Charging Comey, Probing Foes—Trump Twists Law into Tool of Political Payback 9/26/25

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh, thank you all. Please find a scene. I know
the Friday Show can be a little proud of thank you.
I know, thank you. Wow, it's thank you. Just when
I thought you're Doug, there's I'm just overwhelmed by your
recorded adulation. It is a great to be with you

(00:21):
on a Friday, the Friday that brings the vindictiveness out
of the woods and into the American legal system. My friends,
we will talk about what's happening in the world of
vengeful law. Kim is here to help squire us through
and she will chit chit chit us chick into the

(00:45):
u S Hour, which will feature a look back at
the week with a Michael Shore, who should be here,
but we have a hack show even before we get
to the second hour. Albert is Albert Albert who recommended
no jacket today for me. He said, it's a cable
Friday kind of thing, and so that's why we are here.
First into the chat today was uh Peter who says

(01:10):
a happy birthday Olivia. Right on Happy Birthday, Olivia Newton John.
I used to have such a crush on Olivia Newton John. Albert,
do you know who Olivia Newton John was?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah, of course.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah, Okay, how many hits of Olivia Newton John? Do
you think you could name?

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Albert Oh, just the whole Grease movie.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Maybe the Grease movie, yeah, show yeah, the Grease movie
probably so apart from the Grease movie, probably none.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
I'd have to hear it. I can't say the name.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, no, no, I know you know them all right.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, I know she had plenty of hits.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wall right, what's that, Kim? Was it?

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Xanadu one of hers?

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Y Xanadu had a bunch of hits too, she had
She was just a she had a beautiful voice, and
she was a beautiful lady. Yeah. You put it all
together and it's a it's entertainment package anyway, Happy birthday.
So she has this, I think, yeah, yeah, there she is.
Look at that. Yeah. There's some great old videos on

(02:22):
YouTube of Olivia Newton John and the other stars of
the seventies, you know, singing together, like there's a mashup
of I've seen this. I'm not I'm laughing just because
it's such of a time, you know. Uh, Olivia Newton John,
she had a special and Abba sings on it with
Andy gibb uh and they do like a it's like

(02:46):
a mashup thing. I'd play it for you, but you
know we'd be demonetized. You can't really play any music
on the show. But it is a fun throwback to
the seventies. And the second into the chat, what's she did?

Speaker 3 (02:59):
Let's get physical? Remember that song?

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Oh yeah, let's get physical. Honestly I love you let
Me be there, which is kind of a country thing.
I honestly love you. I think was number one song.
I mean it was. It was on all the time,
and she had tons of hits. A voice there she is. Yeah,

(03:26):
she was a she was a sweetheart from Australia. As
I recall that whole thing with Olivia Newton John and
her husband. Do you remember he claimed to be he
fell off a boat or something and it was claimed
that he went missing. Do you recall this? Oh yeah,
google this, this is really worth it. It's a great
little dive. You'll find that. I think he faked his

(03:48):
own death. I guess to get out of the marriage
or something. It's kind of wow, yeah, but do you
see anything on it. It's pretty wild. As I all,
he was missing or reported missing, and then the more
investigators look for him seem clear that it was maybe

(04:10):
not foul play, but something that he was actually hatching
on his own. Yeah, what a stumbag. Yeah, how did
a grand jury let this get by? We'll talk about that.
V Britain asks, So she was second into the chat
and we will talk about that becomy indictment. And in

(04:32):
addition to Olivia Newton, John Nullaffidian, who was third into
the chat, says some birthdays. T s Elliott, George Gershwin,
George Raft, Kent McCord, Olivia Newton, John Linda Hamilton, and
Zoe Perry. Thank you for that. All right, Well those
are your early contestants into the chat. We are a

(04:53):
live show, so you can jump into the chat anytime
on YouTube. We're on until one o'clock ish, little after
one on the West coast, little after four on the
East coast, and we're live every day Monday through Friday,
and of course then as an audio podcast up on
Spotify and iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts. You can just check

(05:13):
us out after the show. It goes right up as
a an audio podcast. So please be part of that
crew that joins us there so we will get rock. Yeah,
it is. It's pretty wild. I'm gonna get to, of course,
to the James Comey indictment today. Benjamin Nutt and Yahoo

(05:38):
meantime is going to address the United Nations.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
You talk about awkward he is and they they turned
their backs and walked out, many of them.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, they did. I mean it is It's an odd
place for Benjamin net and Yahoo to be making any
kind of case to a world that I'm sure Net
and Yahoo would say it was already against me. You know,
it's all against Israel. But certainly those nations that Israel
has traditionally thought of as allies, they've come around to

(06:10):
the fact that what's going on on Gaza in Gaza
is absolutely intolerable, must stop. And Natanyahu's been declared a
war criminal. In fact, to get to the UN, to
get to New York, his plane had to divert around
some European nations that would have intercepted the plane and
actually brought it down, and he would have been held

(06:32):
for war crimes.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Albert has him walking out. Look at that.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
There he is and there they are, Yeah, in a
show of disgust. That is the General Assembly walking out
on Benjamin Etiaho. President Trump, you know, letting his Justice
Department do the dirty work. Meanwhile, he does what he
loves to do, most to a golf tournament. Oh that's nice.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yeah, you know, the country isn't falling apart or anything.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
He's going to the Ryder Cup today. It's in Farmingdale,
New York. He's the first sitting president to attend the
century old tournament between the US and Europe. I don't
know if that's a brag or that's just a sign
of you know, I'd rather be attending a golf tournament

(07:26):
than doing anything. You know, I've got my henchman doing
the dirty work so I can move on. Maybe that's
just me being anti trumpy, as.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Europe is currently leading against the old Americans so far.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Oh well, it's never been anything like this.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
It takes his granddaughter to a lot of sporting events.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
Sure he's got a good deal. Yeah. Well, the new
ballroom renderings are in. Before I get to the heavy stuff,
I wanted to share with you. It's a really exciting
everybody's following the ballroom build out. It's a ninety thousand
square foot ballroom that will have a seating capacity for

(08:10):
six hundred and fifty guests. What. Yeah, so nice it'll
be constructed in the White House's East wing. And do
we have the picks up at all or you can
see the.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
Huge It's bigger than the residents.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
I mean, this thing is the new ballroom, significantly larger
than the main White Houses Kim sets.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Dripping with gold and chandeliers.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yes, it has a very Saudi Arabia feel to it,
which is very nice.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Arabia pass cache.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, yeah, they have some here's the new renderings of
what it'll look like inside. And I have to say
it's very let them eat cake. When you are cutting Medicaid,
like the healthcare for the poorest of Americans and then
you turn around and create this massive ballroom dripping with
the you know, the luxury and the excess. Come on, yeah,

(09:05):
you are not the common man. I'm sorry, you don't
represent the people.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
Well no, And that's an interesting point that Kim makes,
because really Donald Trump's superpower where that he was really
able to sell a populism. You know that he was
the guy to represent your interest in Washington. You know,
it always struck me as a pretty ridiculous pitch, but

(09:28):
he was able to sell it to enough people. Anyway,
your guy is building that ballroom and it will be
quite the gold incrusted offering. And speaking of that, and
speaking of selling things, Milania into the Christmas ornament game.

(09:49):
She is really leaning in with the Milania Trump Christmas
collection and why not. The ornaments that she's pitching, brass
and enamel are selling for seventy five to ninety dollars apiece.

(10:10):
If you want all six ornaments, it's four hundred and
sixty five dollars.

Speaker 4 (10:17):
Spoil our Christmas.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Three of the ornaments to pick the US landmarks the
Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty in Mount Rushmore, while
three feature patriotic imagery. All six have an engraving of
the First Lady's signature, as well as the option of
a unique, digitable digital collectible.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Would you pay four hundred and sixty five dollars for
six Christmas ornaments?

Speaker 1 (10:41):
I have all my merch funding going into mark March. No, no, right,
no got. They got the new T shirt in just
arrived literally right before the show. It was like the
doorbell run and this is the This T shirt is
really quite tasteful. This is an embroidered logo. Oh that's

(11:01):
high class. Yeah, it's very classy. And uh I just
couldn't came in right before the show. And it's in black,
and it's also in white. You can see it's still
in the package, this one. And I uh, I think
if you're a remarkable it feels very uh uniform, meaning
like you'd want this to be your uni, not too

(11:23):
over the top, not too in your face. If you
order now, you can probably get it for No King's Day,
you know, Oh this is nice. This is a different material. Actually,
this is a really cool what is that material, Albert,
That lightweight kind of wick. It feels like it wicks.

Speaker 3 (11:39):
It's a moisture wick.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
Moisture wicking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a it's a winner too.
So and they're long sleeve teas coming. I think. So
it's black or white, whatever your deal is.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
And again, uh, we might have to get into the
ornament game to comment.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
We might need. We did have a look at that
there they are yea.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, they're the Milania's ornaments.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
That hand in the middle should have been deied out
of that picture.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yeah, it's a little too brown. I don't know why
that's on the White House website.

Speaker 1 (12:15):
Look at that out of that black hand to get.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Make it to that picture.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
That's very gold very golden ornaments.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
Yeah. I mean they're not bad looking ornaments to be fine,
But I mean, what were the what were the Michelle
Obama ornaments like Kim, I don't remember any exactly.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (12:40):
No one's selling merch from the White House. No one's done.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
They're gonna put the golden ornaments in the Golden Ballroom
on a golden tree.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Of course. Now it's mark, you know, everything is merched.
Never been anything like this, all right, that's for sure.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Room is going to pay for itself. Mark, Well it
will be a text.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
But you know, uh, they say, I thought that the
you know, he's claiming that the ballroom will be paid
for in other ways. But you know, again, I don't
take anything that he says too too seriously.

Speaker 3 (13:13):
Apparently he's bringing back the vodka too, that nobody really
wanted the Trump vodka that kind of sat on the shelves.
But no, we're gonna try again.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah, the dormant to vodka brand is back. In fact,
Governor Newsom was on with Stephen Colbert and I think
uh spoofed it with his own vodka line or he
had new some wine. Was that what he did?

Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah, Yeah, it's just so silly.

Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, Newsome wine is uh. He put it up there
on Albert has it for you. You can take a look.
He put it up on social media with a big
N on the bottle and the words coming soon above
the post. So yeah, anyway, that's the date of the state.
When it comes to merch, when it comes to cashing

(14:02):
in in the White House, there's not.

Speaker 3 (14:04):
Really there's not really new some wine. That's a troll, right.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Right, right, Yeah, he's not. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's I'm
sure he'd consider it tacky, but tacky kind of left
the building a while ago. So it's cool to you know,
now you can tack away. Yeah, so we have quite
an overwhelming show for you, even when we limit ourselves

(14:28):
to what's happening with the law and the Justice Department
now weaponized to take on a lot of Trump's perceived enemies.
It's odd to me, and I'll make this point probably again,
but James Comy gave him the twenty sixteen election. In
my view, the twenty sixteen election came down to like
forty eight thousand votes, and Comy announced ten days before

(14:51):
the election that they were reopening the investigation into Hillary
Clinton's emails. It absolutely had a chilling effect on those
who might have intended to vote for Hillary Clinton, and
it also might have even had an effect of people
being so disgusted they voted for Trump. You know, they

(15:13):
bought the email what about her email stuff? So Coomy
to me is a bad guy. Okay, Comy's goodness, if
you want to talk good bad comes in that he
appears honest. You know, I don't think he's corrupt in
the traditional sense that one might see corruption on display

(15:35):
now in the White House. But to me, it's ironic
that he would have been, in my judgment again, so
instrumental in helping Trump achieve the presidency in twenty sixteen,
and yet find himself on the business end of an
indictment from the same guy. And it's a concocted indictment.
It's completely phonied up indictment. It's lacking any kind of

(15:58):
legal underpinning, and that he would find himself on the
business end of that is just truly irony. So uh,
I'll get deeper into that in a second quickly. Harry Magnum,
with a five dollars super chat says Happy Friday with
Trump likes some cheese with his wine. W H I
n E. I see what you did, very very clever,

(16:19):
big shout out, big shout out. So Vilma says, yes,
call me. Gave Trump the election, but he does not
deserve to be prosecuted for nothing, right exactly, I I
completely agree, all right, So without any further delay, we'll
get into it. In an overstuffed version of law and disorder.

Speaker 4 (16:45):
In the criminal justice system, the people.

Speaker 5 (16:47):
Gimps, addicts, thieves, bums, linus, girls who can't keep on address,
and men who don't care.

Speaker 6 (16:52):
Are represented by two separate and equally important groups.

Speaker 5 (16:55):
Copp a flat foot, a bullet dick, John Law, You're
the fuzz, the heat, You're poison, your trouble, your bad news.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
These are their stories. Happened the promised indictment of James Comy,
the former FBI director. It really is something that Trump
expressly wanted. He fired a career prosecutor who was maga.

(17:22):
The guy he fired, Eric Sebert, was maga man. He
was right wing, and he fired him because Siebert couldn't
bring charges against Comy, and that's what he wanted. There
were months and months of investigations and they couldn't find evidence.
Of wrongdoing, some of the wrongdoing that would justify an indictment.

(17:45):
So we got rid of Sebert.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
Yeah, you don't need that.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
And he put in a Toady, a woman who was
his personal lawyer. She had a lot of insurance stuff
for him in Florida, and he put her in. She's
never even prosecuted a case, but she brings a case
like an hour later. So I mean that literally, it
might have been what two days later. And you know

(18:07):
he had demanded from Pam Bondi that these charges we
brought right away. Remember that the delay after he had
said he was bringing charges was bad for his reputation.
So now the Justice Department has indicted former FBI Director
James Comey again. This is after President Trump publicly complained

(18:28):
that Pam Bondi hadn't secured charges against him. In some
of his other political adversaries, Trump says the quiet stuff
out loud, and in this case, the quiet stuff is
the grotesque vengeance that has now defined the Justice Department.
Bondi confirms, saying on social media that the indictment is

(18:51):
emblematic of the Justice Department's commitment to holding those who
abuse positions of power accountable. For misleading the American Peace.
Wow man, it's rich, huh. Comy is someone who Trump
is long accused of criminal conduct related to the FBI
investigation into possible collusion between Russia and his campaign during

(19:13):
the twenty sixteen election. He was indebted on one count
of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice.
There was a third count and they didn't bring it,
couldn't get the grand jury to agree to it. And
this grand jury is an Alexandria, Virginia that's right across
the bridge from Washington, DC. So it's really effectively a
Washington d C. Trial or Washington DC case legally in

(19:38):
terms of its jurisdiction. And this is congressional testimony that
Comy gave. We talked a bit about it with David
Katz yesterday, but for those who missed it, it accuses
him of lying when he said he had not authorized
someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source
in news reports. And again, this is a testimony he gave.

(20:03):
It was read back to him by Ted Cruz and
call me confirmed that he stood by the testimony he gave.
So they had to bring this case right away because
there was going to be a five year statute of
limitations that were set to run out, so they sprung
this at the very last instant. And the indictment itself

(20:26):
is short. It's two pages, and typically these indictments have
a lot of specifics. In this case, they're not a
lot of specifics. And again the grand jury having passed
on that third indictment, it looks as though this may
have a short legal life based on everything I've read.
But this all relates to the Russia investigation and Wall

(20:52):
Street Journal reporting about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
charitable foundation. But the idea somehow that there's a coherence
to this and that there's any real evidence of criminal wrongdoing,
it's pretty much absurd on its face. We know because
the last career prosecutor, the guy who really had his

(21:14):
act together and really had some credit, even though he
was magga and right wing, he passed on the whole thing.
He said, look, there's nothing here. So the Komy statement,
he made a statement, and I believe we have it.
It was a video statement, wasn't it. Yeah, here's James
Comy reacting. My family and I.

Speaker 7 (21:36):
Have known for years that there are costs to standing
up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living
any other way. We will not live on our knees,
and you shouldn't either. Somebody that I love dearly recently
said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and
she's right. But I'm not afraid, and I hope you're

(22:00):
not either. I hope instead you are engaged, you are
paying attention, and you will vote like your beloved country
depends upon it, which it does. My heart is broken
for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence
in the federal judicial system. I'm innocent, So let's have

(22:22):
a trial and keep the faith.

Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, if you're James Comy, I would think you want
a speedy trial, and you want I mean, and you
want this to go right away to the public forum
of a trial, and you know, I think it's going
to be pretty much on display that this is a
vindictive prosecution and that is something you can use in
your defense. So this is more than just you know,

(22:47):
stuff of commentary. It's the stuff of a legal defense.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
What's that can If that's true and you can use
the vindictiveness in your defense, then Trump just handed the
defense here the information they need on a silver platter.
Because this morning he came out with another one of
his social media posts and he called it. He called
James Comy corrupt. James Comy, he says, he lied. It's

(23:14):
not a complex lie. It's very simple, but a very
important one. And there's no way he can explain his
way out of it. And then he gave Comy a
new nickname. He called him James dirty cop Comy, a
destroyer of lives. Knew what he was saying, knew what
was very serious, and the price must be paid. If
that's not vindictiveness and pettiness, I mean that, just send

(23:37):
the judge the social media posts from Trump and let
it be done well.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
I mean, I don't know by the way that that
social media post loads him, though it may be, you know,
and just so, it's just so beneath the office of
the presidentcy presidency has become sort of this now gangster
thing where he's you know, Trump is just the top
gangster and mob boss. So he talks that way. But
the real social media post, to your point, is the

(24:03):
one where he said, Pam BONDI, I want you to
go after these guys, and I want you to That's
the one I mean that that alone, but you're right,
putting that stuff on display seems like it will be
quite relevant, and so there'll be a lot of chances
to put that stuff out there, and this will go
down in October. He'll enter a plea in October, and

(24:24):
obviously it's not guilty, and it will be I think
they'll be able to dismiss these charges and certainly ask
for dismissal based on all this stuff we've talked about,
and you know, including the President of the United States

(24:44):
having made it clear that he was going to go
after James Comy, review all of this evidence there is none,
and then look at internal documents at the Justice Department,
which they will be able to gain access to, and
I think it will be clear that it is a
it's a jihad that they were pursuing independent of any evidence.

(25:06):
Here's a legal analyst, Elliott Williams saying, fortunately for Collmy,
the President puts so much in writing, Kobe can easily
point to all of those social media statements. This is
what we were saying to argue that the charges aren't
just based on his alleged wrongdoing, but on politics or
personal ill will I would also say that and This
is something a point that I make from time to

(25:27):
time because I really think it's easy to kind of
get caught up in the ex'es and o's and you
lose the lose the plot sometimes of the destruction of
a life or the destruction of someone's livelihood at the
hands of the government. James Comy is fine. I mean,

(25:51):
he's got money, he's got stature. Everybody knows that this
is a fraud. I mean again, he has issues with
us because I believe he handed the election to Donald Trump,
which is why this is so bizarre. There they were
in happier times, shaking hands and they had that famous
dinner that was memorialized in a film done by a

(26:15):
friend of the show, Billy Ray, director and writer. But
there are others who they go after. If you look
at the list, you know it's a bunch of White
House functionaries that they have decided were disloyal, Miles Taylor
among them, national security analysts. And so you see how
when the government goes after you, you have to lawyer up.

(26:36):
It takes tremendous financial resources. You have a family, you
have maybe another job that you've now been able to secure.
That job becomes more tenuous because you have to go
to court, you have to deal with all of these
other things, and even employers may let go of you
because you just become radioactive. You certainly begin to have

(27:01):
problems functioning in your world because of these legal problems
that you now have at the hands of the government,
completely concocted legal problems. Again, put Comey's case aside. I'm
just talking about the way in which the weaponization of
justice can destroy you. It can bankrupt you, even if

(27:22):
you're innocent. So we consider and go, well, obviously this
charge isn't going to stick, and this charge is yeah,
but it takes lawyers to make that case. That takes money,
it takes time, and so for most average Americans again
leave James, call me out. It is a very difficult
undertaking to somehow fight back against the government. And this

(27:45):
is a serious enough threat that it gets people to
bow out before they even want to deal with any
of this.

Speaker 3 (27:53):
Do you remember when Comy posted the picture, I don't
know a year or so ago he was walking along
the beach and saw some seashells or it said eighty
six forty seven or something, and then there was a
big out cry that there was a threat against the president.
This is what MAGA folks are sharing today, and they're

(28:15):
getting into this. You know, it seems so like we're
removed from this process, but they're very into this and
this is what oops, sorry, this is what they're posting today.
Comy indicted on the beach with seashells.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
Yeah, and this is the thing that's happened now in America.
Of course, it's become us versus them, so the merits
of a case don't even matter. He's anti Trump. Trump
wants him out, so I'm with Trump and that means
I'm against Kmy. Yeah. Yeah, it's the trolling is sort
of the new fun way to do politics in America.
And lost in all of that is the reality, which

(28:55):
is that the Justice Department has been turned on its side. Now,
this is outrageous. This is unprecedented. It's unprecedented to have
a president call for the prosecution of those who are
his political enemies and political adversaries and actually have the
Justice Department do it. He's unprecedented.

Speaker 4 (29:14):
You know.

Speaker 3 (29:15):
The reason that he was calling foul on the weaponization
of the Justice Department when he was facing all the
charges is because that's what he would do, right, it's
just the irony of him saying, oh, they're weaponizing the
Justice Department against me, and then turning around and actually
doing that.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
Well, it's all the projection which has been that way
since the beginning. James call Me's son in law, Troy A.
Edwards Junior, resigning last night his position was a national
security prosecutor. In a one sentence letter to the US
Attorney Lindsay Halligan, again the Trump toady who was appointed

(29:57):
by Trump because the career Cocuter resigned not wanting to
do this dirty work. The letter read, to uphold my
oath to the Constitution and country, I hereby resign as
an Assistant US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
in the Department of Justice, effective immediately. So he works
on the same Virginia office that is now prosecuting his

(30:20):
father in law, right ye, so yeah, And of course
his daughter successfully pulled off prosecutions, and she just pushed
away from the table as well left government. I mean
Trump fired her, Yeah, she was fired. Eric Swalwell says,
I fully expect to be next. My criticism of the

(30:44):
Trump administration makes me likely a target. He is the
congressman you know from California, vocal critic of Trump. He
says he quote fully expects to be prosecuted by the
Trump administration. He says, I'm ready for it. I fully
expect it, he said on CNN when asked if he's

(31:07):
concerned that quote down the road, you Eric Swalwell may
be prosecuted. He said, yes, I'm ready for it. I
fully expect it. And he noted that FBI Director Cash
Pttel previously wrote a book in which he listed sixty
individuals he described as government gangsters who should be investigated,

(31:31):
and Swalwell was on that list along with Senator Adam Schiff.
They served alongside each other in the House. They were
named at the very top of the list as the
two worst. But Swalwell said he's not going to be
intimidated by the Trump administration. Adam Schiff is under investigation now,
so I'm ready for it. I expect it. But I'm

(31:51):
not going to flinch. He said, I'm not hiding under
the bed. I'm not going to shrink, because that's the aim.
That's what they why they do this. They hope that
dissent and oversight goes away. So uh, they are trying
to slow Democrats down. They're trying to get Democrats to

(32:14):
slink away the way that the Republicans have, you know, But.

Speaker 3 (32:20):
This American taxpayer money, with these you know, frivolous prosecutions.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, that too. You're right, all these investigations and prosecutions.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
And we're focusing our energy on the Trump retribution list
when there's actual real work to be done in America.
What a waste of time and money.

Speaker 1 (32:39):
Well, the retribution vengeance that is, I'd say the defining
characteristic of the Donald Trump administration is on display, not
only from Trump, not only from his Justice Department, but
even from Telsea Gabbert, who, as you know, is a
good soldier this way as well. Director of National Intelligence

(33:00):
Telsea Gabbard may have undermined the Trump administration's criminal investigation
of former CI director John Brennan. She revoked the security
clearances of current and former officials who could be called
as potential witnesses in the case. She stripped the clearances
of thirty seven former and current intelligence and national security
officials because she claimed they were manipulating or leaking intelligence,

(33:25):
or were involved in other misconduct. Her office did not,
though properly coordinate the move with other agencies, and the
Justice Department was blindsided. Some of the people targeted by
Gabbard worked in the Obama administration, you see, and that's
why I mentioned it in the same context as the

(33:46):
vengeance tour. They're looking to pull clearances from anyone who
isn't MAGA. Now, so many of these people are Some
of these people at minimum could be possibly called as
witnesses in the government's pro But now these potential witnesses
have been labeled by the Director of National Intelligence is

(34:07):
unreliable and traitorous. That's the reason you pulled their clearance,
and that'll complicate efforts by prosecutors to build a case
against Brennan. How can they be reliable witnesses now, said
one senior official. It's reasonable to assume that these people
would be less inclined to cooperate with prosecutors. So the

(34:28):
collaboration between the Department of Justice and the National Intelligence
Community headed by Tulsea Gabbard, clearly that fell apart. Again
in competence at every level, but the vengeance is the

(34:49):
defining characteristic right. The Epstein discharge petition is likely to
be vogte. Vote it on. You understand, this doesn't mean
they'll be releasing the Epstein files, but it does mean
that they'll be voting on a release. They can force
the vote if you will. Lawmakers in both parties fighting

(35:13):
to force the Trump administration to release all the federal
files on Jeffrey Epstein got closer to their goal this week.
That victory in the special House election in southern Arizona
won by Adelita Grahalva, that sends another Democrat to Capitol Hill,
and that secures the deciding two hundred and eighteenth signature

(35:37):
on this discharge petition designed to compel the Justice Department
to disclose these still concealed documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Grahalvo's endorsement is going to force a House vote, even
though Mike Johnson, Maga, Mike and other GOP leaders who

(35:58):
are siding with President Trump appost this bill and want
to keep the Epstein files secret. So this is very unusual.
By the way, I guess, these discharge petitions are really
not usually successful. But the discharge petition, I'll remind you,

(36:21):
was led by a Republican, Thomas Massey from Kentucky, and
so he's he's a Trump critic, but he's really on
a jihad about the Epstein files. So we'll see if
this actually it will produce a vote, you would think.

Speaker 3 (36:42):
Let me say with Grihalva, now that they have enough
votes and so this thing will move forward. He can't
put this back in the bottle. This Epstein thing is.
It's it's moving. It's a moving train that he cannot stop.

Speaker 1 (36:56):
House Democrats introduce articles of impeachment against rf Yeah, Hailey
Stevens from Michigan, the congress person there, announcing that she
would introduce articles of impeachment. This just happened. We got
off the air yesterday. She's saying healthcare chaos is the

(37:17):
reason she wrote healthcare chaos. Reckless cuts, rising costs, Michiganders
and families across the country are paying the price for
RFK Junior's agenda. Enough is enough, which is why I'm
drafting articles of impeachment against Secretary Kennedy. She's repeatedly called
for Kennedy's removal from his role since he became Health secretary.

(37:42):
So all of these things happen on this Friday, and
doctors are calling for RFK Junior to go. You have
this Instagram post Albert.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
This is pretty powerful. This guy is representing quite the
number of doctors who are saying, listen, what they're doing
is hurting people. This is not based on science or
medicine or helping people. They don't Yeah, they don't want this.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
The doctors of America, let's give it a ride here
you can.

Speaker 8 (38:18):
Specialists, President of the American College of Physicians. Today, the
American College of Physicians, representing over one hundred and sixty
two thousand internal medicine specialists, call upon President Trump and
Congress to remove and replace Robert F. Candy Junior as
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. As

(38:41):
physicians and scientists, we have lost confidence in the Secretary's
ability to perform his duties in this role. He has
spread medical misinformation, he has not relied on science, data,
or evidence, and his actions represent an existential threat by
continuing to undermine the and public health infrastructure and evidence

(39:03):
that we rely on to take care of our patients.
We deserve as secretary who rely on the evidence and
science to make sure we can make the best decisions
for our patients. Our country deserves better.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah, there, it is true. Does feel like that that
pretty well says it, I have an interview upcoming. I
didn't run the Law and Disorder open, did I?

Speaker 2 (39:30):
No, you did. And we have this one last short
video from a previous guest, lawyer Oyer.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
Oh this is super important. I was going to run
it in, but I'm glad we're running it now. I
should have run it a couple of minutes ago, but
we got off on various conversations. So one of my
favorite lawyers is Liz Oyer. She was a former partner
attorney for the United States, and she was another one
who was She resigned because of as you're aware, we

(40:00):
discussed it on the show. She came on as a
guest because of the demands to well for a lot
of things that were going on in terms of pardons.
But also you'll remember she was wrapped up in the
mel Gibson case where mel Gibson wanted a firearm again,
and she was just looking at the facts, going, well,

(40:23):
this person has been convicted of this and this, and
I think it was domestic violence thing. I forget exactly
what the case was with mel Gibson, so apologies for
not remembering that specific. But you can go back and
find the interview that we did here on the show
with Liz, and she said that just I can't approve that.
I mean, I just that's just not the way it works.
You're not allowed to again own a firearm once you've

(40:43):
been convicted of domestic abuse or whatever the charge was.
And so she was let go or forced out by
the Justice Department. They you know, he's a MAGA friend,
and they demanded that he get this firearm permit and
license reinstated, and she said, I won't do it. It

(41:07):
just and she said she resigned over it. I think
that was the thing that maybe was a straw that
broke the Campbell's back. But obviously there was a lot
going on in the Justice Department that she just couldn't countenance.

Speaker 3 (41:16):
So it's interesting is we're going to have her on
the show Monday as well.

Speaker 1 (41:20):
Yeah, she's coming up on Monday, So get your questions
ready for Lizayer. If you have any you can reach them,
reach out to me and send them in at The
Mark Thompson Show at gmail dot com. The Mark Thompson
Show at gmail dot com. But anyway, so I follow
Liz on social I also follow her substack Lawyer Oyer
and here she is weighing in on this moment in

(41:42):
Justice Department history.

Speaker 9 (41:44):
Hey, everybody, remember how I told you that Donald Trump
has forgiven over a billion dollars in debts owed by
millionaires and billionaires convicted of crimes. Well he just added
another eight hundred million dollars to that total. I'm Lizzawyer,
former pardon attorney for the Department of Justice. During the
first months of his presidency, Trump granted clemency to dozens

(42:07):
of people convicted of crimes involving fraud, meaning cheating other
people out of money. Under federal law, those convicted of
fraud are required to repay the money that they stole
from their victims, but not so for those who Trump pardoned.
Donald Trump's pardons had the legal effect of wiping out
the obligation to repay the money. In total, Donald Trump's

(42:31):
pardons have wiped out over one point three billion dollars
in debts owed by wealthy Americans to taxpayers and victims
of crime. These are the receipts that I've showed you previously.
Now Trump has gone a step further. This week, the
Securities and Exchange Commission abandoned civil enforcement actions against three

(42:53):
of Trump's wealthiest pardon recipients. The SEC is a government
agency responsible for protecting investors by filing civil lawsuits against
those who commit fraud, but now under the leadership of
a Trump appointing named Paul Atkins, the SEC is walking
away from those efforts to protect victims of fraud. Here

(43:14):
are the three lucky beneficiaries of Trump's generosity. The first
is Trevor Milton. Milton was convicted of defrauding investors in
his electric car company out of over six hundred million dollars.
Milton got a pardon after he donated millions to Trump
and hired Brad Bondi, the brother of Attorney General Pambondy,

(43:36):
to represent him. Next is Carlos Watson, who cheated investors
in his media company and owed about ninety seven million dollars.
Watson leveraged connections to Trump, including paying a million dollars
to a well connected attorney, And finally, Devin Archer, who
stole money from workers pension funds and a Native American tribe.

(43:59):
Archer owed about sixty million dollars in penalties. He received
a full pardon after he agreed to assist members of
Congress who were investigating Hunter Biden. These three could have
been on the hook for over eight hundred million dollars,
but instead they're walking away scott free thanks to Donald Trump.
In total, adding up the criminal penalties and the potential

(44:21):
civil penalties that Trump has forgiven, the amount is over
two billion dollars. But definitely don't ask Donald Trump to
forgive your student loans.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Wow, that's just so beautiful. She's so good. And you know,
I don't know if anybody out there has been involved
in any kind of investment where it might be a
small business person or it might be a large consortium whatever,
and you're solicited for funding and you're kind of offered
a real business opportunity and it seems right, and check

(44:53):
with people, and then you commit like some big amount
of money, you know, some amount of money. We're not
wealthy people, many of us just you know, we put
what money we think might actually grow and maybe support
a business that we believe in. I did this with
a business that I very much believed in. It was
part of like a message that I thought I wanted

(45:14):
to get out there. And and then it was a
total fraud. And the guy never even filed appropriate tax documentation.
It was even in the New York Times the way
I was defrauded, but I also have been in other
stuff that falls into that category. And when you end
up with a court case where you finally get justice

(45:37):
and the money is going to be paid along with penalties,
and then something like this happens, where the President of
the United States comes along and just pardons them, it's outrageous.
I mean, you feel violated, right, you should. I mean
it was a criminal violation, and yet that's what happens.
I mean, the nation was violated on January sixth, and

(45:59):
those gardens were issued in a truly reckless manner. But
I like the way that Liz adds some specifics to
that which we know is happening. You know, pardons and
justice is really open for business now with this president

(46:21):
in a way even we've never seen it in a
system that's already corrupt, let's face it, but this is
a level of corruption unprecedented in the nation's history. That's
a long disorder.

Speaker 4 (46:33):
Yeah, tune in again next time for more law and disorder.
I'm a Mark Thompson show. All right, that's it, let's roll.

Speaker 10 (46:41):
Hey, let's be careful out there.

Speaker 1 (46:48):
It was so long I couldn't remember if I run
the open or not. So you're saying I did run
the open to lawn disorder.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
That was a long one.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
We have more. There is Law and Disorder Part duh,
Part two. We'll run it in the next hour. I
promise you. It's actually pretty good. And there's actually insanely
significant viral video that's out there now very much related
to law and disorder. It's an ice video, and I'll
show it to you next hour. But right now, I

(47:18):
wanted to get to something else. First of all, is
there anything in the chat I need to attend to
before this interview? I ask you, Kem, Jim, how are you?

Speaker 3 (47:27):
How about this one?

Speaker 1 (47:28):
Nothing here? With a ten dollars super chat says a
potus at the Ryder Cup and Team USA obligated to
react positively the European team quote polite European fans in
the gallery not so much. Oh that's right. I forgot.
He has to deal with the public when he's out

(47:48):
there at the Ryder Cup. Thank you for that. Jim
Slayton with a ten dollars super chat says, I actually
live in Santa Clara. The so called radical left dystopia
that's apparently too dangerous to host FIFA Levi's stadium. Yeah, sure,
nothing could be further from the truth. Is that what
they decided Albert, that FIFA is not going to go
to Levi's stadium because because of the lefties.

Speaker 3 (48:11):
Well, Donald Trump is warning the World Cup Games may
be moved from quote dangerous cities and that includes Seattle
and San Francisco because apparently too dangerous to host the
soccer tournament.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
That is just so gross man, just so only.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
Think dangerous in Santa Clara is the sun. So but that's.

Speaker 1 (48:30):
Literally that's true. You got to see the next stadium.

Speaker 2 (48:35):
The suits reflect the sun and it's it's horrible. But
other than that, there's nothing that is remotely dangerous.

Speaker 1 (48:44):
Albert, thank you. Jim Slayton says with a five dollars
super chest. So the chainsaw your bureaucracy is now the
bailout for Argentina. Yeah, money being er expressed to Argentina.
Jim Slayton also saying I'm trying to construct an enemy's
list and could use guidance. So, oh yeah, everybody should
have an enemy's list now Apparently is that the same

(49:06):
as a retribution list? Or do I have to keep
them separate asking for organizational reasons only. He says, yeah,
that's a great question. These are really the ex's and
o's of the enemies and retribution lists. Louise for the
five dollars super Chat. Happy Friday. It's a great day.
My Dodgers win the West again, and I'm in line

(49:28):
to enter the Ohana Festival grounds in beautiful Doheny State Park.
Come on, that's our luis always doing something fun. Yeah, yeah,
he's always got the glow about him. Candace Worthsman with
a ten dollars supersticker. Candace Pig shout out to you,
Thank you for the supersticker. Very cool of you. Candace.

(49:49):
Tom Graves with the two dollars super chat. Only thing
Trump ever successfully sold was out. I get it, I
get it. Thank you, Tom. Nothing here with a ten
dollars super chat. Wow, thank you guys, appreciate that. What
a great Friday gift writer. TV coverage showed Air Force
one flyover being booed.

Speaker 3 (50:08):
Wow, the flyover was booed. Wow.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
Man, they're booing the flyovers. That's it. I've never seen
anything like him. Yeah. Ron Cook with a twenty dollars supersticker.
Big shot out to Ron Cook, Thank you, Rod, really
do appreciate what a great gift. On a Friday. Eric
Swalwell is the rep from my area, says Janet. Love
how he pushes back. Yeah, he doesn't have quit in him.

(50:33):
He's really something.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
He represents us here in the Union City. Also very
very cool.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
That's right. Union City is a part of his district
as well. Cool cool, cool. So I had a conversation
with the former ambassador to the Holy See the Vatican.
And he's a former congressman too, who served kind of
if you want to think old school Republican would argue

(51:01):
about real policy and uh political philosophy if you want
to think of it that way, or economic philosophy. But
now with Mega having overrun his party, we were curious
to see what his disposition was on that and on
the new American Pope. So on a Friday, we'll give

(51:22):
I just had this conversation what was it two days ago, Kim.

Speaker 10 (51:25):
And.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
I can't believe this. Mark Thompson bongs would be so cool?

Speaker 3 (51:35):
Where are my weed smokers?

Speaker 1 (51:36):
Man from the West four twenty. I'm sorry to interrupt
my intro, but I just yeah, what was I saying? Oh? So,
uh Ambassador Francis Rooney joins us. Now check it out, soul,
the Mark Cumpson show, right on, everybody, right on, thank

(52:02):
you for being here, and it all too appropriate as
you feel it in your soul. Someone who's very close
to the Vatican, very close to that world ambassador to
the Holy See under the Bush administration, he is a
returning contestant, comes back for another round. How about it
for Ambassador Francis Rooney. Everyone, Hello, sir, how are you?

(52:26):
I'm well, how are you doing great? All right, Well,
that's that's everybody I care about for now, so let's
press ahead. I'm super anxious to get your thoughts on
a number of things. I want to get your thoughts
on the relevance of and the importance of and even
the disposition of the new Pope when we get to that,

(52:49):
because that's sort of an area you know so very well.
But because you you know, you served in Congress, and
you as a member of Congress, you know you you
were part of a GOP that feels as though it
might have quacked a little differently than the GOP of today.
I'm curious if you're I'm curious as to your just

(53:10):
general impressions of everything going on today, and your party,
which is control of both houses of Congress, has the
executive branch, and which seem the Supreme Court is dominated
by sort of a GOP disposition. I'd love to know
what your thoughts are on the state of the state.

Speaker 11 (53:26):
Well, I'm not sure that the MAGA group is the
old GOP.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
You're not sure.

Speaker 11 (53:34):
I worked for two bushes. It was an entirely different world.
The constituency of the Republican Party now is a lot
of people that used to be Democrats. The people that
used to be the core of the Republican Party are
flailing around or becoming Democrats. I guess I don't know
what most people are doing. I'm trying to figure out
where this thing's going to go.

Speaker 1 (53:55):
What would you do if you if you were those
people who you talk about, like, I guess you're talking
about the list chainings of the world kind of and me, yeah.

Speaker 11 (54:04):
And you know, the fact is they still need us. Okay,
they have low thirties of hardcore MAGA people, but they
can't get across the finish line in the general without us.
They can win a primary. And that's the unfortunate fact
that it's driving all parties to the extremes. But at
the end of the day, you've got to have the
middle to win in the big election, and that's where

(54:25):
we're going to have our opportunity to speak.

Speaker 1 (54:28):
So of the things that are going on right now,
what is the thing that you find you're bothered by
the most, What shocks you the most?

Speaker 11 (54:36):
What is this a three hour interview or just just
hit the high points?

Speaker 1 (54:40):
That is a lot of sea.

Speaker 11 (54:41):
Chairman said was outrageous. The thought of an FCC chairman
talking about bullying networks to provide content that the FCC
wants is outrageous in our free democracy. Some of the
comments made by other administration officials about prosecuting hate crimes

(55:01):
which are not hate crimes. If you look at Brandenburg
versus Ohio, the standard's very strict. These are very disquieting
to me. I think we're entering kind of I want
to be authoritarian world here.

Speaker 1 (55:15):
The fact that Donald Trump turned early on against the
world of academia, the law, and media. That's sort of
authoritarianism on full view, isn't it It is?

Speaker 11 (55:29):
Of How about a three and a half hour cabinet
meeting on TV that reminds me of a Loew Senior
presidente what Chabez used to do. He used to have
these three hour marathon TV sessions where he would explain
his view of everything. That's what we got going now.

Speaker 1 (55:45):
It's funny that the despot through history can really riff
for hours. Remember the Castro could go on for four
or five hours. They talked about that, and it just
and I'm sorry I put Trump in the same category.

Speaker 11 (55:57):
And well, Eisenhower said, history doesn't repeat itself, but it
can rhyme.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
And it's rhyming now, yeah, And it's not rhyming with
anything that we've seen in America before, is it, Ambassador No.

Speaker 11 (56:08):
I think it's challenging a lot of our fundamental institutions.
I mean the institution of the impartial bureaucracy. Trump's turned
them into demons, the respect for separation of powers. He's
tried to shatter that at every step. Congress is a
willing participant because they're so scared of losing their job
that they've given all their authority away. And I felt

(56:30):
that when I was in Congress too, I said, what
am I doing down here? We don't do anything, We
do whatever someone else tells us to do.

Speaker 1 (56:38):
This is where the traditional GOP of which you're a
part I suppose you just said you were, is finding
itself honestly complicit in what's happening. There were opportunities to
push back against his president, but as you suggested, they
were frightened, they were just scared.

Speaker 11 (56:57):
Well, you look at some really good people in the
leadership now that have generally had different views than Trump.
They're cowering to him. That's like the road to serf him.
Every American should read The Road to Serfdom by Frederick Hayek,
because it happened in Germany, it happened in Russia, and

(57:18):
it can happen here.

Speaker 1 (57:20):
Even the suggestion of kind of the the deal with Ukraine,
the posture toward Ukraine and Russia, feels as though it
has a kind of an appeasement associated with that which
we saw in World War Two at the end, the
primordial ooze of World War Two.

Speaker 11 (57:42):
Well, it's going to take a lot more resources than
anyone's been willing to devote to beat Putin, because he
doesn't care if he kills every living Ukrainian. He just
wants the property. And unless we choke off his economy,
and we've got to get the Europeans to quit buying
his oil and gas. That's the only thing I can
think of that would.

Speaker 10 (58:00):
Help do that.

Speaker 11 (58:02):
He's going to continue to do.

Speaker 1 (58:04):
What he's doing. Why do you suppose that the presidents
had such a friendly posture toward Vladimir Putin and these
clearly expansionist impulses that he has.

Speaker 11 (58:17):
I don't know. There have been a lot of theories
advanced about that. There's been theories advanced that there's certain
personality types that he respects. There's been theories advanced about money.
But at the end of the day, I'll give the
president the benefit of the doubt and say he's trying
to figure out a way out of this, and that
involves appealing to both sides. Give you the benefit of

(58:38):
the doubt. I don't know if it's a case or not,
but we've got to appeal to Putin and Zelenski. They're
going to have to meet in the middle. Russia's not
going to give up the territory they have, and we're
not going to allow Ukraine to get into NATO.

Speaker 1 (58:54):
When it comes to other international relationships, it seems as
though this income administration, just less than a year ago,
was already sort of on an adversarial footing with some
of our longest term allies and trading partners, Canada, Mexico.
There was the tariff policy which seemed to be, you know,

(59:16):
somehow preordained in some way such that you know, one
couldn't even really apply any arithmetic to it. I wonder
if you give me some thoughts on again, the relationships
between America and all of these other countries to which
I've referred sort of that are implied here, and also
the economic viability of what this administration is doing.

Speaker 11 (59:41):
Well, we're hurting some of our best friends, Canada and Mexico,
who with whom we are with geographically and economically, and
they're all doing the things that we have pushed them
to do for the last fifty years. And I can't
see how these tariffs are going to work out. When
we get so many auto parts from Mexico, steel from Mexico,

(01:00:05):
aluminum and building materials from Canada, We're going to start
see those things filter through the cost structure in the
United States, and that's not good. And take poor Vietnam, Okay,
Vietnam picked up the mantle and took over a lot
of offshore manufacturing that we wanted them to take over
to get away from China, and now we're putting tariffs

(01:00:26):
on them.

Speaker 1 (01:00:28):
Well, I'm glad you mentioned Vietnam because I think it's
also an example of the presidents extracting something from Vietnam,
a concession in the way of building the Trump Resort
that they wanted to build there for some time in
return for I mean it was implicit, I suppose for
the lifting of the tariffs. They did this, as you're aware,

(01:00:48):
you know, they move people.

Speaker 11 (01:00:49):
Who were it's a little sad here.

Speaker 1 (01:00:52):
It's a little dirty, yeah, I mean it's I mean,
you worked in Washington and you know that. You know,
politics can be a dirty bitess sort of day to day.
But wouldn't you conceide the dirtiness is now rising to
a level we'd never seen before.

Speaker 11 (01:01:05):
Well, those kind of quid pro quotes are kind of
an all time high. That's ought to be quasi illegal.
But you know, we have a government that has taken
directions that none of us know how to deal with.
It's never been done before. The authoritarian language, the oppression

(01:01:27):
of the bureaucracy, the aggression towards our neighbors and friends,
and at the end of the day, arrists have never worked,
and I can't imagine how they're going to work now
as producers get their distributors and consumers ultimately payful.

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
Now to an area you know so very well also,
and that is the Catholic Church and the new pope
who is an American. Were you surprised by the way,
by the fact that an American was chosen?

Speaker 11 (01:01:58):
Oh, for sure, I never thought they'd an American. Eighty
two percent of all popes have been from Italy, and
really all but about three have been from Europe. There
was one guy from England in the tenth century, and
by and large I thought Pietro Peroline had the inside track.
He was the number two in the secretare of States

(01:02:18):
office that I dealt with when I was ambassador. But
there were three or four other Italians in the running,
and I don't think they could come together around Cardinal Peroline,
and so the momentum shifted to Cardinal Prevost.

Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
The pope is maybe you can describe him For those
of us who don't sort of follow this stuff as closely,
the pope is is what can you describe him? You know,
his posture toward any number of things that crossed the desk.

Speaker 11 (01:02:49):
This particular vote.

Speaker 1 (01:02:50):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 11 (01:02:51):
Oh sure, I know him very well. I've known him
for years. He was head of the Midwest Augustinian Order.
When I was on the board of the of Augustinian
School that all children attended in Tulsa. He came down
to the board meetings every month. No, wow, you know,
have the board meeting, and then we'd have a social night, cocktail,
reception and dinner, etc. And then in two thousand and

(01:03:12):
two I believe maybe three, he became head of all
the Augustinian Order in Rome, and we went over to
see him with the kids. And then in two thousand
and five we moved to Rome to do the ambassador job,
and third night we were there, we had dinner with him.
We had him over to the house all the time
for three years.

Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
So how might he change anything that's the existing Catholic
Church or Catholic doctrine or suggests changes.

Speaker 11 (01:03:37):
I think that he will be much more calm and
judicious than Pope Francis, who could be a little raspy
at times. I think he will be more faithful to
church doctrine than Pope Francis, but he will be also
more focused on the human condition, as Pope Francis was
kind of down the middle.

Speaker 1 (01:03:56):
When you say raspy, that's interesting to me, you mean
or outspoken about certain things going on in the world,
or what do you mean by rashby.

Speaker 11 (01:04:05):
Oh Pope Francis, Well, what did he say all these
things about the United States, about migrants, about the evil
of not dealing with migrants? He used expressive language.

Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
Put it that way.

Speaker 11 (01:04:16):
I think you'll see Pope Leo being more judicious in
his phraseology.

Speaker 1 (01:04:21):
It's more style than a change disposition towards those issues.

Speaker 11 (01:04:25):
No Pope is going to not seek better treatment of
at risk, marginalized migrant people. That's their job and they should.
And I think he'll do it in a more effective manner,
perhaps in Pope Francis. And he's already started that talking
about some of the evils of the immigration activity that

(01:04:46):
we're doing in the United States right now.

Speaker 1 (01:04:49):
And when you say effective, you mean that he could
actually help produce change or what?

Speaker 11 (01:04:55):
Yeah, fine, I think people will. His message will resonate
better with people than being marked at. You know, if
he says you know that these are human beings too,
and yes they're here illegally and they need to be
vetted instead of just saying, oh, the United States is
a criminal country because it's rounding up immigrants. And I

(01:05:19):
think that there's room in there that he might be
able to actually improve the plight of some illegal aliens
in the United States who have clean records by his pronouncements.
And I hope so, because we need the workers. The
math doesn't work in the US without them.

Speaker 1 (01:05:35):
This is the ridiculousness of the policy because it's about
to turn the American economy along with the tariffs, on
its side. And my judgment, now, you can help me
with something as someone who's far more learned in these
areas of religion, and you'll pardon me, because I don't
mean to fold something that is quite well advertised right

(01:05:55):
now on social media there. Maybe you've heard about this.
The rapture is coming, and so they have specific dates
for it. Now, I wonder if you can remind me
just and again, the rapture is the end times, right,
Isn't that the and And maybe that's not part of
the of Catholicism.

Speaker 11 (01:06:13):
It's not Catholic, but it's evangelical. And there's a lot
of evangelicals that want to go sit up on top
of some mountain somewhere and await the rapture.

Speaker 1 (01:06:22):
Okay, I see, Okay, Well, it's interesting to me that
it's become so much a part of mainstream social media.
I guess it's a story end times, you know, gets
a couple of clicks, So maybe that's why it lives,
you know, so prominently on social media. But it's interesting
to me that religion generally, I think, and even the

(01:06:43):
message of Christ, I would say, and those religions that
I would associate with Christianity are being reconstituted all the time.
And even as this new crew comes to power. I'm
talking about the Maga world, it seems to be defined
in some ways by a religiosity that isn't a Catholic,

(01:07:05):
and it isn't even a Christian. They even suggest Jesus
his message isn't necessarily extreme enough in some cases as
they would like to see. And it's an odd thing
to hear from so many.

Speaker 11 (01:07:19):
Yeah, I think they're kind of radical evangelicals. And I
don't know where the message comes from, if it's based
in any kind of scripture or anything like that. But
I do know that since Pope Leo became Pope hits
on Vatican Internet sites, and interest in the Vatican is
up a lot. A lot of young people have expressed

(01:07:40):
interest in Pope Leo and his talking. You know, the
JumboTron he did at White Sox Park attracted millions of viewers,
and so if he can enthuse these young people about
Catholicism and about religion in general, that's a really good thing.

Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
Hope, Leo. Good for the brand, is what you're telling
me is totally massad. I love our chats brief as
they are, appreciate you coming through, and I look forward
to the next time.

Speaker 11 (01:08:06):
Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
Okay, all the best, Ambassador Francis roumy other day right,
loving it, loving it, loving it. Wow, We've got a
lot more to go. We've covered a bunch. We covered
the Komi stuff in the first half hour. The weaponization

(01:08:28):
of the Justice Department on the level we've really never
seen before. You've got the FBI, of course, weaponized under
cash Betel. I don't know if anybody saw much of this,
and I've had a debate as to whether or not
I was even going to address it today, and I
may address it with video documentation on Monday. I have
to be sort of careful about how we do it.
And that is the the narrative that's growing up around

(01:08:53):
the Charlie Kirk murder and the Charlie Kirk assassination and
whether or not this tyler is it Richardson or Robertson,
whether that kid actually committed the murder, or if it
was a shot from a different place, And there were

(01:09:13):
these ballistics experts and firearms experts, and most of this
is based on what I've seen from those who are
firearm enthusiasts and those who kind of have a lot
of history with firearms, who have looked at the video
and the narrative and sort of suggested doesn't line up.

(01:09:37):
So there's plenty of this stuff out there. If you
want to find it, and that intrigues you, you can
certainly find it. And what I'm going to try to
do over the weekend is distill it, you know, grab
a little bit of video here, a little bit of
video there. And I also have to be very careful
because of course you're dealing with a horrible incident that
is pretty hard to watch and will likely end up

(01:10:00):
you know, getting us whatever. We can't show it to you,
but that said, it's interesting to see the way in
which there is a conspiracy narrative, just to state it bluntly,
that's growing around the Charlie Kirk murder. So that will

(01:10:22):
likely get to on a Monday. But the reason I
mentioned it in the context of the weaponization of the
justice environment. The FBI, of course under Cash Patel is
very much on the same jihad that Donald Trump is on,
going after the enemy's list that Patel has melded in
some way with the enemy's list that Trump has, and

(01:10:43):
they are involved in the Kirk investigation as well, and
they want to knock down any kind of conspiracy theory,
you know. The Patel is sort of like, I'm here,
I'm handling the investigation and everything. So he's sort of
that like that peacocking around the investigation that we heard,
and so he wants to knock this down. And so

(01:11:04):
as I look at the narrative and conspiracy theory associated
with it might be not the way the FBI is
saying it was. I'm nudged toward conspiracy theory by the
fact that Patel, who is I think an you know,
a liar on almost everything. He's so wedded to the

(01:11:27):
story we heard that it's this. You can see the guy, uh,
you know what, He dismantled the rifle four times and
then left the assembled rifle there at the scene or
in the woods. I mean, as you check off on
the specifics, they they don't seem to necessarily track with

(01:11:50):
a linear theory of things. On the other hand, the
narrative around the actual shooter does seem to support or
the notion that he was the guy. So I'm you know,
I'm being tugged back and forth on this thing. But
I do find this stuff intriguing, and so I'll share
a little bit of it with you on Monday. These

(01:12:12):
conspiracy theories are just ridiculous, says CC writer. Tyler told
his dad dad went to youth pastor. Tyler's dad would
not turn son and if someone else did it, sick
of this crap. Oh there you go, all right? I
think CC writer maybe right, And then she gave me
another uh and uh, let me see, I thought I
said something else from CC writer like Mark here it

(01:12:34):
is Mark, love you buddy, But please do not say sorry,
but Trump this is a reflexive move by Democrats. Unwind this.
No need to apologize for reporting facts about Trump. Stop this,
do you know what she's saying? Or it's CC Writer's
a woman, right, I think? So, yeah, what do I

(01:12:57):
do reflexively? That's a that I need to unwined.

Speaker 3 (01:13:01):
I don't think. I don't think you need to unwind it.
I think it's just a way of speaking. Will you say,
you know, sorry but Trump and then insert.

Speaker 1 (01:13:10):
Fact I see, yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, but Trump is
turning the White House into a Middle Eastern palace like that,
I would say that or sorry, but Trump has turned
the Justice Department into his home. On the retribution, I
should say.

Speaker 3 (01:13:26):
No need to apologize first, just say.

Speaker 1 (01:13:28):
It, but you know you speech. I'm sure I do
a lot of other things that are rhetorical crutches that
drive people crazy. They drive me crazy when I'm watching
back or listening back, I go on, why do I
say it like that?

Speaker 3 (01:13:39):
You know who doesn't drive me you don't drive crazy?
Is Kasuki Kosuke?

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
Come on, Kasuki Warner. Wow, that is a huge, huge
donation of the show. Fifty bucks, big shout out, what Kisuki?
What is the twenty two?

Speaker 3 (01:14:00):
I don't know?

Speaker 1 (01:14:02):
You see it there right? It says twenty two.

Speaker 3 (01:14:03):
It says twenty two.

Speaker 1 (01:14:04):
Yeah, any insights on that? No, I have nothing. She
liked twenty two? What is that? From? What movie? Is
the line she like twenty two? From anybody? She like?
Twenty two? Is what? From one of my favorite films ever?
From one of my favorite people? Drawing breath and Kisuki

(01:14:27):
has drawn attention to twenty two the number she like
twenty two. I am guessing that no one in the chat.
They're about one thousand people watching right now live. Twenty
two is fifty percent of forty four. Taylor's very called

(01:14:48):
back two.

Speaker 3 (01:14:49):
That's called twenty two.

Speaker 1 (01:14:50):
Catch twenty two. It's not the answer, Uh, city girls, No,
it's a movie. It's a movie.

Speaker 3 (01:15:02):
Were you in it?

Speaker 1 (01:15:03):
No? It was before I was in. I've begun my
distinguished motion picture career. It is the movie directed by
Albert Brooks. It is the movie in which he as
the lead character and his wife they check out of

(01:15:27):
society with their nest egg and they go to live
off the grid, if you will, But they stop first
in Las Vegas, and while he's sleeping, his wife sneaks
down to the casino with all of their money, over

(01:15:48):
one hundred thousand dollars, their nest egg yes, ba Ware's
got it. Lost in America is the name of the movie.
And she loses everything in Room life and she's betting
twenty two and she's yelling, come on twenty two, twenty

(01:16:08):
two two two two twenty two. And as she's dragged
away from the table having lost everything, they cut to
this older Asian man who's smoking a cigarette and he
just looks up and he says, he just looks over
toward Albert Brooks's character and says she liked twenty two,

(01:16:35):
And it just is a great moment in that film.
I recommend that movie. Yeah, I saw that movie. And
they ask for their money back exactly, they ask for
their money back. It's a very famous scene that follows
that scene immediately in which they ask for their money back.
And that's pretty terrific anyway, that's what made me think

(01:16:56):
of it. Keisuki, thank you for your contribution to the show,
and a big shout out to you. I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (01:17:03):
Can I give you a compliment?

Speaker 1 (01:17:05):
What's that? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:17:07):
You know, I know you'd like a nice compliment. That
interview that you did with Ambassador Francis Rooney gave me
hope because I really love the way that two people
that come from such opposing viewpoints really found ways to
agree on things.

Speaker 1 (01:17:25):
Yeah, I mean it's a throwback. You know, it's a
throwback to a time when you know, there was you know,
my distinguished colleague from Alabama leaves out the fact that
people depend on Medicaid for you know, et cetera. Right,
you don't find it anymore, you find you know, that's

(01:17:47):
now you'd you'd hear, of course, the liberals, with their
radical left philosophy, they want to turn this country into
a socialist empire. You know, you hear that, And uh,
I believe the discourse has been so corrupted that it's
very hard to find that kind of exchange of ideas
that you're talking about. So I thank you, but I

(01:18:09):
feel as you're you're talking to an old schooler, you know,
in Francis Rooney. We'll get a new schooler on here,
and let's see how, you know, how civil it is now.
I'm pretty civil. I'm not like a flamethrower. So maybe
that's a way in which you can.

Speaker 3 (01:18:27):
But you have a guy in him who I mean
obviously served in the House as a Republican, who is
an ambassador under a Republican administration who can meet you
and talk about how One of the things he said
is we need these workers immigrants that are being you know,
taken away in horrible ways. He said, we need those workers. Yeah,

(01:18:52):
he said Trump is not good for America.

Speaker 1 (01:18:54):
Oh well, I mean and he knows. Yeah, I take
your point. He knows what he sees. I mean, there's
and I think he's a smart guy. Francis Rooney is
a very smart guy. So I think the obviousness of
what's happening in Washington now in this administration is something
that's undeniable. Now. The only way you deny it is
if you're a Marco Rubio type thing, you have a

(01:19:16):
you're playing the game. I mean there is or Scott Bessant,
or a lutnik or these guys are so compromised they've
just sold their souls. So they know they have to
sing from the hymnal. Their political lives and maybe their
physical lives depend on it. And there's a lot of
real fear in the MAGA community in Washington that if

(01:19:39):
they don't walk in lockstep, that they literally could have
a problem with magnation and in some way, as this
political violence becomes something that is more relevant to the discourse.
They could end up, you know, in a very bad place. So,

(01:20:00):
but I think he's a fundamentally civil guy. Yeah, and
a very smart man, so.

Speaker 3 (01:20:06):
And reasonable, And I just it makes me think about
how we can get back to this place where in
order to be a Republican or a conservative, it doesn't
mean you have to be maga. And how to convince
mega people to go back to their you know, their
conservative ideals that may be rooted in common sense and

(01:20:27):
instead of this blind following of Trump which leads to
constitutional turmoil.

Speaker 1 (01:20:34):
Well, the wild thing is to watch them twist themselves
into nots trying to justify and explain everything from tariffs
to the weaponization of the FCC to the weaponization of
the Justice Department. I mean, it's a wild thing to
see this country is quickly turning into a Magastan. Yeah,

(01:20:58):
I don't disagree. I mean, I think it's there. The
Mark Thompson Show is Mark Thompson Show brings me some comfort,
says Mike and Willow Glenn, comfort and stability during these
troubling times. Thank you so much. That's so lovely. Thank you,
and I thank you. Kim for that. I also, if

(01:21:20):
I just want to remind you of what a message is,
have a second law and disorder. That's right. It happens rarely,
but it is not unprecedented. This is part deh law
and disorder in the criminal justice system.

Speaker 5 (01:21:38):
The people hemps, addicts, thieves, bums, linels, girls who can't
keep on address, and men who don't.

Speaker 6 (01:21:44):
Care are represented by two separate and equally important groups.

Speaker 5 (01:21:47):
Copp a flat foot, a bullet, Dick John Law, You're
the fuzz, the heat, You're poison, your trouble, your bad news.

Speaker 1 (01:21:52):
These are their stories. Americans, Americans traveling to most of Europe,
you are now going to have fingerprints scanned. It's a
new regulation set to take effect soon. The change comes
as the European Union rolls out its new entry exit

(01:22:15):
system for not just Americans but all visitors from outside
Europe's Shenjen area. That's the countries that allow people in
the zone to travel across borders freely without going through
custom checks. This is all since you know, the European
nations got together the EU. The new system is going
to be introduced gradually over a roughly six month period

(01:22:35):
starting October twelfth. It will eventually replace passport stamps. According
to the EU, SO, in addition to the fingerprints scan,
the fingerprint scan and being photographed, Americans will have to
provide details from their passports, like their full name and
date of birth. The system will also collect when and
where they're entering and leaving the EU. US citizens traveling

(01:22:58):
to most European countries should expect new automated border checks
and to have their bio data digitally collected upon arrival
and departure. According to our State Department, this is a
sign of the times. It is technology meeting the freedom

(01:23:18):
of travel, and that's I think really the way the
whole world is going to be going.

Speaker 3 (01:23:25):
So what happens then when we give them our fingerprints
in order to get into the European Union? Does it
do it? Is it kept in some Interpol database? What
happens to it?

Speaker 1 (01:23:36):
It probably is kept in a database, without question. I
don't know if it would be an Interpol database. Interpol
is a law enforcement arm of the international community that
has sort of a loose relationship and reciprocal relationship with
a lot of different countries. But it wouldn't surprise me

(01:23:59):
if it ended up in or poll database. Of some kind,
or if at least inner poll could ask for a
fingerprint match.

Speaker 3 (01:24:07):
You know, it seems kind of invasive to you just
to travel.

Speaker 1 (01:24:13):
No it doesn't. I mean really no, it doesn't.

Speaker 3 (01:24:16):
I don't give my fingerprints to someone. What are they
going to ask for DNA next?

Speaker 1 (01:24:19):
Well, I mean DNA might be more invasive, but fingerprints,
I don't know. Maybe it should bother me. It doesn't.
I mean, does giving your passport bother you?

Speaker 3 (01:24:34):
I guess not because it's not like a you know,
part of my actual I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:24:41):
Well, there's a lot of information on your passport. I mean,
you know who you are, where you come from. There's
a lot of information on that.

Speaker 3 (01:24:50):
So that's a taking part of my physical attributes. I
don't know. It just that bothers me.

Speaker 2 (01:24:55):
It feels like immigration in other countries. You do take
your photo too, and the uh they do match it
with your passport, so they do have some information.

Speaker 1 (01:25:04):
Yeah, I mean you have to biometric. I mean they're
not they're not. They're not asking you for a rectal exam.
It's just it's just your fingerprints.

Speaker 3 (01:25:13):
It feels like you're being arrested, take your picture and
print you and book you come on.

Speaker 1 (01:25:17):
I mean, maybe that's the way it feels to you,
to me, if you can make the whole process go more,
if you can make the whole process go more quickly.
I mean, you've gone, you've traveled internationally. The whole thing
is incredibly lengthy oftentimes, and particularly Albert, you know, you
go to Asia, you know this, you know, going to Vietnam,
going to many of these Asian countries, it just feels

(01:25:40):
like it feels like there's just a glut of people.
And by the way, to be fair to Asia, the
same thing. And when you come back to the United
States of America, they are these long lines to get through.
Now I have Global Entry. Now global Entry works on
retinal scan I think, and also fingerprints, and you get
right through. It's crazy. You literally, I think, don't even
have to go to a kiosk. It spots you and

(01:26:03):
can let you through. So my view is, hey, man,
you want my fingerprints, fine, I mean, I'm not doing
anything wrong. And as Albert says, there's enough in there.
I get it. Kim. It might feel a little you know,
creepy or like big brothery, but the reality is it's
just a technology that is caught up to what was

(01:26:24):
a paper technology before.

Speaker 3 (01:26:25):
I love Rick who says you'll have to enter countries
like Jason Bourne. Yeah, on the back of some boat,
shivering under a blanket.

Speaker 2 (01:26:32):
Maybe they think we're all a bunch of Jason Bourne's though, Kim.
They see all the crime and all the guns here,
and they don't want us to go to their country.
They want to make sure if we do try to
that kind of American stuff over there. They want to
know who's coming in and out.

Speaker 1 (01:26:44):
Yeah, Kim being asked why she and her family are
traveling in the bowels of a fishing boat. We didn't
want Mom didn't want to give up fingerprints, and that's
why we're doing this. Wow.

Speaker 3 (01:26:58):
As does biometric use your finger to open your phone?
You can guess who has your print.

Speaker 1 (01:27:03):
Now, Kim doesn't. Kim's not about it. I blame you,
all right, not about it. It's ridiculous, I meantime. I mean,
could it be used in bad ways, of course, But
I just feel as though it's a sign of the times.
So that Louisville factory that had a bunch of workers

(01:27:29):
who had questionable legal status in this country. It's a
ge appliances plant. They have five thousand workers including I
guess this place makes they make two million dishwashers a year. Yeah, yeah,

(01:27:51):
I mean it's big, like they have a lot of
kitchen appliance stuff. Every fifteen seconds per line there's a
dishwasher coming off the line, not anymore than near it,
but nearly one hundred and fifty workers Back in May,
mostly Cuban immigrants, were laid off. This after the Trump
administration abruptly changed their legal immigration status. And that was

(01:28:13):
something again that happened overnight, so they were there legally,
but all of a sudden their status changed. It was
a Biden era parole program and it temporarily protected roughly
half a million Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans from the
risk of deportation. Will Christy nom the Homeland Security Secretary,

(01:28:35):
moved to terminate that program back in March. A lower
court temporarily halted the end of the program. Then the
Supreme Court in May allowed the administration to move forward
with its plan to terminate that program while the rest
of the legal battle played out. That's the weird thing.
We talked about it with David Katz, where the Supreme
Court says, okay, go ahead. You can change the status

(01:28:56):
of these people instead of just enjoining or stopping any
change for that moment, putting a stay on any change,
I guess is the legal term. And anyway, these people
have their status changed. And the Department of Homeland Security
began delivering notices via email and forming recipients living in

(01:29:17):
the US under this program that their permission to remain
in the US had been rescinded. They were told to
leave the country and they had to get rid of
all of these people. At this GE plant that is
making two million dishwashers a year, we're still short of people.
We still are training people every day on the job,

(01:29:40):
said Nathan Schultz, who works there at the plant in Louisville.
They put us on overtime from that point to the
beginning of the year. It's more pressure on everybody, they said.
And into the world of bizarro Trump economics. Trump is

(01:30:01):
now imposing import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, kitchen cabinets, furniture,
and heavy trucks. The one hundred percent import tax on
pharmaceutical drugs is associated with demanding that these pharmaceutical companies

(01:30:24):
have factories in America, there's a fifty percent tax on
kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, thirty percent on upholstered furniture,
and twenty five percent on heavy trucks. All of this
starts October first. The deal is that the additional tariffs

(01:30:49):
are going to, of course intensify inflation that's already going up.
And Trump is saying that the pharmaceutical tariffs would not
apply to companies that are building manufacturing plants in the
United States already. He defined that as either breaking ground
or being under construction. It was unclear how the tariffs

(01:31:10):
wort apply to companies that already have factories in the US.
In twenty twenty four, America imported nearly two hundred and
thirty three billion dollars in pharmaceutical and medicinal products. That's
according to the Census Bureau. The prospect of prices doubling
for some medicines may affect people's disposition towards this President.

(01:31:35):
I mean, you've got Medicare and Medicaid beginning to become
eroded at best, and now you have an environment in
which we're already paying the highest drug prices in the world,
and you may double those drug prices. Although I leave

(01:31:56):
all percentages to teach your LORI on this. Oh, but
one hundred percent I think is double. Trump said that
foreign manufacturers of furniture and cabinatry were flooding the United
States with their products and that tariffs have to be
applied for nationalis This is a quote. It's a classic
Trump quote, for national security and other reasons. The new

(01:32:20):
tariffs on cabinatry could further increase the cost for home
builders at a time when a lot of people that
are trying to buy a house and they feel priced
out by the mixing of housing shortages and high mortgage rates.
Trump saying that foreign made heavy trucks and parts are
hurting domestic producers. Large truck companies, manufacturers like Peter Built, Kenworth, Freightliner,

(01:32:42):
Mac Trucks, and others will be protected from the onslaught
of outside interruptions, according to Trump. The president continues to
claim that inflation is no longer a challenge for the
US economy, despite evidence to the contrary that consumer price
index has increased about three percent over the past twelve months,
up from an annual pace of two point three. It

(01:33:04):
was two point nine. To be fair, about it from
two point three, when Trump first started all of this madness. Also,
there's no evidence that the tariffs are creating factory jobs
or more construction or factory facilities are being laid out
in any kind of way that's going to matter. Since April,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, where we've already fired somebody

(01:33:24):
who gave the bad news once to Trump, has reported
that manufacturers cut forty two thousand jobs, builders have downsized
by eight thousand, and the royal family from Abu Dhabi
will take steak in TikTok. What yeah, MGX is shared

(01:33:47):
by Sheikh Tanun.

Speaker 3 (01:33:50):
Why does that feel like some underhanded backroom secret, illegal deal.

Speaker 1 (01:33:54):
Because it is an underhanded, back room secret deal. That's why.
All right, yeah you guessed Kim Sodi Rabia pas cash,
you can play for the big money. The Abu Dhabi
royal family is going to take a fifteen percent steak
in TikTok's US business. Donald Trump signed an executive order

(01:34:20):
brokering this deal, valuing the social media company at fourteen
billion MGX is this fund shared by Sheik Tannun bin
Zaid Yagayan. That's great and will take a fifteen percent
steak and gain a board seat. When TikTok Us is
now spun out. As you know, Larry Ellison's Oracle, the

(01:34:41):
private equity group Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX then
would control about forty five percent of TikTok Us, and
American companies are expected to control just over sixty five
percent of the company when all is said and done.
And I will remind you something we reported on earlier
in the week. The other investors now who are being

(01:35:02):
granted ownership in TikTok are the computer pioneer Michael Dell
and Rupert Murdoch, among others. So it has TikTok been
something that has been a very should I say desirable

(01:35:23):
brand to be part of. The algorithm is key, and
the algorithm is what the whole thing is. But what
you now have is a delivery of TikTok to the
hands of the super rich, and it increases the footprint
of the super rich when it comes to media control,
this is something I talk about all the time. You know,
you're seeing very few people and very few companies in

(01:35:48):
control of a lot of information and a lot of media.
That's only a bad thing.

Speaker 3 (01:35:56):
Where we said it's going to be an authoritarian's dream
to have with X and TikTok controlled by maga billionaires.

Speaker 1 (01:36:03):
Well, think about that. You've got Musk, Ellison, Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos.
They control everything. I mean, they commit their money to
media because this is a way to control information and
it's a way to increase their riches. We just finished
the Amazon lawsuit settlement this week. They have to pay

(01:36:27):
two and a half billion dollars to settle a legit
claim that they were foisting on many who were Amazon
members the Prime membership and if you wanted to get
out of Prime, it was almost impossible. It was thirteen
clicks and wasn't it in multiple screens you had to
go through. It was so bad that they sued and

(01:36:50):
they won against Amazon. They've got some pretty good lawyers.
So what you now have is continued control of the
the world of media from a handful of people. It
is not good. I mean, what's happening at the La
Times owned by their billionaire, and the Washington Post owned

(01:37:13):
by their billionaire, and all these media chains, Sinclair, next Star.
This is the rise of right wing dominance through those
that have all the money. So media consolidation is that
thing which I've been sounding the alarm on since the nineties.
When all of this happened, they released the number of

(01:37:36):
stations that you could own. It used to be seven
owned stations, So the Foxes, the ABC's of the world,
they could only own seven stations, and they let that go,
and they allowed the ownership of both a newspaper and
a television and radio station in the same market that
used to be prohibited. Then they released even the number

(01:38:00):
of stations. They increase the number of stations, who want
to think of it that way, the number of stations
that these companies could own, and that's how you end
up with Sinclair and next Aar are basically controlling everything,
or even an iHeartMedia or all the They just the
the growth. And if you're these companies, I don't blame them.
You know you can do it. They'll let you buy

(01:38:20):
up all of these stations. You're essentially buying up the
power to reach all of America. But from an information
and news standpoint, you have all the control. You have
all control of media and entertainment and a handful of
people's hands. Not a good thing. That's law and disorder.

Speaker 4 (01:38:41):
Tune in again, next time for more law and disorder.
I'm a Mark Thompson show.

Speaker 1 (01:38:46):
All right, that's it, let's roll.

Speaker 10 (01:38:48):
Hey, let's be careful out there.

Speaker 1 (01:38:56):
I know what you're saying. You're saying, Friday, fabulous Florida.
Where is it? Mm hmm? Forget it? It's done. No no, no, no, no,
no no no no oh no no no no. I
would never do it. I'm not even gonnaut. This is bad.
You've got to snyder culture blaster. Yes, sir, you're out.

(01:39:17):
Get your culture in your blast and get the hell
out of here. You're done. There's no time for you.
There's no You're done.

Speaker 6 (01:39:23):
By the way, by the way, talk to me that way,
just so, just so people know, I'm not that other Michael.
I'm just saying you remember that other Michael.

Speaker 1 (01:39:32):
No, I don't. Okay, fine, are you sure? Are you sure?
Who's the other Michael? Michael? Sure? Never? Oh Michael, sure,
I get it. You should have another cup of Coachella
Valley coffee like I'm having it. You are having it,
and it is pretty great. I'll tell you. It's particularly fabulous.
In these mugs.

Speaker 6 (01:39:54):
Mine is in the born to peacefully protest mug A
new mugs Mark's merch.

Speaker 1 (01:40:00):
Yeah, this is peacefully resists this. This mug is beautiful
with it's with the yeah. Snyder has one with the
yeah the traditional logo on one side, which is the
logo looks like that behind me. Anyway, if you want one,
get to get mark March dot com. But if you
want the coffee that goes in the mugs, Oh, Coachella
Valley Cooffee dot com, use our discount code mark t

(01:40:22):
at checkout and you'll get ten percent off anything. You
can't talk like that to the Blaster, says Cassendra.

Speaker 2 (01:40:29):
The Blaster did great last week chiming in during Friday
Fabulous Florida.

Speaker 1 (01:40:34):
Yeah, you are going to be You're going to be
called upon to chime in again on our Friday Fabulous
Florida segment. This is a segment that we brought from
the radio. When this show started, it was a radio
offering and we had a very popular segment called Friday
Fabulous Florida. We still have a popular segment and it's

(01:40:55):
still called Friday Fabulous Florida, and now we do it
at this point before it's kind of the end of
the week, before the Blaster comes on the culture Blaster
give us all the news about movies and about entertainment streaming.
So without any further delay, let's do it. This is
Friday Fabulous Florida.

Speaker 4 (01:41:14):
It's time for a Friday Fabulous Florida.

Speaker 7 (01:41:18):
Is a alligator.

Speaker 2 (01:41:22):
In my kitchen?

Speaker 4 (01:41:24):
A look at the weirdest stories from our weirdest state.

Speaker 1 (01:41:30):
A Florida woman sprays a man with silly string, throws
the empty can at his head. This is all at
a This is all I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:41:44):
It sounds like fun and games until the can comes
whizzing by your scalp.

Speaker 1 (01:41:48):
Yes, thank you. I mean this is at a restaurant,
I think is what I was looking to see. It's
at Penelas Park, Florida's favorite restaurant. I believe a woman
facing criminal charges the Panela's Park police, saying she used
something meant for fun, silly string, to attack a man
at a restaurant. And then Crystal Watts, who's forty eight

(01:42:09):
years old, seen here having a run out of silly string.
And now just all about personal charisma showing a I
don't think she's kind of cute.

Speaker 2 (01:42:21):
Now it kind of looks like pee wee herman.

Speaker 3 (01:42:23):
Somehow she's really she's very high eyebrows.

Speaker 6 (01:42:28):
Are we sure it's silly string? This is a restaurant,
is it not? Lingueni, Come on, tell me.

Speaker 1 (01:42:32):
Exact No, that would be that, and that that is
something that has been a part of stories before. Throwing
pasta is very popular in Florida.

Speaker 3 (01:42:40):
She has no vowels on her first name, and I'm
I'm I'm bothered by that.

Speaker 1 (01:42:45):
The wise working like a vowel. I mean, you do
not have to be so tough on her. Kim is
so tough. No, no, no, girl on girl crime is
my fly.

Speaker 3 (01:42:55):
Favorite looking face.

Speaker 1 (01:42:56):
And this is pretty funny. She's named k r y
s t L crystal that way without the Okay, I
can't help Ellen degenerous. That's a great call, love. I
can't help but think that crystals involve somehow. No, Crystal
myth is the other great The lette has crystal myth.

(01:43:18):
K r y s t a L myth. That's just
so great. Oh, you guys are so funny. I am
going to give you just the facts of the case.
She uh attacked uh this guy with the silly strings,
sprayed him there at the O. C. C. Roadhouse and

(01:43:39):
threw the empty can at his head caused a laceration
to his forehead. He uh, he was gonna be okay.
I think the laceration isn't going to cause any permanent damage,
but she may be permanently damaged from this situation. She's
hauled away on a misdemeanor bat recharge and she's cooling

(01:44:01):
her heels there in the in the wherever you cool
your heels? The who the the the heel cooling place,
the who's gal. That's exactly the word I was looking for.
Thank you. In Florida, meth tanks.

Speaker 2 (01:44:17):
The use of the silly string. It's kind of like
a like a Looney Tunes Tom and Jerry, kind of
like distraction to try.

Speaker 1 (01:44:24):
It is true. It feels cartoonish. Yes. A Florida woman
insisting she's Trump's wife is busted trying to get into
mar Lago. I love it.

Speaker 3 (01:44:36):
Does she look like Melania.

Speaker 1 (01:44:38):
Well uh maybe yeah, exactly. A Florida woman Trump's Trump's
ex wife now, the one who passed away. A Florida
woman who keeps claiming she's married to President Trump has
been arrested while trying to get into his mar Lago estate.
Christy Renee Krimble Kimbrel, forty nine. She's contended for the

(01:44:59):
last several months that she's actually Christy renee Trump, and
that she recently tied the knot with the forty seventh
president wife number four. She was arrested when Palm Beach
cops were alerted to an unwanted guests. The unwanted guest
who wanted to drop off a letter to Trump around
midday US set idea, but it just might well, yeah,

(01:45:23):
why not, she's at best seven. I only go out
with tens. She was arrested. Secret Service flagged her and
apparently she wanted to meet with the president. According to
Secret Service, when asked for identification, she had nothing to

(01:45:46):
offer beyond claiming that she'd recently changed her last name
to Trump because she had married the commander in chief.

Speaker 3 (01:45:53):
Wow, she needs She's a really pretty lady. She needs though,
if she really wants to be fitting in with the
Trump ladies, she's getting it a lot more makeup and
a sneer on her face.

Speaker 1 (01:46:04):
No, no, she needs filler. Come on, Kim, she needs filler.
You're right though, she's not bad, but she cleans up
real well. And finally, Florida authorities find a fourteen foot
slithering danger near a busy road. That's right. It was
the invasive species of snake, the Burmese python, fourteen feet long.

(01:46:32):
There was a report from a construction crew that had
spotted this gigantic snake near their work site. According to
the cops, authorities responded to the snake sighting and Pine Crest.
This is a village roughly eleven miles southwest of Miami.
They found this fourteen foot Burmese python right there at
the scene and right there along US ninety eight. There

(01:46:58):
they have it. You can see the the substantial looking
I like how the cops are all like now, they're
used to this, you know what I mean. They're used
used to handling these weird things the Florida that you know,
komodo dragon or the snake, whatever it is. The invasive
species posted a serious threat to Florida's native wildlife thanks

(01:47:20):
to the quick action of those in the community. According
to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, the Burmese python is
not native to the state. They originate from areas in India, China,
and Southeast Asia. They spread through Florida through the exotic
pet trade. So that is I'm sure, they're going to

(01:47:42):
rehome that creature, but not in the wild now. So
with that, we must pick a favorite. It's either the
Florida woman spraying the silly string and then throwing the
empty can at the guy's head during an attack at
a restaurant. The Florida woman insisted that she's here to
see her husband, Donald Trump, only no one has ever

(01:48:06):
seen her before. She's insisting, however, that she had married
Donald Trump and that she wants to get into mar
Lago to see him, and the Florida authorities finding the
fourteen foot slithering danger near that busy road. We must
pick a favorite first. I'm curious. Yeah, a lot of

(01:48:27):
people like Crystal Meth. Yeah, because of that kryst. It's
just so good. It writes itself, doesn't it. Some I
don't see anybody for anything else but the Trump second wife,
Oh Trump's second wife. Yeah, yeah, there you go, gone
fishing like silly string, Allen, silly string, Ellen, I love that.

(01:48:51):
What's your favorite?

Speaker 6 (01:48:52):
Michael Steyner, Well, I would maybe have gone for the
python if the cops had named it Monty.

Speaker 1 (01:48:57):
I would have really enjoyed that immensely. I get it
my python. Yeah, and as.

Speaker 6 (01:49:01):
Far as this is Trump, the fourth Missus Trump, anything
having to do with Donald Trump mildly nauseates me. So
I'm going for the silly string because the word silly
is always engaging, and this woman is clearly a lunatic.

Speaker 1 (01:49:13):
All right, silly string, how about you.

Speaker 3 (01:49:16):
Kim I. I'm definitely with the silly string lady. And
I love Heather's Ellen.

Speaker 1 (01:49:24):
That is very funny. I agree, Albert. What was what
was the win in the chat?

Speaker 2 (01:49:31):
Yeah, everybody loves uh loves the Ellen knockoff. I think
that is the obvious choice this week. I think just
the look, just the lack of vowels, the creativity in
the chat, It's just obvious.

Speaker 1 (01:49:44):
Tea Ellen is the winner. And that's Friday Fabulous Florida.

Speaker 4 (01:49:50):
This has been Friday Fabulous Florida. A g in my kitchen.
Y'all come back now here.

Speaker 1 (01:50:07):
To Mark Thompson Show. Hey, which one you use?

Speaker 9 (01:50:12):
Mark consent?

Speaker 1 (01:50:16):
I'm way into it. I know you're thinking, Hey, you
must be running out of gas, right, No, we are not.
We are all fueled up, recharged and ready. I am
taking any last minute comments that I need to attend to, though,

(01:50:37):
and let me try to attend to them. Mark context,
you said in Rooney interview, despots can riff. I'm sorry,
but I put Trump in the same category. No need
to say sorry. Facts are facts, That's all. It was.

(01:50:58):
Just it's a rhetorical way of speaking. Sorry, I put
Trump in the same category. I mean, I don't know.
I mean, wow, Okay, I'll try not to say sorry anymore.
I mean, it's just, you know, even when I say sorry,
it's a rhetorical rift. I'm adding the word sorry gratuitously
because I really mean it's a rhetorical rift. It's just
not as rhetorical style. I'm sure it would be better

(01:51:21):
if I could eliminate it, but I just seems to
me like an odd bust. I understand, everybody's got their
pet peeves. You know, when you watch somebody go, I
wish that guy wouldn't say I'm sorry. Bother drives me crazy. Sorry,
but that's just the way I speaking again, just added
it sorry, but that's what I know. Sorry, not sorry,
Lucy McCall. And I'm I'm ready to I apologize for

(01:51:41):
everything and change everything I can. But I really think
on this one, you're just really being a pretty tough cop.
On the beat, Lucy McAllister, twenty dollars and I love
your input into the show, so please don't take it personally.
Lucy McCallister, twenty dollars super And let me just say,
Lucy McCallister, I love your love your family as I

(01:52:02):
do the chem McAllister family. But there you have been
very active and you are very active, and I'm thank
you so much, so much. Yes, thank you, Lucy chaplain
thread with a twenty dollars super check. I just came
from a Chevy dealer to buy parts and sixty five
percent of the parts are coming from Canada and Mexico

(01:52:25):
and they're on back order. Chevy does not know when
the parts will be available. I wonder why what you say, Mark, Yeah,
this is just it's it's lunacy, policy, lunacy. And then
the lie about what tariffs are bringing in. They brought
in two trillion dollars two with the t trillion dollars.

(01:52:50):
No they haven't. They haven't even brought in one trillion dollars.
They haven't even brought in a half a trillion dollars. No,
they brought in one hundred and fifty billion dollars. And
the price we're paying is the loss of allies, trade
wars with friendly countries, and of course Americans pay more

(01:53:11):
for everything. They won't re home pythons. They even have
python hunting contests here to try to reduce the population. Yeah,
thank you, Wes. You're right. In fact, it is true.
They're an invasive species, so they are sadly not going
to that one was there for a long time, fourteen

(01:53:31):
feet long. I had to be there for a while.

Speaker 4 (01:53:33):
Yo.

Speaker 1 (01:53:34):
Did you get your tied ey, says Richard Delamator. Yes,
I did, Thank you for the two dollars. I mean,
I didn't get it yet, but they called me to
say it arrived, so I'll get it on Tuesday when
I go back there. No King's Day, Janette says. My
computer is going. Oh no, I'm not going to have
the same problem I had the other day. This Michael,
I hope we get this segment off.

Speaker 2 (01:53:55):
You're a little frozen right now, but I think, yeah,
I think he dropped kimm You might have to duck
in here to help. I guess there's.

Speaker 3 (01:54:05):
From here we go.

Speaker 2 (01:54:06):
Yeah, well, I guess because I think they're on the
same computer. I'm not sure.

Speaker 3 (01:54:10):
Just to bring it on I'm doing it. It comes
and goes on a rainbow.

Speaker 2 (01:54:15):
No, but then he's on Mark's computer.

Speaker 3 (01:54:17):
Oh that's right.

Speaker 2 (01:54:18):
Oh no, there's no remote sign.

Speaker 3 (01:54:21):
All right, how about we do a little news I
could do that.

Speaker 2 (01:54:24):
Let's just fill a little bit. I think Mark's gonna rejoin.

Speaker 3 (01:54:27):
I think curious.

Speaker 1 (01:54:28):
This is exactly what happened the other day. My mouse
goes back. First, it freezes, then I go out, and
so that's what I was worried about.

Speaker 3 (01:54:35):
But now that we now that you're back, let's let's
get right to Snyder.

Speaker 1 (01:54:39):
No, King's Day, there will follow up. If you cannot attend,
then boycott with your pocketbook. Do not spend any money
on that day. Boycott with your pocketbook, says Jeanette Sizzle.
Thank you. I wonder if Sizzle is really Jeanette's last name,
but a great last name anyway. Thank you for all
your input. Thank you for the support of the show.
Really appreciate it from everyone page round in PayPal subscribers

(01:55:01):
to so appreciate you. A couple of new ones. I'll
recognize you on Monday. But now he comes and goes
got a rainbow. How about it? For the culture Blaster
Michael Snyder. Hey, hi, and speaking of high it is.

Speaker 6 (01:55:18):
The high Holy days, oh yes, and of course any
day getting high is a holy day.

Speaker 1 (01:55:26):
I'm wondering, is that how you get onto a rainbow
because of the because you're high? Well maybe you know
by the way, I see you.

Speaker 6 (01:55:37):
Man from the West four twenty and Richard Delamater, which
you guys are?

Speaker 1 (01:55:40):
Where are my weed smokers at? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:55:42):
Anyway, I know I'm a couple of days late, but
I want to wish Leshana Tobata my Jewish friends and
a shan on a tobat, all the Jewish rock and rollers.
I don't want to whip anyone into any kind of
frenzy speaking of High Holy Days, but the annual fulsome
street fairs on some day in San Francisco, not for kids.
There's going to be a lot of fun at the

(01:56:03):
cat club there. I'm going to actually still be in
Los Angeles, but I am heading back to SF this
coming week, so we'll be doing remotes for at least.

Speaker 1 (01:56:11):
A couple of weeks.

Speaker 3 (01:56:11):
I have a busy week.

Speaker 1 (01:56:13):
Yeah. Well, still it'll be fun to go to that fair. Well,
you know, I'm not going to.

Speaker 6 (01:56:17):
Be able to, but I know a lot of you know,
of the freaks and geeks of San Francisco are going
to be strutting in their finery. Let us talk about movies,
because Oscar season is upon us. I think I can
feel it, particularly as befits these first two films that
I'm going to discuss. One Battle after Another is another superb, deep, smart,

(01:56:41):
funny and provocative movie from one of the current masters
of the cinematic arts, screenwriter and director Paul Thomas Anderson.
From Boogie Nights to Licorice Pizza. This guy has been
delivering fascinating films and he oftentimes has a Southern California connection,
and in this case there's a little bit of that,

(01:57:01):
but in a significant way. One Battle after Another is
about fighting the power and the consequences and repercussions faced
by those who do so for righteous reasons and the
often brutal retaliation of those they oppose. So, you know,
this sounds a little contemporary, timely. It's basically romping revolutionaries

(01:57:23):
versus right wing creeps. So in terms of the relevance,
you know.

Speaker 1 (01:57:28):
In addition to that, it's a thrill ride.

Speaker 6 (01:57:31):
You know, it deals with politics, including the immigration issue,
the rise of white supremacists, the puppet masters of oligarchy
and all that. That's all kind of implied in a
lot of this film, and it's also out front as well.

Speaker 1 (01:57:44):
There's family drama.

Speaker 6 (01:57:46):
There are scintillating performances with Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn
leading the parade of accolade or the actors. Let me
get to the details, but I do want to say
initially before I get to that, One Battle after Another
was inspired by a Thomas Pinchon novel, the nineteen ninety
book Vineland, and so was another Anderson movie, the incredibly

(01:58:07):
underrated early seventies Dramai, set in southern California and based
on pensions in Her and Vice. This is a different beast. Bob,
played by DiCaprio, is retired from his youthful underground activities
against the Machine, and he's hiding out, getting ripped and
trying to keep a bloodshot eye on his teenage daughter Willa,

(01:58:28):
whose mother, an unstable fellow rebel from back in the
day played by Tianna Taylor, has been missing and presumed
dead for years. Meanwhile, Penn's Colonel Stephen J. Lockjaw is
in Dogged pursuit of Bob and the ex Perfidia, the
woman played by Tianna Taylor, after a violent act of

(01:58:50):
refugee liberation years ago, humiliated Lockjaw. Plus Lockshaw has a
very unhealthy interest in the daughter Willa. So the action
here is one point, sometimes hitting like a sucker punch,
but always in the service of Anderson taking down the tyrants.
Essentially at the satire here is sharp. It's seething with

(01:59:10):
fury at the evil done by the powerful and the
power mad. In some ways, one battle after another is
about the perils of extremism and also about the strength
and the drive instilled by family devotion.

Speaker 1 (01:59:23):
You know, it's funny.

Speaker 6 (01:59:23):
As I was watching this, it didn't occur to me,
but in the aftermath of the movie, I thought, there's
a parallel or two with Les miserab with DiCaprio's character
kind of a stone to Jean Valjean trying to escape
his past and one with his life, and Penn's character
as kind of an unhinged far right inspector Javert coming
after the guy, coming after the guy, and you know,

(01:59:44):
not relenting again. There are funny moments and there's action
of plenty. This is a hell of a film. I
do believe that DiCaprio and pen are both going to
get awards nods for their performances here.

Speaker 1 (01:59:58):
It crackles, as I like to say.

Speaker 6 (02:00:01):
And oh, by the way, Benicio del Toro plays kind
of a lefty sense who is the teacher of young
Willa at a local dojo, and he's also kind of
helping refugees come into the country on the sly and
housing them. There are so many wonderful aspects of this
film and it is never There's never a dull moment.

Speaker 1 (02:00:19):
Let's put it that way. So one tattle somebody else
who went to a screening which said that was just perfect.
It was just that they loved it.

Speaker 6 (02:00:26):
It's fantastic, one battle after another. It is in theaters
this weekend. Written and directed by the great Paul Thomas Anderson.
Oh one more quick note. Casting wise, Regina Hall shows
up as one of the fellow rebels and holding on,
and the young actress Chase Infinity is a revelation as Willa,
the teenage daughter. It's great stuff, Okay. Eleanor the Great

(02:00:49):
is a new film, and it's the first movie directed
by Scarlett Johansson and you don't want to just give
her a mulligan because it's her first film, but but
you know, it's damn good and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There's a thoughtful script here, and Johansson is very able
from the director's chair, and there are lovely performances all
around in this film, led by the ever sharp, gently funny,

(02:01:13):
and surprisingly tender June Squib still getting it done in
her mid nineties. I mean, she's remarkable, So it's just
pretty wonderful. Berefed after the loss of her friend of
seven decades, Eleanor leaves her retirement home in Florida and
decides to head to New York City, where her disapproving

(02:01:35):
daughter and the extended family lives, and Eleanor tries to
rebuild her life in the time she still has. Through
happenstance in this film, Eleanor finds herself stumbling into a
therapy group for Holocaust survivors, connecting with this progressive biracial
college kid who seems to bring out Eleanor's long buried

(02:01:55):
maternal instincts, which sure is hell aren't on display. Toward
her own daughter, Eleanor is golding with the flow to
the point where she may be washed away by what
we'd call a torrent of her own.

Speaker 1 (02:02:05):
Making.

Speaker 6 (02:02:07):
Eleanor the Great is kind of about the question of
how we process grief.

Speaker 1 (02:02:11):
You know.

Speaker 6 (02:02:11):
The escapades of Squibb's salty, no nonsense character are wildly entertaining,
but there's no mistaking this tough shell shields a broken heart.
Man paired with Squibs wonder of a lead turn in
last year's Rayah Geriatric Undertakes a Caper comedy, Thelma Eleanor
the Great cementser Place is one of the great elder

(02:02:32):
actors to command the screen in recent times. Squib is
something else. I'd never seen her before the Jack and
Triumph sitcom she did with Robert Smigel a little while
ago and Jack McBrayer.

Speaker 1 (02:02:43):
But man, she has incredible depth and wow, really likes it.
I did, And I know some people.

Speaker 6 (02:02:51):
May have quibbles, but Eleanor the greatest in select theaters,
and I do believe she's going to be in the
Awards conversation at the end of the year. Can't help
but feel that's the case.

Speaker 1 (02:03:01):
Okay.

Speaker 6 (02:03:02):
Echoing the starkness of certain crime dramas set in desolate places,
Dead of Winter works pretty well within its parameters, while
giving no less than Emma Thompson and Judy Greer opposing
roles that are miles from their more comedic, crowd pleasing endeavors.
You know, Emma Thompson, the renowned British actress, Judy Greer
an American. They're both playing Americans, and in fact they're

(02:03:24):
playing Americans from the Minnesota area. And I don't want
to belabor the obvious. These women have range. So this
is set in the frozen wilds of Minnesota, and the
movie finds Thompson doing what could be construed as a
characterization similar to that of Francis mcdorman's folksy and plucky
sheriff in Fargo. But all that changes in short order.

(02:03:47):
Thompson plays Barb, and Barb is on a solo fishing
expedition to a remote lake when a snowstorm puts her
in the crosshairs of Greer's gun tote and bitch character
and her compliant partner who happened the farious scheme in progress.
And I don't want to get into the details of
the scheme. I think that would undercut the enjoyment of
watching this movie. And it gets a little implausible at times,

(02:04:10):
but it's very well crafted, and its fierceness and its momentum,
and the sheer energy and determination of Thompson's Barb make
Dead of Winter a lot of fun to watch. It
is in theaters. It was directed by Brian Kirk, and
I had a good time. It's one of those entertainments
had a little noirish quality, which is something I really

(02:04:31):
really like. That's Dead of Winter, O Kidoki, all right,
this is something of great interest to those of us
in California, and particularly Northern California. The movie is called
The Lost Bus. It's set during the terrible campfire of
twenty eighteen, the one that devastated northern California's Butte County,
the community of Paradise, and the surrounding area. The Lost

(02:04:53):
Bus basically dramatizes the true story of a bus load
of school kids being driven through the inferno as it
escalates around them. It's as harrowing and as realistic a
disaster movie as I've seen in quite a while, maybe ever,
And it stars Matthew McConaughey, perfectly cast as a bus
driver Kevin McKay, scruffy guy wrestling with family conflict, and

(02:05:17):
financial problems, and he is supported by America Ferrara as
elementary school teacher Mary Ludwig. These two strangers are thrown
together and their metal is tested when their task was
shepherding twenty two children to safety as this unchecked wildfire
rages around them and people are trying to flee the conflagration.

(02:05:38):
It's clogging the roads. This is craziness and it's real.
Based on a book about the deadly tragedy that engulfed
towns and trailer parks and countless dry acres of forest,
The Lost Bus was really well scripted and expertly directed
by Paul Greengrass incendiary sorry you are there fashion, and

(02:05:58):
not only did he give us a real life thriller Greengrass,
who directed three Jason Bourne movies and Captain Phillips, he
was unafraid the pull punches about PG and E's complicity
in the fire, nailing the macro tragedy of the calamity
as it ramps up, and still able to hone in
on the personal drama of McKay Ludwig and the kids

(02:06:18):
on the bus as the trip unfolds.

Speaker 1 (02:06:22):
Wow, pretty potent, pretty intense. Exactly.

Speaker 6 (02:06:27):
It's in theaters now and it'll be available for streaming
on Apple TV Plus October third, so if you have
a subscription, you know it's on the way and I
highly recommend it. Another Apple TV product, if you Will
is All of You. It's a sweet, romantic drama with
a sci fi premise that seems only days away. Frankly,

(02:06:50):
it's about Simon and Laura, a British man and woman
who met when they were in college, became BFFs while
never taking let's call it the leap into a sexual relationship,
and have remained devoted to each other. They seem kind
of like the perfect couple, yet they never admit the
true depth of their feelings to one another, so Simon
keeps his yap shut. When Laura decides to take a trendy,

(02:07:13):
scientifically formulated test to find her soulmate and ends up
marrying this guy, still, the unresolved feelings between Simon and
Laura linger, and that puts them in a quandary. All
of You works beautifully, even if the story might not
take the obvious turns one would expect, and its biggest
strengths are its two leads. Brett Goldstein, best known as

(02:07:35):
the Surly Veterans, soccer striker Roy Kent On Ted Lasso,
and the winsome imaging Poots Goldstein, who co wrote the
script to All of You with the film's director William Bridges,
brings his trademark rough charm to Simon, while Poots delivers
kind of appealing earthiness and warmth as the adorable girl
next door grown up Laura. All of You is never

(02:07:57):
sacharine and never false the soulmate test notwithstanding, again that's
the sci fi element. But again, this stuff, you know,
we're online all the time and systems are reading our
likes and dislikes, and it's not too much of a
stretch to imagine that there will be some manner of
this in the near future. I recommend it for softies, cynics,

(02:08:20):
anyone with the little romance in their heart. It's in
theaters and it's also, as of today now streaming on
Apple TV plus Nice. You know what, Let's wrap up
the movie segment by talking very briefly about a revival
a restored nineteen fifty four French romantic comedy drama called

(02:08:41):
School for Love. And one reason this is so fascinating
to me and I enjoyed watching it. It's like a
little slice of life from a more innocent time. It
stars Jean Murray, who was the star of Jean Cocteau's
Beauty and the Beast. He played the Beast in the
original Great Fans of Oh, groundbreaking visually star Beauty and
the Beast, La.

Speaker 1 (02:09:01):
Belle Labette and Marae.

Speaker 6 (02:09:03):
By the way, was cocktail lover, but that didn't stop
him from being a leading man back in the day.

Speaker 3 (02:09:08):
And he co.

Speaker 6 (02:09:10):
Stars with a young Brigitte Bardeaux, who is brunette in
this film and exudes a sort of innocence but at
the same time sexual power. You could see it bubbling
under the surface. This was co written by director Mark
Allegray and filmmaker Roge Vadim, who would marry Bardeaux Wow

(02:09:30):
and direct her in the steamy movie that made her
an international star and God created Woman by the Way.
A couple wives later, vadem would also marry Jane Fonda,
who starred in his mod nineteen sixty eight sci fi
satire Barbarella. School for Love is just a fun glimpse
at an earlier time and again, I just enjoyed watching it,

(02:09:51):
and it's available on Prime Video and Apple TV Plus.

Speaker 1 (02:09:54):
Yes, in the subtitles. It's in black and white. No, no,
you have to guess what they're saying if you don't
speak French. I was just making the poin satisficate.

Speaker 6 (02:10:01):
Yes, so everybody, by the way, it's all about the
kids in a conservatory in Vienna, musical conservatory, and they
all want to get next to Mare's professor character, who's
you know, married to an opera star and suave, and
everybody has the hots for him.

Speaker 1 (02:10:18):
And that's the basic nature of School for Love. And
that's it. On the movie front. Well, you've done a
great job. Oh great one. You come through with h
you want to throw in a TV show real quick,
I'll just say quickly.

Speaker 6 (02:10:31):
You know, it wouldn't be Michael Snyder if I didn't
say something about super heroics or sci fi. We mentioned
the sci fi elements of all of you. But Marvel's
Zombies dropped on Disney Plus. It's an alternative alternate universe
four part series. We're in a zombie plague strikes Earth
and many of Marvel's superheroes, forcing uninfected heroes to fight

(02:10:51):
back and seek a cure. It's animated, so you've got
to be aware of that. But I got a kick
out of it, and I just can't help but want
to say a Slow Horses his back, Oh my god.
More espionage and mystery involving the misfit agents of mi
I five's Slow House Annex, led by the savvy but
slovenly Jackson Lamb a pivotal a career role for Gary Oldman.

(02:11:16):
It's the fifth season based on the wonderful books by
Mick Herron, and of course, Kristin Scott Thomas is still
on board by playing the by the book boss at
I five HQ God the Slow Horses.

Speaker 1 (02:11:31):
I just love it. I love it without any Yeah,
it's pretty terrific. I've seen a bunch of season one.
I have got to I got to catch up because
it really is amazing. It's I mean, and as you say,
he's just brilliant. In Slow Horses Season five, he recommends
and reminds you it's out there. It's on Apple TV.
Plus we got a lot of Apple product Marvel Zombies.
He really likes that it's an animated offering and he

(02:11:54):
recommends that which is also streaming. School for Love is
the nineteen fifty four romantic French comedy Slice of Life
of a simpler time. Jean Malray played the original Beast
and Beauty and the Beast co stars with Brigitte Bardeaux
Young Bordeaux.

Speaker 2 (02:12:13):
It's on Uh, Kim, I think the signal dropped again
run Away.

Speaker 3 (02:12:24):
Yeah, he was gonna say, it's on Apple Plus. So
a lot of good movies to watch, and.

Speaker 2 (02:12:30):
This also was one All of You.

Speaker 3 (02:12:33):
We're going to talk about that, yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:12:36):
As we guest host also Apple TV. The Lost Bus.
I think that I'm really one.

Speaker 1 (02:12:42):
I'm going to get through this whole goddamn show and
then I'm going to reboot this whole neighborhood. I was saying,
A school for love. All of You is the sweet
romantic drama with a sci fi element. Michael really likes it,
especially if you want a sweet romantic drama, I mean
a little bit of a kind of a pleasant escape.
The Lost Bus dramatizes the true story of the school

(02:13:05):
kids being driven through that the campfire inferno. You just
saw a glimpse I think, and Albert and Kim were
talking about that. For Northern Californians. It really does resonate
anything more. The use a lot of real footage from
the actual fire. It is immersive and it's chilling and
really well done. America Ferrera and Matthew McConaughey in that
one Dead of Winter, Emma Thompson, Judy Greer. He likes

(02:13:30):
that it takes place. I think, what did you say,
in the Dakotas or in the Midwest. It's in Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota.
Emma Thompson and Judy Greer are doing good work there.
He liked it, even though it's not perfect movie. He
liked it very enterting. Eleanor They're Great. Directed by Scarlett Johanson.
It's her first directorial offering and it's good. June's squib

(02:13:52):
is great. The actress in her mid nineties rocks. It's
what I always say, man, I hate this agism. I mean,
people are vital and doing good work into advanced age.
Eleanor the Great. It's in theaters now. One battle after
another is the Paul Thomas Anderson offering politics, family drama.

(02:14:15):
It's got Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, isn't
it and it is terrific. It is.

Speaker 6 (02:14:22):
I'm so glad I wasn't going to crap on any
one of these films. Every one of these movies had
merit of some sort or another, even if it's only
entertainment value.

Speaker 1 (02:14:31):
I love that you made it through. Thank you. Michael
Snyder the Culture Blaster. You can read his musings at
the Voice SF dot org. You can find him here
on Fridays he comes and goes on a rainbow. Bye bye, Michael. Bye, everybody.
Have a good weekend. Yeah. I love that. Wow. I

(02:14:54):
got to get out of here before the you know,
the bad stuff happens. I got to Oh my god,
what a headache, What a headache. This is being bumped
off repeatedly looking into a sabotage. I'm going to be
taking a tried to come to the studio and the

(02:15:16):
elevator screeched to a halt. Mark, Yeah, exactly, there you go.
All right, Well it's been a great it's been a
great week everyone. And uh, I don't want to neglect anyone,
but uh and I won't Uh, we're not neglecting anyone.
Time to stop you stop. I mean, I will tell

(02:15:38):
you I paid for the upgrade for us to upload
faster and better. I've given I mean, there's nothing I
can do on our technical side. It would seem so
I don't know what is happening, but I know that
it is bumming me out to take an edible and

(02:16:02):
kick it. Uh, very expo very excited to talk to
the folks we have on Monday to eat up Kim
who is coming up on Monday.

Speaker 3 (02:16:17):
We have a really exciting guests on Monday, and that eludes.

Speaker 1 (02:16:23):
Gary's Liz Owyer on Monday, everybody on the show. Yes,
Kim and I agreed that Kim is going to do
what's coming up on the next show, so where you're
still kind of shaking that down, but what I I'll
find a I'll find a special production element for you.
So it's going to be a big deal. So it's

(02:16:44):
like coming up, so yeah, you know you want to
have it together. She's doing after Party Live. We'll see
you Monday, and thanks everybody.

Speaker 10 (02:16:51):
I'm Michelle Stevens for the Mark Johnson Show.

Speaker 1 (02:16:55):
Crazy week in America and across the world. We're out
of time, but y and bye bye. I have a
great weekend. Thanks for the support. See you on Monday.

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