WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:04.519 Welcome to the Three Martini Lunch. 2 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:07.639 Grab a stool next to Greg Corumbus of Radio America 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:09.359 and Jim Garrity of National Review. 4 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.439 Free Martini's coming up. Hey, so glad you're with us 5 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:16.800 for the Monday edition of the Three of our TV Lunch. 6 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:18.559 Happy New Year. If you haven't already heard all the 7 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:20.719 year end specials, please go back and take a listen 8 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.239 to those. We had a lot of fun doing those. 9 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:25.760 We also had our predictions on Friday this year. We 10 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:28.559 did not choose military action in Venezuela, but man, that 11 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.280 would have been some low hanging fruit, an easy one 12 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:33.240 come true. I think a lot of people saw it coming, 13 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.479 given what we amassed there just off the coast of Venezuela. 14 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.520 And so we'll be talking about the operation itself and 15 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:41.960 what comes next in Venezuela, as well as the news 16 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.880 today that Minnesota Governor Tim Walls not running for a 17 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:49.079 third term. But Jim, certainly an exciting start to the year, 18 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:49.799 to say the least. 19 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:52.600 January third is a terrible day to be an enemy 20 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.320 of the United States. That's the six year anniversary Cassim 21 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.799 Solimani turning into a charcoal briquette on a highway in 22 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:02.719 a I would say on January third, if you're an 23 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.599 enemy of the United States, you should just stay in bed. 24 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:06.359 But in the case of Nicholas Maduro, that didn't do 25 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:06.760 any good. 26 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:09.560 Now that didn't work either, So we get to all 27 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:11.560 of it in just a second. But first, happy to 28 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:13.599 report we have a brand new sponsor here and it 29 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.200 is cost Pay. 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All right, Jim 53 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.599 Will We woke up Saturday morning to some pretty interesting 54 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.280 news and that's that late Friday, early Saturday, the United 55 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:39.639 States Military conducted an amazing mission to go into Venezuela 56 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.879 arrest capture, however you want to say, Nicholas Maduro, the 57 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.879 illegitimate president there and his wife, whisked them out of 58 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.680 the country, put them on the USSC Regima, and now 59 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:50.879 they're in the US, going to be facing a truckload 60 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:55.240 of drug trafficking charges and so forth. Major press conference 61 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.879 Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon at mar A Lago here's the 62 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:02.159 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Raisin Kaan, explaining all 63 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:02.840 that went into this. 64 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:05.639 Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 65 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:10.719 twenty different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere. 66 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:18.159 In total, more than one hundred and fifty aircraft, bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, 67 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:21.719 rotary wing we're in the air last night. Thousands and 68 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:26.199 thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest crew 69 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:29.719 member was twenty and our oldest crew member was forty nine, 70 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.039 and there's simply no match for American military might. 71 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:36.159 Just awesome. One of our helicopters did take fire, no 72 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:40.319 one was injured, no one killed, obviously, so the huge 73 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.439 relief there. And like I said, we'll be talking a 74 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.800 little bit later about what comes next to Venezuela, Jim, 75 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:49.759 But in terms of executing this very complicated mission, man, 76 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:51.000 the military is good. 77 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.719 Just phenomenal, just just mind boggling, on par with the 78 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:59.120 bin laden operation back in twenty ten. Look, we'll talk 79 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:02.520 about the complication in this with the future of Venezuela 80 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.639 in a few moments. But anytime you see a dictator, 81 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:09.000 anytime you see an autocrat. Anytime you see someone who 82 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:12.120 has a list of human rights abuses that is longer 83 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:15.120 than a CBS receipt. Anytime you see someone like that 84 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.000 in handcuffs and facing a grim fate, that is a 85 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:19.959 good day for the world. That is a good and 86 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:24.079 just development. It is. You know, everyone's a while. You 87 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:26.839 see dictators go off to some cushy retirement, and I 88 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.279 suppose that's a slight that's an improvement over them staying 89 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.279 in power. But you always feel like, you know that 90 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:33.920 justice has not been done in this world. Well you 91 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:35.600 know in this case it will be done. He's now 92 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.920 sitting in a jail cell in Brooklyn. You know, people 93 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:39.959 say that Mondamie was going to drive everybody out of 94 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:42.319 New York City, greg but at least one person's now 95 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:46.600 moved to Brooklyn, in fact, one billionaire. Really, so you know, 96 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:49.959 good news there. This was I'm gonna say long overdue. 97 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:55.120 But Maduro is the worst of all possible drug trafficking 98 00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:00.720 abuses of his people. Allies with Russia. China has Iran 99 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:04.639 involved in the oil smuggling regime out of Iran. Every 100 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.879 American foe was kicking the cat on Saturday morning when 101 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.519 they saw the news of this. Let's also point out 102 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.600 that apparently a Chinese delegation had his last official meeting, 103 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:18.040 so the Chinese delegation, So the Chinese delegation, presumably still 104 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:20.680 in Caracas, got a front row seat to see what 105 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.160 the US military can do, and that probably is going 106 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:26.959 to go into the calculations of the Chinese, as well 107 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:29.480 as Russia, as well as North Korea, as well as Iran. 108 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:32.839 Listeners probably noticed that Iran having a rough start to 109 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.480 the year, with the value of the currency collapsing and 110 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:38.360 protests in the street and all that kind of stuff, 111 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.839 So oil smuggling with Venezuela appears to be off the 112 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:44.160 menu of options. I think now we'll talk a bit 113 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:47.000 about the potential cloudiness of the future of Venezuela a 114 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.399 little bit, but really phenomenal performance was a gutsy called 115 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.199 by the president. Now getting around it, I mean, this 116 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:55.759 is bombing the rany of nuclear program. Greg Donald Trump 117 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:58.759 might be the best Neocon president we've had since George W. Bush. 118 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.759 I say that to tug in cheek, but not entirely so. 119 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.160 No, it's amazing, and Maduro is so bad that even 120 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.800 most Democrat statements actually had to have that caveat I 121 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.480 explaining about whether Congres should have authorized this beforehand and 122 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.399 so forth. The one politician that didn't denounce Maduro and 123 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.079 just talked about how the regime change was horrible. Mo'm donnie. 124 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.639 So you know, it's a great opportunity for him to 125 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.319 denounce that other socialist, but no, he had to go 126 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:25.120 with solidarity. 127 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.399 There. Nice nice start there, game respects game. 128 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:32.120 All right. Well, it is the start of a new year. 129 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.360 And something you do every year you call annual, and 130 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:38.800 one of those things is the physical and so if 131 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:40.439 you need to do that, or you need to find 132 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:42.639 a specialist, or you need to find a good dentist 133 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:46.519 or not doctor whatever, finding a doctor you actually like 134 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.240 feels like discovering a diamond in the roughs. You want 135 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.120 someone in network. You want someone close to your house, 136 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:53.319 with open timeslots so you didn't have to wait forever. 137 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:55.879 But let's be honest, that's just the start. 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So stop 154 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:44.680 putting off those doctors appointments and go to ZocDoc dot 155 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.360 com slash threeml to find and instantly book a top 156 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:52.360 rated doctor today. That's ZocDoc dot com slash three mL, 157 00:07:52.920 --> 00:08:04.680 ZocDoc dot com slash three m L. All right on 158 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:06.920 to our second good martini, Jim. I don't know if 159 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.000 you've noticed over the past few weeks there's been a 160 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:12.240 little bit of a controversy in Minnesota. They've had some 161 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:15.639 welfare fraud allegations rising to the tune of about nine 162 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:17.959 billion dollars, and we talked about it a lot. I'm 163 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:20.240 just kidding about that. But while we were out then 164 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:23.399 the whole daycare fraud part of this broke, and it's 165 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:27.000 just been snowballing and snowballing and snowballing. And now today 166 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:29.680 Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, who just a little over a 167 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.919 year ago was a few swing states away from being 168 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:35.600 the Vice President of the United States right now, is 169 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.399 announcing he will not seek a third term as governor 170 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:44.559 of Minnesota. A really long statement blaming Republicans and the 171 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.919 Minnesota Legislature for not getting to the bottom of the fraud. 172 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:50.320 But he's got to focus on this, he's got to 173 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:52.240 really be locked into this, and he can't do that 174 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.480 and he can't devote himself full time to the campaign, 175 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.440 So he has to put the state first and he's 176 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:00.960 not going to seek that third term. It's just such 177 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.919 a selfless act by Governor Tim Walls, who has been 178 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.320 a completely a sleep at the switch in the best 179 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.480 case scenario of this. Jim So, I don't think this 180 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:11.919 comes as a huge shock. I think it comes as 181 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:15.240 a welcome announcement for those who know that Tim Walls 182 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:17.799 has been a disaster on this and so many other issues. 183 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:19.960 Yeah, so I'm going to begin. But first of all, 184 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:22.080 let's point out that, like running for a third term 185 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:25.720 isn't completely unprecedented in Minnesota, but I don't think it's 186 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:28.200 been done since like the nineteen fifties or sixties, and 187 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.440 they had two year terms back then. So Tim Walls 188 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:35.039 was looking for something that the gut instinct of Minnesota's 189 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.320 were not automatically inclined to give governors. There, I'm going 190 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:40.840 to do a little bit of bragging here. I'm gonna 191 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:42.440 do a little bit of patting myself on the back. 192 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.200 I know listeners so it's uncharacteristic with me. But I'm 193 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.279 going to point out July twenty ninth, twenty twenty four, 194 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.879 before Tim Walls was selected as Kamala harris Is running mate, 195 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.200 and I wrote the first time I ever wrote about 196 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.399 Tim Walls, I was like, come on, this is ridiculous. 197 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.480 There's no way she's going to pick this guy because 198 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.360 of how terrible he's at the record is of him 199 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.200 as a governor of Minnesota. Quote Walls's record running the 200 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.519 state government. Somehow manages to combine the honesty of former 201 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.559 Illinois Governor Rod Blogoyevitch, the competence of former Louisiana Governor 202 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:16.480 Kathleen Blanco, and these sharp eyed ethical watchdog instincts so 203 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.519 soon to be former New Jersey Governor Bob Menendez. And 204 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.200 then we emphasize this and red a whole lot of 205 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.480 shady and unethical people in Minnesota see the state government 206 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.120 as a giant pile of money just waiting to be 207 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.840 taken with a sleepy guard in the form of the 208 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:34.639 governor unquote. And so I go through the feeding our 209 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:39.120 future fraud scandal hero pay that got wasted on dead people, 210 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:44.320 not avoiding procedures to avoid conflicts of interest, just one 211 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:45.559 after another, and I was like, come on, there's no 212 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:47.200 way she's gonna of course, she did pick this guy, 213 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:50.200 but he ended up being really bad as a running mate, 214 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:52.799 really bad in the debates, really and you know, all 215 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:55.039 of these scandals caught up with him. Now we learn 216 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:57.399 more about the Somali aspect of it in the last year. 217 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.639 But all in all, you know, Tim like, and here's 218 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.000 why this is a more important story than I think 219 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.039 a lot of people would like to acknowledge. Greg I 220 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.559 would ask our listeners to think back to the coverage 221 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:09.720 of Tim Walls for those first couple of weeks after 222 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:13.399 he got picked. Right, Ah, he fixes carburetors, and he's 223 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.679 a high school football and he's folksy and man, this 224 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.120 guy is going to bring men back to the Democratic Party. 225 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:24.159 Men loved this guy, particularly in the blue Wall states, 226 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.879 you know, Michigan, Pennsylvania, all of them are gonna you know, 227 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:30.360 the Wisconsin. This is where this guy is going to 228 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:31.960 really help the Denver. Of course, he did no good 229 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.639 whatsoever in her book one hundred and seven Days, and 230 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.840 became very clear Kamala Harris was underwhelmed with the performance 231 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.279 of Tim Walls all right. Point after point it became 232 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:42.759 very and so just think about the message you were 233 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:48.000 told by, if not all of the mainstream media ninety percent. 234 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:51.399 I remember, like in September October, CNN did one good 235 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:54.240 story on the front scandals in you know that good 236 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:56.559 for you Ce. Now, I don't think that undoes all 237 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:58.519 of the other hosannas that he was getting from the 238 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.000 mainstream media. And then look at the reality of Tim Wolves. 239 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:03.440 All right, he didn't have the good sense to realize, 240 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:07.240 I've had two terms. I'm leaving unindicted I'm gonna get 241 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:09.720 you know, he could have left, got the book deal, 242 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:14.440 got the teaching gig, maybe a media you know, MSNBC contributor. 243 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.279 He could have gone and done up. But he chose 244 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.200 to run for a third term. Kind of had to 245 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:19.600 know that was not going to be easy. He had 246 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.639 to know he did Republicans to be, you know, looking 247 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:24.320 to go after him, and you know that all of 248 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.000 this stuff was going to come out eventually. So that's 249 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.320 where we are. Tim Wallas is an astonishingly poor judgment man, 250 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.799 done an astonishingly poor job as governor. The Minnesota Democrat 251 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:36.519 for all good chunck of last year, I was saying, 252 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:38.159 if you're a Minnesota Democrat, are you sure you want 253 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.200 this guy to be your nominee? And know they aren't. 254 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:44.480 Now Amy Klobachar is going, like expected to be announcing 255 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:47.320 a gubernatorial bid and she is going to throw staplers 256 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.399 at these frauds collegs. She is going to she will 257 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:52.759 use a comb as a spoon if she has to 258 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:54.679 to fix this stuff. So we'll see what We'll see 259 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:55.399 how that shakes out. 260 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:57.320 My general will of thumb, as you know, is that 261 00:12:57.399 --> 00:12:59.879 every time a bad Democrat leaves we get a worse one, 262 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:03.000 but Cloba Shar would probably be a slight up greade, 263 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.039 assuming shit, there's the field. But who fills Cloba Shar's 264 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:09.519 seat could be very interesting. It would appear that right 265 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.399 now most Minnesotan's probably aren't in the mood for an 266 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.559 ill hand Omar or a Keith Ellison. But don't assume 267 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:17.480 that that's not going to happen. And we got, of course, 268 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.279 have far the insane lieutenant governor who's currently running for 269 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.960 Tina Smith's Senate seat. She's a piece of work too, 270 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.440 that'll be if she wins that nomination and that Senate seat, 271 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:29.799 that'll definitely be even a downgrade from Tina Smith. So 272 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.480 we'll see how it all plays out. But Tim Walls 273 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:36.320 fading away, Kamala Harris probably not running, Joe Biden pretty 274 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.600 much out of public life, meant everybody who was on 275 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.320 the national democratic scene in twenty twenty four pretty much 276 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:44.279 heading exit stage left. 277 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:46.240 And in a couple of years, Greg they're going to 278 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:47.639 tread it like the fifth die Hard movie. 279 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:54.039 Doesn't whole campaign every erace from history's right. All right, Well, 280 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.120 it's a new year. We talked about that already, and 281 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.320 so that means new systems, right, and this is the 282 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.039 time when we all look at the messier parts of 283 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:03.879 our business and maybe think there's got to be a 284 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:06.639 better way to do this, And there is when it 285 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.759 comes to your communication. 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It seemed from the press conference 309 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:30.480 that Trump thinks he can kind of force his will 310 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:33.919 for new elections, getting a more legitimate government there, because 311 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:36.720 just because Maduro's gone doesn't mean that the last election 312 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.799 isn't still invalid and what's left behind him isn't invalid. 313 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:44.440 And so we're trying to create a country there where 314 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:47.440 you know, the Chinese and the Iranians and the Russians 315 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:51.240 aren't allies right there in our own neighborhood. But trying 316 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.799 to figure it out with this person is not going 317 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:55.639 to be easy. You wrote about it today in the Jolt. 318 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:58.120 How likely is it that we can actually get what 319 00:15:58.159 --> 00:15:59.080 we want to get done there? 320 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.840 Well in question, and we're taking at least two different 321 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:06.960 messages from del Rodriguez. First, let's keep in mind that 322 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.480 this is a woman who is morally indistinguishable from Nicolas Berduro. 323 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.879 She is an absolute loyalist. She is a committed hardline 324 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:17.799 socialist close ties to the Cuban intelligence agency. One thing 325 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:19.559 that jumped out to me was that from twenty eighteen 326 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:22.440 to twenty twenty two she headed seven, which is the 327 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.000 Venezuelan Intelligence Service, which is basically where they do all 328 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.759 the torture and execution of political prisoners and critics of 329 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:31.159 the regime, including sexual violence. So you know this is 330 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.519 this is a person who has a sole blacker than 331 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.120 Night and is not a good or better person in 332 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.480 any significant way. The question is, does what just happened 333 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:44.559 to Maduro prompt Rodriguez to behave in a manner more 334 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.519 amenable to us interests, and if so, which ones are those? 335 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.720 I think it's safe that the Venezuelan people deserve to 336 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.399 pick their own leaders. They did not pick Rodriguez. I 337 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.879 don't think. If I think if a year from now, 338 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.720 two years, and now three years from now, Rodriguez is 339 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.559 still in charge of this, there're gonna be some fair 340 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:03.759 questions about what the point of this operation was. If 341 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:06.200 you meet the new boss, literally the vice president of 342 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:09.200 the old boss running things largely the same way. Now. 343 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:11.599 Is Rodriguez not going to be as friendly with Iran 344 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.079 and Hezbola and Russia and China. Maybe that would be 345 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:17.359 a step in the right direction. Are they going to 346 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:19.880 allow US companies to go in and develop the oil resources. 347 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:22.079 I'm sure the US oil companies would be fine with that. 348 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.039 That could be somewhat better for the economy of Venezuela. 349 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:27.680 But I think when we first saw about this military 350 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.839 operation and the fact that Maduro was in US custody, 351 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:31.880 we kind of have this feeling like, oh, this is 352 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.240 going to be a regime change. And I understand that 353 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:36.160 a whole bunch of Americans, who after the experiences of 354 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:39.319 an Iraqi Afghanistan, have a wariness about that, have a 355 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:42.519 concern about casualties. No casualties on this so far. But 356 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:46.000 this appears to be like a decapitation strike that literally 357 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.799 just took out the top person, and everybody else in 358 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:51.119 the Madua regime is just going to move up one position, 359 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:54.160 and if they keep running the country the way they were, 360 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:56.440 I don't it will be fair questions about whether this 361 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:00.160 is really an improvement. I guess we'll say, you know, 362 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:02.119 Rubio's heart is in the right place. You know, he 363 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:05.079 knows the region very well. Apparently he had spoken to her. 364 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.440 Trump said she was very gracious. I have a heart. 365 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:10.680 That's not the first adjective if that comes to mind 366 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:13.160 when I think about this woman. But fine. And then 367 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:15.720 she initially put out some publicly defiant statements, and then 368 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.519 on telegram late last night she put out a statement 369 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:23.160 that was more about wanting peace and wanting cooperation, blah 370 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.000 blah blah. And so there's a question of like, Okay, 371 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:27.279 maybe she does not want to wake up in the 372 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:28.519 middle of the night and find a bunch of US 373 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:30.799 special operators at the foot of her bed giving her 374 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:32.680 a wake up call, so conceive it. But maybe she 375 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:34.799 is going to behave to. Maybe this's gonna be one 376 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:36.559 of the things where there's gonna be behind the scenes 377 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:40.720 cooperation while a shows of defiance for the Venezuelan people 378 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:42.799 and the loyalists. We'll see how that shakes out. By 379 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:44.559 the way, point out that the people who were killed 380 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:47.720 in this operation were about thirty Cubans, meaning that Maduro 381 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.039 did not trust the Venezuelans to protect him. By the way, 382 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:53.119 a lot of specs so clearly the CIA had a 383 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.680 whole kinds of information about Maduro's regime. They managed to 384 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.119 build a mock up of the facility Maduro was sleeping. 385 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:01.440 There were a whole bunch of Venezuelans who hate Madurero 386 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.799 and we're perfectly happy to cooperate with Americans to help 387 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:06.279 take him out. Then one of the last fight is 388 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:09.359 kind of a just frustrating aspect of this. You mentioned 389 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.960 that every Democrat, or almost every Democrat had at least 390 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:15.279 one sentence of Nicholas Madurea was a real bastard who 391 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:17.240 abused his people and deserved to go. Like at least 392 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:19.839 everybody had some recognition of this. There are a whole 393 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:23.039 bunch of protesters who are out there saying free Maduro. 394 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:25.240 I want to point out none of these people ever 395 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:27.759 marched for any of his political prisoners. None of these 396 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.720 people ever marched in protests that the crimes against humanity 397 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:33.799 that the United Nations found Maduro was guilty of. The 398 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.519 one thing in Venezuela that they care about is keeping 399 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:39.400 this bastard in power. And oh, by the way, what 400 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:42.559 would they call Donald Trump a dictator? And their attitude 401 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.440