WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:11.000 A lot of funds of last little self interest and 2 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:21.960 an individual lots. This is the show. All right, everybody, 3 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.559 welcome to you one book show on this What is it? 4 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:32.719 It's Thursday, February thirteenth. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I hope 5 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.600 everybody's having a fantastic week and you're looking forward to 6 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:40.920 Valentine's Day and the weekend. All right. We are going 7 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.799 to cover a bunch of different topics today. Inflation Ukraine, 8 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:50.000 which we talked about yesterday. Inflation as well, RFK plastic straws. 9 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:55.840 We're back to that, see if PB just a general downsizing, 10 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:01.439 so doge again. And the question, which I guess has 11 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:07.000 got the internet a flobby is uh with the fifties better? 12 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:12.280 With the fifties better? Uh? You know? 13 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:12.840 And and. 14 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:19.560 Well we'll talk about that. We'll talk about that. There's 15 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:23.920 a picture going around illustrating and the superiority of the 16 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:31.879 fifties today. And yeah, all right, Uh, what do we 17 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:33.400 want to do? What else do we want to do? 18 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.120 Why is that not working? All right? What's that? I'm 19 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:45.920 going to fix something? Weird? Copy paste? All right, So 20 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:49.359 that's what we're gonna do. Remind you to use the 21 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:55.439 uh Okay, it's a sound valid. We will try again, 22 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.760 which your tracker need you to work now it's working, 23 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:08.240 all right, go figure. All right, So yes, I remind 24 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:10.960 you to use the super chat so that you two 25 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:16.919 can dictate the topics that I talk about and dictate 26 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.840 how long the show is and all of that's good stuff. 27 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:22.479 So ask me questions about stuff you want me to 28 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:28.919 talk about. You can ask me questions about anything, all right, 29 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.039 let's uh, let's jump in. I thought i'd share this 30 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:39.319 graph with you from John Cochran's a Grumpy Economist a blog. 31 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.520 John Cochran one of my favorite economists out there. Not 32 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.960 outstainding economists, but but really good and good and always interesting. 33 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:49.719 And this is a graph that I think is just 34 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:59.199 worth contemplating, even if it, you know, past doesn't indicate, 35 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:02.439 you know, an analogies don't indicate that what happened in 36 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:04.800 the past will happen in the future. But it's kind 37 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:10.039 of interesting. So here's two episodes of inflation, right, Two 38 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:13.759 episodes of inflation in American history, one the nineteen seventy 39 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:18.719 two to nineteen eighty one inflation and the second one 40 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:24.080 the twenty nineteen to twenty twenty five inflation. This is 41 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:26.800 price is going up. This this is the CPI, this 42 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:33.680 is you know, the way conventionally people measure talk about inflation. 43 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:40.919 And what you can see here, interestingly, is that inflation 44 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.919 rose at pretty much kind of the same steepness, the 45 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:49.919 same in both episodes, in nineteen seventy two and in 46 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:53.919 the in or was it twenty twenty two? Red is 47 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.879 the twenty twenty two, blue is the seventy two, and 48 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:02.280 you can see that it declines at a very similar 49 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:10.439 rate in both cases, stabilizing above the long term previous rate. 50 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.240 And in nineteen seventy two or around nineteen seventy eight, 51 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:20.120 inflation then took off and reached new highs significantly higher 52 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:25.399 than the previous time. And we're at a point right 53 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:34.639 now where we're waiting to see we repeating the nineteen seventies, 54 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.319 or is this going to be something completely different. It 55 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.759 is interesting how closely these two graphs parallel. Of course, 56 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:46.600 they're both adjusted downwards. I mean, the twenty nineteen to 57 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:51.399 twenty twenty five is lower. Everything is lower. The starting 58 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.839 interest rate was lower, if you will, and the starting 59 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:59.480 inflation was lower, and the spike, but the spike the same. 60 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:03.720 You know, same kind of spike, same kind of decline, 61 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.879 same kind of flatness. Sense, and given the inflation but 62 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.800 from yesterday, which suggests inflation is not coming down, it's 63 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.519 actually going up a little bit. Prices are going up. 64 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:24.959 Maybe inflation does not be defeated. You know what? What else? Right? 65 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:33.759 So yeah, just the interesting there's no again, it doesn't 66 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.560 have to follow this path. It very much depends on 67 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:42.879 what the Fed and Trump federal government Congress do. I 68 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.680 think a lot of the as I talked about yesterday, 69 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:50.480 a lot of this is people waiting to see is 70 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.600 those real in the sense of actual cutting of it spending? 71 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:56.920 What is Congress going to pass in terms of a budget, 72 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.600 Like there's this big bill that's supposed to come for 73 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.040 a vote in the next few weeks that will both 74 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:09.839 cut taxes and dictate spending. Is the death is going 75 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:11.639 to go down? Is this it's going to go up. 76 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:19.160 Is the future trajectory of US debt to dramatically increase 77 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:20.839 as it is right now, or is it going to 78 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:25.680 be slowly declining. I think there's a lot of pausing 79 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:30.160 to wait to see. There's us a big difference between 80 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:35.279 the seventies and now in the nineteen seventies, debt to GDP, 81 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:38.160 US government debt to GDP was about twenty five percent. 82 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:45.199 Right now, right now debt to GDP is about one 83 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:50.279 hundred and twenty percent. So we're in dramatically worse shape 84 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:54.160 than we were in the nineteen seventies. So it will 85 00:06:54.199 --> 00:07:00.920 be interesting to see how inflation evolves from from this point. 86 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:05.879 From this point on. Interestingly, there was the Journal had 87 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:10.759 a It was the Journal's editors, you know, they write 88 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:15.920 editorials every day, and they had an interesting editorial when 89 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:20.120 it was it today, the small no yesterday yesterday, where 90 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:24.839 they didn't quite come out and say it the way 91 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:30.560 I say it, but they basically argued that Trump doesn't 92 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:34.000 understand economics and he doesn't know what he's doing, which 93 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:37.079 was refreshing here people on the right the wars. The 94 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:42.199 Journal editorial board is clearly right right of center, and 95 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:51.839 they're basically calling the president and trump onomics ignorant. In particular, 96 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.639 you know, they criticized Trump's call for easier money just 97 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:03.639 as consumer prices keep arising. They asked the question, I'm 98 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:06.759 just going to read from this, does President Trump understand money? 99 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.199 Not money as in cash, but the supply of money, 100 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:12.959 the price of money as managed by interest rates, and 101 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:17.680 the impact on inflation. The answer would appear to be no. 102 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:22.040 After mister Trump called for lower interest rates on Wednesday. 103 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.279 The same day the Liberal Marketer put it increase in 104 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:32.120 inflation for the third straight month. So yes, even the 105 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:36.720 Wall Street Journal editorial Board, which is pretty consistently pro Trump, 106 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:42.000 recognizes how ignorant he is of economics. They they're also 107 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:48.639 very very critical of tariffs for all the reasons we've 108 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:54.759 talked about, including the fact that while taros don't cause inflation, 109 00:08:55.559 --> 00:09:00.559 they suddenly mean higher prices on the goods that are 110 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:06.080 affected by the taffs. So there are some people still 111 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:11.639 among Republicans, not many, very few, but there are some 112 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:18.240 Republicans out there who are still independent enough, honest enough, 113 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.840 knowledgeable enough, I don't know how you want to call it, 114 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:33.919 two to actually call it, and to actually recognize the 115 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:44.080 you know, the the fact that Trump is ignorant of economics, 116 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:58.759 really ignorant of economics. Good to know. Anyway, Inflation something 117 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:03.559 we need to be watching. Problematic could be rising again, 118 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:07.559 probably fed. It is probably not going to lower interest 119 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:14.320 rates anytime soon, and a lot of it is going 120 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:17.519 to depend on what Congress does and what Doge does 121 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:21.759 if Dose gets serious or if it continues to what 122 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:24.600 is it dabble in cost cutting? I mean, I'm all 123 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:27.200 for what Dodge is doing in the sense of cutting 124 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.639 as much as it is, but it's not serious. If 125 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:35.120 you really want to take on the deficit and the debt, 126 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:41.480 it's like a I don't know, phase phase one, Phase 127 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.919 point five, phase point two, I don't know. It's a 128 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:49.200 pre taking. Seriously, the amount of debt the United States 129 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:53.360 has and where we are all right. We talked yesterday 130 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:57.919 about the fact that basically the Trumpet administration, Donald Trump 131 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:04.799 himself and his defensive could have basically basically handed Ukraine 132 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:11.879 to Russia. They have completely They're going into negotiations at 133 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:17.000 the Munical Conference. This is a Munich Defense Conference of 134 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.320 European powers. They're going into that conference to negotiate with 135 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:23.919 the Russians. Basically haven't given the Russians much of what 136 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.799 they want. They're basically guaranteed or they said they don't 137 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.679 expect Ukraine to be a member of NATO. Ever, they 138 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:34.039 basically said they don't expect the borders to go back 139 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:40.399 to twenty fourteen. They basically said that they've basically taken 140 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:45.840 all their negotiating chips away. They're basically starting the negotiation 141 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.120 giving into the Russians on a bunch of different things. Now, 142 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.679 maybe that is what you get at the end of 143 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:59.519 the negotiation, but they're not even bothering to wait. They're 144 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:03.080 giving that to the Russians, starting the whole negotiation from 145 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:10.279 a position of extreme weakness, you know. And then today, God, 146 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:15.519 today Trump did this press conference about Ukraine, and it's just, 147 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.360 I mean, who is this guy. I mean, I know 148 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.159 who he is. I've been talking about it for eight years, 149 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.159 but it still astounds me that he is president of 150 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:26.399 the United States. It just it just shocks the hell 151 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.559 out of me. Okay, So he says, you know, he 152 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:34.919 basically implied during the press conference that this is a war. 153 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:40.759 It's kind of Ukraine's fault. I mean, he says, He's 154 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.799 asked at some point, do you view Ukraine as an 155 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:47.279 equal member of this peace process because in the negotiating 156 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:52.440 and he goes, uh, we talking about Ukraine, Rightine, this 157 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.879 is a war on Ukraine's sebretory. He's not sure they 158 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.720 should be part of the peace process. He says, it's 159 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.639 an interesting question. I think they have to make peace. 160 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:06.360 That was not a good war to go into, Like 161 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:10.200 Ukraine went into this war. Do you guys remember what happened? 162 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:19.080 Do you remember that Russia is just invaded, So now 163 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.679 we blame Ukraine for it. That's a great negotiating position 164 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.240 to go in against the Russians. And then he kind 165 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.279 of implies, well, look, you know, Russia really fought for 166 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.879 this land in Ukraine. They lost a lot of soldiers 167 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:37.559 on this land. I mean, you can't deny the land 168 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.519 from them, given how many soldiers they sacrificed for it. 169 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:48.399 They should just keep it because they fore fought and 170 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:57.399 they died on it. The guys, the guys, the guys 171 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.679 an incompetent buffoon. I know, I keep calling him the names, 172 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:06.840 which is not helpful. I mean, this is such a betrayal, 173 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.519 such a stamping in the back of not just Ukraine 174 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:19.399 but our allies in Europe, and an embrace, a complete 175 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:25.759 and utter embrace of Putin. As I told you before 176 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:30.600 the election, Trump is in Putin's pocket. Whatever it is 177 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.440 the Putin has on him, or whatever it is that 178 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:38.279 Trump finds appealing in Putin, Trump is in Putin's pocket. 179 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.919 Trump does what Putin wants him to do. He will 180 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.440 not stand up to Putin. He will not challenge Putin. 181 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.879 This is Putin's world. It's not America first. This is 182 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:58.240 Russia first. I mean the ignorance of the war, the 183 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.360 ignorance of American interests. Yeah, the just complete capitulation of 184 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:13.039 Russia and the complete sidelining of Ukraine in a negotiation 185 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.440 between the tribute between Ukraine and Russia. This is not 186 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:25.840 America's job to negotiate here. I mean, imagine a Trump 187 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:29.559 kind of deal with Ramas and sidelined the Israelis. Tell 188 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:32.000 with you, it's none of your business. I'll make a 189 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:38.879 deal with Ramas for you. This is embolding, not just 190 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:44.000 the Putin, it's embolding the hi. Uh And I don't 191 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:50.600 know the everybody expected because Rubio was tough against Russia 192 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:55.600 and pro Ukraine and what was that the emissary that 193 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:02.759 that uh, you know, Kellogg, this shoal presidential envoy is 194 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:06.120 tough on Russia and pro Ukraine. Yesterday, by the way, 195 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:09.519 I said, the Kalig was not participating in the Munich 196 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:11.720 conference and his name was now listed in all the 197 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:15.320 public reports about it. He is going to Europe. He 198 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.240 will be at the Munich Security Conference. He's going to 199 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.679 visit NATO and EU and he'll even go I think 200 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:27.000 he's going to visit Ukraine. But I mean Trump has 201 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:32.960 basically sold them all out. Trump is not only proving 202 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:36.759 himself over and over and over again ignorant of economics, 203 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:43.320 of basic, basic, simple principles of economics, and he's proved 204 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.200 that for the last eight years, and he's proving it 205 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:51.600 that he hasn't learned anything since then. But he's also 206 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:56.440 ignorant and you know, incompetent when it comes to phone policy, 207 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:59.639 and which not does suffice me. I called it right, 208 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.440 and I said, this is what he would do to Ukraine. 209 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:06.079 And you could tell that from his behavior towards North 210 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:11.839 Korea in his first term, which was an abomination, an abomination, 211 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.960 and he is repeating it now. But this time notwith 212 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:24.920 the incompetent, you know, pathetic meaningless North Korea. This time 213 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:29.640 he is doing it with somebody who has real standing 214 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:33.519 in the world and a strong military force and somebody 215 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:35.880 you could have an impact on the world, which is 216 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:51.400 putin it. Yeah. One of the things that you know, 217 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:54.480 the United States seems to have already agreed about is 218 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:56.440 that there will be some kind of peacekeeping force in 219 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:00.359 Ukraine after this deal with Russia is a stip related 220 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:08.319 but according to the Defense Secretary, the peacekeeping force will 221 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:15.119 be a non NATO but European mission and will not 222 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:21.200 be covered under Article five. In other words, the peacekeeping 223 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:25.920 force will be there, and if Russia attacks, that will 224 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:29.440 not involve the United States, that will not require the 225 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:34.160 United States to participate under Article five. So basically, the 226 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:39.160 United States is washing its hands of Ukraine, basically leaving 227 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:43.119 it to the Europeans and the Russians. In other words, 228 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:46.319 it's it is we know what the Europeans can and 229 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:52.200 cannot do. It is basically, handy Ukraine over to Russia. 230 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:09.960 Handy Ukraine over to Russia. All right, So no yours 231 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.319 troops and no NATO troops. Whatever troops they are, they 232 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.319 will be European and non not under the flag of NATO. 233 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:27.680 I mean literally, this is making Russia the most the 234 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:36.119 winner and the powerhouse. It's in Bolden's China, Iran, North Korea, 235 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.480 we will pay the consequence of this. Here's a prediction. 236 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.799 Iran making a prediction. We will pay the consequence of 237 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:50.119 this betrayal for decades, for decades, and it could have 238 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.680 gone the other way easily. Russia is in bad, bad, 239 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:58.680 bad shape. Its economy is on the is in horrible shape. 240 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:03.400 It's MILLI totally not being successful in what it's tried 241 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.720 to do. Ukrainian forces are now occupying a chunk of 242 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:11.880 Russian land. This could go the other way so quickly, 243 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:25.680 and yet it's better, easier to just surrender. I keep 244 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:31.720 trying to find good news. We'll get to, you know, 245 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:33.680 a couple of items of good news. There's a few 246 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:38.920 items of good news on the bad news front. On 247 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:46.039 the bad news front, RFK, I think the most horrible appointment, 248 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.240 the most horrible person ever to be head of the HHS. 249 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:55.480 And that's saying a lot was approved by Senate fifty eight, 250 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:00.799 not even clothes. Republicans, everybody think except McConnell voted for him. 251 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.000 McConnell seems to be the only Republican with even a 252 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.240 semblance of a spine to stand up to Donald Trump. 253 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:15.720 RFK has been confirmed he will be in charge. Republicans 254 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:20.839 caved completely. Even Republicans who typically take a more independent 255 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.440 position like colleins Mkowski on this one, they just folded. 256 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:29.160 They gave Trump what he wanted. The Republican Party has 257 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:33.759 become a monolith. It's become as I predicted, as I've 258 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:39.039 told you for eight years, it's just Trumpism. It's just Trump. 259 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:43.000 There's no opposition in that sense. Trump can do anything 260 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:46.640 he wants. The Republican Party will support him. There's a 261 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:51.200 little bit of opposition in the House where some Republicans 262 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:56.960 are demanding actual spending cuts, which neither Trump nor the 263 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:01.680 rest of the Republicans in the House want. But so 264 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:04.200 there's some back and forth, there's some opposition, there's some 265 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.799 debate in the House. But in the Senate it's over. 266 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:12.200 There's just nothing. There's there's nobody, there's nothing that are questioning, 267 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:14.279 that are challenging it. I mean, there are a number 268 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:17.119 of senators who you would think, for example, would be 269 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.759 freaking up over the Ukraine. Tom Cotton, for example, who 270 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.000 could be strong voices opposing Trump on the Ukraine issue. 271 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:29.559 I haven't heard anything from Tom Cotton. Complete silence, complete silence, 272 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:34.319 even some of Trump's allies. I mean, Cotton is an ally, 273 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.000 but but there's a bunch of senators who are very 274 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:43.920 pro Ukraine Antio Russia. Silence, not a word out of them. 275 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:48.880 They basically all caved RFK is a good sign that 276 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:54.000 they've caved. One thing that so a couple of news 277 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:59.880 articles mentioning is that the healthcare industry insurance in just 278 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:08.799 the pharma, doctors, doctors, hospitals. None of them came out, 279 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:15.400 None of them came out with it came up basically 280 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:25.240 in strong opposition RFK. There's no lobbying. It's a very 281 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:28.640 powerful lobby when they want to be very powerful. No 282 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:34.039 lobbying against RFK by the medical profession. And I think 283 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:40.200 this says a huge amount about what is actually going 284 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:49.160 on here. Right. They're afraid, They were afraid. They you know, 285 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:56.359 they realize that what is happening in Washington is you've 286 00:23:56.440 --> 00:24:01.720 got they better behaved like good swamp animals. They don't 287 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:04.559 want to piss RFK off. They don't want to piss 288 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:08.000 Trump off. They know how much power AFK is going 289 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:14.880 to have over them, and they can see the kind 290 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:19.200 of monolithic, mindless way in which the Senate is voting 291 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:23.359 for Trump and pointees, and they've just basically backed off. 292 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:28.039 They've backed off. They all oppose him. They all know 293 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.440 what a disaster for them for their industry he could be. 294 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:39.519 But they're hoping to limit the fallout if Kennedy goes 295 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:44.200 through with his plans. You know, he's going to come 296 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:46.799 after all of them, and they want to be able 297 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:52.079 to They don't want to be singled out as oh, 298 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.799 you know Kennedy thinking you're all going to go after 299 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:58.480 these guys first, because they they lobbied against me. They're 300 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:03.720 just playing it soon for safe. And it's also you know, 301 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:08.559 an indication of how authoritarian they think, I think this 302 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:15.440 administration is, and how fascistical authoritarian the power that Washington 303 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:17.920 now has and has had for a long time over 304 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.200 their industry, over every industry. They have to be very 305 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.440 careful because otherwise the alligators in the swamp will will 306 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:39.880 will come after them. So yep, Republicans in Congress, I 307 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:43.279 think the evaluation was, I'm not open to we swade 308 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:45.920 right now. They're gonna vote for Trump no matter how 309 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.440 much we lobby. They're gonna Trump is a Trump is 310 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:58.599 the force. No point in trying to stand up to it. All. Right, 311 00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:06.480 here's a positive story, kind of right, I mean, uh, 312 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:12.599 Trump uh signed an executive order basically uh saying uh, 313 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:20.359 you know, reversing a federal ban on plastic straws and 314 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:26.039 basically reversing that and and particularly stating the so called 315 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.799 evil of paper straws. I mean, I'm glad somebody is 316 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:34.440 defending the plastic straw that we needed that, right, I mean, 317 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:37.200 this is what the executive order actually said. This is 318 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:41.920 the level at which the swamp now and under under 319 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:45.440 Biden and now we're Trump. It gets into the details 320 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:49.359 of our daily lives through executive order, now through regulatory action, 321 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:54.359 just executive voter quote. Plastic straws are often replaced by 322 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:57.799 paper straws, which are non functional use chemicals that may 323 00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:01.359 carry risks to human health. Expensive to produce them plastic 324 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:05.480 straws and often force users to use multiple straws. Oh 325 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:10.559 my god. Additionally, paper straws sometimes come individually wrapped in plastic, 326 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:16.319 undermine the environmental argument for their use. So it's great 327 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:24.240 to see a principal defense of plastic straws. Finally, so 328 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:27.200 the Free Pass has a little article with a little 329 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.079 bit of the history of this attack on plastic straws, 330 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:37.319 which is nutty right, environmental nuttiness. It started the attack 331 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:39.680 on plastic stars. I didn't know this. It turns out 332 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:43.640 it start in twenty eleven when a Vermont Vermont ninety 333 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:46.880 year old. This is from the free Pass. Milo Cress 334 00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:50.839 came up with an obituary number for how many plastic 335 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:56.319 straws Americans used daily. He figured it out, he says, 336 00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:01.200 by calling up straw manufacturers. He calculates that Americans use 337 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:06.319 five hundred million straws a day. It turns out that's 338 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:10.799 a number completely pulled from the air. Nobody can verify 339 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.400 that number. It's a big number, and as a big number, 340 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:19.680 that's good. He started scaring people. I mean, the five 341 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:23.039 hundred million straws a day number has been cited by 342 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.279 the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, 343 00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:31.839 and pretty much everybody else. And over the last fourteen years, 344 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:37.160 this issue of plastic straws and plastic more broadly has 345 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:42.920 become the biggest environmental issue anybody talks about. States and 346 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:48.039 cities have banned the use of plastic straws. You can't 347 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:52.160 get them here in Puerto Rico. Basically, plastic has been banned. 348 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:56.359 Most plastic stuff has been banned. I notice in hotels 349 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:59.400 when I travel in a lot of states, they don't 350 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:02.039 have the plastic laundry bag anymore. It's some kind of 351 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:07.920 other material, you know, they're blanning, they're banning a plastic cutlery, 352 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:21.480 plastic cups, and uh yeah, so there are you know, 353 00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:25.599 there are many, many, many, many many states have gone 354 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:28.519 along and banned this, and then of course Biden assigned 355 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:30.680 the executive voter of banning it at the federal level. 356 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:37.119 At the federal level. Now it turns out that you know, 357 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:41.400 this is all just made up plastic straws. They know 358 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:44.119 the five hundred million number is fake. I don't know 359 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.200 anybody knows how many, what the real number is, but 360 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:48.680 the five hundred million is fake. And of course the 361 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:52.079 environmental damage, the so called the environmental damage, the damage 362 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:55.039 to human health. You've got a plastic spoon and you 363 00:29:55.240 --> 00:30:01.599 had quantity of plastic. It's all. It's all, you know, BS, 364 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:10.519 Plastics are not the massive threat those those bags taking 365 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:13.559 in the grocery store. I'm not going to destroy planet Earth. 366 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:16.680 We're not all going to die from plastic poisoning. There 367 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:22.039 just is no basis for any of those claims. And 368 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:26.640 indeed the replacements are often worse than for the so 369 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:29.799 called environment. Whatever the environment is. It's not even anti 370 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:34.920 industrial industrialism, because the replacement often require more industrialism than 371 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:44.359 than the plastic. It's anti convenience, anti human comfort, it's 372 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:49.720 anti human really convenience. Think about the plastic bags. Single 373 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:54.559 use plastic bags. They you know, they required that you 374 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:59.000 replace those with thick top bags, and they would lead 375 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:05.279 to less waste. But now you've got these thick tout 376 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:07.759 bags that are being thrown out the thick instead of 377 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:15.400 really really thin plastic. It turns out that the top 378 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:22.160 bags have to use an organic cotton twenty thousand times 379 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:27.119 to offset the impact from actually producing the bag the bag, 380 00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:30.119 you'd have to use the top bag twenty thousand times. Sorry, 381 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:32.720 you'd have to use the top bag twenty thousand times 382 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:37.279 to offset the so called the environmental impact of producing 383 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:42.960 the bag. The top bag is probably has a bigger 384 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:46.920 environmental impact. Again, I'm putting all this in quotes because 385 00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:49.039 I don't know, I don't think there is such a thing. 386 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:53.960 Whose environment? What environment? What impact? What are you actually impacting? 387 00:31:54.680 --> 00:32:00.519 Who's suffering? I mean, the real suffering is this toutbag. 388 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:06.240 I love the plastic bags. They're so figging convenient. What 389 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:09.759 is the point of all this? And of course the 390 00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:15.720 reality is that air pollution is way down, water pollution 391 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:18.960 is way down. We live in some of the healthiest, 392 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:23.200 cleanest environment probably the healthiest cleanest environment human beings have 393 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:28.079 ever lived in. And we're obsessing of our plastic straws 394 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:32.599 and plastic bags. And if you actually look at who 395 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:37.359 pollutes again, depending on you know, plastic, let's say, plastic 396 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:41.240 pollution the United States isn't significant on the global scale. 397 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:45.680 It's mostly China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Thailand, 398 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:54.799 port places in Asia that are discarding lots of plastics. 399 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:59.720 So the whole thing, like most of the environmentalist stuff, 400 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:05.279 is just blown out of proportion, scare the hell out 401 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:09.200