1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to dpeaklendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,679 your support. So at the end of the last hour 10 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,759 there I started on a bit of a tirade about 11 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,960 Sheriff Gary not my fault, McFadden, yet another example of 12 00:00:39,039 --> 00:00:43,159 him not cooperating fully with ICE, playing little cutesy games, 13 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:49,759 little clever, too clever by half. You know, another illegal 14 00:00:49,759 --> 00:00:53,719 alien that was sought to be detained by ICE, he 15 00:00:53,799 --> 00:00:57,039 released back out because the letter of the law does 16 00:00:57,079 --> 00:01:01,159 it require me to you know, whole him. He posted 17 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,439 bail and ICE already knew, and so you know they 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,799 want to if they want to cooperate, you know, they 19 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,079 they could call me. And then he goes on to 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,040 say that, you know, deporting illegal aliens is not a 21 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,599 solution to the problem, Like and there's the problem, right, 22 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:24,040 there's his ideology trumping public safety. He says, it makes 23 00:01:24,079 --> 00:01:27,200 our community less safe, which is absurd. Right, If you've 24 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,400 got a violent offender behind bars and you let him 25 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,239 back out into the community, that does not make the 26 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:38,840 community more safe. Maybe Tom Holman will turn his gaze 27 00:01:38,879 --> 00:01:44,400 towards Charlotte. I got a couple of messages here and 28 00:01:44,439 --> 00:01:48,719 this is from app patriot girl. If Charlotte voters had 29 00:01:48,719 --> 00:01:55,560 any sense, I'm gonna stop you right there. No, if 30 00:01:55,599 --> 00:01:58,480 Charlotte voters had any sense, they would realize how dangerous 31 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:00,400 it is to leave a psychopath in Charle to the 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,560 sheriff's office. Unfortunately, Mecklinberg County is hopeless in this regard. 33 00:02:04,599 --> 00:02:09,400 We can only hope that Tom Holman arrests him. Yeah, maybe, 34 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:16,439 like I welcome, I welcome Tom Holman and Department of 35 00:02:16,439 --> 00:02:21,680 Homeland Security to turn its eyes to Mecklenburg County. Gary says, 36 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,919 if Mecklenburg and North Carolina Democrats are covering for McFadden, 37 00:02:26,439 --> 00:02:30,680 what else are they currently hiding or covering for, or 38 00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:33,080 are willing to do. That's the question that people need 39 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,879 to start asking Democrats. They sure don't care about the 40 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,599 safety of Charlotte and North Carolina citizens. Well, see, Gary, 41 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:46,319 there's the first problem is that you're assuming that people 42 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:51,080 will start asking Democrats questions. And that's part of the 43 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,879 big D shield. By holding that by being a Democrat, 44 00:02:54,879 --> 00:02:59,280 you get this shield and it protects you from questions 45 00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:05,199 from the me like that, right, like this should be 46 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,240 another and look to be fair, this story has been 47 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,800 covered in the local media, but what it lacks is 48 00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:20,680 the constant what they call pack journalism, where you know, 49 00:03:20,719 --> 00:03:25,199 a scandal breaks of some kind and then the pack 50 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,840 of reporters proceed to you know, nip at the heels 51 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,879 of not just the target of the scandal or the 52 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,439 person involved in the scandal, but then also the defend 53 00:03:37,479 --> 00:03:40,479 and disavow game D and D, where you run around 54 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,759 and you start asking questions of all of these other people, like, 55 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,240 for example, the district attorney, like for example, the chief judge, 56 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,759 the superior court judge. Right, you start asking these questions 57 00:03:53,759 --> 00:03:55,919 of state lawmakers, Hey, what's going on with this guy? 58 00:03:56,039 --> 00:03:58,319 Is there anything you can do here with Like what 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:03,080 do you think about this fellow Democrat state lawmaker? And 60 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:09,840 you start getting these people to defend or disavow and 61 00:04:09,919 --> 00:04:11,879 get them on the record. But we don't get that. 62 00:04:12,759 --> 00:04:15,560 We get the isolated story, and then it goes away. 63 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:19,279 And then after a month or two, Gary McFadden shows 64 00:04:19,319 --> 00:04:22,399 his butt at some other event or something goes off 65 00:04:22,399 --> 00:04:25,040 on some tirade, a bunch of more people quit accuse 66 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,600 him of maladministration, which is a reason to remove him 67 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,000 from office. But it has to be done a certain way, 68 00:04:32,639 --> 00:04:35,360 and Democrats can do that, but they refuse to do it. 69 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,439 Nobody seems interested and maybe he doesn't seem interested in 70 00:04:39,439 --> 00:04:42,319 asking these questions of like every other person that can 71 00:04:42,319 --> 00:04:44,879 affect that kind of a change. Oh well, we're just 72 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,120 gonna have to wait till the next election, is what 73 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:52,800 they're saying, even though I welcome, like the Charlotte Observer 74 00:04:53,399 --> 00:04:56,199 editorial board finally came around and said, yeah, he's not 75 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,399 fit for the office. I concur but they they offered 76 00:05:00,439 --> 00:05:03,480 no remedy. They didn't go and ask anybody who has 77 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:06,680 the authority and power to actually investigate and get him 78 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,560 removed for maladministration. They're not doing that, and nobody's asking 79 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:18,839 them why there's no pressure being brought to bear. In 80 00:05:18,879 --> 00:05:25,120 a related story up in New York, there is a 81 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:32,759 case that was heard or arguments were heard in a 82 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:37,800 case that would or would not allow non citizens to 83 00:05:37,959 --> 00:05:44,680 vote in New York City elections. Now they always want 84 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,000 to point out that, no, no, it's not for presidential races. 85 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,959 This is not for congressional races, right, this is just 86 00:05:53,120 --> 00:06:00,160 for or statewide races. It's just for the city elections. 87 00:06:00,639 --> 00:06:06,000 New York is what's called a home rule state, so 88 00:06:06,399 --> 00:06:10,720 the local cities have a lot more power to write 89 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,319 their own laws, basically to govern themselves without a lot 90 00:06:14,319 --> 00:06:19,240 of intervention or approval from the state. North Carolina is 91 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:24,160 not a home rule state, although Republicans wished it was 92 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,759 when they were in the minority in the legislature, and 93 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,040 now that they control the legislature now Democrats wish it 94 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,920 is a home rule state, but it's not. It's sometimes 95 00:06:33,959 --> 00:06:37,759 referred to as a Dylan's rule state or a Mother 96 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,199 may I state where if you want to do anything, 97 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,920 you got to go to the state legislature. The state 98 00:06:45,519 --> 00:06:50,800 government is the seminal authority, all right, if that is 99 00:06:50,959 --> 00:06:54,360 where all authority the state. The state can disband a 100 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,000 city if it chooses. They can literally take your charter 101 00:06:58,079 --> 00:07:00,800 and throw it away and say you are no longer 102 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,240 an incorporated city. You are no longer a town or 103 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,279 whatever they can do that the state has all of 104 00:07:07,319 --> 00:07:11,319 the power. So what is the City of New York doing? 105 00:07:11,319 --> 00:07:14,399 And why does this matter to North Carolinians? I will explain. 106 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:22,839 Eight hundred thousand non citizens in New York City could 107 00:07:22,879 --> 00:07:26,519 be voting in the next city election. The court is 108 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,800 considering a law that would allow them to register to 109 00:07:30,879 --> 00:07:33,839 vote ahead of the city's elections. A top New York 110 00:07:33,879 --> 00:07:36,720 court is set to hear arguments or did hear arguments 111 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,600 this week after an appellate court struck down Democrats' efforts 112 00:07:42,639 --> 00:07:47,680 to permit non citizens to vote last year. Like, why 113 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:51,480 is this so important of an issue for Democrats? Why 114 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,120 do you think they're pushing so hard to get eight 115 00:07:54,279 --> 00:07:59,360 hundred thousand non citizens to vote in their city elections? 116 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,319 I think maybe some people may think that their electoral 117 00:08:04,399 --> 00:08:09,759 prospects are improved if the initiative by Democrats' success is successful. 118 00:08:09,839 --> 00:08:12,319 Around eight hundred thousand non citizens living in the city 119 00:08:12,319 --> 00:08:16,680 will be allowed to vote in city level elections, including 120 00:08:16,759 --> 00:08:21,519 the upcoming mayoral election. Ooh, do you think that might 121 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,160 have something to do with it? Do you think there 122 00:08:24,199 --> 00:08:28,319 might be some urgency now that Mayor Adams Eric Adams 123 00:08:28,319 --> 00:08:32,519 has gotten his DOJ charges dropped in exchange for cooperating 124 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:39,639 with the federal government on immigration enforcement, which, by the way, 125 00:08:39,759 --> 00:08:42,559 that whole thing stinks. That whole deal stinks to me. 126 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,200 Advocates of the legislation that would let non citizens cast 127 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,039 votes are arguing that these residents are being unfairly taxed, 128 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,000 which I kind of feel like is a lie, because 129 00:08:56,039 --> 00:09:00,240 if they're non citizens, they're not paying taxes out of 130 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:05,480 citizen They probably don't even you have no you have 131 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:11,639 no Social Security number? Right, you're not filing taxes. Why 132 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:15,840 is this important? Well? North Carolinians were presented with this 133 00:09:16,039 --> 00:09:19,559 very issue recently. Do you remember. If not, I shall 134 00:09:20,279 --> 00:09:23,159 refresh your memory. All right, I hope you had a 135 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,799 happy holiday season, But tell me if something like this 136 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:29,200 happened at your house. Your family and friends are gathered around, 137 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,360 maybe y'all are in the living room, You're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing, 138 00:09:33,399 --> 00:09:37,360 and then somebody says, hey, Dad, remember those old VHS tapes? 139 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,000 Did you ever get them transferred? And then the room 140 00:09:40,039 --> 00:09:43,879 gets all quiet. All eyes are on Dad, who says, oh, 141 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,960 you know, well, I've been meaning too, but I just 142 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,960 having gotten around to it. Look, don't let those priceless 143 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,960 memories sit in a box for another year. All right. 144 00:09:52,039 --> 00:09:54,879 Create a Video has been helping families in the Charlotte 145 00:09:54,919 --> 00:09:58,759 area preserve their history since nineteen ninety seven. Simply bring 146 00:09:58,759 --> 00:10:01,679 in your old camquarter to apes and Creative Video will 147 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,120 transfer them to a USB flash drive for just fourteen 148 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,639 ninety five per tape. You have a big collection, They've 149 00:10:07,639 --> 00:10:10,480 got a discount for you. And next year, instead of 150 00:10:10,519 --> 00:10:14,960 talking about those memories, imagine gathering the family to watch 151 00:10:15,039 --> 00:10:18,200 them together. Talk about a memorable gift. So do what 152 00:10:18,279 --> 00:10:22,200 I did. Trust the experts at Creative Video, conveniently located 153 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:24,440 in mint Hill right off I four eighty five and 154 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:31,960 online at create avideo dot com. So, the New York Court, 155 00:10:32,159 --> 00:10:34,759 the highest court in New York, if I remember correctly 156 00:10:34,759 --> 00:10:39,279 from my New York Civics education growing up on Long Island, 157 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,200 is the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court is not 158 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,279 actually like the Supreme Court, if I remember correctly, it's 159 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,559 it's been a while, so I just remember it being 160 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:54,240 a weird like inversion. So anyway, but the top court 161 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,840 in the state heard these oral arguments about whether or 162 00:10:57,919 --> 00:11:01,440 not the City of New York can grant voting rights 163 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:08,320 to non citizens in city elections. Okay, Now, if this 164 00:11:08,519 --> 00:11:14,240 issue sounds familiar, it's because in North Carolina in November, 165 00:11:14,879 --> 00:11:19,759 we the voters were asked whether we would like to 166 00:11:20,919 --> 00:11:27,960 amend our state constitution to forbid non citizen voting in 167 00:11:28,039 --> 00:11:32,399 North Carolina at any level, and if you may recall, 168 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,720 we said yes, we would very much like to ban that. 169 00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:42,159 And so we approved and the constitution was amended, and 170 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,440 so now non citizens do not get to vote. Now 171 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:50,639 do you remember what the arguments were from the Democrats 172 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:56,519 who were opposed to this measure. It was they already 173 00:11:56,639 --> 00:12:01,000 can't vote based on federal law. That was their argument. 174 00:12:01,799 --> 00:12:05,960 This is unnecessary, We don't need to put this in 175 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:12,120 our constitution because federal law already prohibits non citizen voting. 176 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,960 And that is true. Federal law does do that, but 177 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:25,559 it doesn't apply to local races. And so the Republicans 178 00:12:25,639 --> 00:12:29,120 in charge of the legislature made it very clear that 179 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,399 the reason they are doing this and they're asking voters 180 00:12:32,399 --> 00:12:36,360 to enshrine it in the state constitution, is to prevent 181 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:48,159 cities run by Democrats like Charlotte, Raleigh, Ashville, Durham, Chapel Hill, 182 00:12:49,399 --> 00:12:56,279 to prevent cities from doing something stupid like New York 183 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,679 City has done. So this was this was heading them 184 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:02,440 off at the pass, if you will. This was a 185 00:13:02,519 --> 00:13:09,840 preemptive act because all it takes is the legislature to 186 00:13:10,039 --> 00:13:16,600 flip to be Democrat controlled, and you would see local 187 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:21,639 jurisdictions move in this direction. This has already been occurring 188 00:13:22,519 --> 00:13:26,120 across the country. There are other cities that have done it, 189 00:13:26,159 --> 00:13:30,639 other states that have done this, and so North Carolina 190 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,759 Republican said, we don't want this to occur. And so 191 00:13:33,919 --> 00:13:38,919 rather than just rely on the current law as it 192 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,600 is and the current language in the state constitution, We're 193 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:48,279 going to make it very clear to future Democrats that no, 194 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,720 you cannot do this, and the people do not want it. 195 00:13:52,159 --> 00:13:56,000 And so we make it a constitutional provision, and you 196 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,159 do that, so it is much harder to unwind. You 197 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,639 make it that much harder to overturn. You're going to 198 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,720 have to then repeal a constitutional amendment in the same 199 00:14:07,799 --> 00:14:09,799 way that we just passed it. You're going to have 200 00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:11,919 to go back to the voters and ask them. Now, 201 00:14:11,919 --> 00:14:14,559 maybe at some point in the future, a majority of 202 00:14:14,639 --> 00:14:17,320 North Carolina voters are like, yes, we would love for 203 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,600 non citizens to vote in our elections. What could go wrong? 204 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:28,600 They're just as invested in our society as citizens are, right, Yeah, 205 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,480 there are. Look, there's a reason why I don't make 206 00:14:31,519 --> 00:14:34,200 the arguments of the left. It's because I find them 207 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,399 to be lacking in logic, right So, and that's why 208 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,720 I have empathy for people who attempt to make those 209 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:44,039 arguments to me in debate. I do. I have empathy 210 00:14:44,039 --> 00:14:46,840 because like man, that must really stink trying to make 211 00:14:46,879 --> 00:14:49,960 these arguments. I wouldn't be able to do it, and 212 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,279 obviously they they don't fare much better when they try. 213 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:57,919 That's the reason. This is the reason why. So we'll 214 00:14:57,919 --> 00:14:59,759 see what North Carol, or we'll see what New York 215 00:14:59,759 --> 00:15:01,879 City and the State of New York decides to do 216 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:07,480 there with allowing non citizens to vote. But you know, 217 00:15:08,039 --> 00:15:11,200 we should be encouraged. We can take comfort in the 218 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,440 fact that we the people decided no, and we have 219 00:15:14,639 --> 00:15:16,879 enshrined it in the constitution. So we should not be 220 00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:20,480 seeing this kind of dumbassary in our state anytime soon. 221 00:15:20,919 --> 00:15:22,720 All Right, if you're listening to this show, you know 222 00:15:22,799 --> 00:15:24,759 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 223 00:15:24,799 --> 00:15:26,840 and I know you do too. And you've probably heard 224 00:15:26,919 --> 00:15:30,960 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why well, 225 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,720 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 226 00:15:33,759 --> 00:15:36,960 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app, 227 00:15:37,159 --> 00:15:40,360 and it's a website and it combines news from around 228 00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:42,799 the world in one place so you can compare coverage 229 00:15:43,039 --> 00:15:45,759 and verify information. You can check it out at check 230 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,240 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 231 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,360 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 232 00:15:53,399 --> 00:15:56,120 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 233 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,159 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 234 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,039 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 235 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,840 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 236 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,639 left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, 237 00:16:08,879 --> 00:16:12,519 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 238 00:16:12,519 --> 00:16:15,720 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 239 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,200 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 240 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,000 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 241 00:16:22,039 --> 00:16:25,279 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 242 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,240 Got a message here on Twitter at Pete Callner from 243 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,919 RUSS who says, regarding Sheriff Gary, not my fault, McFadden. 244 00:16:34,519 --> 00:16:37,360 You know when it comes to immigration, Well, that's not 245 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,159 specifically in the law. But when it comes to firearms 246 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,559 permits and renewals, well I have to run it through 247 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,279 every conceivable database to make sure where everything is covered. Right, 248 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,080 So there he takes an expansive view. It's exactly right, Russ. 249 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,919 On the concealed carry permits, he takes this expansive view, 250 00:16:58,799 --> 00:17:03,799 but on the immigration issue, very very narrow. Right. We 251 00:17:03,919 --> 00:17:10,319 all know what his game is, sociopathy. I'm not a 252 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:17,039 clinical psychiatrist, I'm I hold no degree. I am simply observing. 253 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,359 So the other day, the Associated Press, by the way, 254 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:26,599 had a story with this catastrophizing headline, Trump and Musk's 255 00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:33,400 dismantling of government. They're dismantling government. Did you know that? 256 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,079 That's what they were doing. They're dismantling government. It's shaking 257 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:43,920 the foundations of US democracy. So this was before, by 258 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,839 the way, this story predates the constitutional crisis narrative and 259 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,039 the talking point that went out on that that everybody 260 00:17:50,079 --> 00:17:55,119 is now obviously regurgitating. So this was them trying to 261 00:17:55,160 --> 00:18:05,680 shoehorn the democracy argument. This is a piece by Lisa Mascaero. Mascao. 262 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,519 Congress is proving little match for Doge as wary lawmakers 263 00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:16,279 watch it march through the bureaucracy. Instead, a rush of 264 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:20,680 lawsuits is demanding interventions to stop the Republican president's team 265 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,799 from unilaterally gutting government, and protests are erupting outside government 266 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:33,880 agencies and clogging the congressional phone lines, which that that 267 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:38,880 would be as planned by the ministerial class and their 268 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:46,799 shock troops. Right, but they are ineffective. Right. People are 269 00:18:46,799 --> 00:18:57,079 not moved by bureaucrats marching on government buildings. We're not, like, seriously, 270 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,079 we don't care. I think you got have I think 271 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:07,640 overestimated the value of government bureaucracies. I know they're super 272 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:11,160 important to you. It's where your base is. I get it. 273 00:19:11,559 --> 00:19:15,920 But outside of your base, most people like, we're like, 274 00:19:16,039 --> 00:19:18,200 now they're going into the IRS. Did you see that 275 00:19:18,319 --> 00:19:20,799 dough just now moving into the IRS to look at 276 00:19:20,799 --> 00:19:23,039 their stuff? And the IRS is like, you can't possibly 277 00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:30,119 audit us? Oh oh really? Oh sorry, standard disclaimer. I 278 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,559 love the IRS and everybody that works there. They do 279 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,079 fantastic work and are underappreciated by every American. Now that 280 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,200 being said, I do find it a bit difficult to 281 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,680 believe that there would be a problem auditing an organization, 282 00:19:44,079 --> 00:19:50,640 particularly when that organization specializes in auditing. Right, what have 283 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,759 you got to worry about? Do you have seven years 284 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:57,640 of all of your receipts for us to look at? 285 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,160 Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of 286 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,759 the federal government. He's not. Elon Musk is not controlling 287 00:20:06,799 --> 00:20:11,599 the federal government. Okay, they are like, this is the 288 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,880 This is the recon folks. In case you are unaware, 289 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,839 this is how you you would go about making the 290 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,559 larger cuts and doing them permanently through congressional acts. You 291 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,559 have to first scout out to see where the problems are. 292 00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:32,960 That's how they got turned onto USAID in the first place. 293 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,720 They were the ones that squawked the loudest and refused 294 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,119 to cooperate. Right, pushed a whole bunch of money out 295 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,759 the door. By the way, have you heard this one? Also? 296 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:49,160 Fifty nine million dollars. Fifty nine million dollars went from 297 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,279 FEMA to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City for 298 00:20:54,519 --> 00:20:58,640 migrant housing. I covered at a little bit of this yesterday. 299 00:20:59,599 --> 00:21:04,240 The chief financial officer for FEMA has been fired. She 300 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:09,480 moved that money after her boss, Donald Trump said don't 301 00:21:09,799 --> 00:21:12,960 do it, And she did it. She sent the money 302 00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:17,960 up there in violation of the directive as articulated in 303 00:21:18,039 --> 00:21:23,559 the executive order. She sent it up there anyway, FEMA money. 304 00:21:24,839 --> 00:21:28,000 And maybe the people of North Carolina, me being one 305 00:21:28,039 --> 00:21:32,559 of them, maybe people with roots, family members, or who 306 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,720 live in western North Carolina may have a bit of 307 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:41,640 a sensitivity to this in seeing the way FEMA and 308 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,480 the previous administration didn't seem to care too much about 309 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,000 the devastation of Hurricane Helene there. And so when you 310 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,599 hear the story that we're paying fifty nine million dollars 311 00:21:53,279 --> 00:21:58,599 to a hotel to put up illegal immigrants, Meanwhile, you 312 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:03,200 can't get out of a tent, you can't get FEMA 313 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,759 assistance after your house was wiped off the side of 314 00:22:07,799 --> 00:22:12,359 a mountain in a one thousand year flood. Yeah, people 315 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:17,519 are a little they're a little salty about all of this. Oh, 316 00:22:17,559 --> 00:22:22,960 and the death toll for Hurricane Helene was just revised 317 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:29,119 upward by one. There was an elderly woman who froze 318 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:33,720 to death after the storms, remember when it got really 319 00:22:33,759 --> 00:22:39,079 really cold. So now she's part of the death toll. 320 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:46,240 It's outrageous. A woman died because of the in part 321 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,000 the storm obviously, but in part due to the failure 322 00:22:50,039 --> 00:22:54,640 to respond in an adequate and timely way. This is 323 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,519 not new for FEMA either, And so when you see that, 324 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:00,440 you know about that story, You know about all the 325 00:23:00,519 --> 00:23:04,839 other stories about the lack of response by FEMA or 326 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,640 the inadequate response by FEMA, and then you hear that 327 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:14,119 fifty nine million went to migrant housing. Yeah, people are 328 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:23,079 a little upset. So Elon Musk with Donald Trump's approval, Well, 329 00:23:23,079 --> 00:23:27,279 that seems important right him being the president in charge 330 00:23:27,319 --> 00:23:30,119 of the executive branch for which you work, Like you 331 00:23:30,279 --> 00:23:33,319 work for the executive branch, you are in that administration 332 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:41,359 sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases, and dismantling 333 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:46,160 a leading source of humanitarian assistance. There's the poster child, right, 334 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,839 the mott in the Matin Bailey fallacy right. Who could 335 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:54,799 be against humanitarian assistants? I don't know, do I have to? 336 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,880 By the way, pep far that's for the AIDS funding 337 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,759 in Africa that George W. Bush initiated, successful program. That 338 00:24:05,279 --> 00:24:10,039 funding was reinstated like almost immediately. But USAID they had 339 00:24:10,039 --> 00:24:13,680 this hearing yesterday and they outlined where this money is 340 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:18,759 going and the list is obnoxious, absolutely obnoxious. So rather 341 00:24:18,799 --> 00:24:22,839 than telling me, oh, it's for humanitarian assistance, I don't know, 342 00:24:23,039 --> 00:24:28,079 how about eleven point seventy five million to measure the 343 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:33,640 effectiveness of DEI promotion efforts in Nepal or seven hundred 344 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,599 fifty thousand on Princeton University DEI survey in the Middle East. 345 00:24:38,599 --> 00:24:41,519 Eight hundred and fifty nine grand on hiring a DEI 346 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:47,240 specialist at USAID eight hundred and fifty nine thousand dollars 347 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:53,400 to hire somebody a DEI specialist, twenty three thousand on 348 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:59,720 hosting DEI recruitment seminars in San Martin, Ikitos and Lima, Peru. 349 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:04,759 Half a million on emergency DEI support. It's like, oh 350 00:25:04,759 --> 00:25:07,039 my gosh, we have a DEI emergency. We need some 351 00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:10,960 money for this. Here's half a million. See. So is 352 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:15,039 that all humanitarian assistants or maybe the agency has become 353 00:25:15,079 --> 00:25:18,319 a wee bit corrupted. Here's a great idea. How about 354 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,599 making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway 355 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,079 in western North Carolina. Just a quick drive up the 356 00:25:24,079 --> 00:25:27,359 mountain and cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're 357 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,240 celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, Maybe you want to plan 358 00:25:30,319 --> 00:25:33,000 a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for 359 00:25:33,039 --> 00:25:36,240 a big old reunion. 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The Associated Press in this 376 00:26:33,519 --> 00:26:36,920 story about how Trump and Musk are dismantling government, it's 377 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:41,599 shaking the foundations of US democrase. They have a quote 378 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,839 from Chuck Schuma. Whatever DOJE is doing, it is certainly 379 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,799 not what democracy looks like. That's not a good Chuck 380 00:26:50,839 --> 00:26:55,839 Schumer impression. I recognize, Okay. He goes on to say 381 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,880 in a post on Elon Musk's Twitter, he says, an 382 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,759 the unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of 383 00:27:03,839 --> 00:27:08,920 the federal government. And I agree, Chuck, I agree, except 384 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:14,960 the shadow government is USAID and the NGOs that our 385 00:27:15,039 --> 00:27:22,160 government bureaucracies have been funding. See the Mass Institute. They said, 386 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,240 the establishment's problem with Elon Musk is not that he's 387 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:31,039 willing to upend norms and test or break rules. I 388 00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:36,200 mean they have shown an enthusiastic willingness to do so themselves. No, 389 00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,279 the establishment's problem with Elon Musk is that he is 390 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:47,319 threatening their power. He's threatening their power. Abigail Schreier, author, 391 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,920 She says, if your party overwhelmingly comprises the federal bureaucracy, 392 00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:57,839 then you hold on to the levers of power even 393 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:02,599 through electoral loss. This has been the story of the 394 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,319 Democrats for my entire life. It's also the best explanation 395 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:11,359 for the democrats current desperation and hysteria. And that is 396 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:17,240 exactly right. This is just the Democrat machine at a 397 00:28:17,559 --> 00:28:21,079 national level. That's all it is. If you look through 398 00:28:21,079 --> 00:28:24,839 North Carolina's history, the Democrat machine that controlled our state, 399 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,799 it still operates. It just doesn't have the power it 400 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:33,160 used to have, but it does still operate. And that 401 00:28:33,279 --> 00:28:37,440 kind of machine has been operating at the national level. 402 00:28:38,359 --> 00:28:42,480 Instead of you know, patronage and spoils system jobs that 403 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,359 they could just give to their political allies, they fund 404 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,279 them through non government organizations. And I saw somebody make 405 00:28:49,279 --> 00:28:52,519 a point the other day that if your a nonprofit, 406 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:59,400 if your organization cannot survive without government grants, then I 407 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:04,079 don't think you're actually a non government organization. Right, You're 408 00:29:04,119 --> 00:29:07,359 not really a non government organization. You're doing something the 409 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:12,559 government wishes to do but doesn't do themselves for whatever reason. Right, 410 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,839 Usually they are constrained by law or pr or optics. 411 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,160 They don't want to be seen doing this stuff, so 412 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,039 they'll just throw a bunch of money at a bunch 413 00:29:23,039 --> 00:29:27,799 of NGOs and then let the NGOs advance the Democrat 414 00:29:27,799 --> 00:29:31,519 agenda not just in America, but overseas as well, and 415 00:29:32,119 --> 00:29:37,440 in foreign countries that don't particularly want that kind of stuff. 416 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:43,799 This piece at the Associated Press by Lisa Muscaro. She 417 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:48,039 goes on to say Musk responded on his platform hysterical 418 00:29:48,119 --> 00:29:50,920 reactions like this is how you know that Doge is 419 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,960 doing work that really matters. Now. Congress has been here before, 420 00:29:55,119 --> 00:29:58,000 tested during Trump's first term by his willingness to break 421 00:29:58,039 --> 00:30:01,680 the norms and skirt the outer banks of legality, most 422 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,200 notably when he steamrolled Congress and poached federal military housing 423 00:30:06,359 --> 00:30:10,160 and construction funds to build parts of his promised wall 424 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:14,880 along the US Mexico border. But Trump's second term partnership 425 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,000 with Musk, who spends some two hundred million on Trump's 426 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,759 White House bid and employs the tech world ethos of 427 00:30:21,839 --> 00:30:26,720 moving fast and breaking things, he is escalating the confrontation 428 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:32,440 on a stated quest to save money by rooting out waste, 429 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,279 fraud and abuse. Those monsters. They are making moves to 430 00:30:36,559 --> 00:30:42,680 upend American institutions. Again. The assumption is that there is 431 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,359 no waste, fraud, and abuse and corruption inside of these institutions. 432 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,880 They seek to decimate the civil service and leave a 433 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:56,519 reformed or hollowed out federal government in its place. There 434 00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:01,119 is actually a term for this, it's called limited government. 435 00:31:02,319 --> 00:31:07,400 Limited government. And I don't know if you guys on 436 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:13,839 the left have just been like purposefully ignoring what half 437 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,440 of the country thinks about the size and scope of government. 438 00:31:16,519 --> 00:31:20,359 But limited government is sort of a cornerstone to to 439 00:31:20,559 --> 00:31:26,039 conservatism libertarianism. There are a lot of people that don't 440 00:31:26,039 --> 00:31:28,920 want gov. Co Doing all of the stuff that it does. 441 00:31:30,319 --> 00:31:32,519 Right like this is this should not come as a 442 00:31:32,559 --> 00:31:35,720 shock unless, of course, you've been living in an echo chamber, 443 00:31:36,039 --> 00:31:39,559 which a lot of people on the left do. People 444 00:31:39,599 --> 00:31:42,160 on the right do as well, but they are never 445 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,519 reinforced by the idea that all of these legacy media 446 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,880 outlets are telling them the truth. Right there's there's no 447 00:31:50,319 --> 00:31:56,480 you know, seal of authority that is bestowed by you know, 448 00:31:56,519 --> 00:32:00,920 the New York Times and the Associated Press here and 449 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,480 the major news outlets, the traditional legacy outlets, right like 450 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,519 that gives this sort of appearance of credentials like this 451 00:32:08,599 --> 00:32:12,200 is the official right position to have. And then by 452 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,440 ignoring what half the country thinks about the size and 453 00:32:16,519 --> 00:32:19,519 scope of government, Now you may be very well surprised 454 00:32:19,519 --> 00:32:22,400 to learn that when we said we want limited government, 455 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,200 we want to reduce the size of the government. You 456 00:32:26,599 --> 00:32:29,319 may not have known that, or maybe you thought we 457 00:32:29,319 --> 00:32:33,319 were kidding or something, but we weren't. I wasn't. Most 458 00:32:33,319 --> 00:32:35,319 people I know that are for limited government are not 459 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,599 kidding about that. Now, Congress should do this, but Congress won't. 460 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,240 And all of this is based on an assumption that 461 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:52,039 all of the spending is legitimate, all of it. Why otherwise, 462 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,400 why would you be upset if they're trying to find waste, fraud, 463 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:01,480 and abuse Because you control the levers of power and 464 00:33:01,599 --> 00:33:04,240 this is it. This is where that power is seated. 465 00:33:05,839 --> 00:33:08,160 All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you 466 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,200 so much for listening. I could not do the show 467 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,759 without your support and the support of the businesses that 468 00:33:12,839 --> 00:33:15,880 advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support 469 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:17,599 them too and tell them you heard it here. You 470 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,279 can also become a patron at my Patreon page or 471 00:33:20,359 --> 00:33:24,000 go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much 472 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,599 for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.