Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lad with.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Food.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Let me do this final thought.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
And I've been thinking about this all day long, and
I wanted to be clear on how I wanted to
present it. But I was thinking about the movie industry,
something we talk about every single day on this show
some form or another, but usually it's not connected to politics,
not always, but not frequently.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
But now it is. And I learned a long.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Long time ago it's not what you do, it's how
you go about it. It's not what you say, but
how you say it and the words you choose. The
Trump tariffs, as I said before in previous commentaries, the
previous Trump tariffs, those will impact all of us in
every facet of life. If they come to pass. We
still have this grace period before they may all take effect.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And there's no real argument here.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Those terrorists, if they take effect, will impact all of us.
But just like where it's not what you do and
what you say necessarily, it's also true that just because
a problem is legitimate, and trade imbalance is a legitimate
issue and it needs to be solved, just because the
issue is legitimate, it doesn't mean that any old proposed
(01:27):
solution is the solution. In the past day, President Trump
announced the following quote, I am authorizing the Department of
Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin
the process of instituting a one hundred percent tariff on
any and all movies coming into our country that are
produced in foreign lands close quote. But he also said
(01:50):
we want movies made in America again. Now, contrary to
the President's popular belief, teriffs are not the magic pill
for everything. But going back to it's not what you say,
it's how you say it, and it's not what you do,
but how you go about it. The President didn't either
give the movie studios any heads up or consult them
as to what movie studios and theaters thought the problems
(02:15):
of their industry were. He may think terrorists or the solution,
but they aren't not at all. Here's what I mean.
Virtually every media stock was down today because they were
blindsided by this. And I'm inclined to believe the movie
studios know their industry better than the president or any president.
And here's something else which has gotten lost in this
(02:37):
what I call tariff everything approach.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Movies aren't goods anymore.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Their services they're distributed digitally, they're quote unquote manufactured in
dozens of places simultaneously, not just where they're filmed. Post
production effects, et cetera are usually done any number of
places around the world for the same movie, regardless of
filming locations. So you may have a movie which is
(03:06):
filmed in America, like Atlanta, Georgia, for example. Most of
the Marvel movies are now filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. Take
Captain America, Brave New World are used, as an example,
filmed mostly in Atlanta, but there were some scenes which
were filmed in Wahaka, Mexico, Tokyo, Japan, and in the
Middle East in Jordan. Now, are we gonna penalize a
(03:29):
movie like that or how about a movie like Mission Impossible,
which routinely films at exotic locations around the world. Does
that make those movies less of an American movie? And
maybe it's post production is completed by an international agency
that is commonplace. You can't film a Mission Impossible movie
(03:50):
all on location in America or some soundstage or with CGI,
and honestly, you and I don't want that. There's also
the reality that it costs much less to film internationally,
and that's part of the labor issue. But putting tariffs
on foreign air quote, foreign movies, whatever that means, doesn't
(04:10):
address any of that. You may have heard that the
President blames Governor Gavin Newssom for this. Well, I would
like to blame Governor Gaven Neuwsom for a lot of stuff.
But this is not understanding the problem. This says that
President Trump doesn't understand that movies and movie studios are
no longer a Hollywood phenomenon. One of the biggest complaints
about Newsom is that a lot of Hollywood has left
(04:32):
for other states. I'm talking states like Georgia, talked about Marvel,
North Carolina, and Louisiana.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Movies.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
American movies are not just made in California. The infrastructure
to make these movies, both big and small, are not
necessarily connected to California at all. You have a movie
like Russ with Alec Baldwin, I was made in New Mexico.
Movies routinely are not made in California. And that's saying
nothing of the TV shows which shoot in various places
(05:01):
around the country and even internationally in Canada, which is
a frequent stand in for US cities. Are these terrofts
going to be placed on television shows again how does
that work? But this speaks to how you go about it.
This speaks to how the powerbrokers should have been consulted
first before announcing a policy which likely will not bring
(05:22):
about the desired result because it hasn't been thought through
and constructed with the actual industry players he's alleging he's
trying to help. And lastly, just like the tariffs on goods,
the other countries will have the opportunity to respond. China
routinely denies entry of American movies, as do Russia and Taiwan.
(05:46):
Some countries do not rely on our movies and don't care.
They do not give a damn, and they don't need
America to show their movies. Most people listening right now
have no idea what the number one movie in the
world is. It's made over two billion dollars in twenty
two and I'm probably pronouncing it wrong. It's ne Jah
two more than two billion dollars, not one million of
(06:10):
which was made.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Here in the United States.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
This issue is far more complicated than getting on social
media and proclaiming tariffs on everyone. For KF I aim
six forty. I'm mo Kelly. For my final thought, tonight.
(06:39):
I was planning to talk about something different, and then
the world happens, news happens, something which kind of just
pops up on your phone and takes you in a
completely different direction. Well, I remember listening to classic Motown
growing up on the original vinyl. I remember when my
father was telling me about the songwriting prowess of Smokey
(07:00):
Robinson after listening to the album Smokey Robinson and the
Miracles Going to a Go Go. I'm pretty sure it's
still at my mother's house right now, somewhere in that house.
It was originally released in nineteen sixty five, but my
father held on to all of his original Motown albums.
But I don't remember a time not being acquainted with
(07:21):
the genius of William Robinson Junior, better known as Smoky
Note I said acquainted. Note I said acquainted with his genius.
Don't ask me about the man. Never met him, don't
know him, couldn't serve as a character witness or speak
on his two marriages. I can't offer any insight on
his extramarital affairs, including a year long one with Diana Ross.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
True story.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
But because like I say, we don't know these people
there's publicly available information, but that's not personal knowledge of
I did, though, make mention of his marital issues because
they will be part of a story which will be
told surrounding his behavior, which would be laid out as
part of discovery. In a fifty million dollar lawsuit filed
(08:07):
today here in Los Angeles by four former housekeepers accusing
Smoking Robinson of sexual assault, allegedly repeatedly raping and abusing
some of these women for years. Robinson's present wife was
also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The attorney
representing the four plaintiffs articulated that these women are Hispanic
(08:31):
women employed as housekeepers earning below minimum wage. That's one problem,
and as low wage workers in vulnerable positions, they lack
the resources or read power and options to protect themselves.
The other implication being that Robinson's celebrity protected him, but
that was previously. The suit alleges that Robinson assaulted one
(08:54):
woman at least twenty three times between May twenty fourteen
and February twenty often in places in his home without
security cameras, such as the laundry room. In addition, the
suit alleges that he assaulted another former employee for at
least twenty different times during the twelve years she worked
for him, starting back in twenty twelve. Also, according to
(09:17):
the suit, Robinson would force her allegedly into his bedroom
and perform a ritual of leaving his bathroom naked or
nearly naked. Robinson has been a celebrity for the better
part of sixty years. He has known the world over.
There's no doubt he would have the power in any relationship,
(09:38):
personal or professional. There's no way to know if Smokey
Robinson did everything he has been accused of doing. There is, though,
every reasonable way to suss out whether he did some
of these things. The allegations are across multiple women, similar
modus operandi over the course of multiple years. And there's
(09:58):
the obvious question as to why Robinson had some four
different housekeepers inside of a decade. Either he and his
wife don't choose well when they hire, or there's a
reason why these housekeepers keep leaving and you have this turnover.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But see, that's the thing.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
We know their interview process about as well as we
do his personal behavior.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Ask me to sing tears of a clown. I'm your man,
I'm the one to do it.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
But I don't know whether he repeatedly raped four women
in his home out of the view of his internal
security cameras and the internal security cameras. That's also that
something odd will be learning more about. And unless you're
one of the plaintiffs, you don't know any of this either.
This is not how I want to talk about Smokey
Robinson in twenty twenty five. He's eighty five, I think,
and like Bill Cosby, from a fan standpoint, this is
(10:47):
not a line item I would have wanted on his
news obituary whenever that day comes again. From a fan standpoint,
because here's what I mean. The news obituary of Michael
Jackson will forever include his ten criminal indictments, his arrest,
his mugshot, and even his ultimate exoneration no matter what
(11:09):
all that will be at any documentary.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
About Michael Jackson's life.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
And we can apply that same metric to Bill Cosby,
the same will apply to William Smokey Robinson. No, that
doesn't make me sad, because I care more about justice
than any supposed tainted legacy. But if there is any
validity to these Robinson allegations, there are likely other women
we've kind of been here before, because again, there are
(11:33):
patterns alleged here, patterns allegedly over years, if not decades.
Not to be sny, but I'm guessing that Robinson has
had more than four housekeepers in his adult life, just guessing,
and this doesn't sound like a rather recent type of
alleged behavior. Multiple things can be true here. Smokey Robinson
can be arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all time,
(11:55):
connected to arguably one of the greatest music labels of
all time in Motown, and also can be a despicable
person personally who may be liable in the repeated rapes
and sexual assault of at least four women. And since
this is not a criminal trial, there is no proof
beyond a reasonable doubt needed, just preponderance of evidence. Whichever
(12:16):
side boasts the majority of evidence in support of their claim,
that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
There's your winner. It's a much lower standard.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
The jeopardy will not include jail, but it very well
might include fifty million dollars at the sunset of Smoky
Robinson's career because in the end, we don't know these people.
For KF I am six forty, I'm Moe Kelley. As
(12:55):
we talk about or mentioned the JFK files. That's a
perfect segue to what I wanted to talk about tonight.
We all know about the conspiracy theories regarding JFK his assassination,
and it took me a while to figure out, but
I think I now get the allure of conspiracy theories.
They're easy, meaning they don't require any heavy lifting. They
(13:19):
require no legitimate knowledge or expertise. The only thing they
require is disbelief. How easy is that? Just disbelieve? Put
the onus on the non conspiratorial person to convince the
conspiracy theorists of the facts which already exists. But you,
as the conspiracy theorists, just disbelieve. No matter what, the
(13:42):
conspiracy theorist needs not to prove anything.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
The flat earther demands that you convince him.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
Or her that the world is spherical because all the
laws of physics, the photos, how satellites work, Galileo, Copernicus,
and the Greek philosophers who predated both Galileo and Copernicus
by a millennium, none of that matters. The responsibility of
proof is still yours. You know, the same person in
(14:11):
twenty twenty five, because flat earthers only need to what
disbelieve and their cousins the moon landing deniers.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
No amount of.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Facts and science can overwhelm their disbelief. That is why
conspiracy theories are so damn sexy. I'm talking thong underwear
on a supermodel sexy. They can't see or hear anything else,
nothing else matters. For example, professor and pundit Mark Lamont
Hill sat down on the Joe Budden podcast. Joe Budden,
(14:42):
if you don't know, is a rapper, not a very
good one, and not the sharpest crayon in the box.
But he has a podcast just like everyone else, and
a sizable audience because dumb and stupidity have large audiences.
Usually when Mark lamont Hill tried to press button and
his cast of care characters on whether they believe the
Earth is spherical or did we land on the moon?
Speaker 3 (15:05):
This is what happened.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
So you don't believe like the people who left everything
and looked down at it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Oh hell no, hell no, we don't believe that. I
don't believe in that, bro Yo, I'm not.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
I don't believe we went to the moon. Let me
ask you a question. I'm while we always get the
same picture from this. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Thousands of years we've determined that the Earth is a sphere.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
You got it, bro, I'm not saying it's not. So
why would you hope this but you're not saying it
is exactly. Hey, look you said if you believe a gravity,
like if I jump up in ca it's gonna come down.
Right If I came in and said I'm open.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
To the fact that gravity doesn't exist, that would be
like a strange thing, right, because we have evidence of it.
What's the evidence that we hit that the Earth could
being me Let me let.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Me answer that for you.
Speaker 6 (15:49):
Prior to that, we quote unquote new for a fact,
the Earth was flat, right until that was disproving yes
or no, it's.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
A little different. What zippers If I say, I think
there's nobody in that other room, based on my knowledge,
is nobody in that other room? That's the best knowledge
I have. And then I walk in there and see
somebody in the other room. And then you stood here saying, well,
I don't believe you went in the other room. So
that's why I asked all.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
You may not have went. It's possible you could have
told me that you went in the other room.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
What if I sent you pictures you could say, like,
we have evidence of Earth, but also just how gravity,
how the planet worked.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
I mean, I can't tell you, y'all. Jo stay right there,
you can talk to them.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Never mind that many of the flat Earthers are actually
rich on some level, Joe Budden included. They're entertainers who've
performed all around the world. Hear that around the world
flying by private jet button included. And yet somehow they
never managed to happen upon the edge of the flat Earth.
They've never talked to any of their pilots and asked
them about when they flew over the North Pole to
(16:50):
take them to Europe or Asia or back to North America.
They never watched the movie Independence Day and learned how
satellites and line of sight worked instead of just having
one for a would be flat Earth. If you had
a flat Earth, you wouldn't need all these other satellites.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You would think.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
They named it GPS as in Global Position Ning System
just for kicks and giggles.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I know why we have satellite disruption, all right, Go ahead, Okay,
let's say that you wanted to coordinate with spaceships on
different sides of the Earth. I couldn't send a direct signal.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Right, listen up, you're talking about mind sight. Yes, you
know that's trying to oct there.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Curly art prevensive.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
You need satellites to relay that signal.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
In order to reach eat shit.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And I found a signal hidden inside our own satellite system.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I know, but Mo, it's a movie. It's fiction.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
You want us to believe in a spherical Earth and
aliens because of Independence Day. The sat irony is that
these flat earthers will get on their mobile phones, use
their GPS, and stream their dumb ass podcasts around the
world while arguing the world is flat yet can't even
explain how the world can be both light and darkness
on a flat plane. Night and day flat plane not possible.
(18:10):
Either we're all in light or all in dark. That is,
unless the Earth is say it with me, spherical, just
like every other viewable celestial body in the known universe
except for asteroids and comets. The larger point is that
the line of thinking, that line of logic has permeated
every part of America. You see it on social media
right now, You see it in our politics, you see
it in our news coverage. We continue to elevate ignorance
(18:32):
and present it as reasonable. It's not. But then again,
that's your llure of conspiracy theories. They don't require you
to be smart, they don't even require you to offer evidence.
They don't require you to even think, just disbelieve. Ignorance
is now in proudly ignorant. They congregate together in Facebook
groups and their influence is growing. We are a dumber
(18:54):
nation today than ten years ago with a wilful embrace.
There used to be a time in which such flat
earther ignorance would be treated as a scarlet letter and
shamed accordingly, you don't know what the scarlet letter is because.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Y'all don't read.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
But now conspiracy theorists are some of the most popular
people in the world. They believe the twenty twenty election
was rigged without evidence. They believe that five G gives
you cancer or superpowers, and they end up believing that
you can become a Secretary of Health and Human Services
while disbelieving vaccine. Simultaneous to a major Meaesl's outbreak, we are,
without a doubt, the dumbest nation on the planet, and
(19:29):
we have all the evidence to demonstrate.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
As such and proudly so. Ok, I am six forty,
I'm mo Kelly. I don't know. Maybe it was just me.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I mentioned this at the beginning of the show, but
the selection of a new pope today didn't seem as
celebratory as in years past. I'm not a Catholic, Okay,
I'm not going to have the same type of feeling
for the moment, and I admit that. But I went
to a Jesuit Catholic university, Georgetown University in Washington, d C.
(20:28):
I kind of know what the fanfare around it feels
like it is and was a deeply emotional day for
many people. But this, this particular day, this time around,
felt really different. Not because of anything the Catholic Church
did or what may have transpired during the conclave, because
that is kept from the public for a good reason.
(20:51):
But the public reaction to the selection of Robert Privos
as the two hundred and sixty seventh Pontiff who took
the name of Pope Leo the fourteenth, it was different,
That's the only way I could describe it, at least
different here in America, that public reaction, and I mean
the reaction to the first American born Pope and the
(21:12):
reaction to that here in the US. Judging by the
responses from the news media to social media, you think
they just selected the next Supreme Court justice or something.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
For some people, the new Pope is too woke. You
know who you are.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Imagine making that your first thought and comment as an aside,
if you think of Pope is woke, wait until you
actually read the Bible and find all the red print
which highlights the words of Jesus.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Your head might explode. But I digress.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
And for others, the announcement of Pope Leo the fourteenth
was met with barbes that he is a homophobe due
to his previous remarks surrounding gay marriage. You know who
you are, But there was very little discussion comparatively speaking
about actually leading the Catholic Church. There's a whole lot
about his previous statements about American political figures and where
(22:03):
he stands on issues such as Israel and Gaza. It's
been pretty amazing to be and I wasn't the only
one who noticed it. The new Pope may have been
born in America and even attended college here in America, Villanova,
but the Pope doesn't belong to America or answer to America.
He belongs to the world. And I don't know who
(22:23):
needs to hear this, but no pope is chosen with
your American political purity tests in mind, not even one
who happens to also be American. Even the selection of
the pope is by secret ballot. Put another way, it
ain't about you, not individually or politically. Is the pope
(22:44):
in many ways viewed as a political figure. He can be,
He can be, as far as viewed, but American politics
it's not even in the top one hundred and fifty
items on his list. A pope may weigh in on
issues of political or moral significance to the larger world,
(23:05):
but his value as a pope will never be a
let be stress, will never be a reflection of your
individual pet political beliefs at a particular time, in particular
portion of a particular country. Pope Leo the fourteenth is
ostensibly pope for life, be that one day, forty years,
or some amount of time in between the two. Today
(23:27):
was really strange, and I know Mark Ronner he felt
it was strange as well. Just sampling the feedback and
analysis of who Robert prevosts, the Cardinal was and who
Pope Leo the fourteenth will be, and almost none of it.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Check this out.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
None of it had anything to do with Jesus Christ,
the future of the Catholic Church, or whether his selection
brings comfort to Catholics around the world presently. I was shocked, actually,
and that's pretty hard to do. Even the news coverage
was slanted to offer previews on where he might follow
on controversial issues, or whether he would be antagonistic to
Present and Trump. I was thinking, y'all have it twisted,
(24:03):
y'all worried about the wrong things. But then I remember
here in America, religion is for many an expression of
their politics and nothing more.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
We put it in our bios. When I say we,
I mean you.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
You put it in your bios on social media, not
to tell everyone who and how we actually worship, but
to signal to anyone reading what your political disposition is.
Show me a social media bio with the word Christian
in it, and I will show you a profile that
talks mostly politics and virtually nothing about Jesus. Prove me wrong.
I'll show you a profile which is clear on what
(24:35):
they don't like, who they don't like, and who they
voted for christian it's almost like almost like Jesus has
nothing to do with anything called Christianity in twenty twenty five,
almost like that that that must be it, because that's
the only explanation as to why people are more concerned
about whether the new pope is a woke Marxist and
that's a quote, or as a homophobe and that's a quote,
(24:58):
instead of whether he is a disciple of Jesus and
good for the future of the Catholic Church. Believe it
or not, not, everything is about you, your politics, or
even your God.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
For k if I am six forty, I'm O'Kelly
Lad with.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Food.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Let me do this final thought.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
And I've been thinking about this all day long, and
I wanted to be clear on how I wanted to
present it. But I was thinking about the movie industry,
something we talk about every single day on this show
some form or another, but usually it's not connected to politics,
not always, but not frequently.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
But now it is. And I learned a long.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Long time ago it's not what you do, it's how
you go about it. It's not what you say, but
how you say it and the words you choose. The
Trump tariffs, as I said before in previous commentaries, the
previous Trump tariffs, those will impact all of us in
every facet of life. If they come to pass. We
still have this grace period before they may all take effect.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And there's no real argument here.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Those terrorists, if they take effect, will impact all of us.
But just like where it's not what you do and
what you say necessarily, it's also true that just because
a problem is legitimate, and trade imbalance is a legitimate
issue and it needs to be solved, just because the
issue is legitimate, it doesn't mean that any old proposed
(01:27):
solution is the solution. In the past day, President Trump
announced the following quote, I am authorizing the Department of
Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin
the process of instituting a one hundred percent tariff on
any and all movies coming into our country that are
produced in foreign lands close quote. But he also said
(01:50):
we want movies made in America again. Now, contrary to
the President's popular belief, teriffs are not the magic pill
for everything. But going back to it's not what you say,
it's how you say it, and it's not what you do,
but how you go about it. The President didn't either
give the movie studios any heads up or consult them
as to what movie studios and theaters thought the problems
(02:15):
of their industry were. He may think terrorists or the solution,
but they aren't not at all. Here's what I mean.
Virtually every media stock was down today because they were
blindsided by this. And I'm inclined to believe the movie
studios know their industry better than the president or any president.
And here's something else which has gotten lost in this
(02:37):
what I call tariff everything approach.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Movies aren't goods anymore.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Their services they're distributed digitally, they're quote unquote manufactured in
dozens of places simultaneously, not just where they're filmed. Post
production effects, et cetera are usually done any number of
places around the world for the same movie, regardless of
filming locations. So you may have a movie which is
(03:06):
filmed in America, like Atlanta, Georgia, for example. Most of
the Marvel movies are now filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. Take
Captain America, Brave New World are used, as an example,
filmed mostly in Atlanta, but there were some scenes which
were filmed in Wahaka, Mexico, Tokyo, Japan, and in the
Middle East in Jordan. Now, are we gonna penalize a
(03:29):
movie like that or how about a movie like Mission Impossible,
which routinely films at exotic locations around the world. Does
that make those movies less of an American movie? And
maybe it's post production is completed by an international agency
that is commonplace. You can't film a Mission Impossible movie
(03:50):
all on location in America or some soundstage or with CGI,
and honestly, you and I don't want that. There's also
the reality that it costs much less to film internationally,
and that's part of the labor issue. But putting tariffs
on foreign air quote, foreign movies, whatever that means, doesn't
(04:10):
address any of that. You may have heard that the
President blames Governor Gavin Newssom for this. Well, I would
like to blame Governor Gaven Neuwsom for a lot of stuff.
But this is not understanding the problem. This says that
President Trump doesn't understand that movies and movie studios are
no longer a Hollywood phenomenon. One of the biggest complaints
about Newsom is that a lot of Hollywood has left
(04:32):
for other states. I'm talking states like Georgia, talked about Marvel,
North Carolina, and Louisiana.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Movies.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
American movies are not just made in California. The infrastructure
to make these movies, both big and small, are not
necessarily connected to California at all. You have a movie
like Russ with Alec Baldwin, I was made in New Mexico.
Movies routinely are not made in California. And that's saying
nothing of the TV shows which shoot in various places
(05:01):
around the country and even internationally in Canada, which is
a frequent stand in for US cities. Are these terrofts
going to be placed on television shows again how does
that work? But this speaks to how you go about it.
This speaks to how the powerbrokers should have been consulted
first before announcing a policy which likely will not bring
(05:22):
about the desired result because it hasn't been thought through
and constructed with the actual industry players he's alleging he's
trying to help. And lastly, just like the tariffs on goods,
the other countries will have the opportunity to respond. China
routinely denies entry of American movies, as do Russia and Taiwan.
(05:46):
Some countries do not rely on our movies and don't care.
They do not give a damn, and they don't need
America to show their movies. Most people listening right now
have no idea what the number one movie in the
world is. It's made over two billion dollars in twenty
two and I'm probably pronouncing it wrong. It's ne Jah
two more than two billion dollars, not one million of
(06:10):
which was made.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Here in the United States.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
This issue is far more complicated than getting on social
media and proclaiming tariffs on everyone. For KF I aim
six forty. I'm mo Kelly. For my final thought, tonight.
(06:39):
I was planning to talk about something different, and then
the world happens, news happens, something which kind of just
pops up on your phone and takes you in a
completely different direction. Well, I remember listening to classic Motown
growing up on the original vinyl. I remember when my
father was telling me about the songwriting prowess of Smokey
(07:00):
Robinson after listening to the album Smokey Robinson and the
Miracles Going to a Go Go. I'm pretty sure it's
still at my mother's house right now, somewhere in that house.
It was originally released in nineteen sixty five, but my
father held on to all of his original Motown albums.
But I don't remember a time not being acquainted with
(07:21):
the genius of William Robinson Junior, better known as Smoky
Note I said acquainted. Note I said acquainted with his genius.
Don't ask me about the man. Never met him, don't
know him, couldn't serve as a character witness or speak
on his two marriages. I can't offer any insight on
his extramarital affairs, including a year long one with Diana Ross.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
True story.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
But because like I say, we don't know these people
there's publicly available information, but that's not personal knowledge of
I did, though, make mention of his marital issues because
they will be part of a story which will be
told surrounding his behavior, which would be laid out as
part of discovery. In a fifty million dollar lawsuit filed
(08:07):
today here in Los Angeles by four former housekeepers accusing
Smoking Robinson of sexual assault, allegedly repeatedly raping and abusing
some of these women for years. Robinson's present wife was
also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The attorney
representing the four plaintiffs articulated that these women are Hispanic
(08:31):
women employed as housekeepers earning below minimum wage. That's one problem,
and as low wage workers in vulnerable positions, they lack
the resources or read power and options to protect themselves.
The other implication being that Robinson's celebrity protected him, but
that was previously. The suit alleges that Robinson assaulted one
(08:54):
woman at least twenty three times between May twenty fourteen
and February twenty often in places in his home without
security cameras, such as the laundry room. In addition, the
suit alleges that he assaulted another former employee for at
least twenty different times during the twelve years she worked
for him, starting back in twenty twelve. Also, according to
(09:17):
the suit, Robinson would force her allegedly into his bedroom
and perform a ritual of leaving his bathroom naked or
nearly naked. Robinson has been a celebrity for the better
part of sixty years. He has known the world over.
There's no doubt he would have the power in any relationship,
(09:38):
personal or professional. There's no way to know if Smokey
Robinson did everything he has been accused of doing. There is, though,
every reasonable way to suss out whether he did some
of these things. The allegations are across multiple women, similar
modus operandi over the course of multiple years. And there's
(09:58):
the obvious question as to why Robinson had some four
different housekeepers inside of a decade. Either he and his
wife don't choose well when they hire, or there's a
reason why these housekeepers keep leaving and you have this turnover.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But see, that's the thing.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
We know their interview process about as well as we
do his personal behavior.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Ask me to sing tears of a clown. I'm your man,
I'm the one to do it.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
But I don't know whether he repeatedly raped four women
in his home out of the view of his internal
security cameras and the internal security cameras. That's also that
something odd will be learning more about. And unless you're
one of the plaintiffs, you don't know any of this either.
This is not how I want to talk about Smokey
Robinson in twenty twenty five. He's eighty five, I think,
and like Bill Cosby, from a fan standpoint, this is
(10:47):
not a line item I would have wanted on his
news obituary whenever that day comes again. From a fan standpoint,
because here's what I mean. The news obituary of Michael
Jackson will forever include his ten criminal indictments, his arrest,
his mugshot, and even his ultimate exoneration no matter what
(11:09):
all that will be at any documentary.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
About Michael Jackson's life.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
And we can apply that same metric to Bill Cosby,
the same will apply to William Smokey Robinson. No, that
doesn't make me sad, because I care more about justice
than any supposed tainted legacy. But if there is any
validity to these Robinson allegations, there are likely other women
we've kind of been here before, because again, there are
(11:33):
patterns alleged here, patterns allegedly over years, if not decades.
Not to be sny, but I'm guessing that Robinson has
had more than four housekeepers in his adult life, just guessing,
and this doesn't sound like a rather recent type of
alleged behavior. Multiple things can be true here. Smokey Robinson
can be arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all time,
(11:55):
connected to arguably one of the greatest music labels of
all time in Motown, and also can be a despicable
person personally who may be liable in the repeated rapes
and sexual assault of at least four women. And since
this is not a criminal trial, there is no proof
beyond a reasonable doubt needed, just preponderance of evidence. Whichever
(12:16):
side boasts the majority of evidence in support of their claim,
that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
There's your winner. It's a much lower standard.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
The jeopardy will not include jail, but it very well
might include fifty million dollars at the sunset of Smoky
Robinson's career because in the end, we don't know these people.
For KF I am six forty, I'm Moe Kelley. As
(12:55):
we talk about or mentioned the JFK files. That's a
perfect segue to what I wanted to talk about tonight.
We all know about the conspiracy theories regarding JFK his assassination,
and it took me a while to figure out, but
I think I now get the allure of conspiracy theories.
They're easy, meaning they don't require any heavy lifting. They
(13:19):
require no legitimate knowledge or expertise. The only thing they
require is disbelief. How easy is that? Just disbelieve? Put
the onus on the non conspiratorial person to convince the
conspiracy theorists of the facts which already exists. But you,
as the conspiracy theorists, just disbelieve. No matter what, the
(13:42):
conspiracy theorist needs not to prove anything.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
The flat earther demands that you convince him.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
Or her that the world is spherical because all the
laws of physics, the photos, how satellites work, Galileo, Copernicus,
and the Greek philosophers who predated both Galileo and Copernicus
by a millennium, none of that matters. The responsibility of
proof is still yours. You know, the same person in
(14:11):
twenty twenty five, because flat earthers only need to what
disbelieve and their cousins the moon landing deniers.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
No amount of.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Facts and science can overwhelm their disbelief. That is why
conspiracy theories are so damn sexy. I'm talking thong underwear
on a supermodel sexy. They can't see or hear anything else,
nothing else matters. For example, professor and pundit Mark Lamont
Hill sat down on the Joe Budden podcast. Joe Budden,
(14:42):
if you don't know, is a rapper, not a very
good one, and not the sharpest crayon in the box.
But he has a podcast just like everyone else, and
a sizable audience because dumb and stupidity have large audiences.
Usually when Mark lamont Hill tried to press button and
his cast of care characters on whether they believe the
Earth is spherical or did we land on the moon?
Speaker 3 (15:05):
This is what happened.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
So you don't believe like the people who left everything
and looked down at it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Oh hell no, hell no, we don't believe that. I
don't believe in that, bro Yo, I'm not.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
I don't believe we went to the moon. Let me
ask you a question. I'm while we always get the
same picture from this. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Thousands of years we've determined that the Earth is a sphere.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
You got it, bro, I'm not saying it's not. So
why would you hope this but you're not saying it
is exactly. Hey, look you said if you believe a gravity,
like if I jump up in ca it's gonna come down.
Right If I came in and said I'm open.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
To the fact that gravity doesn't exist, that would be
like a strange thing, right, because we have evidence of it.
What's the evidence that we hit that the Earth could
being me Let me let.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Me answer that for you.
Speaker 6 (15:49):
Prior to that, we quote unquote new for a fact,
the Earth was flat, right until that was disproving yes
or no, it's.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
A little different. What zippers If I say, I think
there's nobody in that other room, based on my knowledge,
is nobody in that other room? That's the best knowledge
I have. And then I walk in there and see
somebody in the other room. And then you stood here saying, well,
I don't believe you went in the other room. So
that's why I asked all.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
You may not have went. It's possible you could have
told me that you went in the other room.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
What if I sent you pictures you could say, like,
we have evidence of Earth, but also just how gravity,
how the planet worked.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
I mean, I can't tell you, y'all. Jo stay right there,
you can talk to them.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Never mind that many of the flat Earthers are actually
rich on some level, Joe Budden included. They're entertainers who've
performed all around the world. Hear that around the world
flying by private jet button included. And yet somehow they
never managed to happen upon the edge of the flat Earth.
They've never talked to any of their pilots and asked
them about when they flew over the North Pole to
(16:50):
take them to Europe or Asia or back to North America.
They never watched the movie Independence Day and learned how
satellites and line of sight worked instead of just having
one for a would be flat Earth. If you had
a flat Earth, you wouldn't need all these other satellites.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You would think.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
They named it GPS as in Global Position Ning System
just for kicks and giggles.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I know why we have satellite disruption, all right, Go ahead, Okay,
let's say that you wanted to coordinate with spaceships on
different sides of the Earth. I couldn't send a direct signal.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Right, listen up, you're talking about mind sight. Yes, you
know that's trying to oct there.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Curly art prevensive.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
You need satellites to relay that signal.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
In order to reach eat shit.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And I found a signal hidden inside our own satellite system.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I know, but Mo, it's a movie. It's fiction.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
You want us to believe in a spherical Earth and
aliens because of Independence Day. The sat irony is that
these flat earthers will get on their mobile phones, use
their GPS, and stream their dumb ass podcasts around the
world while arguing the world is flat yet can't even
explain how the world can be both light and darkness
on a flat plane. Night and day flat plane not possible.
(18:10):
Either we're all in light or all in dark. That is,
unless the Earth is say it with me, spherical, just
like every other viewable celestial body in the known universe
except for asteroids and comets. The larger point is that
the line of thinking, that line of logic has permeated
every part of America. You see it on social media
right now, You see it in our politics, you see
it in our news coverage. We continue to elevate ignorance
(18:32):
and present it as reasonable. It's not. But then again,
that's your llure of conspiracy theories. They don't require you
to be smart, they don't even require you to offer evidence.
They don't require you to even think, just disbelieve. Ignorance
is now in proudly ignorant. They congregate together in Facebook
groups and their influence is growing. We are a dumber
(18:54):
nation today than ten years ago with a wilful embrace.
There used to be a time in which such flat
earther ignorance would be treated as a scarlet letter and
shamed accordingly, you don't know what the scarlet letter is because.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Y'all don't read.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
But now conspiracy theorists are some of the most popular
people in the world. They believe the twenty twenty election
was rigged without evidence. They believe that five G gives
you cancer or superpowers, and they end up believing that
you can become a Secretary of Health and Human Services
while disbelieving vaccine. Simultaneous to a major Meaesl's outbreak, we are,
without a doubt, the dumbest nation on the planet, and
(19:29):
we have all the evidence to demonstrate.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
As such and proudly so. Ok, I am six forty,
I'm mo Kelly. I don't know. Maybe it was just me.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I mentioned this at the beginning of the show, but
the selection of a new pope today didn't seem as
celebratory as in years past. I'm not a Catholic, Okay,
I'm not going to have the same type of feeling
for the moment, and I admit that. But I went
to a Jesuit Catholic university, Georgetown University in Washington, d C.
(20:28):
I kind of know what the fanfare around it feels
like it is and was a deeply emotional day for
many people. But this, this particular day, this time around,
felt really different. Not because of anything the Catholic Church
did or what may have transpired during the conclave, because
that is kept from the public for a good reason.
(20:51):
But the public reaction to the selection of Robert Privos
as the two hundred and sixty seventh Pontiff who took
the name of Pope Leo the fourteenth, it was different,
That's the only way I could describe it, at least
different here in America, that public reaction, and I mean
the reaction to the first American born Pope and the
(21:12):
reaction to that here in the US. Judging by the
responses from the news media to social media, you think
they just selected the next Supreme Court justice or something.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
For some people, the new Pope is too woke. You
know who you are.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Imagine making that your first thought and comment as an aside,
if you think of Pope is woke, wait until you
actually read the Bible and find all the red print
which highlights the words of Jesus.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Your head might explode. But I digress.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
And for others, the announcement of Pope Leo the fourteenth
was met with barbes that he is a homophobe due
to his previous remarks surrounding gay marriage. You know who
you are, But there was very little discussion comparatively speaking
about actually leading the Catholic Church. There's a whole lot
about his previous statements about American political figures and where
(22:03):
he stands on issues such as Israel and Gaza. It's
been pretty amazing to be and I wasn't the only
one who noticed it. The new Pope may have been
born in America and even attended college here in America, Villanova,
but the Pope doesn't belong to America or answer to America.
He belongs to the world. And I don't know who
(22:23):
needs to hear this, but no pope is chosen with
your American political purity tests in mind, not even one
who happens to also be American. Even the selection of
the pope is by secret ballot. Put another way, it
ain't about you, not individually or politically. Is the pope
(22:44):
in many ways viewed as a political figure. He can be,
He can be, as far as viewed, but American politics
it's not even in the top one hundred and fifty
items on his list. A pope may weigh in on
issues of political or moral significance to the larger world,
(23:05):
but his value as a pope will never be a
let be stress, will never be a reflection of your
individual pet political beliefs at a particular time, in particular
portion of a particular country. Pope Leo the fourteenth is
ostensibly pope for life, be that one day, forty years,
or some amount of time in between the two. Today
(23:27):
was really strange, and I know Mark Ronner he felt
it was strange as well. Just sampling the feedback and
analysis of who Robert prevosts, the Cardinal was and who
Pope Leo the fourteenth will be, and almost none of it.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Check this out.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
None of it had anything to do with Jesus Christ,
the future of the Catholic Church, or whether his selection
brings comfort to Catholics around the world presently. I was shocked, actually,
and that's pretty hard to do. Even the news coverage
was slanted to offer previews on where he might follow
on controversial issues, or whether he would be antagonistic to
Present and Trump. I was thinking, y'all have it twisted,
(24:03):
y'all worried about the wrong things. But then I remember
here in America, religion is for many an expression of
their politics and nothing more.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
We put it in our bios. When I say we,
I mean you.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
You put it in your bios on social media, not
to tell everyone who and how we actually worship, but
to signal to anyone reading what your political disposition is.
Show me a social media bio with the word Christian
in it, and I will show you a profile that
talks mostly politics and virtually nothing about Jesus. Prove me wrong.
I'll show you a profile which is clear on what
(24:35):
they don't like, who they don't like, and who they
voted for christian it's almost like almost like Jesus has
nothing to do with anything called Christianity in twenty twenty five,
almost like that that that must be it, because that's
the only explanation as to why people are more concerned
about whether the new pope is a woke Marxist and
that's a quote, or as a homophobe and that's a quote,
(24:58):
instead of whether he is a disciple of Jesus and
good for the future of the Catholic Church. Believe it
or not, not, everything is about you, your politics, or
even your God.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
For k if I am six forty, I'm O'Kelly
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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