Latest / World Ablaze with George Fontes / Tom Homan, Dan Bongino, Iran, and California Mileage Tax

Transcript

Tom Homan, Dan Bongino, Iran, and California Mileage Tax · World Ablaze with George Fontes

• 0:00
  Welcome to another World Ablaze recorded this morning, February 5th, 2026.
• 0:12
  I apologize for taking so long to get an episode out.
• 0:15
  Truth be told, I did record two episodes.
• 0:18
  Unfortunately, they were unsalvageable as we were having technical difficulties here at the studio.
• 0:24
  Strange things going on with audio.
• 0:26
  There's pops, there's clicks, there's audio speeding up, slowing down.
• 0:30
  In fact, I did an episode with my friend Jesse Zinski.
• 0:34
  We spent two hours talking about what was going on in Minneapolis.
• 0:39
  Bovino out, home and in, what that looks like for Minneapolis,
• 0:43
  what that looks like for ICE moving forward,
• 0:46
  for Trump's agenda in removing illegal aliens.
• 0:51
  But I couldn't salvage any of it, so I apologize to Jesse.
• 0:54
  So do me a favor, support Jesse Zinski.
• 0:57
  Listen to the Jesse Rosinski show available anywhere you hear podcasts.
• 1:02
  In fact, if you're listening to me, you could definitely listen to Jesse Rosinski.
• 1:07
  So with that being said, I tried two episodes, couldn't get them out, but I'm here now.
• 1:12
  I'm here now.
• 1:13
  Appreciate all of you.
• 1:15
  Oh, special shout out to Iceland.
• 1:17
  Listen, I recently switched podcast hosts.
• 1:20
  I got away from Sprecher.
• 1:22
  I just wasn't feeling it.
• 1:24
  I don't know what it was, the data, the distribution.
• 1:27
  Supposedly, there's supposed to be no difference when it comes to hosts in terms of podcast and distribution.
• 1:33
  But for some reason, I'm seeing much, much different results in downloads and reach once I moved over to ACAST, which shouldn't be, right?
• 1:44
  They're both IAB certified or IAB2 for those who don't know what that means.
• 1:48
  It's basically an international advertising or broadcasting standard.
• 1:53
  It just means that every time someone listens and a download is recorded, that it is legitimate.
• 1:58
  It is measured against a standard that the entire industry uses.
• 2:06
  For some reason, Sprecher, being affiliated with iHeart, with everything that it has going for it in media,
• 2:14
  I wasn't seeing the results that I am suddenly seeing on Acast.
• 2:18
  So there definitely was something going on there.
• 2:23
  That being said, I want to thank Iceland.
• 2:24
  I see you again.
• 2:26
  Listen, Iceland's been with me from the beginning.
• 2:28
  They were one of the first countries that supported me.
• 2:34
  And that's important to me because, listen, I've done well in the United States.
• 2:38
  But when it came to international, Iceland was there from the beginning.
• 2:42
  And then it just kept growing and spreading.
• 2:44
  So thank you, Iceland.
• 2:45
  I see you once again.
• 2:47
  Appreciate the support.
• 2:48
  Thank you for coming back.
• 2:49
  Thank you for listening.
• 2:50
  and yeah, also other news.
• 2:54
  I want to tell you all
• 2:56
  that this podcast has earned a ranking
• 3:00
  on Good Pods.
• 3:02
  Good Pods is another podcast aggregator.
• 3:05
  They do it slightly different,
• 3:06
  almost ran kind of like a social media
• 3:08
  in the respect that you can critique,
• 3:12
  rate podcasts, share them.
• 3:14
  You can enter into groups,
• 3:16
  do all of that,
• 3:18
  but it's all podcast related
• 3:19
  and related to spreading the word of the podcast you like,
• 3:22
  the podcast you want to listen to.
• 3:24
  You can let everybody know,
• 3:25
  hey, I got this killer podcast I listen to,
• 3:27
  and you should listen to it too.
• 3:29
  But anyway, getting to the point here,
• 3:32
  this podcast, World of Blaze with George Fonts, that's me,
• 3:36
  has earned the rank of number two.
• 3:40
  Number two, this is important.
• 3:42
  Number two, as far as good pods is concerned,
• 3:45
  overall, against all other podcasts,
• 3:48
  It doesn't matter if they are independent like mine or backed by major media.
• 3:55
  We have earned number two in geopolitics, which is awesome because as you all know, I love talking geopolitics.
• 4:04
  Most of my shows focus on geopolitics.
• 4:07
  And when it comes to independent podcasters who dabble in geopolitics or specifically focus on it, this show is number one.
• 4:16
  So number one in independence in regard to geopolitics and number two against all other podcasts, be major or independent, doesn't matter.
• 4:28
  This show is also number two against all other podcasts in geopolitics.
• 4:32
  So thank you very much for listening.
• 4:34
  Thank you to all the good pods, users, supporters, and thank you for putting this show high up on the ranks.
• 4:42
  and I got one more thing to say before I get started here
• 4:46
  my brother happy birthday motherfucker
• 4:51
  listen his birthday was yesterday I attempted to record this show yesterday
• 4:57
  February 4th I was gonna give him a shout out but I was burned out
• 5:02
  there's a lot going on here on the other side of things so just so you know
• 5:06
  happy birthday manual and I want everybody to give him a big birthday present
• 5:11
  Listen, the manual wants show.
• 5:16
  You know him.
• 5:17
  If you listen to my other show, random thoughts with manual and George, you know very well
• 5:21
  who manual is, but manual, I need you to support him.
• 5:25
  Give him a big old birthday present.
• 5:26
  Go listen to the manual wants show or the manual wants show.
• 5:32
  Easy to find.
• 5:34
  He's ranking up during the charts internationally in a few countries.
• 5:37
  He does very well.
• 5:38
  I've been doing it for a long time.
• 5:40
  so happy birthday Manuel and for everybody listening go give him a listen if you like my
• 5:45
  show I think you'll like Manuel for sure definitely so happy birthday there all right getting on with
• 5:50
  it getting on with it so I've been away for a bit and uh again due to technical difficulties it
• 5:55
  wasn't for lack of trying but here's the deal not much has changed in two weeks to be honest
• 5:59
  nothing major nothing groundbreaking Minneapolis is a mess Minnesota is what it is Homan is in
• 6:05
  Tom Homan comes in.
• 6:07
  And a lot of people, they're like, finally, Bovino out.
• 6:10
  Trump caved.
• 6:12
  Trump folded.
• 6:12
  Now, listen, this was the correct response politically.
• 6:15
  This is what needed to happen.
• 6:17
  It was getting out of hand.
• 6:19
  And Trump's been on the news.
• 6:22
  There's clips of Trump out there saying, well, what I've learned, and he's publicly stated
• 6:27
  this, what I've learned is maybe we should take a softer approach or use a softer touch
• 6:31
  when it comes to this.
• 6:33
  Agreed.
• 6:33
  he went in like a hammer. Bovino
• 6:36
  took his job extremely serious and listen
• 6:38
  we can't fault Bovino for everything because
• 6:40
  he was just doing as instructed
• 6:41
  but Bovino stepping
• 6:44
  down or being forced to step
• 6:46
  down is nothing more
• 6:48
  than a
• 6:50
  political move. It had to be
• 6:52
  done for the sake of the
• 6:54
  country to calm things down
• 6:55
  but make no mistake
• 6:57
  for as much as Bovino
• 7:00
  seemed to be
• 7:01
  well, very
• 7:03
  zealot-like
• 7:07
  when it came to his job.
• 7:08
  Let's just say that.
• 7:11
  Holman is no pushover.
• 7:12
  In fact, I would say be cautious
• 7:14
  of Holman because Holman takes
• 7:16
  no shit.
• 7:17
  The difference between Holman and Bovino is
• 7:19
  Holman has more time
• 7:22
  in the public eye.
• 7:24
  Remember, he served under the Obama
• 7:26
  administration in which
• 7:27
  he received an award for the number
• 7:30
  of deportations from Obama himself.
• 7:33
  Yes, an actual medal.
• 7:34
  It was put around his neck, hanging.
• 7:36
  He received an award from Obama
• 7:38
  for his effort in deportations
• 7:41
  and by doing so,
• 7:43
  helping the deporter-in-chief himself,
• 7:46
  Barack Obama.
• 7:49
  And so Homan is here
• 7:51
  working under the Trump administration.
• 7:53
  Homan is in.
• 7:54
  He is now the supreme leader
• 7:56
  of the efforts going on right now
• 8:02
  with the deportations,
• 8:04
  with the crackdowns by ICE.
• 8:06
  But Holman knows what he's doing.
• 8:09
  He knows how to play politics.
• 8:10
  But he does so by spitting facts and data at you.
• 8:14
  So don't think you're ever going to catch this guy sleeping.
• 8:17
  He knows what he's doing.
• 8:18
  Now, they have reduced the amount of agents over there.
• 8:22
  Last time I read, I think it was by 700 or so agents.
• 8:26
  And this isn't a sign of caving in by the Trump admin, by the way.
• 8:31
  This is a recalibration.
• 8:32
  Make no mistake.
• 8:33
  It's a recalibration.
• 8:34
  This is what needed to be done.
• 8:36
  Because honestly, as much as it needs to happen, you know, the unchecked amount of illegal immigrants, or rather let's call them illegal aliens.
• 8:46
  Because listen, that's what Chuck Schumer said so many years ago under previous administrations.
• 8:51
  That's right.
• 8:52
  The Democratic Party before would say, hey, be careful with your words.
• 8:56
  We can't call them undocumented or just immigrants.
• 9:01
  They're illegal aliens.
• 9:02
  So, you know, I'm going to go reach back in time here,
• 9:05
  and I'm going to take a page from Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton,
• 9:08
  and I'll just say illegal aliens.
• 9:11
  But anyway, Tom Homan is not going to take any shit.
• 9:14
  Tom Homan knows what he's doing.
• 9:15
  Tom Homan's going to definitely go in there and do what he is going to do,
• 9:19
  what he was hired to do, what he's good at.
• 9:22
  And make no mistake, this was a recalibration.
• 9:25
  decalibration. This was an adjustment. This was a consideration in how to approach this
• 9:33
  amicably as much as we can. And apparently now in Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in general,
• 9:41
  we are now seeing cooperation by law enforcement to help quell the amount of protests there.
• 9:50
  Because there's still the question of whether or not these are protests or they're intentional
• 9:54
  disruptions in which it is really perceived to be nothing more than the outright blatant
• 10:01
  intentional impediment of law enforcement.
• 10:06
  Now, we can argue the semantics.
• 10:08
  We can talk about the gray areas and nuances, etc.
• 10:12
  But still, if we want to be cut dry, just as Tom Holman is, this will be done.
• 10:18
  Everything that Tom Holman will do will be absolutely the letter of the law because this
• 10:23
  is what he does.
• 10:24
  He's very intelligent.
• 10:26
  He knows what he's talking about.
• 10:27
  There isn't going to ever be a gotcha moment for Tom Holman.
• 10:30
  He can spit facts and data when it comes to his job like no other.
• 10:36
  And so while Trump is correct, they needed a softer approach.
• 10:41
  By all means, they needed a softer approach.
• 10:44
  It was a little hard.
• 10:45
  It was a little hard.
• 10:46
  But it doesn't mean that they stop.
• 10:48
  The mission must continue.
• 10:50
  We need to get a handle on these 10 million plus undocumented, illegal aliens, immigrants, people, whatever.
• 11:00
  It needs to happen.
• 11:01
  So with that being said, hopefully we see more cooperation.
• 11:07
  Hopefully we don't see any more deaths because let's face it.
• 11:13
  The ball was dropped on both sides.
• 11:16
  These so-called protesters put themselves in harm's way.
• 11:18
  They antagonized ICE.
• 11:20
  And at the same time, ICE was overworked, overrun.
• 11:25
  They had so much going on.
• 11:27
  And I will say that choices were made that were questionable.
• 11:33
  But it doesn't mean that we stop.
• 11:35
  It doesn't mean that ICE refrains from carrying out its lawful duties and enforcing the actual laws.
• 11:44
  so we'll continue to monitor how this unfolds
• 11:49
  we'll see what happens under Tom Homan's direction
• 11:53
  thus far things have calmed down a bit
• 11:55
  but still actions are being carried out
• 11:57
  and taken out at the behest of Trump
• 12:00
  and listen this will be good for America in the long run
• 12:04
  as long as we can do this
• 12:06
  and I guess with a as Trump stated
• 12:10
  softer approach
• 12:11
  that being said let's move on to uh something else here now while i love talking about geopolitics
• 12:17
  um obviously domestic politics current events etc i don't really like diving into media
• 12:24
  personalities too often i do that quite a bit on um on the other show with my brother
• 12:28
  which once again happy birthday manuel uh but that show being random thoughts with manuel and george
• 12:34
  i i just i just got to say that in this show i take a different approach i'm not gonna say i'm
• 12:39
  more serious. I just take a different direction.
• 12:44
  And I don't try to talk about this too often. I have called out
• 12:47
  on this show Dave Smith. I've called out
• 12:51
  Clint Russell I called out many different people from time to time because of what they may say in the moment as a regard as a concern
• 13:05
  basically, concern, sorry, not as regard. Look, it's morning time. I don't usually do this in the
• 13:10
  morning. So give me a break here. And with that being said, I'm going to have my sip of coffee
• 13:13
  here. Oh yeah, that was much needed. I don't usually record early in the morning. So give me
• 13:22
  a breaker. Give me a break. I may fumble
• 13:24
  a word or two, but
• 13:25
  I have called these people out, these
• 13:28
  podcast bros, as
• 13:29
  we call them.
• 13:32
  For some of the shit they say
• 13:34
  in regard to current events, for
• 13:36
  the lack of complete knowledge or
• 13:38
  ability to assess what goes on
• 13:40
  when it comes to geopolitics, I mean,
• 13:42
  when it comes to that, most of these guys just really shut up.
• 13:44
  But hey, you got a right to your
• 13:46
  opinion, right? Everybody does. Do we have a right to our
• 13:48
  opinion? Do we have a right to
• 13:50
  say
• 13:52
  how we feel, speak our mind in regard to how things are being handled by, well, public figures,
• 13:59
  people who serve the public, people in positions that are supposed to be looking out for you and me,
• 14:03
  the United States of America, the people who live in the United States of America.
• 14:08
  Like, are we not supposed to have an opinion whatsoever?
• 14:12
  Well, here's the segue.
• 14:15
  I know you're waiting for it.
• 14:16
  Here's a segue.
• 14:18
  As I've discussed before, big news, right?
• 14:21
  In the podcasting world, in the MAGA world, in the conservative world, Dan Bongino's return.
• 14:27
  Dan Bongino's return.
• 14:29
  He's back.
• 14:29
  Yeah, his show.
• 14:30
  Now, I gave my opinion on that.
• 14:35
  And I did say that, listen, I was never an avid listener, but I tuned in from time to time.
• 14:42
  He's entertaining.
• 14:43
  He does make some good points.
• 14:45
  He does.
• 14:46
  We can't say he doesn't.
• 14:47
  We can't say he's not an intelligent person.
• 14:49
  but I did say I would listen to a couple of his episodes.
• 14:52
  No, he came back recently.
• 14:54
  I think it was February 2nd, just a few days ago.
• 14:57
  Not that long ago.
• 14:58
  I think February 2nd.
• 15:00
  Regardless, I've listened to two of his episodes.
• 15:05
  Apparently, first, let me say this.
• 15:08
  Disappointed for sure.
• 15:09
  That's me.
• 15:10
  It doesn't mean that you will be disappointed.
• 15:13
  Dan Bongino has his Bongino army, whatever that means.
• 15:16
  so Bongino now feels
• 15:20
  that
• 15:22
  you have no right to an opinion
• 15:24
  and you can't criticize
• 15:26
  the Trump administration
• 15:28
  or any administration
• 15:30
  you can't criticize other
• 15:32
  podcasters well specifically
• 15:34
  him apparently because you
• 15:36
  don't know shit you have no inside
• 15:38
  track no inside information
• 15:40
  you don't know how the sausage is made so
• 15:42
  therefore you can't
• 15:44
  have an opinion
• 15:46
  You should just be sitting there on the sidelines listening.
• 15:50
  So you can't call anybody out for their actions or lack of actions.
• 15:54
  You can't call them out for their blatant lies in regards to the information that I guess the general public does have.
• 16:03
  And for Dan to make a statement that, look, you don't know what's going on behind the scenes.
• 16:08
  So you don't have a right to an opinion.
• 16:10
  But apparently, Dan Bongino's opinion, whatever he says or thinks, we should listen to, right?
• 16:22
  Interesting play there, Danny.
• 16:24
  Danny Bongino.
• 16:27
  So we should listen to you.
• 16:29
  We should take the whole trust me bro approach when it comes to your show.
• 16:34
  Because you were on the other side, what, briefly as a deputy director?
• 16:39
  Look, Danny, sure, you were given the opportunity to be FBI deputy director, but why?
• 16:46
  Well, because you were the MAGA mouthpiece.
• 16:48
  You had an extremely popular show.
• 16:51
  And Trump paid attention to you.
• 16:55
  And the thing that Trump saw is all you did was literally have an opinion.
• 17:00
  You're a mouthpiece.
• 17:01
  You talked shit.
• 17:03
  And you just always said how you would do it better.
• 17:06
  You would do it differently.
• 17:08
  And so you were offered the opportunity by President Trump.
• 17:12
  Offered.
• 17:13
  Why?
• 17:14
  You were famous.
• 17:16
  You were known.
• 17:17
  It wasn't necessarily because of your credentials.
• 17:20
  What you may or may not have done is because you were the mouthpiece
• 17:25
  that did nothing more than support Donald J. Trump.
• 17:29
  You were the force behind the MAGA movement.
• 17:33
  You had Trump's attention.
• 17:35
  And he said, well, Danny boy, you were in the secret service.
• 17:39
  You were a New York police officer.
• 17:42
  You say the right things that make me feel good.
• 17:46
  You're the mag of mouthpiece.
• 17:48
  I'm going to give you a shot because I believe that you believe you can make a difference.
• 17:53
  And you, you want to say that you volunteered.
• 17:56
  You want to say that you gave your show up.
• 17:58
  but nobody nobody in the right mind nobody's gonna miss an opportunity to work for the president of
• 18:07
  the united states regardless of what side you're on because deep inside you will take the opportunity
• 18:13
  with the belief that you will make a difference from within and so that's what you did danny
• 18:19
  that's what you did and once you got there all the promises all the all the blow hard
• 18:25
  wind, all the promises that you made about what you would do once you're in there,
• 18:33
  what you would do differently because of your experience in being a New York police officer,
• 18:38
  Secret Service, etc., that you would do things different, that you're the man,
• 18:42
  that you're going to go ahead and expose these things that the American people wanted exposed,
• 18:48
  such as the Epstein files, the Epstein case,
• 18:51
  the case that went on for over two fucking decades
• 18:56
  that somehow you come out the other side of saying,
• 19:02
  there's nothing there to prosecute.
• 19:04
  There's nothing there.
• 19:05
  Epstein killed himself.
• 19:06
  No one got to him.
• 19:07
  But when you're on the other side of the mic,
• 19:09
  when you weren't behind the curtain,
• 19:11
  you were the one saying, it's bullshit.
• 19:13
  They're hiding stuff.
• 19:14
  This is being suppressed.
• 19:16
  This is being swept under the rug.
• 19:17
  I'm going to go in there and clean house and expose things.
• 19:19
  Remember, you're going to drain the swamp and do all that stuff.
• 19:22
  Now, for everything you've said and everything you're doing now,
• 19:25
  which is really nothing, you're just a talking head now.
• 19:28
  You no longer have the inside information you claim that everyone else doesn't have
• 19:33
  because you used to get, yeah, we got a version of the daily brief,
• 19:37
  the presidential daily brief.
• 19:38
  So there's level 10 decisions to be made.
• 19:42
  There are level 10 problems that nobody would ever know what's going on.
• 19:45
  So because you don't know, being me, for example, or you, the listener, we don't know what's
• 19:50
  going on behind the scenes, that we don't have a right to an opinion.
• 19:52
  We don't have a right to critique.
• 19:54
  So this is what Danny Boy has been saying his last few episodes.
• 19:58
  Basically, sit down, shut the fuck up, and listen to me because I know.
• 20:03
  I know.
• 20:04
  I saw the wizard behind the curtain.
• 20:06
  That's right.
• 20:07
  I got a close-up personal view of how that guy's pulling the strings.
• 20:12
  and I'll tell you, you don't understand
• 20:15
  so you need to shut up.
• 20:17
  Now, don't take my word for it.
• 20:19
  Here's some clips because as much as Danny Boy
• 20:22
  wants to say things are taken out of context,
• 20:24
  everything's about clips and soundbites,
• 20:25
  you're right.
• 20:26
  You're right.
• 20:27
  Clips and soundbites are taken out of context.
• 20:30
  They are.
• 20:31
  But what I'm going to play,
• 20:33
  they're not out of context.
• 20:34
  They actually support everything I just said.
• 20:36
  And look, I'm not going to push you to another show.
• 20:40
  Obviously, there's people who listen to the show
• 20:42
  who do listen to Dan Bongino.
• 20:43
  They do.
• 20:44
  And again, I'm not shitting on the guy
• 20:45
  just to shit on the guy.
• 20:47
  But for him to make a statement
• 20:49
  that we don't have a right to criticize,
• 20:52
  that we don't have a right to an opinion,
• 20:53
  that we can't even call him out
• 20:54
  because we didn't go to the other side.
• 20:59
  We weren't behind the scenes.
• 21:02
  We didn't know how the sausage was made.
• 21:03
  So we need to just shut up.
• 21:05
  We don't have a right to an opinion
• 21:06
  regardless of whatever is being exposed,
• 21:09
  whatever is being said,
• 21:10
  whatever is in the media,
• 21:11
  whatever's being leaked.
• 21:15
  Information is out there.
• 21:16
  It's not always hidden, Dan, and you know this.
• 21:19
  You know this, Danny.
• 21:21
  Information always gets out.
• 21:23
  There's always that one person who's willing to make the sacrifice,
• 21:26
  take the money, whatever the case is,
• 21:28
  but regardless, information gets out.
• 21:30
  There's plenty of sources, Danny Boy,
• 21:34
  which I actually use on the daily,
• 21:37
  that will reveal things that aren't necessarily mainstream
• 21:41
  or will ever be discussed mainstream.
• 21:43
  And I'm not the only one.
• 21:44
  There are people in the intelligence community
• 21:46
  that know far fucking more than you ever will, Danny boy.
• 21:49
  Ever. I mean, ever.
• 21:50
  I mean, just because you're a deputy director,
• 21:52
  you think you saw everything?
• 21:53
  You really do?
• 21:54
  No, no, you didn't.
• 21:55
  You got a piece as it relates to you and your specific job.
• 21:58
  But guess what, Danny?
• 21:59
  You're no longer there.
• 22:01
  So what say you now?
• 22:03
  What say you now?
• 22:04
  What's the point of your show?
• 22:05
  What the fuck's the point of your show?
• 22:07
  If we're not supposed to have an opinion
• 22:08
  because we don't know what the fuck's going on,
• 22:09
  then what the fuck is the point of your show?
• 22:14
  Crickets?
• 22:16
  What are you going to say, Dan?
• 22:17
  Bongino?
• 22:18
  What's the point of your show?
• 22:20
  You're no longer on the other side.
• 22:22
  You don't have any special privileges anymore.
• 22:25
  You have nothing.
• 22:26
  You're just another guy behind a mic
• 22:28
  just like you were before.
• 22:29
  Let's continue to talk shit.
• 22:30
  But this time,
• 22:31
  you're going to turn your attention
• 22:32
  against your actual own listeners
• 22:33
  because some of your listeners,
• 22:36
  they want to support you,
• 22:37
  but they have questions that you refuse to answer
• 22:40
  because you don't have a right to know
• 22:42
  because you're a nobody, you're nothing, right?
• 22:44
  Is that what we are to you, Danny?
• 22:47
  It's get in line, shut up, and support me.
• 22:50
  Let me play the clips.
• 22:56
  I'll say listen to the first two episodes
• 22:58
  and you'll see what I'm talking about.
• 23:01
  I'm going to play this.
• 23:02
  I'm going to play this clip for you.
• 23:04
  Listen to what Dan says about those
• 23:06
  who have an opinion, who criticize.
• 23:11
  This is Dan.
• 23:12
  This is what Dan says.
• 23:13
  You sat in the front row with your popcorn,
• 23:16
  ankle biting, throwing this popcorn at the ring,
• 23:19
  at two guys in there sparring away,
• 23:21
  fighting for this country, while you did shit.
• 23:24
  You just talked about it.
• 23:25
  So you didn't do anything.
• 23:27
  Now, I'm back on the air.
• 23:28
  I'm not going to take on every single thing
• 23:30
  in one day in one show.
• 23:32
  But I'm telling you right now,
• 23:33
  your bullshit, I'm done with it.
• 23:35
  The grifter bums, all you guys are
• 23:38
  Are a class of doomers
• 23:39
  Everything sucks all the time
• 23:41
  You would have done it different
• 23:42
  You didn't do shit
• 23:43
  You did nothing
• 23:45
  You didn't volunteer
• 23:47
  You didn't ask
• 23:48
  You didn't give up your show to do
• 23:50
  You did nothing
• 23:51
  All you did was bullshit people
• 23:54
  And say nothing's happening
• 23:55
  And then when we tell you
• 23:56
  Oh it just happened
• 23:57
  You move on to something else
• 23:58
  You say it's not going to happen
• 23:59
  And then when that happens
• 24:01
  You move on to something else
• 24:02
  You want to critique it
• 24:03
  Say you would have done better
• 24:04
  Step up
• 24:05
  step up.
• 24:09
  Go ahead.
• 24:10
  They got openings.
• 24:12
  You go try it.
• 24:13
  Let's shut this talking monkey up over here.
• 24:18
  And no, that wasn't a racial statement.
• 24:20
  He just actually kind of looks like a monkey.
• 24:22
  I mean, seriously, watch.
• 24:24
  Let me go back to desktop only here.
• 24:26
  See?
• 24:26
  Look at that.
• 24:27
  Yeah, it kind of looks like a monkey.
• 24:28
  So, no, it's not a racial statement or slur.
• 24:30
  He does kind of look like a monkey.
• 24:33
  He does.
• 24:33
  I'm sorry.
• 24:35
  But anyway, I know that was a personal jab.
• 24:38
  I should have done that.
• 24:39
  Sorry, Danny Bonginino.
• 24:40
  I didn't mean that.
• 24:41
  I didn't mean you look like a monkey.
• 24:42
  But anyway, so apparently we don't know shit, right?
• 24:48
  We didn't give up our show.
• 24:50
  Like, oh, I didn't give up my show to volunteer to heed the call of the president who called upon me.
• 24:55
  Well, the president wasn't paying attention to me, for one.
• 24:57
  I wasn't famous.
• 24:58
  And let's address that, Danny.
• 25:00
  Is there anybody in the Trump administration that wasn't famous or well-known?
• 25:05
  Anybody?
• 25:08
  No.
• 25:09
  He didn't go out and reach for the average person who was unknown,
• 25:15
  who had an independent podcast somewhere in a basement,
• 25:18
  who was spitting truth, who was spitting truth,
• 25:20
  but just didn't have the media push to get him out there.
• 25:23
  Trump didn't pick one of those people.
• 25:25
  He picked you because you were a loudmouth shit talker
• 25:29
  who pushed the MAGA movement
• 25:31
  and did nothing more than support Trump all the way.
• 25:36
  And again, please, please listen.
• 25:39
  I am not bashing Trump here.
• 25:40
  I'm just saying this is what Dan did.
• 25:42
  This is exactly what Dan did.
• 25:44
  And you can't deny it.
• 25:45
  If you're a Dan listener, a Bongino listener,
• 25:47
  you know, for fact, this is what he did.
• 25:48
  He's the mag and mouthpiece, literally.
• 25:50
  So say whatever you want, Dan.
• 25:53
  But the person who obviously didn do shit once you got on the other side after all the shit talking you did was you Sure Crime went down Awesome The FBI did arrest a bunch
• 26:06
  of pedophiles, pedophile rings,
• 26:08
  human trafficking. Yeah, they did a lot.
• 26:10
  They really did. But you're going to attribute all
• 26:11
  that to just you and your involvement?
• 26:13
  I mean, a lot of these things were already in play
• 26:15
  before you got
• 26:18
  there. Trump wanted these things taken care
• 26:20
  of.
• 26:22
  I can't attribute it all to you
• 26:24
  because you didn't even last a whole year in the FBI
• 26:27
  and you want to step down
• 26:28
  because you didn't want to look at the four walls,
• 26:31
  as you said.
• 26:32
  Every day, the four walls,
• 26:33
  oh, my poor wife can't handle it.
• 26:36
  You act like you made the ultimate sacrifice.
• 26:38
  Oh, you volunteered?
• 26:39
  No, you didn't fucking volunteer.
• 26:40
  You told President Trump,
• 26:42
  yes, I'll do it.
• 26:43
  I'll get in.
• 26:44
  Tag me in, buddy.
• 26:45
  Thank you so much.
• 26:46
  What an opportunity.
• 26:48
  So fuck you, Dan.
• 26:49
  We do have a right to criticize.
• 26:50
  We do have a right to throw the popcorn.
• 26:52
  horn. We didn't just sit on the sidelines. We didn't sit on the sidelines. Many people supported
• 26:58
  you. Many people were behind. Hell, I was actually behind because of his experience. I'm like, well,
• 27:02
  the guy actually has real world experience. He knows what he's talking about. And then you get
• 27:06
  in there and what happened? What happened? Epstein killed himself. I'm telling you,
• 27:16
  I saw the videos Epstein killed. Oh, there's nothing there. There's nothing there in the
• 27:21
  files. There's nothing. The files
• 27:23
  were so corrupt. There's nothing there. Really, Dan?
• 27:25
  That wasn't the story you were
• 27:27
  telling all these fucking years behind the mic.
• 27:29
  Hmm.
• 27:31
  And the other thing Dan does, please
• 27:33
  listen to those two episodes. Why? Because
• 27:34
  you'll see that I'm not the one just talking
• 27:36
  shit here. Listen to his
• 27:39
  first two episodes, his return episodes.
• 27:41
  He goes on
• 27:43
  to also further validate
• 27:45
  himself by constantly stopping
• 27:47
  to turn and look at how many people
• 27:49
  in the chat. He believes because there's
• 27:51
  128,000 people in the chat, 200-something
• 27:53
  thousand people in the chat, that that
• 27:54
  validates him
• 27:55
  how important he is.
• 27:58
  He even goes on in the second episode
• 28:01
  to brag about
• 28:03
  being the number one podcast.
• 28:04
  Oh, number one live stream.
• 28:08
  Dan,
• 28:08
  your episodes
• 28:10
  get a few million listens.
• 28:12
  Look, you've always gotten listens.
• 28:15
  And while you're trying to
• 28:16
  validate yourself to everybody,
• 28:19
  as being something of importance.
• 28:20
  Look, your vanity, you just can't hide it.
• 28:25
  You're not hiding it.
• 28:27
  Look, there's 330 million people in America.
• 28:32
  And maybe 1% listen to you.
• 28:36
  I mean, that's still a lot of people, man.
• 28:38
  That's more listeners than I got, I'll admit.
• 28:41
  But it's still a small percentage of the population.
• 28:46
  Small percentage of the world, actually.
• 28:48
  If we're getting 2 million listeners an episode, I mean, compared to the rest of the world,
• 28:54
  Dan, I hate to say it, you're still dropping the fucking bucket there, buddy.
• 28:57
  You're a stone in the pond.
• 28:58
  You know what I'm saying?
• 28:59
  Just like anyone else.
• 29:01
  Fuck.
• 29:01
  I'm an even smaller stone in the pond.
• 29:03
  I don't even know if I create too many ripples.
• 29:05
  But for those who do listen to me, I appreciate it.
• 29:09
  Truth tellers don't really seem to get as much exposure.
• 29:14
  But regardless, point being, Dan, you're full of shit.
• 29:19
  And we have a right to call you out for the shit you didn't do, apparently.
• 29:23
  You're deflecting.
• 29:24
  You're trying to turn it against everyone else for the things you couldn't come through with,
• 29:29
  the things that you couldn't explain.
• 29:30
  Oh, and by the way, I got another clip here where he does state, you know,
• 29:34
  well, some things couldn't be done because they will be done, but some things, they just can't.
• 29:39
  Really?
• 29:40
  Really?
• 29:41
  and here's another clip of saying
• 29:43
  that
• 29:45
  you don't know shit
• 29:46
  shut up
• 29:48
  you don't know shit
• 29:49
  alright
• 29:50
  alright Dan
• 29:50
  so let me pull this other clip up
• 29:53
  of Dan continuing to
• 29:54
  continuing to berate
• 29:55
  the audience he has
• 29:57
  or had
• 29:57
  to call out people
• 29:59
  and call them black pillars
• 30:00
  black pillars right
• 30:01
  you're just all doom and gloom
• 30:02
  so
• 30:03
  I wasn't really
• 30:04
  you know I don't
• 30:05
  I don't keep up on this shit
• 30:06
  look I have social media accounts
• 30:07
  but I really don't work them
• 30:08
  you know I've got
• 30:09
  you know what
• 30:10
  eight or 9,000 followers on Instagram. My ex account went from 10,000 followers down to like
• 30:16
  what 15 or 1600. And look, here's the reason I don't, I got real shit to do. I don't sit there
• 30:21
  24 seven, just texting and responding to people, um, posting like that's not what I do. I use
• 30:28
  social media to get my, my stuff out. If you find it on social media, cool. Thank you. Share it,
• 30:36
  support me, all that.
• 30:38
  But mostly I use social media to get a pulse of the nation, right?
• 30:43
  Or of what's going on in the world.
• 30:44
  Because there will be news on social media leaked.
• 30:49
  I do follow some accounts that that's specifically what they do.
• 30:52
  And I have other services I actually subscribe to that are much more valid,
• 30:58
  to be quite honest.
• 30:59
  But I'll look at these feeds that I get from these other news aggregators
• 31:03
  that I pay for.
• 31:04
  And then when I see these headlines, then I'll go to social media and go, okay, well,
• 31:07
  let's see what people feel.
• 31:09
  How are they talking?
• 31:10
  You know, how do they see the situation?
• 31:11
  How are they talking?
• 31:12
  And there's a couple of accounts that are very credible, sorry, guys.
• 31:19
  Morning, man.
• 31:19
  Words are flubbing here.
• 31:20
  Sorry.
• 31:21
  That are very credible that I will go ahead and look at and compare whatever it is that
• 31:25
  I've seen to whatever they're saying, getting their assessment.
• 31:29
  So social media, for what I'm doing, has some validity to it.
• 31:34
  But I'm not sitting there working it hoping I get a million followers.
• 31:37
  It's just not what I do.
• 31:39
  Dan, however, Dan Mangino lives on X.
• 31:41
  I swear to God.
• 31:43
  He'll even admit it.
• 31:43
  He spends a lot of time on X.
• 31:46
  So it's starting to get to the point that we got to call Dan out for,
• 31:51
  what are you about, man?
• 31:53
  Are you about America?
• 31:54
  or are you about fulfilling your need,
• 31:58
  your vain need for fame and acceptance?
• 32:02
  Are you missing them pats on the back there?
• 32:05
  What are you really doing?
• 32:06
  If everyone's show is irrelevant,
• 32:09
  if I'm irrelevant,
• 32:10
  if everybody that I know is irrelevant,
• 32:11
  if everybody out there is irrelevant
• 32:13
  because they don't have the inside info,
• 32:15
  they don't get the president's daily brief,
• 32:17
  they don't know what's going on,
• 32:18
  then again, what's the point of your show, Dan?
• 32:20
  What is it that makes you so fucking important?
• 32:24
  because you don't have the info either.
• 32:26
  You are now a mouthpiece once again,
• 32:28
  another opinion guy.
• 32:31
  So that being said, listen to this clip.
• 32:33
  We further berates his current,
• 32:36
  maybe former audience.
• 32:38
  I don't know what,
• 32:38
  I can't tell where this guy is going anymore.
• 32:43
  But here's another video.
• 32:44
  Here's another clip.
• 32:46
  You're not going to hear this from the doomers.
• 32:48
  Everything sucks.
• 32:49
  Oh, it sucked.
• 32:50
  All they do is tell you what didn't happen.
• 32:52
  I'll tell you what didn't happen.
• 32:53
  You didn't do shit.
• 32:55
  That's what didn't happen.
• 32:56
  I'm going to pause there because the other person who didn't do shit was you, Dan.
• 33:02
  You didn't do shit.
• 33:04
  You can say you did.
• 33:05
  You can give us all the stats, everything that happened in the FBI while you were there.
• 33:09
  But that doesn't mean that you, that you were the one who was primarily responsible or whatever you did attributed to those things.
• 33:19
  regardless you didn't do shit based on the promises and the shit talking that you spoke
• 33:25
  before you were given that opportunity and so the american people do have a right to call your ass
• 33:30
  out because you were a public servant our tax dollars went to your fucking salary so yeah i i
• 33:39
  i have a right to have an opinion i regardless of whether or not you think we did shit or not
• 33:44
  you listening, thank you very much,
• 33:47
  have a right to an opinion based on his actions and what he did.
• 33:51
  But anyway, let's continue this video.
• 33:53
  You sat on your fat ass complaining all the time on Twitter,
• 33:57
  watching tentacle porn in your room.
• 33:59
  I don't even know what tentacle porn is.
• 34:01
  What the fuck is Dan talking about?
• 34:05
  What?
• 34:05
  Also, Dan, I'm not fat.
• 34:07
  If you're referring to people like me who have podcasts, I'm not fat.
• 34:10
  I'm not sitting here eating Twinkies and Ho-Hos and watching tentacle porn.
• 34:12
  I'm doing research and calling
• 34:14
  bullshit out like
• 34:16
  the bullshit you're talking right now
• 34:18
  loser eating Twinkies
• 34:21
  and Ding Dongs
• 34:22
  you didn't do shit
• 34:24
  I didn't see you volunteering
• 34:26
  while he was racking up
• 34:29
  these W's
• 34:29
  this didn't happen well a lot of things
• 34:32
  didn't happen that are gonna happen
• 34:34
  and some things that don't happen don't happen because they can
• 34:36
  happen
• 34:37
  excuse me
• 34:40
  some things
• 34:42
  didn't happen that are going to happen,
• 34:45
  but don't happen because they can't happen
• 34:47
  or won't happen, will happen someday,
• 34:48
  possibly maybe happen, but not really happen,
• 34:51
  but could happen.
• 34:53
  What the fuck?
• 34:59
  Oh my God.
• 35:00
  Dan, you can't dig yourself out of the hole
• 35:03
  that you made.
• 35:03
  And look, everybody,
• 35:05
  if you're a Dan Bongino fan,
• 35:07
  I'm not telling you not to listen to him.
• 35:10
  By all means, continue to support Dan
• 35:12
  if that's what you want to do.
• 35:14
  But the overcorrection here on Dan
• 35:18
  to defend himself from his critics
• 35:23
  after his failed service in the FBI,
• 35:28
  sorry, but it was.
• 35:29
  I mean, look, okay, I'll give you credit.
• 35:32
  Sure, you did some good things,
• 35:34
  or the FBI did.
• 35:35
  I don't know if you did specifically,
• 35:36
  but you did some good things.
• 35:38
  But you also whined a lot while you were there.
• 35:40
  you whined about how all you do is stare at these four walls you whined about how
• 35:46
  you know it's hard on your wife it's hard on your family and then you then you say you volunteer
• 35:50
  you didn't volunteer dude you're getting paid to be there shut the fuck up you didn't volunteer
• 35:55
  to be in the fbi you said yes to trump and that's it because you were a famous well-known
• 36:02
  blowhardy mouthpiece and listen dan i'm gonna say one more thing to you this tough guy shtick
• 36:08
  it's tired it's over it's over you talk big behind a mic yeah i get it you were a trained
• 36:16
  boxer jiu-jitsu whatever you know what everybody knows jiu-jitsu these days i mean just shut the
• 36:20
  fuck up dude the whole machismo fucking whatever thing you got going on you know i'm i'm i'm a
• 36:25
  badass i'll do this and the humble brag bullshit it's like oh i do it for you guys i do it for you
• 36:30
  it isn't about me i do it for you the reason i'm here is because you know i have to do this for you
• 36:35
  but please watch me.
• 36:36
  Oh, look, 300,000 in the chat.
• 36:38
  We're relevant.
• 36:39
  Number one pocket.
• 36:41
  It's tiring.
• 36:42
  It's tiring.
• 36:43
  So the point of all this, everybody,
• 36:45
  and I'm sorry because, again,
• 36:46
  I don't normally do this,
• 36:47
  is look, there's definitely a rift
• 36:51
  in the conservative party.
• 36:53
  As much as everyone is saying there isn't,
• 36:55
  there is the MAGA versus the conservatives.
• 36:58
  And then from there, it splinters.
• 37:00
  And then, of course, you got the Democrats.
• 37:01
  You got the Libertarians.
• 37:03
  And then the Democrats have their own factions.
• 37:05
  and sub factions.
• 37:06
  Like,
• 37:06
  point of all this
• 37:08
  I'm trying to make is
• 37:08
  I think I speak
• 37:10
  for most Americans
• 37:11
  by saying,
• 37:12
  look,
• 37:13
  we're tired of this bullshit.
• 37:14
  Can we just get back
• 37:15
  to looking out for America
• 37:17
  instead of your team,
• 37:19
  like trying to gain points
• 37:20
  for your fucking team?
• 37:21
  Like, seriously?
• 37:22
  Can we just look out
• 37:23
  for what's right for America?
• 37:26
  Can we,
• 37:26
  can we please
• 37:28
  discuss these things again?
• 37:30
  And yes,
• 37:30
  have a right to an opinion
• 37:31
  because that's what sparks
• 37:32
  the discussion.
• 37:34
  That's what leads
• 37:34
  to discourse, which gets people thinking that leads to proper decisions made for the betterment
• 37:42
  of this country or for the people that live within this fucking country.
• 37:49
  So do yourself a favor.
• 37:52
  Take these talking heads with a grain of salt.
• 37:54
  Please, please, please don't believe everything they say.
• 37:58
  That includes me.
• 37:59
  Look, I do my best to tell the truth.
• 38:00
  I do my best to contrast and compare.
• 38:02
  I look at valid sources, but hey, I don't get it right all the time either.
• 38:08
  You know, this is a fast moving world.
• 38:10
  Time flies quickly.
• 38:12
  Things develop so fast when it comes to current events, world events, especially when it comes
• 38:16
  to conflict zones that I could be right today, wrong tomorrow.
• 38:22
  But the one thing you're going to hear from me is not necessarily pushing a narrative
• 38:26
  for my team.
• 38:29
  I stopped playing the team sports a long time ago.
• 38:32
  I really did.
• 38:33
  I'm done.
• 38:35
  You know,
• 38:36
  I think I am truly just looking out for America.
• 38:39
  I call both sides out.
• 38:41
  As you know,
• 38:41
  as a listener,
• 38:42
  look,
• 38:42
  if you listen to the show
• 38:43
  and you've been with me from the beginning,
• 38:45
  you've seen the progression.
• 38:46
  You've seen me call out Democrats plenty
• 38:49
  because I got to be honest,
• 38:50
  man.
• 38:51
  That is one side that I can't come all the way over.
• 38:53
  I just can't.
• 38:54
  But the Democrats I going to say the old school Democrats made some valid points And we should consider some of the things they say and compare them to what may be conservatives
• 39:06
  if you're conservative, that you believe in and say,
• 39:08
  okay, I can see where we got to live in the gray on this issue, right?
• 39:11
  It makes sense for both people.
• 39:13
  We can't go hard either way.
• 39:16
  But I'm not ever going to go all the way to the left.
• 39:18
  That's just not me.
• 39:19
  I'm sorry.
• 39:19
  I do lean more conservative.
• 39:20
  But I got to tell you, I got to tell you,
• 39:22
  I at least still question even conservatives.
• 39:24
  I question Donald Trump.
• 39:27
  I don't have a problem doing that because in the end, I'm an American and I'm looking out for America.
• 39:34
  And I have a right to an opinion when I hear blowhard, vain, fame-chasing assholes like Dan Bongino call people out because they're disappointed in the car they bought.
• 39:51
  So here's the analogy.
• 39:51
  I could be sold on the fact that this beautiful, shiny, well-designed car that by all means
• 39:59
  in the commercials, all the specs, great design, body looks good, chassis seems heavy duty.
• 40:05
  You know, it's sport tune.
• 40:06
  It's got 6,000 horsepower, zero to 60 in 0.5 seconds.
• 40:10
  The whole deal, supposedly a dream on the road.
• 40:13
  I invest in this car.
• 40:14
  I buy it.
• 40:16
  And when I buy this car, I get it out on the road.
• 40:18
  I'm excited.
• 40:19
  I take this thing out and I'm like, all right, I got some open.
• 40:21
  road. I'm going to punch this thing. Let's see how it handles. And it's a fucking goose egg.
• 40:25
  It doesn't get up and go. It bogs down. It drags. It's zero to 60 and never. And I'm like,
• 40:31
  what the hell am I? What is this? What is a shiny piece? What is this? My opinion is it is worthless.
• 40:37
  It is a piece of shit. I wasted my money. I didn't get what I paid for.
• 40:43
  And so the argument that Dan is making, well, you don't have a right to have an opinion on the car
• 40:47
  you bought. You don't have a right to
• 40:49
  criticize the design of the car,
• 40:51
  how it handles, how it rides,
• 40:54
  how powerful it may or may
• 40:55
  not be because you weren't behind
• 40:57
  the scenes drafting
• 40:59
  up the design for the car. You
• 41:01
  weren't in there in the engineering room
• 41:03
  doing the calculations on this car.
• 41:06
  You did not choose
• 41:08
  which available paint colors
• 41:09
  would be made to the public. You don't
• 41:11
  have an opinion on the car, even
• 41:13
  though you bought it, even though you drive it,
• 41:16
  even though you invested in it,
• 41:17
  because you bought it,
• 41:19
  doesn't give you a right to criticize it.
• 41:22
  That's the analogy.
• 41:24
  That is the point I'm making.
• 41:26
  And so, sorry, Dan.
• 41:27
  We have a right to criticize your dumb ass.
• 41:30
  We really do.
• 41:31
  Okay.
• 41:34
  Excuse me.
• 41:35
  A little cough break.
• 41:37
  Sorry about that, guys.
• 41:38
  Actually, I'm going to get a sip of coffee here.
• 41:42
  Oh.
• 41:45
  I know that was long-winded.
• 41:46
  I didn't intend for that to go as long as I did, guys.
• 41:49
  I really didn't.
• 41:50
  I really didn't.
• 41:50
  But it had to be said.
• 41:51
  It's been bothering me.
• 41:52
  It's been bothering me.
• 41:52
  I'm getting really tired of this crap.
• 41:55
  All right.
• 41:56
  Now let's get to some actual geopolitics.
• 41:58
  Let's talk about Iran.
• 41:59
  Let's go.
• 42:00
  What's going on?
• 42:01
  What's going on with Iran?
• 42:03
  Iran?
• 42:04
  Yeah.
• 42:05
  I mispronounce sometimes.
• 42:08
  Okay.
• 42:08
  So Iran.
• 42:10
  Here's the deal.
• 42:12
  Tensions are rising.
• 42:14
  Trump has made the promise that he would help the
• 42:16
  Iranian people who are being abused, being killed to protest, who are rising up against
• 42:24
  the regime.
• 42:26
  And thus far, Trump has not done anything to step in.
• 42:29
  He's kind of been on the sidelines here.
• 42:31
  So I don't know if Trump is overpromising or he's hoping that his promises are a display
• 42:36
  of force and enough to cause the Islamic regime of Iran to cool their jets to back off.
• 42:44
  but Trump has finally
• 42:47
  heeded the call
• 42:50
  in a show of force
• 42:51
  by sending the USS Abraham Lincoln
• 42:53
  out to the region
• 42:57
  now the Abraham Lincoln
• 42:58
  is a Nimitz class
• 43:00
  vessel
• 43:03
  it is one of the largest
• 43:05
  aircraft carriers
• 43:07
  in the world
• 43:08
  this thing is definitely
• 43:11
  a show of force
• 43:14
  The Abraham Lincoln has been accompanied by a fleet of destroyer vessels as well.
• 43:20
  And here's what's important about the Abraham Lincoln.
• 43:24
  It has a crew of 5,000 people or more.
• 43:28
  About 3,000 or so of those are just the accompaniment to the actual ship,
• 43:36
  the people that run the ship.
• 43:37
  And then the other 2,000 or so, 2,400 or so, are related to the capabilities of the aircraft and the airmen and whatnot.
• 43:55
  So, with a crew of about 5,000 people, I mean, this thing's huge.
• 43:59
  It's over 1,000 feet long.
• 44:01
  It's huge.
• 44:02
  It carries.
• 44:03
  It carries.
• 44:04
  Literally carries.
• 44:04
  between 70, depending on the size, 70 to 90.
• 44:10
  I mean, think about this.
• 44:12
  This is a floating city.
• 44:13
  90 aircraft poised to carry out death, destruction,
• 44:19
  or to carry out defensive maneuvers,
• 44:24
  armed to the teeth.
• 44:29
  And then the Abraham Lincoln itself
• 44:31
  has a very stout defense capability
• 44:35
  for the ship itself.
• 44:37
  So, aside from the 90 aircraft,
• 44:41
  which carries F-18s,
• 44:44
  I believe F-35Cs,
• 44:47
  I might have gotten that one wrong,
• 44:48
  but it does carry F-35s,
• 44:49
  helicopters,
• 44:50
  so a combination of fixed wing
• 44:52
  and helicopters and whatnot.
• 44:54
  Aside from all that,
• 44:55
  it still has its own defensive capabilities.
• 44:57
  Now, important to note that
• 44:59
  the Abraham Lincoln
• 45:00
  did travel into position
• 45:03
  in ghost mode.
• 45:05
  So basically,
• 45:05
  his transponders were off.
• 45:06
  So it was going into position,
• 45:10
  which appeared to be,
• 45:11
  by anybody else,
• 45:13
  could appear to be
• 45:14
  an aggressive stance,
• 45:15
  an aggressive way
• 45:16
  to get it into the area
• 45:18
  or to take up its position
• 45:20
  in the area.
• 45:22
  Now, with that being said,
• 45:24
  look, I'm going to show you
• 45:25
  a picture of this vessel
• 45:27
  of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
• 45:28
  Look at this.
• 45:31
  This is a large vessel.
• 45:34
  This is not something that you just play with.
• 45:42
  If this thing is entering your region, your hemisphere, your oceans,
• 45:50
  it's very purposeful.
• 45:53
  this is not just a statement piece
• 45:56
  but this is the launch pad
• 46:00
  for so much destruction if need be
• 46:03
  this here again
• 46:06
  is a statement piece
• 46:08
  it really is
• 46:09
  I have another picture here to show you some scale here
• 46:13
  for scale
• 46:16
  those are
• 46:17
  let me see there's my mouse
• 46:19
  there's a couple of tugboats there right
• 46:20
  look at how big this thing is
• 46:22
  Look at how high it is up out of the water, how wide it is.
• 46:26
  Look at that.
• 46:27
  This is an extremely large war vessel.
• 46:31
  It really is.
• 46:34
  So if the Abraham Lincoln is in your backyard, it's there for a purpose.
• 46:41
  Now, what happened was, as this was heading to the Middle East,
• 46:50
  Iran obviously got war.
• 46:52
  They know what's going on.
• 46:54
  As the fleet was arriving,
• 46:56
  Iran announced, well, you know what?
• 46:58
  We're going to be doing live fire drills.
• 47:01
  Our Navy is going to be doing live fire drills,
• 47:03
  the Iranian Navy.
• 47:06
  Interesting, right?
• 47:07
  So it's like, look, we're going to retaliate
• 47:10
  and we're going to do live fire drills.
• 47:11
  We're just letting you know these are live fire drills,
• 47:14
  but just in case you get hit by something,
• 47:15
  we warned you.
• 47:17
  It's not intentional.
• 47:18
  We're just saying, you know,
• 47:20
  if there's a stray bullet or rocket,
• 47:21
  If a drone happens to go your direction, we didn't mean it.
• 47:25
  And then the Iranian media tried to say, oh, look, the U.S. is scared because they re-diverted and pulled back away.
• 47:37
  No, they didn't.
• 47:38
  They're not scared or pulled back.
• 47:41
  You literally, Iran literally said, we're going to conduct live-fire drills.
• 47:46
  So what is the response?
• 47:48
  you warned the United States coming in that you were going to conduct a live fire drill.
• 47:53
  So what would they logically do?
• 47:56
  What would the U.S. Navy logically do?
• 47:59
  Reposition themselves to stay out of harm's way
• 48:01
  while still being a strategic location to where they can respond
• 48:05
  and still inflict maximum damage if need be.
• 48:10
  That's what happened.
• 48:13
  So leading up to all of this,
• 48:16
  Iran is trying to play
• 48:18
  the victim card here.
• 48:21
  But the problem with that
• 48:23
  is Iran hasn't been doing themselves any favors.
• 48:27
  Before the actual arrival,
• 48:29
  before all this happened,
• 48:31
  headlines here.
• 48:32
  And real quick,
• 48:33
  shout out to Ground News.
• 48:35
  Just so you all know,
• 48:36
  I am an affiliate.
• 48:38
  And before I dive into this,
• 48:40
  I do use Ground News daily.
• 48:42
  Ground News is awesome.
• 48:43
  Ground News conducts
• 48:46
  reporting.
• 48:48
  Well, they don't really report.
• 48:49
  So, ground news is they're an aggregator.
• 48:51
  And what they'll do is they'll give you the stories and the headlines.
• 48:53
  But what they'll do is they'll let you know basically like the coverage of the story.
• 48:57
  So, if you look over here, they'll give you the details, how many news sources, how many
• 49:01
  of them are left-leaning, right-leaning, how many are center-leaning, when the last
• 49:06
  updates were.
• 49:07
  It's really, really cool.
• 49:07
  And then they'll go down here and give you the bias distribution again.
• 49:10
  So, how much of the percentage is left, right, or center.
• 49:13
  They'll also give you the factuality score.
• 49:16
  which is really cool. So how much percentage of this is considered to be factual? Then there's
• 49:21
  the ownership here. And what that means is as you're looking at this here, that means that
• 49:27
  how much of this is big media versus independence, et cetera. Really, really cool. And then up here,
• 49:34
  as you go up here, you can see where there's, for example, this headline in the story I'm about to
• 49:39
  read you, you can get the left-leaning perspective. You can get the right-leaning perspective.
• 49:45
  and then you can just get the center perspective.
• 49:48
  And then they'll go down and show you like,
• 49:51
  look, here's some podcasts that mention the story,
• 49:53
  that talked about it.
• 49:54
  Here's other sources of where they were able
• 49:57
  to get these reports and news.
• 49:58
  So here's other articles you can click on.
• 50:00
  So awesome.
• 50:02
  I do use this.
• 50:04
  I pay for it.
• 50:05
  But if you want to support my show, by the way,
• 50:08
  and you believe in truth,
• 50:10
  and you want to get an unbiased opinion of things,
• 50:12
  you want to get as much information as possible,
• 50:14
  you can click on my link that will be in the show description or show notes.
• 50:20
  Click on that link.
• 50:21
  It'll take you to ground news to where you can check out and subscribe to the Vanguard
• 50:26
  subscription.
• 50:27
  You'll get 40% off.
• 50:28
  You'll get 40% off for clicking and doing so.
• 50:31
  If you subscribe, you're also supporting this show.
• 50:35
  And if you can't find the link, you could just go to worldablazepodcast.com.
• 50:41
  I do have a tab there for sponsors or affiliates.
• 50:45
  Just go ahead and click on that and you'll be able to see ground news and you'll be able
• 50:48
  to get the link there as well.
• 50:50
  So again, support ground news, support the show, get unbiased news, get news from every
• 50:54
  angle.
• 50:55
  And that way you can make a really, truly informed opinion.
• 51:03
  All right.
• 51:04
  Thank you for listening to that.
• 51:06
  But let's move on to let's move on or back to Iran.
• 51:09
  So Iran, four days ago, okay, and this was about when the arrival of the Abraham Lincoln was coming into their hemisphere.
• 51:22
  Iran considers the EU armies as terrorist groups.
• 51:27
  So Iran is considering the EU armies as terrorist groups or considering the EU as a terrorist group.
• 51:34
  They also, they planned live fire drills.
• 51:38
  So this is what I was talking about.
• 51:39
  They also went ahead and announced live fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions with the US.
• 51:47
  So I don't think I pronounced right.
• 51:49
  Hormuz, Hormuz, I'm horrible at Middle Eastern pronunciation, man.
• 51:55
  But you all get the point.
• 51:57
  So this headline on Sunday, and this was six days ago.
• 52:00
  So on Sunday, Iran warned ship.
• 52:01
  It would hold live-fire naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday with a notice to mariners sent Thursday and coordinates possibly reaching the traffic separation scheme.
• 52:15
  Inside, Iran authorities escalated a crackdown with mass arrests and internet blackouts amid U.S. threats and an elevated military posture in the Middle East.
• 52:24
  Iran's Revolutionary Guard,
• 52:26
  is likely to play a central role
• 52:27
  in live-fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz,
• 52:30
  which is only 21 miles wide.
• 52:33
  The U.S. military's Central Command
• 52:34
  warned early Saturday against threats
• 52:36
  to warships or commercial vehicles.
• 52:39
  Markets reacted this week
• 52:40
  as tensions intensified with gold and crude rising
• 52:43
  while the Houthis threatened to target shipping
• 52:46
  after American destroyers
• 52:48
  and the aircraft carrier group moved into adjacent seas.
• 52:51
  the U.S. military central command issued a warning Saturday,
• 52:57
  while the USS Abraham Lincoln and destroyers sit in the Arabian Sea
• 53:02
  as Iran plans live fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz,
• 53:07
  leaving escalation risks high.
• 53:10
  So what happened as a result?
• 53:12
  Well, the U.S. shoot down an Iranian drone
• 53:14
  that actually approached the aircraft carrier.
• 53:18
  So it's as I said before,
• 53:20
  Iran warns we're going to do live fire drills.
• 53:23
  They're setting the precedent.
• 53:24
  They're saying, look, we're not trying to shoot you.
• 53:26
  We're not trying to harm you.
• 53:28
  We're not trying to go after you.
• 53:29
  But if things happen, it's not our fault.
• 53:31
  We gave you a warning.
• 53:32
  We're letting you know we're conducting drills.
• 53:35
  So, a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone
• 53:41
  approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
• 53:47
  The drone continued approaching the ship
• 53:50
  despite de-escalation attempts by U.S. forces
• 53:53
  in international waters.
• 53:54
  Hours later, Iranian forces harassed
• 53:57
  a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel
• 53:59
  sailing in the Strait of Hormuz.
• 54:03
  So, Iran warns of live fire drills.
• 54:07
  First off, let's go back.
• 54:08
  They state that the EU armies
• 54:12
  are terrorist organizations.
• 54:14
  they then say that preemptively
• 54:17
  before upon the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln
• 54:21
  and its accompaniment of destroyers
• 54:23
  that they're going to hold live fire drills
• 54:24
  because, hey, you know, if a bullet, missile,
• 54:26
  whatever happens to hit you, hey, we warned you.
• 54:28
  We're not trying to go to war here.
• 54:30
  We're just saying.
• 54:31
  We're just saying, right?
• 54:32
  So there's Iran setting the precedent saying,
• 54:37
  you know, you might get attacked unintentionally,
• 54:41
  you know, or you were just kind of in the way.
• 54:45
  And so as a result, they send a drone out to the Abraham Lincoln.
• 54:50
  Now, they're poking the bear here, Iran is,
• 54:52
  but they're also trying to cover up their actions
• 54:54
  as they cover up all their actions by using proxies,
• 54:56
  but this time by saying, oh, well, we're conducting drills,
• 54:59
  so, you know, you just happen to be there.
• 55:02
  So the U.S. responded by shooting this drone down,
• 55:06
  and then Iran goes on to harass vessels that were U.S. flagged
• 55:11
  But what's interesting among all of this, coming up this week on Friday, there are now
• 55:18
  an announcement of talks between Iran and the United States that will be held in Amman
• 55:23
  regarding the nuclear situation with Iran.
• 55:28
  In fact, the Iranian government or the regime wants to focus on the nuclear talks, nuclear
• 55:36
  capabilities.
• 55:37
  But the thing is, Iran has made it very, very clear.
• 55:40
  They don't care to comply.
• 55:43
  The only reason they even say they will comply is to buy themselves some time.
• 55:48
  But make no mistake, they're continuing to develop nuclear capabilities.
• 55:52
  And look, there are half-baked podcasters out there who don't really know anything about geopolitics or how all of this is going to play out.
• 56:03
  So let's talk about the facts of the situation.
• 56:06
  does a developing nation have a right to nuclear capabilities i could say yes i can argue yes
• 56:15
  but as far as what well sure power grid absolutely you could do a lot with a nuclear power grid
• 56:22
  you really can um nuclear uh nuclear power power centers within you know for like in ships right
• 56:32
  So example being like a naval ship that can use a nuclear power plant could be at sea for quite some time.
• 56:42
  For example, when I was just talking about the USS Abraham Lincoln, that ship can literally be at sea for about 25 to 26 years.
• 56:49
  It has two nuclear power plants as well as I believe it was four steam turbines.
• 56:54
  so it's as if that ship can continue
• 56:59
  just based on its own capabilities
• 57:04
  in terms of how it can create power
• 57:05
  for 25 years roughly
• 57:09
  at least that's what I read
• 57:10
  you can correct me if I'm wrong on that
• 57:11
  but I think it was 25 or 26 years
• 57:13
  so yeah a developing nation can absolutely use
• 57:16
  the nuclear capabilities
• 57:17
  in terms of its power availability
• 57:20
  and whatnot
• 57:21
  so that's fine
• 57:24
  Sure, we'll agree with that argument.
• 57:26
  But what we can't agree with is a nation that is absolutely known to the world
• 57:32
  has been confirmed to be the number one state sponsor of terrorism, literally.
• 57:40
  And even if they aren't carrying out these acts of terror under the Iranian flag,
• 57:45
  they do so through their proxies, i.e., the Houthis.
• 57:52
  Just name one of them out there.
• 57:54
  Hamas.
• 57:58
  There are plenty of proxies that are funded by,
• 58:02
  that are supported by Iran,
• 58:04
  where Iran gives these organizations,
• 58:06
  these terrorist organizations, money, weapons, support,
• 58:10
  but from a distance.
• 58:12
  So they claim, hey, it's not us.
• 58:14
  We're not actually out there doing it.
• 58:18
  So to give Iran the ability to create nuclear weapons,
• 58:22
  Well, now that is a different story.
• 58:25
  That's a different issue.
• 58:25
  When you are the number one state sponsor of terrorism,
• 58:28
  look, it's different if you're a dictatorship like North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
• 58:33
  The guy is not out there sponsoring terrorist organizations
• 58:37
  and raining terror on the entire world.
• 58:40
  He's another loudmouth, but he's controlling his own country and nation.
• 58:45
  He's controlling his own people.
• 58:47
  He's subjugating his people to horrendous conditions.
• 58:50
  And while yes what he doing isn right he not the number one state sponsor of terrorism So big difference there compared to the Islamic regime
• 59:02
  that is knowingly sponsoring terrorism,
• 59:06
  which is what?
• 59:08
  Feeding terrorists with money and weapons
• 59:11
  to go and rain terror on the fucking world, like literally.
• 59:16
  So to make the argument that Iran has a right
• 59:19
  to develop nuclear capabilities,
• 59:22
  Sure, they do.
• 59:24
  But where do we draw the line when those capabilities, when the engineering behind the development of said nuclear capabilities turn into nuclear armaments, nuclear warheads that are poison ready to be used?
• 59:39
  because as much as the major powers understand
• 59:42
  that nuclear war is not good for the world
• 59:44
  and there isn't anything about it
• 59:47
  that leads to a better place for anyone to live in.
• 59:53
  From the fallout alone
• 59:55
  to how it affects the environment in which we live,
• 59:59
  the air, the soil, everything.
• 1:00:01
  I mean, do we have to go back
• 1:00:02
  and look at what happened in Chernobyl
• 1:00:04
  so many years ago?
• 1:00:06
  it was an uninhabitable area for years.
• 1:00:11
  And some will still argue it's still uninhabitable.
• 1:00:14
  That's how bad it was.
• 1:00:15
  So to give Iran this capability,
• 1:00:18
  that's a big no.
• 1:00:21
  That's a huge no-no.
• 1:00:23
  The number one state sponsor of terrorism,
• 1:00:25
  letting them develop nuclear weapons?
• 1:00:28
  That's a big fuck no.
• 1:00:30
  So the world,
• 1:00:32
  the United States usually at the head of this,
• 1:00:36
  doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons capabilities, period.
• 1:00:43
  And there are those who argue that the U.S. is overstepping, overreaching.
• 1:00:46
  They don't have a right to tell another sovereign nation what to do.
• 1:00:49
  But when you as a sovereign nation are a literal threat to every single person's way of life
• 1:00:55
  that doesn't submit to Islam and believe that the Islamic regime
• 1:01:02
  is the all being, all saying,
• 1:01:08
  like the definitive authority
• 1:01:13
  on how you live your life
• 1:01:14
  and what you're supposed to be doing
• 1:01:17
  in this world.
• 1:01:19
  Like if you're not submitting to them
• 1:01:20
  and to their perversive,
• 1:01:23
  their perversive use
• 1:01:28
  of the Islamic religion or Islam,
• 1:01:30
  then you're a target.
• 1:01:34
  You're the enemy.
• 1:01:35
  And that is exactly what Iran is doing.
• 1:01:40
  Now, we can make arguments of the history of Iran.
• 1:01:43
  We can talk about Persia.
• 1:01:45
  We can talk about everything that is amazing about that region
• 1:01:48
  and what it had to offer.
• 1:01:49
  But let's talk about Iran today,
• 1:01:51
  what they have been since 1979.
• 1:01:55
  They're authoritarian.
• 1:01:56
  they are
• 1:01:57
  they are ran
• 1:02:01
  by a
• 1:02:04
  authoritarian
• 1:02:04
  Islamic regime
• 1:02:07
  that is hell bent on
• 1:02:09
  either converting the world or killing
• 1:02:11
  the world if you don't
• 1:02:13
  see it their way then you
• 1:02:15
  are the enemy and you can try to
• 1:02:17
  argue or counter argue
• 1:02:20
  what it is that I'm saying but if you want to
• 1:02:21
  strip away all the veneer
• 1:02:23
  all the bullshit
• 1:02:25
  it. That's what it is. That's what they stand for. And so, no, we can't allow Iran to have
• 1:02:35
  nuclear weapons, period, because they will use that as a tool to control the world. They will
• 1:02:41
  absolutely be the one country that has zero qualms of using nuclear weapons because they're just
• 1:02:48
  fucking crazy and let's just call it what it is. So Trump's response in sending the Abraham Lincoln
• 1:02:54
  into the Middle East,
• 1:02:57
  accompanied by a multitude of destroyers,
• 1:03:00
  is a statement.
• 1:03:02
  Does Trump want to go to actual war?
• 1:03:03
  Well, no, I don't think so.
• 1:03:05
  I think Trump is hoping that this statement alone,
• 1:03:08
  this show of force is enough to get them,
• 1:03:11
  the Iranian regime, the Islamic regime,
• 1:03:13
  to change course of action,
• 1:03:16
  to submit to an actual deal,
• 1:03:18
  as Trump has said many times,
• 1:03:19
  he wants them to make a deal
• 1:03:21
  when it comes to their nuclear agreement,
• 1:03:23
  the nuclear capabilities.
• 1:03:24
  but the announcement of the live fire drills,
• 1:03:29
  the drone that was sent over to the Abraham Lincoln,
• 1:03:33
  the harassment of US flag vessels
• 1:03:35
  doesn't really show that they're willing to cooperate.
• 1:03:37
  In fact, they're trying to show the world
• 1:03:39
  that they are powerful,
• 1:03:40
  that they will make their own decisions
• 1:03:42
  and they will do whatever it is that they want to do.
• 1:03:45
  So it's going to be interesting.
• 1:03:46
  We're going to monitor the situation for sure.
• 1:03:48
  We're going to see where this goes.
• 1:03:49
  I'm not quite sure if Trump will actually take action against Iran.
• 1:03:57
  I do know that looking at reports coming in this morning,
• 1:04:02
  in fact, let me go ahead and open that up.
• 1:04:04
  I can't put this on the screen,
• 1:04:05
  but I'm going to read it from one of my sources here.
• 1:04:07
  It says here that the U.S. actually asked Israel
• 1:04:13
  to halt an attack in Iran because of our presence there, obviously.
• 1:04:19
  And Iran has done other things.
• 1:04:23
  So they're still going out and harassing protesters.
• 1:04:26
  In fact, it looks like IRG Special Forces,
• 1:04:30
  or at least one of their vehicles,
• 1:04:31
  actually ran over some protesters.
• 1:04:33
  That was just reported six hours ago, by the way,
• 1:04:37
  as of this recording.
• 1:04:40
  It looks like that...
• 1:04:45
  Yeah, it looks like there's just a lot going on.
• 1:04:47
  I can't go over all of it,
• 1:04:48
  but it's just flooding in right now.
• 1:04:50
  It's just flooding in right now.
• 1:04:52
  So,
• 1:04:53
  Iran is doing what Iran does.
• 1:04:58
  They're playing the victim
• 1:04:59
  while knowingly
• 1:05:02
  supporting their proxies
• 1:05:04
  to rain terror on the world.
• 1:05:06
  They're abusing their own people.
• 1:05:08
  And we're not talking just politically.
• 1:05:10
  We're not talking about economically.
• 1:05:12
  We're talking about physically
• 1:05:13
  abusing their own people.
• 1:05:15
  They use a perverted version
• 1:05:17
  of the Islamic doctrines to control people,
• 1:05:22
  to keep people under subjugation,
• 1:05:25
  under threat of life.
• 1:05:30
  And so is this a country that we should take serious?
• 1:05:33
  Yeah, why?
• 1:05:34
  Well, their sheer size, their military capabilities,
• 1:05:37
  their actual power in the region,
• 1:05:39
  sure, we'll take them serious.
• 1:05:41
  But at what point,
• 1:05:43
  at what point, and here's, I guess,
• 1:05:46
  this could be a moral question moral argument At what point do we continue to allow this corrupt death cult regime to continue to operate in the region as a threat to the actual world
• 1:06:03
  That is the question. I'm not giving you the answer to that. I'm just asking the question on
• 1:06:08
  this. You mull this over. You go ahead and make your own decisions on that. And if you want to
• 1:06:13
  leave any feedback for me, please, by all means, go ahead.
• 1:06:17
  So the tensions in Iran or the tension between the U S and Iran are definitely
• 1:06:21
  high. Um, but still president Trump will be meeting with them.
• 1:06:27
  Uh, there will be a discussion ad and we'll see where it goes. Uh, I don't,
• 1:06:33
  I don't think that I think Iran's going to do what they always do.
• 1:06:35
  They're going to say, yes, sir. Yes. Oh, absolutely. We're, we're going to,
• 1:06:38
  we're going to comply. We're going to enter into this agreement.
• 1:06:40
  And then they're just going to back out on it and do whatever the hell they
• 1:06:42
  want as they usually do.
• 1:06:46
  Time will tell.
• 1:06:47
  Time will tell.
• 1:06:48
  I don't know how long the Abraham Lincoln is going to remain in the area.
• 1:06:51
  I don't know how long it is that the U.S. will be monitoring them from such a close distance
• 1:07:00
  with an actual presence of military off of their shore.
• 1:07:06
  I mean, they're really not that far.
• 1:07:08
  So we'll continue to monitor.
• 1:07:11
  We'll continue to look into this, and I'll continue to report on it the best of my abilities.
• 1:07:16
  But let's hope World War III is not triggered here.
• 1:07:20
  Let's hope that we don't have to go to war with Iran.
• 1:07:23
  Let's hope that everything comes out the other end,
• 1:07:28
  that the other end with the deal, that makes sense for everyone involved.
• 1:07:35
  And let's hope that Israel listens,
• 1:07:37
  because as much as everybody is trying to say
• 1:07:40
  that Israel runs the United States,
• 1:07:41
  the United States has made it very clear,
• 1:07:43
  hey, don't do anything while we're there.
• 1:07:48
  It seems that President Trump is really trying
• 1:07:51
  to get a different outcome with this meeting
• 1:07:54
  between Iran and the United States
• 1:07:56
  and the Middle East in general.
• 1:07:59
  So again, I'll continue to monitor.
• 1:08:01
  I'll continue to report.
• 1:08:02
  By all means, do your own research.
• 1:08:04
  Check out the headlines.
• 1:08:04
  Go to Ground News and check out the stories
• 1:08:06
  and go ahead and contrast, compare, do your due diligence.
• 1:08:10
  And if you have something to say on this, let me know.
• 1:08:14
  So let's move on to something else here.
• 1:08:16
  I had somebody I know recently asked me about California
• 1:08:21
  and the whole California mileage tax, gas tax, mileage tax.
• 1:08:25
  And I really didn't.
• 1:08:27
  I really haven't been paying attention.
• 1:08:28
  I've been really busy.
• 1:08:29
  I've been out.
• 1:08:31
  So here's what's happening.
• 1:08:36
  This is from the Sacramento Bee.
• 1:08:39
  So if you didn't know, California is trying to pass a mileage tax.
• 1:08:43
  Now, California already has the highest gas tax there is in the United States.
• 1:08:48
  And they want to transition to a mileage tax.
• 1:08:51
  It's been said, and that mileage tax sounds both good and bad.
• 1:08:56
  The arguments have been, well, for those who don't necessarily drive as much as the average person, for example,
• 1:09:04
  it would save them a lot of money.
• 1:09:05
  it wouldn't cost as much as it is right now for them to pay for gas.
• 1:09:11
  But it's not clear that this will be in addition to the current gas tax
• 1:09:17
  or if they will abolish the gas tax and charge people by mileage.
• 1:09:21
  And everybody's freaking out because this was supposed to go into effect.
• 1:09:26
  But now they're saying, well, no, no, no, no, no.
• 1:09:29
  Hold on, hold on.
• 1:09:29
  So California Senate is saying, no,
• 1:09:31
  we never said that this was going to go into effect.
• 1:09:33
  This is a study.
• 1:09:35
  Oh, a study.
• 1:09:37
  All right, so let's read some of this.
• 1:09:39
  California legislators sparked worry and confusion on social media this week over a gas mileage tax.
• 1:09:44
  But the bill now before the state Senate would only require a report.
• 1:09:49
  Assembly Bill 1421 or 1421 seeks to identify a possible solution to declining gas tax revenues as more drivers switch to electric vehicles.
• 1:10:00
  But any actual effect on residents is far from materializing.
• 1:10:04
  The bill passed on the Assembly for January 29th.
• 1:10:08
  If approved by the Senate and signed into law,
• 1:10:10
  it would require the California Transportation Commission to submit
• 1:10:13
  a report examining the particulars of road user charges and mileage fees
• 1:10:19
  and any equity concerns for low-income drivers.
• 1:10:23
  Republicans in the Assembly balked at the bill.
• 1:10:26
  Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a Republican from San Diego, said,
• 1:10:30
  any mileage tax would be a sucker punch to working-class Californians.
• 1:10:35
  He referenced an analysis by the San Diego Association of Governments
• 1:10:38
  of a mileage-based fee which proposed to charge local drivers $0.04 per mile.
• 1:10:45
  DeMaio told his assembly colleagues that based on that now-defunct plan,
• 1:10:50
  the cost could amount to $900 to $1,200 per driver annually for average mileage.
• 1:10:55
  Though with a $0.04 per mile fee,
• 1:10:57
  a person would have to drive roughly 30,000 miles to rack up $1,200.
• 1:11:02
  Based on average annual mileage, 13,476 miles in 2022,
• 1:11:07
  according to the Federal Highway Administration,
• 1:11:10
  and a four-cent fee, that figure would be closer to $539 a year.
• 1:11:14
  The group that drives the most on average, men ages 35 to 54,
• 1:11:18
  who travel close to 19,000 miles annually, would pay about $754 a year.
• 1:11:27
  Now, they're trying to make this seem like it wouldn't be a big deal.
• 1:11:36
  If we look at California, the state of California, everything that's administration has done,
• 1:11:40
  the governor has done, are we really to believe that they're going to stick to a $0.04 per mile
• 1:11:47
  mileage tax? The gas tax itself has gone up exponentially almost every other year, it seems
• 1:11:53
  like another 12 cents here, 40 cents for that.
• 1:11:56
  I mean, there's no reason we're paying between five to $6 a gallon for gas while other states
• 1:12:01
  are paying less than $2.
• 1:12:03
  It's just fucking ridiculous.
• 1:12:05
  There's no real excuse for it.
• 1:12:07
  They're trying to butter you up, California.
• 1:12:11
  They're saying it's only be four cents a mile.
• 1:12:14
  And it really would amount to maybe $500 a year.
• 1:12:18
  Sure, sure.
• 1:12:19
  This is what they do.
• 1:12:20
  They're like, look, this is better for you.
• 1:12:22
  they're complaining about declining tax revenues from gas,
• 1:12:26
  but are somehow okay pushing only a four cent per mile tax.
• 1:12:31
  No,
• 1:12:32
  they're trying to get you to say,
• 1:12:33
  well,
• 1:12:33
  that's not so bad.
• 1:12:34
  That makes a lot of sense.
• 1:12:35
  Let's put this in there.
• 1:12:36
  And once it's in play,
• 1:12:37
  they're going to do what they did with the gas tax.
• 1:12:40
  They're not going to be able to vote on it.
• 1:12:42
  They just going to reassess They going to raise the rate They going to continue to raise the rate They going to penalize you to drive The one thing that this study doesn take into account especially where I live is there a lot of commuter towns places where it more affordable to buy a house
• 1:12:55
  versus the place that you can actually work and earn money.
• 1:12:58
  The unfortunate situation is
• 1:12:59
  in places that are more affordable in terms of housing
• 1:13:02
  are also the places that don't really have many jobs
• 1:13:05
  that pay you much.
• 1:13:07
  So they're kind of in the same situation.
• 1:13:09
  Sure, lower cost of housing, but also lower wages.
• 1:13:11
  So it's kind of the same shit.
• 1:13:13
  so many people just drive in my case where i live many people literally drive probably 120 to
• 1:13:22
  160 mile round trip every day going to work and yes this is the truth it's factual you're sitting
• 1:13:30
  in traffic for three hours to get to your job another three to five hours to get home these
• 1:13:36
  people are waking up early two to three in the morning to get to work on time they leave work
• 1:13:41
  They get home at seven in the morning.
• 1:13:43
  They get a little bit of sleep and they're back on the road.
• 1:13:45
  So these people who are driving 120 miles, let's just say, well, it's actually more than
• 1:13:54
  that because I used to do it.
• 1:13:56
  So let's say 160 mile round trip every single day times five days, say 52 pay periods in
• 1:14:08
  a year.
• 1:14:08
  Let's do it that way.
• 1:14:09
  That's 41,600 miles a year.
• 1:14:15
  So based on four cents, not too bad.
• 1:14:21
  $1,600 a year, $1,664 divided by 12.
• 1:14:25
  So on the surface, it's like, hey, I'm only paying $138 a month to drive.
• 1:14:31
  But what happens if they raise that to 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents?
• 1:14:39
  A dollar.
• 1:14:42
  Let's take the estimated California.
• 1:14:48
  I'm reading right here.
• 1:14:49
  California has the highest gas tax among the 50 states
• 1:14:52
  with the current excise tax of 61.2 cents per gallon.
• 1:14:58
  61.2 cents a gallon.
• 1:15:00
  So let's take that again, guys.
• 1:15:02
  Let's go ahead and do that again.
• 1:15:04
  So I'm going to go ahead and say that 41,600 miles.
• 1:15:10
  That's a lot of mileage.
• 1:15:12
  But now let's go ahead and apply the 61.2 cents per gallon.
• 1:15:17
  That's a lot.
• 1:15:19
  What if California decided, well, we're losing revenue here at the pump,
• 1:15:24
  but now let's take that 62 cents excise tax,
• 1:15:29
  call us something else and apply it to the mileage tax,
• 1:15:31
  and now it's costing you $25,792 a year to drive.
• 1:15:39
  Now you're looking at over $2,149 a month to drive.
• 1:15:48
  That's the reason people are opposed to this idea
• 1:15:52
  because Californians know California has no quit in them.
• 1:15:59
  They will bleed you dry.
• 1:16:00
  they will say the nice thing
• 1:16:03
  they will make everything look like
• 1:16:05
  it's good for you
• 1:16:06
  look we put a nice little ribbon and bow on this package
• 1:16:09
  this is going to save you money
• 1:16:10
  this is amazing
• 1:16:11
  but every time they get an inch
• 1:16:13
  they take the mile
• 1:16:15
  it's going to start at 4 cents
• 1:16:18
  they say they're just doing a study
• 1:16:19
  that's going to be due by 2027
• 1:16:21
  this study is going to turn into law
• 1:16:24
  this law is now going to be put in
• 1:16:27
  into use
• 1:16:29
  you're going to get charged $0.04 a mile in the beginning.
• 1:16:32
  But mark my words, if all of this goes through,
• 1:16:36
  you're going to probably be looking at $0.40, $0.50 a mile, easy to drive.
• 1:16:40
  Because that was originally the talk, by the way,
• 1:16:42
  before all this went into effect.
• 1:16:44
  They were actually talking about $0.30 something to $0.50 a mile to drive.
• 1:16:50
  But now they're retracting.
• 1:16:52
  Now they're saying, oh, you know, it's just $0.04.
• 1:16:54
  That's all we're talking about.
• 1:16:54
  We just want to see what it'll look like at $0.04.
• 1:16:56
  Well, obviously, if you're complaining about losing money at the pump,
• 1:16:59
  with the 62,
• 1:17:02
  or I'm sorry,
• 1:17:02
  61.2 cents per gallon
• 1:17:04
  excise tax as it is,
• 1:17:06
  you're really going to lead
• 1:17:07
  everyone to believe
• 1:17:08
  that you're willing to forego that
• 1:17:10
  to only charge four cents
• 1:17:11
  a mile to drive.
• 1:17:14
  California,
• 1:17:14
  what are we going to do?
• 1:17:16
  What are we going to do?
• 1:17:18
  Listen, if it comes down to this,
• 1:17:19
  I think a lot of Californians
• 1:17:20
  are going to have to
• 1:17:21
  exercise their rights
• 1:17:23
  to leave the fucking state, man.
• 1:17:26
  I don't know what else we can do.
• 1:17:28
  but for all those people who commute to work to make a dollar
• 1:17:32
  and if they're forced to pay for how many miles they drive
• 1:17:37
  and they implement a tax that is very similar to what they're implementing
• 1:17:43
  on the gas tax as it is, which is at the moment, yeah, 61.2 cents.
• 1:17:50
  Are you really willing to pay over $2,000 a month to just drive to work
• 1:17:54
  on top of your mortgage,
• 1:17:56
  which is probably another $2,000 to $3,000,
• 1:18:00
  are you willing to spend $5,000 to $6,000
• 1:18:05
  just for having a roof over your head
• 1:18:08
  and the ability to earn the paycheck to pay that roof?
• 1:18:13
  No.
• 1:18:14
  Nobody should be forced to do that.
• 1:18:18
  And so I hope that this bill gets knocked down.
• 1:18:23
  I hope that no matter what happens, this doesn't come to effect because we already know how corrupt California is and where this is going to go.
• 1:18:29
  So that's my little spiel on the gas tax.
• 1:18:34
  And with that being said, thank you very much, everybody.
• 1:18:38
  Sorry for taking a little bit more time off than needed.
• 1:18:41
  But hey, I'm here.
• 1:18:43
  I tried.
• 1:18:43
  I recorded.
• 1:18:44
  They didn't come through.
• 1:18:45
  Please like, subscribe, and share this show with others.
• 1:18:48
  You can see my social media handles right there below the screen scrolling.
• 1:18:52
  for those who only listen to the show.
• 1:18:54
  I very, very much appreciate you.
• 1:18:57
  Go to worldofblazepodcast.com
• 1:18:59
  for many more links
• 1:19:01
  and for our affiliate page
• 1:19:03
  where you can go ahead and support the show
• 1:19:05
  by subscribing to Ground News
• 1:19:07
  or buying some of the items
• 1:19:10
  that we get behind.
• 1:19:12
  And we'll see you on the next one.
• 1:19:14
  Devils hide behind redemption.
• 1:19:18
  Honesty is a one-way gate to hell.
• 1:19:22
  Bye.