Speaker 1: 0:25

Howdy Ben. How are you today? I'm doing okay, gene. I am tired. I did not sleep worth a crap last night, but I'm all good. And how was she? Ha, ha, ha, ha. Funny If only that were the case, I would be a much happier person.

Speaker 3: 0:47

No, so what's going on? Man, you been uh busy with work, or what are you busy for?

Speaker 1: 0:54

oh my goodness, work has been nuts. Uh. We've got huge projects all over the place. Doing a major project right now, working, uh, working on a few things for the island of Puerto Rico, and oh, that's us territory, I believe. Yeah, and like network designs and stuff for literally the entire island.

Speaker 3: 1:18

So aren't they all just using Starlink out there?

Speaker 1: 1:21

No, no, they've got a lot of aerial fiber, lots of things that they kind of want to get away from because when hurricanes hit it causes problems?

Speaker 3: 1:30

yeah, I would imagine. Uh, yeah, that's not a good thing. Well, actually, satellite should work during a hurricane, or not immediately during, but after a hurricane, right?

Speaker 1: 1:41

yeah, and you know satellite links and links for you know point to point wireless where needed as backup and things like that where you can't do direct burial is also an option. But you've just got a speed issue with that.

Speaker 3: 1:59

How big is that? I've never been to Puerto Rico.

Speaker 1: 2:02

It's a pretty big island. I haven't either, but I will probably be going this year.

Speaker 3: 2:07

Cool. Yeah, I've seen photos of it and I've got a number of, I guess, acquaintances not like close friends or anything, but people that I've known well enough that invited me out there, but I've never actually had a reason to go. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Well, it looks like I will be getting a work trip to Puerto Rico, so that's okay.

Speaker 3: 2:28

Yeah, well, hopefully not in the middle of summer. Why?

Speaker 1: 2:32

it'll be really hot. Oh, it won't be any hotter than here yeah, maybe it's.

Speaker 3: 2:41

Uh, it's always nice to get trips down south in the winter, though, indeed, indeed, and especially the winter we've been having here in texas, oh, jesus, it is it.

Speaker 1: 2:51

I was just sitting outside when you texted me. Hey, you want to?

Speaker 1: 2:53

start early because I try and sit outside whenever possible and drink my coffee, and you know, just be outside. I'm in front of monitor two damn months, true story, and uh and it. You know, it's in the 30s here and even with my patio heater and stuff like that going, I'm bundled up and everything, but it's cold it is. We had some sleety icy rain this morning and it's all melting now, but it's just that at that humidity level and just enough breeze that it is cold. Yep, so yeah, yeah, that's true, it's.

Speaker 3: 3:39

Everybody up north is like shut up, they're laughing about it. Yeah, they're like 30 degrees, give me a break but really that that turning point at 32 degrees is really the worst weather, and I will say that as somebody that spent a good chunk of my life in minnesota with snow every winter, because if it's like 20 below that, snow is crisp, it's light and crisp and the wind kind of blows it around. When it's around 30 degrees it's slushy, it is thick, it is heavy, it is slowly becoming water and it tends to stick to you a lot more. So I would much rather have it maybe 10 degrees below freezing than at freezing. At freezing is really kind of the worst of it.

Speaker 3: 4:36

There's a video I watched recently um, and then we jump into politics and it was one of those random like you're scrolling through videos video of a guy wearing a heavy winter coat with uh. Of a guy wearing a heavy winter coat with uh, uh. You could see his breath as he's breathing out and he says so. Somebody asked me recently if there's a difference. Can you feel the difference between 40 degrees below zero and 70 degrees below zero? So I'm gonna assume this guy is at the south pole. That looked like one of those you people that's working out there on the aliens. And he said, yes, yes, you can, because at 40 degrees below zero you can see my breath, but you can't hear it. And then he showed a video. At 70 degrees below zero, you can hear somebody breathing out. Isn't it freezing?

Speaker 3: 5:32

It literally crystallizes it in front of you and then falls to the ground.

Speaker 1: 5:37

Oh, Can you imagine that? No, no, I can't, I don't want to.

Speaker 3: 5:43

No.

Speaker 1: 5:44

That sounds terrible.

Speaker 3: 5:45

The coldest I've ever experienced outdoor was 43 below zero, and that was. It was definitely the kind of weather where you do all the experiments you take a cup of coffee outside and then you throw it out and you see it landing on the ground already thick. It's not quite like an icicle, it's not a cartoon thing.

Speaker 3: 6:11

But you know it comes out close but by the time it hits the ground it's already slush. Yeah, yeah, it's, it sucks the uh the warmth out of everything really quick. Um, but I've never gone, I've never done uh, ice swimming, which a lot of people from northern climates tend to do, the polar bear swims.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Why? Why would anyone do?

Speaker 3: 6:35

that. Well, the irony is the water is warmer than the air at that point, and that's something that most people don't really think about. But water in its liquid form is never going to go below freezing. Where, in its liquid form, is never going to go below freezing, whereas the air temperatures that you're in with you know having to punch a hole through the ice is absolutely below freezing. So, relatively speaking, it's that point where you take your clothes off before you feel it the most?

Speaker 3: 7:04

yeah that you feel the coldest and then when you jump in it's like, oh, this is cold, but it's warmer well, I remember, uh, so I'll tell a story.

Speaker 1: 7:15

You know, I, I lived in idaho and my dad and I were up on door shack reservoir, uh, fishing. And you know, door shack is big man made lake, and it was. It was not yet, it was right around Thanksgiving, hadn't been Thanksgiving yet, but it was. It was, summer was over, you know. And I was like you know what? I want to go skiing. He's like what? It's, no, what I'm like, yeah, no, I want to ski, and he's anyway. So I got out there in a full body wetsuit and got up and the problem is, you know, in the water I was fine because I'm in the wetsuit, right, but as soon as you stand up, the water drains out of the wetsuit and neoprene is porous. Yes, yes, so the wind. I, I'm just standing there freezing my ass off, but I was going to do it for a bit. And we're going and I'm water skiing and we're passing these other boats and the looks on the faces of these people yeah, you're nuts.

Speaker 1: 8:23

It was you know who.

Speaker 3: 8:25

The hell is that it does get in those looks. When I went jet skiing here in austin in like december yeah, because people are like it's december, yeah, it's december, but it's like 60, it's not freezing, uh, and in minnesota typically. So I used to windsurf, uh, for many years, and you know minnesota is known for landing 10 000 lakes, blah, blah. So there's tons of water opportunities, but typically the season would start on memorial day, so end of may. It'd be too damn cold before that and, uh, it would end at labor day, which is about as far back in the year as you could reasonably have fun and still be in the water, yeah, yeah, and anything outside of those two dates. Um, it was just too damn cold. And even if you actually went out on memorial day or on labor day, you would get weird looks from people like what the fuck did?

Speaker 1: 9:29

well, I mean, I've seen it snow in, you know, july in uh, in idaho and it. It's not a common thing, it's not a normal thing, but it is a thing that happens and anyway it's you?

Speaker 3: 9:46

what years were you the hope?

Speaker 1: 9:50

what years were I? What years did I live in idaho? That's literally what I just said. Yes, uh, uh-huh. That's not quite what you said, but that's okay. Um, I lived in idaho from 95 to, uh, 2003, 2004 well, that's long enough.

Speaker 3: 10:08

You probably would have experienced like a really cold year them. Oh yeah, because you usually get like cold years once a decade or so. Yeah, yeah, did you get stuck, uh, in snow anywhere out there?

Speaker 1: 10:27

or you. I got my driving uh permit and uh license. Uh, I got my permit at 14 and my full license at 16.

Speaker 3: 10:41

so you're driving around hardship for years with your dad.

Speaker 1: 10:44

No, no, no, no, it was a hardship, so, um, literally, I was driving by myself at 14.

Speaker 3: 10:51

Yes, well, damn, yeah, that would have been fun. I didn't get to do that, yeah that's uh sorry yeah, I know, man, I got, I got screwed out of two years of driving apparently well, you know, we, we lived outside of town enough.

Speaker 1: 11:08

Yeah, just, I don't know. It makes sense. However, idaho decided that you know, yes, you qualify for.

Speaker 3: 11:26

I think the more rural state, the more they have stuff like that, because knew people in iowa that were driving at 15, but minnesota is 16, so I have to wait a little longer. Um, yeah, it's um now, would you agree with me? I've said this many times that I think growing up as a kid in a state that has all four seasons is way more fun than like growing up here in Texas.

Speaker 1: 11:53

Well, I mean, it all depends because it you, it just depends on what you're going to do, because you do things that are different. Right, it's, it's not. It's not the same.

Speaker 3: 12:06

So it's not a big deal in my mind, but I I think as a kid, meaning you're not responsible for driving to work every morning. It's like snow was fun, the fall weather and going apple picking and doing all the sort of harvest activities and getting attracted, that was fun.

Speaker 3: 12:32

Sort of harvest activities and getting attracted, that was fun. Uh, watching spraying with all the the blooming and the flowers and the grass during green it. We just don't have, though, that same kind of thing in texas, like right now is the green season. This is the only time a year my grass is green. The rest of the year is brown should, you should water your grass Gene.

Speaker 3: 12:48

It's getting watered, but it's very pathetic looking. I mean, you'd have to spend a thousand bucks on the water if you wanted to look like a golf course. Nah, not at all, and you just got to fertilize correctly, it's well, it's all a household association thing here, but, um, yeah it, there's definitely like the wet season is the winter year and that is the time when things are greener and there's not really a huge spring, at least not in this part of texas.

Speaker 3: 13:22

That you see, certainly there's some blue bonnets that are blooming. Those are fun, you know. You get to see them all along the highways, but it's very different than being in the north of the state, where literally everything that was dead all of a sudden just wakes up and you just see everything in bloom and it's.

Speaker 3: 13:43

It's something that I I kind of don't think about it's okay I do miss it, I, but when I'm flying out to uh like uh, seattle, which is northern climate or northern latitude, but it's right on the water, so the weather is a lot more temperate um, I mean seattle's also a place that has freezing fog, so yeah, but it's like it literally never gets below that.

Speaker 3: 14:12

Like you know it's. It's barely below freezing most of the time. It's it's going to be above freezing in winter. But either way, when you, when I'm flying out there like, and I look out of the airplane, I see all in the fall, see all the red trees down below me, I'm like, oh, I do miss that and we just we don't have a fall here. It the truth. The leaves go from green to being off the trees.

Speaker 1: 14:37

Yeah, one day fall you know, I guess I just I don't care about that as much because you know where I lived in idaho was, you know, mostly evergreen type forests, so I just I've never really cared about, oh, the changing of the leaves or anything like that. It's just never mattered to me. I I, but I prefer warm weather over cold.

Speaker 3: 15:01

You know, I do too, obviously.

Speaker 1: 15:02

I prefer being able to swim and do things in water and even though I like skiing, I love to snow ski. I really do, uh, and I miss it. I would love to take the kids and go on a vacation in the winter and uh take them skiing, because I think they would just go crazy over it.

Speaker 3: 15:26

I had a, a, uh, a downhill hill, uh. That was about three and a half miles away from where my uh, my parents house was and I used to go out there probably three, four days a week to go skiing. Oh yeah, I mean, it was just like it's. It's so close. In the summers I used to take my uh, my bike out there and go mountain biking down the hill.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Yep, Uh, yep, I, uh, I I've. I need to show you the scar on my left arm for mountain biking at some point in time. But yeah, you know, hey, it's fun, I like it, um, but I'm just, I don't know, man, uh, I, now that I'm older and have money, that's a, that's a vacation thing, not a, not a um oh yeah, yeah, and that's why I said, as a and I think that that's the thing is sort of like as an adult, this is great, I love this.

Speaker 3: 16:54

I love not having to worry about bad roads due to weather. I actually kind of like being far enough away from the Gulf that I don't have to worry about hurricanes either, like this is a very good location in terms of Natural disaster type shit or even just weather related type shit.

Speaker 1: 17:16

Yeah you just have to worry about, you know, nukes, that's all yeah, but everybody has to worry about things.

Speaker 3: 17:22

There's not a whole lot of places in the country where you don't have to worry about things. Okay, oh, if you look at the map, I mean there's there's probably three states, everything else.

Speaker 3: 17:35

There's some kind of a high priority target, but also I don't worry about nukes at all, because if you worry about the nukes you're not gonna do anything. I mean, it's just like that. Could that could be a, a disabled, this debilitating fear, um, and frankly, if you're gonna get new, there's an argument to be said that you want to be right at the very yeah, they have the center. So yes, so you're just gone and you don't even in less time than it takes the signal to travel from your skin to your brain.

Speaker 3: 18:09

Yeah, exactly yeah so speaking of nukes yeah dude cash patel has dropped yeah, that was a big one that I was definitely waiting for, and um, I I thought if they were going to stop one of the nominees, it would have been cash.

Speaker 3: 18:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's very good. Uh, it's, it's good news. I like Cash. I've always liked him, ever since I saw him on Joe Rogan, I think first time, and then he was on Tim Pool as well. So it seems like a good guy. He's got weird eyes, though. He looks a little cockeyed, doesn't he? Well, that's kind of racist of you, but it has nothing to do with his race. It has to do with his race. That's due with his eyes. I think he's got a genetic defect.

Speaker 1: 18:53

Uh well, when I say stuff like that, you know you, you throw it at me like that, so I'm just giving you crap I know that's because you're an actual racist, so it's all good oh, oh, jesus gene, no, but uh, him getting in is huge um oh yeah uh, what's her name? The um, the which one oh?

Speaker 3: 19:21

the lawyer position the attorney general.

Speaker 1: 19:25

Yeah, yeah, the attorney general said last night that the mlk files on her desk, yeah the jfk files and the rfk files are on her desk, along with epstein's client list.

Speaker 3: 19:38

Yeah, she's gotta, she gotta have a security detail. I'll tell you that because a lot of people would be willing to pay good money to make sure those never reach the public. Oh yeah, so did you see that Kash Patel is also the head of the ATF now?

Speaker 3: 19:59

I saw Gorka's comment that then got taken down rather quickly, yeah, so I think he's the interim head of the ATF, which is fine, and I always just suggested that Trump appoint an interim person and then just wait for four years to find the permanent person, Because that way the interim person doesn't have to go through all the crap with the Senate.

Speaker 1: 20:31

Yeah, there's pros and cons to that um it. I think that would be too much for any one individual dealing with the fbi and the atf.

Speaker 3: 20:43

So yeah, I don't think it should be the same person. I just said that I like I think you should just put brandon in as temporary right, but what Gorka is saying is that it's cash. Yeah, it is cash. That's why I've seen on other reports as well. But that could also mean that he very quickly, within the month, essentially folds the ATF into the FBI, and that would make sense why he would be in charge of both, because he will be in charge, and that would make sense.

Speaker 1: 21:12

Why he would be in charge of both? Because he will be in charge, and Trump yesterday started talking about merging agencies, including the, the post office and the Commerce Department, which I don't know. I don't really want to see the, the ATF, merged with the FBI. That's not something I want to see. What I want to see is the ATF abolished and the laws that they are using to govern with and you know I don't want. The FBI has a bigger budget than the ATF. Why would I want to give them more ability to go after me?

Speaker 3: 21:52

Well, let me make the argument for that. Um, so I I think that you you need to first remove the laws that the atf is allegedly enforcing, which means the atf will never go away because those laws will never be removed.

Speaker 3: 22:10

So I would be much more in favor of reducing the ATF's headcount and making the ATF be a small group within the FBI rather than its own agency, because as its own agency it's duplicating a ton of efforts that are already being done by the FBI and all that hand count can go away. I don't think that moving the ATF into the FBI turns all of FBI into ATF because, frankly, a lot of those agents are that. That's not why they're in the FBI, like they want to deal with the money laundering stuff, they want to deal with the cartels, they want to deal with other things, not with being tax collectors for gun parts. So I don't think that the danger of saying, well, if we fold the atf into fbi, that means the entire FBI is going to start becoming the ATF I don't think realistically that holds water and it also is going to be in large part dependent on who's running the FBI as well. So right now we basically had as the head of ATF under every administration, including the first Trump one anti-gun people. I would be much happier if we get it under the FBI where at the very least, the administration changes from Republican to Democrat and you have people that are less anti-gun in some years and more anti-gun in other years, have people that are less anti-gun in some years and more anti-gun in other years, like they're.

Speaker 3: 23:55

The atf has been just really staffed as an anti-gun agency, even during republican presidents, even during bush both bushes, for that matter. So I I think this is a good move to fold the atfn. Just get rid of it as an agency altogether. That removes its whole budget and they'll be able to get rid of a lot of the people that have been there by giving them retirement packages so that they're not polluting. The new people that are coming in that are going to be doing that type of work if the fbi. But ultimately you got to get rid of the laws, man. As long as you have the laws, somebody will be enforcing them did I lose you?

Speaker 1: 24:45

no, my, my, your music. Yeah, I, and I had to go into windows settings to unmute my mute button on my uh stream deck wouldn't unmute make sure you run your stream deck software if that happens, and then you can quit right back out of it.

Speaker 3: 25:04

I've had that happen before yeah, well, anyway.

Speaker 1: 25:07

Yeah, what I was trying to say was look, the the problem is the ATF shouldn't exist, these laws shouldn't exist, agreed, and we have to figure out a way to roll them back as best as possible. Brandon Herrera's plan, which a lot of people were like oh my God about, I actually like, I actually like a lot. I think there's a lot of good things there and a good thoughtful process. You saw he was in DC the other day. Right, I saw he was at the White House.

Speaker 3: 25:46

Yes.

Speaker 1: 25:47

Yeah, which you know? I wonder.

Speaker 3: 25:57

Is there anything there? Or is that just me being hyper, hyper, hyper Cash? Patel knows who Brandon?

Speaker 1: 26:02

is I mean, they've mentioned each other at least concerned that I am, uh, just thinking wishfully about this, you know, and that's what I want to avoid, I guess yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 26:22

And and this is a a problem for a lot of the gun tubers out there, I think is that they've tended to think that with trump in, like, all our problems are solved. It's like, yeah, trump's not really known for being mr, go out and go shooting like he is certainly pro-gun but eric is eric and don jr are yeah, yeah, both of those guys.

Speaker 1: 26:45

And don jr's freaking house is filled with trophies yeah, I mean, that guy's a hunter, he's a real hunter yeah, and I think his daughter is as well. Uh, but it's a yes, you're jailbait there, uh you would be legal soon.

Speaker 3: 27:05

I'm sure there's a countdown clock on the internet somewhere. I am sure she's kind of dorky looking, but but it seems like a sweet girl you know what I mean? I mean, she's just anyway, uh but.

Speaker 1: 27:19

But apparently uh spends a lot of time with grandpa trump yes, and I'm pretty sure grandpa trump and daddy trump would kill you, and they have the money to hire hit squads.

Speaker 3: 27:33

So I don't know what you're talking about there, but anyway, the um.

Speaker 1: 27:40

I man local Austin man found strangled by snake while wearing a tracksuit.

Speaker 3: 27:47

Uh, that that's a little too close to real there. Yes, you don't say things like that, otherwise'll get questions at some point saying, well, what'd you know about this? Uh, no, snakes, thanks, not gonna strangle anybody.

Speaker 1: 28:01

He's a friendly pet, he's yeah, a pet that you know, my, my cat is a friendly pet.

Speaker 3: 28:10

But you know I'm under no illusions that if my cat had the try the chance to kill me and eat me probably would yeah, yeah, and man, I've always said that if, if I ever hit the jackpot and or won the lottery or getting fed, I like ridiculous money that I would absolutely get. A puma is the mountain line. It's. It's really the biggest cat you can have that isn't just going to want to eat you every day Like it can absolutely kill you, but as long as it's fed well and as long as you know you, you get it as a little baby kitten it'll it'll see you as like not not food, but it'll see you as like the food you eat last.

Speaker 1: 28:56

So, yeah, I, I don't know, no, no cats big enough to kill me thank you.

Speaker 3: 29:02

I mean realistically. People have been killed by even uh main coons. So, and bobcats kill people all the time. It's, it's a cat doesn't have to be as big as you to kill you.

Speaker 1: 29:15

I, I, this I understand, but it's you know, uh, it's gotta be closer to my size to be able to kill me.

Speaker 3: 29:23

Closer for sure, yeah, yeah, um, but you never know. I mean, you know cat can scratch your eyes out when you're asleep and then good luck. I'm just saying cats are very they're like the most miniature stealth killers that you can have as a pet.

Speaker 1: 29:44

They are absolutely the most predatory thing we have as pets Like dogs do not even compare, no, not even close. Not even close.

Speaker 3: 29:55

Dogs have just been so neutered over time oh yeah, but even as wolves they don't hunt for sport cats do depends on what you mean by sport you. You don't eat it, you just kill it because you like chasing it down and killing it.

Speaker 1: 30:13

Yeah, sure, and cats will absolutely have that play instinct. I mean you see that in kittens all the time right, or a cat that catches a mouse.

Speaker 3: 30:23

I had a cat that killed a rabbit every single day and the only part of it it every ate was the ears and they it the only part of it at every eight was the ears, and they would leave the little trophies around the outside of the house for my mom to bitch about picking up. Um, you know, theoretically me. So next time on pet talk, yeah, exactly, I just I've always liked predatory pets. I think that's a. If we have dinosaurs right now, I would totally be the guy with the Raptors.

Speaker 1: 30:58

Oh, Jesus Christ, Dude that play with fire much.

Speaker 3: 31:03

Exactly If you, if your pet can't kill you, what? What good is having him as a pet? Um?

Speaker 1: 31:11

well, what good is any pet?

Speaker 3: 31:15

Well, it creates a responsibility.

Speaker 1: 31:17

That's mostly what it's good for yeah, I mean pets are good for. You know, having someone around a little bit Dogs, you know, early warning system.

Speaker 3: 31:29

And I'm not. They're things I like. Certain dogs, uh, early warning system like, and I'm not there. There are things, there are dogs, my. My only issue for dogs, or why I haven't had dogs, is because they require attention more frequently than I'm willing to give it.

Speaker 3: 31:43

so it would not like. I would need to have three or four dogs that could take care of, playing with each other and not bother me to justify having a dog. So it's really like in the best interest of a pet dog to not have me as an owner I mean, or you could totally have, you know, like a lazy coon dog type like I have.

Speaker 1: 32:02

That's just like scratch my head every now and then yeah, maybe, maybe.

Speaker 3: 32:07

I mean I guess I've been around mostly pretty active dogs. Most of my friends have dogs that are very active and, like I've, I've made meet one of my buddies. We regularly meet at dog park. When he goes out to play with his dog or to exercise his dog, I should say, um, so you know, I don't mind interacting with them and throwing the ball and stuff and petting them. I just I know that it would be not fun for a pet dog to have me be in the house but not to notice it for like six to eight hours at a stretch oh sure you don't want to do that to your dog whereas with a cat, that's fine with that snake, absolutely fine with that the snake will literally be asleep that entire time and not even notice that I'm not interacting with it.

Speaker 3: 32:59

What You're here, it is amazing. I always thought that there's some animals that tend to sleep a lot. You think of cats very much.

Speaker 2: 33:13

they're usually curled up unless they're eating or hunting or something snake can.

Speaker 3: 33:19

I've seen the snake sleep for two days without waking up, like 48 hours. It doesn't take a single drink of water, it doesn't move, it doesn't get up. You think it's dead, but no, okay, you just. You just look at its eyes, they're closed, it's sleeping. Uh, occasionally snores a little bit and then, um you know, then they'll wake up and yawn and crawl out and go, go, take a, get a drink of water, swim around a little bit and then go back and sleep again I just don't see the appeal of having a snake as a pet the appeal, I think, of having a snake as a pet.

Speaker 3: 33:58

Well, first of all, low maintenance, because I used to travel a lot, so I needed something I could leave at the house for a week, week-long trip and not be worried that it's going to die and I'd have to pay somebody to take care of it. Okay, that was number one priority. That pretty much cuts out dogs and cats, but I don't travel as much these days. But the other appeal is when you do interact with them, having something that's over 100 pounds and 18 feet long, uh, and is uh just non-starter to travel with yeah, definitely not a travel pet, but uh, I don't know, it's fun and I've had this thing since.

Speaker 3: 34:37

It was just three feet long like it was a baby when I got it, and what really endeared it to me, I think, was the first time that I I filled up the bathtub for it to go, you know, soak in and swim around and, uh, it held on to my arm by its tail while it was swimming in the bathtub. Oh, okay, it was almost like a cartoon moment. Right, it was very cute, but what do?

Speaker 1: 35:05

you attribute that. To do you attribute that it's afraid?

Speaker 3: 35:08

to fall off. It would hold on to a branch if there was a branch there exactly.

Speaker 1: 35:11

So this is not, you know, this is not something. I'm not anthropomorphizing the snake, I'm just I've enjoyed watching these things okay uh, I.

Speaker 3: 35:22

I loved it when I had huge aquariums. Back in minnesota in my office I had 125 aquariums make more sense to me. I mean how much interaction do you have with the fish? You're mostly just watching them.

Speaker 1: 35:37

Absolutely, but you know exactly that's. All you're doing is just watching the fish. But that's fine. They're pretty, they are very appealing to look at.

Speaker 3: 35:49

I think it's very pretty. Yeah, okay, especially right after it sheds. It has iridescence, this particular type. It has iridescent skin, so it's actually refracting light. So you get a full rainbow going down the length of the snake. So I guess the gay snake.

Speaker 1: 36:12

And that's owned by you. You know, I did hear that part on the white guns on, just you know, unrelenting the other day, so it makes sense the way, oh, yeah, yeah, the white guns, yeah, so you know, darren keeps saying well gee, I wonder if ben even listening.

Speaker 3: 36:30

He hasn't sent any money in.

Speaker 1: 36:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Y'all giving me too much shit, that's for sure. So, other than cash and what we've seen, the movements there.

Speaker 3: 36:43

The other thing that I thought was really interesting is you know you had lawsuits to stop some of these firings Judge immediately says, or like literally anything that is an executive order at this point there's a judge either in New Jersey, new York or California.

Speaker 1: 36:59

that stops it, it tries to. I mean the ruling in the federal court was immediately yes, the president can fire these probationary employees um, which is fantastic. You know him, him firing the irs agents huge deal huge deal and people are like well, your refund may be late, uh, okay, uh, I I'm okay with that, I you know. But a lot of people have a moron still get a refund jesus, exactly because my I usually have to pay.

Speaker 1: 37:32

Yeah, um, you know, most people aren't like us in in that what they do is usually that's, you know, that's their new car money, that's their. We're gonna do like that is money from the government for them even though it's their own money, which is just horrible. It's very sad that that's the state of our country, but that is something we have to realize. But you know, this shouldn't um reduce your refund time or make it take longer to get your refund. If anything, it'll just reduce the number of audits.

Speaker 1: 38:13

So yeah, I I see no downside people is always good, you know yeah, and I'd love to see that further downsized and you have to remember basically what he's doing with these firings is he's firing people who are still in the probationary period, because he can do that without any hr overhead, headache or dealing with the bureaucracy and the protections on government I don't see a problem with just hiring people, firing people in general, because they're working for him and he can leave it up to the departments or up to the agency to figure out what criteria to use.

Speaker 3: 38:47

But the president can absolutely say trim 5 000 jobs, uh, so there's some debate and the debate has come in.

Speaker 1: 38:58

Well, this really isn't an executive agency. It's an independent agency established. I'm telling the argument here. Okay, this is an independent agency established by congress.

Speaker 3: 39:10

He doesn't have the right to do this um, the fuck he doesn't, that doesn't exist in government that there is no qualification in the constitution for an independent agency right.

Speaker 1: 39:21

so if that is the case, then the uh fbi, the department of justice, all these things that were created via executive orders should not exist, because they have to be created then by.

Speaker 3: 39:34

Anyway, well, they shouldn't I agree with that?

Speaker 1: 39:37

Right, but the point is, the unitary executive is a real thing and people need to stop acting like it's not and it's the only thing Congress does is it, it.

Speaker 3: 39:48

It funds things and they can choose not to fund something, and they've had no balls to defund agencies up to this point, which is sad, because they could have absolutely defunded some of these agencies in the past, should have, absolutely yeah, but they didn't. And so now, finally, we have trump doing it. Now, what trump can't do is defund a state agency or fire people from a state agency.

Speaker 1: 40:14

Obviously, but if it's in the federal government, it does roll up to him. Did you see him and the governor remain going at it? Yeah, I sent you that dude. That was hilarious. I didn't know that. I saw it. Uh, if you sent it, I missed it when you sent it. But yeah it, just you know. Hey, why aren't?

Speaker 3: 40:32

you in court, yeah okay, that'll be easy, you're not gonna be there long, yeah, yeah, and start thinking about what you're gonna do after you're a governor oh, jesus, yeah it's. It is pretty damn funny because trump just says the shit that I would be saying and it most people wouldn't say that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1: 40:52

Well, and here's the thing it's every fucking day that something is dropping and it's something new, fairly big, it is damn near impossible to keep up.

Speaker 3: 41:03

Yeah Well, I'll tell you when those federal protections on Maine lobsters come in. The governor of Maine is going to be fucked.

Speaker 1: 41:15

What do you mean?

Speaker 3: 41:16

Well, lobsters are endangered. We can't be killing them. Sorry, maine, no, no, that could happen. That could happen very easily.

Speaker 1: 41:26

So the addendums to the endangered species list actually takes an act of Congress. And I will say say as someone who, the very first time I went to dc, was lobbying against the addition of the kent's red lee sea turtle to the endangered species uh list you're just a turtle hater, that's all you are. No, but the impact on industry and the people is not okay and it's a bullshit use of power. It's not a government power.

Speaker 3: 41:53

Yeah well, my point in the constitution where you have the ability to do this but they could just federalize the waters off the coast of maine and use them for a chemical spill testing facility yeah but people immediately point to the commerce a lot is my point oh, easily, but all he's talking about doing is immediately withholding federal funding. Yeah, which I don't know what that means.

Speaker 1: 42:15

You're not complying with this.

Speaker 3: 42:17

What is Maine getting from the federal government?

Speaker 1: 42:20

They have not any disasters. You're joking right. What disaster do they have? No, no, no. All federal funding is on the table. That means transportation, so highways, stuff like that. That means education funding. That means Medicare, medicaid funding Like he can pull a lot of stuff.

Speaker 3: 42:42

I don't think he can pull the highway funding, because that is actually paid for by the residents of Maine through gasoline tax.

Speaker 1: 42:49

I mean literally states. The reason why we have 21 is the drinking ages is because previous presidents had held um highway funding as a uh, as a tool to get, to get the states to raise the age from 18. Yeah, and, and I think this was a mistake and certainly stop education funding, especially since it's a title nine violation well, we should stop education funding for all I agree, that's an obvious given.

Speaker 3: 43:22

Just get rid of it. I agree should not be a department of education, never should have been.

Speaker 1: 43:28

It's the department of dumbing down the populace is what it is well, unfortunately I don't know that any public schools are going to necessarily get better to me and what. I've said over and over again, is we need to abolish all public schools. Education isn't a right your parents either come together and join a small local school or something to support and willfully pay for your education or they don't absolutely yeah.

Speaker 1: 43:59

So yeah, there's no reason that people like me, without kids, ought to be paying for anybody's education well, and there's no reason someone like me should be paying for other kids education when I could get all that money to my own kids. Yep.

Speaker 3: 44:17

Exactly so. It's a dumb idea. I think what we ought to have is more of a Like. If there's a place for government federal government at all in education. The only thing I would leave up to them is to create and administer standardized tests, because you want to have the same tests across all states.

Speaker 1: 44:34

I totally disagree with that well I don't believe in standardized testing at all why do you not believe in standardized testing?

Speaker 3: 44:45

what do you mean? What do you think? An a in mississippi is the same as an a in texas. I don't care, it's irrelevant. Well, those grades are used for something. Then they shouldn't be Okay. So what does that mean? What do you mean? They shouldn't be what they should be? You want to not distinguish between stupid people and smart people.

Speaker 1: 45:09

We do that with different things. Yeah, they're called tests, sure, and you have the SAT, act, asfab and those sorts different things. Yeah, they're called tests, sure, and you have the SAT, act, asfab and those sorts of things. Those are the standardized tests that should should exist. But what I would say?

Speaker 1: 45:23

they shouldn't be part of the department of education. So when you say standardized testing, I'm thinking, hey, the history final has to have this on it, right? No, it doesn't. We're not going to teach the test. What we're going to do is teach. And if you can pass the test later, then great. And I'm fine with universities or colleges having entrance exams that they do themselves. But as far as saying here's our national standard, no, because that just goes to the lowest common denominator and is not the way I want to go.

Speaker 3: 45:59

That's fine, then we just need to administer IQ tests. Cool.

Speaker 1: 46:04

Sure.

Speaker 3: 46:05

And as long as it's a privatized thing that there's competition in.

Speaker 1: 46:10

I'm all for it.

Speaker 3: 46:11

What do you mean? Competition? What are you talking about?

Speaker 1: 46:14

I mean competition. What are you talking about? I mean competition in what you would have more than one company offering an iq test. It wouldn't be the government standardized iq test. Because number one iq tests have to be re-calibrated every few years because of changes in the iq, because 100 iq is average at the time of that test yeah, but you don't have to calibrate the questions, you just have the different.

Speaker 1: 46:43

You shift the iqs if more people get questions wrong sure, but my point is do you want government doing that? I don't think that's a function of government and I'm good with competing companies saying we've got the best one, no, we've got the best one, and letting the market figure it out yeah, that's fine.

Speaker 3: 47:03

Uh, that's fine. I said, if there's a place for government anywhere, the only place that I see it is in creating a standard like I. I think there should be. It should be something like this right, here's what. The here's what should be included on your test and how you should do it. If that's the standard, they should. If we have standardized tests for schools as part of this, I'm totally fine with them. Sure, totally fine with them.

Speaker 1: 47:30

So there's some place if nist still exists, uh, which you know well, they're still getting funded right. So far, so far they haven't cut nist out but I mean, you know, trump is talking about merging entities left and right here.

Speaker 3: 47:45

So yeah, you know, and the post office and the commerce department, you know this is the national institute for Standards and Technology. Yeah, and it's been around for, I think, 100 years. Anyway, I have spent way too much of my life reading NIST standards. Their budget is $1 billion. Yeah, it's going to get cut.

Speaker 1: 48:11

It's not a high target, but it's going to get cut.

Speaker 3: 48:18

Yeah, yeah, it's not a high target, but it's gonna get cut. Yeah, yeah, and I, you know, certainly, back when I was in cyber security, I was using this shit left and right and it's, um, uh, like that's what I mean by government standards. Right, that's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about like there needs to be a single place against which you can measure things. What I don't want is a whole bunch of different tests being done and then those same scores are compared to each other, which is going to just create chaos well, I, I mean, I think it'll even out, because what will happen is, you know, an a in math and mississippi versus an a in math somewhere else.

Speaker 1: 48:58

Well, it depends on what part of mississippi, what school right right, I think things are how you know, and maybe entrance a reputation, do it maybe.

Speaker 3: 49:08

Maybe you don't worry about how smart kids are all the way up until 12th grade, but then at the end of 12th grade, when they apply to college. If they apply to college, then you give them an entrance exam that demonstrates what their actual knowledge is, although it'll be too late for them to do anything about it.

Speaker 1: 49:28

Not my problem. Not everybody needs to go to college, I agree with that Most people don't.

Speaker 3: 49:33

In fact, I would say I'm with that.

Speaker 1: 49:34

Most people don't.

Speaker 3: 49:34

In fact, if you and your family, I would say I'm going to be on that right now, nobody should go to college, because all it is is an indoctrination camp.

Speaker 1: 49:42

Yeah, but my point is, if you and your family didn't plan ahead so that you could pass the college entrance exam and do what you need to do to go live your dream, that's on you, bucko. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 49:58

Yeah, that's fine, and I would still think that an entrance test would be a much better way to determine who qualifies for college than what they're currently doing at the uh, the Ivy leagues, which is using mostly race. Well, they got sued over that.

Speaker 1: 50:17

You can't be Asian and you can't be white. Harvard got sued over that. I thought that got dropped.

Speaker 3: 50:25

MIT still doing it. Maybe they didn't drop it in Harvard MIT still doing it by race.

Speaker 1: 50:31

Which is totally discriminatory against Asians and whites, yeah, so it's uh, I am really lucky that I ended up not going there. Oh yeah, were you gonna go there? Um, it was a one of the schools I applied to and uh wanted to, wanted to go to, but my parents and grandparents uh basically said you're not going in. If you can go anywhere you want, but here's where we'll pay for. So okay.

Speaker 3: 51:05

Yeah, yeah, I didn't apply to MIT. Uh, I did uh Worcester Polytech and I did uh Michigan Institute of Technology and I got accepted in both of those. But I kind of had the same thing as you, which is like OK, but then where my dad was going to be was going to be University of Minnesota. I was like OK, well, at least, at least I know people there.

Speaker 3: 51:35

Well, and it I know people there, well, and it's paid for, yeah, yeah, for whatever good that did. And then I kind of say that jokingly because I've mentioned this on the podcast previously but I started off as an econ major, off as an econ major and then, um, I very quickly, after taking my first philosophy class at university level, realized that I really like philosophy a lot, and so I just started taking philosophy classes and, uh, not really focusing on any any practical life things. Okay, so if I would have gone to a tech school, that may not have happened.

Speaker 1: 52:20

That's my point yeah, and if I went to a tech school I would have probably gotten. Had I gone to mit, I probably would have gotten my phd in physics and then doing whatever I would be doing then, and I grant applications Exactly.

Speaker 3: 52:35

That's mostly what you do as a PhD Teaching other students to hate themselves.

Speaker 1: 52:44

I saw the politics of academia and I'm glad I got off of that track. It just would not have worked very well for me, especially as much as I like meritocracy. Academia is not the place for that?

Speaker 3: 52:58

no, no it's, it's it's really. Academia is very medieval. If, uh that's the best way I can describe it is it's all about relationships, backstabbing who you know and, uh, being at the right place at the right time to get in the onto a grant, I mean it. There's a video by my favorite youtube physicist, uh that, where she recently I was about to say what's her name yeah, yeah, no, it's, uh, and she's not attractive either.

Speaker 3: 53:29

But but she's really good, uh, let me find it. Uh, because I forgot her name, um, so I'll look her up. Uh, but she talked about how science is completely fucked right now, because, basically, for physics in particular, which is her area, yeah, um, because, uh, they've there's been zero new useful technologies coming out of physics for 30 years and they're basically just scamming universities and grant writers to get more money to do things they know aren't going to result in anything I mean it's like a self-propagating prophecy kind of thing there.

Speaker 1: 54:17

There is some of that, but what I would say is it's because our theoretical physics has so far outstripped our material science that there's no way to there's no way there's, it will take quite a bit to catch up, and we're not there yet so yeah, sabine hasenfelder, there you go.

Speaker 3: 54:37

Okay, I'm sure you've watched her videos before. I've probably sent you some of her stuff. I don't think I have, but really I've been watching her for like a decade. But she's a german, um uh, theoretical, theoretical physicist.

Speaker 1: 54:52

Gene likes the German chicks.

Speaker 3: 54:55

Dude, I like smart chicks. This has nothing to do with German or non-German. Intelligence is a very attractive quality. There you go. I just sent you a link, although what's funny is she actually has music videos out as well.

Speaker 1: 55:18

she, uh, she's a singing physicist, oh god did I ever tell you about my um, my lab, ta, my freshman year in my physics lab? We, we all walk in and he's a normal looking white guy and he goes I must apologize, english is not my first language and we're all sitting there going. Oh crap you know this is not going to be good profanity is oh nice, yeah, so it was like okay, okay you know multilingual and profound yeah, exactly, he had a good sense of humor and it was a good thing that's good.

Speaker 3: 55:57

Yeah, I, I have to say. Unfortunately, I had the stereotypical physics class experience in college which, even back then, uh, was basically asian grad students with a horrible command of the English language at going through the physics text at a very fast pace without really stopping and asking any questions. I mean it was about as bad a scenario as you can do and, of course, on top of it, then if I was trying to figure something out and I would talk to my dad about it, who used to teach physics, then he would give me a completely different answer or a different way to work something through. That didn't actually help me in doing my homework. So it was like, god damn it, this sucks, because I loved physics in high school, um, but I very quickly started disliking it in college, not the subject, but the way that it's taught interesting okay yeah, it was annoying.

Speaker 3: 57:08

Um, but yeah it was. I don't know. I think I still have a. I made the best of the experience in college but, it was arguably not really applicable to anything that I did for the next 20 years.

Speaker 1: 57:35

Okay, fair enough.

Speaker 3: 57:40

So I'm totally on board with the not everybody needs to go to college thing.

Speaker 1: 57:45

People don't, and it's one of those things that we have to realize and remember. Hey, it's okay for this to be the answer that you know not everyone needs this. It's okay, you know plumbers can make a hell of a living and there's no reason to make more money than almost anybody else. It's certainly per hour, yeah, in.

Speaker 3: 58:18

Austin. Here electricians are making about $180,000 a year.

Speaker 1: 58:21

And what people need to realize is, you know like I had some guys come out yesterday because I had a plumbing vent leak on me, so literally the little rubber seal around the plumbing vent just got hard. What's a plumbing vent?

Speaker 1: 58:35

uh, you know, leak on me, so literally the little rubber seal around the plumbing vent just got hard plumbing vent I don't know what that is okay, so for all your drains, so that they will actually drain and not create back pressure from a siphon effect. Literally, if you look in your uh, on your roof, above your bathroom and so on, you will see plumbing vents going through the roof. It's just a pipe that sticks up to allow airflow.

Speaker 3: 59:01

Oh, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha OK.

Speaker 1: 59:03

Anyway, I had a plumbing vent, one of the collars leaked on me and, I being me, I was going to get up on the roof and go do it.

Speaker 1: 59:10

And then I tried to get up on that roof and my roof is steep and it's cold and it's nasty and I've got a shingle roof and the granules on the shingles aren't really sticking because it's cold enough and it's like I'm gonna hire someone to do this, you know, and they were out here for a few hours and went up there and cocked and made a few hundred dollars. But it's okay, it's just part of it. It was worth it to me to not risk my fucking life doing that, because I didn't have the ladder that I really needed. I didn't have lots of things, so it's just the way it should be.

Speaker 3: 59:53

Yeah, know lots of things, so it's just the way it should be. Yeah, yeah and uh, as somebody that that fell off of a not even all that tall like a one-story height in a construction site and then fucked up my knee, I like, as you're describing this, I'm I'm feeling my knee start to go kind of tight. I'm like, uh, yeah, anytime there's stories of like people slipping on the roof or something, I just kind of tense up.

Speaker 1: 1:00:21

Well, uh, not fun yeah, anyway, I I haven't fallen off a roof, but I've put on plenty of roofs and I've been on steep roofs, but I just I wasn't doing it, uh without time, like I would have had to have gotten a uh rope across the roof right and tied off and you know I've had like that.

Speaker 1: 1:00:43

That would have been the only way I could have done this. Yeah, and it wasn't worth it for me. You know they came with a big and long enough ladder and a couple of guys, so we're literally they just had the ladder going up the roof the whole way and he was holding on to the ladder and being able to move it around Worked for them Makes sense.

Speaker 3: 1:01:04

So you sent me a couple of links here.

Speaker 1: 1:01:07

Oh, this morning.

Speaker 3: 1:01:08

Yeah, you want to talk about any of that stuff.

Speaker 1: 1:01:11

Well, I sent you a picture of my new mini PC last night with uh halo master chief collection and uh elite dangerous installed I, I did see that.

Speaker 3: 1:01:22

Yeah, so now did you play either one.

Speaker 1: 1:01:25

Uh, I just started them up to make sure that they were going to work on this thing and all right, I'm. I'm actually. I will say if anyone's looking for a decent budget mini PC, the Geekom A6 is a pretty good buy and value for the money.

Speaker 3: 1:01:44

Yeah, and some of the all right did you already. Do you want me to just use the link you sent before?

Speaker 1: 1:01:49

I can stick it in the episode yeah. Yeah, yeah, I've posted it on Twitter and a couple places, but right now you can get them for around $450. And you get quite a bit there. So you've got dual channel DDR5. It comes with 32 gigs. You can upgrade it to 64 if you want.

Speaker 3: 1:02:12

I love that it comes with 32. That's enough for most people.

Speaker 1: 1:02:17

It's enough for what I'm using it for.

Speaker 3: 1:02:19

Even if.

Speaker 1: 1:02:19

I'm playing a game or something it's enough. Right, I'm not rendering anything with this. It's got a decent AMD processor in it and a decent little graphics card and 2.5 gig Ethernet built in and all that.

Speaker 3: 1:02:34

Not bad, although you're almost at the price point of a mac mini yes, but I don't want a mac I. I don't know what that means, but uh I don't like mac.

Speaker 1: 1:02:48

I I don't and I hate windows 11. I was cussing windows 11 last night setting this up I was trying to get to my NAS. I was trying to map a network drive so I could run a backup script and copy some files and everything else. And I open up Windows Explorer and I type in slash slash IP address, slash enter. It brings me up authentication and all that Cool, nope, not found. What do you mean?

Speaker 1: 1:03:14

And I go to command line and ping? No, I can ping it. Let's see open browser. I can get to the nas. Okay, let me remote into one of my linux boxes downstairs. Yep, I can get to the nas from there, anyway I I had a security setting wasn't it?

Speaker 1: 1:03:32

it the Windows 11 stupid security bullshit, like running this PowerShell script that I've got written to copy files in different places In Windows 11. Now, by default, you are not allowed to run scripts. Yep, you have to change your policy settings to be able to run scripts.

Speaker 3: 1:03:57

It's just. Did you do it through the registry or did you use the tool?

Speaker 1: 1:04:02

I used the command.

Speaker 3: 1:04:06

Yeah, it's. I've run into a couple of those types of issues on my Windows. My laptop is Windows 11. My desktop is still on 10 there.

Speaker 1: 1:04:17

There's just a lot of things about um, about windows, that I don't like. But what I will say? The things that I don't like about windows, um, pale in comparison to the things that I don't like about Mac OS, because Mac OS is absolutely egregious on its. You know, oh, don't do that. That might be dangerous babyish mentality and I can't stand it. Yeah, but you can turn all that off. Yeah, you can, but then you get a mac os update that says uh no, you can't look at other things on your network. Why the fuck is that a thing? Why am I isolating myself on what like, what?

Speaker 3: 1:05:07

why is this not seeing that update? I don't know what that is.

Speaker 1: 1:05:10

Yeah, it hit one of my coworkers. Oh, I probably had something wrong.

Speaker 3: 1:05:16

Yeah, the thing about Mac is by default it is absolutely locked down, way more than Windows is, although maybe not any more than Windows 11. But it is certainly possible to turn off those locks for more of a power user and if you really wanted to, you could use command. In fact, uh, darren's been using terminal quite a bit out of his mac I use.

Speaker 1: 1:05:41

I literally am in the terminal on my mac work laptop almost every fucking day and you know I this is why I like linux. It works out of the box, I don't get babied and it actually you know, I can't complain too much about the, the mac os shell, because you know it's essentially bash so it's not a bad thing, don't get me wrong, but like there's just so much to hate about the amplification of these operating systems and it bugs the crap out of me.

Speaker 3: 1:06:22

But you realize how it happens. It was very incremental, sure, and so if you've been using a Mac for over 30 years, the way I have, you've seen all these changes one at a time, and so it doesn't seem like that big a deal because you know how to turn it on and off. But I totally get it. If you're coming into it from a new perspective and you're used to Linux with basically the opposite mentality, where everything is turned off and if you want to lock it down you got to run some scripts to lock it down manually then yeah, I could totally see how the mac just seems like they're preventing you from doing things you want. But it's. They have a certain user base that's been around for a long time, that they also can't piss off too much, and so there there have to be ways to turn the shed off. It's just. It may not be intuitive, and I totally get that. And and frankly, it's just too fun trying to bring up the Mac to you, cause I know exactly the reaction I'm going to get every time.

Speaker 1: 1:07:31

Well, so some of the links that I sent you we've already talked about right there was there, was that uh let the bodies hit the floor. Moment of cash patel. That I thought was hilarious, yeah, but uh. The other thing that was the main thing was the reuters story on merging the us postal service and commerce department yeah, so I haven't heard that before, that seems interesting. So that came out of a Trump conversation. He was literally the one to say hey, I think this is an option.

Speaker 3: 1:08:05

I'm not sure that the US needs postal service anymore. When it was established, there was no alternative right.

Speaker 1: 1:08:12

Yeah, but here's the problem. So to get rid of the Postal Service literally, literally takes an act of Congress. No, no, no, no, no, no. Takesa constitutional amendment. What? The Postal Service is in the Constitution. Really, I don't remember that word. Yes, the Postal Service is in the Constitution.

Speaker 1: 1:08:41

Okay, well, yes it, the postal service is in the constitution, okay, uh, well, does it specify anything about it in the constitution? Yep act, I hold on uh postal clause. So the us constitution, article 1, section 8, clause 7, known as the postal clause. Let me find the text. Yeah, I'm looking at it. Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads.

Speaker 3: 1:09:02

Yeah, so they can disassemble them as well. The right to establish means the right to disestablish. Yeah, yeah, we can get rid of it, but it is going to take an act of Congress. Yeah, because, honestly, at this point, like Amazon, has more addresses to deliver to than the US Postal Service.

Speaker 1: 1:09:25

I don't know. Amazon uses the US Postal Service quite a bit for that last delivery leg Very little, at least here.

Speaker 3: 1:09:33

Delivery lag Very little, at least here. The other alternatives, of course, with FedEx and UPS being available as well.

Speaker 1: 1:09:40

I just don't see a reason to keep it around well, I mean I, I, I think the mail delivery to your house is important, I think, but it hasn't been to the house in ages like I have to walk a block to pick up my mail yeah, me too, but, and I think it should go back to the house.

Speaker 1: 1:10:06

Yeah, I agree, I think we should get rid of all these, uh, these items where companies can charge you a fee for not, uh, not, going, uh electronic on their notifications. I, I'm sorry, I'm someone who wants paper. I want a paper record of what we're doing.

Speaker 3: 1:10:26

Yeah, I would go the other way, I would actually make it. Uh, make it that they, they have to do the electronic for free yeah, sure, but don't charge me for wanting a paper I throw away. I don't need a mailbox right now yeah, okay, but you're the.

Speaker 1: 1:10:45

This is the same sort of argument on should uh apps and services be able to say, um, no cash, or you know no cash. You have to use a card with us.

Speaker 3: 1:10:59

It's a little different, because cash is in the law. Cash is defined as something that shall be, uh, considered the legal currency of the country.

Speaker 1: 1:11:13

So yes, I think it's harder to make an argument to eliminate cash.

Speaker 3: 1:11:16

But if you ask me, when is the last time I used cash? Probably three years ago I.

Speaker 1: 1:11:22

I use cash all the time. I use cash.

Speaker 3: 1:11:24

Yesterday I never use it. It's dirty like. Why would I want to get my hands dirty? You want to touch shit that other people have been touching. There's more and more incidents, incidentally, of there being these. Um, what do they call this type of drug that is so potent it goes through your skin of your fingers when you touch paper with it on? Uh-huh, and they're drugs typically used in abducting people, and the cartels are using them left and right, by the way.

Speaker 1: 1:11:57

I am not worried about drugs on cash.

Speaker 3: 1:12:02

I am worried about the government tracking me and doing lots of things.

Speaker 1: 1:12:08

It shouldn't be.

Speaker 3: 1:12:09

You can absolutely pass a law that says that there shall be no tracking and if the electronic means exist, a record of it will exist and can and will be used against you well, a record of it can exist, but you can absolutely, through legal means, make it not be usable in court and you can frankly create fines for companies that hold information longer than they're supposed to. And that would include the records from the ATF as well.

Speaker 1: 1:12:43

Well, exactly, and that's exactly where I was going to go. We also passed laws to say that the ATF could not and should not establish any sort of database around US citizens owning firearms. Yet they have.

Speaker 3: 1:12:58

Yeah, but they did it in a sneaky way. Not really. Well, they effectively have a loophole for being able to maintain records of any FFL that has shut down and they've shut down a lot of.

Speaker 1: 1:13:18

FFLs. They go beyond that because they also, with the electronic forms and stuff like that, have direct access to those forms, whereas before they didn't. And there's lots of things here. Yeah, what it comes down to is I I think that the government ends up abusing these things more than it's a benefit to us I don't disagree with that.

Speaker 3: 1:13:44

But also, just because the government can't abuse it doesn't mean that you shouldn't use it or you shouldn't do it. I mean it's like and you're one of the guys that I remember when we first talked about guns, when we first met each other, you told me that you've never bought a gun in the store and therefore you'd never filled out any paperwork correct, and I was like, well, that's cool, I actually like to buy new guns, so I have filled out paperwork, and so even if there is a record that shows how many guns I have, I mean that's, I don't really care and obviously I have since changed my opinions on certain things because, you know, this also comes down to um convenience.

Speaker 1: 1:14:36

It's not just that, it's um. It comes down to I am not going to be the guy that says I lost my firearms in a boating accident because at that point in time it's already too late and I should have used them.

Speaker 3: 1:14:54

But I still know other people that stick to what you used to and that is to only buy firearms at gun shows. Yeah, and I mean that's fine. I'm not going to condemn them for doing that. They can do that. My issue is just that you're giving up an ability and a convenience to just walk into a store and buy a new gun for the possibility that you may do something someday which will put you on a target list by the ATF and then they will have all those records of the types of guns that you own. I don't know that it makes a difference whether I have five guns or I have 25 guns to the atf I I especially if

Speaker 1: 1:15:44

I didn't buy them all at the same time yeah, I will just say that I am 100 if I am not on a target list. Some people are doing their. They're just doing it wrong. I'll leave it at that so, yeah, you wait.

Speaker 3: 1:16:00

Wait till there's a podcast tax, I'm sorry, wait till they establish a podcast tax for the use of public internet. You know, shit like that's coming because they haven't figured out a way. Tax for the use of public internet. You know, shit like that's coming.

Speaker 1: 1:16:14

Because they haven't figured out a way to scam money off of us. So, unfortunately, I think digital ID is definitely going to be here and I think the. Trump administration very well may be the administration that brings it in.

Speaker 3: 1:16:24

Could be.

Speaker 1: 1:16:25

I know Musk has talked about it. Well, it's not just Musk. I know Musk has talked about it. Well, it's not just Musk. It's really about being able to prove who you are online and they're going to bring it in under the guise of accountability. And I get it, and accountability is largely a good thing, but I think we need some anonymous trolling capacity as well.

Speaker 3: 1:16:53

Personally, yeah, I've thought about this for a long time because I think there certainly when I was a youngster, doing a variety of activities that may or may not have been considered to be good or bad by certain agencies there is definitely a benefit to having an ability to be anonymous. However, I think, as an adult, I think so much of the shit that's floating out there, so much of the shit that's floating out there and by shit I mean all the uh little ukrainian uh flags on people's uh avatars and just all the pro hamas crap, all that stuff that's floating out there would be so much less prevalent if you knew exactly who that person was that's posting it and where they worked, because as if you know who they are and it's easy enough to get the rest of the info, and so I think it would be a much less of a much less people acting like a very different person online than they are in real life, because in real life, your actions have consequences and and unfortunately, we've created an expectation that your actions online have zero consequences, and I'm one of the people that really would love to see that change. Fair enough, and I've lived my entire life knowing that anything that I post out in the world will be preserved and can be used against me, and so everything I've ever written has gone through that filter. In fact, I've been I've been arguing for this for probably 20 years, telling people don't say what you're saying, because you know that this is going to get you in trouble. And then people said, ah, you're full of shit, I should be able to say whatever. Okay, well, if you think you should be able to say what you want, say it to your boss and see what happens.

Speaker 3: 1:19:23

See what happens, because it is unreasonable to have a group of people that are living on the Internet as though they're playing a video game and they're doing activities which are very anti-societal and then to expect zero consequences from that. So I think that they hopefully will be here while I'm still alive, because I think that does need to change, because right now there's very little difference between online and the real world in terms of getting things done, getting work done, getting you know forms filled out, getting Well like you probably got your uh that you found to come out and repair your roof through the internet, right?

Speaker 1: 1:20:15

uh, no, actually I texted the guy who yeah, I texted. The guy who does my lawn says hey, do you know a handyman that come do this?

Speaker 3: 1:20:22

okay, okay, well, you're you are the old school guy you I swear to god, you're like, uh, you know you're. You're living, uh, as though you were born in the 1950s.

Speaker 1: 1:20:31

Back in my day we had wwwsquat.

Speaker 3: 1:20:35

Exactly.

Speaker 1: 1:20:38

So a couple of other stories that we ought to cover.

Speaker 3: 1:20:40

Well, do you want to reply to any of that? I mean, I kind of feel like you somewhat disagree with this. You want anonymity. I just think that anonymity like there's a difference between 1984 there is absolute, complete observation of a person 24, 7 and everything they do, say and think yeah and just publicly being able to call for, you know, destruction of a uh of the current president of the country, and that somebody had to go and take care of that and then have zero consequences yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:21:20

So what I would say is freedom is dangerous. That is, that is the point I should be, but on the internet.

Speaker 3: 1:21:31

If it's anonymous, it's not.

Speaker 1: 1:21:33

If I get to respond or not.

Speaker 1: 1:21:34

I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery Part of that freedom and living in a pseudonymous society that we have on the internet, because is not truly anonymous, as we all know, um, but what I would say is it is a very good thing that those people can be as horrible as they want to be, because it also allows me to stand up and say something righteous when the whole world is wrong, and that that is the differentiation and the the other thing I would say on this but you want to say something righteous anonymously and be protected from it uh, at times when it's dangerous, yeah, there are times when that is what you need to do okay, I will live longer and be more effective so really you're the one compromising them?

Speaker 3: 1:22:29

not at all. You are because you're hiding. You're hiding, your. Really you're the one compromising them? Not at all. You are because you're hiding. You're hiding your true identity. You're not attributing your own name to the words that you say. You're a pussy.

Speaker 1: 1:22:40

I mean, it's pretty easy to figure out who I am, so I don't know that.

Speaker 3: 1:22:44

Well then you shouldn't care. Why do you want to pretend there's anonymity then? Because all right. Why do you want to?

Speaker 1: 1:22:48

pretend there's anonymity Because All right. So there's the effect of the panopticon Right and the problem with the Internet is it's not just a panopticon where you never know if the guard is looking or not. The guard can always go back and look at what you did at any point in time. Absolutely History. Yeah, that is a hugely chilling effect to people, so that's not a good thing, maybe it is. That is a hugely chilling effect to people, so that's not a good thing. Maybe it is.

Speaker 3: 1:23:14

People that aren't willing to put their name to their words, their words aren't worth anything. Then we didn't have the Declaration of Independence sent over anonymously, did we?

Speaker 1: 1:23:29

No, but we got to the point where we would send the declaration of independence by sitting anonymously in bars and taverns and having no, not at all anonymously.

Speaker 3: 1:23:38

Everybody knew who those people were. That is ridiculous to say that was anonymous.

Speaker 1: 1:23:43

There was no anonymousness, first of all there were pen names used all over the place. If by the pamphleteers and everything else, because had they, when they were speaking out early, had they spoken out with their full name, they would have been killed. The there was no doubt as to what would happen with them okay so no, the revolutionary war was definitely started due to hush conversations and this is why king george again, this is why king george sent his agents to go to the bars and taverns.

Speaker 3: 1:24:18

This is how we get the word gossip there's nothing wrong with hush conversations, but when you're posting, posting something publicly, like on X, for the world to see, having anonymity right now allows people to say things that they absolutely would be disgraced over by their friends, by their coworkers, by their bosses, by everybody, and they're just doing it because they know it's anonymous.

Speaker 1: 1:24:50

Yeah, but see, the those people are not the people I'm talking about. They're not the people I'm interested in protecting. I'm interested in protecting the whistleblowers. I'm interested in protecting the people who are willing to stand up and say no, I don't care what society says, this is wrong, this is what I believe, and you can agree with me or not, but shouldn't matter. And the the other thing I would say is you know, I, I flat out, uh went up against my ceo during covid um I've told you those stories.

Speaker 1: 1:25:25

Yeah, I flat out, you know, publicly protested the lockdowns and the mask, mandates and the rules, because it was just no, this is too far and I am not going to comply with this period. Yep, yep, um. So you know, I don't know man that's not anonymous? No, it's not, but I had the decision to make and everyone should be making that decision. Yes, but they should also have the ability to be somewhat anonymous or less known.

Speaker 3: 1:26:01

You're also talking about in 1776, if you decided to go to a different town and say your name was Jim Bob bob instead of no one would know so we're talking about an entirely different society here, and that has to be understood yeah, but that's my point is that right now, where we are, is we have people that are literally doing despicable things, things and then going, you know, working their shift as baristas in starbucks. And I think that I don't know about you maybe you have a different opinion this if I find out that somebody that is working for me is trying to kill the president or maybe not something that drastic but basically is a supporter of communism, that will be the last day they're working for me. I do not want to financially support anyone who is trying to destroy my way of life.

Speaker 1: 1:27:03

Yeah. So what I would say is I believe all discrimination laws should be repealed. Agreed, I think everyone should be able to discriminate.

Speaker 3: 1:27:14

However, they want and let it damage themselves however they want.

Speaker 1: 1:27:19

So if you want to right now, I would say I shouldn't be fired for being, you know, a closeted libertarian, because I don't like saying I'm a libertarian anymore, but you know a, a, a, a libertarian, because I don't like saying I'm a libertarian anymore, but you know a, a, uh and uh small, l libertarian yeah yeah, exactly. Um well small l libertarian slash republican, small r um small r small r republican. Like I believe in a republican form of government, that's yeah, where that I I've.

Speaker 3: 1:27:47

I've. Actually I have not been doing it recently, but for a while there I was just referring to myself as a jeffersonian yeah, yeah, that's fine.

Speaker 1: 1:27:54

Um, but what it comes down to is I wouldn't want someone firing me over that and I think that's unreasonable. I think I personally think firing someone over anything other than their work product, or judging their work based off of anything other than their work product is not right and that's not the way I operate. Why? Because I don't play games with oh. I only want to work with the people I like.

Speaker 3: 1:28:17

But you realize the scenario that that brings.

Speaker 1: 1:28:20

No, the scenario it brings is I want to work with the people who have the best talents to accomplish the job.

Speaker 3: 1:28:24

The communist revolution. Because if you want to have the best farmers working for you that are the best at getting your grain, but their politics is that companies are evil and we really need to just take over this land and split it amongst us, because we're the ones doing the farming, and not them. If you want them working for you, then that's exactly what's going to happen You're going to end up getting thrown over and toppled and they're going to steal your shit and take over. I think, beyond just meritocracy, you have to look at character, and that's something this country has forgotten. And we used to look at character for most of the age of this country, but not for the last 30, 40 years. We've kind of let people have any character that we hire, and if I want to not hire anybody with blue hair because that's a sign of a particular mentality, then I should do that.

Speaker 1: 1:29:20

Repeal all the discrimination laws and let the market decide. Let the market decide. Okay. Well, you know we're going to end up with uh, you know, bipoc only coffee shops and stuff like that yeah, which I'm totally fine with it.

Speaker 3: 1:29:39

Yeah, I think it is unnatural to prevent people from being able to create social groups and then gather in those groups and, frankly, the most extreme of people are doing it regardless of laws anyway. Because if you look at the somali population in minnesota. Do you think they give a shit about any of those laws? Do you think that they will bring in white people just to diversify?

Speaker 3: 1:30:05

hell no, they, they've totally self-segmented, yep and the only people that care about this is liberal white women. I guess that's the group that cares the most about diversity. No other group of people, including the ones that the liberal white women want to get all diversified with, want diversity.

Speaker 1: 1:30:27

Nobody wants it well, the diversity that matters. It's so to me. I don't give a shit about your skin color. I don't give a shit about your religion. I give a shit about your thoughts and you know what you think. Yeah, and that's like I actually think, martin luther king had a pretty good um line when he said the content of someone's character and not the color of their skin.

Speaker 3: 1:30:57

Exactly, I actually got to use that yesterday on a tweet yeah, uh, yeah, I, I totally agree with you, but that is not reality for most of the world most of the world, again, including very much the countries that these liberal white women all want to promote. Don't act that way. You try being a white dude going into Ghana or Uganda or you know. Pick a random country in the third world and see how people act towards you. Okay, yeah, you're not going to be treated just like everyone else on the character you know and purely on the character that you have. It's. It's different in the real world, and the only reason that america has been able to put laws in place to forbid discrimination is because this country has had an enormous financial advantage. Since World War II, like literally the rest of the world got pulverized with war, lost millions of people, lost millions, if not billions, of money of their local currencies, and the us basically lost a few aircraft or a few ships in hawaii. That was the extent of damage well, a little more than that.

Speaker 1: 1:32:20

We lost quite a few ships in the pacific, even some in the atlantic theaters during the fight, but you know lots of things that but like the actual territory, the actual industrial base was not damaged at all.

Speaker 3: 1:32:32

And so, that said about the uh, really, the age of america we we were the only industrial base left untouched agreed.

Speaker 1: 1:32:41

yeah, so let, since we're talking that and we're kind of moving to this post bretton woods world, yeah, what do you think of the talks about a new Bretton Woods-esque agreement, and people are even calling it the Mar-a-Lago Accords?

Speaker 3: 1:33:01

Well, I mean what you mean, the new splitting up of territory, or what specifically do?

Speaker 1: 1:33:10

you mean Really, it's about the monetary system. So, just like Bretton woods was very much, you know, we're going to be the global reserve currency. You're going to accept this because we're going to open the seaways, we're going to do the Marshall plan, we're going to do all these things. What this is really about is looking at a reset of the us dollar. Uh, in a slightly different way, and there's a pretty good rumor.

Speaker 3: 1:33:40

Didn't we talk about this last show about from that podcast of the virginia dude?

Speaker 1: 1:33:46

similar. Yeah, not quite the same but, uh, you know the, basically all these international agreements are named after the resort.

Speaker 3: 1:33:54

That yeah because you got to have a, a nice place to go while you're having these conversations. I guess, yeah, yeah, um, I, I don't know think I think it's interesting and I think Trump may be in a position where he can uniquely, in a lot of ways, create some kind of a shim into bricks to not allow bricks to compete with the US. Like he may be able to come up with a way to insert the US into the BRICS structure in a way where BRICS is going to be still relying on the US dollar Because the organization exists. You're not going to get rid of BRICS. The countries are effectively already trading in different currencies. But if you make it more attractive to get back to using the US dollar, I think all the countries, frankly, would be more than happy to do that.

Speaker 1: 1:35:05

Well, since Trump has basically pulled us out of the World Trade Organization by declaring the reciprocal tariffs right, so that's fundamental as to what we're talking about here. What if he went in and said you know what, vlad, I want to join.

Speaker 3: 1:35:22

BRICS. Well, the US doesn't need to join BRICS. That's the thing it's like. Brics is still smaller than the US.

Speaker 1: 1:35:28

Yeah, but no, no, no, you missed the US. Yeah, but no, no, no, you missed the point. Yeah, because it neutralizes that emerging threat.

Speaker 3: 1:35:35

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, if we were purely theoretical and the US decided to join BRICS, it completely makes the US the biggest player in BRICS and, by default, makes the US dollar be dollar, be untouchable. Exactly, yeah, but the us would have to join bricks to do that. I'm not sure the us is willing to do that, I don't know. And and it would complete. I mean, they're already fucked in europe, but think about how much the us joining bricks would fuck with europe dude, victoria new Nuland said it over and over and over.

Speaker 3: 1:36:12

I've been playing that clip.

Speaker 1: 1:36:15

Fuck the EU. And you know I listened to part of Unrelenting this morning. I didn't get through it all Okay. So whenever you talked about me, I haven't gotten there yet. But what I would say is I think you're wrong on Ukraine joining the eu no, I didn't say that.

Speaker 1: 1:36:35

What darren said they're going to join the eu I don't think yeah and I I think they might no they won't, because it will fuck the eu, because it will give us the impetus to say if you are going to expand your territory, most, most of you. We have military defense treaties with ie NATO. If you're going to expand your territory and you're already talking about a European army. You're already talking about this thing.

Speaker 3: 1:36:59

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:37:00

We must dissolve NATO. Yeah, we should, yeah, yeah, I think so.

Speaker 3: 1:37:06

Yeah, we should have dissolved NATO, probably In 1992. Well, more than that, I'd say by 2000,. We should have dissolved NATO, probably in 1992. Well, more than that, I'd say by 2000, we should have dissolved NATO. I think it was reasonable to take longer than the fall of the Soviet Union, but certainly somebody had to realize that a large military without a war is a problem, and that's always been a problem in every country that's ever had a large military. The problem in Rome is a problem in France is a problem in Russia is a problem, and that's always been a problem in every country that's ever had a large military. The problem in rome is a problem in france. It was a problem in russia's problem in a lot of places. So I, that's really what nato's main problem is is it's a, it's a military searching for a war.

Speaker 3: 1:37:46

Now so yeah, I, but my thought here's my current, and this is subject to change, certainly on what happens. But my current thought is the most likely scenario is the parts that russia is occupying in what was the former western side of russia are going to be kept by r? Oh, and that the parts that are not currently occupied are going to be called Ukraine. There will not be NATO in Ukraine. That's definitely going to be a hard line, but it may end up being a continue to be a separate country, like it is right now, as there will be a country called Ukraine.

Speaker 3: 1:38:30

The part that I predicted at the start of this which at this point I'm not sure is likely to happen is I always expected Poland to get Western Ukraine, because it's always been part of Poland. So if they don't, it's a rare opportunity. Maybe they're one and only shot at getting levive and throwing territory back, yeah, but uh, maybe they won't, I don't know. But in either way, europe, and at least the leaders in europe, and what they're talking is it like. I don't know what kind of drugs they're doing, but it's something. Because, uh, there's no way that you're going to have ukraine either as part of the european union, which by de facto. Here's what being part of the european union means. It means that it becomes a state rather than a country, and as part of that state, that means that germany can move its troops into ukraine anytime at once, and russia will never allow that. That's. That's a non-negotiable thing. Bringing european countries troops closer to the border ain't gonna happen yeah, I.

Speaker 1: 1:39:47

so I I think that there is definitely a world where, well, the European Union isn't a, you know, it's an economic union, it is not a military union, right?

Speaker 3: 1:40:02

What happens when we dissolve NATO? All those countries I understand, I agree.

Speaker 1: 1:40:07

And they're already talking about spending the money to establish a.

Speaker 3: 1:40:12

European military what is the official term for it? When a country has money in other countries' banks Reserves? They already took all of Russia's reserves that were in Europe. The US put a freeze on Russian reserves that are in the US. Europe confiscated those reserves.

Speaker 1: 1:40:46

So far they've confiscated the interest.

Speaker 3: 1:40:49

Really, it was my impression that they confiscated the reserves, so they've confiscated the interest. Really, that was my impression that they confiscated the reserves, so they just started talking about what they're going to do.

Speaker 1: 1:40:57

As far as that goes, okay, because that's going to be another big point.

Speaker 3: 1:41:03

Like the us on freezing russian reserves, normalized relations makes total sense, uh, but europe, look, whatever they may say they're doing, believe me, they've already spent the money. It's not like that money is sitting anywhere. They would have to tax their population to get the money back to, to pay it back to russia, and they're not going to do that. So I think, uh, this is one area where the US can totally normalize relationships with Russia and unfreeze their reserves, which Russia will not move because that that'd be the, the agreement Right Is that will unfreeze them, but they still stay as reserves. You can't then pull in your reserves, um, but it effectively it'll bring us to where we were four years ago. Europe, I don't think, can do that, and then they don't want to do that. They have no interest in unfreezing russian funds at all, and um, and so I think really, what's happening right now is we're seeing a further division between europe and america and we have a financial reason for the us to figure out a creative way to insert itself into bricks.

Speaker 1: 1:42:28

Yeah, and I don't think that'll be by being a full partner, because, frankly, I think that will upset some countries sure, but what I'm, what I think, so you're, you're kind of coming around to my way of thinking on that then uh, I kind of I think well, I don't think, I was not thinking the same thing, I was just calling it a different thing, because I, I don't.

Speaker 3: 1:42:50

I don't think the us can, from a variety of reasons, most of them political, can just become a member of bricks like that breaks too many things.

Speaker 1: 1:43:01

But the us should have you seen what the trump administration is doing lately.

Speaker 2: 1:43:06

It's a good point like that is the modus operandi right now.

Speaker 3: 1:43:10

That is a good point yeah, um, but I mean it would be wild if that happened, uh, but I, I just, I still don't think that's that, the us that that, or just say you know what europe we're done with you and vlad.

Speaker 1: 1:43:27

Let's, let's recreate instead of the Warsaw Pact versus NATO, let's create the American Russo Alliance. Right, the Alaska Pact, Whatever sure.

Speaker 3: 1:43:42

Yeah, I mean that's funny to say. I don't think that's likely to happen either, but I do think that the problem with Europe and it's the same reason that europe was ahead of the rest of the world for so long the problem with europe is you have way too many people that all have many reasons to hate each other. It's chock full of a bunch of countries that have historical bad standing with each other, and now they're all part of the same package in the eu, and as long and what that means is, in order for european states to not fight each other, they all need a big bad guy to fight, which is why Ukraine is so damn convenient for them. It's like well, you know, we may hate each other, but the, the Hungarians may hate the Poles, but they both hate Russia, and so that's very convenient. The minute that goes away, they're going to start having a lot more internal troubles. And they're like well, even right now, Poland is already being withheld a whole bunch of European funds that they're supposed to have, because they don't accept a whole shit ton of random immigrants coming in. Like they're not taking all the uh, all the Muslims coming into the rest of Europe.

Speaker 3: 1:45:14

The other thing about Europe, and we're seeing it more in the UK right now, but it's just as true in Europe. I think they're just better at keeping the news. Propagandized is really what you could legitimately call an Arab crusade of Europe.

Speaker 3: 1:45:37

Yeah, there are growing and growing areas. Where European law does not apply, sharia applies, not apply, sharia applies. And, uh, you know, paris is probably about 40 of that. Um, a lot of other smaller towns have just completely been taken over. Um, you know, there there is a, I think, misconception that was taught about history in the Crusades, in that the evil Europeans decided to go hurt the poor Muslims in the Middle East and invade, but the reality is, the Holy Lands were always accessible to all pilgrims of Christian or Jewish faith.

Speaker 1: 1:46:35

Right and the amount of attacks inside Europe and everything else versus.

Speaker 3: 1:46:39

Yeah, I mean, the Crusades were a response to a clampdown by not just Arabs, but specifically by Muslims, of the Holy Lands and the path, the Holy lands, through Turkey. Like until that happened, there was no talk of the crusades. The crusades were a we need to allow free travel back to the Holy lands for European Knights or not just Knights, but you know, the European. What do they call them? People that travel for religious reasons, pilgrims, pilgrims, pilgrims, pilgrims there you go, that's the word. So we need to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Lands possible without the fear of death.

Speaker 3: 1:47:23

That was the Crusades, and they did that for about 200 years and then eventually got pushed back for about 200 years and then eventually got pushed back. But it's a. What we're seeing, I think, in a lot of ways, is a conquest, a second conquest of Europe by Islam. And again, if people aren't willing to talk about it, then they're just putting their heads in the sand. That is literally what's happening People coming over that are being treated as though they are political migrants. They're politically refugees from countries with bad politics, are instead bringing those politics with them and implementing them in the countries they're settling.

Speaker 1: 1:48:10

Yeah, but you're seeing a huge backlash against that we're seeing a small backlash against that.

Speaker 1: 1:48:16

I don't think it's huge by any stretch well, I think it's huge, given the laws in the uk and other places. And this goes to that panopticon effect that we were talking about. Yeah, so when you know you can't even speak out and say what is happening here is wrong well, that's racist. So you can't say, speak out and say what is happening here is wrong well, that's racist. You can't say that You're going to go to jail now Yep. That is a chilling effect and that is where having some anonymity is a good thing.

Speaker 3: 1:48:42

Disagreed. I think it is absolutely necessary. What the population forgets quite often in in any country, this one included, is that there are more of us than them. There are three million government workers. There are what? Not anymore what do you mean? Well, there were three million fine there were three million government workers hey, man you've seen the doge clock right.

Speaker 3: 1:49:08

Yeah, 300 million Americans. My point is the government is 1% of the population, the federal government, let's say another 1% for local government. Okay, so 98%? You're telling me 98% of the people cannot have a revolution against 2% of the people. Really, sure. And I've said this phrase a billion times, both on this show and in my life, pretty much since high school. Every country has the government they deserve, because they either elected them or they failed to depose them. By failing to depose your government, you're accepting it. Okay.

Speaker 1: 1:49:55

Hey man, I am in the burn it all down crowd. I know Same here.

Speaker 3: 1:50:01

My point is that anonymity prolongs the phase where you don't burn it down because you go out, you bitch online and then you go back to your government job. No, fuck that shit man. You need to put your name on it. You need to have the government realize that, holy shit, we are at a point where there could be a revolution, because we've got way more people commenting non-anonymously online about how horrible the government is. That's a real threat.

Speaker 3: 1:50:37

You know, this is the same thing I posted a few weeks ago, when there's a bunch of people, uh, online posting about how you know there's a vote for for tulsi and it looks like she may actually not get in because a number of Republicans are willing to vote against her, and I'm like, dude, you can post a billion times on Twitter an X about this and it will have zero fucking impact because, first of all, everybody's using a fake name and then, secondly, it's the same people bickering to each other. What you need to do is stop posting an ex, pick up the phone and call the office of your Senator, which I did, and then make sure you actually get to a human being. Don't just leave a message in the machine and um, and tell them what you think, because for every phone call that comes in that says what I said, which is, if you don't vote for Tulsi, then you will be primaried for every one of those calls they get, they know that that call represents thousands of people, because for every person that calls, there's a thousand that don't call. And so when there's a hundred of those calls, they know it's not just a hundred people bitching and wanting them, the Senator, to vote a certain way. If they get a hundred calls, they know that there's a hundred thousand people that effectively think this way.

Speaker 3: 1:52:04

They've got the exact numbers. I'm using round numbers, but they have the exact numbers. That's all statistically calculated. So if you want to make a difference but they have the exact numbers, it's all statistically calculated. So if you want to make a difference, don't anonymously bitch online. That does nothing other than make you temporarily feel good for thinking you have the right opinion. What you need to do is sound off with your real name to the government.

Speaker 3: 1:52:25

That's the only way change works, so I am 100% on board with calling and I'm talking with my hands right now, just so you can visualize yeah, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1: 1:52:36

So I am good with calling stuff out, I am good with, you know, I calling my senator and everybody else and stating my opinions. I again covid everything else, but when the whole world is wrong, it becomes dangerous to be right, and that is what you have to recognize absolutely, and it should be to an extent, yeah, because freedom isn't free uh, to an extent I agree yeah, no, I think that's absolutely right.

Speaker 3: 1:53:12

Plus, I want to make a distinction here. If it wasn't clear, places like x are public platform. Anybody can go and read that. What should still exist is private communications, like we have on signal, and that should not be something where you're required to provide your you know, know Now that that will go away.

Speaker 3: 1:53:31

There's a difference between one to one communication and publicly broadcast, and the anonymity in the publicly broadcast is the one that I think causes more problems than that. The anonymity in a private one on one communication can exist all you want that. That is a whole different ball of wax.

Speaker 1: 1:53:52

Well, I agree that it's a whole different ball of wax, but I still think the other should exist. Anything else we want to cover Gene? Well, I don't know.

Speaker 3: 1:54:06

You got me kind of riled up here talking about these topics I'm very passionate about. Yeah, I still love what's happening with Trump. I am blown away that he does literally a podcast every single day now, with reporters asking stupid questions.

Speaker 1: 1:54:34

And calling them out like the one, like the one abc lady recently she said something about, uh, voters in red states not liking what he's doing to the government and he says how do you figure you know who you report for? Oh, abc. Oh, of course you do. It was just so perfect news.

Speaker 3: 1:54:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's been doing a great job. I just, uh, I really hope that he takes all his vitamins and, you know, doesn't burn out, doesn't get overstressed, doesn't end up having a heart attack god forbid, or something, although I will say, everything I keep hearing from vance is as good, if not better, because it's more eloquent than trump. Yeah, sure, uh, vance was uh responding back, um, about the whole europe thing and, uh, you know, he pretty much summarized what we're talking about, which is that Europe needs to understand that the reason that we have a close relationship with them is based on shared values. And if those shared values goes away, so does the close relationship. And it's great that he's actually saying that, because that's that's what I want. I want there to not be an automatic. Well, we're always friends with germany. Well, you know what we weren't like 80 years ago and his speech was fucking brilliant.

Speaker 1: 1:56:02

And calling out and saying, hey, you can't censor your own people, you can't, you know, do this. Uh. You can't overturn an election because of a few hundred thousand dollars worth of ads on, yeah, uh, facebook. That that's not real. You can't do this and if you are, then you're not a democracy.

Speaker 3: 1:56:24

And yeah, calling them out for that, that was brilliant and I think that is something that should happen, oh my God, If not yearly, at least on a you know, every four years presidential basis. We need to reevaluate who our friends are, Mm-hmm, and who maybe used to be our enemies. Now I don't like the fact that we just gave Syria to ISIS. Because of what ISIS is. We're going to be less likely to do things like that, because it should have been obvious and apparent that maybe keeping a dictator in Syria is actually better for stability than having ISIS in charge and just beheading people left and right because they don't like them well and, quite frankly, what we have to realize is it's not our place to topple regimes in other countries again.

Speaker 3: 1:57:40

That's what happens when you got an army looking for something to do well, it's just not our business.

Speaker 1: 1:57:45

and what it comes down to is, if the Syrians want to change their form of government, they have an inalienable right to establish the type of government they want Yep. So there you go. Yep, oh man. All right. Well, I think we ought to call it for now. And we'll come back next week and do it again.

Speaker 3: 1:58:11

Yep, that sounds good. I'm sure we'll hear more about Ben's computer issues.

Speaker 1: 1:58:16

What computer issues I'm running great.

Speaker 3: 1:58:19

Okay, well, let's see if that's what you still see next week.

Speaker 1: 1:58:23

Why wouldn't I I?

Speaker 3: 1:58:24

don't know Ben, We'll find out next week. Stay tuned, all right.