. You know, they leaned one way or the other, but you know, they the middle was where the election was won. And it was uh not hard to sway, but it was a big it was a big body of people, right? Now it is a very small body of people, and it is harder to sway. You know, we we uh our our national elections basically hinge on about six states, right? Um, all those swing states, but um now with infighting in the political parties themselves, yeah. You know, the question is is what does that look like? You know, it's it is it was it it was an hourglass kind of shape on its side, you know, the middle was real thin and the the sides were kind of, but now it's kind of broken, and like you said, it's on both sides, Republicans too. But this is this is a brand of extremism. Um, what people haven't figured out about mom Donnie is that he he really has he has no power, like he really has no power, right? Declared a whole bunch of things for the city of New York, none of them have come to fruition. No, um, and and you know, he keeps saying he's gonna have he's gonna do this, he's gonna do that, and the governor of New York is like, you have no ability.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Yeah, like sit down, junior.

SPEAKER_04 40:58

But as soon as he puts his name behind somebody, you know, and he finds people like him, right, uh, and they and they win.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:06

So right, and that's what happened last night in the in the in the primaries, is that the the socialist democrats, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

Um and by the way, here is um, it's just a picture, it's not a video. Um, just so we all know, just so we're all clear, this is a mom donnie pick. This is this is, you know, uh, for those of you listening and not watching, uh, this is one of the um nominees, I guess. Or yeah, she won her, she won her. She won. Yeah, that's right. She won. Um, I the writing is too small. I can't even read her name. So sorry guys, you're gonna have to find her your own. But she what she said was uh this is a a a tweet that she put out. Um it says, I forgot to get a napkin, so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me. So, you know, these these are the people that we're we're talking about here who openly, gleefully disdain. I mean, that's an understatement, hate America and what America represents and and who we are as Americans. They hate it, they want it destroyed, they want socialism to be the you know, the only game in town. And um, and New York is saying, okay, cool, sounds good. But I will say, I don't really believe that that's the case, to be honest with you. I think what it is is that, you know, the the migrant population, all of these, you know, and then the um you have that, all of these people moving into the area that you know have no business being there. Uh, they're they're voting, they're doing all of that. And then of course you have the the bogus um, you know, election fraud that's going on. Uh, all of this is, you know, the rig is in, right? I mean, what's the saying? No, that's not what they say. The rig is in. I don't know what they would say, but or the fix is in, I don't know. But what yeah, there you go. Um, but yeah, I mean, I think those are the real factors because you cannot convince me that real New Yorkers are like thinking this is a good idea. I I think they're just simply overrun.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

The problem is that the quote unquote real New Yorkers are leaving. Yes, you know, and they're so they've seen this stupidity and they're leaving. And so when they leave, they take their money and their business with them. And as they do that, and I know there's a lot of people that don't believe in trickle-down economics, you may not believe it in a in it in a positive sense, but you can't deny it in a negative sense. So when a wealthy business owner leaves and they take their business out of the city, that it's not replaced by something else, right? Like those jobs are gone, that revenue is gone, that income is gone, all of those things leave. Yeah, and so New Yorkers are getting sick of seeing this, as they are in you know, in some Other places are a little slow to move, Seattle, San Francisco, and some others. But but the same thing is happening in a lot of these major metro areas. And so what you're left with is exactly what you're talking about. It's a smaller voting population, it's a smaller group. And they are the people who are ill, you know, voting without ID. It's fake votes, it's a lot of those things. But there are some people, unfortunately, who vote for this because they don't know any better. And you asked earlier about, you know, why do you know P like, if you don't study history, how do people who know history allow these things? Well, they don't. They don't. I mean, look at our public education system, right? Right. So the PSs in in every major metro area are atrocious. And so, you know, there's an argument to be made that they keep them that way to keep people dumb so that they keep voting for this stupid stuff because they don't know history. And um, that's kind of what we're seeing. And again, back to England, they're a couple years in front of us, but this is the direction that New York is going, it's the direction that LA is going, it's the direction San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, um, and a couple of others are going. And it's just slower getting there. Chicago's got its own problems. We're going to talk about that in a little bit. But, you know, it's it's the other places, you know, that's bicoastal. Uh, what's her name? Ramen in LA. That's why they want her in there, is because she's another socialist communist like mom Donnie. They just want her on the other coast. Um, but that's what we're getting, folks. And it's it last night was more evidence. Uh that's how it's gonna roll.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Yeah, it is uh it's it's uh tragic and and so frustrating to watch because it's so freaking unnecessary. Like it just does not does not have to be this way. And you know, and I and I think of, and I'm not I'm very rarely a pessimist about things, but when I look at the scope of the effect of what is happening, it's going, it's just gonna take so long to fix. Because, like, you know, we've talked about and we talked about it uh just just in this episode that the pendulum swings, you know, and we as a nation, and not just us, you know, all nations tend to do this wild swing where we can't, we can never land in the middle of anything. We always have to keep going from one extreme all the way over to the other extreme. And we never find that balance. And it's you know, just such a darn shame. And if we have, I if we've had that period of time where we were in the balance, somebody please tell me when it was because I would love to, I'd love to just simply like learn more about that that brief moment in time in our history where we were actually balanced. So if anybody knows that time, put it in the comments section so I can go go learn more about it. But I haven't, I don't recall ever seeing it in my lifetime. And I feel like it's just gotten so much uh worse with the with the stakes being so much higher. I think. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being doom and gloom. Maybe I'm in a doom and gloom mood, guys. I don't know. I'm sorry, but this makes me feel that way, makes me feel very doom and gloom. But uh, we're not done. We're not dumb. We gotta stay with the doom and gloom because then we're gonna turn it around at the end. We're gonna turn it around at the end, guys. I hope. I think.

Chicago Violence And National Guard Debate

SPEAKER_02 47:20

Uh, let's talk about Chicago. You mentioned Chicago. Let's talk about it. Uh, you could take the lead on that one, please.

SPEAKER_04 47:25

Yeah, so it's it's this, it's more evidence and it leads into the same discussion. So uh Father's Day weekend, which you could have a whole discussion about how many fathers are running around Chicago. Oh, yeah. Uh it's less than there should be. Uh, 39 shots, six killed uh in Chicago one weekend. Uh, and President Trump immediately did what President Trump does, and he reached out on social media and he said, I don't know what Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker are waiting for. If you just let me know, I will happily bring in the National Guard. We can, you know, make this place safe in a month, we can make it one of the safest places in the country in a year. Um, and you know, and the the reaction, of course, is backlash. Uh, and and and I've seen it, you know, obviously being much closer to it. You know, I get it in like local news feed kind of stuff, and I look at people's reactions and how what how people respond and those kinds of things. And it's the the mix of please, you know, please bring them in. And then you've got the people who are like, you know, F Trump and he's you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. And and it's very they're non-argument arguments, but you know, you have the argument about gun control. Now they're now that now they've got an office of of what is it? The office or the department of gun violence within the police department of the you know, CPD, right? And so, you know, it's this discussion of should we or shouldn't we? You know how I feel about National Guard policing the streets. I there it's not a place for them to be because of exactly what happened in Washington, D.C. They're not armed appropriately, um, they they're barely armed, if at all, to defend themselves. And in Washington, D.C., we had those two guard members who both got killed.

SPEAKER_06 49:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 49:13

Um, and and then you've got the idea of putting them in a bad spot of, you know, will they, in their own defense or in defense of property, be forced to kill somebody, which is never a good position to put somebody in. Um, and and so I I'm not a fan of that. However, when you have 39 people get shot and six people get killed, there's got to be something more than the same old argument about gun control, right? That's that is not fixing anything. No, um, and I've got you know, friends from the region. I was talking to somebody uh a couple of weeks ago who had it was from Wisconsin, right, just north of the border, who doesn't pay attention purposely, does not pay attention to Chicago if he can avoid it. And uh he saw Mayor Johnson on TV and he goes, you know, I sat and I listened to that guy, and he was statistics, and he's an articulate speaker and all this other stuff. And I said, Yeah, you're right, he is all of those things. It all sounds great. He goes, Yeah, but then when I sat and thought about what he was saying, I realized, and it was really this was a discussion about the Bears Stadium, you know, the Bears potentially leaving Chicago, and he was like, I realized everything he was saying was a lie, and I said, That's the problem, is that everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie, but it's a very well-delivered lie, yeah, with a lot of you know, numbers and figures, and oh yeah, it's a brilliant tactic. It's presented as facts, but the guy's terrible, yeah, and and that's what we get. Like, he tried to blame President Nixon. I saw that the shootings, like, how absurd is that? Like, yeah, go all the way back to that, right?

SPEAKER_02 50:45

I mean, yeah, really, it's just absurd. It's just I I watched it and I could feel my blood boiling.

SPEAKER_04 50:52

Like, I'm pretty sure that's before Mayor Johnson was born, President.

SPEAKER_02 50:57

Yeah, but oh, yeah, it's so insane, and you know, it it goes back all the time to like a pretty simple question, I think, which is like, hmm, we've got these problems going on, they've been going on for a really long time. We're talking like decades, right? So, what's the common denominator here? Like, what's the one thing that's stayed the same this whole entire time? Well, the leadership that's what's stayed the same the entire time. So it's at what point do people stop and go, maybe we need to do something different here, you know? And that's where I and and probably so many other people just get so it's my favorite, other favorite word, fatigue. We get that fatigue that, like, I mean, you listen, this is so obvious from you know, sitting where I'm sitting. It's so obvious to most people, and and yet there's no change, you know. And I I do get that whole feeling of um your hands being tied and you're not being able to uh have any kind of effect or influence because you're just this one person and you're just and you're not political and you're not in politics and you're and you're busy with life, like you're just trying to raise your family and exist and live. But you know, at some point, people need to collectively come together and say, we this is, you know, we can we can't do this anymore. We have to actually actively revolt against this. And no, I'm not calling for a civil war, calm down, people. Um, but you know, it I guess maybe in some degree, maybe I am in some way to say, like, you know, this needs to be a collective thing where enough people say, we're not doing this anymore, we're not accepting it. And it has to be so overwhelming that the corruption and the cheating isn't enough. You know what I mean? I mean, it's the only way we got Trump this time around because it was so overwhelming that they couldn't cheat their way out of it, you know. But I, you know, uh again, it's been a hundred years, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:12

It's been a hundred years in Chicago since I was a Republican mayor. Years, yeah. It's not happening anytime soon. No, no, and I don't I don't expect it in my lifetime, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:23

And I've said this before as well. I I always every time when we have these types of conversations, I always think about the people, the the innocent people who are just trying to survive, they're just trying to raise their family, uh and they just, you know, finances, uh, life, everything makes it so that they actually can't get out of the area that they're in, and they are stuck in this because of, you know, just garbage humans and their greed and selfishness and and truly uh lack of caring about their their situation and their needs. And those are the people that are suffering all the time because of these monsters, they really are. So yeah, so that sucks. So that sucks. Moving on, moving

Reflecting Pool Algae And Possible Sabotage

SPEAKER_02 54:17

on. All right, so listen, I'm not saying that this topic uh is any less uh eye roll worthy or anything, but at least we're gonna get a little chuckle here. We're gonna make it give us a little bit of chuggle. Let's talk about the let's talk about the reflecting pool. I mean, this gets so much more attention than so many more important things that are happening in the world, but yet here we are. You know, there are a a group of leftists that have made this their entire identity. And if you don't believe me, here are these coconuts.

SPEAKER_05 54:53

Algie, let's go, Algie, let's go, Algie, let's go, Algie, let's go, let's go, Algie, let's go, Algie, let's go, Algie, let's go.

SPEAKER_02 55:07

Yeah, and that's enough of that.

SPEAKER_04 55:09

I mean they were cheering on Algie. Those same people, did you see them leaning over the reflecting pool and like they were sports fans?

SPEAKER_02 55:19

Good job, good job, Algie. Yes, I mean, this is uh this is a number of things, right, guys. I mean, this is uh, you know, mental illness for one. This is people who clearly need a life, like get a job, get a life. Yes, some of you, some of you, these ladies maybe are retired. I don't know. They're probably on disability or something, you know, some some excuse for not working. Um, yes, there are people that are on disability for good reasons before anybody comes. I I know, I know, I knew as soon as I said, I'm like, oh, that's gonna get misconstrued. No, I'm talking very specifically about these specific people. Um, I'm talking about the people who abuse those benefits. Um, which, you know, I don't know if these people are or not. I'm just making guesses based on the time of day, um, their appearance, all of the things. So, anyhow, um, you know, I was thinking about this today when I pulled up that clip, you know, my first reaction, you know, it was a succession of reactions, you know, rolling my eyes, shaking my head, getting a little bit like angry and disgusted about it and and like, you know, mad that like, why are you people so stupid? And then I was like, gosh, you know, this actually makes me sad. How sad is this? Like these ladies, they look like I don't know about all of them, they look like they could be grandmothers, maybe, you know. And like this is time you could be spending with your grandchildren, or I don't know, maybe in their cases they're 20 cats. I don't know, but right? I mean, this is the time in your life, your later years in life that you could be spending doing these just wonderful good things, and you are standing outside cheering algae because you hate the president so much that like this is your identity. You are willing to look like an absolute moron for the sake of what? Like, what point? Like, this is what I think about. Like, what point? What is your goal? What do you think this is gonna accomplish? Like, who cares this much about something so stupid and your your self-importance that people are gonna, you know, and yeah, granted, fine, you win because here we are, a podcast talking about you, but my goodness, this should not give you any sense of joy or satisfaction to be talked about like this because there is no one that is sitting around talking about these women saying, what a great deed they've done. You know, what a great, what what a great service to America.

SPEAKER_04 58:10

Yeah. So the the pool itself, I know people have complaints because this was supposedly uh a no-bid contract, it was supposedly to a buddy of President Trump's. I don't know if any of that is true. It may be, I don't know. You know, the problem is that it was leaking before, it was leaking like crazy. Uh, it's been broken and leaking for decades, truthfully. Uh, and costing, slow costing a lot of money. Um, President Trump's attempt to rectify that as like seal it up so that it doesn't leak all the time and it doesn't cost money on a daily basis. Um, you know, and then that the the painting and everything else. Somewhere along the line, I think somebody lost the bubble on where that water comes from, and and the fact that it is stagnant in the reflecting pool. And if you have stagnant water, you are gonna have algae. But also, that water comes out of the river. Like, that's that's not drinking water, like that's not somebody can come in there with 16 ounce bottles and fill that thing, so it's it's not perfectly clear water in the first place. Plus, yeah, it sounds like maybe some shoddy workmanship with the paint and the blue and all that other stuff. Here's what I would ask of whoever is, you know, Department of the Interior, whoever's running this thing. Yeah, um, listen, admit that it didn't go well, right? Admit that you're bringing the contractor back in to fix it. Like anybody would at your house. Like you have somebody come in and do some plumbing work and they screw it up. You you don't come back, your fault, right? Right. You call the plumber back, you bring them back in, you make them fix it, you make them do it for free, right? And do it right. And so somebody from whoever's running this needs to have a press conference that says exactly that. Listen, right, we got it. Here's what we tried to do, here's what failed, here's who's responsible, we're holding them accountable. We're bringing them back in, they're doing the work for free, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they're gonna do it to the standard at which we asked them to do it. Like, I think at that point, it defuses the entire discussion. And and everybody has to, you know, they could come there, people are always gonna complain, but I think you take less, you take a significant number of the complaints out of the out of the discussion right away. They're just not for all of the you know, Caroline Levitt wins that we get out of this administration, this one's not public relations-wise, is not being handled well at all. And I think that's part of the problem.

unknown 1:00:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:45

What do you uh, what are your thoughts on the accusations and seeming proof of you know sabotage, destruction, vandalism, all of that?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:55

I I think it's one, it's far from out of the realm of possible. I mean, I I would tell you that it's likely with the amount of things that we've seen with you know, tearing down statues and spray painting monuments and burning stuff and all this other, you know, the simple idea of somebody just walking by and dumping something in there is not out of the realm of possible. I'm sure somebody with some kind of chemical engineering kind of brain was like, they sealed it with this compound. I think if we pour this in there, it will start to degrade that and it'll start to peel up. Somebody's smart enough to do that and isn't out of the realm. And I it's I think it's likely somebody did that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:36

So the hard part is yeah, they have some video, uh, you know, they have some people on video doing this, that, and the other thing, somebody reaching in, blah, blah, blah. But you know, there's I don't think there's anything that like is really ultra, ultra concrete concrete. Like they had the guy, I think he was like a former Olympian or something.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:53

Canoist.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:54

Canoist, yeah. Who apparently like tore a chunk out of the the sealant or something. But I, you know, they showed him, they showed him being questioned and everything, but I didn't see him like walking off with anything, which is not to say that he didn't. I just simply haven't seen video of that. So um, yeah, yeah. I mean, that's that's that's a felony, right? Because that's destruction of federal property. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:20

So the national mall, I I'm confident, I'm not positive, but I'm confident, essentially falls under the part, you know, net it's parks. Like that's the parks national parks department. So yeah, it's federal property, it's destruction of federal property, like that is you know, a felony. So, well, at least a felony of some degree. I don't know exactly what degree, but some degree. So um, yeah, I you know, if they can find who did it, if there is, in fact, evidence of uh vandalism, which I'm confident there is, you know, not confident there's evidence, but I'm confident that there's been vandalism there. Um, then yeah, people should be held accountable, but it won't matter. People are still gonna turn a blind eye, they're still gonna say it doesn't matter, they're still gonna complain about the price, they're still gonna complain and complain and complain. So I think it's right now priority number one is get the PR right. Um get them back in there to fix this stuff immediately.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:12

That's and again though, like what a yeah, again though, like what a crazy world we live in that people are mad. People are mad that this administration is beautifying our our our monuments, our our you know, symbols, everything. Like what what a jerk for wanting to make everything look beautiful. He sucks.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:35

Yeah, yeah.

Tucker Leaves The GOP Over Foreign Policy

SPEAKER_02 1:03:38

Can't even uh we got a little time left. We're gonna make a little time. We gotta talk about Tucker. Um, I don't even think it's a big topic, to be honest with you. Just uh just kind of like uh hey, how about that? So Tucker Carlson uh just made a big point of saying that he's out of the Republican Party, and he cites loyalty issues and foreign policy gripes like the whole Israel-Iran um deal there. Uh his so his core point, at least that he he says he says America, it's it's always the same gripe. It's him, uh MGT and um Megan Kelly, maybe a little bit too, probably depends on the day-ish, not quite so much. I mean, she's getting they're kind of getting tied together quite a bit.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:21

Probably Candace.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:22

Candace, yeah. You know, like their whole outward stance is it's supposed to be America first and it's Israel first. Like this is their constant, um, their broken record, you know, lament that that it's we're supposed to be America first. It means America is actually first, and they believe that they're putting, you know, um, uh, of course, and there's supposed to be no wars and all of these things. So their big thing is talking about what they perceive as broken promises. Now, the I mean, you know, here's where I would agree in that, yeah, I'm all about America first. I'm a hundred percent all about America first, but America first doesn't mean you ignore the rest of the world. And putting America first also means that in order for America to be for per put first, you have to be able to protect against all of these outside elements. So that means that you actually do have to get involved, right? Like you do have to have some involvement because whatever's going on over there can very, very potentially and has and will come here if it's not dealt with. So, you know, that's where they lose me. Like you, your whole America first thing, it sounds like you're saying we can't do anything about anything anywhere and just here. Like that does it's not logical, right? I mean, am I missing something, Clay?

SPEAKER_04 1:05:54

No, they're they're um very smart people who are being really stupid about diplomacy, and that's what it boils down. To is that you like you said, America first doesn't mean America always, right? If you if you look at what what was the purpose of the global war on terror was to fight them over there, right? Yeah, to prevent them from coming here again and replicating and and doing another 9-11. That was the whole point of going to Afghanistan. You could argue the whole Iraq thing, WMDs, and all that other crap, but definitely going to Afghanistan. The whole idea was keep terrorism over there, right? But we were doing it ourselves with help of NATO nations. If you if you really and and supported by everybody for the longest time, including people like Candace and Tucker and Megan and all the rest of these people, right? Israel is under attack from terrorists every single day, right? Hamas, Hezbollah, take your pick of the H's, the Houthis, right? Everybody who's sponsored by Iran, they yeah, they are fighting terrorism over there every day. So we're not, we don't have to do it. But if an investment in them, right, gets you to the same outcome, or at least it fights the same larger fight. Whether you support Israel or not, right, or you think that we're owned by Israel or whatever, the bottom line is that they're occupying or pre-occupying at least three different terror organizations in the Middle East that aren't coming and being active here. So why wouldn't you be cool with that?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:33

And so they don't understand. Like, if you said America first, don't support Israel, then fine. The the what happens with that is we stop supporting Israel, they stop getting any military and monetary support from the United States, and truthfully, the entire Middle East gangs up on them and Israel disappears. Well, you know what happens, folks? When they're done with that, what happens next? Yeah, they're gonna look for a new target. Then they go somewhere new, right? Right, and that's what they're doing. That's what's happening in Europe, that's what's happening in England, and it's starting to happen here, right? And oh, by the way, if they don't have to worry about Israel and there's nobody sitting in the Middle East as these things are happening, keeping a watchful eye on them, they can do and build whatever they want. You remember when Al-Qaeda grew in Afghanistan because nobody was paying attention? Same thing, people. Like, yeah, and and you know, there they're I think this is just an excuse. Truthful, yeah. I I don't think that they're really, you know, they're they're they're doing it for clicks. I think you know, Tucker is Tucker's a weird guy. I think I have always thought he's a weird guy. Yeah, uh, I think he's a nerd who got beat up in high school a lot, truthfully. Um, you know, I think Megan Kelly will go to whoever pays her the most money, whichever side of the coin. Um, I think Candace Owens is off a rocker. I think she is legitimately mentally unstable. And so, you know, unfortunately, they have the biggest microphones right now, and that's part of the problem. So, um, you know, I Tucker can leave. You know, he claims a lot of people claim he won the election for President Trump. I don't buy that either. No, I definitely don't.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:13

And I credit Charlie Kirk more than anyone else, you know.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:18

Yeah, and I think him leaving, you know, Tucker leaving, people say, okay, bye. They don't care. Like Yeah, I personally don't ship to follow him.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:27

No, no, and and and I think that's his, you know, hope, uh, because I I think he well, I I know he did. He even referenced that, like, and if anybody, you know, if anybody follows suit, you know, blah, blah, blah. So he's, you know, he's trying to he's trying to rally his uh his minions and his, you know, flying monkeys, basically, to side with him. And there will be people that do it. I mean, there's definitely a faction in it. And I just, you know, I just find the whole thing wildly disappointing and disheartening. Um, that, you know, their their selfishness and their greed, um, that they would be so carelessly willing to uh, you know, divide a party that just simply, you know, we can't afford it, we don't need it. It's not beneficial to anyone. The only one that's benefiting from this is them and their wallets, you know, because they're going to the highest bidder. Um, I I think there was something, and I don't know, yeah, I certainly don't know the names of people, but you know, somebody, everybody, everybody becomes a detective, you know, very quickly. And, you know, somebody was saying that it's pretty coincidental, wink, wink, nod, nod, that uh one of his backers is, you know, a foreign, foreign entity. Um you know, so it's like, uh, you know, but again, they're they're going to pull support, they're going to, you know, be part of what divides the the party into you know smaller groups and factions. And it's, you know, it's it's problematic and it's a shame and it's uh it's just gross and um very disappointing to see. But you know, again, I agree with you, Clay. I don't care about yeah, I don't care about Tucker Carlson. I don't care about Candace Owen, I don't even care about Megan Kelly. I did like her, you know, a lot. I that's for me, that's gone. Um, but yeah, I mean, you know, all of it. I I guess at the end of the day, for for me as a you know, faith-based person, I I always try and just bring it right back to for me the biblical lens of you know putting my priorities where they where they are for me and you know what matters. And and I I stay kingdom minded, and I think that's why I can like take this stuff, be mad about it for five minutes, and then just go, you know what? So much more here uh going on than this. So I I hope everyone is able, and whatever that means for y'all, whatever that means for you in your life, I hope that you can take all of this that that you are hearing and reading and listening to uh from us and from others and across social media and all of that. I I hope you can take that all, have all the feelings about it because we should care. We should be invested in this to a degree, right? To a point. It should not fracture your friendships and your you know, families and your relationships and and disrupt your your life and and your joy. Um, so yeah, be be aware all of the things, but also keep it into perspective. So that's all I got, Clay. What do you got to close them out with?

World Cup Updates And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_04 1:12:37

Hey folks, the World Cup has not ended. In fact, things are getting hot and heavy as of today. Uh, you're starting to see uh the standings in the group play are fleshing themselves out. You're gonna start seeing teams get eliminated and teams for sure moving on to the knockout rounds. Uh, this is where it and for me, a guy like me, the tournament's been you know important and impressive and fun to watch since day one. But for casual, casual watchers, this is where things start to get interesting. So um stick with that. It's been great. The United States as a host has been fantastic, with the exception of California, which there's been some politics that has worked its way in, as sad as that is. Uh, please the rest of the world excuse us for California. Uh, but uh, but yeah, it's been uh it's been great. We've got uh geez, two a whole nother month.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:26

Oh my goodness. What is the what is the date of the you know the the culmination of all of this?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:31

Championship game, I believe, is is it the 19th? I think it's the 19th of July. So we've got a whole nother month left, and uh there's I want to say there's soccer pretty much every day or pretty close between now and then, which is awesome for me. But uh yeah, folks, you can find me, follow me on social media. I'm doing multiple updates a day. Soccer all summer is what I'm calling it. So you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook and uh and catch those updates.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:00

But uh tell them your handle. Tell them your handle the floor.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:05

And uh on Facebook, just search my name. I think there's probably only one or two of me.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:10

Awesome. I love it. All right, my friends. Thank you all for joining us for another episode of the Elsa Curt Show. Clay Novak, we will see you next week. And don't forget to follow, share, subscribe, like, do all of the things, okay? Thank you. We appreciate that. We'll see you next time, guys. Take care.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:27

The headlines will change by tomorrow, but the patterns won't. Thanks for spending this time with us. We'll be back to keep asking the harder questions and telling the quieter truths. Until then, stay grounded, be discerning, and we'll see you next time.