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McWar · Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show Podcast

0:02
From the On Air Across America Newsroom.
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This is your Morning News update.
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The House voted 220 to 204 Tuesday to direct the removal of
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American forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress
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authorizes their continued involvement. 7 Republicans
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joined Democrats. The resolution has not become
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law and United States operations continue.
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Also Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the
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war had cost the Defense Department more than $38 billion
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through August 1st. IT projects additional costs of
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two to $3 billion a month, depending on the fighting.
0:40
The administration has sent the Senate 3 senior Navy
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nominations. Acting Secretary Hung Kao is
0:46
nominated for the permanent post.
0:48
Retired submariners Bill Toady and Richard Breckenridge are
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nominated for Under Secretary and the Navy's top acquisition
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job. They have not been confirmed.
0:58
Belarus has released 25 prisoners following talks with
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American envoys as Washington eased sanctions on 2 Belarusian
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companies. In baseball, the Angels beat the
1:09
Mariners 2 to one. Seattle is now 70 and 82,
1:13
confirming it cannot finish the season at 500.
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For the On Air Across America network, I'm Alex Ross.
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The world is a complicated place.
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Fortunately, Dave Bowman has opinions, some informed, some
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inconvenient, and a few that may require supporting
1:40
documentation, history, politics, and the absurdity of
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modern life. This is the Dave Bowman Show.
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Well, good morning, good evening or good afternoon, wherever you
1:53
are, whatever you do. A lot of things happening in the
1:56
world today, most of them are far beyond our control, you
1:59
might say. So perhaps it's time we took a
2:01
pause and thought about life, thought about the laws of
2:05
gravity, war, anti-Semitism, free speech.
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Don't touch that dial. Just try to hear me out for a
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little while. You can e-mail the show Dave at
2:17
the Dave bowmanshow.com. You can text us 520-9565, Dave,
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209-565-3283. Of course, we're
2:25
online@facebook.com and the Dave bowmanshow.com.
2:31
So I have no idea. I, I know some of you are
2:37
wondering and the answer is I don't know nothing.
2:41
And even if I did know nothing, I wouldn't say anything.
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So that's all I can say about that.
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And if you don't know what I don't know nothing about, well,
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someday you might let me establish my position here
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before discussing anything else. I find Macklemore and his
3:03
rhetoric repulsive. I find his presentation of the
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Israeli Palestinian conflict to be dishonest.
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He reduces extraordinarily complicated conflicts into crude
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morality plays. Israel has become the singular
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victim in his mind. Palestinians become people
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without political leaders or armed organizations, and Hamas
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isn't even in his story. I disagree with him.
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I reject his accusations against Israel, his selective history,
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and his willingness to be disputed to describe disputed
3:37
assertations as settled facts. I also recall that in 2014, he
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performed in a disguise that looked remarkably like medieval
3:49
Jewish caricatures. His subsequent apology does not
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require me to forget that he did it, even if I accept his
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apology. Don't have to forget about it.
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All that said, Macklemore has a First Amendment right to say
4:06
stupid, offensive, and morally objectionable things, as do I.
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The First Amendment was never necessary to protect agreeable
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speech. It exists precisely because
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governments cannot be trusted to determine which political
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positions the public may hear, despite the fact that they want
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to, and they try each and every day.
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I will defend Macklemore's right to speak.
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That doesn't mean I have to agree with him, Doesn't mean I
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have to buy his music. In fact, I can honestly tell you
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that I have never consciously listened to anything he has
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performed. I'm sure I've heard something,
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but I never said, hey, let's, let's, let's toggle up old
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Macklemore on the Spotify playlist.
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There, That's never happened and it never will.
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I'm not required to attend his concerts.
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I'm not required to overlook his gross anti-Semitism, nor am I
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required to provide him with a stage, nor is anyone else.
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And that distinction is the heart of the whole matter, isn't
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it? Recently, in case you were
5:12
unaware, and until this happened, I was not, some dude
5:16
named Ed Sheeran was on tour. This is what musicians do.
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And we've had the conversation on what the frock about the
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problems that these tours are having now and the whole Go
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Spotify thing and ghost streaming thing and the blue dot
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issues. We've talked about that.
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But apparently they Ed Sheeran was on is on tour and Macklemore
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was with him along with four other groups.
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Can you imagine sitting through a concert like that?
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Jesus. At any rate, at a September 4th
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and 5th series of these conference concerts at MetLife
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Stadium in New Jersey, Macklemore used the stage to
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shout from the stage declaring Free Palestine.
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He of course accused Israel of apartheid and genocide,
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performed his anthem song supporting the pro Palestinian
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campus movement. I guess he hasn't gotten that
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memo yet and used images of Palestinian suffering and
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political demonstrations. And he argued that Israel and
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opposition to Zionism are not anti-Semitic.
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That's, you know, I mean you're entitled to your opinion I
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guess. Jewish and pro Israeli
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organizations objected. They argued that Macklemore's
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presentation vilified Israel, ignored the whole Hamas element
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of this and used rhetoric and images that Jewish listeners,
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whoever they may be, reasonably regarded, reasonably regarded as
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as anti-Semitic. Robert Kraft, who is the owner
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of the New England Patriots and presumably Gillette Stadium,
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said, you know what, I don't want this guy at my stadium.
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Other venue operators reportedly followed Kraft's example, and
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the promoter of the tour removed Macklemore from the remaining
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dates rather than cancel the tour, which of course that
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caused some problems too. Macklemore argues that the
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accusations of anti-Semitism were used to silence him because
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his message had reached an enormous mainstream audience,
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which is arguable. Ed Sheeran said the decision was
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made by the promoter and the venue owners, not him.
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He, he wants it very clear that he had nothing to do with it,
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which is fine 'cause I know a couple of Ed Sheeran songs, but
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only because they were apparently very popular at one
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point. Look, Macklemore's accounts of
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things is radically incomplete. This is not unusual in today's
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world. Pick one side and and that will
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be your side. As from when Wise once said to
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me, a piece of cloth with only one side to it makes for mighty
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thin material. And Macklemore speaks about
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Palestinian suffering as though it exists without Hamas's
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actions on October 7th, decades of failed negotiations, Bill
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Clinton himself saying, look, they they don't want peace.
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What do you want to do? Palestinian citizens are
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suffering. I don't have a problem
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acknowledging that and that, but that doesn't require me to
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pretend that Hamas has no responsibility for placing those
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civilians in danger and prolonging the war.
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He on the other hand, Macklemore presents this accusation as a
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verdict. He repeatedly describes Israel's
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actions as genocide, and that term carries specific legal and
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historical meanings cannot be treated as an established fact
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merely because Macklemore said it.
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When Jewish folks raised legitimate concerns, he simply
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ignores them, dismisses them, much as we saw the the folks
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down in Tacoma with the with the, with the brewery.
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They just really. Well, that doesn't that doesn't
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play. He claims that the accusations
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are being weaponized. Are they?
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Is anybody telling him he can't play his music?
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Just that he can't play his music at a private venue that
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doesn't want him? Yeah.
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It doesn't mean that every accusation, by the way, is
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false. In 2014, just a reminder,
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Macklemore appeared on stage wearing a very large prosthetic
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nose, black wig and a beard. He, of course, denied that this
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was a Jewish caricature, and he apologized.
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Air quote. Air quote.
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But it was pretty obvious what he was trying to do.
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His present rhetoric also depicts powerful interests.
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You know, because that's what the Jews do, right?
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They, they have these private meetings where they decide the
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world. And he depicts this meeting as
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what has happened here. Free Palestine, by the way, is
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not a it's not a policy. It's not a complete policy.
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Does he support 2 states? Does Israel continue to exist?
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He never discusses this. Who's in charge in Gaza?
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What happens to Hamas? What what protects Israel if
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Israel relinquishes even more territory or military control?
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He never addresses these things. He has a slogan, but no serious
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actual answers. And that's the problem, or a
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problem anyway. Look, the 1st Amendment does not
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require me to agree with him. It does not also protect only
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respectable opinions. I'm not the only one has the 1st
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Amendment right, Neither is Macklemore.
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We both have it. But popular speech doesn't need
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constitutional protection. Officially approved speech does
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not need it at all. The difficult test involves
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speech that's ignorant, offensive, inflammatory, and
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wrong. Profoundly wrong.
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If I sit here and defend his free speech, or defends free
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speech in general only for people with whom I agree, I'm
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not defending the principle, I'm defending my own side.
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Macklemore's views do not become unprotected because I don't like
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them, because I consider them to be dishonest and anti-Semitic,
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unless his words satisfy the the recognized legal exceptions.
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And there are several legal exceptions. 5 I believe that the
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Supreme Court has come up with true threats, incitement of
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imminent lawless action, legally actionable defamation.
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The government can't punish him for expressing them, and I agree
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with that. But defending his right to say
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that is not defending, you know, his argument.
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The distinction must remain clear.
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Macklemore can say whatever he wants well within those limits.
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I, in turn, can condemn what he says.
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Audiences don't have to buy tickets to his shows.
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And again, blue dot fever is a real thing.
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Sponsors don't have to pay for this.
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Jewish organizations can challenge him, and other artists
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may either defend or criticize him.
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Which is, of course, what's happening now is we're seeing
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bit of that. No one is entitled to freedom
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from social or commercial consequences.
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Free speech protects the content.
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It does not decide who wins the argument.
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And private venues are not the government.
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So if Gillette Stadium, run by Robert Kraft, decides that they
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don't want him there, his complaints are pointless.
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You really want to solve your problem, buy the stadium.
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Robert Kraft in those stadiums, they're, they're private owners.
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They have no, there is no First Amendment right to perform at
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Gillette Stadium or even to remain on the tour.
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If the if the promoter decides, yeah, this is going to cost me
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money, He was using someone else's concert, someone else's
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business arrangements, someone else's audience.
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Ed Sheeran's fans did not necessarily purchase tickets to
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see Macklemore and his political demonstration.
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Venue owners can decide that his appearance is inappropriate or
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commercially damaging, and that decision is not a constitutional
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violation, but we still have to consider whether that private
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power deserves examination or not.
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This is not government censorship by any way, but
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coordinated action by major venue owners can substantially
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restrict an artist's access to audiences.
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I'm not required to approve of Macklemore to be uncomfortable
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with what a handful of people deciding that a political
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position may not be heard in a major venue could be conceived
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as a problem. Today the excluded speaker is
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Macklemore. Tomorrow might be me or someone
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else, a conservative comedian, a Christian musician, or anyone
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whose position becomes more commercially inconveniently
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inconvenient. Sorry, making up words here.
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The First Amendment can't legally bind private venues, but
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the cultural principle of free speech should still influence
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how we make those decisions. Macklemore has the right to
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speak. There's no two ways about that.
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He does not have the right to someone else's stage.
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He has the right to say free Palestine.
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He does not have the right to demand that I agree with him or
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anybody else. He does not have immunity from
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criticism or protection from ordinary commercial
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consequences. Robert Kraft has the right to
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exclude him from a privately controlled stadium.
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The public has the right to ask whether his decision was fair,
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consistent, and proportionate. My defense of Macklemore ends
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with his freedom to speak does not extend to his argument at
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all. I find his presentation to be
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selective, irresponsible, and repellent.
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I believe his rhetoric encourages hostility towards
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Israel and Jews while observing the while obscuring completely
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the responsibility of Hamas. I will oppose those ideas
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openly, forcefully, and continually.
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But I will not solve offensive speech by handing anyone the
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power to decide which political opinions Americans may express.
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That weapon remains in friendly hands forever.
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Never. The proper answer to Macklemore
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is not it's it's not necessarily government silence.
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How many times do I have to say this, people?
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The response to bad speech is more good speech, factual
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rebuttals, historical context, moral clarity, and an
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unequivocal defense of Israel's right to exist.
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Macklemore has the right to speak.
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I have the right to say he's wrong.
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His argument is repulsive, and I want no part of it.
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Defending his liberty does not require surrendering my
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judgement. It requires me to defend the
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Constitution even when the person in invoking that right
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flat out makes my skin crawl. Welcome back Plaza Live going to
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join me 565 Dave, 209-565-3283 is the text machine. e-mail Dave
17:19
at the Daveboben show.com. Still working out some of the
17:22
kinks in the the live broadcast stuff, trying to get everything
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revved up. I think next week is going to be
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really the the launch point of things, but you'll see that
17:35
coming. So the House of Representatives
17:37
approved a resolution late Tuesday directing the removal of
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U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress
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authorizes their continual involvement.
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Vote 2:20 to 2047 Republicans joining the Democrats.
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You heard Alex tell you that in the news.
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It's the House's third such votes since February 28th.
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This is not a law. It's a resolution, a resolute.
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We have resolved that you should do this.
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Of course, it ignores the reality of the situation, which
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is that in 1973, Congress gave authority to the president of
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the United States to do stuff like this.
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And even the hated President Nixon said, hey, you know what?
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That's that's probably unconstitutional and Congress,
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which since 1798 has been divesting itself of anything
18:37
resembling any actual responsibility decided no, we're
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going to override that veto and we're going to give the
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president the right to go to war call.
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It's not really war because we're but we're going to call it
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the War Powers Act. He has the powers of war.
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This goes all the way back to 1798, the cargo of the Brig
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Aurora, where Congress wasn't sure what to do about the
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situation with France and the Quasi War with France.
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And so they actually passed a, a, a law that said to President
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Adams at the time, hey, you look into this and if you find, quote
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UN quote, that a state of war exists between US and France,
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then then that's fine with us. And, and you do whatever you
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need to do. And of course, John Adams did he
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found, look, there's a rock and I looked underneath it and there
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was a war with France. How about that?
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Of course, by the time they got it all settled out, the war was
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over. Because it wasn't really a war,
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I guess. I don't know, wasn't there.
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I know it had people up in arms. That's it was it was quite the
19:46
mess. But now we have this War Powers
19:49
Act that that Congress has used passed in 1973 so that the
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president can go off and do wars without congressional approval
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kind of. So again, he's committed the
20:06
military and, and I think we looked at this couple years ago
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and it's like 168 uses of the War Powers Act where the, where
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the presidents of the United States have committed American
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forces to, to combat operations, which is generally the.
20:22
Extinction of war, right? It without a declaration of war
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and without congressional quote UN quote approval.
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Because once the clock starts to to do it, then I have 30 days or
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45 days or maybe 90 days or or maybe forever, who knows, maybe
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10 years like in Vietnam, maybe maybe 8 years somewhere else.
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Look it it's a confusing mess and it's political theater is
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what it is. If Congress really wanted to do
20:53
something about this, they should do something about this.
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But they don't. They don't really want to do
20:58
anything about it because they don't really want to be on the
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record one way or the other come November.
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This is just a resolution. This doesn't mean anything.
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It's a resolute. We resolve that the president
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should pull the forces out and some Republicans in no doubt
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swing districts who are concerned about the the future
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of their their election in November decided that, well, I
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better, I better suck up to my other audience and my other
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constituents, just like the gal down in southern southern
21:30
Washington here did with her vote a few weeks ago.
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It's nonsense. It's political kabuki theater.
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That's all it is. If Congress really wanted to do
21:41
something about this and they don't, I want to be clear, they
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don't care. They don't want to do nothing
21:46
about it. They can't do anything about it
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because what are they going to do?
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They don't, they don't know. They don't know, they don't
21:55
understand. They don't have a clue what's
22:00
they're so focused on themselves and getting re electioned that
22:04
that they can't do anything. Republican Congress hasn't
22:08
passed a single bit of legislation every every bit of
22:11
what President Trump has done. Whether you agree with it or not
22:14
is irrelevant here, but none of it's going to last because it's
22:20
all been done executively, meaning that as soon as the
22:23
other party is in charge, they're just going to undo it
22:26
again. And we're going to go back and
22:29
forth, back and forth, back and forth.
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Now the the civil servants love that because then, you know, the
22:35
people really don't know what's going on because they get to
22:39
change everything the way they want it.
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But, but from a governmental standpoint, is that the way that
22:45
we was, that we were intended to be governed, flopping back and
22:48
forth between parties and and their agendas?
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Because nobody can pass a law, Nobody can get where we're
22:55
supposed to be with this. And more importantly, they don't
22:58
want to pass a law. They don't want to do this.
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They want it this way. If Congress really gave anything
23:10
about this, maybe they'd be holding hearings, maybe they'd
23:13
be asking what specific military objectives is Congress being
23:17
asked to support? What exactly are we being asked
23:19
to pay for $38 billion? They said, I mean, at this
23:23
point, you know, they used to say a billion here, a billion
23:27
there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.
23:30
And then we had $40 trillion in debt.
23:32
And it's like, well, what's 38 billion?
23:38
What specific objective are we being asked to fund?
23:42
Let me be clear about this. I, I, I, the idea of taking out
23:47
Iran is attractive to me. I don't trust those.
23:49
You know this, you've been around me for 25 years.
23:52
The bad mullahs of, of Tehran need to be taken out.
23:56
But is this the best way to do this?
23:59
If you are a member of Congress and you actually oppose the war,
24:03
what authorization or funding bill have you introduced
24:07
following a resolution vote? What have you actually done?
24:11
Look, I don't like the guy Al Green down in Texas.
24:14
I think he's an ass. But at least he is doing what he
24:17
says he believes. He's actually passing a bill to
24:20
force an impeachment vote. If the Democrats are mad at him,
24:23
it's hysterical. They're furious because they
24:25
don't want to be on record about this.
24:26
And Hakeem Jeffries does not want this right now.
24:30
But he's forcing that vote again.
24:33
He's a moron. But at least he's doing what he
24:36
believes. Which of these 220 Congress
24:39
people that voted for this introduced any legislation
24:41
whatsoever about the funding of this war and how they're going
24:45
to do it? If we did pull out right now, as
24:50
these 220 Congress people have said, what happens?
24:55
Who protects U.S. forces and shipping?
24:58
Do you? Do you?
24:59
Do you honestly think everybody's complaining about
25:01
gas prices, including me, because I live in Washington
25:03
state, where our idiot governor tax on an additional buck and a
25:06
half to every gallon for climate change.
25:10
But if if the US was suddenly gone tomorrow, what do you think
25:15
is going to happen to gas prices?
25:16
Do you think they're going to suddenly plunge down?
25:20
If you do think that, you're not paying attention to what's going
25:24
on. You think the Iranians are just
25:28
going to go, oh, well, the Americans are gone now.
25:30
So I guess everything's great. Everybody go right on through.
25:38
Which costs are not being recorded in the CB OS estimate,
25:41
CBO says may around $38 billion. But look, I, I was an accountant
25:46
by trade. I, I know what that means.
25:49
That means the real number is probably closer to 50.
25:54
Look, folks, Congress enacted the War Powers Act in 1973 after
25:59
the Vietnam War, which, by the way, was a war but was never
26:05
declared the intent. The idea was to severely
26:10
constrain sustained hostilities undertaken without congressional
26:14
authorization. Both parties and their
26:18
presidents have disputed the application of it.
26:22
They've asserted independent commander in chief authority,
26:25
and they continue to use it even though they might argue that,
26:33
well, it's it's not, it's not constitutional, but we're not
26:36
going to stop it because now we're in charge.
26:38
So we get to use it. Look, the House has voted to end
26:43
this for the third time, but you'll notice that the war has
26:48
not stopped. So what exactly did Congress
26:52
actually do? Same as they always do.
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Damn all. Are you going to vote for me?
27:00
Where's my check? Take the time right now.
27:03
Tell the people that matter in your life you love them very
27:05
much. You'd miss them if they weren't
27:06
there. So don't pass up those
27:07
opportunities. You don't want to have that
27:09
regret. Plausibly live.
27:11
I'm Dave Bowman, and we'll see you next time.
27:13
Right here. The plausibly Live The Dave
27:15
Bowman Show.