Speaker 1: Live from Vall Hartbeiner and the Crossroads of America.
Speaker 2: It's Tony Katz today.
Speaker 1: So what is the obligation of the athlete to say,
Speaker 1: well anything when it comes to men and women's sports,
Speaker 1: or what's going on around the world, or what's happening domestically.
Speaker 1: Is there some type of obligation? I don't believe that
Speaker 1: there is. What I believe is that if they are
Speaker 1: going to say something, they have to be able to
Speaker 1: back it up. But when something is said so normal,
Speaker 1: like Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever saying girls sports
Speaker 1: are for girls, how could that begin to be political?
Speaker 1: And to make it political is part of this idea
Speaker 1: of culture war. And if indeed this is a culture war,
Speaker 1: not having men and women's sports, not having boys and
Speaker 1: girls sports, well I'm fine with that, and it's a
Speaker 1: war we have to win.
Speaker 2: That's Tony KATX today. Good to be with you. Jennifer
Speaker 2: Say joins us right now. She is the CEO and
Speaker 2: Capo di Tuti coppo.
Speaker 1: Over at xx x Y Athletics xx dash x y
Speaker 1: athletics dot com you can.
Speaker 2: Buy all your gear.
Speaker 1: There a long history in sports as a national champion
Speaker 1: gymnast and you're traveling around you have become your own
Speaker 1: level of star in this space. Along with selling a
Speaker 1: quality product. You've taken on this culture war head on.
Speaker 1: But I need to take a step back to make
Speaker 1: sure people understand where you come from, which is this
Speaker 1: world of gymnastics. You were part of the nineteen eighty
Speaker 1: six national team or a part of that group that
Speaker 1: won in my beloved Indianapolis, Indiana, and you were one
Speaker 1: of the people who worked with the Indianapolis Star talking
Speaker 1: about the horror show that was the physician Larry Nasser
Speaker 1: who is now in jail for his sexual abuse. Is
Speaker 1: is this what brings you to xxx Y or is
Speaker 1: this what brings you to the idea of if we're
Speaker 1: not front and center on these issues now, we're going
Speaker 1: to deal with massive, dangerous ramifications later.
Speaker 3: That is a great question. Yeah, you're right. I was
Speaker 3: a national team member gymnasts throughout the eighties, eight time
Speaker 3: national team member, eighty six national champion in Indianapolis. I
Speaker 3: was also the first whistleblower about abuse and sports and
Speaker 3: gymnastics in particular. That was two thousand and eight when
Speaker 3: I wrote my first book called Chalk Up. That was
Speaker 3: ten years before Nasser went to prison for life. As
Speaker 3: you might imagine, the US Olympic Committee and the US
Speaker 3: Olympic Movement and gymnasts, etc.
Speaker 4: They were not ready for that message.
Speaker 3: I spoke about the national team coach who I traveled
Speaker 3: around the world with in that book being a known pedophile.
Speaker 3: That did not go particularly well for me. I was
Speaker 3: pretty much ousted from that community, but I knew I
Speaker 3: needed to say it because I didn't want another little
Speaker 3: girl to go through what I had. And I did
Speaker 3: work with the Indie Star. They did such amazing work
Speaker 3: reporting on, you know, the NASA case, And I think
Speaker 3: what's important to remember about that case is NASA has
Speaker 3: not won bad apple. That sport is rotten.
Speaker 4: To the core. He was able to abuse for thirty.
Speaker 3: Years because the governing body knew and looked the other
Speaker 3: way and actually destroyed evidence. So you know, I've been
Speaker 3: working a heart a long time to try to clean
Speaker 3: that sport up. I believe young athletes deserve to train
Speaker 3: with dignity and safety in striving to achieve their dreams.
Speaker 3: So you know, I've been at this for a while
Speaker 3: in terms of trying to protect female athletes. So yes,
Speaker 3: they're absolutely related these two issues, and it's why I
Speaker 3: care so much about protecting women's sports. That said, I
Speaker 3: also have a kind of separate, long term corporate career
Speaker 3: as a brand builder. I worked at Levi's for twenty
Speaker 3: three years. I was a chief marketing officer for eight
Speaker 3: and the brand president for two, and so I know
Speaker 3: how brands can influence the culture. And we lost the
Speaker 3: culture on this one. Slowly but surely. There was a
Speaker 3: long march to steal our language and you know, co
Speaker 3: op the culture with these terrible ideas that men can
Speaker 3: be women if they just say that they are.
Speaker 4: I want to fight this battle.
Speaker 3: On cultural grounds, not legal, not political. It's the culture
Speaker 3: we need to win back, and I believe a brand
Speaker 3: can really help do that with our content, with our product.
Speaker 3: You know, I want to make it cool to say
Speaker 3: women men can't become women. I want to make it
Speaker 3: cool to say these totally normal things like women deserve
Speaker 3: their own sports and spaces. So you know, that's why
Speaker 3: we're in this game. But we do make as you mentioned,
Speaker 3: you know, hot world class premium athletic gear. You don't
Speaker 3: need to buy some brands that throw women under the bus,
Speaker 3: like Nike. You can buy from us, and we're just
Speaker 3: so thrilled to be part of this. And you know
Speaker 3: Sophie has Sophie Cunningham has thrown this issue into the
Speaker 3: center of.
Speaker 2: Culture wait for I do, but I want to bring
Speaker 2: it back a little bit. Talking to Jennifer.
Speaker 1: Say, the CEO, a founder of xx dash x y
Speaker 1: Athletics xx dash x y athletics dot com. You said
Speaker 1: a lot there, including utilizing the term long march, which
Speaker 1: I think was very very purposeful in this way. The
Speaker 1: abuse of these young girls in regarding gymnastics and the
Speaker 1: Larry Naser story. If you haven't read it, it's horrifying stuff.
Speaker 1: You are still making these allegations about US gymnastics today.
Speaker 1: Your book Chalks Up, which you can find at Amazon
Speaker 1: dot com. You can go get that and read your accounts,
Speaker 1: just so we're clear, just so we can put the
Speaker 1: pin on that and then move on. In your view,
Speaker 1: that level of abuse, Larry Nasser level of abuse still
Speaker 1: going on.
Speaker 3: Okay, let me first of all, if you want to
Speaker 3: know about the whole Larry Naunser story, you can watch
Speaker 3: athlete A.
Speaker 4: It's a movie on Netflix that I produced.
Speaker 3: It's a documentary. It won an Emmy back in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: You the whole story, and it connects his crimes to
Speaker 3: the broader culture of abuse. Do I want to tell
Speaker 3: you that that level of abuse is happening throughout the sport.
Speaker 3: I mean that would be extreme. He abused over five
Speaker 3: hundred athletes over the course of thirty years under the
Speaker 3: guise of medical treatment. But abuse of coaches, and I
Speaker 3: want to just say it's physical, emotional and sexual abuse
Speaker 3: is rampant in the sport of gymnastics.
Speaker 4: These are very young girls and they are very vulnerable.
Speaker 3: And because it's an individual sport, that one on one
Speaker 3: coaching dynamic is more intense, I think than in a
Speaker 3: team sport, and it just invites bad actors. I will
Speaker 3: say that it invites bad actors. Do I think it's
Speaker 3: as bad as it was in the eighties when I trained.
Speaker 3: I hope it's better. I don't know. I'm not inside
Speaker 3: the sport. People are aware, parents are aware, safe sport exists,
Speaker 3: there is a mechanism to report abuse. But I will
Speaker 3: tell you this safe sport is backed up for four
Speaker 3: years with reports of abuse. They don't even take reports
Speaker 3: of emotional and physical abuse because they're so backed up
Speaker 3: on sexual abuse claims. So we need to change the
Speaker 3: culture in that sport and in the Olympic movement overall.
Speaker 3: And I think we're on the way, but I don't
Speaker 3: think it is fixed.
Speaker 1: Now talking to Jennifer Say, the founder of xxxy Athletics
Speaker 1: xx dash xyathletics dot com, this brings us now into
Speaker 1: the conversation about Sophie Cunningham, who said something, as I've
Speaker 1: said on the show numerous times, very normal girls. Sports
Speaker 1: are for girls. It was so normal. I found it
Speaker 1: to be unremarkable. And I stated at the time and
Speaker 1: I have since then, why anybody would make this political,
Speaker 1: Whether you want to laud and glorify her as some
Speaker 1: kind of right wing icon, or whether you want to
Speaker 1: go at her an attacker because you're on the.
Speaker 2: Political left, No part of this makes sense. The rational response.
Speaker 1: Is that girls are not boys, boys are not girls,
Speaker 1: and girls sports belong to girls. This has of course
Speaker 1: been seen as somehow we for making that rational points
Speaker 1: are the biggots. You've got the owner of the Seattle
Speaker 1: Storm yelling at two girls in the crowd.
Speaker 2: You've got the coach.
Speaker 1: Of the Minnesota Links wearing a shirt that says protect
Speaker 1: trans kids. You have the coach of the Golden State
Speaker 1: Valkyries who wants to go out there and say sports
Speaker 1: are about belonging as opposed to the highest level of competition.
Speaker 1: Why is it that women seem to be very focused
Speaker 1: on not thinking that women deserve to be known as women.
Speaker 4: Okay, there's a.
Speaker 3: Lot in there. I want to back up for one
Speaker 3: store and be clear. Sophie was asked a question in
Speaker 3: an interview that happened back in February. That ESPN interview
Speaker 3: happened months ago. She was directly asked a question. She
Speaker 3: didn't go in there, you know, ready to blow the
Speaker 3: doors off this thing and put herself at the center
Speaker 3: of this controversy. So everybody calling her Maga Barbie and
Speaker 3: all this crazy stuff. It's ridiculous. She answered a question
Speaker 3: in a very simple and pointed way, and she was
Speaker 3: very clear to your point in your opener about what
Speaker 3: she believes, and she said girls. She cares about protecting
Speaker 3: girls sports and spaces.
Speaker 1: That was it.
Speaker 3: She put the attention back on the girls when the
Speaker 3: cultural attention has been on the boys who think they
Speaker 3: are girls. Thank you for that, Sophie, I would say
Speaker 3: I agree with you. That was not remarkable. What was
Speaker 3: remarkable was just last week when she was reasked the
Speaker 3: question after that ESPN interview was published, and she said,
Speaker 3: I said what I said. She did not back it up.
Speaker 3: She did not bend any. That was the remarkable part.
Speaker 3: That was the line in the sand, because a year ago, I'm.
Speaker 4: Not sure she would have stood around.
Speaker 3: I don't want to speak for Sophie, but i'll just
Speaker 3: tell you every we see it all the time, right,
Speaker 3: somebody says something and then they back it up when challenged,
Speaker 3: they bend any. She didn't do it. She stood strong,
Speaker 3: her spine is straight. Bless her. She is, you know,
Speaker 3: blowing the doors up this thing. So that's the first thing.
Speaker 4: And I agree with you this whole like mumbo jump
Speaker 4: though from all.
Speaker 3: These coaches about inclusivity and sports. It's such hogwash. I
Speaker 3: was a competitive about Sports are about striving and competition
Speaker 3: and striving for excellence and yes winning. In professional women's basketball,
Speaker 3: less than one percent of college basketball players make the WNBA.
Speaker 3: That's exclusive. Sports are about exclusivity. If you want inclusivity,
Speaker 3: go play pickleball at the Rack Center. That's inclusive, not
Speaker 3: women's professional basketball. It's so dumb. Sports have all kinds
Speaker 3: of categories. They have age categories, weight classes. In boxing.
Speaker 3: No one's saying that heavyweights should be able to box
Speaker 3: against the welterweight. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard,
Speaker 3: but clearly they're talking points went out and that's what
Speaker 3: they're going with. It's just ridiculous. As far as why
Speaker 3: are women are our own.
Speaker 4: Worst enemy here, I don't know.
Speaker 3: They are the ones the left has made this political.
Speaker 3: We are speaking common sense. Men cannot become women, and
Speaker 3: women deserve their own sports and spaces. It's so simple.
Speaker 3: I will say it all day long, over and over again.
Speaker 3: Their position makes zero sense. But they are so loyal
Speaker 3: and committed to the Democrat Party talking points that they
Speaker 3: will pronounce themselves more on every day in saying I'm
Speaker 3: not educated enough. One of the coaches said that to
Speaker 3: talk on this issue, they will beclown themselves every day
Speaker 3: to stay loyal to the Democratic Party talking points on this,
Speaker 3: and it's embarrassing. And every passing day more people abandoned
Speaker 3: that position. Fewer and fewer people are afraid to stand
Speaker 3: up and say, yeah, this is ridiculous, not my daughter's sports.
Speaker 1: Let's say that that's true. I certainly hope you're right
Speaker 1: about that, Jennifer. But in the case of the WNBA,
Speaker 1: which has become the hot button point, I mean, this
Speaker 1: is happening in tennis, but tennis has said we don't
Speaker 1: let men in the sport, and there are women in
Speaker 1: tennis saying I agree. It's certainly Martina ne Ratchelova has
Speaker 1: been very outspoken on this subject, and I think, for
Speaker 1: the most part, very very well. But the WNBA has
Speaker 1: a commissioner, Kathy and Breck, who has said nothing. It
Speaker 1: has a coach in the Minnesota Links who wears that
Speaker 1: shirt protect trans kids, who as a coach in the
Speaker 1: Golden State Valkyries, who says it's about a belonging and
Speaker 1: look at what they said about me because of my race,
Speaker 1: and she brought race into the subject. You have the
Speaker 1: coach of the Indiana Fever, Stephanie White, who wants to
Speaker 1: not just heim and haw about it, act like she
Speaker 1: doesn't know enough about it, engage the idea of I
Speaker 1: need to get more educated. So as a league, the
Speaker 1: WNBA has created this problem seemingly for themselves, where they
Speaker 1: have forgotten that the W stands for women.
Speaker 2: What is your messages both said to.
Speaker 4: Them, well, I would just tell you the culture is moving.
Speaker 3: We have long heard that eighty percent of Americans agree
Speaker 3: on this common sense issue that women's sports are for women.
Speaker 4: But the vast majority have been silent.
Speaker 3: I know this very well. I hear from them all
Speaker 3: the time. They're afraid to speak out. They're afraid to
Speaker 3: lose their job, They're afraid to be called names. They're
Speaker 3: afraid their kids won't have friends at school. But that's changing.
Speaker 2: That culture shift.
Speaker 3: Is happening in real time.
Speaker 4: What I will tell you is the institutions, they are
Speaker 4: far behind.
Speaker 3: The mainstream media is far behind. Their headlines don't match
Speaker 3: where the culture is and where the people are. The universities,
Speaker 3: the institutions, the teams, the leagues like the WNBA, but
Speaker 3: they are so out of touch with real people that.
Speaker 4: They are just making a mockery of themselves every day.
Speaker 4: But this is why it's going to take a while.
Speaker 3: It took ten or fifteen years for us to get
Speaker 3: to this ridiculous place. We're not going to unwind it
Speaker 3: with one WNBA season. But the more people stand up,
Speaker 3: I'll tell you, I was in Minneapolis at the last
Speaker 3: game and against the Links, the fever against the Links.
Speaker 3: We had a rally to celebrate Sophie outside the stadium
Speaker 3: and we outnumbered the clowns on the other side by
Speaker 3: at least ten to one. That wouldn't have happened a
Speaker 3: year ago. And in the stadium, you're right about the broadcast.
Speaker 3: The coach for the Links wore the T shirt about
Speaker 3: trans kids belonging, and there were lots of people in
Speaker 3: the stadium that had similar teaes on What was happening
Speaker 3: in the stadium was not reflective of the broadcast ESPN Lockdown,
Speaker 3: and they decided to make this a pro trans game.
Speaker 3: The only people they showed in the audience had those
Speaker 3: T shirts on.
Speaker 4: I was sitting on the second row on the.
Speaker 3: Court with Riley Gaines. We had xxxy T shirts on.
Speaker 3: The cameras kept finding us and they would not show
Speaker 3: us in the broadcaster on the jumbo tron. We met
Speaker 3: people on in the stadium stopped us as for hugs
Speaker 3: and photos and autographs. They bought us drinks, they bought
Speaker 3: us food, and they thanked us. So the story that
Speaker 3: ESPN wants to tell is not the story of what
Speaker 3: was happening on the ground. So this is the last
Speaker 3: gasp of a dying movement and the institutions that are
Speaker 3: so out of touch with people. But they're going to lose.
Speaker 3: They're going to lose this battle because we're right and
Speaker 3: we're speaking the truth and we're standing up for girls.
Speaker 1: And you're you're I mean, I'm going to call it
Speaker 1: a tour, but you're hitting more of these WNB games.
Speaker 1: You're coming to my beloved Indianapolis to see the fever.
Speaker 1: I'm only hoping were able to grab a cigar when
Speaker 1: you're here. But is this about putting more pressure on well,
Speaker 1: on them? Is this about bringing more light? Is this
Speaker 1: just marketing for xxtash xy athletics dot com.
Speaker 3: This is about celebrating Sophie and celebrating Honillie Wilson, the
Speaker 3: young girl who was at the Seattle game who got
Speaker 3: spit on and screened at by the co owner of
Speaker 3: the Seattle Storm. This is about letting them know that
Speaker 3: they have support for those of us that have been
Speaker 3: apt as a while, it has felt very lonely. You
Speaker 3: would not believe, you probably would believe the harassment and
Speaker 3: threats that we receive every single day. And I want
Speaker 3: Sophie's obviously getting no support from the league, from her teammates.
Speaker 3: I want her to know that she's supported. We go
Speaker 3: in peace and we go in love. We bring balloons,
Speaker 3: we give out T shirts, we have fun. We get
Speaker 3: shouted down by insane lunatics who call us terrible, terrible names,
Speaker 3: which I won't mention because you can't say them on
Speaker 3: the radio. We just want her to know she's supported.
Speaker 3: That's really, that's it, and we want people to know
Speaker 3: it's normal to support her and to say women's sports
Speaker 3: are for women.
Speaker 1: I'm not one hundred cent sure we're all her teammates are.
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily need them to make a statement every
Speaker 1: which way but loose. But your support is something that
Speaker 1: is seen very very clearly. Jennifer say s e y
Speaker 1: is how you expel that xx dash x y Athletics
Speaker 1: dot com. I look forward to seeing you when you
Speaker 1: are in Indianapolis. I appreciate taking the time to be
Speaker 1: with the show more to get to keep it here.
Speaker 1: I'm Tony Katz, and this is Tony Katz today.
Speaker 5: I want you to remind him that if we come
Speaker 5: through this, when we come through this now, I would
Speaker 5: all taking seventy million dollars on the chain and kept
Speaker 5: fighting back.
Speaker 1: Well, it's good to know that the winner of the
Speaker 1: Democrat primary for Senate is very very comfortable with the
Speaker 1: kind of expressions that lead you to believe, yeah, is
Speaker 1: lomist Tony Katz today, good to be here, Good to.
Speaker 2: Be with you.
Speaker 1: That was Abdua. I'll say it, who won the primary.
Speaker 1: Very very very tight primary by the way, much tighter
Speaker 1: than the polls showed. Shows a very divided Democrat party
Speaker 1: in Michigan. And I love how I think it was,
Speaker 1: NBC News, a big win for the left.
Speaker 2: What are you talking about?
Speaker 1: You mean it's a big win for the communists. A
Speaker 1: Democrat was gonna win the seat. They just didn't give
Speaker 1: it to Haley Stevens that they gave it to the
Speaker 1: guy who wants to connect themselves to being an Islamist.
Speaker 1: Claims to be a capitalist but wants universal health care,
Speaker 1: claims me anti monopoly, but only wants government to be able.
Speaker 2: To provide healthcare.
Speaker 1: Good lord, never mind all the people connected to I'll
Speaker 1: say it like Hassan Piker. So when I say Islamist,
Speaker 1: when I will say people who want to do away
Speaker 1: with Cypholis, they I have got the backup to it.
Speaker 1: This is not where the left wants to be. The Democrats,
Speaker 1: to the extent that there are so Democrats and they're
Speaker 1: not all communists, know that this is bad for them.
Speaker 1: You have a split, a really split Democrat party. Now
Speaker 1: when you take a look at Michigan, when you take
Speaker 1: a look at the results, the.
Speaker 2: Answer is now what.
Speaker 1: Alsayd wins with a forty eight point five percent of
Speaker 1: the vote. Stevens got forty seven point five percent of
Speaker 1: the vote. The difference is fifteen thousand votes. Actually just
Speaker 1: under fourteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty eight votes. That's
Speaker 1: the difference fourteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty eight. That's
Speaker 1: bad news for the Democrats because you need those Democrats
Speaker 1: to go out there and beat.
Speaker 2: Mike Rogers. The report Republican.
Speaker 1: Now, all those people who voted for Stevens, they're just
Speaker 1: gonna hold their nose and vote for else. I ed
Speaker 1: some yes, because Trump's so bad you have to meet
Speaker 1: the Republicans. Oh my gosh, it doesn't matter for some.
Speaker 1: They can't stomach him. They're not gonna stomach this America hater.
Speaker 1: They're not gonna stomach this anti semi They're not gonna
Speaker 1: stomach it at all.
Speaker 2: They're gonna listen to all that APAC talk and say.
Speaker 1: This is all stupid talk, because it is all the
Speaker 1: anti APAC talk is ridiculous talk. But be clear, this
Speaker 1: is a result that creates huge issues for the left
Speaker 1: in Michigan in the Senate race for the general election.
Speaker 1: Keep it here, it's Tony Katz today. There were a
Speaker 1: couple of stories I didn't get a chance to get
Speaker 1: to this week already.
Speaker 2: I mean it's been a massive, massive newsweek.
Speaker 1: And one of them was about James tall Rico, James
Speaker 1: Talafrico as they call him, which I thought that was
Speaker 1: just somebody saying something once on social media. That's a
Speaker 1: regular thing. He's an odd guy. Tony Katz, Tony kats today,
Speaker 1: good to be with you. This is the Democrat running
Speaker 1: for Senate in Texas. He's basically better O'Rourke, but without
Speaker 1: all the testosterone. He is the guy who talks about
Speaker 1: vegan this and vegan that, and then when he wins
Speaker 1: the nomination, it's pictures of him eating ribs and you're like,
Speaker 1: this is we see you. You know we've been through
Speaker 1: all this political nonsense before. We know when someone's full
Speaker 1: of crap. If you don't eat meat, you don't need me.
Speaker 1: And if you don't like brisket, don't eat brisket. Don't
Speaker 1: lie about who you are. It's the last thing in
Speaker 1: the world.
Speaker 2: You should do.
Speaker 1: But his HiT's his conversations on Christianity that.
Speaker 2: Are so peculiar, that are so I.
Speaker 1: Don't know, I don't not peculiar, not offensive, questionable, Can
Speaker 1: I say question Because he promotes himself as a a
Speaker 1: guy who is Christian and and I think there's a
Speaker 1: there's a specific term for the kind of things that
Speaker 1: he has done from the pulpit. I would call it
Speaker 1: a pulpit. It's it's very, very, very odd stuff. And
Speaker 1: I don't know how it's taken. So tell Rico has
Speaker 1: been a guest preacher at places and Auburn referred to
Speaker 1: as a seminarian, Presbyterian minister and seminarian. That's that's who
Speaker 1: he is, so in in his conversations, in conversations about
Speaker 1: what I I'm gonna call Christianity, I don't think I'm
Speaker 1: supposed to call it anything else.
Speaker 2: Am I supposed to just call it religion?
Speaker 6: No?
Speaker 2: I don't think so.
Speaker 1: Because one of the things that he has gotten the
Speaker 1: most pushedback on is that he has described himself as
Speaker 1: a Christian who hates Christianity. Was made during a podcast interview.
Speaker 1: This goes back to twenty twenty one. It's a very
Speaker 1: very weird thing to say, a Christian who hates Christianity. Well,
Speaker 1: I don't know what to say about this. He was
Speaker 1: on this podcast, and that was the quote. I always
Speaker 1: think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity, right
Speaker 1: question Mark. Now this could be put into context, I guess,
Speaker 1: but it's not for me to do that. Although I
Speaker 1: would like to understand it, I can't explain for him
Speaker 1: what it is he was trying to say. And he
Speaker 1: states that the reason I think Christianity can be powerful
Speaker 1: in our context in this country is because so many
Speaker 1: of our political opponents share that kind of tradition. Well,
Speaker 1: if you're talking about the idea that there are Christians
Speaker 1: who run for office, sure, but I don't think they
Speaker 1: hate Christianity. I don't think that that's it. But that's
Speaker 1: just one of the many odd things that he has discussed.
Speaker 1: He has discussed the fact that God is non binary,
Speaker 1: that there are six genders, and you're like, okay, we're
Speaker 1: done here.
Speaker 2: We're just if you aren't done on the first.
Speaker 1: And I must admit I don't mean to speak with trepidation.
Speaker 1: It's just I wonder if I sometimes look at my religion.
Speaker 1: I'm Jewish, and I say.
Speaker 2: What the hell is wrong with us?
Speaker 1: How is it possible that I've got these Jews that
Speaker 1: so hate themselves? How is it possible that I'm not
Speaker 1: one hundred years past the Holocaust and this is all
Speaker 1: happening in America. You don't think I've ever asked like, hey, God,
Speaker 1: what are you doing? What in the world is this nonsense?
Speaker 1: But that's questioning. It's different than saying I'm a Christian
Speaker 1: who hates Christianity. Right, so I walk in with a
Speaker 1: bit of trepidation. But now as I kind of discuss
Speaker 1: it out, I think that difference is rather obvious.
Speaker 2: I don't know how Christians.
Speaker 1: Might view that they may have something some connectivity to it,
Speaker 1: or some scripture that they can pull from something else
Speaker 1: that's say, actually, what he's referring to is this, So
Speaker 1: I leave that possibility open. Maybe I'm giving more grace
Speaker 1: than I should, But better do that with you than
Speaker 1: to not do that with you. But when you tell
Speaker 1: me that there are six genders, I'm out. I know
Speaker 1: I'm out at that moment. Thank you, Cleveland, good night.
Speaker 1: But maybe the stuff that's most maddening is the equating
Speaker 1: of Islam and Christianity's equal pathways to truth.
Speaker 2: This is the quote. This is.
Speaker 1: The quote regarding tall Rico in a discussion of this.
Speaker 1: This was that came out at the end of July.
Speaker 6: Listen, I know personally that I've learned as much about
Speaker 6: my faith from Salman's tradition, from the Islami mystics, from
Speaker 6: poets like Rumy, as much as I have from Christian authors.
Speaker 1: I must ask, now, what does the Christian say to
Speaker 1: that you've learned as much about Christianity from Islamic teachings. Listen,
Speaker 1: I'm pretty clear on these subjects. If somebody wants to
Speaker 1: live their life as a Muslims, it's not for me
Speaker 1: to say otherwise.
Speaker 2: But we're not talking about a religion.
Speaker 1: We're talking about a political system, and I will say
Speaker 1: that to any Muslim anywhere. I'm not angry about it.
Speaker 1: It is a political system. My argument is is that
Speaker 1: I refuse to allow that political system to take hold
Speaker 1: in my nation because that political system as applied as
Speaker 1: we have seen it in nation after nation after nation
Speaker 1: throughout history, is a violent political system that ends up
Speaker 1: with me being dead and my wife being raped, to
Speaker 1: my kids being killed. That's what happens now. That does
Speaker 1: not mean that's somebody who is Muslim is about that
Speaker 1: whole life or doing any of those things. That would
Speaker 1: be an insane thought. But you can't deny history, and
Speaker 1: you cannot deny reality. Looking you in the face, I
Speaker 1: don't have to deny what Hamas those Islamists have done
Speaker 1: in Gaza. I don't have to deny what those Islamists
Speaker 1: have done to the people of Iran. I can see
Speaker 1: it with my own eyes. And then people say, how
Speaker 1: dare you a Islamophobia? Oh kiss off, Hassan Piker, That
Speaker 1: islamis kami loser. He's looking at the results of the election.
Speaker 1: Where else id else ihaid wins? I was always pronouncing
Speaker 1: el said it is elsaaid Else. I had wins the
Speaker 1: Democratic primary in Michigan. He's going to be the candidate
Speaker 1: for the Democrats going up against Rogers the Republican in November.
Speaker 1: But the race is so close, nobody gets over fifty percent.
Speaker 1: He won the race by less than fifteen thousand votes,
Speaker 1: and Hassan Piker is screaming islamophobia, Kiss off, you, loser.
Speaker 1: Is Lamaphobia isn't a thing, although I will tell you
Speaker 1: that Islamists are a thing. Their desire for a worldwide
Speaker 1: caliphate is a thing, and their killing is a real thing.
Speaker 1: Their destructive behavior is a real thing. They're wanting you
Speaker 1: to submit or die is a real thing. A real
Speaker 1: thing can't be denied. Who cares what assign Piker says,
Speaker 1: him and his whole twitch audience can switch off, doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: The facts are there. If they want to try and
Speaker 1: deny them, that's fine. But my job is to say,
Speaker 1: you can't deny.
Speaker 2: What's right in front of your face.
Speaker 1: How does the Christian engage again this conversation. I've learned
Speaker 1: as much about Christianity from Islam as I have from Christianity.
Speaker 1: That's as a matter of just rational talk, you and
Speaker 1: me having a bourbon on a barstool. That's not how
Speaker 1: this works. That can't be how it works. That's a peculiar,
Speaker 1: peculiar thought that you've learned more about Christianity from Islam.
Speaker 1: It seems to me that's the kind of talk you
Speaker 1: engage when you're trying to placate, when you're trying to
Speaker 1: endear yourself.
Speaker 2: That's what that sounds like. That's what it shows.
Speaker 1: And we see this time and again and again where
Speaker 1: you see the political left working aggressively to connect themselves
Speaker 1: to Muslims. My problem is to the Islamist Let me
Speaker 1: give you another example. Today there is going to be
Speaker 1: a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood that
Speaker 1: was scheduled for today. It's still going to go on
Speaker 1: a hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, do we actually
Speaker 1: have to question whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood is
Speaker 1: a terrorist group or should we say terrorists adjacent to
Speaker 1: make sure the lawyers are all okay, terrorist align terrorist supporting.
Speaker 1: Are we really questioning whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood
Speaker 1: is a terrorist organization because it's designated one by Egypt,
Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bakaray and Russia, Argentina, Kenya,
Speaker 1: in Germany, amongst others, it is a terrorist organization. Republicans
Speaker 1: are having this hearing on Muslim Brotherhood activities in the
Speaker 1: United States, Democrats have decided not to appear at the hearings.
Speaker 1: Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Speaker 2: Are not coming.
Speaker 1: Quote, Democrats have no intention of indulging this political creep show.
Speaker 1: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the guy who joins
Speaker 1: the only, the all white country clubs. Senator Richard Blumenthal,
Speaker 1: a Democrat Connecticut who lied about his Vietnam service. Mazie Horono,
Speaker 1: the senator from Hawaii. Never let your boys grow up,
Speaker 1: to date or marry women like Mazie Herono. Senator Alex
Speaker 1: pd You, who charges then Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Noman,
Speaker 1: is amazed to get stopped.
Speaker 2: They refuse to show up. You can't say out loud
Speaker 2: that this is an issue, it's an issue.
Speaker 1: How can you not? How can you stop yourself? How
Speaker 1: could you keep yourself from saying it's an issue? Of
Speaker 1: course it is. It's a real issue. The Islamist is
Speaker 1: an issue the world over.
Speaker 2: I am able to.
Speaker 1: Say, without any level of equivocation, that I don't understand.
Speaker 2: Those who are part of a group called the Hareddi.
Speaker 1: So we're talking about extremely observant Jews, and there's a
Speaker 1: whole philosophy that you could be so observant that you
Speaker 1: do not have to serve in the military. Now we're
Speaker 1: talking about what Israel does here. I would argue that
Speaker 1: if you live in Israel and their rule is you
Speaker 1: have to join the military, which is, by the way,
Speaker 1: not the sign of a healthy society.
Speaker 2: We all understand that, right.
Speaker 1: I like a volunteer military, thank you very much. A
Speaker 1: military where you're forced into it, that's the sign of
Speaker 1: serious issues.
Speaker 2: But the idea that.
Speaker 1: No, no, no, no no, we just study the religion
Speaker 1: and that's what we do and we don't have to serve.
Speaker 2: I think that's wrong. I think that is wholly wrong,
Speaker 2: surreal wrong.
Speaker 1: These are also a group that in many cases despise
Speaker 1: Israel in and of itself. The thing is real should exist,
Speaker 1: it's really fascinating. But they live there, they take the protections,
Speaker 1: they don't serve. I'm sorry, that's wrong, that's nuts. The
Speaker 1: Islamist is a violent person engaged in violent activities to
Speaker 1: bring about an end of Western civilization and any other culture.
Speaker 1: We shouldn't say that that's wrong. Democrats can't bring themselves
Speaker 1: to say that it's wrong. They cannot bring themselves to
Speaker 1: say this is a problem, because they're so afraid of
Speaker 1: losing that voter. They're afraid of being called an islamophobe.
Speaker 1: They don't know how to tell Hassan Piker to suck it.
Speaker 1: Who cares what he says? The facts are facts. I
Speaker 1: didn't insult anybody. I noticed what's happening around me, And
Speaker 1: what Democrats are saying is we're not even willing to notice.
Speaker 1: They really are scared, little child bunch. And when I
Speaker 1: listen to tell Rico, I don't know if I'm supposed
Speaker 1: to believe anything he's saying. There seems to me like
Speaker 1: all he's trying to do is endear himself to this
Speaker 1: group or that group, do whatever he needs to do
Speaker 1: politically to.
Speaker 2: Get a win.
Speaker 1: He'll say anything. Maybe that's why I haven't run for office.
Speaker 1: I'm not willing to say anything. I'm willing to watch
Speaker 1: the movie. I'm just not willing to say anything. You
Speaker 1: have to know what you believe, you have to say it,
Speaker 1: and if you're wrong, you gotta be able to say
Speaker 1: that too. Anyway, just a thought. This is Tony Katz today.
Speaker 1: Find everything at tonykats dot com. So we're told the
Speaker 1: deal is coming to reopen the straight of hor Moves.
Speaker 1: Isn't that amazing I've heard this before. I hope it works.
Speaker 1: I don't think it will. I don't think it can.
Speaker 1: I don't think it can be long long term. I
Speaker 1: think we're all kidding ourselves and all the rest. But hey,
Speaker 1: hope strings eternal. Tony Katz, Tony Kats today, an absolute
Speaker 1: pleasure to be with you, everybody. According to President Trump,
Speaker 1: the deal could come as early as Wednesday, or maybe not.
Speaker 1: It could happen tomorrow the next day. He spoke about
Speaker 1: this yesterday evening. Oil prices certainly seem to be happy
Speaker 1: about it, at least they were earlier in the day,
Speaker 1: down to seventy five dollars forty nine cents a barrel.
Speaker 2: That's on the West Texas crewed, great terrific. Have faith
Speaker 2: in it?
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, no, But this is the way the President's
Speaker 1: going with it, and I can't change his mind.
Speaker 2: This doesn't end until the regime has gone. Just a reminder, but.
Speaker 1: Lower oil prices, lower gas prices, I'll take that for
Speaker 1: as long as I can get it.
Speaker 2: Find everything a Tony cats dot com. I will catch
Speaker 2: you all tomorrow. Everyone, take care,