Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Cuban Energy Crisis, the 2nd Amendment in CA & Abortion in Blue States

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Cuban Energy Crisis, the 2nd Amendment in CA & Abortion in Blue States · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Cuba's puppet president, Miguel Diez Canal vows quote unbreakable resistance
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: in an anti Trump tirade. Now, why did this happen?
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Is the question that everyone should be asking. I'm going
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: to explain it to you. The country just suffered a
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: massive nationwide blackout, lasting nearly twenty nine hours. It's literally
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: one of the worst in years in Cuba. And it's
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: all because Cuba is on the brink of a total
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: economic and energy collapse, and it's literally getting worse.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: By the day.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Power outages are now routine, some of them are facing
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: twenty plus hour daily blackouts due to fuel shortages and
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: a crumbling grid. The root cause it's simple, no oil.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Cuba has gone months with little to no fuel imports,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: crippling their electricity production. The region is dealing with severe
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: shortages of food, fuel, and basic services, all triggered by
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: the rising unrest as well. There's been a mass exodus.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Over a million people have already fled the country of Cuba,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: and protests are growing, including violent demonstrations and now attacks
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: on government buildings that are fueled by the depression and
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: the desperation of the people in Cuba over the regime. Now,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: even Cuban leadership is now scrambling talking about opening the
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: economy to foreign investment, something they've resisted for literally decades,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: as they are desperate. Now Trump's strategy maximum pressure, is
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: clearly working. The Trump administration has gone all in with
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: an oil blockade, cutting off fuel supplies the biggest pressure
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: point on the regime, pushing for regime change in democratic
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: reforms as conditions for relief. Trump said Cuba is very
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: weakened and signaled the US could make a deal or
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: just take action. The bottom line is clear. The strategy
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: is to force the regime to negotiate at the table,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: hard and quickly for real reforms, or flat out collapse
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: under their own pressure. Now Cuba's communist leadership is digging
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: in hard. The president there is promising that unbreakable resistance
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: against the US, blaming the crisis entirely on US sanctions
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: and economic warfare, cracking down on protests, and warning dissent
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: will be punished. At the same time, he's quietly entering
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: talks with US out of desperation. Now the president is
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: a communist figurehead, he's the president of Cuba, and he
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: threatened any external aggressor to the Cuba regime will be
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: met with unbreakable resistance. After Donald Trump said We'll be
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: doing something with Cuba very soon now. For over six decades,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the disastrous communist policies of the cast Or regime have
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: forced Cubans to live through inhumane conditions of well abject misery.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: The situation in Cuba has worsen in recent weeks after
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: the rogue communists abruptly lost access to virtually the free
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: oil that have been receiving for decades from Venezuela and
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: socialist regime following the United States arrests of their dictator
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Maduro in January. Now, I've got more to say on this,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: but first I want to tell you about Compassion International
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: and how you can get involved. Love, generosity, and compassion.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: We say those words all the time, and they sound good,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: they feel good.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: But here's the truth.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: and right now, not later, today, not tomorrow. There's a
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: child in the world who doesn't know if they'll eat,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: if they'll have a chance to learn, or if there's
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: any hope at all. And while we're all busy, life
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: keeps moving forward. But that child is waiting. This is
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: where you come in with Compassion International. You have the
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: chance to change a child's future, not just with words,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: not with promises, but with real help that provides food,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: education and hope through local churches and people already in
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: their community. Put your words into action and join me
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: introduce a child to a loving heavenly father today at
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Compassion dot com. That's Compassion dot com.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: The developing situation has been exacerbated by an increase in
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: the power blackouts and as I said, the widespread shortage
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: of food and other supplies that led to a surgeon
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: daily anti communist protests that are spreading across several Cuban
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: provinces in recent days now, in one of the more
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: dramatic displays, you had a group of protesters set fire
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: to the local headquarters of the Cuban Communist Party. That
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: was certainly a big move for the protesters. And then
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: on Monday, Cuba's barely functional power grid collapsed yet again,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: leading to that nationwide blackout that at press time when
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: the reports came out of Cuba, has not been fully
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: resolved and may not be anytime soon now. In a
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: brief statement published by the Cuban regime outlet on Tuesday,
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the president claimed that the United States allegedly threatens Cuba
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: almost daily with overthrowing the constitutional order by force.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Those are his exact words, and.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Then he said he intends to take over the country
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: under the pretext of what he describes as Cuba's weakened economy,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: they the United States claim and announces plans to take
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: over the country, its resources, its property, and even the
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: very economy they seek to strangle in order to force
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: us to surrender.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: The statement read in part now.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: The president did not attribute any responsibility for Cuba's actual
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: actions in decades old situation to the disastrous communist policies
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: of the cast Or regime that got them to where
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: they are right now. Instead, he claimed that the United
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: States has attacked and sought to isolate Cuba, referring to
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the US embargo on the rogue communist regime.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: Quote, this is the only way.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: To explain the fierce economic war being waged as collective
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: punishment against the entire people. Face with the worst case scenario,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Cuba is guided by one certainty. Any external aggressor will
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: face unbreakable resistance.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: The figurehead President also published a copy of his statement
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: on social media. Dz Canal published the message after Trump
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Cuba
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: is in very bad shape, which is obviously true. Trump,
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: after pointing out that Cuba is talking to the US
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Secretary of Saint Marco Rubio, added, We'll be doing something
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: with Cuba real soon. On Monday, Trump also told reporters
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: that he believe that he will be having the honor
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: of taking Cuba. Quote, whether I free it, take it,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: I think I could do anything I want with it.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: You want to know the truth. They're a weekend nation
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: right now, Trump continued.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Last week, diz Canal admitted that the Cuban regime officials
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: have engaged in talks with the US government officials, ending
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: weeks of speculation after Trump first revealed the reporters in
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: late February that Cuba had been talking to the United States.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Days after ds Canal's announcement, the Castre regime announced it
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: would lift restrictions and posts on exiled Cubans living abroad,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: allowing them to quote invest in Cuba's communist ruined economy.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: In an apparent desperate effort to bring in cash. The
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: cash starved regime has seen its main revenue streams such
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: as tourism, remittances, and the Cuban slave doctor's program, significantly
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: diminished by the regional efforts and the Trump administration's leadership.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Speaking to reporters alongside President Trump and Vice President J. D.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Vance on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Cuba regime has to change dramatically since it has an
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: economy that does not work and a political and governmental
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: system that cannot fix it. Rubio said that the recently
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: announced measures are not enough to fix Cuba's ruined economy,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: so they've got some big decisions to make over time.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: That revolution is not even a revolution. He said that
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: thing they have has survived on subsidies from the Soviet
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Union and now from Venezuela. They don't get subseaes anymore,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: so they're in a lot of trouble. Rubio said to
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: reporters and the people in charge, they don't know how
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: to fix it, so they have to get new people
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: in charge. Protesters attacked and even vandalized the Communist Party
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: office in one of the major cities there during demonstrations
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: over the blackouts this weekend. Demonstrators were chanting down with
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: communism while demanding food, water, and electricity. Authorities arrested several
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: people after the protests then turned violent. Across the island,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: people have also been staging nighttime pot banging protests, yes,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: actually banging pots outside of their doors and windows during
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: the long power outages. There is a massive energy crisis
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: and that's what's causing these blackouts. The biggest driver of
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: the unrest is these severe fuel and electric shortage. Cuba
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: has now gone months without major petroleum shipments, causing an
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: energy emergency. Power plants are shutting down and millions of
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Cubans have lost electricity during the major outages, Hospitals, now schools, transportation,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: and food production are being disrupted all across Cuba. In
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: some areas, blackouts have now lasted between fifteen to thirty hours,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: leaving entire cities in total darkness, which is also affecting
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: the food and medicine shortages that have worsened. The energy
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: crisis is hitting the food system hard. The shortages are
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: preventing crops from being harvested. Some bakeries have switched to
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: wood or coal ovens because they lack fuel they need
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: to make basic bread, garbage collection, transportation and supply chains
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: are breaking down. The result is inflation and shortages of
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: basic necessities, which brings us to US policy. We knew
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: taking out Maduro in Venezuela and making sure that Cuba
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: didn't get that oil was going to have a big
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: impact on Cuba and allow, hopefully for the people there
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: to actually have a free and fair election. The crisis
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: is also intensified due to the pressure on the regime
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: from the Trump administration. The US has now blocked oil
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: shipments and tightened economic pressure as well. Now, the goal
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: from Donald Trump and from Washington is widely seen as
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: forcing political and economic reforms in Cuba. At the bare minimum,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: regime change for the people in Cuba could be even bigger.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: President Trump now said that negotiations with Cuba are actually
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: under but he warned the US could take stronger action
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: if the talks fail. Now, in a major development, Cuba's
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: president confirmed talks with the US government. He actually did
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: that on state National TV. There The discussions are focused,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: he said, on the energy crisis as well as US sanctions.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Cuba has also released dozens of prisoners, possibly is a
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: goodwill gesture. These are the first publicly confirmed talks between
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: the US and Cuba literally in years now. If you
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: look at the overall issue here, Cuba is facing three
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: simultaneous crisises. This is something that the Trump administration knew
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: would happen if they went after the oil supply to Cuba. One,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: you've got the energy collapse, severe fuel shortages and nationwide blackouts.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: That is then bringing us to number two. Economic, the
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: problem with the breakdown, the food shortages, inflation, and then
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: the supply chain failures, and then that brings part three,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: and that may be the most important part. The political pressure,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: the protests against the communists regime, and the negotiations with
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: the US. We now have maximum leverage. You look at
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: all of this, and there's one great thing that has
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: come out of it. The President the United States of
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: America has said it's time for Cuba to move forward
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: and not be under such as repressive regime. It also
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: shows just how we China and other countries are. For
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: far too long, we were afraid of what other countries
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: would do if we did this to Cuba. Now we
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: don't have to worry about that. The President of the
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: United States of America even saying this about Cuba over
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: the weekend to Cuba.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: You said that Cuba wants to make a deal.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: What would the United States get in return for that,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: and why should Americans trust Marco Rubio to negotiate it.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: Well, Rubio is doing a great job. I think he's
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: going to go down as the greatest Secretary of State
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: in history. Look at what we've done as a presidency,
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: look at what we've done as an administration. They trust Marco,
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: and so do the American people. Trust he's been successful
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: no matter where he's been. He also speaks to language,
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: which is always nice and always helpful. But he's dealing
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: and it may be a friendly takeover, it may not
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: be a friendly taker. It wouldn't matter because they're really in.
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: They're down to as they say, fumes. They have no energy,
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: they have no money. They're in deep trouble on a
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: humanitarian basis, and we don't want to see that. But
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: they were very, very bad to a lot of people,
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: as you know, and a lot of people living. The
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: Cuban American vote, which I got at record levels.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: You listen down Trump there, it's very quick. He has
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: a plan and he understands exactly how he's going to
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: implement it and that's probably why it's working.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: So this is where we are now.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: The Cuba regime is clearly imploding, and every day that
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: goes by, the people in Cuba are either fleeing the
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: country or it seems like they're willing to stand up
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: and fight for their future. The question now is will
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: the regime fall. We'll keep covering it that I can
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: promise you. With so much happening in Iran and also
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: so much happening with fraud and abuse in America, there
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: have been some stories that have been overlooked that need
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: your attention. One of them was a big victory for
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: the Second Amendment in California. Now, this was a case
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: that no one was covering and it should be covered
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: because on Tuesday, California agreed to a settlement with a
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition as well
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: as many other plaintiffs, and they are now going to
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: pay the state of California over one point three million
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: to cover the plaintiff's attorney fees alone. Now, this all
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: is from a settlement that came from a lawsuit that
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: was filed against California's marketing firearms to miners law which
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: crossed in the First Amendment territory by banning firearm advertisements.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Now, this is something.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: That we were expected to see happen all over the
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: country in liberal states if California would have gotten away
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: with us. What they're trying to do is bankrupt and
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: shut down as many gun stores as possible, and it's
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: a way to ban firearms. And so they said that
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: you can't market your firearms store or your brand in
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: California because they said it was marketing to miners by default. Now,
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: the Ninth Circuit judge there by the last name Lee,
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: September twenty twenty three majority opinion against the law. He wrote, quote,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: the marketing firearms to minor law does not directly and
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: materially advanced California's substantial interest in reducing gun violence and
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: the unlawful use of firearms by miners. There was, in fact,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: no evidence in the record that a miner in California
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: has ever unlawfully bought a gun let alone because of
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: an ad Now translation, what they were saying is they
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: were trying to shut down the Second Amendment and this
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: and doing it through advertising. Is they were saying, well,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: you're marketing to kids and A great example of this
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: would be like what we saw with alcohol and tobacco,
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: when it was clear they were marketing to kids. You
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: remember Joe Cammel with Camel's cigarettes and like, and then
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: you could like get points out of the packs and
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: then buy, you know, merchandise that was like Joe Cammell,
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Like I remember having a Joe Cammeil hat and I
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: was not old enough to smoke. I remember it being
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: like cool to have that kind of stuff. And they
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: were clearly marketing with cartoon characters, like Joe Cammell was
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: a cartoon character. They were obviously marketing to kids. So
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: they got rid of that, but they didn't say you
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: couldn't advertise in general. Well, California was like, no, no,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: you just can't advertise. If we say that your advertisements
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: could have could make kids want to buy it, right, like,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: that's insane. And it was a way for them to
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: shut down the Second Amendment and basically get rid of
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: it in gun sales in essence in California. When the
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: judge looked at this, he said, look, this is absurd.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: There is no evidence that a miner in California has
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: ever gone out and unlawfully bought a gun in a
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: gun store, and especially because of an ad they saw
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: for a gun manufacturer or a gun store. We also
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: added this, California cannot straight jacket the First Amendment by
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: on the one hand allowing miners to possess and use
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: firearms and then on the other hand, banning truthful advertisements
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: about the lawful use of a firearm. The First Amendment
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: Policy Coalition went in and they fought this hard. They
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: fought it, and everybody was talking about this, like, wow,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: there it's California.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: The probably gonna lose. Guess what.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: They announced the settlement on X writing this after losing
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: twice at the Ninth Circuit, you know they're very liberal.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is very very liberal.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: California has agreed that it's minor firearm advertising ban violates
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: the First Amendment and they will pay the plaintiffs the
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: one million, three hundred and eighty one thousand, seven and
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: forty nine dollars and seventy two cents for the attorney's fees.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: The Second Amendment Foundation also posted this about the Governor
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Gavin Newsom, saying, quote, Gavin Newsom passed a law to
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: attack the First Amendment because he was mad about a
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: twenty two long rifle that was meant for junior shooters.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: That little stunt has cost California taxpayers over a million dollars,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: not including whatever California Department of Justice spent on their
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: own lawyers, three hundred and fifty thousand to saf five
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand to CRPA coalition of playmiffs in
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: the same lawsuit, and another four hundred and eighty thousand
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: to the Safari Club International.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: Case on the same issues.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: So this all stem from Gavenwsom being angry that their
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: parents out there that could buy a twenty two rifle
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: that is meant for junior shooters.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: By the way, I have one for all three of
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: my kids.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: If I'm not mistaken, and I got a twenty two
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: rifle when I was a kid, it's made smaller for
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: you as a kid. Now, does that mean I own
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: the gun? Yes, I own it for my kids. My
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: kids don't own that gun. Is it their present of courses?
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Is it in my possession?
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Yes? Is in my my Is it locked up in
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: my safe? Yes?
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: Like, if you're a saying human being, you understand kids guns.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: By the way, a four to ten shotgun that my
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: kid has that is mine. It's for him to use
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: when we go hunting. It is not they're not advertising
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: or marketing to him to go by by himself. And
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: everyone knows this like this is normal, it's not sane.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: And what Gavin Newsom did is he decided to lose
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: his ever loving mind and said, oh, you're marketing to
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: these kids. You're and you're advertising these kids, and so
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: we're going to ban it so that you can't advertise
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: at all in the state of California. Well that is
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: now backfired massively. It took deep pockets, by the way
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: by these groups to be able to fight this.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: Thank goodness they did.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: And it's also I think sending a very clear message
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: to any other state in the country that's thinking about
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: doing the same thing the California did.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: In California was a.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Test case that you will lose and this will be
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: a failure.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: So this is one of those stories.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I say, God bless America and God bless those that
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: have not been getting any media attention that actually did this,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Like this is incredible, all right, and I love that
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: there are people that are brave enough to fight these
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: wars the way that they just did. Gavin Newsom getting
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: slapped on the hand hard. This is a victory for
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: the Second Amendment. It's also a victory for First Amendment
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: right of free speech as well, and I wanted you
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: to know about it. The Trump administration said on Thursday
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: that it has launched an investigation into thirteen states that
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: requires state regulated health insurance plans to cover abortion. This
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: is a major development and it goes right to the
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: core of one of the biggest cultural and cons social
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: battles in America right now. We're talking about states like California,
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: New York, New Jersey, Illinois, states where the government has
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: said if you want insurance, abortion coverage is mandatory with
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: no exceptions, and the Trump administration is now saying that
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: may be illegal.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: At the center of this fight is something called the
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Weldon Amendment. It's a federal law that has been on
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: the books for years. It explicitly says the government cannot
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: discriminate against health care entities, doctors, insurers, employers who refuse
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: to provide or pay for, or refer for abortions. In
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: other words, you cannot force Americans to violate their conscience.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: But here's where it gets serious.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: The Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services says
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: these states mandates may be doing exactly that, forcing employers
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: and individuals into plans that cover abortion even if it
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: violates their religious beliefs. And according to officials, that could
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: put billions of dollars in federal health care funding at
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: risk if states are found in violation.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Now, let's talk about the scale of this.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: There are thirteen states currently under the investigation. These laws
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: affect millions of Americans enrolled in state regulated insurance plans.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Federal protection aren't just one law.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: There are actually more than two dozen federal statutes protecting
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: religious and moral objections in healthcare. And here's the key
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: stat that matters politically. For decades, under the High Amendment,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: federal taxpayer dollars have been barred from funding abortion. That
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: policy has had Bi Parson support for decades. President Trump
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: didn't just maintain it, he strengthened it, signing executive action
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: to enforce it across the federal government. And most importantly,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: I'm sure taxpayer money is not used for elective abortions.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: And this is where the Trump agenda comes into focus.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: From day one, the administration has made it crystal clear,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: we protect life, we defend religious liberty, and stop government coercion.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: The White House has said President Trump is committed to
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: protecting the unborn and restoring conscience rights across federal policy.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: This investigation, they say, is a direct extension of that promise. Now,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: the other part of this debate is how officials are
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: actually fighting over it. Framing the arguments, Paulice sten Art,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: who heads the HHS Office for Civil Rights, put it bluntly,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: health care entities are protected from paying for abortion contrary
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: to conscience. Period. That's not ambiguous. That's a line in
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: the sand. And conservatives are rallying behind this move as well.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Pro life and religious liberty advocates have argued for years
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: that these mandates are government overreach, forcing faith based organizations,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: small businesses, and individuals into impossible choices. Many conservative leaders
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: have said in response to policies like this quote, no
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Americans should be forced to choose between their faith and
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: the law, or the government should not compel participation in abortion.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: And the White House said this conscience rights are civil rights,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: and that last point is key because what the Trump
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: administration is doing here is reframing this entire debate, and
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: that is brilliant, not just as an abortion policy, but
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: as a civil rights issue. Now, politically, this is a
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: very strategic move. It draws a crystal clear contrast. The
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Republicans and the Trump administration are defending religious liberty and
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: individual choice, and Democrats are expanding mandates and government control
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: in healthcare, forcing you to actually pay for coverage for
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: abortions even if you don't agree with it religiously. And
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: it puts Democrats finally on defense because they now have
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: to explain why someone should be forced to pay for
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: something they morally and religiously oppose. Even critics of the
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: administration are admitting what's happening here. Some Democratic officials are
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: already calling the investigation politically motivated. But that also shows
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: how high stakes this debate really is, because if the
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: Trump administration wins, you could see three different things happen.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: Number one, states would be forced to roll back abortion mandates.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Number two, federal funding battles tied to compliance would then
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: be up for real debate. And thirdly, and potentially that
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: you could have a Supreme Court showdown on the limits
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: of states' powers to mandate abortion be a part of
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: healthcare The bottom line is this, This isn't just another
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: policy fight. This is about whether the government can force you,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: can force your business, can force your church, can force
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: your family to fund something that violates your moral beliefs,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: and trumps making it very clear with this investigation that
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: the line will not be crossed without a major fight.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Make sure you share this podcast please wherever you can
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: on social media so others will hear it. Hit that
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: subscriber auto download button, and I'll see you back here tomorrow.