SSRIs, Media Suppression & Pizza

Episode 201 hosted by Kraig Delaney, recorded live on September 2, 2025, which primarily discusses political and social issues alongside segments on sports and culinary history. The podcast criticizes Democratic-led city mayors for rejecting President Trump's offers of federal assistance to combat crime, arguing they prioritize politics over public safety and mismanage existing federal funds. It further examines a recent school shooting in Minneapolis committed by Robin Westman, focusing on the shooter's transgender identity, alleged use of SSRIs, and the suppression of their manifesto by media, drawing parallels to other mass shootings involving transgender individuals. Additionally, the episode touches on topics like Paul Pelosi's PPP loan controversy, local outrage over CenterPoint Energy bill hikes in Evansville, Indiana, a brief sports history segment on Wilma Rudolph, and an exploration of pizza's origins and regional variations.

NOTE: Fixed earlier version audio.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Item number nine is JFK's brain.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
This is the Soapbox Champion.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Podcast is right again this September two, twenty twenty five.
This is episode two hundred and one of the Soapbox
Champion Podcast, recorded live from a probably a compromised FEMA
region five. I don't know, did you, guys ever check
see what FEMA region you're in. I've reminded you twice.

(00:55):
Now you need to figured out. Hey, we don't do
that Oxford Comma stuff around here, guys. I just want
to put that out there for anyone that's new that
doesn't fly around here. My name is Craig Delaney. How
is everyone? I hope you're well well enough to be
able to sit down and enjoy a podcast apparently, and

(01:16):
I hope you had a good week since the last
time we talked. You're still not convinced that we're in
the middle of World War three. We're just going to
jump into it. A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula
Vonderlin was hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming technology all
attempting to land in Bulgaria on Sunday. The interference disrupted

(01:39):
the plane's navigation system, forcing the pilots to use paper
maps to land safely. That wasn't a military aircraft, that
was an official aircraft. That was a civilian aircraft. I
believe she was on. That's certainly not something you do
during peacetime, is it. I would say that was an
assassination attempt, and if it's civilian aircraft, it's an act

(02:02):
of war. Right, Oh, well, enjoy your starbucks here in
the US. Unfortunately, it's just more the same of politics
and the insanity surrounding it. Seems like everyone is a
fan of their crime in their town and they don't
want any help fighting it in their cities. Several mayors

(02:24):
of Democratic led cities coincidentally have publicly stated they do
not need President Trump's help in fighting crime, particularly in
response to his offer to deploy federal forces or the
National Guard. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized Trump's plans to
send National Guard to Chicago, calling it an offensive and uncoordinated.

(02:49):
Johnson argued the federal resources should focus on funding violence
prevention programs rather than militarized interventions and more on Chicago
in a minute. Baltimore Mayor Scott pushed back, also stating
that Baltimore is experiencing historic lows and violent crime and
homicides down twenty eight, twenty five. He suggested Trump could

(03:13):
learn from Baltimore's strategies and criticize the focus on black
led cities, urging federal support for issues like gun trafficking
instead of military deployment. Oh, I don't know, Karen Bass.
Of course, LA mayor stated the sending federal law enforcement
or National Guard to LA is unnecessary. She emphasized that

(03:34):
alternative approaches to improve public safety perception without militarization. Oakland,
California Mayor Barbara Lee declared that Oakland would not allow
the federal takeover. She described Trump's actions as an attempt
to dismantle democracy rather than address crime efficiently. Of course,

(03:56):
New York Mayor Eric Adams his office highlight in New
York's following crime rates in opposition to National Guard presence,
indicating a presence for local control over federal intervention. So basically,
these mayors say that we like our crime just the
way it is, thank you. We don't want any changes
to our crime. Politics over public safety, that's what I

(04:20):
call it. Mayor Scott in Baltimore said he doesn't want help.
He wants more federal dollars to help fight crime, and
I and you should say, no, nothing you're doing is working.
The federal funds you do receive or either mismanaged or
stolen because it hasn't been effective, So why give you more?

(04:42):
La Mayor Bass says she would like alternative approaches to
improve public safety perception. So fake it skew the public
perception of the crime. So all the crime you do
have just fake around it instead of doing anything to
combat it. That's what she's saying. No, sir, we like

(05:04):
our crime just the way we've got it. New York
City is known worldwide for its crime. It's depicted in
Hollywood and recognized globally and quite frankly made fun of that,
fun of them, of everyone makes fun of them for it.
But Mayor Adams would perform more funding, more money over
direct aid. He likes to brag about their only three

(05:28):
hundred and seventy seven murders in twenty twenty four one city,
you guys, three hundred and seventy seven murders, not all crimes,
only homicide, three hundred seventy seven. He only had nine
hundred and three shootings. He only had one seven hundred

(05:50):
and forty eight sexual assaults, highest since twenty twenty. Rape
rows twenty five point nine percent, one hundred and seventy
five cases versus one hundred and thirty nine in May
of twenty twenty four, only six three hundred and sixty
one cases of felony assault, only three thousand and seventy
four robberies in just the first quarter. And he's bragging

(06:14):
like he's got it under control, but also would prefer
more federal money to help. Which is it you got
under control? Do you need more money? Well, we've all
seen what you've managed to do with what federal funds
you do receive, So why would we give you more?
Mayor bass in La just wants to skew public perception.

(06:34):
I mean, I get it. I get it when you
don't know what to do, you're tired of looking about.
I get it. But would still like some of those
dollars though, you know, if you got them. I think
it's brilliant what Trump is doing, giving them direct physical
aid and making them say no and ask for more money,
putting them on the spot puts them in the right light.

(06:58):
I think either all of those mayors don't care at
all about crime, or I love these or they have
no clue what they're doing and can't get crime under
control in their cities. It can only be one of
those two, and they should all show their work for
what federal money they've already received before asking for more.
I mean, do we do audits on this? Where was

(07:20):
it distributed? Where did it go? Who got it? Where's
it at? I wouldn't let my child visit Los Angeles,
and I'm sure as hell wouldn't want them to visit
New York City by themselves. Illinois says, no, thank you,
we don't need any help. Illinois calling Trump a want
to be dictator for offering us in help, except there

(07:41):
were eight murders over this past weekend in Chicago alone,
just this weekend. No thank you. People of Illinois have
spoken and don't want any help. They don't need it.
Except over Labor Day weekend in twenty twenty five, from
six pm Friday to August twenty ninth to eleven pm Monday,

(08:01):
September first, at least fifty eight people were shot and
with eight fatalities across thirty seven incidents. According to Chicago's
own police data. That is just in Chicago alone.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
We are.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
We're not counting the rest of Illinois, wherever that's at,
whatever that is. We're just talking about Chicago politics over
public safety. There's your problem, of course. The tragic mass
shooting at an Annunciation Catholic School August twenty seventh Annunciation Catholic

(08:40):
Church and School in South Minneapolis, during an all school
mass marking the first week of their academic year, two children,
eight year old Fletcher Alexander Merkle and ten year old
Harper Lillian Moyski, were killed. Eighteen others were injured, including
fifteen kids ages six to fifteen, and three adults. There

(09:02):
were prishioners, all in their eighties who were attending mass.
All injured were expected to survive, though one child remains
in critical condition. When I was writing this episode, which
so you know yesterday last night, shooter identified as twenty
three year old Robin Westman, who died at the scene
from a self inflicted gunshot. And of course Westman, a

(09:24):
former student at the school, fired through the church windows
using a rifle shotgun pistol with one hundred and sixteen
rifle rounds through shotgun shells, and cops say one jammed
handgun round recovered, and from the pictures I've seen, which
I can only zoom in so far, the handgun looks

(09:45):
like a high point, So no surprise that it jammed.
I could be wrong. Go look for yourself if you
can find those pictures. They're suppressing those pictures. By the way,
I'll tell you more about that a little bit. What
about a motive, Well, fbis and investigating. They're invetigating it
as a domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.

(10:07):
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara noted Westman's deranged obsession with
past shooters and desire for notoriety with no specific motive.
Identified writings and videos revealed hate toward multiple groups including Now,
this is what the media is telling you right here,
hate toward multiple groups including black, Mexican, Jewish, and Christian communities. Okay,

(10:31):
that is what they're telling you. But they're leaving one
thing out. I'll tell you that in a minute, detailed planning,
including a sketch of the church. They even left a
video manifesto of sorts on YouTube, and journals showed Westman's
fixation on violence and prior school shooters. Mayor Jacob Bry

(10:54):
called the shooter an unspeakable tragedy and advocated for bands
on assault weapons and a high compac magazines for some reason,
rejecting federal intervention like National Guard deployment. Of course, see,
he emphasized local action to address gun violence. What local
action are you going to do? What local action are
you going to do to counter this stuff? Especially when

(11:16):
you want less guns on the street? How are you
going to counter that? Are you're going to mass massive negotiators,
you know, a crowd of negotiators surrounding these people. What
are you doing? You're gonna bribe them with a cheeseburger
like everyone got bribed to get the vaccine. You know.
Of course it's the gun's fault once again. Shooter Robin
Westman was born Robert Paul Westman ding Ding Here we

(11:39):
Go on June seventeenth, twenty twenty two or two thousand
and two. Sorry. In twenty nineteen, while still a minor,
Robin legally changed his name to reflect his gender identity
as female. The name changed to Robin M. Westman was
approved in January twenty two by Dakota County Court, Minnesota,

(12:03):
with his mother signing the application in support of course
he left those the different styles and types of manifestos
that the media is bearing. Why because it reveals too much.
It revealed deep emotional distress, including suicide on homicidal thoughts.
This has prompted federal investigators to investigating in weather psychiatric drugs.

(12:28):
Here we go, particularly ssriyes, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly
prescribed for depression, and whether or not they may have
played a role. My guess is absolutely they played a role.
This is the medication that kids are typically put on
as part of their gender affirming care because they have

(12:49):
anxiety over all of this, because their kids imagine the stress,
the confusion, the awkwardness, the anxiety, the general realized anxiety.
You have that anyway as a kid, as a minor,
you just have anxiety, and if you're trans, it just
gets amplified. It's got to be terrible for them. So

(13:11):
instead of addressing anything in a real way, most most,
uh most gender affirming physicians will put them on Ssriyes, okay,
that's what's happening. This, I believe, is the problem. It's
not trans people. All that comes with thinking you may
be a different gender than you were born with Can

(13:31):
you imagine now put those SSS SSR eyes on top
of that that cause suicide or homicidal thoughts. That's a
black box warning on the box. What do you think
is gonna happen every once in a while. Let's see
uh Audrey hal Nashville, Tennessee, uh trans. Let's skip to skip.

(13:52):
Let's see uh uvall DA shooter, Trans Denver shooter, Trans
Georgia shooter, trans National treat shooter, Trans Colorado shooter, Trans
Aberdeen shooter, Trans Minnesota shooter, trans Ioways shooter. Ooh, you
thought I was gonna say trans, no gender fluid Philadelphia
shooter trans. Ah, that's the problem, not that they're trans.

(14:22):
That's what everybody wants to yell when we're talking online.
It's not trans, it's the problem. That's not the problem.
It's the care they receive as miners and the SSRIs specifically. Okay, ah,
so stop asking why do you hate trans people? Why

(14:42):
are you screaming about trans people? We're not really, I don't,
I'm not. I hate these pseudo healthcare providers that provide
pseudo healthcare to trans miners. That's what I hate to
go to MEDICAI that these kids are given as almost
always SSRIs for depression, and that is the problem. I

(15:06):
promise you. These kids are usually depressed, then they're given
SSR eyes by the hand, well full, just as many
as they want, making it worse. Now they're depressed and
homicidal and suicidal. You understand. Ah, that's the problem, the
trans kids, the trans shooters. I'm going to say this,
and it's going to be controversial. My heart breaks for them.

(15:30):
They're victims in this. They are now. I don't care
that makes you mad that I say that, because they are.
Because if the truth could just come out, we would see.
And I promise you that all these shooters that are
trans we're taking SSRIs. I promise you if they were,

(15:50):
they're just as much victims as the victims. You understand.
Robin Westman and is included this list. And my heart
breaks for them, all of them. And notice how in
almost all these shootings, the manifestos are suppressed by the
officials and the media. Why is that Westman left videos online?

(16:15):
He left physical manifestos full of extremely violent plans and thoughts.
Westman experienced severe depression and suicidal thoughts spanning years. In
one journal entry, he wrote I'm not well, I'm not right,
I'm sad. I'm a sad person haunted by these thoughts

(16:35):
that did not go away. I know this is wrong,
but I can't seem to stop myself. I am severely
depressed and have been suicidal four years. Only recently have
I lost all hope and decided to perform my final
action against this world. Uote that's that's a victim that

(16:56):
someone needs help, but they weren't given the correct help.
They were given gender affirming care. Another entry included a
cry for help in all caps quote find me. I'm
begging for help. I am screaming for help end quote,
indicating a desire to be stopped, though this was not

(17:17):
acted upon. Westman acknowledged having a loving family and a
good support system, but stated that this did not correlate
with their desire to kill, suggesting a deep internal conflict
and deep mental illness. The manifesto also revealed a long
standing fixation on mass shootings, particularly the two twenty twelve

(17:40):
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by Adam Lanza, whom Westman
referenced multiple times and expressed admiration four. You don't think
this is mental illness? Westman wrote about fantasizing about shooting
up schools and workplaces since childhood, stating, quote, every school
I went to, I have some fantasy at some point

(18:01):
or another of shooting up my school, even every job.
Names of other mass shooters, including those responsible for the
Sandy Hook Tree of Life Synagogue and christ Church Mosque shootings,
were scrawled on Westman's weapons, the magazines for the weapons,

(18:22):
The writings and videos contained a mixed hateful rhetoric targeting
multiple groups, including Black Mexican Jewish Christian communities. Ah, what
special messages. It's just anti Semitic messages, racial slurs. Terrible.
It's not hard right now. It will be sand, but

(18:42):
it's not hard right now to find the picture of
the table that has all his weapons as evidence, and
all the magazines laid out, and the one thing that's
on his rifle, and the media never says it. They
never say it, They sell all all these other things.
They talk about Black Mexican, Jewish, Christian. His rifle had

(19:08):
killed Trump on it. Now now no one reports that,
But you can go find it like I found it.
I didn't hear about it. I just want looking for
evidence in this case that's where I saw it, and
that's when I started noticing. None of the media will
mention that because that puts them in a bad light.

(19:30):
Because they're constantly talking about Trump being a threat and
something needs to be done. They don't want to look like.
They don't want to look you know, they don't have
anything to do. They don't want to be connected, they
don't want to be a dot. So this they just
gloss over it, don't They just just don't report it
at all. That's that's how it works. That's how the
media works, and that's why the media is worthless. It's

(19:51):
it's opinion pieces. It's a hit pieces. It's not news anymore.
The news is out there, but it's like a scavenger hunt.
It takes forever. I don't know. Despite all that stuff,
Westman claimed the attack was not motivated by racism or

(20:12):
white supremacy, writing quote, in regards to my motivation behind
the attack, I can't really put my finger on it
or a specific purpose. It definitely wouldn't be for racism
or white supremacy. Instead, he said, I do it to
please myself. I am sick end quote that sounds like
a victim to me. A sticker on the manifesto's cover

(20:35):
featured a rifle over a transgender pride flag with defend
equality juxtaposed with an anti Semitic remark like free Palestine
and targeting Zionist Jews. The manifesto included detailed planning, with
entries dating back to at least May. Westman scouted an
Annunciation Catholic church visiting during a Sunday mass to study

(20:58):
door handles, teacher cations, and how to lock victims inside.
Just sad ah, we know the details. I don't. I
don't think it's important to talk about that. What's more
important is finding the core issue of why this There

(21:18):
is a pattern, you guys, they will not they will
not mention that on mainstream media either. There is a
pattern mass shooting trans over and over again for years now.
You have to say it like that. But again, that's
not people being transphobic. We're just pointing out the facts

(21:40):
and the obvious. So we see that trend. Now get
to the bottom of it. What do they have in common?
If we don't want to, it's it's not trans it's
mental illness equals SSR eyes, side effect, homicidal suicidal thoughts.
There you go don't. But you know, you know why

(22:03):
we can't talk about this right mainstream media can't talk
about it because they're by Pharma. That's all there is
to it. That's why. Because they can't run a piece
about SSRI's being the cause or maybe let's look into it,
they can't called all their ad revenue is from big Pharma,
and that's what the media has become. Just worthless, just

(22:25):
an ad. They're just an ad now, So okay, But
Minneapolis Chief Police Chief Brian O'Hara had this to say, so.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
Right now, we don't have a clear motive to establish
for why he did this at the church today. We
are obviously open to every possibility and we're hopeful that
once we are able to go through the scene all
of the evidence that's collected, that we'll be able to
better provide answers for our community.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah. Hey, maybe there's not a motive. Maybe there's not.
Maybe he was an SSRIs. You know, maybe I don't know.
I can't do it. Here's another Uh. I feeled down
on the dumps about this today and I feel like
this isn't going smooth because it makes me mad and

(23:22):
I'm sad about it. Really I had to look at
all the evidence, I had to look at all the pictures,
I had to look at his history, the things he says,
and what's what happened. And I don't know, it's just
it's difficult to talk about, but we have to talk
about it. Here's another clip I found.

Speaker 2 (23:40):
I don't know why this has been a trend lately
when it comes to shooters, but immediately you'll see a
bunch of accounts online argue that it's a trans problem,
that the shooter was trans. A lot of shootings happening
all across the country from different demographics, but a lot
of the mass shootings are carried out by young white men.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
Say demonic, and then they it's transgender maniac shoots up
Catholic school. You know, they could very easily say time
and time again, straight white maniac shoots up Catholic school.

Speaker 5 (24:15):
There's a lot of misinformation circulating right now. This individual,
as far as we know, did identify as transgender. However,
as we look at the spectrum of mass casualty events
in our nation's history, there have been a range of
motivations and a range of profiles that have been associated
with mass casualty events. You look at the shooting in
Charleston at a historically black church in twenty fifteen that

(24:38):
was perpetrated by a white supremacist.

Speaker 1 (24:40):
Shut up. They can all shut up. They have no
interest in the why, They have no interest in the truth.
They can only repeat over and over again what it's not.
They just keep saying, we don't know anything. But I
can tell you one thing. It's not because they're trains.

(25:02):
Do you understand? You see how that works. That's all
they can say. They can't say anything else because their
hands are tied because they add money. Go just go
watch the nightly news to not count the pharmaceutical ads
that you see wherever you're at. I don't care if
you're in La or Maine, Australia. Hello Australia, Canada, Hello

(25:23):
up there. Watch the nightly news in between now and
next Tuesday. How many pharmaceutical ads are aired during your
nightly news, your nightly national news. Let me know. Tell
me where you're at and how many ads you counted
during your nightly news. Leave a voicemail at eight one

(25:44):
two six one zero nine zero zero five, or you
can send that an email to info dot Soapbox Champion
at gmail dot com. A It's terrible. It's gonna happen again.
It's gonna happen again. It just will may not be tomorrow,
next week, or month, but it will. It will happen.

(26:04):
No motive, they said, no motive except for pages and
pages and hours of videos and almost his every thought
leading up to the shooting. I suppose the police chief said, here,
we have another one trans kid. This is what he
should have said, here we have another one trans kid,
most likely on SSRIs. That would have been news. That

(26:25):
would have been, you know, probably better than we don't have.
We have no idea why he did this except where
he left all the reasons, and it's minile illness. I
was corrupted by this world and I've learned to hate
what life is. He said. Also, where's the mom? Where
is she now? Where was she the day after I'd heard?

(26:47):
She wasn't even in the state when the shooting occurred,
and didn't even bother to come back. She okayed the
name change, and I would imagine if she signed off
on that, logically, she would have signed off on any
other gender firm and care he may have had, you
know or wanted? Right? Am I right? And no? Mention
of a dad. Where's the dad in the I don't

(27:09):
know Mary Grace Westman. The mom, worked at Annunciation Catholic
Church as a parish secretary and administrative assistant from twenty
sixteen until her retirement in twenty twenty one. Police Chief
Brian O'Hair stayed. On August twenty eighth. This year, law
enforcement had not been successful in contacting Mary Grace Westman

(27:32):
despite efforts to reach her for interviews. Authorities executed search
warrants at three residents is linked to Robin Westman, One
in Richfield, Minnesota, where Westman had recently lived with his
mother before moving to stay with a friend in Saint
Louis Park after a breakup. It's unclear if Mary Grace
Westman still even lives in Richmond. They don't know where

(27:54):
she lives. On August twenty seventh, she did answer a
phone call from the menace so to Star Tribune, crying
and stating she did not even know if her child
was the shooter before hanging up, but no specific location
was mentioned. In August twenty ninth, the senior Minneapolis officer
official sorry noted that investigators had spent hours interviewing Mary

(28:18):
Grace Westman with her lawyer Ryan Gary, stating she was
completely distraught, had no culpable culpability whatsoever. This suggests she
was reachable by then, but her physical location was not disclosed.
So weird stuff with the mom. Okay, now we can
draw lines here. Confused trans kid talks to his mom

(28:40):
and ask if she would sign off on name change.
She does, and most likely she would have signed off
on a filming care with probably included SSRIs. All this
as he was a minor. How is she not just
a little bit responsible when they get to the bottom
of it, you know? And of course the SSRI manufacturers

(29:02):
protected by a mile house stock of paperwork and protections.
Robert F. Kennedy Junior, as the now US Secretary of
Health and Human Services, is investigating selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
as part of his Make America Healthy Again, established by
an executive order from President Trump on February. In February,

(29:24):
the Commission ANIMs to assess the prevalance of and the
threat posed by SSRIs antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight
loss drugs, with a focus on their use in children
and potential links to chronic disease. Kennedy has expressed skepticism
about SSRIs, claiming their over prescribed, potentially addictive, and link

(29:46):
to issues like school shootings. But guess what you heard
that here? Not on mainstream media. Why it's like I said.
In twenty twenty four, the pharmaceutic industry spent approximately twenty
two billion with a B on advertising across all platforms,
with TV advertising alone accounting for about six point six

(30:07):
billion in recent years, representing a substantial portion of total
TV AD revenue. For context, total US television advertising across
all sectors was around sixty point five billion in twenty
twenty four, meeting pharma could account for roughly ten to
eleven percent of all TV AD revenue. You know, overall,

(30:30):
Big pharma has literally bought mainstream media. At twenty twenty
four report claims seventy five percent of Fox News evening
news revenue comes from pharmaceutical companies. Cable news outlets like CNN, ABC, CBS,
and NBC also received significant pharma ad dollars, with estimates
suggesting hundreds of millions annually for major programs like ABC

(30:54):
World News Tonight like one hundred and eighty million in
twenty twenty three. These figures indicate that for certain news programs,
pharma ads could constitute fifty percent or more of ad
of total revenue, especially during primetime slots. Digital ad spending
by Farmer also growing, projected to reach nineteen point sixty

(31:17):
six billion, and by the end of last year, pharma
dominance in TV and increasing digital presence makes it a
major player, potentially contributing ten to twenty percent of mainstream
news media and revenue overall. Crazy, they've literally bought and
suppressed the news. In other words, the mainstream media can't

(31:41):
afford to tell the truth about SSRIs or any other drugs,
So you and I will never hear the truth about them.
We have to find it. We're busy, we got things
to do, we work. Why should we be out hunting
for the news. Oh and also everything is politicized. Anything

(32:06):
RFK Junior saying or working on won't be reported accordingly either.
You just you surely have noticed that, right, never hear
anything about him. Remember the outrage from the left when
he was talked about being put in the position of
Secretary of Health Human Services. But now that he is
in and actually doing things, not a peep, not a report,

(32:28):
no coverage, not a headline. You have no idea what
they're working on because it's not reported. And of course
the gun blame popped up right away and went nowhere
because this isn't the issue, and everyone knows it. It's
just a deflection and we're all burnt out of hearing it.
There are just about five hundred million guns in the

(32:49):
United States. If they were the problem, there would be
no doubt and there would be no discussion. They are
not the problem. Also, where were the cries for gun
reform when Trump Thomas Crooks shot President Trump? I ever
heard about it when that happened, because it wasn't part
of their agenda. You see, it wasn't part of the narrative.

(33:11):
They go hard on gun reform when it fits, but
when it doesn't fit, not so much. This is not legitimate.
They're all fake. Just like I didn't fail that math test.
My pen did the same argument with guns. Okay, it's suicide,
it's depression. It's the constant calls for violence everywhere on

(33:36):
social media. Here's an insane person. I saw an X yesterday.

Speaker 6 (33:43):
The only thing that I wish on you, Donald Trump,
is a slow, painful agonizing death. And I hope to
God your heart's the one to do it, because if
it isn't, we're all coming with a big fat second
amendment that you're not going to get this bitter this time, buddy,
We're coming raw, no loop, so Ben the over fat boy.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
Also, that guy was in real dumb, real cheap like,
let's just make it happen with berries and dirt, joker
makeup on his face. Uh, it's all mental illness. And
it's not just these insane people on social media. It's
well the media, the constant calling Trump a threat, saying

(34:28):
we must quote unquote do something. A year ago, Fox's
Peter Doosey called out then Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre
for doing just that.

Speaker 7 (34:39):
Two days since, somebody allegedly tried to kill Donald Trump again,
and you're here at the podium in the White House
briefing room calling him a threat. How many more assassination
attempts on Donald Trump until the president and the vice
president and you pick a different word to describe Trump
other than threat.

Speaker 8 (35:01):
Peter, if anything from this administration, I actually completely disagree
with the premise of your question. The question that you're asking.
It is also incredibly dangerous in the way that you're
asking it, because American people are watching. And to say that,

(35:22):
to say that from an administration who has consistently condemned
political violence, from an administration where the president called the
former president and was thankful, grateful that he was okay,
from an administration who has called out January sixth, called
out the attack of Paul Pelosi, called out and said

(35:45):
we need to lower the temperature after the Butler incident.
And now for you to make that kind of comment
in your question, because your question involved the comment and
a statement, and uh, you know it is uh, that

(36:06):
is also incredibly dangerous.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
When yeah, okay or uh or uh. Let me tell you,
when you constantly call for violence, whether it be the
media or some of these politicians, ah, eventually there will
be violence, you know what I'm saying. And speaking of that,

(36:28):
and how the stupid, the stupid dragon is eating its
own tail. Rosie O'Donnell, I don't know if you guys
caught this, but I didn't catch it till her apology.
But I guess when this the latest school shooting took place. Uh,
and she listened to mainstream media. You know she wouldn't

(36:49):
go looking for anything herself. She got online and bitched
and moaned and gribe about maga. It's all maga, maga
did this. Look what you've done?

Speaker 6 (36:59):
You know?

Speaker 1 (37:00):
Oh why she said that because mainstream media suppressed the
fact that the shooter had killed Trump on his rifle
and she didn't know that. So she got online, made
an ass out of herself, and she got called out
on it because she didn't know. And Rosie O'Donnell got

(37:21):
back online and apologized. That's the most unbelievable part of
the whole thing. But you see how the media it's working.
That's an example of what I'm talking about. She is
relying on mainstream media. This is what happens. She was
made a fool of because the news is not the news.

(37:41):
All right, That's all I'm saying. Move it on Paul Pelosi.
You know, uh, he's in the news.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
I mean, he didn't get hit with another hammer or anything.
But husband a former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, was a
link to business in controversy over paycheck protection loans received
by companies in which he held investments, Specifically, EDI associates
affirm that Paul held with an eight point eight percent stake.

(38:13):
They received PPP loans totaling one point seven million dollars
two loans totaling up to that both of which were forgiven. Additionally,
a Real Clear Investigations analysis reported the Pelosi's investments, including
the Aberget Dou Solae Solat Resort, Okay and the Pati

(38:37):
Restaurant Company, well, they received up to twenty eight million
dollars in pandemic related funds, including PPP loans, the COVID
nineteen Economy Injury Disaster Loan, and the Restaurant Vitalization Fund,
with that first restaurant receiving two point nine million in
twenty twenty and five million in twenty twenty one. Not

(39:00):
a huge controversy, It's not that deep until you remember
Nancy Pelosi was a key figure in passing the Cares Act,
which funded all that stuff, the PPP, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Critics,
including some Republican lawmakers, of course, and a select media outlet,

(39:22):
raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, noting that Pelosi's
family profited significantly from these funds. For example, reports highlighted
that Pelosi earned millions from these investments in twenty twenty one,
a year when bailout funds were received, despite the investments
historically yielding lower profits. Paul Pelosi's spokesperson, Drew Hammil stated

(39:47):
that he was a minor passive investor and was unaware
of the loan applications, emphasizing his lack of involvement. Paul
Pelosi has a spokesperson. That should be your biggest if.
If you're so deep into dishonesty and all that stuff,
you have to have a spokesperson because you will accidentally

(40:08):
give it away. You have to have a spokesperson. You see.
That's weird to me. At the end of the day,
He's just a guy. Paul Pelosi is just a guy.
He's not a politician. He's married to one. But he
has to have a spokesperson. That's a red flag to me.
Drew Hammill is a longtime aid and spokesperson for formal

(40:29):
former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband I Get Whatever.
He has served as her deputy chief of staff and
communications director, handling media relations and public statements on her behalf.
Hamill has been a key figure in Pelosi's office since
at least twenty two thousand and seven. Managing Communications during
her ten uere speaker, and I guess it just carries on.

(40:50):
Now are we funding? Are we paying mister Hamill? Now?
I don't know. It's all confusing, So what's he doing
speaking for? You know? It's just weird, but just normal
to them. The taxpayer's dime is their dime. The end.
And I guess we're done talking about Cracker Barrel, right,

(41:12):
I hope.

Speaker 7 (41:13):
So.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
I was sick, sick of it within forty eight hours,
but I guess this shows cyber bullying is alive and
well and works. In twenty twenty five, Cracker Barrel is
keeping his old logo. They say. The funniest thing out
of all of it was a tweet that I saw.
And I don't normally do this on here, just quote
tweets whatever, but this one was a little extra. The

(41:34):
tweet was quote, now that we're done cyber bullying Cracker Barrow,
can we move on to Pizza Hut and get the
buffet and those red cups back end quote. I thought
that was pretty sweet. It's pretty clever. In a little
local news, people in Evansville, Indiana are upset with Center
Point Energy, of course, due to significant increases in electric
and natural gas bills, which many residents and businesses fine unaffordable.

(42:00):
Center Point customers have reported dramatic bill increases, with some
residential bills doubling or tripling. For example, Angelo's Italian restaurant
More on Them in a Minute saw its electric bill
rise from twenty six hundred dollars to twenty eight hundred
dollars to nearly four thousand dollars. In the owner, Angelo
Jabra bra his home bill jumped from three hundred and

(42:23):
eighty to four hundred average to seven hundred and eighty
one dollars. Other residents reported bills as high as twelve
hundred dollars, with increases of twenty four point eight seven
percent for those using one thousand kilowatts an hour monthly,
as noted in the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissions a July
twenty twenty four survey. I have Center Point, but I'm

(42:47):
also lucky that I don't have to buy gas from
Center Point. I only use them for electric and I
get gas from another gas place that's in our county.
Our electric bill did go up, and it if it
had been if we would have had to get gas
from them. Also ours one and one. I've went about

(43:07):
twenty five percent, but we're a little less because it's
only electric. But our electric did go up for no reason.
I I've looked at you know how you do when
it goes up and there's this big stink about it.
You get online, you can see your kill awat hours
and ours didn't change. It did not change, but our
bill sure did. It's a bull crap. The Indiana Utility

(43:34):
Regulatory Commission approved a multi tiered rate increase in twenty
twenty four for Center Point, despite strong opposition from about
seventy eight residents that went to a February twenty twenty
four public hearing. Seventy six of those spoke out. A
Center Point initially requested one hundred and eighteen point eight

(43:55):
million dollar revenue increase, later reduced one hundred and fifteen
point four will be, but the approved eighty million, eleven
point one percent hikes still significantly raised bills. Critics, including
Citizens' Action Coalition, argue that Center Points profits over one
billion dollars in twenty twenty two come at the expense

(44:16):
of struggling customers. Another rate hike is planned for early
twenty twenty six, expected to further and increased costs by
about twenty six bucks a month, though the exact figures unverified. Ah,
this is a multi tier frustrating event happening around here. Okay,
we live, you know, twenty minute drive from Kentucky, and

(44:40):
you just crossed the river, and you as soon as
you land in Kentucky, you have a choice of what
power company to use. Therefore, their bills are about a
third of what ours is. But in Indiana or in
southern Indiana, at least you got center Point or you
got no electricity they end. So it doesn't help that

(45:05):
Center Point, lack of transparency, no communication until they get
called out of stuff and they have to have a hearing.
The frustration that comes with a monopoly. And that's what
it is. It's Evansville Soule Electricity and National Gas Provider
in evsil Work County, I mean Vanderberg County. They call
it a regulated monopoly, but still it doesn't matter if

(45:28):
they're regulated or not. It still leaves you with no alternative.
We feel like hostages. You don't have a choice, and
they're not competing. They do what they want. Local business backlash.
Some businesses are cutting hours to cut their bills terrible
perceived mismanagement. They're claiming that Centerpoints high bills stem from

(45:54):
poor investment decisions, such as spinning over five hundred million
on pollution controls for a now re tired coal plant
with customers footing the bill. Of course, plus they still
make a profit. The companies shift to wind and solar
as cite it as a reason for our costs. But
residents question why they bear the burden of these transitions,

(46:15):
and we do. And Angelo's restaurant that I mentioned before,
they're in downtown Evansville, posted a handwritten sign on their
door stating it would not serve Center Point Energy employees
or those affiliated with them. The sign reporter on August
twenty first read quote, Angelo's will not serve Centerpoint employees

(46:37):
and those who affiliate with them. Sorry for the inconvenience,
but we have been inconvenienced end quote. The owner of
Angelo's cited frustration over high Centerpoint Energy bills, which with
this restaurant's electric bill rising from twenty eight hundred to
nearly four thousand dollars in his home bill doubling from

(46:57):
around four hundred from around three d and eighty to four hundred.
He said to seven hundred and eighty one dollars. He
described the sign as a peaceful protest aimed at Center
Points leadership, not rank and file workers, and noted strong
customer support, with only one negative response from a caller
whose husband was a Centerpoint employe. Of course, he vowed

(47:19):
to keep the sign up for months and months, and
I would even without this controversy. I would ask you
to support Angelo's, and I would recommend Angelo's. If you
live near Avenzeel, go support them, take the family. It's delicious.
I've never had anything there that wasn't delicious, including their pizza,
but I'm a sucker for pizza during lunch. It's an

(47:42):
awesome place to go for lunch if you're downtown Avenszelle.
I feel like the locals know about Angelo's, like word
never gets out. No one's traveling from surrounding areas just
to go to Angelo's, but they could, and they should
absolutely Angelo's Italian Restaurant. It's at three Main Street and Evansville, Indiana.
It's nice, it's dark and quiet, it's relaxing, and your

(48:06):
mouth will start watering the moment you walk inside. Go
sport them and now it's time for sports In nineteen sixty,
Wilma Rudolph, twenty year old from Tennessee, became the first
American woman to win three gold medals in track and

(48:28):
field at a single Olympics in Rome. Overcoming polio as
a child which left her with a leg brace until
she was twelve, Rudolph stunned the world by winning the
one hundred meter two hundred meter four B one hundred
meter relay, earning the nickname the Black Gazelle. Her triumphs
came just years after being told she might never walk again,

(48:53):
inspiring generations with her resilience and speed. And that's going
to do it for this week sports, and that gently
transitions to this week's soapbox Champion. Quote of the week.
It's from a Lebanese American poet, philosopher, an artist named

(49:18):
Khalil Jabron. He said the following quote, out of suffering
have emerged the strongest souls, the most massive characters are
seared with scars. End quote. And I just liked that quote.
I went and found it. I liked it a lot.
And now not at all that nonsense. My daughter's new

(49:42):
favorite term is out of the way. We can sit back, relax,
joy some sugar.

Speaker 4 (49:48):
Sugar is eight times as a co cane.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Yikes. All right, folks, let's dig into something everybody loves
and I mentioned it earlier. Can you guess? It's pizza?
And I don't know if I've done pizza for sugar before,
but if I had to guess, I would say in
the last two hundred and one episodes, I bet I have.
I honestly don't remember. I'm not gonna look because it
deserves it twice. Maybe it's pizza. Everybody loves it now,

(50:15):
Believe it or not, this global favorite didn't start as
a cheesy topping loaded you know, a thing in a
box we know and love today. Pizza story goes way
back thousands of years. Actually, Ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Egyptians,
and Romans were baking flatbreads topped with oils, herbs, and

(50:36):
whatever else they could find simple, hardy food. But it
wasn't until Naples, Italy, in the eighteenth century that the
pizza really began to take shape. Naples was a bustling
port city full of working class people who needed cheap,
filling food. Enter flatbread topped with tomatoes. At the time,

(50:58):
tomatoes were new in Europe. People thought they might even
be poisonous, but in Naples they gave them a try
and the people loved it. Fast forward a bit and
pizza begame became such a hit that it caught the
attention of royalty. In eighteen eighty nine, King Emberto the
First and Queen Margharita visited Naples and a local bizzolo

(51:24):
bizilio whatever they call them to make pizzas back then,
made them a special pie with tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil,
the colors of the Italian flag. The Queen loved it,
and that's where the famous Margherita pizza got its name.
From Naples, pizza sailed across the ocean with Italian immigrants,

(51:45):
especially to the US. At first, it stayed in small
Italian neighborhoods, but after World War Two, when American soldiers
came back from Italy craving the pizza pies they tasted overseas,
pizza exploded into mainstream culture. Today it's everywhere, from New
York slices to Chicago deep dish to woodfire Neapolitan classics.

(52:08):
The world has truly made pizza its own. Next time
you take a bite of that cheesy, saucy slice. Remember
you're not just eating comfort food. You're taking part in
a tradition that started centuries ago with people just trying
to make something simple, delicious and satisfying and mission accomplished.

(52:30):
I like to say I'm part Ninja Turtle because of
my love for pizza. I like it all, deep dish, thin, crust, stuffed, flat,
everything but anchovies. One of my favorite things, believe it
or not, is a cheap Totinos frozen pizza. But then
I put banana peppers on that and throw that in

(52:51):
the oven. That's one of my favorite things. I like
it all. There used to be a little pizzaia in
the next town called Greeks Pizzeria. They may feta cheese
pizza that blew my mind at the time. Often called
a Greek pizza, it was made with spinish feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, olives,
and garlic. Absolutely delicious and feta cheese. I think this

(53:14):
is the best part. Feta doesn't melt up real well,
It's not very creamy when it melts. It just gets hot.
It doesn't really melt, you know, and go all the place.
So you would have these medium sized bites with a
ton of feta in the bite and it was just delicious.
I can tell you about and rank every pizza joint

(53:37):
more than a fifty mile radius. Right now, the closest
and best pizza is from a little bar in Chandler,
Indiana called the lake View Inn. We always get a large,
loaded pizza from their fresh toppings on a super thin,
super crispy crust, square cut, bring the melt in your mouth.

(53:58):
And a little further away about an hour in Washington,
Indiana is my consistent number one pizza at Bob's Pizza Express.
I've mentioned them before. The pizza to get there is
there for Rooke faro Uk sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and
green peppers. Bonus tip if you ever go there, don't

(54:20):
be afraid to get there for Rooke style strom Boli.
It is bomb. It's so freaking good. The term for
rouke is a nod to a regional specialty particularly popular
in the Vincens, Indiana area. For whatever reason, is considered
a local legend for its hardy combination of toppings. From

(54:41):
the YouTube channel Troy's Travels, what the.

Speaker 9 (54:45):
Heck is a farruk We came to build Bob's Pizza
at Vincenn's Indianna. To find out, David open since nineteen
fifty four, and at lunchtime, people of Vincent's are lined
up to get in, even with the crowd, and well,
it took a few minutes before we had a table inside.
It's still very delightfully classical. Their signature dish is the Farouk.

(55:06):
I'm told it's mushrooms, onions, green peppers, sausage, pepperoni.

Speaker 1 (55:12):
The locals swear by it. Have you been here before?

Speaker 9 (55:16):
Drop a line in the comments, tell me what you think?

Speaker 1 (55:21):
He said. I'm told what Why didn't he get one?
That drove me nuts when I heard him say that,
I'm told this is the one to get. Have you
ever had it? Why didn't you get it? Dude? Come on, Troy,
what are you doing now? I sense confusion. Well, that's
because of the name Bob. It's a family name, and
in southern Indiana the family branched off or fought off

(55:44):
or both. I've heard so many versions, no one's exactly sure.
And they opened pizzerias in different locations in different cities.
I know of Bob's PiZZ Express in Washington, Bill Bob's
and Vincen's, and there's also a Bob's location in Princeton, Indiana.
I've been to all of them in My favorite by
far is Bobes Pizza Express in Washington. Anyway, pizza, It's

(56:08):
this week, Sugar that It's gonna do it. For episode
two hundred and one of the Soapbox Champion podcast. Thanks
for listening or watching. Hope you enjoyed it. I hope
you learned something. I hope I didn't get you down
in the dumps very much like I felt like I
was in. I do this every Tuesday at six thirty
pm Central Standard Time in audio form. I try to

(56:32):
release new episodes a little earlier in video and you
can watch those over at the Soapbox Champions Rumble channel.
Head over to Rumble dot com. Subscribe to me there
please will you do that for me? If that's not enough,
follow me on social media, just all of them, especially Facebook,
an X more active there. You got an idea for

(56:54):
a topic or an episode, got a complaint, got a
compliment I want to hear about it all. Give me
a voicemail eight one two six one zero nine zeros
there five, or compose an email and send it to
info dot soapbox Champion and gmail dot com. And remember
the suicide in Christ's lifeline always It's available twenty four
hours a day for free and numbers nine eight eight.

(57:15):
You can even text it nine eight eight. You guys,
take care of yourself and one another until we talk
next Tuesday. No matter what their political affiliation, just get
along and I'll see you in. What's the matter do them?

Speaker 10 (57:35):
Why you're the one on all of us? There are
no olives here? There are no olives here, all of us. Wait,
wait a second, wait a second, Can I let me
ask you something? My god, you're holding onto my hand
and you're gonna pull it off. Sally, Sally, Black olives

(57:56):
or green all any here doesn't matter?

Speaker 1 (58:00):
Okay? Why olives?

Speaker 6 (58:02):
Cause they made good people?

Speaker 10 (58:04):
Why do they?

Speaker 1 (58:05):
Why do they remind you of.

Speaker 3 (58:06):
Mpia fa set up in his coffin, It looked.

Speaker 10 (58:09):
In me they died, and so he looked up at
you when he died with green eyes?

Speaker 1 (58:17):
How old were you in this haaven? Seven?

Speaker 10 (58:20):
And you really believe that your grandfather came right up
out of his coffin and he had green eyes. And
ever since then you've been scared.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
Of olives do you eat olives?

Speaker 6 (58:31):
Noble?

Speaker 10 (58:33):
Okay, Now you can't go down the aisle of a
department a grocery store. Mary, you won't let go of me.
Bring out the olives, Sally, Sally, I don't have anything.

Speaker 1 (59:04):
Sally, I don't have anything,