December 22, 2025 • 31 mins
The John Kobylt Show Hour 3 (12/22) - Lou Penrose fills in for John. Joe Khalil comes on the show to talk about the latest going on with the US Coast Guard seizing a Venezuelan tanker. More on the Trump administration targeting Venezuelan drug boats. Why do things keep breaking so easily nowadays? Barry Manilow has lung cancer.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can't find AM six forty you're listening to the John
Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Now, the US Coast Guard has released footage of it
seizing a second Venezuelan oil tanker in a tactical operation.
This is the second Venezuelan vessel seized by the United
States in recent days, and the President has been talking
about it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
News Nation's Joe Khalil joins.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
US Joe, what's the strategy here? I mean, people are
trying to understand what the president is after. Here are
we trying to blockade, stop all flow of oil to
put pressure on the Venezuelan government to effectively abdicate?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Where are we?
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Yeah, it's hard to get a read on long term strategy.
You know, we've heard regime change floated, and it's something
that when President Trump is asked about, it doesn't rule
it out. And there are certainly some of his allies O.
Lindsay Graham being one, who are openly advocate cating for
regime change in Venezuela. But short term, what the Department
(01:06):
of War saying, what President Trump is saying is, you know,
these ships that are transporting oil, many of them are sanctioned,
which means that they're not authorized to be carrying oil.
This is in a legal act, and so the US
Navy and the Coast Guard are going to be stopping
and seizing the oil and seizing these ships. You know
(01:27):
where it gets into sort of dangerous territory here is
the Venezuelan government has now said that they're going to
be equipping many of those tankers or having them be
escorted by their own naval assets. So what we have
is if you've got armed naval assets on these oil
(01:48):
tankers from Venezuela and then you've got the US Navy
and Coast Guard interdicting them, you know, that clearly sets
up the possibility for some kind of an armed conflict there.
And you know then you know, puts American service members
at risk, that risks blowing up into a you know,
more violent, long term situation. So you know, it's hard
to grasp long term. I think that's where a lot
(02:09):
of lawmakers, from my perch on Capitol Hill are questioning, too,
is what is the end goal here with this?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It's troubling.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I have to say, as a Trump supporter, I find
this troubling and I don't I think maybe we're having
a hard time seeing a long term strategy here because
there may not be one in the poker hand of
things you can do to force other governments to behave
where is like blockades, you know, oil block energy blockades.
(02:39):
I mean, is this something that historically has been successful
in getting other nations to come to the bargaining table,
play ball, stop what they're doing, or just abdicate.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I mean, is this I don't recall this working in
the past.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
No, it's a great question that you bring up. I think,
you know, in a separate content text, this may be
a little bit different because you know, you could see
a blockade sort of like sanctions, where a sanction is
meant to force a government to you know, potentially stop
buying oil from Venezuela. Right, we could sanction another country
if they purchase, you know, oil from Iran or what
(03:15):
have you. But in the context of this situation, you
remember that you know, us seizing effectively these oil tankers
also comes along with several strikes on drug boats that
are allegedly carrying drugs, you know, out of Venezuela. We
know that they're not they're not sentinel boats, but these
are boats that are carrying like cocaine out of Venezuela
(03:37):
and coming to Central and South America. So, you know,
if you put all of it together, you know, obviously
it's it's much more of a significant move than just
sanctions or just even even blockades. The blockades. What they
do though, is, you know, Venezuela like seventy percent of
its economy, I think sixty eight percent they rely on
(03:59):
the oil shipments and the revenue they get from that,
some of it legal, some of it not. So it
is hitting. It is putting some pretty intense pressure on
the Maduro regime if the if the goal is again,
you know, for them to abandon drug operations. Who knows,
(04:21):
you know, whether we're gonna have to see whether this
is an effect effective tactic or not, but certainly a
drastic one, and I think you're right to, you know,
point it out.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Yeah effective.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You know, people were questioning the effectiveness of the of
the drug operations, of sinking those drug boats, and.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I honestly, I don't have a problem with that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I really don't have a problem with that because I
don't think that any harm can come from us sinking
a drug boat, Like will that stem the flow. I
don't know, Let's keep going until we notice, you know,
any changes, and if there's no changes, we'll come up
with a new strategy. But I didn't have a problem
with that, the seizing and the blockade of petroleum and oil.
I the way it's always been explained to me is
(05:02):
it's supposed to create such uncomfortable conditions in the country
that the people are starting to get starved, right, and
they their economies are.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Beginning to.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Disintegrate, and then they rise up and throw the lead. Right,
that's the strategy. Well, that's gonna take a long time,
and you know, and it's not necessarily the most moral
way to go, because the people are the least I mean,
the most vulnerable, not the leadership.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Yeah. And also you know, not to mention that we've
tried similar things in the past where we've thought, you
know what, we could achieve a change in regime in
South America by you know, making conditions harsh for people
or by supporting what are already smaller insurgents, you know, covertly.
And it hasn't always worked out well. In fact, it's
(05:53):
almost never worked out well.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
It's almost never worked out right.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
When you go back to the thirty to forty fifties,
sixty seventies, and you can read a lot about what
happened in Nicaragua and in other places. But you know,
we not something we have not tried before. We have
experience with this. Unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, the communist still controlled Cuba. Joali News Nation, Thanks
so much. Appreciate you spending time with us. Happy holidays,
of course you too, say the years.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, that's going to be the next challenge. I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
This is going to end anytime soon. I'm sure it
will end well for us. I mean, we can do
whatever we want. And really, when you consider that it's
in our hemisphere, we have hegemony there.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That's a political science term, and that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Means effectively, we're the big boys on this side of
the world. We can do anything we want with our
two continents, and we will and we can compel them
to behave for the best interests of the United States.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
But you either have to go all in or stay
the hell out. And II leen on staying the hell out.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
These days, America is way stronger, way more unified than
it is now. And that's why I criticized this administration
for getting involved in these other nations problems. Blowing the
drug boats out of the water all good. Starting blockades
and seizing vessels.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Not as good. It's the John Covelt Show, Loup Penrose Inva.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
John Covelt on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
You're listening to John coblt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Loup Penrose sitting in for John today. Good to be
with you.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
Yeah, man, these Venezuelan oil tankers, they're sanctioned by.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
The European Union.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Two because there you've been transporting oil to Iran, which
is a no no.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
On the international stage.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
So we've been the ones that were elector or volunteered
to put an end to it.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
It's really just that simple. Well, what do you mean
a no no on the world stage? Says who? That's
number one? Number two?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
How did I miss an election? How do we get
elected to solve this problem?
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
We're a member of the world community and we should
be involved. Like it's like a great big hoa right,
we should be up to speed on what like the
bad actors are doing when code enforcement's called.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
But it's always us.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I never see another nation take charge in any of
these matters. Great Britain was supposed to have the best
navy in the world. Why don't they go do it?
They know all about votes. Aren't there other nations that
can do good things for the good and safety? Now
this is in our hemisphere. We're not the only nation
in this hemisphere. Everybody talks about Canada. Oh, Canada so great.
(08:44):
Canada's got socialized medicine, free healthcare in Canada, there's so
much more polite.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
We shouldn't be picking on the Canadians. They're really nice.
And now that.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Trump picked on them, they're not, you know, going to
Palm Springs to be snowbirds.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Why can't the Canadians do it? Why do we have
to do it?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Mexico has boats, all right. Drugs are a problem in Mexico.
Brazil is a big country. Why is it always the
United States? That's the part that bothers me. Every once
in a while, it would be nice if somebody else
in the world could solve another country's problems. Also, it'd
(09:25):
be great if for five minutes two nations could stop
fighting with each other. And the only person on planet
Earth that can get you to stop fighting is President Trump.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
What's upssay?
Speaker 8 (09:39):
I heard you say it's fun to blow up boats
kill people.
Speaker 7 (09:44):
Well, imagine you're speeding down the highway.
Speaker 8 (09:46):
How fun it would be if someone dropped a multimillion
dollar bomb on you for speeding.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I'm not sure it's exactly the same thing or even close.
Speaker 7 (09:56):
Now.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I did not say it's fun to drop bombs on boats.
I said it's fun to watch the bombs being dropped
on the boats.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Two separate things.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Hey, lou if we're not a Christian nation, then what
religion would you consider this country and this nation to be?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, attention, Vice President Jadvance. We are not a Christian nation.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What religion do I consider the nation to be? We're
not a religious institution. We're a republic of free people.
I'm frankly jarred at the question. What are you talking about?
That's the whole premise of the United States of America.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
We are a nation of.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Free people, free to worship as we see fit. We
don't have a state religion on purpose, that was the
whole design. You know, there's a fantastic documentary on this
that I want to turn your attention to if you're
still listening. It's called the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and it'll
explain it all to you. Unbelievable Lou Penrose and for
(11:05):
John Coblt on the John Cobalt Show. So Christmas is
coming and people are racing out to get gifts. And
I was shopping over the weekend, not for Christmas gifts,
but in an appliance store, and I was looking for
an American made appliance, just to see.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
I know that it would be challenging, but.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Everything in my house growing up was made in America.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And if you grew up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
As I did in the late seventies and eighties, every
appliance in your house, which probably was there from the
sixties and the seventies if you were growing up, was
manufactured in the United States, and it was such high quality.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
And now you go to an appliance store.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And I went to an appliance showroom with my wife
because we are thinking of widening the stovetop. And you know,
it's kind of an investment because you gotta cut the
marble and the whole thing or whatever, the granite, whatever,
the countertop is made at it.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
But I want more burners.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
For whatever reason, the kitchen was designed poorly and just
there's not enough burners. And so I'm looking and I'm like,
underneath you know, each appliance to try and find where
it's made, and that they're all either assembled in Mexico
with Chinese parts or they're made in China, even the
high end ones, and they're all tinny sounding if they
are stainless steel.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
The stainless steel gauge is so.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Thin that I mean it's ridiculous sounding, like almost like
a cowbell sound. And the parts are plastic. The knobs
themselves are plastic. One of the reasons that we are
in like endeavoring is because I have to replace the countertop.
I have a countertop. It's a high end make I
(12:55):
won't name it. I like the company. The other appliance
is match, so I got to go with it, and
it's supposed to be very good.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
It rhymes with gatorade.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And they put the knobs on top, which is I
don't love the design, but it is what it is,
so you don't have to cut into the countertop.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the knobs now are made of plastic.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So right next to these oversized burners that are supposed
to give you.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That great, big blue flame you need for the high heat.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
And they even have a little sunk in the middle
roundy thing so that you can use a walk. You know,
imagine how much heat you have to use for a walk.
And adjacent to that burner is a plastic knob, and
of course the knobs started to melt, and the ones
that haven't melted, the whatever paint.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Or chrome faux chrome.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Covering that are on the knobs have flaked off, and
it looks like hell. And I called the company and
they tell me it was a design flaw, and they
mailed me out six new knobs which are made of plastic.
You guys, couldn't pony up for metal knobs and then
just coat the metal knobs with stainless steel or paint
(14:09):
the metal knobs stainless steel.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
But this is.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Where you decided to save money on the knobs of
the cook top.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And it got me thinking about all the things that
were in my house growing up, and everything was such
high quality. The quality of all the appliances in my
house as a kid was so much better. And I
just don't know why we put up with it, why
we had to close all the factories that manufactured what
(14:38):
we used to call white goods, but just effectively appliances.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
There's some things that can effectively be manufactured in other countries.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Socks comes to mind.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
We don't probably need to manufacture socks here in the
United States. But ovens and refrigerators, and washers and dryers
and dishwashers. Why and fawcets themselves. Why can't these things
be manufactured in the United States the way they were
when I was a kid growing up, there was so
high quality.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
All the kitchen appliance is in your house.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
If you grew up in the years I did, you
had a Hamilton Beach blender. You know where Hamilton Beach
was manufactured, Wisconsin by Hamilton and Beach.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
They were the inventors of the company. Worked pretty good.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I don't ever remember my mother get another blender my
entire life. If you grew up as I did, you
either had an electro Luxe vacuum cleaner, which is a
Swedish name, but it was manufactured in Connecticut, or a
hoover which was manufactured in Pennsylvania and there were monsters.
Now the vacuums are plastic crap from China and they
(15:46):
don't pick up anything and if they're rechargeable, forget it,
because the battery life on it will be nothing and
it won't even pick up the crumbs on the kitchen table.
So I'm a huge fan of re assuring these manufacturing
jobs in the United States. I'm having to pay more
for American made thing that works where I don't have
(16:07):
to buy the extended warranty because it's gonna break in
three years.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
It's the John coblt Show, Lou Penrose.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
If John Cobelt on KFI AM six forty live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John today and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
If we don't have a religion, then why do we haven't? God,
we just printed on all of our money. What's money? Hey,
great job, Louis.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah, I get it, I get it.
Speaker 9 (16:36):
I understand who the heck made us the police of
the world. I don't like it either, but somebody's got.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
No, that's not true. Yeah, somebody has to do it.
It doesn't have to be us. I don't care what
goes on in Venezuela. I'm not from Venezuela. I have
nobody there that I need to see, and it sounds
like there's problems.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
So I'm not going to Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
If they want to send drug boats here and we
want to blow them out of the water, I'm all.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
For it, all for it.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Keep doing it, very very efficient. I don't know what
it does to the fishing industry.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I know that Venezuela exports a lot of crab meat,
so I don't know how that's going to affect the
you know, the sea life over time. But I don't care,
don't care. I don't eat a lot of crab. But
when we got to get now, we're going into regime
change by stealing the oil. Let somebody else do it.
(17:36):
There are other countries in the free world.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
And that other guy's analogy about dropping a bomb on
a car for speeding not even close to being the
same thing. That guy is a moron. Blow them all
out of the water. The more I can watch, the
happier I get.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
I'll tell you what, Come on, man, if you're smart,
you know both parties are screwing us.
Speaker 7 (18:00):
Why do you think nothing's made in America anymore?
Speaker 8 (18:02):
Because rich Republicans, rich Democrats shipped off the manufacturing overseas,
and guess who's the biggest power of manufacturing today China,
Communists China number one.
Speaker 7 (18:16):
That USA don't make squat anymore.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Well, I appreciate the call. You're not wrong, but we're
trying to manufacture back in the United States, and it's
not true that nothing is manufactured in the United States.
When we do manufacture things, it's amazing. I mean, the
United States manufactures some pretty amazing things, usually military, but
(18:41):
some pretty amazing things. I've seen it. A lot of
these custom engineering projects are absolutely astounding. American engineering is.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Second to none.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So we could use that American ingenuity to manufacture I
don't know, an oven, a stovetop, addition, washer, a refrigerator,
and the good news is we know the recipe because
we use to manufacture all those things. That's all I'm
saying is why don't we manufacture things that we use
(19:13):
every day. I get that technology changes, and you know,
the RCA television that you watched growing up is now
a flat screen visio. But for the most part, the
oven hasn't really changed, and the refrigerator, they've only become
more efficient. But like, what's the difference between the refrigerator
(19:35):
you grew up with and the second or third refrigerator
that I bought in my house. I've been living in
my house the baby was not yet born. I remember
that because my wife couldn't lift any boxes. And so
now the baby is twelve. So I've lived in my
house for twelve years. I have gone through three refrigerators.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
You know why. They're plastic crap from China. When do
you ever.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Remember your parents getting a new refrigerator? When do you
ever remember your your grandparents getting a new refrigerator?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Never?
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Because they were American made, high quality, commercial grade stuff
and if something went out, you would call a guy
and he would come and repair the part.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I don't remember if.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It was this Christmas or last Christmas. We do we
have a tradition where we make cookies. The whole family
comes over like pretty much like it's just a second
Christmas Eve. Everybody comes over some one of the first
weekends in December and make Christmas cookies and all the
kids decorate the cookies and all the cousins and it's
a thing. And the refrigerator went out like literally the
(20:46):
morning of of cookie night. And I called and they said,
you know, it probably is just a thermostat or relay switch.
I kind of diagnosed it over the phone, and they said, yeah,
based on what you're saying, like it's some like what's happening,
Like the bottom is cold, but the top is not cold.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
So it could just be the fan.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
It could be a couple of things, none of which
is going to run you more than thirty dollars in parts,
but the service call is going to be more than
two hundred dollars. And that assumes we have the part
on the truck. And you can go right now to
cost go and get a brand new refrigerator for six
hundred dollars and they'll deliver it. So it's like, all right, well,
(21:29):
all right, I guess I'm throwing away a refrigerator over
a twenty eight dollars part because it just makes sense
because the refrigerator is already a couple of years old, and
that's where we're at now. So it's not good like
it's bad from other earth. This stuff all goes into
the landfill. It's all junk. You talk to anybody in
the refrigeration business, commercial refrigeration business and I have they'll
(21:53):
tell you, oh yeah, lou for sure. The iron that
they use in China really isn't iron, and pressers have
to be made of iron.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So they deteriorate very quickly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And you're lucky if you're gonna get three years out
of a refrigerator, Like you got to be kidding me.
Like my grandparents had the same refrigerator my entire life.
After they died, it was still in the kitchen, still working.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So why we went this.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Route of shipping all the American jobs overseas, firing all
the American workers, importing plastic crap from China that breaks
in three years, I'll never know. But as I said,
I was at the store and I literally could not
find one that was manufactured in the United States. And
this was a showroom, so it had all the brands,
(22:44):
and they all look good, and some of them better
than others, but as a whole, they were all a
little more tinny, a little bit thinner, a little plastic e,
a little the knobs rattled, just a little bit more
anything I remember growing up as a kid, and I
don't like it. So it's time to fire up the
(23:06):
factories manufacture these things in the United States.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Put Americans to work.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Doing it, we'll have high quality stuff, we'll keep the
junk out of our landfill, and you won't have to
be chased in the showroom by some guy trying to
sell you the extended warranty. Right when you go buy
an appliance, what's the first thing they want to sell
you the extended warranty?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Why?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Because they know it's a piece of plastic craft from
China and it's going to break in three years. It's
the John Covelt Show, Lou Penrose sitting in for John
Coblt on KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
You're listening to John cobelts on demand from KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Coblt today and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
The Jesus Christ Show on Christmas Eve. That makes sense.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
So.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Barry Manilow announced today on social media on Instagram that
he's been diagnosed with lung cancer, but boy, talk about
getting it early.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Mary Mannelo has shared on Instagram that he has been
diagnosed with lung cancer. The eighty two year old singer
released a statement saying that during recovery from Bronchitas, his
doctor ordered an MRI to make sure things were okay
and found a cancerous spot on his lung.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So small the cancerous spot that they can go in
and remove it and no chemo, no radiation, but still
a concern. It doesn't look like it's spread. He's going
to cancel some dates and get right back to work.
That's good news from bad news, Lolo.
Speaker 10 (24:36):
In the seventies, everything we could buy in this country
is made in this country. And now there's almost nothing
that you can buy that's made in this country with
real parts from this country, including China gives us parts
for the hull of our submarine.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, it's absurd, and how are we better off? Like,
how am I better off? It's junk, it's all junk.
It breaks it in the landfill. You gotta buy it again.
This argument that, well, you see, Lou, we shift the
jobs overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor. That makes
it more affordable, and that means people with less money
(25:13):
can still buy things, and that's good for America. How
is that good for America? You gotta buy it twice,
three times. I have a story. So in nineteen seventy two,
two engineers from the Westinghouse Corporation got together on their
own time in the garage or something and designed and
(25:36):
built one of the most recognizable kitchen appliances ever invented.
It was high quality kitchen counter appliance, brilliantly designed, and
it went on to become the most successful brand in
(25:57):
its category. By nineteen seven, three more Mister Coffee Coffee
makers were sold in the United States than any other
product in that genre.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
In nineteen seventy four, more Mister Coffee Coffee Makers.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Were given as Christmas gifts than any other kitchen appliance.
They were everywhere they were giving people would give them
as wedding presents.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It was an appliance. It was high quality, commercial grade,
and it worked. Everyone had one.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Everybody had one, and they were in the home, and
they were also at the office, and they were at
the galley, in the er, they were in the hospitals,
they were everywhere.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Your mother had one.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
You remember exactly where it was on the kitchen counter.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
You can see it right now.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
And it worked every single day. Then around nineteen eighty one,
the company was sold to a company in China. They
closed the factory down in Ohio, shipped all the jobs
to China, brought it back in the country. No tariff
no tax still use the name mister Coffee. So when
(27:09):
you went to the store, you thought you were buying
the mister Coffee like the one, the one your mom had.
Complete piece of crap, right. The heating element is ridiculous.
It would yellow and look terrible. Sometimes the little door
didn't close right, and you'd step away for a second,
come back to the kitchen and this coffee all over
the counter. You've had that happen where the grounds get
(27:30):
clogged or something. The caraf is such a flimsy piece
of crap that if you brush it against the side
of your sink, it'll shatter and cut your hand. And
you got to go to the store to buy another caraf,
And you thought you were ahead of the game because.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It was nine to ninety nine at Walmart.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
I told the story, and I had a friend who
is a surgeon at Kaiser, and he said, look, you
are so right.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
You're so right. I probably went.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Through nine mister coffees from freshman year through my residency.
And my mom still has the exact same mister Coffee
that I grew up with in my house in Burbank,
has it of course, I'm right, Like it didn't work
out we have a kitchen filled with junk that doesn't
work and a bunch of workers unemployed.
Speaker 11 (28:24):
Come on, lou you know the problem is labor people
in the United States want thirty fifty bucks an hour.
Now LA wants to give the hotel workers thirty bucks
an hour during the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
You can get.
Speaker 11 (28:36):
Somebody over in China to do the same thing that
they want to do here for thirty bucks an hour.
They can do it for two dollars an hour in China.
That's the whole reason.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Why.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, that's not true. That's the common reason. That's the
narrative that's out there. We can't compete with the foreign
labor force. And that's not true. That has completely been disproven.
First off, on its face, prima facia, it's not true.
If that's true, then how did your grandfather afford to
buy your grandmother the refrigerator, the stove of the oven,
(29:06):
the coffee maker.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Was your grandfather a billionaire?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Like when they were made in the United States, people
they afforded them and they were able to pay people.
So it is not true that we cannot compete with
the international cheap labor force. That's number one. Number two,
Why do we have to. I'm happy to pay somebody
a good wage. Making appliances is an honest day's work.
Manufacturing is worth it. You're ahead of the game because
(29:32):
it won't break in three years, so it's worth it
to pay a little bit more for quality stuff. And
by the way, when I say plastic craft from China,
please don't misunderstand, this has nothing to do.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
With the Chinese.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
They export plastic craft from China to US. Do you
know who doesn't have plastic craft from China? The Chinese
they make good stuff for themselves. So having to buy
it over and over again because it's junk, you're not
ahead of the game on price.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Number two.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
When you close down a factory that makes kitchen appliances
in the United States that Americans will always need, you
put American factory workers out of work, and you're putting
them out of work in the middle of life, so
many in the middle of a thirty year mortgage, many
in the middle of their young children growing up like
these factory towns employed tens of thousands of Americans throughout
(30:26):
the Midwest four years, and those jobs supported towns and
mortgages and houses and economies, and they were good paying jobs.
Factory work in the United States post World War Two
was good money. One pay check carried the house. One
both could go out to work if they wanted to,
but one could cover. When you put these people out
(30:48):
of work, there are social costs right, unemployment, the breakup
of families, houses, going into default payments, going into default.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Mortgage is not being paid.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So this is not and then that depression causes all alcoholism, smoking.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Lung disease. Everybody's sitting at the casino. It's not good.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
So this whole free trade experiment did not work out
for us. Free trade is like free love. Sounds great,
doesn't work and in the end all you wind up
with is a social disease. Lou Penrose on KFI AM
six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Can't find AM six forty you're listening to the John
Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Now, the US Coast Guard has released footage of it
seizing a second Venezuelan oil tanker in a tactical operation.
This is the second Venezuelan vessel seized by the United
States in recent days, and the President has been talking
about it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
News Nation's Joe Khalil joins.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
US Joe, what's the strategy here? I mean, people are
trying to understand what the president is after. Here are
we trying to blockade, stop all flow of oil to
put pressure on the Venezuelan government to effectively abdicate?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Where are we?
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Yeah, it's hard to get a read on long term strategy.
You know, we've heard regime change floated, and it's something
that when President Trump is asked about, it doesn't rule
it out. And there are certainly some of his allies O.
Lindsay Graham being one, who are openly advocate cating for
regime change in Venezuela. But short term, what the Department
(01:06):
of War saying, what President Trump is saying is, you know,
these ships that are transporting oil, many of them are sanctioned,
which means that they're not authorized to be carrying oil.
This is in a legal act, and so the US
Navy and the Coast Guard are going to be stopping
and seizing the oil and seizing these ships. You know
(01:27):
where it gets into sort of dangerous territory here is
the Venezuelan government has now said that they're going to
be equipping many of those tankers or having them be
escorted by their own naval assets. So what we have
is if you've got armed naval assets on these oil
(01:48):
tankers from Venezuela and then you've got the US Navy
and Coast Guard interdicting them, you know, that clearly sets
up the possibility for some kind of an armed conflict there.
And you know then you know, puts American service members
at risk, that risks blowing up into a you know,
more violent, long term situation. So you know, it's hard
to grasp long term. I think that's where a lot
(02:09):
of lawmakers, from my perch on Capitol Hill are questioning, too,
is what is the end goal here with this?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It's troubling.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I have to say, as a Trump supporter, I find
this troubling and I don't I think maybe we're having
a hard time seeing a long term strategy here because
there may not be one in the poker hand of
things you can do to force other governments to behave
where is like blockades, you know, oil block energy blockades.
(02:39):
I mean, is this something that historically has been successful
in getting other nations to come to the bargaining table,
play ball, stop what they're doing, or just abdicate.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I mean, is this I don't recall this working in
the past.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
No, it's a great question that you bring up. I think,
you know, in a separate content text, this may be
a little bit different because you know, you could see
a blockade sort of like sanctions, where a sanction is
meant to force a government to you know, potentially stop
buying oil from Venezuela. Right, we could sanction another country
if they purchase, you know, oil from Iran or what
(03:15):
have you. But in the context of this situation, you
remember that you know, us seizing effectively these oil tankers
also comes along with several strikes on drug boats that
are allegedly carrying drugs, you know, out of Venezuela. We
know that they're not they're not sentinel boats, but these
are boats that are carrying like cocaine out of Venezuela
(03:37):
and coming to Central and South America. So, you know,
if you put all of it together, you know, obviously
it's it's much more of a significant move than just
sanctions or just even even blockades. The blockades. What they
do though, is, you know, Venezuela like seventy percent of
its economy, I think sixty eight percent they rely on
(03:59):
the oil shipments and the revenue they get from that,
some of it legal, some of it not. So it
is hitting. It is putting some pretty intense pressure on
the Maduro regime if the if the goal is again,
you know, for them to abandon drug operations. Who knows,
(04:21):
you know, whether we're gonna have to see whether this
is an effect effective tactic or not, but certainly a
drastic one, and I think you're right to, you know,
point it out.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Yeah effective.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You know, people were questioning the effectiveness of the of
the drug operations, of sinking those drug boats, and.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I honestly, I don't have a problem with that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I really don't have a problem with that because I
don't think that any harm can come from us sinking
a drug boat, Like will that stem the flow. I
don't know, Let's keep going until we notice, you know,
any changes, and if there's no changes, we'll come up
with a new strategy. But I didn't have a problem
with that, the seizing and the blockade of petroleum and oil.
I the way it's always been explained to me is
(05:02):
it's supposed to create such uncomfortable conditions in the country
that the people are starting to get starved, right, and
they their economies are.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Beginning to.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Disintegrate, and then they rise up and throw the lead. Right,
that's the strategy. Well, that's gonna take a long time,
and you know, and it's not necessarily the most moral
way to go, because the people are the least I mean,
the most vulnerable, not the leadership.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Yeah. And also you know, not to mention that we've
tried similar things in the past where we've thought, you
know what, we could achieve a change in regime in
South America by you know, making conditions harsh for people
or by supporting what are already smaller insurgents, you know, covertly.
And it hasn't always worked out well. In fact, it's
(05:53):
almost never worked out well.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
It's almost never worked out right.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
When you go back to the thirty to forty fifties,
sixty seventies, and you can read a lot about what
happened in Nicaragua and in other places. But you know,
we not something we have not tried before. We have
experience with this. Unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, the communist still controlled Cuba. Joali News Nation, Thanks
so much. Appreciate you spending time with us. Happy holidays,
of course you too, say the years.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, that's going to be the next challenge. I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
This is going to end anytime soon. I'm sure it
will end well for us. I mean, we can do
whatever we want. And really, when you consider that it's
in our hemisphere, we have hegemony there.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That's a political science term, and that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Means effectively, we're the big boys on this side of
the world. We can do anything we want with our
two continents, and we will and we can compel them
to behave for the best interests of the United States.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
But you either have to go all in or stay
the hell out. And II leen on staying the hell out.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
These days, America is way stronger, way more unified than
it is now. And that's why I criticized this administration
for getting involved in these other nations problems. Blowing the
drug boats out of the water all good. Starting blockades
and seizing vessels.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Not as good. It's the John Covelt Show, Loup Penrose Inva.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
John Covelt on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
You're listening to John coblt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Loup Penrose sitting in for John today. Good to be
with you.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
Yeah, man, these Venezuelan oil tankers, they're sanctioned by.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
The European Union.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Two because there you've been transporting oil to Iran, which
is a no no.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
On the international stage.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
So we've been the ones that were elector or volunteered
to put an end to it.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
It's really just that simple. Well, what do you mean
a no no on the world stage? Says who? That's
number one? Number two?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
How did I miss an election? How do we get
elected to solve this problem?
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
We're a member of the world community and we should
be involved. Like it's like a great big hoa right,
we should be up to speed on what like the
bad actors are doing when code enforcement's called.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
But it's always us.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I never see another nation take charge in any of
these matters. Great Britain was supposed to have the best
navy in the world. Why don't they go do it?
They know all about votes. Aren't there other nations that
can do good things for the good and safety? Now
this is in our hemisphere. We're not the only nation
in this hemisphere. Everybody talks about Canada. Oh, Canada so great.
(08:44):
Canada's got socialized medicine, free healthcare in Canada, there's so
much more polite.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
We shouldn't be picking on the Canadians. They're really nice.
And now that.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Trump picked on them, they're not, you know, going to
Palm Springs to be snowbirds.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Why can't the Canadians do it? Why do we have
to do it?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Mexico has boats, all right. Drugs are a problem in Mexico.
Brazil is a big country. Why is it always the
United States? That's the part that bothers me. Every once
in a while, it would be nice if somebody else
in the world could solve another country's problems. Also, it'd
(09:25):
be great if for five minutes two nations could stop
fighting with each other. And the only person on planet
Earth that can get you to stop fighting is President Trump.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
What's upssay?
Speaker 8 (09:39):
I heard you say it's fun to blow up boats
kill people.
Speaker 7 (09:44):
Well, imagine you're speeding down the highway.
Speaker 8 (09:46):
How fun it would be if someone dropped a multimillion
dollar bomb on you for speeding.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I'm not sure it's exactly the same thing or even close.
Speaker 7 (09:56):
Now.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I did not say it's fun to drop bombs on boats.
I said it's fun to watch the bombs being dropped
on the boats.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Two separate things.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Hey, lou if we're not a Christian nation, then what
religion would you consider this country and this nation to be?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, attention, Vice President Jadvance. We are not a Christian nation.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What religion do I consider the nation to be? We're
not a religious institution. We're a republic of free people.
I'm frankly jarred at the question. What are you talking about?
That's the whole premise of the United States of America.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
We are a nation of.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Free people, free to worship as we see fit. We
don't have a state religion on purpose, that was the
whole design. You know, there's a fantastic documentary on this
that I want to turn your attention to if you're
still listening. It's called the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and it'll
explain it all to you. Unbelievable Lou Penrose and for
(11:05):
John Coblt on the John Cobalt Show. So Christmas is
coming and people are racing out to get gifts. And
I was shopping over the weekend, not for Christmas gifts,
but in an appliance store, and I was looking for
an American made appliance, just to see.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
I know that it would be challenging, but.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Everything in my house growing up was made in America.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And if you grew up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
As I did in the late seventies and eighties, every
appliance in your house, which probably was there from the
sixties and the seventies if you were growing up, was
manufactured in the United States, and it was such high quality.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
And now you go to an appliance store.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And I went to an appliance showroom with my wife
because we are thinking of widening the stovetop. And you know,
it's kind of an investment because you gotta cut the
marble and the whole thing or whatever, the granite, whatever,
the countertop is made at it.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
But I want more burners.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
For whatever reason, the kitchen was designed poorly and just
there's not enough burners. And so I'm looking and I'm like,
underneath you know, each appliance to try and find where
it's made, and that they're all either assembled in Mexico
with Chinese parts or they're made in China, even the
high end ones, and they're all tinny sounding if they
are stainless steel.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
The stainless steel gauge is so.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Thin that I mean it's ridiculous sounding, like almost like
a cowbell sound. And the parts are plastic. The knobs
themselves are plastic. One of the reasons that we are
in like endeavoring is because I have to replace the countertop.
I have a countertop. It's a high end make I
(12:55):
won't name it. I like the company. The other appliance
is match, so I got to go with it, and
it's supposed to be very good.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
It rhymes with gatorade.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And they put the knobs on top, which is I
don't love the design, but it is what it is,
so you don't have to cut into the countertop.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the knobs now are made of plastic.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So right next to these oversized burners that are supposed
to give you.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That great, big blue flame you need for the high heat.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
And they even have a little sunk in the middle
roundy thing so that you can use a walk. You know,
imagine how much heat you have to use for a walk.
And adjacent to that burner is a plastic knob, and
of course the knobs started to melt, and the ones
that haven't melted, the whatever paint.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Or chrome faux chrome.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Covering that are on the knobs have flaked off, and
it looks like hell. And I called the company and
they tell me it was a design flaw, and they
mailed me out six new knobs which are made of plastic.
You guys, couldn't pony up for metal knobs and then
just coat the metal knobs with stainless steel or paint
(14:09):
the metal knobs stainless steel.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
But this is.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Where you decided to save money on the knobs of
the cook top.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And it got me thinking about all the things that
were in my house growing up, and everything was such
high quality. The quality of all the appliances in my
house as a kid was so much better. And I
just don't know why we put up with it, why
we had to close all the factories that manufactured what
(14:38):
we used to call white goods, but just effectively appliances.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
There's some things that can effectively be manufactured in other countries.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Socks comes to mind.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
We don't probably need to manufacture socks here in the
United States. But ovens and refrigerators, and washers and dryers
and dishwashers. Why and fawcets themselves. Why can't these things
be manufactured in the United States the way they were
when I was a kid growing up, there was so
high quality.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
All the kitchen appliance is in your house.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
If you grew up in the years I did, you
had a Hamilton Beach blender. You know where Hamilton Beach
was manufactured, Wisconsin by Hamilton and Beach.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
They were the inventors of the company. Worked pretty good.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I don't ever remember my mother get another blender my
entire life. If you grew up as I did, you
either had an electro Luxe vacuum cleaner, which is a
Swedish name, but it was manufactured in Connecticut, or a
hoover which was manufactured in Pennsylvania and there were monsters.
Now the vacuums are plastic crap from China and they
(15:46):
don't pick up anything and if they're rechargeable, forget it,
because the battery life on it will be nothing and
it won't even pick up the crumbs on the kitchen table.
So I'm a huge fan of re assuring these manufacturing
jobs in the United States. I'm having to pay more
for American made thing that works where I don't have
(16:07):
to buy the extended warranty because it's gonna break in
three years.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
It's the John coblt Show, Lou Penrose.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
If John Cobelt on KFI AM six forty live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John today and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
If we don't have a religion, then why do we haven't? God,
we just printed on all of our money. What's money? Hey,
great job, Louis.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah, I get it, I get it.
Speaker 9 (16:36):
I understand who the heck made us the police of
the world. I don't like it either, but somebody's got.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
No, that's not true. Yeah, somebody has to do it.
It doesn't have to be us. I don't care what
goes on in Venezuela. I'm not from Venezuela. I have
nobody there that I need to see, and it sounds
like there's problems.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
So I'm not going to Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
If they want to send drug boats here and we
want to blow them out of the water, I'm all.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
For it, all for it.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Keep doing it, very very efficient. I don't know what
it does to the fishing industry.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I know that Venezuela exports a lot of crab meat,
so I don't know how that's going to affect the
you know, the sea life over time. But I don't care,
don't care. I don't eat a lot of crab. But
when we got to get now, we're going into regime
change by stealing the oil. Let somebody else do it.
(17:36):
There are other countries in the free world.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
And that other guy's analogy about dropping a bomb on
a car for speeding not even close to being the
same thing. That guy is a moron. Blow them all
out of the water. The more I can watch, the
happier I get.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
I'll tell you what, Come on, man, if you're smart,
you know both parties are screwing us.
Speaker 7 (18:00):
Why do you think nothing's made in America anymore?
Speaker 8 (18:02):
Because rich Republicans, rich Democrats shipped off the manufacturing overseas,
and guess who's the biggest power of manufacturing today China,
Communists China number one.
Speaker 7 (18:16):
That USA don't make squat anymore.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Well, I appreciate the call. You're not wrong, but we're
trying to manufacture back in the United States, and it's
not true that nothing is manufactured in the United States.
When we do manufacture things, it's amazing. I mean, the
United States manufactures some pretty amazing things, usually military, but
(18:41):
some pretty amazing things. I've seen it. A lot of
these custom engineering projects are absolutely astounding. American engineering is.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Second to none.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So we could use that American ingenuity to manufacture I
don't know, an oven, a stovetop, addition, washer, a refrigerator,
and the good news is we know the recipe because
we use to manufacture all those things. That's all I'm
saying is why don't we manufacture things that we use
(19:13):
every day. I get that technology changes, and you know,
the RCA television that you watched growing up is now
a flat screen visio. But for the most part, the
oven hasn't really changed, and the refrigerator, they've only become
more efficient. But like, what's the difference between the refrigerator
(19:35):
you grew up with and the second or third refrigerator
that I bought in my house. I've been living in
my house the baby was not yet born. I remember
that because my wife couldn't lift any boxes. And so
now the baby is twelve. So I've lived in my
house for twelve years. I have gone through three refrigerators.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
You know why. They're plastic crap from China. When do
you ever.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Remember your parents getting a new refrigerator? When do you
ever remember your your grandparents getting a new refrigerator?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Never?
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Because they were American made, high quality, commercial grade stuff
and if something went out, you would call a guy
and he would come and repair the part.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I don't remember if.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It was this Christmas or last Christmas. We do we
have a tradition where we make cookies. The whole family
comes over like pretty much like it's just a second
Christmas Eve. Everybody comes over some one of the first
weekends in December and make Christmas cookies and all the
kids decorate the cookies and all the cousins and it's
a thing. And the refrigerator went out like literally the
(20:46):
morning of of cookie night. And I called and they said,
you know, it probably is just a thermostat or relay switch.
I kind of diagnosed it over the phone, and they said, yeah,
based on what you're saying, like it's some like what's happening,
Like the bottom is cold, but the top is not cold.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
So it could just be the fan.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
It could be a couple of things, none of which
is going to run you more than thirty dollars in parts,
but the service call is going to be more than
two hundred dollars. And that assumes we have the part
on the truck. And you can go right now to
cost go and get a brand new refrigerator for six
hundred dollars and they'll deliver it. So it's like, all right, well,
(21:29):
all right, I guess I'm throwing away a refrigerator over
a twenty eight dollars part because it just makes sense
because the refrigerator is already a couple of years old, and
that's where we're at now. So it's not good like
it's bad from other earth. This stuff all goes into
the landfill. It's all junk. You talk to anybody in
the refrigeration business, commercial refrigeration business and I have they'll
(21:53):
tell you, oh yeah, lou for sure. The iron that
they use in China really isn't iron, and pressers have
to be made of iron.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So they deteriorate very quickly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And you're lucky if you're gonna get three years out
of a refrigerator, Like you got to be kidding me.
Like my grandparents had the same refrigerator my entire life.
After they died, it was still in the kitchen, still working.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So why we went this.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Route of shipping all the American jobs overseas, firing all
the American workers, importing plastic crap from China that breaks
in three years, I'll never know. But as I said,
I was at the store and I literally could not
find one that was manufactured in the United States. And
this was a showroom, so it had all the brands,
(22:44):
and they all look good, and some of them better
than others, but as a whole, they were all a
little more tinny, a little bit thinner, a little plastic e,
a little the knobs rattled, just a little bit more
anything I remember growing up as a kid, and I
don't like it. So it's time to fire up the
(23:06):
factories manufacture these things in the United States.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Put Americans to work.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Doing it, we'll have high quality stuff, we'll keep the
junk out of our landfill, and you won't have to
be chased in the showroom by some guy trying to
sell you the extended warranty. Right when you go buy
an appliance, what's the first thing they want to sell
you the extended warranty?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Why?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Because they know it's a piece of plastic craft from
China and it's going to break in three years. It's
the John Covelt Show, Lou Penrose sitting in for John
Coblt on KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
You're listening to John cobelts on demand from KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Coblt today and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
The Jesus Christ Show on Christmas Eve. That makes sense.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
So.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Barry Manilow announced today on social media on Instagram that
he's been diagnosed with lung cancer, but boy, talk about
getting it early.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Mary Mannelo has shared on Instagram that he has been
diagnosed with lung cancer. The eighty two year old singer
released a statement saying that during recovery from Bronchitas, his
doctor ordered an MRI to make sure things were okay
and found a cancerous spot on his lung.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So small the cancerous spot that they can go in
and remove it and no chemo, no radiation, but still
a concern. It doesn't look like it's spread. He's going
to cancel some dates and get right back to work.
That's good news from bad news, Lolo.
Speaker 10 (24:36):
In the seventies, everything we could buy in this country
is made in this country. And now there's almost nothing
that you can buy that's made in this country with
real parts from this country, including China gives us parts
for the hull of our submarine.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, it's absurd, and how are we better off? Like,
how am I better off? It's junk, it's all junk.
It breaks it in the landfill. You gotta buy it again.
This argument that, well, you see, Lou, we shift the
jobs overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor. That makes
it more affordable, and that means people with less money
(25:13):
can still buy things, and that's good for America. How
is that good for America? You gotta buy it twice,
three times. I have a story. So in nineteen seventy two,
two engineers from the Westinghouse Corporation got together on their
own time in the garage or something and designed and
(25:36):
built one of the most recognizable kitchen appliances ever invented.
It was high quality kitchen counter appliance, brilliantly designed, and
it went on to become the most successful brand in
(25:57):
its category. By nineteen seven, three more Mister Coffee Coffee
makers were sold in the United States than any other
product in that genre.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
In nineteen seventy four, more Mister Coffee Coffee Makers.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Were given as Christmas gifts than any other kitchen appliance.
They were everywhere they were giving people would give them
as wedding presents.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It was an appliance. It was high quality, commercial grade,
and it worked. Everyone had one.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Everybody had one, and they were in the home, and
they were also at the office, and they were at
the galley, in the er, they were in the hospitals,
they were everywhere.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Your mother had one.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
You remember exactly where it was on the kitchen counter.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
You can see it right now.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
And it worked every single day. Then around nineteen eighty one,
the company was sold to a company in China. They
closed the factory down in Ohio, shipped all the jobs
to China, brought it back in the country. No tariff
no tax still use the name mister Coffee. So when
(27:09):
you went to the store, you thought you were buying
the mister Coffee like the one, the one your mom had.
Complete piece of crap, right. The heating element is ridiculous.
It would yellow and look terrible. Sometimes the little door
didn't close right, and you'd step away for a second,
come back to the kitchen and this coffee all over
the counter. You've had that happen where the grounds get
(27:30):
clogged or something. The caraf is such a flimsy piece
of crap that if you brush it against the side
of your sink, it'll shatter and cut your hand. And
you got to go to the store to buy another caraf,
And you thought you were ahead of the game because.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It was nine to ninety nine at Walmart.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
I told the story, and I had a friend who
is a surgeon at Kaiser, and he said, look, you
are so right.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
You're so right. I probably went.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Through nine mister coffees from freshman year through my residency.
And my mom still has the exact same mister Coffee
that I grew up with in my house in Burbank,
has it of course, I'm right, Like it didn't work
out we have a kitchen filled with junk that doesn't
work and a bunch of workers unemployed.
Speaker 11 (28:24):
Come on, lou you know the problem is labor people
in the United States want thirty fifty bucks an hour.
Now LA wants to give the hotel workers thirty bucks
an hour during the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
You can get.
Speaker 11 (28:36):
Somebody over in China to do the same thing that
they want to do here for thirty bucks an hour.
They can do it for two dollars an hour in China.
That's the whole reason.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Why.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, that's not true. That's the common reason. That's the
narrative that's out there. We can't compete with the foreign
labor force. And that's not true. That has completely been disproven.
First off, on its face, prima facia, it's not true.
If that's true, then how did your grandfather afford to
buy your grandmother the refrigerator, the stove of the oven,
(29:06):
the coffee maker.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Was your grandfather a billionaire?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Like when they were made in the United States, people
they afforded them and they were able to pay people.
So it is not true that we cannot compete with
the international cheap labor force. That's number one. Number two,
Why do we have to. I'm happy to pay somebody
a good wage. Making appliances is an honest day's work.
Manufacturing is worth it. You're ahead of the game because
(29:32):
it won't break in three years, so it's worth it
to pay a little bit more for quality stuff. And
by the way, when I say plastic craft from China,
please don't misunderstand, this has nothing to do.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
With the Chinese.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
They export plastic craft from China to US. Do you
know who doesn't have plastic craft from China? The Chinese
they make good stuff for themselves. So having to buy
it over and over again because it's junk, you're not
ahead of the game on price.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Number two.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
When you close down a factory that makes kitchen appliances
in the United States that Americans will always need, you
put American factory workers out of work, and you're putting
them out of work in the middle of life, so
many in the middle of a thirty year mortgage, many
in the middle of their young children growing up like
these factory towns employed tens of thousands of Americans throughout
(30:26):
the Midwest four years, and those jobs supported towns and
mortgages and houses and economies, and they were good paying jobs.
Factory work in the United States post World War Two
was good money. One pay check carried the house. One
both could go out to work if they wanted to,
but one could cover. When you put these people out
(30:48):
of work, there are social costs right, unemployment, the breakup
of families, houses, going into default payments, going into default.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Mortgage is not being paid.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So this is not and then that depression causes all alcoholism, smoking.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Lung disease. Everybody's sitting at the casino. It's not good.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
So this whole free trade experiment did not work out
for us. Free trade is like free love. Sounds great,
doesn't work and in the end all you wind up
with is a social disease. Lou Penrose on KFI AM
six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The John Kobylt Show News
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John Kobylt
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