Title: DeProgram Show with Ted Ra
Show: DeProgram Show with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
Date: 2025-08-12
URL: https://youtu.be/UE-XS8gvwiM
Duration: 76:00

---

[00:00] for liking, following, and sharing the show and of course commenting and throwing in your questions. And as you guys know, we always get to as many of them as we possibly can. Um, John, good to see you. As >> good to see you, buddy. >> And >> and I'm seeing in the comments that uh that Barnes & Noble didn't go so great, huh? I'm sorry. >> No, it was kind of a catastrophe and we could talk about that later, but that's okay. Uh, you know, I mean, it's like, uh, producer Robbie did his best to, uh,

[00:31] and and apparently they can't spell the name Ted in, um, in Callispel, Montana. They spelled it with two D's. So, that was the beginning of the trouble. So, you know, if they can't spell your name, it's like it's not like Cheers where everyone knows your name. Here, they can't even spell your name. But, anyway, it was funny. Lots It's good to see you. um given what's going on in DC um you know you could be you could be in a fascist goolog right now um Donald Trump obviously we'll be talking about that

[01:02] and the DC police uh nationalizing the police sending the National Guard and possibly regular troops into the streets of the city all because of big balls. Um the ex the Epstein story uh the Epstein Maxwell records are sealed. We'll talk about what what that means. I'm I'm absolutely livid about this story out of uh Gaza that Israel deliberately assassinated five journalists from Al Jeazera on purpose. On purpose, >> but but there's going to there's going

[01:32] to be an investigation. So, >> yeah, that always works out so great. On the other hand, um a you know, so Israel might be psyched about all the journalists they're killing, but they did lose Australia today. Australia recognized Palestine >> and possibly New Zealand which is going to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. >> So all the antipods come together. Uh and then uh Marine T Marjorie Taylor Green um she's a hot ticket item, man. She went from just being worth about $700,000 to in a very short time she's

[02:03] suddenly worth $22 million. Obviously she's just a very very intelligent business person. We'll talk about that. Um, and then of course Trump's meeting Putin. Maybe uh Zilinsky might be invited or might not be. So, what shall we do first? >> Yeah, let let's let's get DC out of the way. I made a decision today when I heard that Donald Trump was federalizing the Washington DC police force and taking over um uh police duties in

[02:33] Washington with the help of the National Guard. decided because I I live three miles from the White House. I'm going to go up to every National Guardsman that I see and I'm going to say, "You should be ashamed of yourself. If there was ever a time to stand up and say, "No, now's the time, you gutless pigs." >> So, Donald Trump has gotten it into his head that crime is out of control. Actually, he probably hasn't even gotten it into his head. He's just fake faking it. Excuse me. DC does not have a crime

[03:06] problem. Murders are down. Violent crimes overall are down 37%. >> That's a lot. >> A lot. We have no crime problem in Washington right now. But Trump decided he's taken it over now. He didn't bother to inform Mayor Muriel Bowser. He didn't bother to inform the DC police chief. He just announced that he's taken it over and that's it. So I looked this up, >> which he can do legally.

[03:36] >> He he absolutely can do for a period of three days. He can take it over for three days and then he has to get congressional authorization. Well, guess what? Congress isn't in session. And so remember, they all ran away so they wouldn't have to vote on the Epstein release. >> Hilarious. >> I wonder if they didn't check that. I suspect they didn't check it. And so this is a publicity stunt. Literally nothing is going to come of it.

[04:06] >> Um there's, you know, at the very same time that he's sending hundreds of troops to DC to uh patrol the main streets. And look, I mean, I want to push back a little bit, John. I mean, DC has some sketchy parts of town that are real pit >> and and the homeless problem is out of control. And and I'm glad you brought that up because he says that he is going to sweep the homeless off the streets. No word on what that means or where you gonna send him. You gonna send him to Maryland? >> Yeah. I don't know. And it doesn't make any sense. And then um he also and and

[04:39] then there's also the story out of Los Angeles. There's a court hearing right now even as we speak um about uh the previous time the few weeks ago when Trump sent troops there to LA to ICE in uh mass deportations, you know, keeping uh the home the homeland the Home Depot parking lot safe for democracy, >> right? >> That you know, and that looks like uh very likely that the judge is going to rule that that act was illegal. um and you know federalizing the California National Guard. But obviously Trump has

[05:10] a lot more control over >> over over DC at least as you said >> for three days by declaring an emergency. I mean I kind of hate all the laws that allow uh elected officials uh to declare kind of vaguely stated vaguely justified emergencies just because. >> Yeah. just because there was a complaint from a a Republican congressman uh from New Jersey about this tent that is set up directly across the street from the

[05:41] White House at the edge of Lafayette Square. And it's a it's a pro Palestine, you know, pro- nuclear disarmament kind of ongoing long-term protest. Tell you the truth, there have been tents there since I arrived in DC in 1982. It's just a thing. It's always been. And this congressman from from New Jersey wants the secretary of the interior to take it down by force. There's

[06:11] another one sort of a sister tent in front of Union Station, the train station up on Capitol Hill. Um, and I I talked to the guy at Union Station last week. I think I may have mentioned it on the show. And I asked if he was getting any push back from from the cops or from the the Trump people. And he said no. He said, "Every once a while, somebody will walk past and give him the finger, but most people, he said, are very supportive and pleasant and and say encouraging things. I walked past the White House a couple of nights ago on my way to dinner, and I didn't talk to the

[06:43] guy that was there, but he was just sitting in a lawn chair holding a a Palestinian flag, and people were taking pictures in front of the tent, and then taking pictures in front of the White House. I did notice that Donald Trump ordered that a giant hole be dug in the front lawn of the White House. The um the north the north lawn. >> I know why. >> And there's a gigantic flag pole there now. Cuz we didn't have enough flags flying from the White House right there everywhere you look.

[07:14] >> So now we have this one giant one like a skyscraper in the center of the of the White House lawn. It's It's just awesome. >> It's going to be hilarious if it if it falls over during a storm and smashes the roof. >> Um and that that could happen. Yeah. So, it's like one of those giant ones like that you see at the car dealership at the freeway entrance, right? >> Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. That's exactly what it's like. It's a giant car dealership uh flag. >> And then, you know, so uh DP has uh this question. Is this takeover of DC

[07:45] something like a coup? Yeah. Well, this is what um Dantis did. Remember when he took all those uh wouldbe refugees and put them on a plane to Massachusetts, right? >> Which we we talked about Martha's Vineyard. It's kidnapping. It's a federal crime. But yeah, I think DP's right. How much you want to bet? I would put money on the fact that the homeless just get herded onto buses and dropped off in New York. I think that's probably what's going to happen. >> Yeah. No, it's it's I mean, you know, and and this is after Mayor Eric Adams

[08:17] sold out to the Trump administration and destroyed his chances of re-election. >> That's right. That is right. >> So, I think it's I mean, look, I think that a lot of what Trump does is always about testing the waters, right? Like, he dips his toe in. Let's see, you know, what what will happen? Um, you know, can I get away with this? As you say, I bet he knows it's three days. Um, you know, he has lawyers. Uh, so he has more lawyers than God. And so he's got so, you know, three he's like, "Well, let's see how let's see how it goes." And if

[08:49] that goes okay, then maybe we can do a little more. You know, there's a there's a story from uh the Gold Farber, Daniel Goldber wrote this very good book, I'm sure you've read, John, called Hitler's Willing Executioners. And um it's very influential and basically questions the idea that the that the Holocaust was basically they put a gun to my head and then they told me shoot kill the Jewish guy or I kill you. And he he debunks that basically. Um and but what's really amazing the the Holocaust was test marketed, right? Basically they tr they

[09:21] they weren't sure that there wasn't going to be civil unrest. So they put spies in little towns in Poland and in the cafe at the mayor's office and then after a big roundup they wanted to see if there was civil unrest if there had been civil unrest if towns had burned if the Gestapo had been attacked they were the whole thing was going to be called off once conference that was like part of their deal but they wanted to see how it would go and I think um you know it obviously not there were complaints nothing much they were like oh this is

[09:51] fine we can get away with it. Um, I I think that's what Trump has in mind. In the back of his mind, he's like, "Let's see, you know, what if I really did want to seize power? Maybe not have to run for reelection and I can't run for re-election, but maybe I'll just stay in office." >> Um, I think this is a test test. Let's just see. >> Well, he said just over the weekend, Ted, that he his his words probably won't run for a third term. Probably won't. He cannot. It is written in stone

[10:24] in the Constitution. There's no wiggle room. There's no way around it where he runs for vice president and then Vance resigns. He can't do it. >> Wait, you can't do that. He can't run for vice president and and Vance resigns. >> No, sir. Or he can run for vice president and be vice president and if Vance resigns the the the speaker of the house becomes president. >> Really? >> Yeah. >> I think it would go I would I think it would end up tied up in the courts at that point. Oh, it would definitely be in the courts, but the Constitution's clear that if the vice president cannot

[10:54] assume the presidency, and in this case, he could not assume the presidency because he's he's constitutionally barred, then um then the the speaker of the house becomes president. >> Interesting. Um, well, yeah. I mean, I I' I perhaps naively have always believed up until now that the reason he's not uh that he keeps saying I might run or implies it, it's just because he doesn't want to be a lame duck because he is a lame duck. And so, >> exactly. >> I think that's all it is. But maybe I'm

[11:25] right. No, I think you've hit it on the head. He's trying to remain as relevant as he can for as long as he can. Now, that's going to change after the midterm elections because then that's it. It's done, right? there are no more elections. Nobody's gonna have to owe him anything or cowtow to him. All bets are off >> unless but then okay here's there's the law of unintended consequences as always which we talk about a lot on this show. So what if you know he he in his mind he

[11:55] knows he can't run for reelection but you know he does all these shenanigans and figures out that he can get away with it. Then the thought that he might go back to the lawfare defendant role that he played before the his second term. The idea that he might be warming the inside of a of a prison cell might make him think, you know, maybe I do want to stay in office and I might be able to get away with it. After all, I saw the impetence of the Democratic Party and of the of the press and of the non-existent left in this country. Well,

[12:27] see, now that's that brings us back to the issue that so many of us struggled with four and a half years ago was does Trump pardon himself? It's never been done before. The Constitution doesn't say anything about it. So, legally, we're unclear as to whether or not a part a president can pardon himself, but that could be it. that that he pretends like he's gonna run, keeps pretending like he's gonna run and then pardons

[12:57] himself >> or however that doesn't help with the state charges as we know >> at all. going after, right? He's going after u he the DOJ has just opened an investigation into a Leticia James >> uh who went after him with those and she was viewed as having the most powerful potent dangerous charges against him. >> Yeah, thank you Sodon very much. >> Let's answer Sodon's question and yeah, thanks a lot. Um how do you think BB

[13:29] will be remembered? Gez, especially with the atrocities against journalists. >> Clear. Clearly, there are two there are two answers there. >> I think he has essentially saved himself in Israel. As crazy as that sounds, because this is a guy that has never ever won more than 27%. >> But I think in terms of public opinion, at least right now in Israel, he's saved himself. everywhere else in the world. He's gonna go, in my view, he's going to go down in history with the likes of Paul Pot and

[14:03] and Ediamin and uh what's his name? Pinocha, some of the the ugliest the darkest figures of the of the 20th century. >> Agreed. and he's going to be but I think in even domestically in Israel once they've lost the United States and I think they will >> I think it'll take a while. >> Yeah. >> But it will um then at that point the Israelis are going to say this is the guy. It's kind of like the way the Germans felt about Hitler who still supported him but once he led them to

[14:35] ruin um he this is the guy who ruined us. Uh we needed the United States. We couldn't live without them. We already lost the Democratic party. Now we've lost the Republican party as well. We're screwed and no one's going to run interference for us at the UN anymore. >> And that's another thing is this is the guy who has lost the entire Western world for Israel. Right? Three weeks ago, none of the the important Western countries recognize Palestine. And today, all of

[15:06] the important Western countries with the exception of the United States recognize Palestine. So if if you're a thinking Israeli, you have to say even if you say, "Oh, I hate Palestinians and we should be crushing Gaza." You have to say, "This guy is destroying our country." But nobody's saying that yet. I mean, there are a couple of voices on the Israeli left. You see it in Harets mostly, sometimes in the Jerusalem Post, but that's exactly what's happening. He's destroying Israel. >> He is. Yeah. I mean, he's he's leading

[15:37] them completely to total disaster. I guess we should it seems like a good time to talk about I mean we're done with DC but we can always come back to it. Um but you know let's talk about these journalists who were killed in Gaza. I'm absolutely blown away that uh this time I mean Israel's killed uh you know up until uh the Gaza war um I was part of the group of journalists with the highest fatality rate in the history of Western war correspondency. I was in a convoy of 45 journalists um of whom um

[16:10] you know only u eight of us sorry 11 of us didn't come back that record got totally destroyed by the Gaza war uh with the hundreds with hundreds of journalists deliberately targeted by the IDF and now and usually they say well we didn't know they were journalists or they didn't they weren't wearing their vest even though they always are um or what they didn't have ID they always do But this time there, the IDF is literally saying this guy was we know

[16:41] that he we we killed him on purpose along with four of his colleagues because he led a Hamas cell. His name is Anas al- Sharif. Um he's a TV journalist. If you watch Al Jazzer regularly, you saw him. Um and I mean it it's like this there's no evidence, right? Could be true, >> but if there's evidence, let's see it. And you know, nobody ever pushes Israel to put up the put up or shut up. Um they're but they're literally saying we

[17:11] reserve the right to murder journalists on moss. I mean that's that's a new level. I've literally you mentioned you mentioned some desperates. I don't remember Paul Pot ever arguing that you could do that. I don't remember Saddam Hussein ever arguing you could do that. Um you know it's this is new. >> You know what? That's an oped right there. I worked on Iraq for the most part of 15 years at the CIA through two wars against Iraq and Saddam Hussein hated journalists but he never went out and killed them.

[17:43] >> Benjamin Netanyahu kills them >> on purpose on mass. >> That's right. >> I mean he doesn't want because he doesn't want the truth coming out. >> That's right. >> And uh so I mean >> you know I I mentioned today I'm sorry to interrupt you Ted. mentioned today to a friend of mine. I was talking to a friend of mine today about this and I said, you know, I'm still livid about the assassination of of Shireen Abu Akla. Sharina Abu Akla was at every event in Washington. She was the top

[18:15] correspondent for Al Jazzer and she was at every event >> and on top of that she was um Greek Orthodox Christian. She was a Christian Palestinian. She was in Palestine, what is it now, two years ago, I guess, and she was wearing a bulletproof vest that said press on it. And she was wearing a a helmet, a Kevlar helmet that said press across it. And she was standing

[18:45] behind a tree to protect herself. And still an IDF sniper shot her in the face with a long range high-powered rifle. And then the Israelis said, "Oh, it was just a mistake." Um, they thought she was Hamas. No, she was wearing press press gear. And then the Israelis said, "Oh, no, no, no. She was she was collaborating with Hamas." And then the response was, "No, she was the most important, most prominent, most famous

[19:16] journalist that that uh that Al Jazzer had and a Christian on top of it all." And what did the Israelis do? Her funeral was held in a Greek Orthodox church in the West Bank. The Israelis forced their way into the church. In the midst of the funeral, beat the pawbearers with trenchons and they were they were forced to drop the coffin which opened and then revealed her body. It was it was solely to humiliate and to

[19:49] anger. And then BB says, "Well, we'll do an investigation. We'll get back to you." Now they don't even bother now. They just kill the whole group. It's a It's a an Alazer journalist and and four uh cameramen and producers. Just kill everybody cuz what's going to happen? They know nothing's going to happen. The Americans aren't going to say anything. Nothing ever does. And the Americans aren't going to say a single word. >> Not a word. >> John, we have an ad. I'm going to read it through very quickly. Oh, good for

[20:19] us. >> You're You've probably noticed Rumble is growing fast and it's not slowing down. They're building a real alternative to big tech that puts creators first, but actually protects free speech. And now there's Rumble Premium, an easy way to upgrade your experience with Premium. You get adree viewing across the platform. No pre-rolls, no interruptions, just the content you came for. Plus, premium members unlock exclusive content like bonus videos, behind the scenes drops, and more from your favorite creators. Right now, Rumble's offering 10 bucks off an annual subscription. Just go to rumble.com/premium and use the promo

[20:49] code studio at checkout. That's rumble.com/premium's promo code studio. No ads, more freedom and content you actually care about. That's the deal. Um, thank you for the ad. I mean, you know, the fact that we have the ads is a sign that we are becoming a bigger a bigger show and more successful. Uh, we, you know, we wouldn't have that ad if we wasn't thanks to you guys listening. Um, if you haven't gotten the message before about how we make a lot more money if you watch us on Rumble, um, we make a lot more money if you watch us on

[21:20] Rumble. So, uh, if please do, it really makes a huge difference. And when I mean a lot more money, I don't mean like instead of two cents, we get two and a half cents, right? It's like instead of two cents, we get like a dollar. So, >> right. >> It's like it's exponentially more money. It is crazy. >> I actually didn't believe it when Robbie explained it to us. >> No, it's so extreme. Like if you really want to support the show and you get the same exact experience. And by the way, if you think that Rumble is sketch or whatever because it's got a lot of right-wing content, there's a $5 option instead of a 10 $10 option gets you

[21:51] everything, the $5 option gets you uh you can just watch our show and not watch anything else just cart on Rumble. So, which is kind of a good a positive change that they've made. Um all right, so with that um may I interrupt Ted, >> please? a couple of interesting and I think important uh comments. I want to go back uh to uh let's see. Oh, I'm going to I'm I'm going to find it. But anyway, uh we've got a couple.

[22:22] Uh Rid, was Michael Hayden a good CIA director? One of the worst CIA directors in American history. He was the one that um that not only gave us warrantless wiretapping when he was director of the of the NSA. When he went to CIA, he ran the torture program and the rendition program and the secret prisons program. And when he was called out on it, actually doubled down and co-authored a book on why torture was good. Number one, um, MW, excuse me, MW Knox 186,

[22:53] America sells out Middle Eastern Christians, but instead of 30 pieces of silver, we get $37 trillion of debt. I wish I had thought of that. I wish I had thought to say that. >> So, yeah, because that is 100% that's exactly what's happening. >> And we have sold out Middle Eastern Christian. >> I miss our pope. Um, you know, the last pope right now would be raging over what the Israelis did to the uh that historical Catholic church. >> Yeah. and Gaza, >> he blew up. I mean, the Israelis blew up, not the pope. >> And the same thing with the Greek

[23:23] church, St. Porfidios, early early on in in October, November, uh, two years ago, they they bombed St. Porfidio's church, which was the longest continuously active church in the world from the 600s. It's been open like every Sunday for since the 600s. Not only did the Israelis bomb it and destroy it, but they killed 24 women and children that had taken refuge inside. Unforgivable.

[23:54] >> And they and the thing is they have the tech. They know there's no fog of war really in this situation. >> I mean, no, >> the like, you know, in the case that you talked about like with the sniper, that guy had a clear field of vision. They have inc, you know, it's the weather is always really crystal clear. It hardly rains over there. I mean, it's there's no excuses. They're doing it on purpose. I just want to be >> Yes, indeed. >> Yes. St. Nicholas on 911. It's been rebuilt at the 9/11 footprint and it is

[24:25] absolutely magnificent. You should check it out. >> Yep. Yep. That's that's true. Um, okay. So, by the way, I remember Michael Hayden, you know, he back be this was back I guess in the was it the '9s when he was at NSA? He started in 98 or 99. Yes. >> There was an article in the French magazine novel elate where he was quoted talking about uh mass surveillance and he was bragging at the time openly that the US could and did listen and store

[24:58] every conversation, every form of communication at the time. Things that we forgotten about like TX and stuff like that, but you know, basically every email, everything every text message, every voicemail, every email, every bit of metadata for the next 500 years, >> all stored. And like I loved I loved the sophistry that they said. They said as far as they're concerned, it's not really intercepted until someone actually at NSA goes and listens to it.

[25:30] So, in other words, I can record you nude, taking a shower, and but I I haven't really recorded it until I go to watch it. I just have it on my shelf. >> What nonsense. >> I mean, that's like, so if I have the Beatles White album, >> but I don't ever listen to it. Do I have the Beatles White album? Really? I'd say yes. I'd say yes, I do. I'll tell you what, in in 2008, this is right after I blew the whistle in the torture program, but before my arrest, I was invited to be on uh Bill Maher's show. I forget the

[26:01] name of it. Whatever. Bill Mar show. >> Real time. Terrible. >> Terrible. A terrible show. >> Terrible show. >> So, um so I was going to be on with um with Mike Hayden and we go I I flew out there. He flew out there and in the green room we're sitting there and I I said, "Hi, Mike." And he said, "General Hayden." I said, "I'm not in the military, Mike." And I realized, of course, instantly that it it bothered him very much that I wasn't

[26:33] calling him General Hayden. And I refused. And he walked out. He walked out of the show. And I was on by myself. >> What a puss. >> Yeah, that's how he is. I went to an event recently at the National Press Club that was sponsored by the Michael Hayden Center for the Study of Intelligence at George Mason University and he's had a number of uh of strokes and I don't I don't wish them this on anybody but um he got up to thank everybody. He has two canes and there's this young woman who physically lifts

[27:03] him up out of the chair because he couldn't get up himself and he's bent over balancing on the two canes like this and he opens his mouth and like this drool comes out of his mouth and goes all the way to the floor and he just says, "Thank you. Thank you." And then he sat down and I was like, "Okay, well there but for the grace of God." >> Yeah. Yeah. At that point >> he got what he had coming. >> At that point you're sort of like okay karma caught up. Um, Michael Hicks uh is saying on YouTube, "John, my mom says

[27:34] that you became that you become what you don't forgive." It seems clear to me that Israel hasn't forgiven being rounded up into ethnic ghettos. >> Oh, isn't that by a militarized state >> and that is you've hit the nail right on the head there. That's I wish I had thought of that to say that. >> Well, I mean it's right. It's like the it's the it's the trauma thing, right? Like if I mean it's like if my mom used to hit me so if I were to hit my kid I would be justified. I don't think so. But that is often how it works. Um and you know I mean certainly uh there's a

[28:06] whole field of psychology that could be applied toward nation states and their policies. >> Oh imagine imagine how many PhD candidates are thinking about this dissertation right now. What we're seeing unfolding in Gaza and and how to make psychological sense of it. Totally. Well, yeah. I mean, you know, it's like when you're um I think when you're belleaguered and you feel victimized, then you justify you can easily justify anything to yourself and you know, like

[28:36] and and that's what's happening, right? I mean, everybody just says October 7th, October 7th, we can do anything we want. >> And it's like, okay, so you're allowed, first of all, there's you don't necessarily have to react at all, but how you react is up to you. You know, it's it's this is it's those are the words of the abuser. Well, October 7th, so we can do anything we want. We can drop an atomic bomb on on Gaza City. We can do anything. October 7th, we can we can kill all the babies and eat them. October 7th, you know, anything we want.

[29:07] Anything. I mean, it's it's absurd really. But it's also >> I went I went to an event the other day. Um it was it was a conservative event and I don't even know why I went just because I was invited. So I I went and there was this idiot there. He was the head of the Iowa Republican party. And he's one of these abortion absolutists that, >> you know, not only should all abortions be illegal from the moment of conception, but if a woman miscarries, she should be investigated and, you

[29:37] know, all that stuff. And he said something about Gaza. I don't even remember what it was. And I said, you know, it's up to all of us to support human rights. I said, "This is the thing I don't understand about you. You so-called pro-life absolutists. You guys are pro-life from the point of conception to the point of birth. And then you don't give a [ __ ] what anybody does or has happened to them once they're once they're born." And he says to me, "You sound like you're pro- Hamas." And I said, "You see, that's what I

[30:08] mean." I said, "You're a [ __ ] idiot, and there's nothing I can do with that." >> And that's how I left it. >> Yeah. No, no. Well, that that's >> I blocked his phone number. He had given me his phone number earlier in the day and I blocked it. >> Yeah. No, no. I mean, I I hear a lot of that kind of thing. And you know, I mean, well, you know, the the thing is the Israelis, right? They have the term for this um you know, this form of of arguing and it's called haz, right? It's basically like, you know, we we get our we're going to say whatever it takes,

[30:40] facts be damned, just to get our way. We're going to bully you, yell at you, shout at you. It's like, you know, if you've ever seen uh either a reenactment or footage of a cultural revolution struggle session where some poor saps wearing a dunce hat, it's 1968, the whole and and he's got like a a sandwich board with all of his purported sins like I was a member of the of the of the landlord class or whatever. And the entire village is screaming at him to that he's a capitalist dog running dog

[31:11] that he's, you know, he betrayed the masses and the revolution. Uh he's an enemy of Mao. Everyone's throwing like rotten fruit at him. And it's like, of course, most people, almost everyone, they're just going to break down. And that's like what it's like online. these I mean the IDF hires they have thousands of people employed all over the world just to go to for example the comment section of >> yeah not this show but they they're going to come here >> oh they'll come here >> they they're on they're on uh my comment sections wherever my cartoons appear

[31:43] I've got a kind of a barn burner of a cartoon about Gaza up right now and they're those people are way up my ass right today over that and it's like you know it's it's it's cyber warfare And you know the thing is there is no point really engaging with them or talking to them cuz like with normal people if you present them with facts like let's say you know that I'm a liberal I was always supportive of Israel and then someone's like well but then look they did this they did that eventually you can wear them down you know like the water making

[32:14] the going the Colorado River you know carving out the Grand Canyon but that's like not but you can't you know it but you can't do that with these people because they're not trying to have a discussion. It's like they're trying to just browbeat you to death. >> That is absolutely right. Hey, Cameron Dley asks a good question. What's it like when you're on those Pierce Morgan debates? How do you try and make a point while being cut off so often? Thank you. Thank you for that. Um,

[32:46] you know, I I gave it back to Alan Dersitz as as best I could. Um, and the other couple of times I was on once with Scott Horton, who I love and have great respect for, and and Scott was the one doing the attacking against the other guys. Uh, and then the last time I was on Oh, yeah. That was a weird experience because I was I was on with Jack Pobiac and um, you know, I always considered him to be if not Satan and one of Satan's relatives. And then I'm we're

[33:16] we're 10 minutes into it and I realized, oh my god, they have me here to be on Jack Pobiac's side because what it ended up being was about Gaza. And I said, you know, these evangelicals, they're perfectly happy to watch the Israelis just bomb any Christian church they want and wipe out entire Christian villages. And everybody's perfectly fine with that because they think that if they force all the Jews back to Israel that Christ is coming and they're all going to go up in their rapture, which

[33:47] of course is nonsense and not mentioned anywhere at all in the Bible. It's a late 19th century invention of the American Southern Baptist Church. So, um, you know, I I the way I was raised was to not interrupt or to apologize for interrupting and to try to wait my turn and and be helpful. And I really try hard to do that. Um, that has to go out the window on Pierce Morgan because he expects you to jump in. In fact, his producer told me not to be afraid to

[34:18] interrupt, that if the interrupting gets to be too much that Pierce will break it up. But, uh, it's not really in my nature to interrupt. I I have to force myself to do it on that show. Thanks for asking that. That was a funny question. >> Yeah. No, it's uh it is it's uh you know there's a lot of these shows they kind of feel Piers Morgan. I've never been on but it doesn't seem like it's like quite like this. But I remember I was a regular on Fox in like the uh about 20 years ago all the time over war on terror stuff and they had ergonomic

[34:50] warfare like so like you'd go in and like if you were on bill on the O'Reilly factor or whatever you were sitting on like a broken secretar's chair that was like you had a hard time like maintaining your balance. You're you're about a foot below Bill and you know I'm 6'2 so I'm not really used to that looking up like this and the and and Bill is just sitting at a nice comfortable Aeron chair leaning up against the table and you're sitting there like and it's like they do everything to to [ __ ] with you. The

[35:21] cameraman literally would be like whispering like comments like at you like while you're on on the air and he'd be like you know like Come on. Oh, come on. >> It was I mean it was >> It was like being razed like you know by a by a baseball catcher, you know? I mean it's like and I was just like this is so immature. And I was like look I was bullied throughout my childhood. You can't do anything to me. I'm like you

[35:52] know you can't it's not going to do anything to me but it must work with some people. One time I saw uh Hannity was doing that to someone and he brought in this like English professor from you know Oxford or something and she obviously had no idea what Fox was and so you know he starts yelling at her like you why are you with the terrorists she's like pardon me I don't at one point she's like very thoughtful she's like I'm sorry is there something wrong with the connection why are you shouting at me

[36:24] >> good for her good. >> But she was genuinely puzzled and it was kind of a superpower to watch >> that dog on Bill O'Reilly. I think I mentioned to you his producer called me once to get me on the show and I said, "Sure, I'll come on the show." And he said, "Well, you're not allowed to go on any show three days before or three days after our show." I said, "Get out of here. I'm not going to just block off a week to be on the Bill O'Reilly show." So, I said, "No, >> a week." And then they called later like, "Well, you know, we could make it two days in two days." But I said, "No,

[36:56] I'm not doing it." And I didn't. I never went on his show. >> Not doing it all the time. I mean, the first time I went on, my friend said in who was a DC insider uh you know, his uh his his girlfriend at the time was Laura Bush's PR flag. >> And she and he and he said like, "If you go on the Factor and you survive, you've won." >> And they and it's true, they cut your mic constantly. I think you're making a point. I >> heard that. >> Yeah. And like, you know, you don't get it out. It's It's pretty bad. >> That's at a certain point why liber you

[37:27] know, liberals will not go on or lefties or progressives just because you get abused. It's not like I don't think it's not even that they're not asking or that people are afraid. It's just not worth it. >> Uh do you prep for those shows and do some research beforehand or do you just wing it? What do you do, Ted? >> Oh, I Well, it depends on the topic. I mean, if it's something I know a lot about, like the back of my hand, I just show up. Um, but you know, let's say it's about editorial cartooning or whatever, right? But if it's about something complicated, um, you know,

[37:59] something involved or a fastmoving story, like for example, if we're talking about DC versus going to be 500 National Guardsmen, then a couple hours later it's 800 National Guardsmen. So, I feel like you just want to be up to date in case those details come up. What about you, John? Um, I almost never prepare because I figure if I don't know these issues by now, I'm never going to know them. Um, although I'm giving a speech in New York on Saturday at a hackers convention and um, I'm not a

[38:30] hacker and tech is not my strong suit necessarily. So, I'm I'm preparing for this one, but only to make references to like Vault 7 and stuff that the CIA has been doing. But yeah, otherwise, no, I don't uh I don't prepare. >> I And I do think that like having things that are like read through or being overprepared can really screw you up like in a public appearance. Um I have a friend, she's a she's a brilliant cartoonist. Uh and but she like reads a speech. And I'm like, that's like death.

[39:02] Don't do that. >> Some bullet points that you want to talk about ju if you need a card to remind you, great. But just know the topics. You know, >> what one of the guys at the at the speakers bureau that I had signed with a while ago said that that I did the Trump weave. Like I'd start one story and then take a side road into another story and I end up coming out, you know, completing the story, but I do the weave. And it's because I don't write

[39:32] anything down. I just I just walk up to the podium and start talking. >> Well, I mean, there's a lot to be said for that. I mean, it's a lot more entertaining and that is what Trump does and I think it's part of the reason that he beat Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clint the the stump speech is dead. Someone needs to tell the Democratic party. Uh, you know, no one should go from town to town giving the same exact speech. You should go and have one thing to say and it should sound natural. People don't want that anymore. >> That's true. That's absolutely right.

[40:02] >> Uh, got a question here that I want to answer. Uh Cameron Dally is asking, "Ted, is political cartooning dying? Who do you still respect in the field?" Um it's absolutely dying. Um I I would say it's dead. Uh when I got into this um in the early 90s, I was syndicated in 1991. There were,200 full-time editorial cartoonists in the United States. >> Today, there are eight. >> Okay. So, uh it is it's finished. Um, there are, you know, 20 or 30 sort of freelancers who, you know, they they get

[40:33] some their work out there here and there. Uh, but really that's about it. I mean, Joel Pet still doing good work. Um, I I like Jack Olman's work. Um, there's a there's a lot of several others. Um, you know, uh, Kevin Figer just got got fired from the Baltimore Sun. He's good. But I mean the thing is and the cartoonist who I look at though who is the guy who I'm like that guy's smarter than me and I wish I was as good as him is uh Ruben Bowling. His real name is Ken Fischer. He does a comic

[41:04] called Tom the Dancing Bug and it is always so damn smart and I'm like I hate you. >> How How about Tom tomorrow? Do you read him? >> I I used to um you know we were both in a lot of the same papers together. In fact, we both used to get confused for each other because Ted R, Tom tomorrow, we both worked in four panel format, black and white, both progressive. Um, and uh, yeah, so of course obviously um, he's a a very important cartoonist. I

[41:35] always thought he was too wordy and um I always thought and I I never really liked the look of it and after a certain time so what the thing about for me the judge is am I going to be surprised like like if with Ken with Ruben Bowling I never know what he's going to do and there's probably going to be something funny and crazy in it. That's the judgment for me. Um you know but like Tom tomorrow I feel like if I miss it no big deal. Dan, if you're watching, that's his real name.

[42:05] >> I love it. >> Sorry. >> I love it. He used to write to me when I was in prison and and he did a he did a comic about me and then he he sent me a copy which was very generous. I have it framed in my den. >> He is a Yeah. No, he's a he is a nice guy. Um you know, and it's many times I always thought like, well, we might become friends and hang out and then we just never do. It's like unrequited friendship, you know, like the bromance, the one-way bromance, >> right? But you know, yeah, he's like one year older than me, I think. And uh

[42:35] >> you know, yeah. And um yeah, this modern world is that's right is his name. >> This Modern World. Love it. >> Get your war on is David Reese. Uh he that that stopped a long time ago. It was clip art comic. You see criticized not by me uh about that fact, but uh it was a very classic Bush administration era. If you really are interested in those kind of comics, I edited this series of books called Attitude and uh basically they're interviews and sample cartoons and with alternative like

[43:06] weekly cartoonists. It's from 2002 04 and six and you can get them on eBay for very little and anyway they're you can get a really good sense of the kind of stuff that I like and the kind of people that I like. >> Excellent. >> Uh where where did we meet Ted? We met uh when you came on the show that Brian Becker and I um were doing in 2017. >> That's right. >> Yeah, >> that is co that's that's right. Yeah. Um yeah. And Brian's still going strong,

[43:36] right? >> Going strong with with the socialist program. You know, I pointed Brian as an example of what I I hope we can accomplish all the time. I ran into Brian. It's been a little while now. It uh February was the last time I saw him. He spent so much time in New York. I don't get to see him much in Washington anymore. I saw him at a at a counter inauguration event >> um with Angela Davis and a couple of other people and he's doing very very well with his podcast. He when when we

[44:06] lost our jobs at um actually I had left Sputnik briefly. I end up going back, but when our show was shut down at Sputnik back in 2020, he did a a GoFundMe to raise five grand just for some sound equipment, a decent camera, and a microphone. And that's how he started the socialist program. And now he's a monster. He's He's making more money than he's ever made in his life. >> That's so great. Ironically, considering the >> communist. Yeah.

[44:36] >> So, we've got like a couple of questions over from the Rumble feed. We don't want to feel like you guys are left out. Absolutely. >> So, uh, rebellious rainbow unicorn wants to know, "Is Ali Mortata still alive?" I don't know who that is. Do you? >> No, I sure don't. >> So, okay, someone needs to chime in. >> I apologize. >> And another And then, uh, uh, Apac test dummy. Love that name. Was October 7th enabled by Israel so they could light a backfire to Gaza and Iran? I think

[45:07] there's something there. I think it was. They knew it was 100% they knew it was coming. >> I agree. >> Um, you know, the they had all, you know, the the the Hamas posted the um the the the the videos of them practicing like months ahead of time on the internet. So, I mean, unless the MSAD doesn't look at at Facebook um or or X, I don't think that they could have missed it or Instagram. And then when it happened, and this blows me away, and you probably

[45:38] shouldn't just take my word for it, but go look at the New York Times or the Washington Post. On October 7th, there the response time to some of these kabutsum was 7 and a half hours. Now, there's no place in Israel that is so that is seven and a half hours away from any other place in Israel. Um, it is a small country. You can drive with traffic four hours maybe from the law from you know diagonally across from one corner to another. It's not it's the size of New Jersey and so

[46:09] >> you know seven and a half hours tells me they didn't want to come. Also there was a smart fence John I mean so what's the purpose of a smart fence? So, it's like if you have a it's like if you have a breaker alarm system in your house and you know the little and someone breaks the window. Well, the little electric thing gets broken and it calls your local police department and sets off an alarm. The cops know instantaneously that your window's been broken and they can come out right away if they want. Well, if they want. The the smart fence was breached by Hamas on October 7th.

[46:42] They didn't come. They didn't come. So, they knew it was coming. They were like, I don't think they told Hamas to do it. I don't think they planned it, but I think they were like, "This is going to be our great opportunity to build greater Israel and annex." >> That was it. First of all, thank you, John Magcguire, very much for that. Appreciate your generosity. Um, Ted, I couldn't agree more. And remember this this weak half excuse that came out from the Israeli government uh in the days

[47:13] after uh October the 7th. Uh the excuse was that well we knew something was coming but Smootrich and Ben Gver told us it was going to be in the West Bank. We didn't know it was going to come from Gaza. We know that's not true because settlers along the line with Gaza were reporting for months that there was training underway. And then remember in the days before uh uh October 7th, Hamas sent balloons

[47:45] over as a test >> and still the Israeli the Israelis did nothing. So that tells me that of course the Israelis knew it was coming. Um and why would they want it to happen? so that they could launch their drive for greater Israel. Yes, >> I'm 100% convinced. Couple of qu questions. Instead of printing news publications with cartoons, there should be a publication of only cartoons. I bet it would sell. It's been tried a few times. Um, there was something called Comic Relief, which ran for a number of years. It was really good. Um, it was cartoons only. There's the Santa Cruz

[48:16] Comic News, which probably still is in business out in California. Um, and today there's still a longunning publication called Funny Times um, out of Cleveland, Ohio. But it's not enough. I mean, the reason these places survive is because they only pay reprint fees. And if you want a professional cartoonist, someone who gets up in the morning and basically lives and breathes and thinks about cartoons every day and produces a cartoon like close to every day or every day, that's not going to do it. So I mean the real answer in my

[48:48] opinion is to convince news uh online websites like CNN.com, MSNBC.com, axios.com and all these places that are basically the successors to legacy media to start running cartoons and not just political cartoons. Um Cameron wants to know how do we get how do journalists get into a war zone? What's the preparation like? >> Oh, it's different from the way I got in. I got in business class. >> Yeah, it's not the same. So So technically I mean it's pretty funny. you're basically going, it depends. You try to get permission as much as you

[49:18] can, but sometimes you can't. So, for example, I I covered the 2014 um Israeli invasion of Gaza, right? And um to get in there um I I was like I first went I looked into whether you could go in through Israel. The border was closed and the Israelis wouldn't give you any permission. But then I was like, Egypt, go through the tunnels. Um, and so I crossed I Egypt was easy to get into, but then arriving in on the Hamas side, you have I didn't have a visa. Hamas does issue visas or at least they used

[49:50] to. >> What >> always fun to get that stamp uh that attracts all sorts of attention in interesting places. So back it was a government you know and so yeah but I got Hamas to but I arrived I I explained myself obviously I wasn't the only media person but they check you out too like who are you online and oh okay this guy's legit he's okay and then they let you in. So it always depends Afghanistan was this is a good story. So, in 2001, I was dying to get over there right away.

[50:20] Um, you know, after the bomb started falling on October 4th, and I went all over the place to people who didn't have anyone there, various TV stations, networks, um, newspapers, and they were and I got turned down for a variety of reasons. And finally, I was like, I went to the Village Voice where I was on staff and I was like, "Guys, you know, I'll put I'll cobble it together. I'll do like a little bit of radio with KFI radio and send me over there. They're like, "No, we have a guy. He's going in um he's in he's on a he's on a uh he's

[50:50] on a US Navy uh battleship in the in the Indian Ocean." And I'm like, "You're aware of the fact that Afghanistan is a landlocked country, right? Like you your guy's in a n is on a naval vessel. He's not going in." He's like, "Oh, really? You think you know better?" I'm like, "I know I know better." And so then they they were like, "Okay, well, never mind, Ted. We have another guy. He's going to go in through Pakistan um through the Kyber Pass. And I'm like the first thing the Pakistanis do when there's trouble is they shut that Kyber Pass. No one's going in there. So I'm like to Jikstan

[51:22] is the way. So like I flew to I convinced them. They're like okay you want to take your shot. I flew to Duchon Bay but it's basically all catches catch can. You arrive there. You have to get a special permission from the Taji government as you find out to go to the trouble zone which is a hundred kilometers away from the Afghan border. Then you have to figure out how to get how to cross that border. Are you I was going to take a chopper. Now the chopper's not flying because it's uh which was going to the northern alliance capital of um that chopper wasn't going

[51:54] because of fog in the in the mountains. So then you just like okay it will go by go over land. Got to hire got to hire someone to go over land. Then you have to get So you basically you're bringing tons and tons of cash and that's the most nerve-wracking part. Yeah. Because you're walking around with at least 50 to $100,000 in $100 bills in a place where $20 is a life-changing amount of money. So you're an you're a walking ATM in a place where everyone's got guns and

[52:25] and they're desperate and they're hungry and they're pissed off. Um, so, so yeah, it's like basically >> and you don't know if they're g you don't know if they are willing to let you bribe them for $20 or if they're going to kill you for the whole 50. >> No, that's right. That's exactly right. You don't know anything that's going to happen. I can't tell you how many times I had to talk my way out of being murdered. you you sort of lose track after a while and you're like quoting from the Quran and you're like you know you offer you know the Quran requires

[52:55] you as a good Muslim to give sanctuary to the unarmed traveler and then like are you Jewish or are you a good Muslim and they're like hey uh I'm a good Muslim really because you're acting like a Jew and then like I mean you say anything that it you need to get through a situation like that but then there's hotel wars which are like Like Bosnia, it was a hotel war. You know, you stayed at like a nice hotel, drive out to the front, make it back to the hotel by happy hour, easy peasy, three three,

[53:27] four stars. So, just it really really depends. You could do a whole show just on that, >> man. That's a rough life. >> And and I think I'm too old for it, you know? I mean, I realized when I was in my 50s, like you don't really you can't you're not going to have the instincts for it. Um once you get over like say 52 53. >> Yeah, that's a tough life. >> All right, so um Ali Mart Mortada his famous greeting. Hello my enemies. He

[53:58] was pretty funny. Oh, is he Oh, is he the comedian? The stand-up comic guy. Oh, Oddball comic. Okay, so thank you John Maguire for your generous donation. Oddball cartoon question. Have you ever put one of your question cartoons into the new AI image >> to video creators to see what it does to it? Yes, I have. >> Ah, >> and uh it does. >> Did it steal it from you? >> It probably it tried. So, I have a very simple drawing style and one of the things that nobody knows is that simple drawing styles are harder to replicate

[54:30] than complicated drawing styles. So, because like if you just think about like Charlie Brown, >> there's like maybe seven or eight lines that make Charlie Brown's face. those each line has to be really perfect otherwise the whole thing's [ __ ] up. But if you draw something that's like full of cross-hatching like the sort of the mistakes can cancel each other out. So AI is like very simplistic and it doesn't know what to do and it doesn't get the lines right. So it basically there's no other way to put it. It looks makes it look like a retard's been drawing it. Um and so

[55:01] >> that's great. >> Everything's off and weird. It's going to get better and I'm I'm dying for it to get better. I want to use it to be able to produce a cartoon like 5 seconds after I hear about a new story and get it out there right away because that does better. Um I'm not at all against new technology. Um you know because it's going to happen whether I'm against it or not. >> Yeah, I think you're right. >> Oh uh this I'm sure is uh well might be for either of us. I was not at the battle of Tora Bora. How were you? >> No, I arrived two months after Tora. But

[55:32] that's that's why I went I went to clean up the remnants of Tora Bora and and we had some real success. >> Yeah. >> You know, just as an aside, >> standing up, you mean you're scavenging for evidence and information and stuff that's left behind >> and grabbing people that were a little too slow to get away from us? I I I have a uh you know what? I I'll bring it for the for the next uh show. I have a giant chunk of raw lapis lazuli

[56:04] >> uh that I took from Osama bin Laden's house. >> I like to think it was his paper weight. >> It probably was. >> I think it probably was, but I I took it and I I still have it. It's magnificent. >> Do you have any of his videos? Apparently had quite the video. >> No, but you know what though? I I went on a show. I I I never say no to to reporters from Pittsburgh, right? So, I went on KDKA TV2. They have a local Meet the Press after the National Meet the

[56:34] Press. So, it's it's the it's uh what was his name? I forget his name. Anyway, he was the the host and um and the editor-inchief of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette was the other was the other questioner. And so the Meet the Press guy, I mean the uh the Pittsburgh Post Gazette guy was not the friendliest guy in the world and he used to kind of zing me every once in a while. So he said to me, "How surprised were you that there was so much porn on

[57:05] Osama bin Laden's computers and I think he wanted to make me blush or whatever." And I said, "Oh, you know, it's funny. The night that we killed him, >> um a friend of mine from the CIA called me and said, "How much porn you think is on that computer?" And I said, "Dude, are you kidding? It's going to all be porn." And then, of course, it was all porn. >> A guy with four wives. >> Yeah. A guy with four wives. And I I said I said to him, "When you live in such a repressive culture

[57:36] >> and you get internet access and nobody else is in the room, you look at porn." >> I always say I always say that, right? You ever notice it's it's in, you know, when there's a sex scandal in Britain, you know, it's it's never a Labor MP that they find hanging from the ceiling with a red. >> It's always a Tory. >> Always. >> So, they looked at each other and then and then the one guy says to the other, >> I think this is the first time that I've done this show in 25 years that I've

[58:07] actually been speechless. >> John got an ad. Quick pause to tell you about Pickax, the creator and user first platform built for people, not algorithms. You know what big tech is up to. Data mining bot driven feeds. Blackbox AI deciding who sees your work. Instead, Pickax hands you an algorithm free chronicle feed. Chron chronological feed with native Rumble playback. Autopublishing of your live streams. Free Bluetooth check verification and full monetization control. Your voice, your rules. Best of all, this web version is live right now and their iOS and Android apps drop next month um on

[58:38] Pickax. Your Rumble videos play seamlessly right in your feed as if they were built into the platform. No embeds, no workarounds, just smooth native playback. Even better, in beta now, creators can connect their Rumble channel to Pickax to automatically post live streams and videos so your followers never miss a moment. You can also write full articles directly on Pickax today. And later this year, you'll be able to blast them out as email newsletters with one click and build up your own email list for direct audience access. monetize on your terms through pay walls, revenue sharing, or affiliate ads that autoinsert promo

[1:00:11] before Trump's tariff pause. She's saying basically nothing to see here. Shut the [ __ ] up. Stop talking about this. Go away. Be quiet. Probably not the best look for her, but if I were her, I'd say, "Hey, come and look at my records if you've got a problem with me. Otherwise, shut up." I understand she comes from money. But, you know, there are um there are uh exchangeraded funds, mutual funds that track, for example, Nancy Pelosy's investments.

[1:00:43] >> Yeah. >> Which, you know, ought to be everybody on Capitol Hill should have blind trusts. Nobody should be actively investing in anything, >> right? Or they should be forced to d to to divest from everything. >> Yeah. >> Collect your 0.4% savings interest like everyone else. >> Oh, thank you, Starline. I appreciate that. I'm trying my best. You know, Ted and I both it's this is a tough gig, especially at our age. >> It's true. Like I you know, I feel like I'm uh trying to reinvent myself.

[1:01:13] >> I know, right? >> I mean, the fun thing is I mean, actually, I do like it. It's not like it's an ordeal or anything. I mean, this is a fun thing to do. I really look forward to the show. >> I do, too. >> So, it's it's definitely like a highlight of my day. >> Same here. And we're gonna we're going to be going every day soon. >> Yeah. Next week. >> Yeah, >> that's the plan, right? Um, by the way, app propo of that. Uh, Wednesday, I'm traveling back from Montana. So, uh, we're doing it on Thursday this week. So, it's Monday, Thursday, Friday this week. No show on Wednesday. Um, so

[1:01:46] that's that. Yeah, has like five shows. I have three. Um, the DMZ show with Scott Stantis is once a week and then there's the TMI show also. Um, anyway, uh, so yeah. Uh, she Star Lion says uh, never cared about political cartoons. Still haven't looked into them, honestly. Well, that only means that Starion's probably under 60 years of age. Um, I mean, only old people look at them, but they're such a great format, or at least

[1:02:16] potentially they can be. Um, anyway, so MTG, do is there anything to see here where there's I mean, is there is this smoke? And if so, is that fire? >> I I understand that she comes from from money. So, I don't know. I don't want to point the finger, but um I will say when I worked for when I worked for John Ky, and you know how much John Ky has people, >> mostly from his wife Well, pe people think that and a a half or a little more than half came from his wife, but he was

[1:02:47] independently wealthy before her. He um he comes from a very long line of money. You know, he he comes off as this as this good Irish Catholic and um he only discovered that he was Irish as an adult. His people came over on the Mayflower. He just happens to have like one Irish branch of the family and it just happens to be his surname. Um, but he's worth about 750 million bucks and he didn't give a [ __ ] what people

[1:03:17] thought about that. He didn't care. I I mentioned a couple of shows ago that um he bought a he bought a a yacht, but it was it wasn't even a yacht. It was like this major oceangoing ship. And to save himself the the yacht tax, he docked it in Rhode Island because they don't have a yacht tax in Rhode Island. they have one in Massachusetts and and people just, you know, practically took to the streets. We were getting hundreds of calls and nasty emails and letters. And

[1:03:48] I said to the to the staff director, a really good guy who who actually is a member of the Kennedy family. Um I said, "You know, this is a really bad look. The guy's got all the money in the world. Just pay the [ __ ] tax." M >> and it took him about two weeks, but he finally got around to it and he paid the tax and moved the boat to Massachusetts. But these rich people, they're all the same. They're so afraid you're going to you're going to, you know, chisel $100 from them or something. And God knows they don't want to pay their taxes.

[1:04:19] >> No, that's that that's the thing that drives them absolutely nuts. Nick's asking any upcoming guests. Also, Houdini is asking, "Are we to talk about Putin?" Yes, we are in about 60 seconds. Um, so, um, yeah. So, guest, next Thursday, I think it is, um, I'm not sure if it's this Thursday or next Thursday, we've got a a a expert coming in to talk about sanctions and their, uh, whether they're effective or not and what their actual effect is on civilians um, in the countries upon which they're imposed. All right. I I think we do need

[1:04:49] to talk about Putin and Trump. Um, so they're meeting, I guess, this Friday, uh, in Alaska in Anchorage. Um, and uh, they're going to be obviously talking about Ukraine. There's some cons, there's some concern or question as to whether Zalinsky might also be invited to make it a three-way. Um, are, you know, I mean, um, I don't think Zilinsky will get the invite. I don't think he makes any sense. >> I don't either. It doesn't make any sense because Trump hasn't had time to bully him yet, >> right? Uh what it comes down to is Trump

[1:05:22] Trump floated this idea, well if if we let you just keep all of the Ukrainian territory that you've seized, is that good enough? And Putin said yes, apparently. >> Mhm. >> Well, nobody thought to say anything to Zilinski. >> Oops. >> Yeah. But I mean, Ted, we've all said from the very beginning, we all knew it was going to turn out this way that the Russians get Donbass and Crimea, the the Ukrainians can't join NATO, but they get a fast track into the EU, >> and then, you know, we all call it even.

[1:05:54] And I'm sorry if you know this is this is painful and difficult for the Ukrainians, but the only other choice, the only alternative is to just keep fighting the Russians and then you're going to end up losing your entire country at the end of day. >> True. I mean that is true. And the um yeah, I mean Trump had a funny remark as he often does uh about Zilinski. He said uh you know Zilinski says he can't do anything, he can't give up any territory without getting constitutional approval. And he's like, but he's like Zinsky

[1:06:24] seems to not need any constitutional approval to go around killing everybody and keeping the war going on forever. >> Fair point. >> Yeah, I think so, too. >> I mean, I think Zilinsky has led his country to disaster. Um, you know, I mean, even if we state if we stipulate that, you know, post Meternick and the era of the nation state that you no country can invade another country, >> um, you know, and that that's just taboo. We can stipulate that, but it doesn't change the fact that when you

[1:06:54] have a very powerful uh and wealthy neighbor who you uh you know, right next on your doorstep, you don't [ __ ] with them, you know, and um you know, it's like if you're Luxembourg, you don't tell France to go [ __ ] itself. And that's what Ukraine did uh to you know, basically saying we can do whatever we want. You know, we're going to we're going to blow up we're going to kill Russian minorities in the east. We're going to join, if we want to join NATO, we will. Nothing you can do about it. We're going to depose, you know, the the

[1:07:26] Russian friendly president that was democratically elected and get rid of him and ask the Americans for help doing it. I mean, Putin got pissed off. It's not surprising. >> He sure did. He sure did. Thank you, T. >> Yeah. Somaliand. Can I talk about Somali land for a minute? >> Please do. Please do. Somali land has been has been seeking independence and more importantly recognition for so long. Yeah. 30 years.

[1:07:56] 30 years they've been looking for recognition. They have said all the right things. They have done all the right things. They have nothing to do with whatever pseudo government happens to be in power or quasi power in Mogadishu. Um the US has met with them on both official and unofficial bases. I told you I went to Somali land in uh I think it was 2011. I went with the American ambassador in Djibouti, the defense ates and the director of embassy

[1:08:28] security. Um the thing is that in the White House they're just not interested in this and it's it's painful because these people really want to develop. They really want to do the right thing. They want to have good friends and and a steady foreign policy. And they see that the success that that the Djiboutins are having in terms of of building and expanding their port. Uh they love the fact that there are both Americans and Chinese there. They really

[1:08:59] want to emulate what the Djiboutins have done >> and nobody takes them seriously. >> Let's talk about what's going to happen at that summit. Um so I mean we know what Yes, I agree with you. We know where this war is going to end. The question is, is it going to be ending soon? I mean, what is Putin going to be asking for? What's Trump going to want? What's going to be the outcome? Is it going to is anything significant going to get done, >> you know, in in one day? I'm curious about that with these two very long-winded men. Well, actually, that's

[1:09:29] not fair. Trump's not long-winded um in person, but Putin is. Moon is I I can't imagine that anything that anything solid uh develops in a day. Somebody mentioned um Odessa as well. Uh by all accounts Odessa is safe uh for the Ukrainians that the Russians apparently don't even have designs on it. They just said that they did in order to to increase pressure on the Ukrainians. >> Um but no, I I don't think anything is going to be definitively solved, especially when when half of the waring

[1:10:00] parties aren't represented. And so I think we have to I think what Trump has to do is get to Putin's bottom line. Now Trump said something the other day that he may or may not have made up. And what it was was that Russia keeps the territory. Ukraine joins NATO. It's like wait a minute Putin's not said that publicly and you're just announcing that. >> That does sound that does sound new. >> Yeah, it's very new. >> Putin agreeing to that?

[1:10:30] >> No. No, but that's what Trump announced when he said that he and Putin were going to meet an anchor jump Friday wr Friday. >> I took note of that. >> So, so I mean would I think we should train ourselves to not expect anything. >> No, agreed. Agreed. >> There there's going to have to be a meeting in you know Geneva or Vienna or whatever or Reikuic or whatever. >> Putin wants I mean Trump wants this done now. >> Done. >> Yesterday. >> Yes. And I I I don't know if Putin is I

[1:11:00] mean he's showing up. It's good that these two guys are sitting down. I think in the end they're gonna >> they're going to let Zilinsky sit at the kids table and tell him what's what at the end. >> I think that is exactly what we should expect. >> Um so Houdini is asking if Russia keeps the territory gained, will there be an insurgency in those territories? Certainly not in Crimea. >> No, certainly not in Crimea. >> Uh could there be in say the western part of the Dawnbas? I doubt it. >> You know, I suppose I suppose anything is possible, but I I I don't see it happening.

[1:11:31] >> No. >> And then uh >> it's too heavily Russian. >> No, I disagree with Eric's saying Trump just wants a frozen conflict. I totally disagree with that. Trump wants a peace. He wants an armistice. He wants a peace deal. He wants to That's what he gets to go to Geneva and ask for that for. >> Um Nick's asking, John, do you think uh Putin has his eyes on Transnistria? deep down I think yes but I think that he realizes it would be full hearty to do anything about it >> also you know John Transnistria serves like an important like function for

[1:12:03] smuggling >> it's kind of like this this no man's land like what happens in Transnistria stays in Transnistria everything gets >> how are you going to get stuff to to Muldova and to Romania without transa >> especially with sanctions >> especially I think I if I were if I were Putin, I'd leave the Transnistrians alone. >> I agree. >> By the way, they still have a Soviet flag. How cool is that? >> Oh my god. Oh my god. Crazy.

[1:12:33] >> Um, Houdini wants to know if they're meeting, doesn't it mean that a deal was already made? I'd say that's >> under normal circumstances. Yes. Under Donald Trump, I don't think so. >> No. No. I think they have to sit down and they do have to do this, you know, mono. >> Yeah, they do. Kkefe. Is that a Russian city? >> I think it's going to be now if it isn't already. It's pretty well split, but I think it's I think it's essentially going to be a Russian city. >> How safe is Putin once the war ends.

[1:13:03] He's used the war to get rid of a lot of oligarchs and powerful government figures. >> Yeah, >> there will be grudges. Russians know about grudges. They're good at grudges. They do grudges. Well, >> yeah, that's right. >> Um, but are they going to try to kill Putin? I mean, he'd have to be really weakened before I think he'd be vulnerable. >> You know what they say, if you're if you're going to kill the king, you better kill him on the first try. >> Yeah, that's that's right. Um, do you see Russia starting more wars

[1:13:35] like after Ukraine, like the left's narrative says? Absolutely not. >> No, I don't either. >> Um, no. >> Is Macron serious about No. You all mailed um the only way to get to by train. >> That's interesting. I didn't know that. >> That's funny. Yeah, I've wanted to go to the transnistria. I my my last graphic novel had an important I studied a lot

[1:14:05] about the transnistria research. >> Ah, >> so that's why I know a little bit about it. >> Oh, man. All right. So, um >> I'm exhausted. >> I'm exhausted, too. Um, we're going to cover this. So, on Thursday, we'll be back to see it'll be the day before the summit. We'll know a lot more. We'll certainly and I guess um you know that Trump's experiment in direct DC governance will have come to an exciting thrilling conclusion. I hope there's no rioting or anything between now and then. If I were >> tell you what I I fear I fear for the

[1:14:36] days. >> That's right. I I fear for the homeless population over these these coming days. I really do. >> Oh, a question about your book. What did you read? >> I don't know, man. >> I I I sent a a threatening email to my publisher saying it's time to fish or cut bait. This book was supposed to be out. I sent them the draft of this book three years ago. October uh uh April. Three years ago, April. So, I've had enough of waiting. I'll I'll let you know as soon as I hear. I'm tired of this. >> Um and I think we'll make this the last

[1:15:07] question for today. What do we think about Chetchna's leader being MIA? What about the succession with his teenage son? >> I don't know anything about it. >> Um, yeah, Chetches is like a little it's like a sort of micron North Korea inside of the Russian Federation. It's like very weird. >> Yeah. >> Um, you know that I remember reading um, >> God, what was this book? It was the history of warfare by John Keegan and uh, he argued that that the Cheschnians

[1:15:38] are the most ferocious warriors on the planet. completely indomitable, totally insane. >> You know, I I met a Russian soldier once. Where was I? In was it in Baghdad? Anyway, no, it wasn't in Baghdad. It was in Manama in Bahrain. And he told me that the Chhatchins were the only people on earth that he was afraid of. >> That's cool. and okay well when we're doing two just

[1:16:09] a reminder the show goes to five days a week this coming Monday so >> that's right >> stay tuned >> it's going to be fun >> yeah looking forward to that guys you guys are awesome thank you so much please like follow and share the show um we are uh always appreciative and it really makes a difference if you're watching us on YouTube please strongly consider watching us either instead on Rumble or uh in or supplementally on Rumble at the same time. It makes a huge difference for us. Thanks so much for all the donations. Um, you can, uh,

[1:16:41] John, do you have a website? >> I do. It's >> It's johnkuryaku.com >> and I'm Tedrall.com. So easy. All right. U, and with that, we're gonna say goodbye until Thursday. Thank you. Bye everybody.
