Guest Bishop Robert Brenner of Brooklyn, New York

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This hour of programming on seven ten double oar. He's
sponsored by Toyota City and Mamaranac and Nissan City of
port Chester, proud members of the Integrity Automotive Group. Now
former Westchester County Executive. Rob Astaro on seven ten douar.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Alrighty wow, I hope you had a good Friday. I
don't know why they call it good Friday. I mean,
I do know, but most people are like, you know,
Jesus was nailed to a cross. What's so good about that?
But good Friday leads to tomorrow and Easter Sunday and
the resurrection. That's why it is actually a great Friday
for Christians and really everybody who believes in Jesus that

(00:46):
yesterday was the meaning for his whole life and tomorrow
is the resurrection of why we celebrate Easter. It's a renewal.
So welcome aboard to the Rob Astorino Show on this
Easter Eve. This is like my catch up week. It's
the time to kind of I've been putting off a
few things. I think it's perfect. I've been, you know,

(01:08):
talking for the last year about all these projects, these
wind farms, and the whale deaths and all that. I've
kind of ignored that over the last several months because
of all the elections. It's been NonStop. So I want
to talk about that. Bishop Brennan of Brooklyn, the Diecease
in Brooklyn. He's going to join us in a few minutes,
just about you know, where is the Catholic Church right now?

(01:30):
It's falling on hard times? Is it trying to get
back on its feet? And of course Easter tomorrow, the
whole message and the meaning of the season. I think
he's probably a little more qualified to talk about that
than I am. So we'll talk to Bishop Brennan. And
then I've been watching a lot of these shows, you know,
on Netflix and Prime and Apple and all those even

(01:52):
good old well yeah, some good old TV, but Paramount
Plus has the best stuff right now. Anyway, there's a
whole bunch of shows I want to get you caught
up on. And you know, I'll have an alert, like
spoiler alert just in case you're watching these series too,
but if not, I want to give you a peak
of like what you should be watching. There's some good
stuff out there anyway, all right, I want to get

(02:13):
you caught up on these huge wind turbines that you're
going to start seeing in the ocean, if you know,
if they get their way, And this was rammed through
by the Biden administration. Trump has said, you know, I
don't like this wind stuff, and that might be good news.
So I thought we'd finally, you know, get an update
right now. And the executive director of the Long Island

(02:35):
Commercial Fishing Association, my friend Bonnie Brady, is with us.
You've heard her in the past. We talk about these
things and the whale deaths, and she'll talk about that
in the moment. But Bonnie, how are you.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
I'm very good. Rob, Happy almost easter to you.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Thank you you too. So there are these big projects
right now off the coast of Long Island. There are
these big projects off the coast of New Jersey, and
you know, if Kamala Harris had gotten elected, these things
would would be yeah, up and running, probably already. But

(03:09):
there there's a possibility of slowing them down or stopping them.
And the question some people would have like, well, why,
I mean, they're down right ugly, but tell us why
they're why we should be slowing down or kill these projects?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Wow? Yeah, I mean, I think unfortunately, if the other
administration had got in instead, there's thirty seven leases that
they put out during that time period. Thank goodness that
the Trump administration issued that EO, the executive order that
they did, which put a pause basically on any lease

(03:51):
that had not received all their permits. So that means
there are eleven projects that have received all of their
permits from the federal government.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Eleven in our area or eleven nationwide.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
Eleven on the East Coast. Touch is about eleven too many.
The one that's right in the crosshairs right now, we've got,
First of all, we have Vineyard Wind, and Vineyard Wind
is the first record of decision. That is south of
Nantucket where the blade blew off in July and the
closed beaches for a week because one blade equals fifty

(04:30):
five tons of fiberglass shards. In addition to ET the
chlorohydrant and BPA. One's a hormone disruptor, the other one's
a carcinogen something.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
For everyone know about this one.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Oh trust me, that's a trust me, he does. But
so on that project, we were kicked out of the
disrect Court of Appeals. This would be we had two
cases or for the fishing industry, one was the Freeze
Shore Side as the lead plaintiff that was done by
Texas Public Policy Foundation, and then also the Responsible Offshore

(05:05):
Development Alliance otherwise known as Road of Fisheries, which is
a group of fishermen and fishing companies and processors that
also got kicked. So both groups have appealed to a
petition for sarch for the Supreme Court and we have
not heard as of yet, and we've got several I

(05:29):
guess it would be amicas and I'm a key Carrie
A for those and we're just waiting to hear if
we're chosen, which maybe you could talk to the bishop
afterwards about that because we could use some help there.
And then if because that really basically is for all
the tea in China. It's the first record of decision.

(05:50):
It's called a case of first impressions. And both cases
take on the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act as it
pertains to what the Secretary must ensure for protection of
the environment and safety, and those are huge issues that
we do not feel have even been addressed date. Let's see,

(06:11):
we've got Seavo down in Virginia which is banging in
monopiles as we speak. Actually excuse me. They won't be
doing that until May, but they've already got some in.
We have a Revolution Wind, which has monopiles in they'll
start up pile driving again in May. We've got Sunrise Wind,

(06:33):
which is an orsted project on COSCA's ledge. That's the
one that has a open cooling water intake system where
up to eight point one million gallons of seawater to
be sucked up daily, injected through bleach through electrolysis, and
then released is ninety degree effluent into the water column

(06:54):
forty feet above the ocean for very fad something. Oh,
it's super And that's about two point nine billion gallons
per year of poached bleached larvae, which according to the
EPA is was done under best professional judgment and best
technical advice, meaning there's no law allowing for it. So

(07:18):
Chevron on that one.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
So these are which agencies I mean, it's an alphabet
soup of agencies probably that have their fingers on this.
But which agencies make or agency makes the final decision?

Speaker 3 (07:32):
The Bureau of Otion Energy Management, which is under the
Secretary of Interior, Department of Interior, makes the final decision.
But no matter how much every other agency can throw
up white flags stop. Remember you'll remember with South Fork Wind,
the head's own scientists said don't do this there on
Cox's Ledge, also because it was one of the only

(07:54):
populations of southern New England cod in existence, and the
Biden administration ignored them completely and approved it. So yeah,
there doesn't seem to have been anything that was a
no for the Biden administration. So we've got the president
now who issued his executive order. However, that's for those
that don't have all their permits. There are eleven that do.

(08:18):
And the next one that has actually already started dumping
millions of well it's on its way to dumping billions
a ton of rock to set the stage for monopile
pile driving is Empire Wind. And that is the project

(08:39):
that years and years ago NIPA and KHAND tried to
do in between two shipping lanes. It's about fourteen miles
south of Long Beach, Long Island and nineteen miles east
of Long Branch, New Jersey, right between two shipping lanes,
and they want to put a total of one hundred

(08:59):
and four twenty four turbines that basically are just under
one thousand feet tall, which will be completely visible in
a kind of scary blade runner type of way for
anyone that has anywhere near any of those beaches.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Rob Astino here on the rob ast Reno Show seven
to ten woor Bonnie Brady is with me. She's the
executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. We're
talking about these wind turbines that are so freaking ugly.
You've seen them, and it's amazing.

Speaker 4 (09:32):
You know.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
The Democratic Party is supposed to be the environmentalists, right,
the Environmental Protection Party. Blah blah blah. They wave these
things in so fast. And we're talking about Hochel and
New York, you know, the other moron Murphy in New Jersey,
all these local electeds, and then of course the Biden administration.

(09:52):
I mean, they are rushing for wind energy. But tell
us about the downside. Well, are there any good sides
to wind energy? Will start with that, but tell us
about all the downsides to it?

Speaker 3 (10:04):
If there are any good sides, I haven't found them yet,
but I will let you know if I do. However, No,
it's this is. I refer to it as the blooming
onion of bad. Every layer you peel back, one is
worse than the next. First of all these projects alone,
the scour protection rock that they're taking a giant ship

(10:25):
right now is on its way back from a bayview
in New Brunswick, Canada, bringing with it thousands of tons
of rock to dump into a sandsial essential fish habitat
environment that is specifically where we catch our scallops and

(10:46):
our squid and our fluke. And they're going to be
dumping a total of I did some behind, you know,
back of the envelope mass between the one hundred and
forty four turbines and the two offshore substations they want
to placed in that area. That's a total of eight
point five billion pounds of rock they're planning on dumping

(11:10):
on the seafloor for this project. That's just the start.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Rob Yeah, So the horrifying, you know, they keep they
try to sell all this stuff. And the more we
learn about the environmental radicals, if you will, that are
jamming this stuff through, with regard to electric vehicles, with
regard to you know, wind, all these kind of things,
you know, the more we learn, because again they would

(11:35):
love to just jam it through with nice little slogans
and no real research. But as we learn more and
more about it, it's like, wait, this is a good
deal for anybody, maybe the politicians and maybe the companies
doing it, but for the rest of us, we're kind
of getting screwed, including on the issue of the cost, right,

(11:58):
I mean, so, what's this going to do to like electric.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
Eats approximately four times what the cost would be for
energy sources that are presently in New York. I believe
it's a one hundred and fifty five dollars strike price
for Empire wind so that is right now. I think

(12:21):
the market rate is forty dollars per megawat hour and
Empire Winds is one hundred and fifty five. And I
did also some mass on that it's apparently equal to
based on your current household of energy, it's about eight
hundred and fifty bucks a year extra. And we're also
paying for that through the IRA credits that were given

(12:43):
on top of that.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
So wrecking the environment, wrecking our views, and costing us more,
that's a big win for all of us.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
But wait, don't forget you're getting to kill fish and
marine mammals right, and all the extra and troy a
centuries old heritage industry that helped to build the United
States of America the commercial fishing industry, So yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:08):
Something for everyone.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
Yes, it's great. And so I was going to ask
you about the marine wildlife, so there, you know, the
stories were almost like every week a new whale death
and video of a whale washing ashore in Jersey or
Long Island wherever. And then it just stopped. It just stopped.
We haven't seen it. Like, I'm sure whales are still dying,
it's just nobody's picking it up anymore. What has been

(13:31):
going on with these whale deaths? Are they continuing? What
do you know?

Speaker 3 (13:35):
They did continue to an extent last year because they
were pile driving at Revolution and at Vineyard Wind and
actually were they still Yeah, they were pile driving also there,
and also they were surveying quite a few areas to
hurry up before the deadline of December thirty first, when
they weren't allowed to pile drive because of the right whales.

(13:57):
So the math that I have I have to confess
when they were really lining up like Cordwood, I was
only able to get through to about mid summer of
this past year, and from December first of twenty twenty
two until June of twenty twenty four, I had counted

(14:18):
one hundred and fifty large dead whales, which I mean,
I'm a child of the sixties. Never in my entire
lifetime did we ever see anything like that. It's probably
up to about one hundred and seventy because I mean,
Massachusetts last December had within their area they had six
dead whales between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Connecticut, right in

(14:43):
the area where shockingly, of course, pile driving was taking place.
But we have no direct evidence. Just remember when in doubt,
there is no direct evidence because nobody's asked the whales personally.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
So I'm just waiting for them to start beating the
seals too, in the name of green energy or something.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
I do want to mention, however, in addition to dead whales,
dead fish, fishkills, et cetera, forgot to mention national defense
and search and rescue capability and marine radar, which also
won't work in the area where it's got the largest,
probably one of the largest ports in the nation between

(15:20):
two transit lanes. What could possibly go wrong? It's one
you can't even believe. I mean, we know the marine
radar won't work because finally, The National Academy of Sciences
came out with their report in twenty twenty two saying
exactly what fishermen had been saying. It will not work
line of sight radars, any of them. That includes terminal

(15:43):
radar for not only JFK and Iceland, but Westchester Airport.
They have systems from the nineteen seventies and these are
all line of sight. They won't work. They throw false targets.
That's the problem. When you're inside the windslease area. We
have this whole thing called fog in the northeast. You
can't tell what's real and what isn't. And it's not

(16:03):
as if you haven't ever had one of those giant
container ships go awry and go outside of the lane.
I mean the also radar over the horizon and the
AAR S eight and nine and the ARSR four which
is the first line of defense two hundred and forty
miles out. Same problem. God is requiring Empire to have

(16:26):
a real time turn off switch because in Sweden, just
I think it was in December, they canceled thirteen offshore
wind projects because of this problem with defense. It was
going to reduce their time to react from two minutes
to sixty seconds.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah, let's just we don't need to worry about any
of that stuff as long as we get those wind
turbines up and feel good about ourselves. We did our
job or ye.

Speaker 3 (16:52):
Right for thirty eight percent annual what they say they will.
So if they say it's a thousand mega project, you'll
get three eighty in a full year and less in
the summer when in the Northeast we need it more
for air conditioning and more in the winter when we
can't use it.

Speaker 2 (17:09):
Yeah, and don't don't forget, folks, we are we are.
We were maybe not going forward completely and utterly subsidizing
these companies massively because there ain't no money in it,
and yet they're being forced we're being forced to pay
for this and the math doesn't work out. Bonnie. I
appreciate you giving this update on this, and you know,
with the summer coming, we'll keep an eye on on

(17:32):
the beaches and the whales, and I'm sure this is
going to heat up again.

Speaker 3 (17:35):
Really hoping the Trump administration starts that cumulative review that's
part section two of the EO that could really help
us quite a bit. Hopeful, as the bishop for me
will you.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
I will, Bonnie, have a wonderful easter.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
Have a great day, all.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
Right, you too, All right, Bonnie Brady. She she does
a great job in getting us updated. It's a big
issue because you know, one day you're going to be
looking and going, what the hell are they putting up there?
These things are massive, hundreds and hundreds of yards high.
These things are horrible. I don't have to tell you.
And of course all the nice little libs on Matha's vineyard,

(18:11):
who are you know, of course pro immigrant, and then
they scream and throw them off the island when a
couple dozen goes, and then of course they're pro environment
until they go up near them. These big turbines, we
don't want them. Yeah, put them over the air. This
is exactly what's gonna happen here, and it's gonna be
too late. That's why I'm warning you, alrighty oh, I,
oh my god, my favorite A G. Williams painting this.

(18:34):
I just love them, you know how much I love them.

Speaker 1 (18:37):
Williams paint A G.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Williams painting.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
The people you.

Speaker 3 (18:42):
Trust to do the job.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
Right, ah, Yeah, you should trust them. Third generation, family
owned and operated business since nineteen oh six. For God's sakes,
that ain't a startup. They do residential and commercial painting.
They've got great craftsmen. They come and do the repair.
There's you know, got that brooded wood out there. You
don't want to go over rotted, would just be painting

(19:05):
it again. So make sure you call a G Williams Painting.
Go ahead, I dare you go find an old Yellow
Pages and find a cheap contractor. And then you'll pay
double because you'll have to get AG Williams to come
in and paint over what they did. So their license
and short and certified. They are the people you trust
to do the job right. They're in the Westchester Business

(19:27):
Hall of Fame, so that means they are the best.
Agwilliams Painting dot Com, Agwilliams Painting dot Com.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
Ag Williams Painting, ag Williams paint Thing the people you
trust to do the job right.

Speaker 2 (19:44):
All right, more to go here on the Rob Astrino Show.
Bishop Brennan of Brooklyn gonna come on next and gonna
tell us a little bit about an Eastern message and
what's going on with the Catholic Church. So you stick
right here on the Rob Astorino Show on seven to
ten w R.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Hat's the rob As Doerino Show on seven ten woor.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
All right, welcome back to the rob Astorino Show here
on seven ten wor make sure you follow me on Facebook, x,
Instagram all those at rob as Doerino. And if you
miss any part of today's show and you want to
hear it, you check out the podcast. You go to
seven TENWR dot com, click on the Robascarino Show, or

(20:26):
make sure you file up, fire up the iHeart app
on your phone. You could always listen to us live
or go back and listen to the podcast. So Benjamin Steakhouse, Oh,
if you like steak, and who doesn't, you got to
head over to Benjamin Steakhouse. They've got great mouth watering steaks.
And this is the time, you know, when they put

(20:47):
the tables outside, especially at the Westchester location. You go outside,
you have a nice little wine, maybe nice steak the
way you like it, and you can go visit the
one in Manhattan or Westchester's two in Manhattan. Actually have
a nice night out with some friends or take your
take your hubby or your wife out or maybe by

(21:09):
the way tomorrow if you don't have plans yet for Easter.
I would say go to Benjamin Steakhouse because they've got
the USDA Prime Porterhouse. They got Tomahawk steak imported Japanese
wile Goo. Make sure you head over to Benjamin Steakhouse.
Visit Benjamin Steakhouse dot com to visit their menus and
make a reservation. Benjamin Steakhouse a cut above the rest.

(21:31):
All right, welcome back. So tomorrow's Easter. Yesterday was Good Friday,
Holy Saturday. Now the vigil Mass in a couple hours.
I don't know if I'm gonna go to that, it's
too long, but I'm gonna be at the East Mass
tomorrow with my family and Bishop Brennan. Robert Brennan is
with us. He is the the Bishop, the eighth Bishop
by the way of Brooklyn. Right, he is his Excellency

(21:55):
Robert Brennan of Brooklyn. How are you a bishop.

Speaker 5 (21:58):
I'm very well, Len, Good to see you. Happy Easter.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
Thank you you too. So I was with you last week.

Speaker 4 (22:04):
We are.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
Two weeks ago we had the gala at for Saint
Joseph's Seminary where the seminarians from a lot of different dioceses,
including Brooklyn, go to learn, and so it was a
nice gala. It was nice sitting with you. I did
see you were having the steak at dinner, and I
might suggest you go to Benjamin's instead.

Speaker 5 (22:24):
It sounded very good, it sounded delicious.

Speaker 4 (22:27):
It made me hungry.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
I'll take you to Benjamin's one day and you'll realize
they are really good. So okay, perfect. So yesterday Good Friday.
And I get this question from a lot of people.
Why do they call it good Friday? If Jesus was
nailed to a cross and killed, it is.

Speaker 4 (22:48):
Something of a contradiction.

Speaker 5 (22:49):
But it isn't that the nature of our faith. It's
riddled with contradictions because of that sense of victory, the
victory over sin and death, and so.

Speaker 4 (23:02):
It is something of a day of morning.

Speaker 5 (23:04):
I think there are there's a history and where good
Friday comes in. But the big thing is to remember
what looks like But I'm sorry, what looks like a
defeat turns out to be the greatest victory in the world.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
Yep, So tomorrow Easter. What is what is the holiest
day for Christians? Is it Good Friday or is it
Easter Sunday?

Speaker 5 (23:30):
Well, you know, it's interesting what we do these days
is we treat them as one long day. So we
thought on Holy Thursday night. Interestingly, the Mass on Holy
Thursday night doesn't end the same way. You know, Mass
send to go in peace, we just leave in silence.
Good Friday, we only begin inside. We just go out
there and start with the prayer and end again in silence,

(23:53):
say thing, Holy Saturday, the vigil we'll miss you this year.
But we start with the blessing of the fire. So
we quote the Paschal Mystery East and the Sacred Trid
to him. These three days are like one very long Mass.
So it's the combination of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter

(24:18):
to Sunday, certainly, but Sunday is the day of victory.
That's our greatest proclamation. From the very earliest days of
the church, Jesus is racing.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
So I remember it was Holy Thursday several years ago.
But I was picked to come up with other people
and take off my shoes and socks and have my
feet washed by the priest. And now I'm clean. But
I looked around. I said, oh man, some of these people,
they have horrible feet. And this poor priest and I

(24:51):
remember him looking at me like, oh, do you like
doing all those kind of things?

Speaker 5 (25:00):
There is something very profound. I mean it is kind
of strange, isn't it, to be feeling down and washing
somebody's feet in public? But some of those things you
only do once in a year really stand out there,
maybe because it is a little disturbing, it stops you
when you track. And so yes, I do.

Speaker 4 (25:21):
I do like that.

Speaker 5 (25:22):
We're doing something very different and something maybe that makes
us will feel a little.

Speaker 4 (25:26):
Off kill time.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn is with us here on
seven ten w R. What's the status of the church
right now in America? I mean, we've gone through some
really difficult times, self inflicted to some extent, but then
through COVID, you know, we kind of alloud Caesar. You know,
we rendered way too much onto Caesar with regard to yielding,

(25:51):
yielding our sovereignty if you will, by allowing the government
to shut down churches and all that. Where are we
right now as a church in America?

Speaker 5 (26:00):
Well, I think we're in something of a healthy state.
I mean there's always, uh, the need for reform and
always the need for growth, but you know, in terms
of attendance here in Brookland, Queens. It's hard to measure
because we're always in a state of flox but the

(26:22):
survey seems to indicate that a lot of places are
back to pre COVID levels. And that's been the experience
of a lot of our pastors, particularly in some of the.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
Hispanic communities for example.

Speaker 5 (26:35):
In fact, they're beyond they're bursting at the seams. We
have other places here in Brooklyn and Queens where the
demographics have changed so much. Said, we are looking at
having to hearten the parishes and work together and maybe
assign a preach to two different parishes and maybe even
merge and possibly at some point even closing sites those

(26:56):
of all in them. Last year, during that eucharistic person
and a lady came up to me as we were
walking through the streets of Booklyn with the blessed sacraments,
and she comes in she says, you know, Mesship, the
faith is deep, And I thought to myself, you know,
she's right. I wish it were.

Speaker 4 (27:13):
I always would make a joke about that.

Speaker 5 (27:14):
I wish wish more people embracing But were these faith
very deep?

Speaker 4 (27:20):
Yeah, very profound. It's very inspiring, and.

Speaker 2 (27:23):
I love the fact that there are some and you
are included that understand that you've got to go where
they are to reach them. And right now, you know,
I kind of joke the Catholic Church is still in
a postcard era, if you will, a telegram l or era.
But you have embraced podcasting. You know, Big City Catholics
is the name of your podcast. And I like the

(27:45):
fact that you're doing that because new media that's important.
I mean obviously stations like w R with a big
reach it's important. But also doing what you're doing with
videos and podcasts, do you enjoy doing them and what's
kind of your I thought process?

Speaker 5 (28:01):
I actually do you know? With podcasts, I often say
what's old is new. It's like the old radios, the
radio shows. And for me, it's a chance to speak
to the people of the diocese. It's not just a
thirty second sound by here or there, but to give
a context to tell a story, or to have a

(28:22):
conversation or let somebody probe with some questions. But it's
I don't purport to have anything all that earth shattering.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
There were some great evangelisises.

Speaker 5 (28:35):
Out there, like Bishop Baron, who would who have some
great material for me? It's a conversation with the people
of the diocese, and uh, it's a great opportunity.

Speaker 4 (28:46):
When I was.

Speaker 5 (28:47):
In Columbus, Ohio, actually it was during during COVID. In fact,
I would have a daily call into the there was
a local Catholic radio station. I would speak to them
and just this to be the update, you know, because
with how we're going to celebrate Holy Week in this time,
when we were getting the guidance from the Vatican, how
we were dealing with the health issues.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
So it was a.

Speaker 5 (29:10):
Daily conversation turned to a weekly conversation, and then as
things settled down, they said, why don't we keep this
going as a weekly faith update. So when I came here,
we have a television station that's mostly the news is
like the thirty second sound bite, but the podcast is
a chance to have a conversation. And boy, that's a

(29:31):
lot of thought in today's world. And I think it's
great that that opportunity is given to us.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
I think it's I think it's great too. You know,
you brought up Columbus. So I was in Columbus, Ohio
in October for Newsmax. I was I was doing the
Ohio Race, the Senate race with Bernie Moreno and everything.
So got I was in Columbus and I remember walking
to the cathedral and it was in the middle of
the day and the cathedral doors were locked. And I

(29:57):
was earlier a week ago. I was visiting my son
in Arkansas, believe it or not, but we were walking
we went to one of the local churches. The doors
were locked. And this happens. I can't tell you how
many times, even in New York City, or you go
to a church because you just want to go in
and pray or whatever, and the door is locked. Why

(30:17):
are we doing that.

Speaker 5 (30:18):
I can't speak for others, but I think that in
the urban areas, if you're not if somebody's not there
watching over things. I kind of speak about Columbus. I
know they've had issues with people coming in and using
the church for showering and changing and yeah, and not necessarily.

Speaker 4 (30:47):
Using the bathroom.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
Right, I know, I know the area there, Yes, I know, okay,
but but it is.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
I mean, those issues.

Speaker 5 (30:57):
We're glad when we do have places, and I think
we try to advertise some of those places that are
open during the day. We have three churches with this adoration,
three churches in Queens with his adoration twenty four hours
a day.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
That's great. Yeah, no, that's great. People should be able
to it's it's everyone. I understand the safety issues and
why sometimes, but yeah, it is. It's very disheartening when
that does happen. Final question, So you went to Saint
John's and you got a BS in math and computer science.
Are you a computer geek like you? You love all

(31:33):
that stuff right now? Still?

Speaker 5 (31:35):
Well, I'll tell you something. When I it was one
degree with that. That's how you got a math degree.
It was math and computer science. I graduated in nineteen
eighty four. I think the person of computer became available
in nineteen eighty five. My computer training was basically obsolete.
Director I graduated, I had gone to the seminary.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
I wasn't in the field, and so things changed so radical.

Speaker 5 (32:00):
Since I've always been a little bit of a I
have had the interest in computers and all of that.
But I have to confess, I don't know if it's
because I'm now in my sixties or because of the
nature of the work, but I who always thought I
was right on top of things, and finding myself having
to turn to younger people.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
To help join the rest of us. Yeah, I keep
you know, trust me with my kids. I keep asking
them how do you do this? And then I get
the silly oh you're such a dad. Look, but that's
what happens. Bishop. I appreciate you coming on. I hope
you have a beautiful blessed Easter and stay awake during
the vigil mass. It's very long. As you know.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
You got it.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
See you and to all your family, God bless.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Thank you so much. Bishop Robert Brennan, he is the
eighth Bishop of Brooklyn. Of course he replaced Bishop Demarzio
and it's always nice to talk to his excellency. So okay,
I got oh Liros, Liro, Jeez, I didn't do lyros
point to point Hey, look, if your time is valuable
and you need a ride from point A to point B,
like if you're going to the airport, for instance, Liros,

(33:03):
that's the one to call. Leros. They they create an
environment that allows you to work, relax or socialize and
it's real Like what's your time worth? Right, I guess
that's the question. And if it's worth a lot, then
you're not going to drive you By the way, it
is so expensive to park at any of our airports,
you literally have to give an arm and a leg

(33:23):
and you don't get any change back. It is really bad,
So you might as well paid for a car service
and instead of using a smell uber that shows up,
use aleros point to point. All their chauffeurs are screened,
background checks, liability insurance, and their vehicles are impeccable. So
call one eight hundred eighty two Liros one eight hundred

(33:44):
eighty two l e Ros or visit lrostg dot com.
All right back with more on The rob Astorino Show.

Speaker 1 (33:53):
In just a bit robo on seven tenor.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
Okay, do the final stretch here on the rob Astrino
Show on seven to ten. Woar. Make sure you join
me on social media. We can be friends on Facebook,
x truth, Social Getter, Instagram or insta at rob Astarino,

(34:20):
and of course make sure you have the iHeart app
on your phone. It's really important because you could be
going to the beach this summer and you're gonna want
that app on your phone so you can listen to
the show. Click on seven tenwor dot com as well
so you can get the podcasts, and of course the
iHeart app you can listen live anywhere, or of course,

(34:41):
go through all of our great shows meant to in
the morning, simone, all of them. They're there, They're there
for you, all right. Oh, Toyota City and Nissan City,
they are part of the Integrity Automotive Group. My friends,
these guys are good at what they do because they're honest,

(35:02):
they're transparent, they're efficient, they show your respect. I'm talking
about Toyota City and Nissan City, part of the Integrity
Automotive Group. So look, if you need a Toyota, then
you got to go to Toyota cityeny dot com. Look
up all of the cars or light trucks, SUVs, the crossovers,

(35:23):
and of course a Nissan. Same thing. Nissan City is
in Portchester, Toyota City is in Mamaroni. So they're very close,
right on the Sound shore of Westchester, right off two
eighty seven, right off ninety five, right off Route one,
very easy to get to. And you might be like, hey,
I don't know, do I want a Toyota or a Nissan.
Go to both. But look them up Toyota cityeny dot

(35:44):
com or Nissan City NY dot com. And they are
my friends. They should be your friends too, So go
say hi to them, and they've got really good lease
rates right now, transparent pricing, financing offers, no hidden so
you're not gonna get screwed at the end there and
bring in your junk or bring in whatever you're trying

(36:05):
to get rid of and see what they give you
as a trade in to offset it. So be part
of the Integrity Automotive Group family, just like I am.
Go say hi to the folks at Toyota City or
Nissan City right now. All right, so I again, I've
been putting off a whole bunch of stuff. It was
good that we talked to Bishop Brennan. That does not

(36:26):
count for Mass. By the way, if you're a Catholic,
you gotta go either tonight to the vigil, which I
don't recommend unless you really like to sit for long masses.
That's I forget how many readings. It's like more than
ten readings.

Speaker 4 (36:38):
You do the math.

Speaker 2 (36:39):
It's like two to three hours tonight. But some people
like that, and that's okay.

Speaker 4 (36:43):
Me.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
I will go tomorrow to the regular Sunday Mass for Easter.
So oh do you know that? Like Joe Biden, ex president,
all the ex presidents that are still alive, they get
obviously benefits for being president. Now Joe Biden cashed in

(37:04):
dramatically and maybe illegally. That guy's got such a stench
on him. But by law, ex presidents are allowed certain benefits,
and they take advantage of him. They should. It goes
back to nineteen fifty eight. It's the Former President's Act.
And they get a pension, and then they get office

(37:26):
space and money for it. They get equipment, they get staff,
they get travel, they get entertainment, they get supplies, and
of course they get secret Service. And if when they
were president that they were enrolled in the federal Employee's
Health Benefits program for at least five years, so they
had to do a second term. So Biden would get

(37:47):
it because he was a senator forever and he was
the vice president. And President Trump gets it if he
wants it. He doesn't take it because he doesn't need it.
But like Clinton and Bush, those guys that they went
in there, if they're served for at least five years,
they get the same health benefits basically for life as

(38:07):
former government workers get. They also they also get a pension,
and their pensions are equal to what a cabinet secretary
makes for going in there and serving. And it ain't
bad the pensions for Joe Biden because he was there
thirty six years. His pension is going to be over

(38:31):
four hundred thousand dollars a year. That's just what he
makes from us. He's continuing to suck off the teat
of us, but that's what he gets, in addition to
the to the millions that these guys make for writing
a book or signing a deal or speaking, which is
of course the easiest thing. You know, that's where the

(38:51):
influence comes in. And that's you know, especially if your
party is still in charge.

Speaker 4 (38:58):
Right.

Speaker 2 (38:59):
But I mean a lot of peop people want to
meet an ex president or hear them speak, no matter
how bad they might be, like Biden. But these companies
will pay a lot, and in essence, what these guys
can do is kind of lobby on their behalf. This
corporation that pays them two hundred thousand dollars to come
speak for an hour, flies them out on a jet,

(39:19):
puts them up in great places. I mean, look, ex
presidents shouldn't be staying in a motel six. But you
understand what I'm saying. But let's just say company X
hires them to speak company X might have X, Y
and Z they want in legislation that's pending, especially if
it's their party in charge. Who's to say they don't

(39:40):
make a couple of calls, which is it legal?

Speaker 4 (39:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (39:44):
Technically, should they be a lobbyist? Yeah, technically. But they
get away with it, And so they get they get
secret service. President the president's get secret service, of course,
full secret service, which I'm okay with. I don't want
a former pres isn't it being attacked or taken as
a hostage or anything like that, So I'm totally fine

(40:06):
with that.

Speaker 4 (40:07):
But they do.

Speaker 2 (40:08):
They do get pensions and all this happened back in
the fifties when and it was proven to be false.
But I mean, he did it the right way. I
guess he fooled them. But Harry Truman when he left,
apparently he was penniless. He was in dire financial straits,
that's at least what he said. So Truman actually lobbied

(40:32):
Sam Rayburn, who was the then Speaker of the House.
He was from Texas, and he basically said, look, for
the dignity of the presidency, don't make me go out
and have to work at McDonald's or work in some company.
I want to be a diplomat. And so that's how
the President's Act former President's Act of fifty eight was established,

(40:54):
and they basically provided everything that they needed. So I
just thought you'd find that a little bit interesting. Now
I want to get you caught up on a couple
of the shows that I've been watching. So I finally
had some time either between my long distance flights. You know,
I mentioned I was in Rome a couple weeks ago.

(41:14):
I've been flying to different places, so I download these
things on my phone and I'm watching Netflix, either at
home with my wife or on the planes. So I've
caught a lot of Taylor Sheridan's great stuff. So you're like, well,
who's Taylor Sheridan. Yellowstone that was his biggest but then
the offshoots from Yellowstone eighteen eighty three and nineteen twenty

(41:36):
three just freaking phenomenal. Scario is a movie he made
back in twenty sixteen, basically like Cia deadj kind of stuff,
going into Mexico with the cartels, really really good, really good.
And now he's got these two that are running right now, Lioness,

(41:58):
which is really good, and Landman if you haven't watched Landman,
these are on our paramount. Plus they give you like
the freebie for a couple of weeks so you can
get hooked, and then of course you gotta buy it.
But Landman is just phenomenal, and it is like Taylor
Sheridan is one of those unique producer director writers out

(42:20):
of Hollywood that's conservative, and so all of these that
he puts on are basically conservative in nature, and they're
kicking ass. And it's a real finger to the Hollywood
elites because like there was one scene in Landman, which
Landman is about in Florida, of Florida in Texas, the

(42:43):
oil industry, and so you get this hot shot lawyer
from New York that comes. You know, she charges a
couple thousand an hour, she's all this environmental blah blah blah,
and she gets put right in her place about how
stupid she is and how naive she is about the
need for oil and gas and we're not going to
be going away because we all use it for everything.

(43:05):
And he lists all the things that she had on
her and uses every day and just put her in
her place. So that's what it's so good. If you
Billy Bob Thornton is the is the lead in land Man,
and there ain't anyone better for this role. So I'm
just telling you if if you come across any of
these Tailor Sheridans, you gotta watch it. Eighteen eighty three
nineteen twenty three. Those are the spinoffs from Yellowstone, which

(43:28):
was great in and of itself, and now Lioness and
Landman are also playing on Paramount Plus. I saw so
we were watching the White Lotus. Now we've watched the
other two seasons. This first season was really, really good.
Jennifer Coolidge was in it. You know her if you

(43:48):
see her, she's in the Discover credit card commercials. She's,
you know, kind of ditzy. She's really funny though, and
she's very good. She was in Lotus for years one
and two. And the first season was fantastic. It was
in Hawaii, the second season it was based in Italy,

(44:12):
and then this season is in Thailand. This season was
so slow. I mean every episode I'm waiting and waiting
for something to pick up, and all the characters that
it's basically rich people going to an island and a
like a five star resort, but they're all screwed up

(44:34):
and pretending to be happy. But things evolve and.

Speaker 4 (44:37):
Just it is it.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
The plot is very good. It's just this season was
so damn slow. But we finally watched the final episode
the other night, and that was good. It was kind
of worth watching because they tie everything together. So if
you haven't seen The White Lotus yet, I would say,
you know, give it a thumbs up. I'm not going
to ruin it for you. I already did that once
before and I got some rotten, nasty emails from people

(45:03):
because I didn't give an alert yet, a warning, a warning.
So I won't tell you what happens, but it is
worth it is worth watching.

Speaker 4 (45:12):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (45:13):
The I don't know if you saw this. A couple
of weeks ago. The National Weather Service, so they you know,
they have these photos of different places where weather happens,
and there was this huge storm that hit Pennsylvania. I
think it was Hoover, Pennsylvania was the community. I don't
know where it is, but they were. The storm did

(45:35):
a lot of damage and they the Weather Service had
these cameras set up and took these the video and
took these photos. Well, apparently in one of these photos
there was a damaged tree, and beyond it was something
a little murky like they all are, right, a little fuzzy,

(45:58):
but it looked like it was a human sized creature,
if you will, And of course everything lit up. They
captured Bigfoot. This, they got Bigfoot on camera. And you
would think with all the spy satellites we've got up
in the sky and all the cameras everywhere, that we

(46:19):
wouldn't have yet another grainy photo in this time Fayett County, Pennsylvania,
of something that looks like sasquatch. And you know, so
everything went crazy. Look it up. It's in there somewhere,
and of course they couldn't capture him, no matter the
resources that they have, they couldn't capture him. So he's

(46:43):
still somewhere in the woods, this time in Pennsylvania. So
if you're heading out tomorrow for Easter to go visit
Grandma somewhere in Pennsylvania and you see this guy in
the distance, it looks a little hunchback. Could be it
could be squatch.

Speaker 4 (47:00):
You never know.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
All right, I am out of here. I will join
you again, of course, every Saturday. Make sure you tune
in every Saturday. Right here on seven ten WR for
the rob Astarino Show. You can listen live. I know
I didn't get any calls. I was just packed this
this Saturday. Next week we'll go back to the calls.
Write it down. One hundred and three two one zero
seven ten. I love it. I love it. So make

(47:25):
sure your opinions, my opinions. That's how that's how we
do this thing. Other than of course this week, all right,
follow me on social media thanks to Bruce and Noah
and Peter and everybody else. And of course it was
great to have the Good Bishop of Brooklyn with us
and Bonnie getting us up to date on the whales
and these horrible wind forms. So I will talk to
you next Saturday at four pm. Of course one to

(47:48):
three on Newsmax on Saturdays as well. Have a blessed Easter.
I hope you had a wonderful passover as well, folks.
Take care.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
This hour of programming on seven ten Double War is
sponsored by Toyota City and Mamaranac and Nissan City of
port Chester, proud members of the Integrity Automotive Group.