WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:05.519 Ask not what your country can do for you, ask 2 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:07.480 what you can do for your country. 3 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.000 Mister Gorbachoff teared down this wall. 4 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.120 It's the Ricochet Podcast with Stephen Hayward and Charles C. W. Cook. 5 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.320 I'm James Lilyax and today we're going to talk about 6 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.600 everything from the Caribbean to cable TV. So let's have 7 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:23.640 ourselves a podcast. 8 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.000 President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that 9 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:32.280 presidentially designated narco terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting 10 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:36.359 in accordance with the laws of war. Secretary Hegseth authorized 11 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.719 Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked 12 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:44.240 well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement 13 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.159 to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to 14 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:49.560 the United States of America was eliminated. 15 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:54.039 Welcome everybody, It's the Ricochet Podcast, Episode number seven hundred 16 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.280 and sixty seven. You love the Denser plane, You'll adored 17 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.679 as a podcast and you can join us at ricochet 18 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.000 dot com. Why well, you can be part of the 19 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.760 most stimulating conversations and community on the web period. I'm 20 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:09.239 James Lylex here in cold and snowy Minnesota. Whereas instantly 21 00:01:09.319 --> 00:01:13.640 Christmasy and Stephen Hayward joins us from somewhere some booklined place, 22 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:17.239 and Charles C. W. Cook in I imagine Florida, which 23 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.519 probably I don't know who the tempts dipping down into 24 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:22.200 the lower seventies or something. I don't want to hear 25 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:24.840 about it. I hate you, gentlemen. How are you today? 26 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.920 I'm good, warm, okay, thank you, thank you very much, 27 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.319 warm warm. It was one below yesterday as I was 28 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.000 walking the dog, and the dog did not want to 29 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.159 have any of it. Frankly, So the thing where the 30 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.319 dog does his business against a tree and you hear 31 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:41.879 a snapping sound because his stream is frozen and he 32 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.280 ties to disengage. But enough of that. I live here 33 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:47.920 by choice, and so do a enowfull lot of other people, 34 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.040 including Tim Waltz, who's our governor. Do you guys find 35 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.519 it interesting somehow that all of the things that are 36 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.519 being said now about Minnesota by everyone from the New 37 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:01.040 York Times, Christopher Ruffo too. The President himself didn't seem 38 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:02.920 to come up very much when he was a vice 39 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.000 presidential Kennedy, why was that? 40 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.800 Well, I hope you're not suggesting, James that the American 41 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.800 media is in some way biased toward one of the 42 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.120 major political parties, and say suppresses or refuses to cover 43 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.439 stories that it thinks might hurt that party. 44 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:24.599 No, I wouldn't say anything that's treason, that that's that's 45 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.520 calumn near that I will not hear of such words 46 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.560 spoken against my former profession. But it might actually be 47 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:35.319 something that people consider suspect. Stephen were you. We keep 48 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.439 being told that this story is being told. I mean 49 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.240 everyone's been talking about the fraud, that the fraud has vetted, 50 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:43.919 the fraud was baked into the cake. Everyone knew about it, did. 51 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.400 You, well, I did, only because you know my former 52 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.280 writing partner power Line Scott Johnson has been reporting on 53 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.240 this for several years, even attending most of the trials 54 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:55.840 in the courtroom, which you know, not many other reporters 55 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.360 are doing. I put this in a larger context. The 56 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.439 latest issue of the New York Review of Books just 57 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.800 landed in my mailbox. Now I read it so you 58 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.840 don't have to. And it's good opposition research. And the 59 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.360 lead review is of Kamala Harris's one hundred and seven Days, 60 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:17.039 and it's absolutely savage. And this is not the first 61 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:20.360 review from the left trashing Harris, and I think Waltz 62 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:23.000 is now fair game too. I think Democrats want to 63 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:30.400 demonize Biden, Harris and Waltz for their obvious mediocrity and worse, 64 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:32.879 so it's to put them behind us. And so now 65 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:34.800 it's open season on them because it's safe for them 66 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:37.800 to do so, and maybe they think necessary. 67 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:43.919 What are the exact criticisms in remarks that they have 68 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.400 to say about Harris. Are they critiquing the book for 69 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.759 being banal and obvious and boring and yes, and unburdened 70 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:51.800 by what was? Or are they actually going after the 71 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.680 individual herself as being an insufficiently marvelous inspiration. 72 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:59.080 Well, they don't say that directly, that's certainly hinted at, 73 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:03.240 and that she lacked courage certainly to push out Biden earlier, 74 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:05.199 along with the rest of the party of leadership. By 75 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.439 the way, it's a very broad gauge indictment of the 76 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.479 sort of upper reaches of the Democratic Party, which, as 77 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.240 I say these days, I like to read the left 78 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.879 attacking Democrats with a bowl of popcorn handy because it's fun. 79 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.439 Person So this is all, however, water under the bridge. 80 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.120 Tim Waltz isn't running for vice president again? Eyes will 81 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.720 shift from Minnesota, or has the president's remarks on the 82 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.800 Somali community here? Actually I don't know, lit a fire 83 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.079 or rekindled a fire under the whole immigration, assimilation, et 84 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.480 cetera debate to Charles, or is this just going to 85 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.759 be something that is waved away, placed in context of 86 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:49.519 previous waves of immigration? No reason to question our gorgeous mosaic, 87 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:51.839 et cetera, et cetera, Which is my suspicion that it 88 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.839 will all be generally forgotten here except here in Minnesota, 89 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:56.279 where I think Wallves is going to have a little 90 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:57.600 bit more difficulty than he thought. 91 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.759 Yeah, I would be savaged by chext notes Mike Lindell. 92 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:07.199 Right, which is not going to happen. The GOP in 93 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.639 Minnesota consistently puts up the strangest artist and most ineffective candidate. 94 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:13.319 It's been a long time since they put up somebody 95 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.680 who I think could even make a bit of a 96 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:21.560 hint of an inroad into into Minnesota. I mean Minneapolis, 97 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:27.079 the metro area solidly blue, so blue, very blue. But 98 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.839 beyond that the outstate, well we'll see once again, Yes, 99 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:34.360 Minnesota focused the world and I hate it. 100 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:37.319 I think that they will try and sweep it under 101 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:39.959 the rug. I think they are trying. One of the 102 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.639 things that I have found the most annoying about this. 103 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:44.759 Is that. 104 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:50.480 While many of the Democrats who have criticized Trump's rhetoric 105 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.560 have a point at the edge, that is to say, 106 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:57.639 I don't want to hear a president describing people as garbage, 107 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:02.199 and he has painted too broad a brush, I've heard 108 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:06.680 none of them lead with this is a disgrace and 109 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.000 a disservice to the taxpayers of Minnesota, and we're going 110 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.319 to prosecute it because it's wrong. 111 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:15.879 Yeah, I mean, there's seventy seven people. 112 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:16.720 I know they have. 113 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.040 But what I'm saying is that it is all pushback 114 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:24.160 against Trump, and that's the only part of the story 115 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:29.920 they will not acknowledge Tina Smith, is that her name 116 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:36.240 and Amy Klobasha and Tim Walls, they won't come out 117 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:40.160 and say, yeah, this is really bad, and it is 118 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:44.040 really bad. And the other part of it is they've 119 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.240 adopted a standard here that they don't adopt in any 120 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.680 other circumstance. So I obviously don't follow this as closely 121 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:52.759 as you do, Jenn, because I don't live in Minnesota. 122 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:57.800 But whenever I hear this general topic discussed, I hear 123 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:02.920 this phrase the Somali community, and they always talk about 124 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.519 it as if it is uniform. It is a thing 125 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:10.079 to which politicians can ascribe other things or from which 126 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:14.439 they can deduce things. The Somali community, How dare you, 127 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.399 et cetera. But now they're all atomized individuals. You can't 128 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:23.439 possibly generalife. We can't refer to the Somali community. That's 129 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:26.680 an attack on the American idea. Well, okay, I'm open 130 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:29.199 to that. I'm an individualist, but pick one. Don't in 131 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.560 one circumstance say the Somali community thinks we must do 132 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.079 this for this amount, and then in the other circumstance say, well, 133 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.879 you can't refer to this assay Somali fraud ring, which 134 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.399 it is. That's very annoying to me. 135 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.480 Yes, well we'll go back, go on. 136 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.120 So I think there's a second subtext at work here. Then, 137 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:50.240 one reason they don't call it out, Charles, I think 138 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.079 is at some point in the last fifteen years. I 139 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:55.000 think it actually dates back to the aftermath of the 140 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.600 financial crisis in two thousand and eight, the left decided 141 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:03.519 that all these social welfare programs were airsats redistribution of wealth, 142 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:06.879 and they severed the link between you know what we 143 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.319 used to call either deserving poor or you know, people 144 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:12.839 who were genuinely needed government assistants, which Democrats used to 145 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.959 pay lip service to at least and sometimes actually took action, 146 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.360 like Bill Clinton thirty years ago with welfare reform. And 147 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.720 you started seeing after the Great Financial Crisis that the 148 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.519 number of people on disability doubled. There weren't that many 149 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:28.680 more disabil but this is a welfare program that people 150 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.360 could apply to and we give them out. And we 151 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:34.200 learned here during the government shutdown. I thought I kept 152 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:35.759 up with these things, but I was shocked to learn 153 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:39.440 that there are forty two million Americans on SNAP, which 154 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.879 we used to call food stamps. And by the way, 155 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:43.759 maybe the fact that it's now a card that you 156 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:46.000 get and so you look like the next person with 157 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:48.240 a credit card of the checkout line, instead of having 158 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.799 to pull out those stamps out of your wallet, which 159 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.399 you know, the ever sensitive leftists and social workers said 160 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.600 stigmatize people who were on food stamps. Right, Well, you know, 161 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.279 we have extraordinary numbers of people on all all these 162 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.679 different public assistance programs, and I think for a lot 163 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.879 of people on the left, you say fraud, and they 164 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:07.600 don't think of it that way, because I think this 165 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:10.960 is long overdue redistribution of wealth. It's not as direct 166 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:12.879 as we might like with a wealth tax and all 167 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:16.360 the rest, or you know, an official universal basic income, 168 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:18.799 but it's so rough substitute, and they're all for it, 169 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.759 and that's why they're uninterested in policing fraud. By the way, 170 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:26.120 Minnesota is not the only state. We have a similar 171 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:30.120 scale out. In California, going back several years now, unemployment 172 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:37.159 claims during COVID and other COVID programs were massively oversubscribed 173 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.240 in a fraudulent way that even some of the state 174 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:43.360 auditors have flagged. And nothing's happened to anyone, as there's 175 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:44.600 been no accountability for it. 176 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:46.759 Part of it, maybe you know, in the back of 177 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.399 their heads, I think you're thinking, you're right, that it's redistribution, 178 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.799 and that's necessary to get good, eat the rich, kill 179 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:55.639 the billionaires. That's part of it. A little bit more 180 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:58.519 in the forefront is the idea that we should not 181 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.519 be too questioning of the people who are doing this 182 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.080 and these organizations, because that would seem to be I 183 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:07.440 don't know that would have a racialist aspect to it, 184 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:11.559 so they're kind of squeamish about that. But the thing 185 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:13.799 that strikes me over and over and over again is 186 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:15.960 that Minnesota has been eating its seed corn for so 187 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.720 long we've been throwing it in the microwave and dousing 188 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:23.159 it with butter, forgetting that what this state had ever since, Well, 189 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:26.679 trace it back however long you wish. But it's got 190 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:31.240 that Scandinavian Nordic social welfare model where everybody contributes a 191 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:36.120 high amount and is guaranteed of a sane, civil, sensible 192 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:40.279 run society because there's high social trust, there's cohesion, there's 193 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.639 cultural cohesion, and we're all part of that completely breaks 194 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:47.000 down when you introduce into it people who just simply 195 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:50.879 do not share that particular mindset it does. And you 196 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:55.000 can't say that what we need cultural diversity on one hand, 197 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.080 and then on the other hand to say, oh, but 198 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:01.240 the other diverse cultures will regard this fountain of money, 199 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:05.600 this corniacope of cash, the same way that the other 200 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:09.639 previous Minnesotans do, because they won't. That's just not the 201 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:14.679 basic culture from which they come. So yeah, yeah, and 202 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:18.200 it won't change. It simply won't change because of the 203 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.960 monolithic nature of the DFL and the people who will 204 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:22.600 vote for it no matter what, because to vote for 205 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.480 an R is to be Oswald Mosley. Yeah, well you 206 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.919 mentioned a disability. One of the things that I found 207 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:32.799 interesting this week is not just the people who claim 208 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.159 disability in order to get the government benefits, but a 209 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.360 study that showed that on several major prestigious US campus, 210 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.200 twenty thirty forty percent at Stanford, I think of the 211 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.679 students regard themselves as some form of disabled, and here 212 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:48.200 it's a completely different thing. Here it is you know, 213 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.799 the disabilities are more neurological in for more psychological or 214 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:55.559 gender relator to the rest of it, and they're ending 215 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.639 up having to craft these innumerable compensations and accommodations for 216 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:05.279 people who basically are fine. But it's a badge now 217 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.840 of your specialness to have one of these diverts, to 218 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:11.480 have a disability, as it actually elevates you to some 219 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.240 to a more exalted status, and between that and the 220 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:20.960 government largest for claiming yourself to be so is not 221 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:21.840 good anyway. 222 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.279 That's can I give a slightly more cynical take on that. 223 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:27.600 I would love it. I'm not exactly sure. I've been 224 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:30.639 all rainbows and unicorns and happy pink past els, but 225 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:31.759 go ahead now. 226 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:34.320 Well, I think that part of this, as you say, 227 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:37.559 is that people want the badge because they think that 228 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.440 it puts them in the special category. But I think 229 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.960 a lot of it stems from the left's inability to 230 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:48.679 understand the immutability of human nature. It's good old fashioned 231 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:54.919 advantage seeking. It's people who are often from good and 232 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.200 wealthy families, who have high ikes, who are in no 233 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:05.559 way the types for which these programs or dispensations were 234 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:13.480 set up, recognizing that their faculty and the bureaucracy around 235 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.799 them are weak and pliable, and that if they say 236 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:21.000 a bunch of magic words, then they can eke out 237 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:24.399 a little more space between them and the next guy 238 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:29.279 and come out with better job prospects and higher salary. 239 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:30.919 I think it is. 240 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.000 The same sort of human conduct we would have expected 241 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.600 two thousand years ago and ten thousand years ago. 242 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:41.919 If these things existed. There's probably a Sumerian stone at 243 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.159 which somebody has hammered some hieroglyphs about how they are 244 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:47.879 a broken leg and therefore are entitled to a crutch 245 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:56.639 that the state should provide. I'm Greg Corumbus, joined Jim 246 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:59.320 Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the 247 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.120 Three Martin Lunch Podcast. We'll give you the good, bat 248 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:04.919 and crazy news of the day and lots of laughs too. 249 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.159 Find us right here on the Ricochet Audio Network at 250 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:18.360 ricochet dot com or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, 251 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.200 let's move on to something a little bit happier. Stranger 252 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.720 Jay six Bomber. All of a sudden, All of a sudden, 253 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.600 they got the guy. All of how that happened? Do 254 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:30.919 you think that a fire was lit under some agencies 255 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.879 or some new information suddenly surfaced? And is he? Is 256 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.080 he who we thought he would be? 257 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:40.600 First of all, I think there is a legitimate question 258 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.879 of why the FBI wasn't actively pursuing this case under Biden. 259 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.720 I mean they were saying at the time that we 260 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.919 think this is a sideshow. It was you know, hoax, 261 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.000 It was not serious, and it turned out that it was. 262 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:55.759 And apparently the investigation involved a lot of that old 263 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:58.720 fashioned deep digging that the FBI can do. What I mean, 264 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.720 they pay something like two hundred thousand transactions to trace, 265 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:05.080 to try and ferret out this guy, you know, buying 266 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:08.120 the parts to make these bombs. This guy wasn't like 267 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:10.480 the unibomber who made his own screws. If you remember 268 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:12.720 the way that guy made his bombs way back when, 269 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:16.240 and so you wonder why that didn't happen, and I 270 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.519 hope somebody asked that question of the of the previous 271 00:15:19.639 --> 00:15:22.559 FBI regime. But then the guy looks like and it's 272 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.759 early yet, but he looks like he's kind of a nut. 273 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.360 He's saying, I thought the election was stolen, and so 274 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.879 he's gonna plant bombs outside both the r n C 275 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.399 and d n C. H it's a bit strange. I 276 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.559 think we're gonna find this guy as a nutcase. Yeah, 277 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:40.519 and not part of a conspiracy, I'll put it that way. 278 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:42.159 But not an inspec I mean, but not you know, 279 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:44.440 in that case that he thought odd things, but not 280 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:46.440 an insane man, because if you can do all these 281 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:50.360 things and get undetected, I reserve insanity for the people 282 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.039 who are running naked with long hair through Times Square 283 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.000 screaming about the demons that are clawing at them. 284 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:55.759 I mean that. 285 00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:00.639 I don't say a guy who believes peculiar things is mad. 286 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:01.480 He's just. 287 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:05.919 Well, when I say that, I didn't necessarily mean that 288 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.360 in the usual psychological sense. But he's one of these 289 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.960 persons who has odd, contradictory and unconventional views that don't 290 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.960 make rational sense to a normal person. 291 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.639 Gerald, do you agree or did you think that he 292 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:21.600 is been looking over his shoulder all of these years, 293 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.399 wondering why these guys aren't coming for him or what. 294 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:27.799 Well, I assume he's been doing that. I do think 295 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:30.559 it's possible to be crazy and then to latch on 296 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:36.000 to political messages that you didn't rationally arrive at. And 297 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:38.879 I often tried to draw that distinction when talking about 298 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:41.720 people who commit crime. So there's the sort of person 299 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:46.039 who says, well, I'm being controlled by my toaster, and 300 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.159 then there's a sort of person who is crazy and 301 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.399 then reads in the newspaper that a boat sank and 302 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.159 becomes obsessed with that and decides that he did it. 303 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:58.840 And you know, he's not a maritime expert. You wouldn't 304 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:02.159 blame people who in boats. It just so happened that 305 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:05.319 he came across that as an explanation. I don't think 306 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.440 we know enough about this guy to know whether he 307 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:11.359 was either of those, or the third category, which is 308 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:17.160 the sane, if evil political actor who concluded that the 309 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:19.079 election had been stolen and they tried to blow up 310 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:21.319 the government. And there are people in that category. 311 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:25.160 They You're right, the early twentieth century, in the sixties 312 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:29.000 and seventies abound with completely rational people who believed evil 313 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:34.000 things who were content to bomb away. The people who 314 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:38.319 bombed the you know, the the capital back in the days. 315 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:41.160 They're not nuts and not crazy. They just believe this 316 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:43.519 is the most efficacious way to make their point. I mean, 317 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:45.400 you mentioned the unibomber for Remans as. 318 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:47.160 Yeah, he was. 319 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:52.799 Rational, and you know, the distinction you would draw, maybe 320 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:59.759 is between the man who attacked the navy yard ten 321 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.119 years ago, who thought that he was being controlled through 322 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:07.839 the walls of his apartment by the government crazy and 323 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:09.839 the man who killed Charlie Kirk, who I think was 324 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:13.960 a political actor who decided to advance his political agenda 325 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.799 with a murder. And I just don't know enough about 326 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:17.599 this guy yet to decide which one he was. 327 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:22.440 Well, we'll find out elsewhere around the planet. We're having 328 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:25.759 a big debate about whether Pete Higsseeth should go because 329 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:30.160 they're double tapping the guys who are bringing the drugs in, 330 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.160 and as we're informed, Venezuela is not bringing an awful 331 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.440 lot of fentanyl in. These guys are probably bringing in 332 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:40.880 something else like okaine. It's one of those those issues 333 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.079 that had it been Obama, I tend to believe that 334 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.440 we would be talking about the bold and decisive potesst 335 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:51.839 steps that were being taken to keep Americans safe and healthy. 336 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:55.039 But we're having a big debate about these guys because 337 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:56.920 the New York Times, I think, ran a story about 338 00:18:56.920 --> 00:18:58.400 one of the other boats and took a look at 339 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:01.000 the guys who were on it, and you know, they 340 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:04.240 weren't really carteil guys. They were just you know, they 341 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:06.920 loved soccer, They went to church and the rest of it, 342 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.000 and just happened to find themselves in his boat bringing 343 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:11.440 drugs into the country. Charles, I know that you are 344 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:14.160 a stickler for such things, that even though something we 345 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.799 may say good, good, blow them up. That you are 346 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.839 one of the types who will, you know, differ and demure, 347 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.559 so defer in demure away. 348 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:24.839 Because I love them. 349 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:30.799 I love Pedro. I love Pedro, the cocaine trafficker. I 350 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.119 hate the US. I hate it some military. I want 351 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:38.160 Javier and Pedro to succeed and to bring in as 352 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:41.839 many dangerous and perhaps fatal drugs as they can. 353 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:43.559 And that's, as I've. 354 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.559 Learned this week, James, the only reason that anyone could 355 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:50.720 possibly have any objections to this action. Now, look, I 356 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:55.960 object to this for a couple of reasons. One, there 357 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.559 is no congressional authorization for this action. 358 00:19:58.640 --> 00:19:59.160 There's none. 359 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.920 There's no declaration of war, there's no authorization for the 360 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:04.119 use of military force. It's not even a statute that 361 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:08.720 in some tangential way provides the executive branch with the 362 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:14.079 capacity to preemptively kill those it suspects suspects not proved 363 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:19.599 suspects of drug running. I object to it because, while 364 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:22.519 this is not always the case, those boats do not 365 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:25.160 pose a threat to the US military. Thankfully, the US 366 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.359 military is extremely competent and powerful and is entirely capable 367 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:33.920 of stopping, boarding, and searching these boats without opening fire first. 368 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.920 If those boats open fire on the US military, then 369 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.440 blow them out of the water. But that isn't the case. 370 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:40.839 This is not a threat, and I object to it 371 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:46.480 because we are seeing the abuse of language here from 372 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.759 the apologists in a way that usually and rightly upsets conservatives. 373 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:56.920 We're seeing those drug traffickers described as terrorists. We're seeing 374 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:59.880 cocaine described as chemical weapons. 375 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.480 These things are not true. 376 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:08.720 So I am not all jokes to the contrary, a 377 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:10.920 fan of drug traffickers, But I don't think that's the 378 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:13.559 material question here. I think the question here is under 379 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:19.359 what circumstances are we going out into the Caribbean and opening. 380 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:24.000 Fire without questions? I have a big problem with it. 381 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.880 Yeah, And to me, the question of the double tap 382 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:29.720 in Pete's Heggs's role, which I am skeptical of. The 383 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:32.279 Post reporting, which I think was largely superseded by the Times, 384 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:35.240 is reporting. It is secondary. It's important because it's now 385 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:39.720 been raised, but it's secondary to the material point here, 386 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:42.440 which is, sorry, at what point did we get involved 387 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:42.759 in this? 388 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.839 And on whose authority? 389 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:46.920 Well, Stephen, can you tell us the big leaf of 390 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:49.200 authority under which this is being Well? 391 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:52.640 Yeah, So I disagree to a large extent, but not 392 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.480 completely with Charlie's point of view. By the way, about 393 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:58.240 the double tap, has anyone seemed to notice what happened 394 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:02.319 by focusing in on this second strike? The objection up 395 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:04.240 till now has been the first strike for some of 396 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:07.559 the reasons Charlie and others make. But suddenly this is given. Oh, 397 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.720 it's almost as though the premise here is, oh, the 398 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.720 first strike, I guess is okay, but not a second one. 399 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:15.480 I think it's kind of a You almost wonder if 400 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:18.599 Trump thought of that on purpose. I think that. Here's 401 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:21.400