“Mushroom Cloud Diplomacy” Forget Peace Talks-Trump’s Testing Nukes to Show His is Biggest 10/30/25

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And thank you all. Oh we are we are delighted.
And when I say we, we are a smaller group
today than we normally are. I know, it's very odd
and interesting and exciting to know that it is just
my darling, Kim, and of myself. And there's a certain

(00:20):
simplicity to this. I'm hoping Kim can behave what tends
to as you know, get a little I'll say feisty,
to be polite, I blame you. Pugnacious might be the
word that would bring to mind. Yes, you know, she's
the kind of person who you know, for a couple

(00:41):
of shots at tequila, she's going to be in on
a fight somewhere in the bar. So that conversation, I'm
just saying, it's very possible that we could get into
a row, which would be be added frankly, great content
for the Channel. David Katz joins us, the noted federal prosecutor,
one of the great legal analysts in the English speaking world.

(01:05):
Our two David Katz joins Sarah Kenzie Or, who is
typically a guest on our Thursdays. We just were in
touch with her and Sarah has some family stuff going on.
She can't join us. Today. She will be with us
next week. But we are thinking of Sarah always, and

(01:26):
we love her contributions to the show. And I, honestly,
as you know, would suggest reading something from Sarah in
place of hearing her today because her writings are magnificent.
So again, pick up any of her books, look at
her substack, because Sarah Kenzier is a gift and it's

(01:49):
one that we're very lucky to be able to share
with you on typical Thursdays. But today she won't be
with us. Chaplain Fred Mark is looking for a time
out again, Kim, It is true.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
It's how you open the show like Jones for a
time out.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, I blame you. It's probably true. I maybe need
a time out. It's Chaplin. Fred is right about that.
I am also wanting to say. I guess i'd say
big shout to oh that folly, Oh the folly. Oh
h th h a f O l L y, Oh

(02:26):
the Folly. That's a new name.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Oh thatlly?

Speaker 3 (02:31):
What?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Oh that folly? Oh that oh?

Speaker 1 (02:34):
That Oh? Is that does that make more sense than
oh the Folly?

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I don't know. It's just an a, not an e.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Yeah, but I don't think I think you're supposed to
say it, Oh the folly?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
I mean, I don't know, Kim, do you really want
to get into this? I mean, you're it's oh the folly.
I think, well let's read it. You're away, Kim, how
do you say it?

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Oh the folly?

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Oh you just changed it though I said that, Oh
the fu Oh the folly. Okay, anyway, thank you, Oh
the folly, creating a huge dispute between Kim and myself
as to how to say your handle ten dollars, supersticker,
big shout out. We're a live show. We go on

(03:22):
for two hours. It's not all Kim and myself disagreeing
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come to mind right now, but they are there, and
you'll find us between two and four on the East Coast,
usually start a little after two and eleven to one
on the West Coast, we start a little after eleven,

(03:45):
and that's the live show. But most people take our
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however you check us out. We very much appreciate it.
We appreciate you sharing the show and supporting the show
in all the ways you do afternoon. Everyone celebrating my
sixty ninth birthday, says Linda.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Nice. Wow birthday, Linda.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Happy birthday, Linda Gunkel. She says, yikes, sixty nine does
seem like it's a true landmark birthday. But I'm told
after sixty nine things really start getting good. So congratulations.

(04:26):
You know, people thinking I have sixty nine. It's kind
of no. I hear life really gets great after sixty nine.
So live it up. Mark, you are chopping up? Is
that right?

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Is my look can sound great to me?

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Oh? Okay, good? Please let me know audio is fine
for me, says Gordon Good. You know, sometimes we really
do need feedback from the audience because we're you know,
we're subjected to the same things that most broadcast entities
are that are operating on the internet. You know, you
the quality of your internet speed, etc. It's all stuff

(05:05):
that we have no control over and sometimes we can't.
It looks good here, but it's not necessarily looking good
where you are. Kathleen Bryant with a twenty dollars supersticker
to get as started. You know, we didn't do our
big fall fundraiser this year, and we didn't even do
a meetup for the fall. We will do that. I
think toward middle of the month. I'm going to Columbia

(05:28):
for that wedding. When I get back, we'll do a meetup.
But I really appreciate people like Kathleen Bryant, who you know,
don't need to be asked for the fall fundraiser. They
step up. We had many many who fall into that
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If you want to support the show, Patreon and PayPal

(05:50):
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(06:12):
We are so grateful for the best coffee on Earth.
You can get a Cellavallei Coffee dot com. Use the
discount code MARKT at checkout for ten percent off. Chaplain
Frand says Trump is looking to start nuclear testing because
he still wants to new hurricanes. He did suggest that
how come we don't just new hurricanes? How come we
just don't shoot them? You know? That's the kind of

(06:34):
question a third grader might ask about. So let's get
started and get into what is both a controversial and
alarming statement from the President of the United States. So
the Mark Thompson, I don't appreciate this, Rick, if you
get back from Columbia, Mark, And by the way, Colombia's Colombia,

(06:58):
not Columbia. But however you spell it, I take your point.
It's a little bit tricky these days. But we're down
there to show the love for the wedding, all right. Now,
the President of the United States has made a statement
that's of great concern Kim. He posted it on truth

(07:20):
Social I believe his platform, on which he makes a
lot of these statements bold and otherwise. And his statement
is essentially, I want to start nuclear weapons testing for
the first time since nineteen ninety two on an equal basis.

(07:42):
Is the quote with Russia and China. Yeah, now the
Kremlin condemned this. No indication of when tests might take place.
But this is following or concurrent with thenavigating of a
trade negotiation that apparently went well enough that Trump was

(08:07):
feeling good about access to rare earth minerals to Chinese
imports that there might actually be a trade relationship again
that there is apparently a deal in place, or at
least the primordial ooze of a deal or the framework
of a deal. When it comes to soybean consumption. As

(08:30):
you know, the Chinese are the big soybean consumers for
American farmers, and it was completely cut off as a
result of this whole tariff nonsense that Trump began. Now,
apparently Trump and negotiators have achieved some kind of commitment
on the part of the Chinese to get back into

(08:50):
the soybean consumption game being customers for American agriculture, which
was really left orphaned by prior policies in the fact
that the Chinese said, great, you guys are going to
be jerks about this and this entire trade war. We're
done with American soybeans completely. And that was forever, not

(09:13):
just for this season. So anyway, now Trump has sufficiently
cobbled back together the relationship that America had with China
from the looks of it. But alongside all of this,
what is really stealing the spotlight, and I think deservedly so,
is this look at this truth social post. This I'll

(09:36):
read to you for those just listening. The United States
has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was accomplished,
including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during
my first term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power.
I hated in capital letters to do it, but had
no choice. Russia is second, and China is a and third,

(10:00):
but will be even within five years because of other
countries testing programs. I've instructed the Department of War to
start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. That
process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to
this matter. President Donald J. Trump, which is in capital
letters now, the I think he misunderstands something. I mean,

(10:28):
obviously Trump knows nothing about anything, but he misunderstands the
announcement that the Russians made about the testing of missiles
that can be nuclearized. You know, they can be carriers
for nuclear weaponry, but that isn't a nuclear test. So

(10:51):
they tested delivery systems, if you want to think of
it that way. The missiles. I think they've also tested some,
and they made these announcements, as superpowers do, particularly these days,
and that was their flex. We've tested this. You've heard
this is very North Korean. You've heard Kim say you know,

(11:13):
we've tested a new missllan. It could reach the west
coast of the United States in four and a half
hours or whatever it is. But in the case of
the Russians and the Chinese, they are testing missile delivery systems.
There has been no nuclear detonation of any kind of

(11:35):
any sort since the nineties, and that has been an
understanding as the world becomes a more dangerous place, the
implied escalation of nuclear weaponry is something that every superpower
and nuclear capable nation is particularly sensitive to. As you

(11:59):
game out any kind of even limited accidental nuclear detonation,
it only goes to bad places. So having the world superpowers, Russia, America, China,
those are the superpowers. Those aren't. Just the nuclear capable

(12:20):
of nuclear weapons are in other places, right the Pakistan's gotam,
Israel's got em, et cetera. But what I'm saying is
to have the superpowers say we're not going to test anymore,
that's a very important message to the rest of the world. Conversely,
when you have the president of the United States, the

(12:41):
new mad King, saying I want to test nuclear weapons,
you have the door kicked open for not only other
superpowers to see oh I see the game has changed,
but also smaller countries, those with nuclear aspirations who want

(13:03):
to arm themselves with nukes, seeing them, oh well, America's
back on the bullet train of nuclear weaponry. Maybe we
should be as well. In other words, the stink of
worldwide destruction associated with nuclear weaponry is off because you've

(13:24):
got the United States, the great purveyors of freedom and liberty.
They're all about nuclear testing. Now. The aggression that has
accompanied this administration, the military aggression that has shown itself
in every single way, culminates in a sense, well, i'd
suggest it culminates with turning the military on your own people,

(13:46):
which is really what's happening in America. But you could
say at the same time, it culminates with this kind
of announcement, and we're going to get back to testing nukes.
It is the wrongheaded, moronic strategy of a know nothing
leader who is surrounded by people who just don't care.

(14:12):
They just want to salute and do what the no
nothing emperor wants them to do. And so Pete Hegseth
is the perfect guy for that. Lucky to have the job,
knows he doesn't deserve it. Vacuous in so many ways,
calls all the admirals and generals together to tell them
they're going to be calisthetics every day. No kind of worldview,

(14:37):
changing worldview of America, no performative let's do pushups bullshit.
That is where we are. And so this flex associated
with nuclear weapons testing is right on brand for these
idiots who are playing with guns. And then one is

(14:59):
going to go off in house. When you use the
military as props, which is exactly what's happening, you put
them in various cities, you find reasons to move them
around the world. There's a theater to the way this
administration is treating the military. But then you move the

(15:20):
military into the drug interdiction business, and so you take
out Venezuelan drug lords who are on the open seas
or are they just fishermen who are out trying to
make a catch at night. We don't know and we
will never know. Word is that there were some fishermen

(15:42):
on board those boats, So at least granting some sort
of objective evaluation, it would seem as though there's a
mixed intelligence about the boats that were taken out and
the people who were killed summarily executed. You have that
now as a flex that's a legit military flex. That's

(16:07):
not just performative. It's both performative and there is a
reality to what was happening and continues to happen. Now
you've moved a battleship or as an aircraft carrier off
the coast of Venezuela, so you're seeing more and more
of these chess pieces that are being played with that

(16:30):
might actually lead to some kind of confrontation. Now, America
is stronger than most of the countries on Earth, so
it's not a threat to America per se. But this
guy who was talking Nobel Peace Prize a month ago
is all about his Department of War, and that's the

(16:51):
way he refers to it, the Department of War. And
he talks incessantly about various aspects of the military and
incursions that are associated with the military that he wants
to be part of. And Central America and even South
America may be part of all of this. So when

(17:13):
I look at this nuke thing, I think it's right
on brand for Donald Trump. Here he is coming out
of the meeting with she on board Air Force one.
He does his press gaggle, and let's hear a little
of what he has to say social.

Speaker 3 (17:30):
About nuclear testing.

Speaker 4 (17:31):
What about resuming nuclear testing?

Speaker 3 (17:34):
What prompted you to do that right before the meeting?

Speaker 5 (17:37):
Had to do with others they seem to all be
nuclear testing. We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We
don't do testing. You know, we've haulted it years many
years ago. But with others doing testing, I think it's
appropriate that we do also. And things are like where
when we would be it'll be announced, you know, we

(17:58):
have test sets, it'll be an Did Real give you
a heads up before they bombed Gaza?

Speaker 2 (18:04):
And is it still a ceasefire?

Speaker 5 (18:06):
The shop it is now They had a sniper and
one of their soldiers was kill and they did retribution,
so we'll see, but yeah, it is.

Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's so basically what he saying is what he said
in his truth social post, which is they're testing that,
so we're going to start testing. Well, as I just
told you, they're not testing nukes. What you're seeing is
nuclear delivery systems that is to say, missiles et cetera

(18:41):
that can be nuclearized, to use the word. But they're
they're not testing nukes. So when you say you're testing nukes,
you're actually doing something that's not being done. You're not
matching what the other countries are doing. And by the way,
I would also suggest you talk about how we have

(19:01):
more nuclear weapons than any other country on Earth and
as a result we're quite secure well having to always
step everything up to match those other countries in this way,
in that military nuclear flex, that's the sign of an
insecure nation, not the sign of a secure nation. America

(19:23):
doesn't need to test anymore. We have more nuclear weapons
than any other nation on Earth, and we feel if
we have to, and it would be a horrifying thing
to even consider, we can match any other nuclear power
with our nuclear power, the power of our nuclear weaponry.

(19:44):
That's what the president should say. We don't need to test.
We're the most powerful nation on Earth, full stop. Instead,
you have this insecurity and ego flex and it's all
associated with the military, and you find it reflected in
pa heg Seth as well. He's the same way. You
saw the latest from what he's doing, the latest stuff

(20:08):
from Hegseeth. He just got rid of a general there,
you saw that, Kim. Yeah, it's crazy. So in addition
to the Trump directive to start testing US nuclear weapons,
there's also this out of the Pentagon. A three star
general is pushed out because of tensions between heg Seth

(20:31):
and this general. The general's stalled promotion also contributed to
this early retirement, but that was part of this hag
Seth hammer. Joe McGee is his name. Lieutenant General Director
for Strategy, Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff is leaving.

(20:52):
McGee had frequently pushed back against hag Seth and Chairman
of the Joint chiefs of Staff Dan Kine on issues
ranging from Russia and Ukraine to many military operations in
the Caribbean. Sources noted that McGee was nominated by former
President Joe Biden nearly a year ago for a promotion
to serve as Director of the Joint Staff, but he

(21:12):
was never renominated by the current administration. His primary role
is to advise kan on long term military strategy, including
weighing the risks of potential actions and planning for crisis contingencies.
One source said he had a target on his back
for a while, so they pushed him out, and that's

(21:38):
just one of the ways in which this administration has
taken hold of what's going on at the Pentagon. And
since we're on the Pentagon, I relate this to you.
They are now looking to form these quick reaction forces

(21:58):
for crowd control around the country. These are domestic quick
reaction forces. A Pentagon memo is detailing plans to train
over twenty thousand National Guard members across the US to
carry out Trump's order on subduing civil unrest. Now, there
isn't a lot of civil unrest in America right now,

(22:20):
So why this memo? You're anticipating civil unrest with other
actions that you're going to be taking. A top US
military official has ordered the National Guards of all fifty
US states, the District of Columbia, and US territories to
form quote quick reaction forces trained and quote riot control,

(22:42):
including use of batons, body shields, tasers, pepper spray. This
is according to an internal Pentagon directive. This memo was
signed this month by Major General Ron Burkett, the director
of Operations for the Pentagon National Guard Bureau. It sets

(23:03):
thresholds for the size of these reaction forces to be
trained in each states. Most states require five hundred National
Guard members to be trained under this memo. That had
mean twenty three thousand, five hundred troops nationwide would be
trained as this quick reaction force available for rapid nationwide

(23:26):
deployment in quote, quelling civil disturbances. The prediction is that
these troops will be used and sent to states led
by democratic governors without their permission, and could be used

(23:47):
to suppress turnout and disrupt the fair operation of elections.
That's I think a fair appraisal. That prediction is coming
from a former US Marine Corps captain and chief executive
of the Vet Voice Foundation, that's a nonprofit advocacy group,
and they are speaking to what I think is just obvious,

(24:10):
which is this is a national militarized police force, and
this president and this administration are trying to get us
used to this stuff. So that's where we are at
the Pentagon. This is the priority to maintain and quell
any kind of pushback domestically to these policies. Meanwhile, the

(24:36):
National Guard deployment in Washington has been extended until February.
Everybody out nice, sure if you want to go to
the nation's capital and you can review a little bit
of what's happening with your tax dollars at work. The
National Guard remaining in the US capital well into the
coming months, and why not hang out with them because

(24:57):
all the official buildings that are associated with the US
government are closed. So you got your Yeah, what a
great way to take the kids down meet a National
Guard troop or another. You know, if you hang out, chat.
Believe me, they'd be happy to talk to you because
they are bored stiff. There's nothing going on and there's
no reason they should be there. They're not even hanging

(25:19):
out in the tough areas. I love this whole thing. Mean,
they were addressing the murder rate and the I mean
Washington was it was a hell hole before we did
the Really, well, you're not sending them to the hellhole
parts I used to live there. I was raised in Washington, DC. Yeah,
you know, sending them down at Union Station and to
Lafayette Park across from the White House to pick up trash.

(25:42):
They ain't doing anything for the crime rate.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
Now they have to do it till February.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
Exactly, and now they are extending their stay. So when
you go, if you go speak with them, talk with them,
they'd be happy to chat with you. Meantime, major stuff
going on that overlaps the military, border control, customs agents.

(26:10):
So let's quickly touch on some of that Mark Thompson show.
I want to say hey to Enid Fox before I
get to anything else. Better to do nuclear testing than
release the Epstein file, says in the five exactly, thank you, Enid.
That's precisely right. Five dollars super chat and we appreciate it.

(26:30):
Also want to recognize Trevor Maxon with a five dollars supersticker,
big shout out, big shout out, thank you. We're a
crowdfunded show, so when you fund us and you're in
the crowd, we give you the big shout out. Mark.
I've been to Columbia three times. I had a great time.
You'll be okay, says Trevor. I want more of that.
I don't need that. If you get back from Columbia,

(26:56):
then we'll look forward to seeing you. I mean that's
not that does mean no good. I'm scared already. I'm
scared just to show up. I think we will have
fun and you know the kids being married, Kim, You
remember that how many years ago were you married? Kim?

Speaker 2 (27:15):
About twenty three years ago?

Speaker 1 (27:16):
Mark, Wow, that's very impressive. Yeah, time three years. And
he's quite a good guy. I don't really know it, Yeah,
but he seems like he's pretty cool. Yeah, very capable guy.
Like he's a smart guy. You know, he's not like
a bully type guy. He's not like a toxic masculinity guy.

(27:39):
He's smart, isn't he.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
I mean, I like to think, though.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
I didn't hear her yet. Yeah, Latasha is right. I
am scared enough. I do not need any additional scaring.

Speaker 2 (27:54):
Natasha had a comment earlier that I thought was great.
I had up on the screen. She said, America, you
and danger girl.

Speaker 1 (28:00):
It is true, baby, it is true. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:06):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Trevor Starr in Hollywood with a ten dollar ten cent
super chat. He always goes for the ten ten Another
Trevor unacceptable? Is there another Trevor in the chat?

Speaker 2 (28:19):
Yeah, Trevor Maxon, who just oh.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah, that's right Trevor Maxon. Wow. I think you can
never have too many Trevors. So I'm very happy for both. Shelley,
look at you a fifty dollars super chat. First of all, big,
big shout out, big shout out, thank you, and I'll.

Speaker 6 (28:37):
Give you a thank you so much, thanks so much.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
If Trump dies in office, will they do weekend at
Bernie's and not tell us Trump is at once? I
would say, ill, he has some mystery bruises and seems
to struggle to walk straight line. Remember during the Putin

(29:02):
Trump meeting in Alaska, he seemed to kind of meander
up the red carpet. He has the swelling in his ankles.
I mean, apart from that, he looks like a you know,
a middle linebacker. He looks great. I mean, apart from
about one hundred and fifty pounds he needs to lose.
But I think, you know, you're not gonna like hearing this,

(29:23):
I know, the conventional wisdom is. And then mo Kelly
came on and said, hey, he looked like my dad
did before my dad passed away, and that you know,
Trump is one fall away, not wishing it on him
at all, but you know, one fall away from suffering
the fate that my dad did. This is what mo
Kelly was saying last week, and it kind of was
a compelling argument that you know, mosing, I don't think

(29:45):
he's going to complete his term because for health reasons.
I kind of have the opposite view. I think he
looks and seems I'm not look he's he's crazy as
a crackhouse rat. I mean, he's absolutely out of his mind.
Knows nothing, but can't wait to press all the buttons,
pull all the levers, and send troops everywhere, and you know,

(30:05):
do nuclear testing and I'm going to build a ballroom
and tear down the White House. I mean, this is
absolute insanity. This guy is running a muck. But if
you're just talking about his health and how long you'll last,
I think, you know, I think this guy's going for
a while, but I have no idea, so it could
be completely wrong. Health does.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
He seems to have enough energy to you know, get
on the plane and travel and go from place to place.
He was a board the aircraft carrier. He came in
on a you know, wizbang military jet. That's a lot
of activity for an eighty year old guy, and he
seems to tolerate it pretty well.

Speaker 1 (30:44):
I agree. I think Kim is right. And I also think.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
That they are kissing.

Speaker 1 (30:48):
There is a part of all of that that booies
you because it's an insane ego boost. You're going everywhere
in the world and they are are kissing your a.
They are trying to do business with you. They will
give you a plane from Qatar, a gold golf bag

(31:11):
and golf club and golf ball from Japan, a full
on gold crown he was given by who gave him
the gold crown? It just happened yesterday. I forget they
were in.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
Was it Japan?

Speaker 1 (31:28):
It's hard to Japan Japan. Hard to keep track of
the Japan here.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
We have no kings protests all over the place, and
what do they do. They slap down a crown here.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
You that's exactly right, that's not fake, that's really And
it's also just hard to keep track of all the
gifts he's getting. I mean, yeah, this is like, this
is an emolument's train wreck. It was South Korea, I
think where he got the got the crown. He got
the gold golf stuff in Japan. He got the crown

(31:59):
in South Korea?

Speaker 2 (32:00):
What it was?

Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yeah, but but more to the point, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway,
it is a true emoluments violation pipeline, and that continues.
But the emolument's clause seems almost like a something quaint
from the old days. Now. First of all, it's very

(32:22):
hard in a way to prove an emoluments violation. My
father used to who was a constitutional lawyer, kind of
walk me through some of this. It would seem as
though it's easy. Like, for example, the Katari jet is
a clear I mean, my god, that is a huge
amountment donating into the country, don't you know? Uh it?
These other things are clear emolument violations, right. I mean,

(32:44):
if you go back in time to the beginnings of
the Republic, emoluments violations were associated were like taking some
snuff box that you know, you that was given by
the you know, some ambassador from France. But the reality
now is you really need Congress to restrain these instincts

(33:05):
of an authoritarian leader who occupies the executive office. So
you don't have Congress, you don't have any sort of
limitter on Trump, and he knows it. Luis says, quick
reaction forces equals shock troops equals necessary once people start
to starve and begin to revolt, equals very French revolution

(33:30):
while new DC Palace is built. Yeah, that's right. And
I would also say now that the government has closed
that SNAP funding runs out on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
I think right now, the first November one.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
And you end up with Obama Care ACA funding and
supplements going away. You're going to have a thirty percent
increase in health insurance. You are going to see a
bit of what Luis is sarcastically referring to as a reality.
And the reason I think it's worth noting is it

(34:08):
does exist, and this is the real French Revolution kind
of thing. It exists against the backdrop of what is
Trump's stated top priority. Caroline Levitt, who is the Press secretary,
said his top priority is the ballroom, building the ballroom.

(34:29):
She said, that is President Trump's top priority. Now, she
used those words.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
That's not what I want in a president. I want
his priorities to be elsewhere, like I don't know, protecting
the American people and making sure that the poorest among
us have enough to eat and that our healthcare is
not so expensive going up twenty three thousand dollars a
year that we can actually afford to take care of

(34:54):
our children.

Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well, this is not the government for that. Oh and
I would also say that the statement that President Trump's
top priority right now is building the ballroom, that is
literally a statement you make while the government is closed.
The government is closed. You have essential workers deemed essential

(35:22):
enough to force them to work, but you, as the government,
are not compelled to pay them, which to me is outrageous.
If you're going to compel them to work. You must
be compelled as the government to pay them. Air traffic controllers,
those skeleton crews, and in fire and law enforcement associated
with the National Parks, the military, they must be paid.

(35:46):
If you're going to make them go to work, then
the government must be made to pay them. It's outrageous.
This is really a broken system. It's a broken government,
and that against that backdrop, they're building a palace. It's
just wrong. Poor people money will pay for Trump's shiny things.

(36:09):
Ola Hanson is exactly right. Mike Johnson was on with
Dana Bash on CNN and he was asked about two things.
He was asked about the nuke situation and that it's segued,
of course, into the government shutdown. Here's a little bit
of what he said.

Speaker 4 (36:22):
Thank you so much for being here. I do want
to get to the shutdown in just a second, but
I also want to quickly talk about something that the
President said. Pretty remarkable actually that he said. He said
that he instructed the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons
again for the first time in more than thirty years.
It hasn't happened since nineteen ninety two.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
You can stop right here, this stop right I have
to say the prediction that we all have for what
Mike Johnson is going to say. Whenever confronted by this,
it's always what, Really, I haven't heard that exactly this is.
I wasn't read in on it. I don't know. I
know so little about this. I just got this information

(37:04):
I know, So go ahead, let's see what he says.

Speaker 7 (37:07):
I haven't spoken to the President in about forty eight hours,
so I did not know who was going to say that.
But I think it is an important thing for him
to have said. Why Because we have demonstrated even in
recent days, that the only way to maintain peace is
to show strength. It's peace through strength. That's one of
our principles that we try to advance here every day.

(37:28):
We learned that during the Cold War. We know it's
certainly true now America is the last great superpower in
the world. We do not have a peer to peer adversary.
China is trying to become that. But in this dynamic
that we have now in the world stage, America has
to show strength. And I think it is an obvious
and logical thing to ensure that our weapons systems work

(37:49):
as they're designed.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
I have a big a different stop for a second.
And that's wa way different than nuclear testing. If America
is clearly the most powerful nation on Earth, then you
don't need to do nuclear testing.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
As we happened for twenty years been everyone's just known.
It's been a quiet strength. We haven't need to throw
our weight around the room. Everyone just kind of knows
America's got it going on.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
This is the new America, which is associated with a
military flex everywhere. But what he's saying is inconsistent with
this new express policy. If America is a place with
all of this strength and all of this power, which
includes nuclear weaponry that eclipses all other nuclear weaponry on Earth,

(38:34):
why does America need to make this flex at all.
It's just inconsistent with what he's saying. Go ahead, strike command.

Speaker 7 (38:43):
Two thirds of nuclear triad commanded there, and our airmen
and all of those involved in our nuclear arsenal need
to be well practiced, and they certainly are. They're ready
and prepared. But we need to make sure that we
know that we know that we can maintain our strength.
And I think that's an obvious and logical thing to do.

Speaker 4 (39:00):
I mean, let's turn now to the now thirty day
government shutdown. We are learning some new details about a
series of negotiations that are underway across the capital from
where you are in the Senate, and one of the
options that they're discussing is reopening a significant part of
the government, including the Department of Agriculture, through next year. Now,

(39:21):
that would alleviate the pain of tens of millions of
Americans who are about to feel a lot of pain
and hunger because the snap benefits are going to expire
in just two days on Saturday. Would you accept a
partial government funding deal?

Speaker 7 (39:37):
Well, there are a handful of moderate centrist Democrats left
in the US Senate, and they are in panic mode
right now because they recognize that their votes have been
the reason that all this pain and hardship is being
experienced by the American people were on Day thirty. As
you said, they have voted now fourteen times to impose
this hardship and pain. They're doing it for political purposes,

(39:58):
is I've explained in my press conference every single morning.
They're worried about the radical left base that is rising
the Democrat Party and some of the leading politicians here,
including the two New Yorkers who run Vote Chambers, Kim
Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are afraid they're going to get
a challenge from a Mamdani like candidate, and so they
have to show a fight.

Speaker 3 (40:17):
And that's what this is about.

Speaker 7 (40:18):
It is senseless, it is unprecedented. This is the first
time in US history that any party has had the
audacity to close down the government for a simple cr
a clean, non partisan measure.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
So here's the answer.

Speaker 7 (40:29):
We cannot deviate from the number one job and responsibility
of US Congress, and that is to keep the government
in operation for the people. And the simplest way to
fix this is to reopen all of the government, not
just parts of it, so they can alleviate a little
bit of the pain that they themselves are causing. Let's
alleviate all the pain and get that done. They have
no logical argument why they would not do that, and

(40:50):
that's why we're so angry and frustrated about this.

Speaker 1 (40:53):
Sold there you have, I mean, the express position, which
hasn't changed at all. It's all their fault. They're the
ones who shut down on the government, etc. But what
you really fail to ever hear from Mike Johnson is
the reality that's associated with navigating those things that are
critical to moving ahead, and the funding associated with the

(41:16):
SNAP and also that funding that's associated with the Affordable
Care Act. These are things that Democrats are fighting for.
So the idea somehow that both parties are the same,
I always hear that both parties are the same. What
is the real difference? And I get how you can
make these sorts of general statements, And on some level

(41:37):
it can be true about some things. I think the
amount of money that has invaded the political process on
both sides has corrupted the political system in America, that
is without question. But the idea that both parties are
fighting for the same thing, it's just not true. And
I even get how you can say, well, Democrats sit

(41:57):
on their hands while tax cuts go by or something.
Yes and no. I mean, I just feel as though,
if you are looking for those things that government does,
maybe you feel government doesn't do it well enough. But
government does provide assistance to those who need it. Government

(42:19):
does provide assistance to seniors who need it. Government does
provide the federal government moneies for those who slip through
the cracks. Maybe it's not sufficient money. Maybe you feel
as though that money is lost in the wash. It's
been corrupted in a system that's corrupt on some level.
You might be right, but the two parties are not

(42:41):
the same, and I don't as you know, I'm not
some apologist or even a raw raw guy for the
Democrats at all. I mean, I think there is institutional
change that's required in the Democratic Party. But that said,
I mean you have a real, almost villainous rise of
a GOP agenda that is truly of the kind of

(43:05):
French revolution sort that we've heard in the comments today.

Speaker 8 (43:08):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
I mean this palatial structure is being built in Washington
with private funding. Well, what is private funding. It's corporate
payoff palteer government contractors, Google government contractors, Meta government contractors.
That's just a handful of the business being done by

(43:31):
major donors to this ballroom. The ballroom two hundred million,
then two hundred and fifty million, then three hundred million,
now three point fifty What are you building? What kind
of ballroom? You're building it out of bricks of cocaine.
It's absurd. There's something else going on. As you know.
There's a bunker underneath the east wing, and I'm sure

(43:55):
that's a bunker built by FDR that they want to
you know, trumpify it. They want to make it, you know,
a really cool bunker where you can get room service.
So I'm sure a lot of the money is going
to that, and I'm also very sure that there is
major grift going on, skimming going on, and because it's

(44:16):
private donors, a lot of that money is untraceable.

Speaker 2 (44:20):
Who's paying attention, who's counting, who's counting the pennies. I
disagree with Champagne Wishes, who writes when the Democrats are
in power, they'll use Trump's actions as a precedent to
do the same.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
I don't know what you mean Trump's actions to do
the same. What you think that they're going to lower taxes?
You think that they're going to militarize the National Guard
and ask for a strike force to invade American cities.
You think that's the same that they're going to do.
You think they're going to just send the National Guard
to places in Mississippi to intimidate red states the same

(44:54):
way that the Republicans try to intimidate blue states. You
think that's the same that they're going to do. I
just don't buy it. And that's the kind of comment
though that reflects I think a lot of sentiment Democrats
are going to do the same thing when they get
in Really the same thing. What closing USAID completely eliminating
any kind of foreign aid, Starving to death millions of

(45:18):
people on the continent of Africa because of the closing
down of USAID, Taking a bunch of food stuffs and
medicines that were there on the dock waiting to go
and letting them, leaving them to spoil, letting them rot,
rather than export them even though the money was already appropriated.

(45:40):
Is that the kind of thing you think the Democrats
are going to do. Smack talking Canada, our number two
trading partner, You think that's the kind of thing that
Democratic administration would do. Smack talking Mexico, major trading partner
to the South, You think that's the kind of thing
Democrats would do when they get back from power. Extra

(46:02):
Judicial killings off the coast of Venezuela. You think that's
the kind of thing that the Democrats would do. It
makes no sense. Smack talking the European Union, bitch slapping
the President of Ukraine when he comes to the White House.
You think that's the kind of thing that the Democrats

(46:23):
would do. No it just doesn't hold water. Man, they're
not the same, denying science, closing down the CDC, essentially
changing all of the recommended inoculation schedules, and let the
new inoculation schedules be written by a bunch of anti

(46:43):
vax conspirators, having the Democratic president come out and warn
against Thailand all and telling pregnant women they shouldn't take
say a commonly known as Thailand. All you think that's
the kind of thing the demos scratch to do. Enough, man,
you know it's bs. I'm so sick of that argument,
and and it just doesn't hold any water. So I'm sorry. Marks.

(47:08):
Richard Delemator says, Japan, you gave him a crown. Uh,
it was Korea, But all right, we get it. Yeah yeah,
see US TV lately, right, Hell yeah, Well they're playing
to the audience of one. They're not playing to the
audience at home. Louis says, can't Stan Johnson look it up.

(47:29):
There is a six billion dollar emergency reserve for snap
that Donald Trump is refusing to tap, probably being diverted
for the DC Versailles Palace. Yeah, that's a great point,
Thank you, Luis, always great and you're such a great
supporter of the show. Big shout out to you. Luis
is right. There is a fund that is sitting there

(47:51):
to supplement SNAP for a short time, and Kim, you
can google the details, but it has been walled off
by the Trump administration. We don't want you touching that money.

Speaker 2 (48:02):
As a matter of fact, we have information today on
the show that they took any and all information from
the Agriculture Department website. They just stripped all of it
so that we people can't even see that there's some
type of reserve.

Speaker 1 (48:19):
Yeah, that's the other part, the information part. That's why
I like our merch line that says Project nineteen eighty
four point five because in the Orwell Book nineteen eighty four,
the information is the big thing. You can get it
at Getmarkmarch dot com. The information and control of the
information will tell you we're doing well, will tell you

(48:41):
there's plenty of food in America. This is what they
talk about it, you know, in Venezuela and these countries
where we feel there must be regime change for the people.
We talk about the fact and we see the fact
that they from the Maduro diet. They talk about that
people are starving and they're losing so much weight there
their skin, and they call it the Maduro diet. He

(49:02):
jokes about it. But this is where we're headed, toward
a place where the government will tell you how the
economy is doing. The economy is doing great. We fired
the people at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and of
course the government has closed down anyway. We had the
Feds lower the prime rate by twenty five basis points.

(49:22):
And yet there's no real economic information on which they
can base this because the government website and the government
statistics are not being compiled by anyone. The USDA quietly
deletes its contingency plan for funding. Snap there it is.
The fifty five page laps of funding document for USDA

(49:43):
is no longer available online. Control of the information is
a big, big part of what's going on. And look
at what they try to do at the Pentagon and
have done. You're not allowed to report from the Pentagon
unless you sign the pledge that the only information you
will report is that which has been cleared by the Pentagon.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
You only report what they tell you to report exactly.
That's all you get to say.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
No, what about some good news, I've got it for you?
Who Yeah, California Republicans are retreating because the anti Prop
fifty campaign has collapsed. Everyone Democrats pummeling the state with
Yes on fifty advertising. Republican advertising associated with the No

(50:34):
On fifty has really gone quiet. The Just to remind everybody,
I think you're all aware of it. Prop fifty essentially
is the answer to the Texas jerrymander. California will jerry mander.
They had a neutral redistricting in California, but now they're saying, God,

(50:56):
with Texas doing what they're doing, we got to just
take a step out of the neutrality game and at
least protect the congressional balance. So we'll redistrict, but we
have to get voter approval to vote on the redistricting.
It's a weird thing, but I said, the weird part
is you kind of have to vote for this proposition

(51:17):
to allow you, essentially this wiggle room to redistrict. And
so that's what Prop fifty is.

Speaker 4 (51:25):
Protesters chanted in the chamber.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
As a match.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
And the reality is also that the majority of Californians
say they support Prop fifty according to the latest polling.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
So I was trying to put that up on the screen,
but it's a Public Policy Institute of California poll that
came out yesterday. It shows fifty six percent of likely
voters in California say they will vote for Prop fifty
forty three percent against. So again that's fifty six to
forty three percent, and that's enough so that republic like,

(52:00):
we're not going to try to raise any more money
for this. We're done.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
Yeah, And look, those are partisan numbers, because California is
a place that can be partisan and is partisan. In fact,
eighty four percent of Democrats in support of that ballot
measure and eighty nine percent of Republicans are against it.
So I mean, you have pretty much partisan law lines drawn.
And it's interesting because just to go on a national level,

(52:23):
if you have partisan lines drawn nationally, Democrats should win
in a fair election. But as you're very much aware
we've talked about and detailed on the show, and Greg
Palace is coming up in the next few weeks as
well as a guest, there's plenty of voter suppression in
ways in which the Republicans do restrict voting and make
it much harder for that Democratic vote to show up.

(52:46):
But in any case, it does appear that Prop fifty
will likely pass in California. Still, if you're voting in California,
I encourage you to vote the way you want to vote,
but definitely do vote. That is a bit of good news.
And those who are fans of Confederate statues gotta be

(53:06):
a big day for you, the Trump administration restoring a
memorial to Confederate General Albert Pike. DC demonstrators tore it
down during the twenty twenty racial Justice protest. They linked
to George Floyd, of course, and now the Trump administration

(53:27):
has restored memorial to this Confederate general. I really don't
understand why you have these statues to Confederate generals.

Speaker 8 (53:39):
But.

Speaker 1 (53:41):
This one is in Washington, d C. I get it.
This guy did a lot of stuff. He was a
Confederate general, He served on the Alabama Supreme Court. He
was this, you know, notable guy. But it was placed
in Washington in nineteen oh one, okay, and it was

(54:03):
never something that washed down easily. And it was torn
down in twenty twenty, and the National Park Service announced
plans in August to restore the statue. That was because
of an executive order. Actually there were two executive orders
from Donald Trump, and he is, as you know, manicuring, choreographing,

(54:27):
and otherwise managing history. And so the national museums, in
the national monuments, they're all going to reflect a severe
extreme view of the nation's history. Farmers are finally reaching
the breaking point with the new administration. I say they're new,

(54:49):
I mean they're less than a year in the idea
somehow that you would buy beef from Argentina when the
beef producers of America are losing their farms. That's too
much for many GOP lawmakers in cattle producing states, unleashing

(55:12):
a flurry of calls over the last few days to
the Agricultural Department, to the White House. A small group
of Republican senators, including retiring Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, cornering
USDA Secretary Brook Rollins in a private meeting, and after
the President made a comment that he plans to import

(55:39):
beef from Argentina to support the Argentine economy, they say,
this cannot go on. Now. That hasn't, as you might imagine,
created any kind of reversal on the part of the administration.
They're going to go ahead with this beef import plan
that to Trump has talked about. They say, it's going

(56:01):
to lower stake in Hamburger prices for American consumers. It's
going to bolster relations with a key Trump ally, you
know this, Javier Milay, who would be presiding over a
country in real deep trouble were it not for a
forty billion dollar bailout from America. But the one thing

(56:24):
I would take from this is there is a point
at which even GOP lawmakers will say enough so these
states that are heavy on agriculture and you'd consider them
allies of Donald Trump, they are saying you cannot do this.

(56:50):
So here is what's written. We believe strongly that the
path to lower prices and stronger competition lies in continued
investment at home in the United States, rather than policies
that advantage foreign competitors. On the Senate floor, a series

(57:10):
of votes on undoing some of Trump's global tariffs. Five
GOP senators we told you this yesterday joined Democrats to
reverse fifty percent tariffs on Brazil. Four Republicans voted yesterday
to cancel tariffs on Canada. The votes, again are largely
symbolic beause you don't even have the House in sessions,
so you can pretty much vote anyway you want in

(57:31):
the Senate because you know it's just in a way performative.
But the message is sent to the White House, which is, hey,
take care of us before you take care of Argentina.
So these are things that show you maybe some cracks
in the foundation. You can only get away with crazy

(57:55):
for so long, and now some of that crazy is
beginning to affect this administration. I don't know that it'll
affect policy particularly, but those farm states and those GOP senators,
they have a voice that Trump may listen to and
this administration may listen to. So we will see. But

(58:18):
that's the latest from Congress, at least when it comes
to the tariffs and the GOP coalition. So I am
glad you are here smashed the like button as we
wait for David Katz, who will join in minutes. I
wanted also to give you just a little bit of

(58:38):
good news about something that you know. I'm a big
I'm a tree hugger, I know, and I think trees
need hugging. So I thank you if you're a bit
of a tree hugger, you you know, basically back environmental legislation.
You shed a tear as I do for the way

(58:58):
in which we are just trash shing this environment we're
living completely unsustainability unsustainable and sustainability seems to have taken
a back seat in every way when it comes to policy.
But against that backdrop, I'll give you some good news.
There is a river restoration project in Oregon to get

(59:19):
the salmon back and it has been a wild success.
The fish have been missing from the headwaters of the
Klamath River for more than a century, and just a
year after they remove the final dam there the salmon

(59:39):
they are back. Chinook salmon have returned to their historic
spawning grounds at the headwaters of the Klamath River in Oregon.
Wildlife officials saying this month in Oregon that the fish
made it past a key milestone along lake and it
reached the tributary streams that make up the river's head quarters.

(01:00:01):
This is a year after the last of four major
hydroelectric dams on the Klamath was demolished. The dams had
blocked salmon and other fish from traveling upriver. They were
removed in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four. Decades
of efforts from Native American groups finally alongside environmental organization, anglers,

(01:00:25):
and others produced this last dam being eliminated, and you
now have what are on on some level, it's just
a joyous situation up there. Two hundred and sixty miles.
The Klamath River runs from its headwaters in south central

(01:00:46):
Oregon to the northern California coast, emptying into the Pacific
near the town of Klamath. For thousands of years, a
robust population of salmon, trout, and other migratory fish that
are central to the diets and cultures of the tribes
that live along its were so much a part of
life there. By the early nineteen hundred, settlers were looking
at the river for its irrigation and hydropower potential, and

(01:01:08):
four dams were erected and they were built in, you know,
back in the nineteen hundreds, and then smaller dams, canals,
water diversions blocked the passage of these fish, and eventually,
you know, chinook salmon, which is the most abundant fish
in the Klamath area, dwindled to near zero, disappeared completely

(01:01:32):
from the upriver area. And so you're losing a diet,
you're losing livelihood, and demolition of the last dam was
completed in October of twenty twenty four. Just days later,
salmon were swimming upstream, passing through the former dam sites

(01:01:53):
and heading for the Upper Klamath Lake. That's the last
stop before the smaller tributary streams where they're going to spawn.
But biologists were still worried. They weren't sure the salmon
could get around these few obstacles that remained. There were
remaining dams that had fish ladders, and it wasn't clear

(01:02:14):
that this is going to be a success. Scientists tried
to get equipment in place to track the progress of
the salmon see if they could navigate these old ladders,
if these salmon could actually make it, There were cameras
put in. It was incredible, though, said this guy who
is the project lead for the restoration effort with the

(01:02:36):
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. His name is Mark Hereford.
The Chinook salmon leaping up one of these older fish ladders,
providing the first documentation of the salmon's progress upriver. Scientists
then equipped some fish with trackable radio tags as they
passed through the fish ladders, and again, these fish then

(01:02:59):
were pioneers for what has been a tremendous return of
the salmon on the Klamath. So congratulations to sustainability. You
made it. And some good news hits the world of
the environment amidst a day that has produced some well

(01:03:21):
some shocking news and some bad environmental news when we
come to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. So thank you
all for being here. Please smash the like button if
you could. It helps us in the world of YouTube.
It's a stupid little thing, but it really matters. Iron Yeah,
do it hard, smash it like a.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
Boss baby with your iron rock.

Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
You know, to hit that thumbs up. Yeah, hit that
thumbs up, and that helps produce. If you hit a
certain threshold, your show ends up in another feed that
it wouldn't otherwise end up in, and it helps you
just get some viewers and get to footprint that gets
out there. So do click it, smash it, subscribe, and

(01:04:04):
do hit the notification bell and you'll know whenever we
post a new video. By the way, this I don't
have this conversation on the air with Kim. I feel
like the conversation I had with the bad Do we
do the bad ass conversation yet? Have I had the
bad Ass conversation. Can we haven't aired it yet, have we?

Speaker 2 (01:04:25):
No, we haven't.

Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
I feel like that's a good one for the weekend.
You know, maybe we can drop that this weekend along
with Belinda's It's the Planet Stupid, which aired on the
Live Show. So I'm yeah. The King Salmon making a
comeback just in time for nuclear discrush. It description Seal
the Shoemaker, Sala the Shoemaker, always good to hear, Joe Fish, sal.

Speaker 7 (01:04:48):
The Shoemaker, Joe Box, and Little Anthony.

Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
Very very good point though. It's nice to have the
salmon population back for the nuclear blast. Chantal with a
thirteen ninety nine. We'll call it fourteen dollars superstars, big
shot at Chantal a new name. Sometimes I see a
name I don't recognize, I haven't seen before. And I'm

(01:05:13):
very grateful for the growing generosity of our audience. By
presidential executive order, says Luis quote. The Civil War sounds
way too negative and will now be known as a
slight disagreement with good people on both sides. It is

(01:05:34):
all about the messaging. It's all about the messaging.

Speaker 6 (01:05:37):
I've never seen anything like it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
Yeah, PT, thanks for the one dollar super chat.

Speaker 6 (01:05:43):
Yeah, they are kissing my ass.

Speaker 1 (01:05:45):
Well, I don't know, but I do know that PT
is very much in the game. Bam, says Richard Delamator.
Richard Delamator is one of our salmon gummies? Are your
Simon gummies? Wild or farm raised? Says Phineas Jay will Be. Yeah,

(01:06:05):
I did report and this I'll give you for those
who partake. I don't know where are my weed smokers
at all? Right, I'm not saying you have to, but
and I'm gonna get to David Katz here in a second.
I'm sorry that he has to see this part of
my little uh tip for my audience. But those who
do partake. I when I was in Alaska recently, I

(01:06:27):
found a dispensary there and there is a product, and
they're probably more than one that's in the shape. It's
an edible. It's a gummy in the shape of salmon. Yeah,
and I know it's really both cute and also it's
one of the best gummies I've ever had. What, yeah,

(01:06:50):
you still have.

Speaker 2 (01:06:52):
You out of him? Now?

Speaker 3 (01:06:53):
Is that it?

Speaker 1 (01:06:54):
I'm out of them? And I looked into whether it
was available here in the you know, the contiguous states,
you know, or if I had to go to Alaska,
and the reality is it's only available in Alaska. So
if you go to Alaska, I recommend it, and I
really like the salmon jerky, says Heather. Yeah, but those

(01:07:16):
of you who are in the Alaska area, I might
encourage you to look for the salmon gummies. They are you.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
And Juno, where were you when you found those?

Speaker 1 (01:07:29):
That's a great question. How much tuge in them? I
don't know the answer to that man from the West
for twenty uh. I don't remember Sitka maybe or I
don't know, you know, one of those places. Yeah, I
don't recall, but it was it was quite the I
thought it was just some cute thing and then turned
out to be, uh, a real find. So all right,

(01:07:53):
I want to, you know, get to David Casson. I've
got some you know what I want to do today,
Kim what I want to ask him some things? Of course,
I want to get to the legal stuff, because he's
one of the great legal analysts working anywhere in the world,
and as you know, in the English speaking world, he's
very much in demand. Well, I also wonder if there's
a minute, I also want to hit a couple of
things that are sort of adjacent to the law and

(01:08:16):
might fall into public policy because he also and I've
seen him on News Nation and elsewhere as a political
analyst as well, So I want to get to some
of that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:25):
He's kind of a big deal.

Speaker 1 (01:08:26):
He is a super big deal and I'm a big deal.
So when you put the two of us together, you
know who I am. Yeah, I'm a big Yeah, it's
two big deals. So Mark Thomson, this man is one
of the great legal analysts in the English speaking world.
You've heard him on BBC on Radio one in London.
You've also seen him on News Nation, on Fox News Channel,

(01:08:50):
across all of the network stations down in New Zealand.
He is someone who is very much in demand because
the laws of America seem suddenly so relevant to those
who seem to want to undermine the laws of America.
How about it for the great counselor, former federal prosecutor
now defense attorney, David Katz. Great to be with you, Mark,

(01:09:13):
Great to have you counselor. And I'm going to start
in Chicago. The new figure on the scene is this
Greg Bovino guy. He is the one who comes on
board the ice train with a really heavy, aggressive view

(01:09:37):
of trying to get a lot of arrests and trying
to come in heavy with tear gas and other performative aspects.
And tear gas is more than just performative, it's real.
But I'm just saying, with a big show of force
in Chicago, so much so that he was called into
Chicago court and told that he had to be there

(01:09:58):
every day to report or to the judge because the
judge felt he was so much ignoring the orders of
the court in terms of respecting the civil rights and
basic decency associated with the presence in Chicago. The Appeals
Court reversed that decision, so he doesn't have to show
up every day. First your thoughts on that, then I'll

(01:10:20):
play a little video of him emerging from the court
claiming victory. But first your thoughts on what's going on
in Chicago.

Speaker 3 (01:10:28):
Well, I thought it was a little bit kind of counterproductive.

Speaker 9 (01:10:35):
For the Appeals for the District Court to say that
he had to appear in her court every single day.
I'm getting quite an echo, are you mark um?

Speaker 1 (01:10:47):
Let me let me try to do this.

Speaker 3 (01:10:53):
I thought maybe could try to also. My sound is.

Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
Down, Yeah, that we don't have our of course, we
don't have our Hang on one second, could.

Speaker 3 (01:11:02):
You do a news connect, a different connect? Different?

Speaker 1 (01:11:07):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, why don't you drop out for a
second and and well we'll get back. This is the
The problem is that we don't have We don't have
Albert today, and as a result, we are perhaps vulnerable
to some of the I blame Albert, says Cameo. Yeah,

(01:11:28):
we're maybe vulnerable in ways that we.

Speaker 2 (01:11:32):
It was so bad though, I can I could hear
what he's saying and I understand it.

Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
So no, no, no, I get that. But he's hearing echo,
you see, So that makes it difficult. It's not just us,
So it's a yeah, but I mean I blame you. Well,
I don't think. But let's try cats again and see
if we can't make it happen. Is that you sound okay?

(01:11:57):
Are you hearing an echo or what's your situation?

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
Let's hear I'm hearing an echo. But you know, Mark,
I've done a lot of well you do the UK,
you get a big echo too, so me across the Atlantic?

Speaker 1 (01:12:10):
Mark, Yeah, any better now or not?

Speaker 3 (01:12:14):
No, not really, but let me let me just talk
about the Chicago situation.

Speaker 9 (01:12:18):
So what happened was I think the district judge by
saying that should come to her court every single day,
I think that that you'll led itself.

Speaker 3 (01:12:27):
To being reversed by the appeals court. It just sounded
like it was too heavy handed a response to this
Bobdo guy, who, of course has been going into these
cities like Chicago in a very heavy handed way. My
understanding was that he was kind of the field commander
out here in l A and of course they greatly
exceeded their authority and basically did things that the courts

(01:12:48):
would later find illegal out here. Now he's the sort
of martinette who's performing and he goes right out into
the street with the troops. One of the things he's
accused of is having thrown a canister of tear gas himself,
even though he was ordered along with the rest of
his troops not to throw tear gas, not to use

(01:13:08):
tear gas. So the reason that he's crowing, though, is
because number one, the appeals court did reverse this order
that he has to go to her chambers or courthouse
every day at six o'clock and report on the latest
compliance or non compliance with her order. But the rest
of her order has pretty much stood, and the rest

(01:13:29):
of her order does make him give all kinds of
documents to the court, including what they call after action report.
So every time that they take one of these violent
actions out in the street, or violence ensues, or there's
a car crash and they say, oh, it was the
protester's fault, and the protesters say, oh, no, it wasn't.
Ice just drove into a crowd, or they just drove

(01:13:50):
at they used a car as a leathal weapon against
someone they were trying to detain. The after reports will
shed light on that, although there of course subjective and
written by the officers, but also the body cams have
to be kept and turned over. So he's really crowing
about a non victory because right now this judge, her
name is Ellis, she was appointed by I think Obama.

(01:14:13):
She's really got a firm grip of this situation. And
I think what they're going to show Mark is that
it's really the officers who've been exceeding the law and
just basically making stuff up. And of course the proof
of the pudding will be in the tapes, and the government,
the Trump administration is lost on the tapes. They have
to do the taping so far, and they have to

(01:14:34):
turn over the tapes, and the Seventh Circuit Court of
Appeals did not reverse that. What they reversed was just
he doesn't have to go every day at six pm
to her courthouse.

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
I wanted you to see the emerging from the courthouse
from Bovino, who again is the Customs and Border Patrol
Commander at large, and he will have more and more
control over things as these policies take hold. There's a
big shake up at ICE, as you know, Department of
Homeland Security, and here is and I want you to

(01:15:07):
pay particular attention to look at the people around him.
These are the Feds. He is people Customs and Border Patrol,
people with their camouflage, with their face covered. And the
reason I really want you to pay attention to this
is to me, I don't get the camouflage thing. You're
in Chicago. I mean, there's no need for you to
be wearing camouflage and the face coverings. Again, it's all

(01:15:28):
in the dark glasses, all part of this show of
military force. And I think it's to remind the public
that we're big, bad and we will kick some ass.
Don't get in our way. Look at the Chicago cops.
You can see their faces. Their faces aren't covered. They
have id the way you're supposed to. And here was

(01:15:49):
his really the crowd shouting him down as he gets
into the van. He puts his hand and fist in
the air and then he flip the bird to the crowd.
Keep it going if you would, Oh that's in Oh so, yeah,
that's the kicking the bird. So you can see him

(01:16:12):
there in the center of the screen. He drives himself
in a Border Patrol pickup truck that's wrapped with the
Border Patrol insignias. But to me it was there was
a lot there in just the show. You can see

(01:16:35):
again look at these guys. They are full on military
strapped and I once again don't get it. But I
get it only if I see it from the standpoint
of messaging to the public. But go ahead, David Well.

Speaker 3 (01:16:50):
I think that the courts, if they get a case
that pertains to this, I think that they may order
that they not be obscured in this way so that
they can't be Identif that's the scary thing, I'm sure
that they'll come in with evidence that they can be
identified by some other means, but I don't think it
really washes. And I agree with you Mark that it's

(01:17:11):
certainly being done for the intimidation. You know, there having
storm troopers, people call them storm troopers. These are the
things that we associate with storm troopers. These are the
things that we associate unidentified you know, troops. The way
that they're addressed, as you say, they're covering their faces
in a way that their identities in a way that
the Chicago Police Department are not. And so it's definitely

(01:17:35):
done for intimidation and to make it difficult to identify them.
So if there's a civil rights violation, yes, they may
know who it is, and in discovery, the plaintiff, if
they sue the government may be able to find out
who it was who violated their civil liberties. But you
sure don't find out very readily. You don't remember, Hey,
it was the guy who had the little thing above
his left eye. It was the other guy who had that.

(01:17:58):
It was the lady, I remember what she looked like.
The idea is that you can identify them, and of
course it's very intimidating. I don't exactly by the argument
that you don't really know who's coming along. I think
in these situations where you're by the you know where
you're right by the you know, gas station, the car
wash place, and you see them coming the way that

(01:18:19):
they come, and by now we know they're mo they're
probably not a gang. We probably know that it's them.
This idea that I had no idea. I didn't even
know it was the government. Yes, I think by now
you know it's the government, but that isn't the whole remedy.
Who in the government, you know, are they doing this properly?
And then of course they don't like to be photographed,
which is another thing that does remind you of a
third world banana republic, fascist republic. I'll say the word

(01:18:43):
democratic law enforcement officers. We know who they are. They
properly identify themselves. That's part of the Fourth Amendment, that's
part of our constitution, that's part of our whole democratic system.
And these anonymous people, even if you know with the government.
The other thing that's anomaly, of course, is that they're
CBP Customs and Border Patrol. They're not anywhere near the

(01:19:04):
border when they're in Chicago, and so of course they're
screaming about that. I think they have this really frivolous
argument that they keep making that they have a right
to be there, because when you go out on Lake
Michigan three miles, you're in international waters. So they're actually
Chicago is three miles from the border because it's three
miles from international waters. This is absurd. No one in
their right mind thinks that Chicago is three miles from

(01:19:26):
another country.

Speaker 1 (01:19:27):
Yeah, it's tortured, to say the least. I also wanted
to mention the Supreme Court is now saying they want
to rule on whether or not President Trump can deploy
this National Guard in the Chicago area. They're saying or
suggesting that they're ruling is still weeks away. They want
additional information. This is the Supreme Court again before they

(01:19:51):
can rule. I wonder if you can comment on this
and maybe handicap that for us.

Speaker 9 (01:19:57):
Well, the Supreme Court is handling this, I think in
a very sensible way so far. They haven't just overturned
the Court of Appeal, so that leaves to stay in effect.

Speaker 3 (01:20:08):
That means that they cannot deploy the troops.

Speaker 9 (01:20:11):
That's true in California, and it's true in Illinois and
in Chicago. Trump cannot deploy the troops. There's an issue
whether he can quote federalize the National Guard, but the
point is that he cannot deploy them into the streets,
he cannot deploy them into our communities, and that the
US Supreme Court has not changed. They said they need

(01:20:32):
to think about more of these appellate rulings, but they're
not allowing deployment during the time that the Supreme Court
is thinking. So they're going to be taking additional briefs
on that issue. And I've always thought that that issue
was going to come out okay for our civil liberties
because of the power of the Posse Comatatas Act, which
is very clear that the military cannot engage in civilian functions,

(01:20:56):
even law enforcement functions, absent a rebellion or an insurrection
of the level that we clearly do not have, and
judges big determinations whether definitionally something fits or not. Definititionally, definitely,
as a matter of definition, this does not fit. And
on top of that, you have to make the showing

(01:21:18):
mark the government would have to make it going before
deploying troops that other meanings did not work. And now
one of the stmantic issues that it is to the
means other military means didn't work.

Speaker 3 (01:21:29):
Or does other law enforcement means didn't work. But the
fact is that normal law enforcement means have worked in Chicago,
in southern California, in northern California, and so they're really
not anywhere near meeting their burden in the US Supreme Court.
I believe after this briefing of showing that you know,

(01:21:51):
normal means haven't worked, normal means have worked. And I'm
really I'm admiring all the demonstrators around the country. I'm
admiring this seven million protesters. Nobody was arrested, which means
that there were no agent provocateurs, and if there were,
the other protesters told them, don't do that. You're you know,
you're just bringing the heat. You're just bringing an excuse

(01:22:13):
for Trump to bring in the military. So I think
the demonstrations, even in Portland, have stayed more peaceful than
they were let's say, four or five years ago. And
that's all to the good. I just I think this
Supreme Court is going to not change the decisions of
what will end up being the Seventh Circuit and the
Ninth Circuit. By the way, as to the Ninth Circuit,
I do want to take a. Katsadama's point on this,

(01:22:34):
because I said that the decision that was two to
one by the Ninth Circuit overturning Judge Immergut up in Portland, Oregon,
was just two trumpy judges. And there you are. You
got two trumpty judges. Yes, they're on the appellate court.
They'll be there for the rest of their life. I'm
not looking forward to the first time by appear in
front of either of that mark. But they're too trumpy judge.
I've said it, I believe it, and that's the way

(01:22:55):
it is. And they have now been The case has
been taken on bank, which means as an entire bench
just yesterday by the Ninth Circuit. What that means is
that the Ninth Circuit's chief Judge, who's a reasonable, sensible person,
the chief Judge is going to be on that panel
and then they randomly pick another ten from the active judges.

(01:23:17):
They're about twenty five twenty seven active judges, so ten
of them will we picked at random. Given the composition
of the Ninth Circuit, I think that that bench will
be very fair and I think that they will reinstate
Judge Immergut's opinion up there in Portland, Oregon. And that's
all going to be good. Mark.

Speaker 1 (01:23:34):
Let's just want to underscore what David Cass has just said,
and please David correct me. This is about whether or
not Trump has the right to put the National Guard
there in Portland. Correct.

Speaker 3 (01:23:45):
She made two decisions. One was did she allowed she
did not allow Trump to federalize the National Guard. When
the Trump administration failed on that with a Trump picked
district judge, this judge Immergut, who I know and is
an excellent judge, whether picked by Trump or not, she's
an excellent judge. She ruled against the Trump administration. Then

(01:24:08):
the Trump administration tried to circumvent her by saying, Okay,
they wouldn't nationalize, they wouldn't federalize the Oregon National Guard.
They had already federalized the California National Guard, so they
would send the California Guard into Oregon. She also blocked
that order, and it looks like that both of those orders,
the result of them is that Trump cannot deploy any

(01:24:31):
National Guard troops, whether from Oregon or from some other state.
There was also the threat that he was gonna send
Texas National Guard up to Oregon. And we have this
wonderful civil rights war type spectacle where basically Californians would
be invading Texas and Texans would be invading I don't know,
New York. A terrible situation. No one in their right

(01:24:52):
mind could think that that made any sense, and she
blocked that from happening. And that has not happened. The
National Guard from one state has not been into another
state to try to enforce the law at any place.

Speaker 1 (01:25:05):
The purge at the Justice Department continues as history continues
to be recharacterized, David, I'm seeing this. The Justice Department
place two federal prosecutors on administrative leave after they described
the January sixth defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump as
a quote mob of rioters. The prosecutors, Carlos Valdevilla and

(01:25:28):
Samuel White, used the phrase in a sentencing memo that
was filed Tuesday in the case of Taylor Toronto, a
MAGA enthusiast who prosecutors say stormed the Capitol on January
sixth and was involved in a scuffle with police officers
trying to force the mob out of the building. Trump
pardoned Trant to one about fifteen hundred others as you know,
the January sixth rioters. The pardon did not cover though

(01:25:51):
Toronto's other actions. In twenty twenty three, he perpetuated a
bomb hoax and he showed up to former President Barack
Obama's neighborhood with weapons and AMMO in his van. He
was convicted in May of illegally carrying two firearms without
a license, unlawfully possessing ammunition, and false information and hoaxes.

(01:26:12):
He is thirty nine years old. He's sentenced today, I believe,
and it's unclear who's going to appear in court on
the government's behalf, because they just fired the two prosecutors
associated with this, because they referred to him as part
of the mob of rioters who attacked the capitol on
January sixth. Again, this is a purging of the Justice

(01:26:34):
Department and a recharacterization of history.

Speaker 3 (01:26:36):
David Well, this is the kind of purging that we
read about in third world countries, and it's funny when
it happens there. It's so absurd, you know, the idea
that you could actually cleanse the civil service to this
degree where you have people saying stuff that's totally nonfactual,
and you read from some of these fascist countries, like

(01:26:56):
the proclamations that they make and they're so nonfactual. Well
we used to laugh, right, I think like in Iraq
they would say stuff. Remember we were trying to get
rid of Saddam Husay down there and his machine was
hanging on, and they would issue these proclamations that were
just totally nonfactual. It's like, how could you write such
a thing, and now how could you get in trouble
for writing what was fact? We all know this to

(01:27:20):
be true. We know there were a mob of rioters.
I've called them worse mark from seeing it right on
January sixth, I've called them marauders. Other people have called
them a lot worse names than that. Mob of rioters
is a sort of a loyally term to describe what
was this fellow doing there. No, he wasn't a tourist, Mark,
he was part of something. He was part of a

(01:27:41):
mob of rioters. It was just a descriptive term. And
a sentencing memorandum, you want the judge to remember what
this case is about. The judge has a lot of cases,
and when you describe what the sentencing reasons are. As
a prosecutor, you want to kind of summarize them. They
also wanted to point out that he should get at
least a twenty seven month prison sentence because he wasn't

(01:28:01):
just part of the mob of rioters, and I think
they had photos of him inside the building and stuff
like that. They had very strong proof against his fellow.
But then he had this incident with the Obama address,
and they had said that Trump had disseminated, I guess
on truth Social this Obama address, and this person got
from truth Social got from Trump's the truth Social account

(01:28:26):
the address and had gone to that address. I don't
know if it's the right address or not, but he
went there with what some kind of weapon and rounds
of ammunition. You want to remind the judge that the
reason this guy shouldn't get probation or a light sentence,
but should get twenty seven months was because he got
caught doing that. Those are the two lines that got
number one excised from the sentencing memo. A sanitized as

(01:28:49):
sencing memo got submitted. And those two prosecutors, who so
far as they don't have nothing to do with politics,
their career prosecutors, they just wrote that to be descriptive
about the case, they were humiliated, their computers were turned off,
they were marched out of the building like they were criminals.
I don't know if they've been fired. They may have
some civil service protection, but they've certainly been like the Quimina.

(01:29:10):
I mean, they're administratively suspended or whatever it is. Maybe
they'll come to their senses. I mean, you wonder, You
wonder someone like the majority leader of the Senate tune,
You wonder, what does he think his legacy is going
to be? You think you don't think the history books
are gonna mention that he was part of this group
that first was marauded on themselves. That first was had

(01:29:34):
they were going to hang Mike Pence. They all sat
there terrified, probably many of those Republican senators who now
walk around like nothing happened. We're peeing in their pants. Terrified.
Who wouldn't be terrified what was going on over there?
They made all those speeches at the time, Ted Cruz,
Lindsey Graham, they all called those marauders much worse than

(01:29:54):
a mob of rioters. And now they stand by. They
should be on the phone right now. You reinstate those
two people. If you have any concern for our rule
of law in America. Those two people didn't do anything wrong.
They're part of the civil service. We won't vote for
anything that you want Trump if you don't do the
right thing on this Tune Cruz, Graham, all the people

(01:30:16):
who made those statements at the time and who was
like scared as they could be. Now all of a sudden,
let's see if they do anything about it. They sure
haven't yet to reinstate those two people are the rule
of law at the Department of Justice.

Speaker 1 (01:30:28):
I mean, I don't know that they're going to die
on the hill of reinstating those two. It seems as
though the recharacterization of what happened on January sixth, that.

Speaker 3 (01:30:37):
Also one hill they may be dying on. I'm get
this big echo, so I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you.
I'm sorry. But they did vote against the new tariffs
on Canada. So they voted.

Speaker 1 (01:30:49):
They voted.

Speaker 3 (01:30:51):
Being an interesting way in the Senate with that. They
didn't get Tuned, the majority leader, but they got our
old friend McConnell, our old friend Van Paul, and they
got the.

Speaker 1 (01:31:01):
Two Murkowski voted that way, yeah, and Susan Collins. But
the reason that that vote. I think it's not irrelevant,
but I would suggest to you respectfully that given the
fact that the House is adjourned and the House likely
wouldn't support that vote, you don't really have anything more
than kind of a performative aspect to that vote, because

(01:31:23):
you just know that that vote in the Senate isn't
going to be affirmed in the House. The House isn't
even there. So I'm not saying it's nothing, but I
take your point. I'm just saying it doesn't quite have
the teeth it might mark.

Speaker 3 (01:31:33):
You're probably beating it and researching it better than I am.
I'm just talking off the top of my head. But
it occurs to me that there have to be three
or four Republican Congress members who are right near the
Canadian border, and it's hurting commerce between the border states
at the north and Canada so much it's hard to
believe that there won't be as soon as they get
back into session, there won't be four or five who

(01:31:55):
at least for Canada, and it'll establish this president that
Congress is standing up for itself. Now, they could go
either way. The US Supreme Court could then say when
they had the argument, which is coming very soon on
the tariffs. The huge argument this term. They may say, see,
the Congress knows how to take care of matters when
they want to. They did the right thing by Canada,

(01:32:15):
and they didn't do the right thing by the other
countries in the world, which means that they tacitly approved
what Trump did with all the other countries in the world.
So yes, that could end up being manipulated by the
US Supreme Court, But again I still stand by that.
I think there are five or six votes to overturn
the tariffs because there's not a real emergency that's coming up, right, that.

Speaker 1 (01:32:36):
Is going to be If that happened, it's going to
be a titanic day in terms of the law and
in terms of public policy and economogy.

Speaker 3 (01:32:44):
Right, because they keep allowing the tariffs to be collected.
You would think that the US Supreme Court would stop
those tariffs from being collected if they were really going
to go the way that I think that they're going to.
But I think the US Supreme Court, if they do
go the way I say, they'll just decide. You know,
that's not our problem. We have administrative courts, these courts
of claims. They'll deal with getting the money back to people.

(01:33:05):
Will make that great principle that was not an emergency either.
There's two things that Trump is doing that are outrageous
that are non emergencies. He's sending the military or trying
to send the National Guard into cities where there's not
an emergency. And he's doing this thing on the international
stage with tariffs where there's not an emergency because drugs
are coming into this country for a long long time.

(01:33:25):
That's not emergent. And we have a trade in balance
which is worse on account of Trump, which is also
not emergent.

Speaker 1 (01:33:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, once again, applying logic to
the policies from Donald Trump really will get you nowhere.
This is the force of personality and the fist is
a powerful one to the point that no one wants
to get hit with it in the legislature. And I
would even argue in the Supreme Court on some level
they may be cowed. Those votes that are even in play.

(01:33:53):
As you say, you know, kind of the court is
pretty much a cake that is baked, and they're just
a couple of votes that might be in play. I
want to ask you quickly in our last couple of minutes.
I'm sorry about the echo, but there are two dozen
states that are suing the administration right now over the
decision to suspend food stamps during this government shutdown. This
is really relevant. I mean, it's a lawsuit led by

(01:34:15):
New York, California, and Massachusetts, and they're asking a federal
judge to force the Department of Agriculture to tap into
emergency reserve funds to distribute food benefits. There's forty two
million families and children who rely on this SNAP program.
The USDA is saying that no benefits are going to
be issued beginning Saturday. So again, one of the most

(01:34:38):
effective tools to fight hunger is now very much imperiled.
Can you speak to that lawsuit.

Speaker 3 (01:34:45):
I think that law suit is going to succeed. I
think it's in Boston in front of a US District
judge there. It's brought by at least two or three
different states. I think the remedy would be nationwide. It
would be one of those nationwide injunctions. It would just
end up being that way. I don't think that you
get your food stamps in New York and California and

(01:35:05):
Massachusetts and not in the other forty seven States, and
I think that the US Supreme Court might let that stand,
even though they claim that they don't want these district
judges issuing nationwide injunctions. Even this US Supreme Court mark,
I know people think that they're heartless, and look at
some of the things that they've done, like Dobbs. I
just don't think that they want to be championing. It'll

(01:35:27):
be Hooverville's. There'll be people starving in the streets. It'll
be like the worst days of the depression. The food
banks cannot get food to people that fast. There's a
lot of babies and young kids who will die of
hunger in America. This is not a third world country, right,
And so I think that the judge will make that ruling,
and I think that the US Supreme Court won't disturb it.

(01:35:49):
Our Attorney General out here in California said they'll be
about a week's delay anyway. The Trump administration claims that
all these reserve funds, all this money sitting around, none
of it can be used for the SNAP program. There's
this bureaucratic kurdel. There's that mess. Meanwhile, when it comes
to paying the military, suddenly five billion dollars can immediately

(01:36:11):
be cleared off the books. Research and development can be
used for that. So I think that one's going to
come out all right. If it doesn't come out all right,
and I believe very strong the Democrats should stick together
on the you know, on their position on the Trump
you know, closing the government, the Republicans closing the government
over the health benefits. But I really think if we
get to that point where that judge either doesn't rule

(01:36:33):
for the Democratic States or the appellate courts really do
reverse it, and there are people starving in America, I
think the Democrats have to give on that one. They can,
you know, not open the government up for other things,
but I just think they have to give on that one,
and maybe they have to give on the FAA. I
don't know about you, Mark, but I don't want to
fly anywhere. I mean, no client of mine has had
me needed me to fly anywhere for them. But I'm

(01:36:55):
kind of holding my breath. I mean, maybe that's the
very upper middle class problem, but I really don't want
to fly.

Speaker 1 (01:37:01):
I think it's a huge issue. I've been talking about
it since the government shut down hit. That the one
way in which I think all Americans are going to
be hit. It's not just all Americans aren't SNAP recipients,
but all Americans on some level will feel the ripple
effects of the transportation issues that these major transportation hubs
that are affected by this air traffic control thing. It's scary.

(01:37:21):
I have to take a flight middle of next week,
a major international flight. I have to fly from LA
to Miami and then Miami at a Columbia and then
ten days later fly back. And this is just crazy.
This is a jacked up way to do government. And
it's just and again I'm expressing the kind of anger
and outrage about all of these things, and I think
more and more Americans should. But I want to get

(01:37:42):
clear on what you're saying. You think that the Democrats
should relent and they should provide the votes. If SNAP
looks to be imperiled the way it is, that would
mean that they'd have to reopen the government here in
the next day or so.

Speaker 3 (01:37:58):
I just think that they have to. I think what
the judge does. I think that the judge will rule
in favor of the States tomorrow and then the Democrats
can play it by ear and I think that the
appellate court won't back up, and the US Supreme Court
won't back up the administration. They won't want to see
all those people starving. But I think if we really

(01:38:18):
are in the situation where people are starving, if the
full impact of the lack of SNAP pits, I just
think the Democrats have to They just have to. I mean,
they're they're the Democrats. We're for the people, the working people,
the poor people. We just can't let that happen and
take whatever supposed political hit by quote backing down. But
I think that the public will understand that we back

(01:38:39):
down to save thousands and thousands of hungry kids and people,
I mean from starvation. Mark, This is a real, real thing,
the idea that the food banks can distribute all the
food they can get it to people. You see what
the food banks can do with compared with the budget
on SNAP that people need for their families and their kids.
Can I say one last.

Speaker 1 (01:38:57):
Thing, Mark, Yeah, I'll just know one thing before you
note the last thing. And the thing I'm going to
note is that you have that kind of angel investor
guy who's a big MAGA Trump supporter, come in and
offer one hundred and paid one hundred and thirty million
dollars supposedly to go to the troops. The reality of
that is that you know, each troop gets like ninety dollars.

(01:39:18):
If you've spread that out, it doesn't pencil out. But
the more important and relevant point I think is you
could have had one of these angel investors from the
GOP come in and go, Hey, I'm going to provide
all this money for these people who need public assistance
for food and for support of all sorts. But you're
never going to see that, you know, because the GOP

(01:39:38):
represents in general, sadly, this kind of allegiance and even
as a fetishized aspect of military allegiance, and a total
ignoring of the needs of the people who are on
SNAP and other programs designed to support them.

Speaker 3 (01:39:52):
Now, go ahead, whenever you see someone coming in with
one hundred and thirty million dollars or they want to
pay for that big, ugly ballroom. My grandmother to always say,
and what do they want for that money? And what
are they would for that money? For Halloween? I have
my tie on also for Dia delow Us to Day
of the Dead celebrated the next day, and I want

(01:40:14):
to say thirty seconds, I'll keep this really short. That
same case where I had Tommy Lasorda as a witness
back in nineteen eighty nine, my second witness was Vincent Price.
Also had no idea that this was going to be
a scam, but I got to know Vincent Price on
the case, and Vincent was very upset that he had
done Thriller for seventy five thousand dollars. He told everybody

(01:40:35):
that he met that he'd only been paid seventy five
thousand dollars to do that famous voice in Thriller, and
he wanted to know that I know anyone who could sue.
Did I want to leave the government and take his
case and sue everybody in sight so he would get
more than seventy five thousand dollars. So it with all
the terrible things that are happening this hollow this country
sometimes seems like Halloween. The news from Trump seems like

(01:40:56):
Halloween day after day. But it's Halloween. It's Dia delo
swort us, And say a word for Vincent Price, an
absolutely lovely man, a Shakespearean actor, and a guy who
only got seventy five thousand dollars When you hear him
on Thriller on the radio and all over for Halloween.

Speaker 6 (01:41:11):
The Thriller, The secret of the Thriller, the.

Speaker 1 (01:41:14):
Way he said, if you want to if out roer here,
I'd have him try to hustle. I don't know if
Kim can did the outtakes all of you can find
it on YouTube, the outtakes or of the original session
of Vincent Price doing the Thriller voiceover is so much fun.
He's in do you feel the boogie? You hear him
the things that they didn't use in Thriller, You know

(01:41:36):
it really is.

Speaker 6 (01:41:38):
Michael Jackson is the Thriller.

Speaker 1 (01:41:42):
He had a wonderful style, as you say, Shakespearean delivery,
and he was just brilliant and everything he did. That's really,
by the way, a super cool brag that you got
close to him in that case. And I love that
That seventy five thousand dollars amount was what he was
given for doing the Thriller track, which of course was
one of the biggest songs of all time. Here Kim

(01:42:04):
found it down.

Speaker 3 (01:42:04):
The hallway mark. He would have told you about the
seventy five thousand and did you know a lawyer? So
it's not like he kept it secret.

Speaker 1 (01:42:11):
Here give it, Give this a listen, go ahead, go ahead,
kim play this all.

Speaker 2 (01:42:17):
Right, take one.

Speaker 1 (01:42:18):
Okay, this is Michael Jackson and this is Vincent Price
and Michael Jackson is the thriller. No, this isn't this
is this is not that. That's not them.

Speaker 3 (01:42:29):
Yes, that's not them.

Speaker 1 (01:42:30):
That's not them. I don't think. I think that's just
those are people impersonating them. But because I've heard it
so many times, I just know exactly what it sounds like.

Speaker 3 (01:42:41):
You'll hear it again for Halloween.

Speaker 1 (01:42:42):
Yeah, you'll hear it again a couple of days. This thriller.
It's always the thrill to talk to you. See what
I did. That's just a kind of professional I am.
David Katz. Appreciate you. See you next week. Echo free
next week, my friend Echo.

Speaker 3 (01:42:56):
I hope it was okay for your audience.

Speaker 1 (01:42:58):
It was. It was really good, better than okay, So
thank you, thank you for being here. Bye bye, David.

Speaker 3 (01:43:05):
You're a soul.

Speaker 1 (01:43:07):
The Mark Cumpson show.

Speaker 3 (01:43:12):
We could try ignoring it.

Speaker 1 (01:43:13):
Sir, Yeah, well we tried ignoring it. We'll do the Yeah.
Vincent Price played egg ahead on Batman. I forgot about that.
Thomas O'Neil, that's right, Batman and Robin you've pholed into
my trap. Very very funny, groovy guy. Yeah, for sure.

(01:43:33):
I'm telling you this that you found it. Kim, you
think you've found it this time. Here's a maybe a
little bit of it. I don't know why I like it.
I mean maybe because I'm a vo guy. I kind
of like outtakes from Vio Sessions.

Speaker 6 (01:43:45):
Hi, this is Michael Jackson.

Speaker 1 (01:43:47):
No, no, that's the same thing. There's no there's no
Michael Jackson on it. It's just Vincent Price.

Speaker 2 (01:43:55):
I'm not having luck. I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (01:43:56):
Yeah, it's okay. I mean it's I think it, you know,
let's face it. I just kind of bushed you with it.
But anyway, if you go on your deep, deep dive
to all of you and you'll find it, and it's
kind of fun. Go to Tijuana and fly from there.
It's cheaper too, says that chaplain Frapp, and Fred's got
to work around on the government shutdown when it comes

(01:44:17):
to flying. Pay those air traffic controllers. Pay those air
traffic controllers. Robert Hersy, what's up, rob How are you
thank you for the supersticker? Yeah, big shout out to you,
my friend, Right, I love it. Thanks to everybody who
has been a big part of the show. Today we

(01:44:41):
got pronunciation clearance on Oh the Folly, Oh the Folly
you like, Oh the Folly? Yeah, get that airport insurance.
I'm not worried about the insurance so much. Man, I'm
just worried about there safely. I don't even mind if

(01:45:01):
the flight's de layed. But say hi to Fark. Thanks
Champagne Wishes, you're really Champagne Wishes. I remember when Champagne
Wishes is kind of on our side. Now Champagne Wishes
has kind of moved into the uh provocateur, you know,
the rebels of Farks what he's talking about. But he's
moved into the kind of the stir the pot kind

(01:45:22):
of category. That's what I'm seeing. But anyway, Wes, thank
you for the five dollars superstick A big shot out shot.
Wes is an og of this show. I take a
boat across the Gulf of Mexico. Boats seem even more risky.
Uh yeah, I don't know. It's all risky these days,

(01:45:46):
I must say.

Speaker 3 (01:45:46):
So.

Speaker 1 (01:45:48):
I'm not sure what we're going to do, but I
know we're leaving. So next week you're going I think
next Wednesday we leave and I'm get your Peacefully Resist
T shirts available at get Markmarch dot com with the
old peacefully Resist line. I am drinking from the peacefully
Resist mug. I'm actually I'm rocking the line today.

Speaker 3 (01:46:10):
Are you gonna wear that to the airport?

Speaker 1 (01:46:14):
I don't see myself wearing the peacefully Resist line to
the airport? No, yeah, no I don't. But I'm gonna
wear something comfortable to the airport, and peacely Resist a
T shirt is come from. Maybe I will wear it.
Look under Vincent price outtakes of Thriller, says a Gilsey. Well,

(01:46:36):
I think poor Kim has I did try.

Speaker 2 (01:46:38):
Twice and then I played the wrong thing. I think
I played some comedy show instead.

Speaker 1 (01:46:42):
Yeah, it's bad.

Speaker 2 (01:46:43):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (01:46:44):
It's it's your own, Gil, you can do it. And
I mean Trevor seems like, uh, it's probably good in
that area. Also, I don't know. We're at the end
of the show here, so we're just kind of wrapping up.
But you'll like it. You'll the reason it's it's like
you'll hear him say things.

Speaker 6 (01:47:02):
Like do you feel the buggy.

Speaker 1 (01:47:08):
The stuff that didn't make the thriller track because you
know the secrets of the thriller, that's what you're used
to hearing. But what he does with the outtakes is
all the stuff that did in can can you feel
the boogy?

Speaker 2 (01:47:23):
Just try one more time?

Speaker 1 (01:47:24):
Okay, our last shot, one more time that comedy podcast
or whatever. Then that's not.

Speaker 2 (01:47:29):
That's not it. Yeah, but this doesn't See what you
think of this?

Speaker 1 (01:47:33):
All right?

Speaker 2 (01:47:33):
Here he is and I don't know why he's in
a tuxedo. See that's the problem.

Speaker 1 (01:47:38):
Oh yeah, but it's not. It's just voiceovers. So he's
not going to be an actual video. But let's take
a look at where you have anything from Vincent Price
will be fun.

Speaker 8 (01:47:45):
Always being a particular favorite of mine because well, because
Terror is so exhilarating.

Speaker 1 (01:47:56):
This is not it, This is not it. But now
what I love it?

Speaker 8 (01:48:01):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:48:01):
I see these are outtakes from some kind of Halloween
thing he was doing. Five I still love it. This
is all I love this stuff.

Speaker 8 (01:48:13):
Good evening, I'm Vincent Price. I am going to be
your host for this evening. The Halloween season has always
been a particular favorite of mine because because well, terror
is so exhilarating.

Speaker 1 (01:48:30):
Okay, this isn't it. But I love that, Thank you
for that little taste of Vincent Price has always been.
I love what he has been, has always been. It's
always been he's an American, right, yeah, but I love
that he speaks exactly pretty good. This is the other
part of it, Randy's right. Vincent Price's voice was on

(01:48:53):
Thriller for what like fifteen seconds, pretty good money for
that work. Seventy five thousand dollars, and back then, I
mean seventy five thousand dollars, it might be the equivalent
of like two hundred thousand dollars, right, But when you
consider how big Thriller was as a hit record, a
hit recording, you know, all of a sudden, seventy five

(01:49:15):
thousand does seem like right. But that's just the game, man,
And it's not a question of fifteen seconds, because as
a vo guy, your lie, you know, whatever your line
might be, might be short, right, But it's the fact
that it's taken you a long time to get to
the point where your voice is the voice they want

(01:49:35):
when you're Vincent Price, right, So you're paying for that.
You're not getting paid by the word, You're getting paid
for the read. You know, so that's the way I
always look at that stuff. I'm going to Cancun in December,
says chaplain Fred flying from Tijuana. I will wear a
peacefully resist shirt. Wow. Oh, say hi to Pablo Escimore.

Speaker 2 (01:49:57):
For me making much chances at the airport.

Speaker 1 (01:50:00):
I see Paulo Escobar. Then there's been a wrong turn.

Speaker 5 (01:50:02):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:50:02):
I'm going to a wedding and I'm coming home. But
we will see. Who else watched the premiere of the
Thriller video on MTV in the eighties. I remember how
exciting it was. That's right. It premiered. Thank you Sandy.
It premiered on MTV. It was big, man. That was
like a short film.

Speaker 2 (01:50:24):
That was huge. That was the eighties.

Speaker 1 (01:50:26):
Yeah, Rain says Vincent Price speaks for more than fifteen
seconds on the Thriller song album Version of the album
Version of It. Okay, yeah, but find those outtakes you
will like it.

Speaker 6 (01:50:38):
Ken you dig it.

Speaker 1 (01:50:39):
That's one of the things he says, Ken you dig it.
I don't know, but we tried. There's some good stuff
in today's show. If you missed any of it, the
show will be up and we will drop it bits
and pieces of everything we talked about today in separate videos,

(01:51:01):
Alforth get that done when he gets back on to
the playing field, and Kim, thank you for hustling stuff
to date, really really really good work. Mark. You're still
going to Columbia. I am, I am. I you know.
I wish our government wasn't so bent on a military flex,
but they seem to be. So There's not much I

(01:51:24):
can do, but I'm excited to be with you tomorrow
Big Friday show. And Anthony Davis joins us tomorrow in
addition to our normal fun so from the Minus Touch network,
he joins. And now I'm self of Stevens for the
Mark Johnson Show. Bubba. Thanks everybody who has shared the

(01:51:45):
show and the time support of the show out of time.
Thanks for everything. Bye bye.

Speaker 2 (01:51:56):
Great. Nope, I don't know how to do it.

Speaker 1 (01:51:59):
Okay, I will do it. I think you just do.

Speaker 2 (01:52:06):
I clicked on the video, but nothing happened.

Speaker 1 (01:52:08):
Well, Kim, I'm very disappointed, and I'm I blame you,
all right, Kim, will never end Well, We're not gonna
We're not gonna just end it suddenly. We're going to
stay on the air until tomorrow's show. And that is
just the way we're gonna do it.

Speaker 2 (01:52:27):
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, i'm failing.

Speaker 1 (01:52:30):
Thank you everybody, and until tomorrow boys,

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