Latest / Palafox Media Network / Guardians of the Republic: Iran Deal Fallout
Transcript
- Jonathan: All right. Good evening everyone. Welcome to another episode of Guardians of the Republic. As usual, we'll visit what is new and exciting over the last seven days. Never f ceases to amaze or to entertain. So with us is Charles in Orlando. How are you doing, Charles? Charles: Hey Jonathan Tony, how y'all doing? I'm doing good. Jonathan: Tanny up in Alabama. Tony: Jonathan, hey Charles. Good to see you all tonight. Jonathan: So again, what levels of hell have we this this week? It's you know, ⁓ felony to peel paint off a pool, apparently. But also Tony: I would like to state I would like to state for the record I was not in D C in possession of a box cutter, cutting a three hundred foot gash in the reflecting pool. Exactly. Jonathan: ⁓ also released a large chunk of frozen assets Tyran and ⁓ still don't know what we got in return. Tony: Well, you know well, you know, last week when we signed off, we were waiting to hear what the actual terms of the MOU are and ⁓ frankly they turned out to be pretty much what we thought they were gonna be. Yeah. And I say they're just as ridiculous as we thought they were gonna be. So essentially everything Trump said at the beginning of the war that would be his criteria for ending the war, he got none of it. Forget about unconditional surrender. Forget about eliminating their ballistic missile ability. Forget about eliminating the drone threat. Iran's gonna retain all that and and you know, and plus, you know, they just signed the waiver for Iranian oil, so hypothetically we can start getting Iran's oil coming into the United States that we're buying and putting in our vehicles. You know, you just can't make this shit up. So you know, usually when a site somebody loses, the loser pays. Yeah. In this case, the losers getting paid. that's really kinda hard to fathom. But but you know, Trump was at least honest, I think, when he I guess at the G seven was talking about his deal, trying to justify it, saying that he did not want to become Herbert Hoover. That was not the president he wanted to become. He did not want to cause a worldwide depression, which is what was going to happen with the straight being closed. Which just I think advertised to the world exactly how powerful Iran is now from a strategic standpoint. Now I now their military is still very weak, but strategically all they've gotta do is control the strait and out of Trump's own mouth it could cause a worldwide depression. And ⁓ so now everybody knows. Everybody knows and and I I said I've said on this program before, Trump overplayed his hand and he's now shown the world exactly how strong Iran is and that's gonna be the new normal in the Middle East going forward. Charles: Well, Jonathan, Tony, we've been talking about this exclusively on this show and everything that we said last week, it it's not just the loss, but the the gravity of the economic loss is it's hard to fathom. You know, I was talking on ⁓ on my show the podcast and and I was basically saying that why is it the American people are accepting these billion dollars giveaways like you give it away MM? That's the problem here. It's like where where are we going in terms of tax bill dollars? Every time you look around, biggest with a beat, it's being wasted, stolen, given away, unfrozen assets. I mean, we can't sustain it economically. when are we gonna do like third grade math and say this arithmetic is not matched? We're using these phrase like unprecedented because but the next week is something that says, well, this unprecedented. But the level of billion dollars that we're giving away, now we talked about $300 billion. And you know that $300 billion is from us. And I think they want more. Secondly, that $24 billion in unfrozen assets, which they get half of it or 40% up from. But beyond that though, Jonathan and Tony's that we w The whole in international community is worse off now. And the reason being, and we talked about this for the last couple weeks, before this so-called illegal war with Iran, it was understood that the Strait of Hamoose was not exclusively controlled by Iran and anybody. this administration has made them the de facto owner of guests of that street so they can cause an economic worldwide global depression or interruption, anytime they feel like it. They didn't have that. So we have made Iran more powerful than we we have made ourselves as terms of our military, our strategic planning, weaker overall. Because now you're gonna see everybody trying us now. Because they exceeded what they wanted. What else could Iran ask for that it didn't get? That's the issue. Tony: Well Charles Charles, I I'd I'd like to go back to the three hundred billion dollar reconstruction fund. I thought everything that our military hit with the exception of the girls' school the first night of the the first night of the war, I thought everything that we blew up and that Israel blew up was a military target. So but when you say reconstruction makes it sound like we're gonna build something back, something that was torn down that we're gonna build back. So Is this three hundred billion gonna help restore their military facilities? Because I mean if it's a rec if it's a reconstruction fund I mean I didn't make very good grades in algebra, I'll be honest with you. I always used a calculator in the banking world. But if if it's called a reconstruction fund and if all we blew up was military targets, then ⁓ the is that a ipso facto? Is that a legal term there, Charles? Doesn't that mean We're building back military facilities Jonathan: Two theories, Timmy. is either we were lied to and we destroyed a lot more civilian targets than we claimed, or ⁓ we we're rebuilding all the civilian targets Israel destroyed. Charles: Exactly. Bingo, Johnson. Exactly. Yeah. Johnson kind of what I was gonna say. Hey, Johnson just hit the bullseye. I think that our military, we got the best bells and whistles of precision targets. We did that, Tony. We I think we're all in agreement with that. But it's Israel and their just ridiculousness to destroy everything that's not Israel. That that that's what's happening. Yeah. But but I think Jonathan: Playing to jail for Israel. Tony: Yes. Torch earth with Israel. Yeah, I mean, that's out of and that's out of and that was out of that was out of Trump's own mouth. Now he was he was talking about Lebanon and not Iran, but you know, he says if they're looking for one particular guy in Hezbollah in Lebanon, they'll blow up an entire apartment building. Yeah. Just to get one guy. Yep. And ⁓ and I guess not even think twice about it. And you look at Gaza, and Gaza looks like they just took a bulldozer to it. Charles: Yeah, you know that whole expression that that a broke clock is right twice a day just by merely existence. And I will I will agree with the pres president on that that aspect of you know, you you'll get a truth colonel every now and then and he was bull rock correct in terms of what Israel is doing because Israel's so over the top irrational and that's the problem. But this is the this is the big deal. That no one's really talking about this in the in with the weight that they should, Tony and Johnson is that part of that agreement was that, well, at least from Iran, made it very clear from the beginning publicly that must bombing Lebanon. Now, that was part of the deal. So far as Iran concern concerned, well, America, you breached the deal because you can't control Israel. That is a major part of the so called, it's not a real, it's, you know, you know, Brown understanding it. But to me, legally and factually as any world negotiator will think that Sahrain doesn't have to comply with it because of what Israel doing with bombing Lebanon. And Israel is doing that on purpose. I don't want to pre-op this issue, but another thing that I've been reading is that you got Israel soldiers and a and even citizens are burning the United States flag, our flag, because of this pe so-called deal. No one really said anything about it. But yet when Colin Talkman put in ⁓ a peaceful protest his free exercise of the right during the NFL, everybody got ridiculous about the flag and dishonor and all that ridiculousness. But no one really saying anything about Israel two-fold basically destroying this so-called fragile deal by bombing Lebanon when they know it was very important to just lay low for a little minute. They didn't want to. And they're publicly, you know, I think a good thank you America i is warranted based on our years of funding you and standing beside you, which we really shouldn't be. But to me that it is really insane what they're doing. And I think that ⁓ we as Americans gotta rise up and say, Hey, Israel, the gig we just we just can't follow you no more. It is not in our economic best interest to do do your killing, do your business. 'Cause like they don't want peace. it it's not a political thing. I'm just a righteous thinker. That's not the state. Not not for parties, but it's clear to anybody that's wanna use their brain that Israel wants perpetual war. They don't want no peace. They just don't. Tony: Well the the the thing is that we've got to get our country back so that it is it is truly an America first. Yeah. But with allies, with with friends at our b at our side, but we lead, we don't follow. And this is a problem that that at least in the the the Trump's Iranian war, we followed. We followed Israel's lead. And and we did something that was in more in Israel's best interest than than America's. There's ⁓ there's a book coming out, I heard the authors on a on a talk show last night. It's called Regime Change. And very contemporaneous ⁓ information, but basically they talked about Netanyahu going into the situation room with Trump, with Trump's advisors, and Netanyahu p made out this case about, you know, now's the time to attack Iran. They're weak, you know, we've weakened them. you know, you've you've ⁓ you've destroyed the nuclear program. Now's the time to finish them off. And of course he played up to Trump's success in Venezuela. And so so that yahoo makes this presentation in the situation room, packs up and goes home. The next day they meet again. And he's got everybody in there, Rubio, Vance, Radcliffe, the CIA director, and the CIA and the intelligence community, Tulsi Gavard, they made a presentation. to Trump about the topic of Netanyahu's his presentation. And to sum it up in a nutshell, they all said, this is total bullshit what he's saying. It's not gonna work out like that at all. And and Vance told him, Radcliffe told him, Rubio told him, do not do this. This is not going to end well. And Trump said, you know, I've just got a gut feeling that this'll work. And so we went to war with with Trump's Key advisors, probably the only qualified people he's gotten his in his administration, frankly, mm-hmm. Telling him, Don't do this and it was his gut reaction that he decided to do it. And you see how it's turned out and and he's trying his best to to show that the deal he is going to wind up negotiating is going to be a better deal for America than the JCPOA was that Obama negotiated, but he's so far behind the eight ball already. You know, there was a I saw a clip of J D Vance who is kind of set up to take the fall for all this because Vance is the one that's gonna go negotiate this this MOU with ⁓ with the Iranians, right? And ⁓ he was taking press he was taking questions from the press and one of the questions was, Well, what assurance do we have that once the Iranian oil money starts flowing to Iran again, that they're not just gonna go out there and start supporting the Houthis and Hamas and Hezbollah, just like they always have. And Van said, but by taking the sanctions off of them, they will now start using the traditional banking system. They've had to use the shadow banking system up until now because of all the sanctions. But now they can start using the conventional banking system and we can track that money so much better. And I thought, Are you really that stupid? It's kinda like the mafia. Yeah. You know, well, we're gonna forgive the mafia. And we're gonna say you can start using we're we're gonna forget about money laundering and and and all the th and and the drug running and the prostitution and all you know, you you can start dealing with commercial banks again. Right. Or as or as or as Austin Powers would say it. Right. Of course they are. Yeah, they're gonna look when it comes to when it comes to funding terrorism, they're gonna they're gonna use the same shadow banking system they've used in the past. To get money to them. They're not gonna start using you know legitimate money legitimate systems to fund illegal activities. And any fool knows that, I would think, and JD Vance has got to be smarter than that. I I don't even know what he even thought he was talking about. Jonathan: Who has to toe the party line though is the problem. Because I mean, we see the track record. If you go against Trump, you lose elections and no matter what else, he he sways those Republican voters and you can't get out of your primaries, you know. and he does ⁓ he does want to be president one day, you know. And ⁓ you know, so it's like, you know, if he goes against Trump, well no, I like Rubio better, you know. And we've already seen it happen in Texas in the smaller scale. So Tony: But he has to have the party line. Yeah. John Corn John Corn had a quote yesterday. Trump seems to reveal in chaos. shit. ⁓ Jonathan: And that's really what what's the dictator's playbook is create chaos where there is none and then be the the problem solver and then you're the hero and then you get more adulation. But the problem with Trump is two things is one, if he just done nothing, we'd we'd be in so much better shape right now. Exactly he's in c I I remember an article in Forbes in twenty sixteen 'cause Trump was bragging about the great fortune he built for himself. And Forbes is not a liberal rag. I mean they're they're pretty well respected, but they said the mu i if he'd inherit that seventy four million he inherited from from his dad, they said if he had just put it in an index annuity and finger painted for forty years, he'd have more money than we'd have right now with all his hair grain schemes, you know, whether it you know, it was Trump University or Trump Airlines or or whatever, you know, and it is Tony: funny that. Yeah. But then he became president and he and he sold his own crypto coin and made a billion dollars. Jonathan: But I mean w when Trump does things, it goes to hash. It just does. If we could somehow get him to just not do anything, we might get through this. But the the other thing too is right now talking about the kind of the same point. Don't you think Venezuela's sitting back right now is thinking, Man, we shouldn't have knuckled under so quick, you know, we might have got a lot more out of this deal and like you said, it's a playbook for any other third world nation out there to to like to start Taking shots at us and and see what happens. Tony: Well I think I'm Charles: problem is is that I think Venezuela was not in a a international strategic area in terms of with the Strait of Homo because of the fact that that area affected the whole global economy. That's that's one big major difference. You know, and two, that at some point I ran knows that China w will come to the rescue if push came to shove. If this thing has a very long Because of the fact that China needs that oil. and China China was only gonna give America so long to do what we was doing. But I think that he doesn't think things through. He he goes by his delusional brain with a battle between his brain and they're just like, you know, they're they're not coherent, okay? 'Cause they they hear bosses like the wrestler Randy Orton. You know what I mean? And so He thought it was gonna be like Venezuela, but again, I think that the intangible was that the this the the strategic location of the the Strait of Homo and then China sublimely and passively was in the background because China is ⁓ the the major ⁓ that the need out. And so China was was not gonna let this thing go for so far. You see what I'm saying? So I think that that is really the bottom line is that that those two factors will will will play a big role. But I think that Jonathan: Also developing over the years ⁓ Charles: After World ⁓ Jonathan: one, know, the book The Guns of August was really highlighted this was it became a f a matter of statecraft. Nations didn't blindly stumble into things like they did World War One. You you you were supposed to study the entire scenario, pros and cons. What what are the ramifications? What are the even unforeseen ramifications before we take any action? And Trump what to one point ⁓ and two point ⁓ that's never happened. It's just stumbled right into whatever he thinks is gonna play well to his base. And we've paid the price for every single action. I keep hearing people talk about well Trump Trump's done great things. Well I need somebody to tell me what one of those is 'cause I'm at a loss, you know. All I've Tony: He closed the border. He closed the border. I hear it every day from my MAGA friends. Yeah. That's the only thing they got. That's all they got. That's all Jonathan: So the newest thing Tony: Well well y well see now well so now you're starting to confuse now you're c starting to confuse facts with reality. Yeah. And and their reality is if I'm told the border's closed, if I'm told that absolutely no people are coming across the border, that's all I need to hear about. It's just like, you know, I was told that when we blow up boats coming out of whatever drug company that it's gonna it's gonna dry up the supply of drugs in this country. And that was part of the reason why we took ⁓ what's his face, Chavez out of whatever his name was out of Venezuela. Yeah. It's because of all the fentanyl. But except they didn't they didn't make fentanyl in Venezuela. They didn't export fent fentanyl. No, they didn't smuggle fentanyl from Venezuela to the United States. They're co they're a cocaine country. So but even with him being imprisoned and even though they blew up a bunch of drug boats I mean I don't use cocaine, I don't buy cocaine, but I I think if there had been like this three or four thousand percent increase in the cost of cost of cocaine or or the absolute reduction of supply of cocaine, you'd think that some news organization would talk about it, but I haven't I haven't heard anything on the news about you know, the drug war's been won because of what we did in Venezuela. Jonathan: No. And you know, th like I said, it's people because they soul source whatever info they get from certain sources. I saw a new one today. There's pictures of people that are supposed to be either Antifa or liberals with gallon jugs pouring algae into the reflecting pool. It was it was all a plot. It's Trump. It's nothing he did. It's you know, it's like ⁓ what they call a Trump derangements syndrome. You gotta make him look bad. That's the meal they bought and that's the meal they're they're sharing. You know, it's it's insane. But Tony: I saw I saw one meme today and it was a joke, but it was like ⁓ that the ⁓ FBI had rated a storage facility connected to Antifa that was loaded with different varieties of algae. But Jonathan: We're judging about it, but that's his supporters earnestly believe 'cause that's what they're being Tony: Hey if if he says it if he says it's the truth. Yeah well that's all they care about. Charles: Jonathan Tony, I mean, the the fact of the matter is that when you when you when you so delusional to you have idolatry worshipper, it is s is a it it's a satanic spirit where logic and reason it is is dead. And so whatever he says, when you believe in any idolatry worshiping, and it's one thing that God doesn't love, he hates it it sin of idolatry because God has to be the center and number one in our life. And so when you put any being in front of God, you you you you don't have a presence of God. You can't even comprehend the spirit of God. So that's their defect, right? And I'm not trying I'm I'm being very serious now. And so they are so delusion that they they I don't worship this guy. And so anything he says to us we can we got enough rational ability to separate facts from fiction. They can't. They really can't. You know, and so there is a sickness that they need help for that. And so you you that's a population really need medical intervention for mental help for factory because there so go. You you see these stories on all different programs. I don't care whether you know all kind news where you got these families that's saying like their relatives are like real insane that they you what I'm saying is they they'll they'll agree with what I'm saying is that that you know anything he says, they believe it. Everything he says. I mean it it's so they don't have the capacity to discern a lot. You know what I'm saying? They'll believe the craziest things. And so we have got to get the the people who know better. Stop letting them lead. We got to get the normal people and the numbers. to take some love for your country and and make your record known because this democracy is an experiment and it has to be generation to generation now. We can't just like law the past years ago and let's keep going forward. No, you have to reassert what our values are as a nation every years now. Because of technology, because of social media, because of things that that are changing. We have got to real, real, real real circuit of values. Every election turns now. That's the way it is now. And we all have to realize that. Otherwise this thing called democracy is gonna be Jonathan: And it's you know, if I heard a I saw an op ed a while back and it it and it says it went back beginning. There's two types of Trump supporters. There's ones that bought have bought into it lockstock and barrel and there's others that like supporting 'cause they thought they'd get something out of it. least, you know, Republican dominance, but they realize they've been sold down the river, but they can't admit that they were fooled, so they have to double down. It's like you know, it's like it's cards. You know you got a bad hand, but you you gotta try to bluff your way out of the pot. You know, they they even brought up the reference to ⁓ in Huckleberry Finn the the Royal Nonsuch where the two scam artists from town to town with their little hokey show and everybody was so embarrassed they watched it that they gave it rave reviews in the next town. You know, and it went on forever until one town finally you rode ⁓ out of town on rails. But, you know, it's kind of the same thing. It's they're Yeah, and you know, in the and in the grand scheme of things, th those people that know it it's a falsehood are more culpable than the ones that have just been s utterly fooled and and biased. Tony: So s w what what's so sad though is that we as a we as citizens have gotten so tired of politics that I think the ma the vast majority's just thrown their hands up. S so Tuesday a week ago was the a election in the state of Alabama. So for all the county and state elections that had taken f place in the primaries, you know, Florida doesn't have the doesn't have a runoff anymore, but ⁓ Alabama still does. So the top two If don't get fifty percent plus one of the top two finishers get another election, they get another bite of the apple with a runoff. Yeah. And you know, of course, you know, where I live is kind of an island in the central part of Alabama. It it's it's a lot of pine trees to the east, the west, north, and the south of us. A lot of as you as Jonathan, you found out this this past week. So, you know, you know, when I was living in Northwest Florida, you know, you're you're Your mailbox is just something's coming in the mail every day for like a month before election day. Yeah. From all the candidates that are running. I did not get the first political bailer. Not s not one single one. Wow. in either the primary or the election. Not a single one. So now in Alabama you don't register to a party. When you go to vote, you have to ask for either Republican ballot or the Democrat ballot. But you could vote the Republican ballot one election, vote the Democrat ballot the next. So we don't really have a registration like they do in Florida, although they're talking about going to one. But my point is that when we had this primary runoff last week statewide, yeah. Voter turnout was ten percent. percent. So so one out of ten voters voted. ⁓ some of the some of the elections were still not particularly close, of course, all the I think in with one exception, the Trump endorsed candidates won on the Republican side. But even then they they won like sixty forty. So what that means to me is that unless it's just because I don't know what the map I don't know what the breakdown between Republican and Democrat ballots was, but I think it was about I think it was about sixty forty. So if if sixty percent of the votes of the ten percent were Republican, which means six percent of the population now. And then six percent, sixty percent of that actually carried the day. That means that the Republican candidate for these statewide offices was actually put on the ballot from three point six percent the state population, which I think is insane. And we wonder why we have crappy candidates in political office. It's nobody goes to vote anymore. It's too trouble, it's too much hassle. It happened to rain like hell that day. Which I'm sure probably kept the the turnout ⁓ even lower than it would have been. And honestly, I forgot about it. I happened to see one of the candidates that I follow on Facebook at about lunchtime had a post out said, Don't forget today's election day. It's like snap, it is. I and I got my rear end down to the polls and voted. But, you know, y I I was just so disappointed in the population. And and and which is but I think this is why a Trump endorsement carries so much weight is because People just don't care. They're just so tired of hearing politics and you know, some people you know, I follow it, but honestly, the vast majority of people don't follow it. They feel like there's nothing they can do about it and they just don't worry w they just they just forget about it. And they or they actually they choose not to think about it, I should say. They choose not to think about it. And I've got a friend on Facebook. He's a big he's a he's a MAGA guy. He's a retired colonel that spent thirty five years in the Air Force and He posted something today as a matter of fact. And you know, he and it and and and he said he said this before, you know, well, give me something better to vote for and I'll vote for it. Which to me is in a way he's saying, Yeah, I'm tired of all the shenanigans that Trump does as well, but still better than Kamala. And I finally kind of said, Well, I'm not so sure anymore. You know, i if you had asked me early in Trump's second term I would have said, Yeah, I get it. But after tariffs, after the Iranian war, after the January sixth pardons, after all after the the the completely incompetent people he's put in his administration, after seeing the cabinet meetings which are nothing more than just kissing humiliation of individuals where they no longer are people, they're just syncophants to Donald Trump. You know, and I I kinda I I actually kinda went through and listed about ten things that I thought are just not conservative. You know, as a as a Reagan Republican conservative, these things are not consistent with those beliefs. And I said, I I'm just not so sure that you can say any more. Once you get past Trump closed the border, which I do think was Biden's biggest blunder. I think that his biggest blunder was letting the the borders be wide open. And I think that h when he agreed, when he decided he was going to run again, that was his second big blunder. But I mean I I I can't I can't say, I mean and I I didn't think I mean I personally don't think Kama Kama was was ready for the job. But at the same time, if she had if she had at least had agreed to take out the nuclear facilities with the B twos, which I think she probably would have done, just like Obama Charles: We were telling Tony: took out Osama bin Laden. You he had the gut and sort of that raid. ⁓ you know, and he he certainly wasn't shy about using the military. Well I mean that the we we wouldn't have had terrorists. We wouldn't have had the war in Iran. I think he I think she would have I think she would she would have found better people to hire her administration. would ⁓ one point four trillion dollar annual budget deficit under Trump. You that wouldn't have been I mean it's it's ⁓ none this is conservative. Jonathan: Dows. Tony: And that's after dose. Toothain, Tony. After dose. Charles: Y you was asking something earlier. That Latin phrase, a legal phrase, is called race ipsolocutor. It's translated the thing speaks for itself. Now, so I'm saying that to say that the mouth speaks for itself. At some point, you know, it's it it's just like, you know, I I was I was in law school and I was saying some friends of mine and and I was like, if you have if a person that you know that's Tony: Okay. Yeah. Charles: mentally delusional, right? And then you go down there and you try to have a debate with someone that you know that's mentally that that's kind of delusional. And then if a third person passed by the street, what do you think the third person gonna think of both of y'all? You're both nuts or delusional. Because you are with someone as delusional. So I don't care what kind of military or or just it's some At some point, Thomas speaks for itself. The mouth just speaks for itself. Three hundred billion of of reconstruction of the billions that we bomb and deplete our resources. Twenty-four billion in access being given to them. Kamala Harris wouldn't have did none of this garbage. Then the terror and then and then destruction of our NATO a alliances. The greatest thing America accidentally has done or intentionally done has been in NATO war power. It has it ⁓ objectively caused the best chance of world peace from a nuclear and and and weapon standpoint, is. That is a good thing that we have done. ⁓ And we America led the way with that. We allow this rascal to come here and erase and divide all of our allies to the point where they don't like them. Jonathan made his point last week that it's not just the Gulf state that that's that that's having a problem with us. is our own ally, written and and and framing us and looking us sideways like we can't trust you. We don't have a no confidence you ain't all America. You you follow an i Israel literally. to the deepest part of hell that that that we can go to that that they'll you know that you will let Ali Israel follow. So our own ally, anytime Britain doesn't follow America and didn't look another sideway, it's time for the African Americans say, wait, man, what are we doing here? and that's the problem. I and I think that the long-term effect is, and we talked about this on this show for for the last couple of weeks, is that What do you think all these rogue nations that and and I always say Tony that word terrorist is always been defined by whoever is it is calling calling the name. But in this case, for for a lack of a say legitimate terrorists are out there that don't like her. What you think they're gonna do? Now you think they're gonna be encouraged or discouraged based upon how we how we came with this Iran settlement. Jonathan: Well, even in domestically too, I got to thinking this weekend, you know, you know, and it goes back to that meme I shared the other day about Texas, but you know, for two years now sorry, Tony, but the Republican Party's had the White House, both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court. You'd think this should be a field day. We can pass do whatever we want. Instead, nothing has been accomplished. There have been less laws passed in this Congress than in any prior. Everything's been gridlock. We faced the the fiscal cliff what, three times now? know, and it's like Well, yeah, but I Tony: Thank God for the Senate. Thank God for the Philipp Thank God for the filibuster. Jonathan: But I think they're using that as a as an excuse. They they should still be able to get things done. You know, but Tony: But you but but in the Senate you've got to have sixty votes. I mean that's just that's the rule. But Jonathan: ⁓ If it means that much to you, you get past filibusters like Tony: But I but I think but I think that you're right. I mean I I'm not disagreeing with you because because Trump does not negotiate for the for the art of the deal guy, he you know, he's just doing it's the art of the deal for me. You know, is is how can I gain enough of an advantage over you that you just cave in. There you know, he doesn't try to say, Well, here's what I want and here's what you want and let's see how we can come together and I'm not gonna get everything I want, you don't get everything you want, but we get together what we both want. He doesn't think like that at all. In fact, just the opposite. You know, he he is you know, he even he even dares any Republican to reach across the aisle and do anything with a Democrat. So yeah, it's no big surprise that nothing gets done. That's why, you know, he wants to go you know, eighty six the the filibuster. Because he's he he's he's he knows that this he he he's gotta get the he's gotta get the voter suppression going with people with ⁓ with minorities and women and people that that rent that moved ⁓ change addresses regularly so that so they you know, when when you've already got ten percent when ninety percent of the population won't go exercise their right to vote when it's unencumbered. Now in Alabama you gotta show your photo ID. Big deal. That's not a problem. When ninety percent there's nothing prevents you from going to vote except I'm just too freaking apathetic to go vote. What's it gonna be like when all of a sudden you start throwing some legitimate roadblocks in front of people? Well you can't go vote because your birth certificate doesn't match up with your voter ID or your driver's license. And so now you gotta go through this paper chase to get yourself people aren't gonna do that. And he knows it. He's counting on it. And that's why he's that's why he's you know, I mean He's throwing John Thune under the bus. I heard him today. Yeah. He said, Well Thune is the leader, you know. I hope he can get the votes. So I mean he you know, he he's ⁓ al cause he w he wants the Save America act done. Well well that's that he he is just both going crazy with it right now. Charles: thing is though, Tony, ⁓ and John that I I will agree with Tony in terms of, you know, that w well, I I will say this though. I think much of what you said was kinda correct, Tony. But the thing is is that I think the GOP has not taught the the the filibuster rule because they know that it's gonna flip. They they know they know the midterm is going to be a blood. That's why they're not doing it. And then secondly Tony: not gonna be in party forever. Exactly. That's the reason why the Democrats didn't that's the only reason why the Democrats didn't didn't flip it the last time they had the majority in the Senate. Because they knew there's gonna come a day when you're gonna need us. Charles: Yeah, if you feel I mean seniority ⁓ s seniority and experience does matter and that's the kind of thing that when you have less experience as a congressman or senior senator, you want you want to do the nucleus nuclear ⁓ thing ⁓ for as the filibuster so quickly. But when you and age matures you to an extent where you realize that some things ain't always in the book intellectually, ⁓ in just experience. By living you learn some things. And that's why it was wise for both of them not to torpedo that because things will flip gradually now. Mm hmm. And then the thing is Tony: No, Jonathan: Why I was a pet stack in the Supreme Court, everybody ⁓ we need to add more t no, don't that's just gonna bite you in the ass later, you know. Just stick where it is Tony: Now I do I do I would love to see us do a constitutional agre ⁓ amendment that puts an age limit the Supreme Court justices. I mean when when when you're having to wheel them in and wheel them out and you know they I mean let's just face it, there's Alzheimer's now, dementia. I mean, you got people living there staying until they're ninety something years old. God God bless Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I mean, I know she was trying to hang on, but she hung on too long. Yeah. But ⁓ But you know, it there just there comes a p you know, you look I'm sorry, but I'm getting I'm older. I look at the world differently today at my age than I did when I was thirty years old. And and this and this is the reason why major corporations have mandatory retirement dates for their chairmans and their CEOs. Because when when you're let's face it, when you're eighty years old, it's hard for you to think eighty years in the future because ain't gonna be here. It's hard for you to think twenty years in the future. 'Cause the chances are you're not gonna be here. It's you know, y you're probably on a good day, someone who is eighty, I think, is thinking maybe ten years. Mm-hmm. Because and and they know that even that ten years ain't gonna look too good for ⁓ 'Cause just really nothing really good happens after you're eighty years old. Well, when you're eighty years old, you should not be president, you should not be on the Supreme Court, you should not be a US senator, you shouldn't be. Now now if if you're If you're seventy six when they elect you senator, okay, you can serve your six years, but you can't run for election a at eighty two. What? You know, if you're if you're at least under that age, you can serve, you can be elected and serve, but you can't run for election. What there's just there's just nothing good happens after the age of eighty, I'm sorry. Charles: Listen, ⁓ Jonathan, Jonathan and Tony, when I was in the U.S. Florida Law School in the ninety, ninety five, ninety four, I was telling of my law school friends that's lawyers now, and I told them then, and now it's almost pathetic. I I my philosophy was that a Supreme Court justice should have eighteen years max, ⁓ longer than twenty, either or the greater of the Because I looked at three terms as a senator and I said that a a a a jurist at that highest level to be able to see the impact of their policy in time before they die statistically, right? And that's why I still believe that. And a of them have personally called me or chatted with me through some kind of form and say, Charles, I I I didn't realize what you were saying then. Now I get it. Now I get it. And that's what I'm saying. I just I agree. I do not believe there ought to be a lifetime appointment because you're basically giving the clock on it the ability to be arrogant. And they say, Well, the theory behind it was I believe was right. In in in good faith, saying that, well, you you you kind of wipe out all kind of in in in in Tony: Yeah, but Charles: But if you know Tony: What was life expectancy? What was life expectancy back then too? Yeah. Sixty years? Sixty? Exactly. I mean life expectancy was probably sixty years. Not not eighty. So you didn't have you didn't you never had a chance people did not have a chance to get old enough to get to to get dementia to g or to have the afflictions that they get as a very, very old person because they were dying when they were sixty, sixty f I mean when they did when they passed social security. Charles: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So I think Tony: And the retirement days was sixty five. That was the life expectancy. Yeah. They were never really expecting it's only it's only like, well, if you if you do happen to live past sixty five, here's some money. Right. But they weren't really expecting you to live past sixty five. Now, before we go tonight, I got two Democrats here and we always talk about snatching ⁓ defeat from the jaws of victory. Tonight is primaries in New York. for some of the Democrat ⁓ House of Representatives and Mandami has endorsed a slate of candidates, I guess most of the ones that are around New York City, and the New York governor and Chuck Schumer have endorsed a separate slate. Mm-hmm. So who's gonna win tonight? The the Democrat socialist or the traditional Democrat? This is House of Representatives. This is this I think I as I understood it, this is these are the House members in that New York City. Jonathan: I mean, you can't control ho house seats 'cause I mean, you get all kinds. You get you get, you know, Charles: I think in my opinion, I think I think I think that the the the Democratic social is gonna upset the the the traditionals, particularly in New York, because the the mayor has shown that if you're authentic to what you believe in and you stop trying to counter to the opposition authority, then people will respect you and vote for you up or down. And that's the problem. And then the second issue is that it's gonna be the issue ⁓ No breaks. I dogs are working following APAC in Israel. That's what's gonna be the problem, particularly in New York City. That's why I believe it. I I I expect those candidates that the mayor endorsed to win, at least a couple of. You know what I'm saying? So I I think that ⁓ unfortunately probably not all I don't know if are gonna win, but I believe at least two out of three probably will probably win it in an upset. Jonathan: Okay. You gotta remember in the five boroughs, every district is so different from the other. ⁓ you know, some of ⁓ are very heavy heavily Jewish, some are very heavily Puerto Rican, some are very mixed. You you there is no majority ethnicity or th you know, so Charles: Yeah, right. Tony: Well I know one guy that's ⁓ I know that one guy that was endorsed by Schemer is the ⁓ I guess head of the Hispanic caucus in the House. And he's got a Mandami endorsed candidate running against him. And ⁓ and guys says ⁓ and I don't know the I don't know a lot of Democrats as well as just some of the publicans obviously, but one of the guys running is Jewish from New York and a c a coffee shop. A coffee shop in New York recognized him, I guess the security cameras. that he had come in and bought a cup of coffee from them and they went on social media, they found his credit card and they refunded him his nine dollars and eighty three cents for a cup of coffee, which it was kind of highway robbing. But also said You're banned. You're banned from our coffee shop. Charles: Why? Why why was that job? Tony: 'Cause he's Jewish. He's Jewish. He's Jewish. And and they and they went and they went off on a rant about y his support for Israel and APAC and da da da da da. And but it was really but I but I don't know that necessarily any of that's actually true. It's just that he is Jewish and therefore they assumed the rest of that. So But this but this goes back to the Mandami endorsement of a candidate opp opposing him. Right. So I don't know. I just I just yeah, I've always said, I have said at least now Charles: well. Tony: That the best chance I think the Democrats have ⁓ of course I think there's a good chance they're gonna take the House anyway, but I think the best chance they've got at taking the Senate is running someone like Talerico in Texas, running decent candidates that disenfranchised Republican voters can go to, if nothing else but to voice their disapproval of how the Republican Party is being run right now under that MAGA influence. But if if if it's a Democrat socialist running in that race, they're gonna vote for Matt. I got news for you. No, no, I'm just I'm just saying, but if that if this influence if this influence translates into the national, the more national scene with the Jonathan: will influence nationally no except maybe little pockets of major urban areas, but other the mainstream, no, it's it's it's not going to resonate. you know, it's it's well, I mean it's yeah, I mean, so far this year the the trend has been for more right leaning Democrats to be winning these races. They won all the special elections, you know, the slate's already out there. You got Tal Rico You got the guy in Maine, you got other folks, you you know, you you got you know, that's a little it's a little different from you know, what has been run in the past. So maybe the party's either wise up a little bit or Tony: you hear what what Bill Mayer said about ⁓ about the guy in Maine? Mm. He said, of course he was he was it was on his a his HBO show. And he said, you know, he said he said, the guy's tattoo is the least of my worries about this guy. He's got way worse things than the tattoo. But he said but his point was this is what we're gonna start getting as candidates because this is what our nation looks like. You know, we've we've gotten We we've we've gotten into these fringe areas and we're we're sending candidates in that now have this. But now he also said but but people in Maine should still vote for him anyway because the he probably represents the best chance we have to flip the Senate from Republican from Republican control. People are this this is a this is huh? ⁓ Charles: Well I think the topic that people have made out ahead with Susan Collins because unlike a lot of people I disagree with, I think that my my problem with Susan Collins, I think she's actually a smart lady, but she does sit a teen kind of stupid policies that she supports. And she knows better. And and and I think that she was one of the few ⁓ GOP members because I think she knows she's gonna lose. how how proud does it ⁓ lose it up. I'm not a fan of either one of those, the Democratic guy or whatever. unfortunately, Tom Tony, the the thing with me is that I'm a keen thinker. I I I like Democratic ideals. But there are some things I'm very conservative on. Well I my thing goes where it goes. I I don't apologize for it. It lines up with I believe what God will have me think. That's how I think. But that's why the Democratic guy he he's a clown to me. 'Cause have a problem with this that history with the but I no, no, no, I I can't trust that fellow. You know what I'm saying? But I I I have no confidence in the Susan Collins leave. So I I can care less. I'm more interested in Tel Rico and Texas because I think he's a good, decent, generic Christian guy. I think I can get on board with that. However, the bigger picture I was talking with Jonathan ⁓ a couple weeks ago is that I I just can't Don't trust that you'll be in Texas and do the right thing. I just don't when it comes down to it, and I'll be I will be it'll be good to be surprised if they elevate and put Terrico up in there. Well I just I I don't listen, until I see it, then I'll see it. But until then, I haven't seen it. Tony: Well, the the the point I made to my friend who was the retired ⁓ Air Force colonel today was at the end of the day, it gets down to winning elections. You know, independents represent the largest block vote in our country. You know, we're almost evenly divided between Republican and Democrat as far as what the registrations are concerned. But it's that that that block vote of independence. And it's always been I mean, the presidential elections are always decided typically by the independent vote. Who's gonna have the candidates that an independent can get behind? And and I and I said, Do you think do you honor and and I think I had I think he was actually commenting, I made a post today about Marjorie Taylor Green and ⁓ Tucker Carlson saying they're leaving the GOP. They don't know where they're gonna go, but they can't support the GOP now anymore. Now, I was never an MTG fan. I was definitely never an a Tucker Carlson fan. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, Tucker Carlson is a is a undercover spy for rushing anyway. I saw his report on Russia and you know, dude, you just need to go live in Russia. He loved everything about Russia. You just need to go live there, dude. But I don't I don't trust either one although I do think MTG's conversion I think is legitimate, but I was never a fan of hers when she had her nose set for Trump's ass it wasn't funny. My point is how do we win elections? And this is something that the Democrats need to think about just like Republicans need to think about. You know, if if Republic if Democrats gonna r run candidates like Mandami nationwide, I just don't think independents are gonna gravitate toward Democrat socialism. Because socialism has never worked ever. You know, somebody ultimately gotta pay the bill. Now, we've gotten a lo we've gotten away with this idea, both Democrats and Republicans have gotten away with borrowing forty trillion dollars. from ourselves and from other nations in the world. But that those bills are going to come due soon. I mean that the the interest on the debt's close to the largest single issue in the in the ⁓ it's larger than the defense budget now. And y it's just not sustainable. And and although Trump hadn't figured that out, MAGA hadn't figured it out, but somebody's got but I don't think Democrat Socialist is going to figure it out. You know, they they talk about well let's just tax Elon Musk. Well you know Elon Musk all right he's a first trillionaire. He's got a lot of money. There's no question about it. But he also started PayPal and sold it, rolled the money into Tesla, built Tesla up, sold some as Tesla stock, barred against Tesla stock, and started SpaceX. Started started Starlink. You know, he you know when when when SpaceX started all of our launches, when we would launch satellites into space, we were paying Russia to do it. We were on Russian rockets. Yeah. Paying Russia paying Russia our tax dollars to launch our military satellites up into space. What And and Musk is the one that came up and said, Hey, can't we make these rockets reusable? And if I can make them reusable, I can get I can start seeing economies factor into this and I can start providing this at a lower price. He had a crazy idea and he drove engineers unmercifully until they figured it out. Now there's a gazillion Starlake satellites in the all over the galaxy in low in low Earth orbit. I mean, even today if if you're If my phone I've got ATT, if I go SOS, I can't find a signal. It's got a satellite. It's got a Starlink satellite on it that I can still make a cell phone call. I mean, th this is this is just gonna revolutionize it is revolutionizing our country and it's revolution the revolution revolutionizing the world. And, you know, when when he took SpaceX Pri ⁓ public a week or so ago, Yeah, he's made a gazillion dollars in the stock market, but also engineers, mechanics, you know, just common laborers that that took lower wages in exchange for options on SpaceX stock became millionaires overnight because of Elon Musk. Now, Musk is not selling his stock, and yeah, he's a trillionaire, or at least he was until SpaceX stock I think dropped today, and he's back down to nine hundred only nine hundred and something billion. But That's all in paper. You know, you you can't say it's not like he's got a trillion dollars sitting in cash in the bank. Well you can't go tax that. I mean we don't tax we don't tax wealth. We only tax capital gains and we tax income. But just because you got a bunch of stuff you could sell, we don't tax it until you sell it. Well that's just how our tax laws have always been. And that's how you and that's how you encourage people to be like Elon Musk. Charles: What would it think about? Tony: I wish we had a thousand trillionaires in this country because of all the jobs and all the all the things that those industries would do for the benefit of our country and our and our citizens. Charles: Well the thing about that though, Tony, the distinction is that the all the from Starlink to the PayPal to Chelsea, that was government grants and government funds. So he was getting government cheese. Tony: Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. No, Charles, no Charles Charles, that's just not factually true. That is factual true. He it was it was grants because we were paying Russia how much how many how Charles we were paying Russia. He came in. He came in pay attention on that. He came in, Charles, he came in and offered us a better deal and said, Here's an American company you can buy Charles: He was not saying that was the issue. Tony: lift into space instead of binding through Russia. Now that's where he got his grants from. That's where he got his government contracts from. yeah, there was nobody else bidding against him because nobody else would touch that thing with a ten foot pole. Because they thought there was no way they could make any money off of it. And it wasn't until Elon Musk showed a way to make money off of it that then Bowen jumped back in and then watch his face from Amazon Bezos jumped in and now ⁓ well now he's got the idea let's go copy him. But look, I followed I followed SpaceX from the day one. Charles: Tony. There was no there was no big contract. So that was like political Tony: Nobody else would bid. Right. No one would bid. Right. No one would bid. Well don't but don't sit there and say that he got don't sit there and say he made all his money from grants. That's just factually not true. And when nobody else and when nobody else will bid, and then when nobody else will bid, don't call that a no bid contract. That's a nobody will bid contract. Well it was except for him. Charles: So yeah, so That that is. You don't have any comp competition on it and you just get the grants, that's a little bit contact by definition. That just that's just factual. Secondly Tony: And and and we can and you're right. Hey, and you're right, Charles, we could still be doing business with Russia too. How about that? We should we could let every satellite go. You wouldn't have Starlink. You wouldn't have you wouldn't have you know the the stuff we have in space now because we'd be paying Russia to do all that. That's just a fact. That's a fact. Charles: Well well you know fact Russia, the United States and China has done joint missions since the very beginning. ⁓ you know, in terms of space. do we do do share technology on missions and things like that. We go up in Aubridge and things like that. We do do share me. There's a Tony: We haven't done anything with China. What have we done with China? only only only with NATO allies. ⁓ Charles: Aviation joint is if we do joint things Tony: No. What Chinese astronaut what Chinese astronaut have we put on an American spacecraft? ⁓ Charles: We share technology on it. We share Tony: We do not share technology with China. Charles: have been joint missions for the good of humanity that they'll do. There have been that we should ⁓ Tony: Name one. Name just one. Okay, they haven't been any. China is our pacing is our pacing rival. They are our rival in everything we do. We don't do business with China on high technology stuff that has implications to our defense industry. We just don't. The people the the people the people that have gone up in space, we have we sent a Russian up. We sent one Russian up because that was still a leftover from our Russian our Russian contracts. We've never sent a Chinese guy up. We've sent a jap we've sent a Japanese up. We've sent a Canadian up. Jonathan: Well actually for a long time we didn't send anybody up in Tony: We had to we had to hitch a ride with Russia. Jonathan: It's a very new phenomenon. That was the entire Tony: Thank you, thank you, Elon Musk, for getting us out of business with Russia. What's that worth? Charles: Well Fucknick was up there before Bucknett. Yeah. We had to we had to chase Buck Tony: Well, Jonathan: I mean but I mean the the the the moon race to the moon had bigger implications and explorations. It was part of the the strategy. We knew if if we spent more money than the communists we'd bleed them to death and it would lead to their downfall and it works. You know. They couldn't keep up with us, you know. That's why starting with ⁓ Truman through Eisenhower, through Kennedy, through Johnson. Tony: Trust. Jonathan: through Nixon, through Ford, all the way down. It was all about we have to outspend the communists and eventually they'll crumble and they did 'cause they couldn't keep up over time. So but ⁓ but you know, we went through a spell there. We weren't putting any astronauts up. In fact, you know, we had to borrow and Soyuz rockets are old as B fifty two. I mean, the design has not changed in seventy years ⁓ or So if Tony: Elon Musk, the only spacecraft we had was the space was the was the space shuttle. ⁓ that was the only one for a long time. And that was even shut down after after one a couple of them blew up. So, you know, that that's all that's all NASA had. You know, we we were I mean, we were we were trying to launch military satellites, top secret stuff into space, we were gonna go to Russia to do it. And Musk changed all that for us. ⁓ Jonathan: Yeah, Charles: Y'all me you mentioned something earlier about ⁓ the Democratic Socialist who irrespective of label, what what New York mayor Mundum is doing and what he did to his dad. Regardless of what y'all what people call him, he has in short order fiscally a billion dollar deficit quickly with adequate taxation. ⁓ you can call those people who had secondary homes or ⁓ How he did it, but at the end of the day, he's he's a rate, deficit to now in in you know, they're on project of positive in terms of the people of New York. Now that's just a fact. So and then he didn't take years to So that's a intentional policy. So regardless of people delivering or releasing certain type of label. What the constituents know is what works and not working. And see when you have something from a politician that's that's clearly measurable, it it was surpass labeled internally, externally. So that's gonna be very interesting. This is why I was saying what you say earlier. The so called traditional i is like that song, What have you done for me lately? we we know that the Democrats have been perpetually losing races that they should be with in certain areas. So now you have and this is exactly why I looked at there was a t statistics I I saw earlier today where they're saying like seventy some seven million people allegedly voted for Trump and seven and some million voted for Harris. But then there was like eighty four million people that that was eligible to vote that didn't vote. So more people that didn't vote could have changed the election one way or the other. So I think that's gonna be the issue is whether or not that people see measurable change. Because every politician on both sides always like that word change. But when the people can see that you you as the politician implement something that fast, that so called one you you can't you you can't say that that politician was a was not responsible for that. Because clearly that's what my government did in New York. And so now the issue is that I I I do believe that New York is unique. ⁓ it's unique because of the boroughs. It's very ⁓ locally based ⁓ but at the same time, if something works, nothing nothing needs a copycat. Like winning Tony: And I didn't label Mandami a socialist. That's what he calls himself. He calls himself a Democrat socialist. I listened to the news today and I saw all of his he had a big rally with all of his endorsed candidates and they were all saying Democrat Socialist. Democrat Socialist says this is not a label that Tony Hughes or the GOP has put on ⁓ This is what they call themselves as a Democrat socialist. And I I agree with you that he did raise taxes on second homes, but Let's not forget that he also got a four billion dollar grant from the state of New York to close the budget g his budget deficit. So although he did close it one point seven seven billion through cuts and cost savings and four billion from the state of New York and then the rest of it from tax revenue. That's how he closed that twelve billion dollar budget deficit. just to just to get just to get the facts out there. Right. He got a he got a he got a f he got a four billion dollar grant Charles: That's what I'm saying. But the closed Tony: He got a four billion dollar grant from the state to close his budget definitely. Charles: Yeah, but it was it was one of the feet, he got tacked already. So and to do that within like what? How long you been in office? Since November? January? I don't know. Tony: Well yeah, he well yeah, he inherited a he inherited a mess. There's no question about it. guy that was there before him was wasn't was I think he just I think he had totally checked out. Yeah. No question. Jonathan: No, there's no doubt on that. But well I think we're hit our our time limit this week. So we're trying to be more disciplined. like I said, ⁓ there's another didn't get into, you know, there'll be there'll be more fresh topics for next week. Exactly. That it never fails. But we thank everyone for tuning in as usual and we appreciate the feedback we're getting and ⁓ the viewership. So Tony: Regular I can't. Always more next week. Jonathan: Encourage you to tune in again next week. So ⁓ Tony, good to see you again. Charles, you as well. Tony: Thanks. Thanks, Jonathan. Thanks, Charles. Charles: Right. Jonathan: We'll do this again next week. We'll have a good thanks. Charles: Yeah,