WEBVTT - This Is A S-Hole 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:10.570 Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the 0:00:10.610 --> 0:00:15.630 George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong 0:00:15.690 --> 0:00:16.370 and Getty. 0:00:16.550 --> 0:00:23.420 And now, here's Armstrong and Getty. 0:00:28.220 --> 0:00:30.740 I think that the California high-speed rail nightmare is the 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:32.580 quintessential example of. 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:33.740 Government waste and mismanagement. 0:00:34.190 --> 0:00:35.090 You say this needs to stop. 0:00:35.100 --> 0:00:35.670 It needs to stop. 0:00:36.390 --> 0:00:39.809 Congressman Vince Fong, a Republican from Bakersfield, sits on the 0:00:39.850 --> 0:00:43.950 House Transportation Committee. He says that when California voters first 0:00:44.030 --> 0:00:47.410 approved high-speed rail, the promise and price tag were more 0:00:47.490 --> 0:00:53.150 marketing campaign than realistic projection. We're now in 2026. 0:00:53.150 --> 0:00:55.630 There are no trains. There's no track laid. There's a 0:00:55.650 --> 0:00:58.900 complete bait and switch. I don't even know what you 0:00:58.950 --> 0:01:00.220 say about this at this point. 0:01:01.190 --> 0:01:04.650 I call it the greatest government theft of taxpayer money 0:01:04.870 --> 0:01:07.810 in American history. And, you know, it's, it's certainly in 0:01:07.830 --> 0:01:11.500 your top few. I think it's worth reviewing the numbers 0:01:11.690 --> 0:01:17.740 very briefly. It is almost hilarious. So about 18 years ago, 0:01:18.180 --> 0:01:21.720 Californians narrowly passed. Well, it was about four and a 0:01:21.740 --> 0:01:22.560 half point when. 0:01:22.620 --> 0:01:27.920 Being misled by a creatively written ballot. Oh yeah. 2008 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:28.560 ballot measure. 0:01:28.580 --> 0:01:33.560 Um, to have a bullet train that would travel between 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:35.080 San Francisco and L.A. 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:40.059 In under three hours. We'll just file that away. 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:44.720 Legislative bill said it should be completed by six years ago, 0:01:45.060 --> 0:01:46.350 as we speak these words in 2020. 0:01:46.350 --> 0:01:50.510 Completed by six years ago? Completed. A bullet train from 0:01:50.610 --> 0:01:53.190 San Francisco to L.A. Completed, yes. 0:01:53.690 --> 0:01:56.550 And the California High Speed Rail Authority's initial business plan 0:01:56.570 --> 0:02:00.430 says estimated a cost of $ 33 billion. Oh, I forgot 0:02:00.470 --> 0:02:02.830 the lead of this Wall Street Journal article. Some 18 0:02:02.830 --> 0:02:05.220 years after California voted to launch a bullet train that 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:07.960 would travel between San Francisco and L.A. in under three hours, 0:02:08.300 --> 0:02:14.020 the project now costs billions more than planned. Hundreds of 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:18.919 billions more than planned. Wall Street Journal, to it, the numbers. 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:21.600 By the way, we're throwing in for people if you 0:02:21.620 --> 0:02:23.100 don't live in California, because a lot of you are 0:02:23.139 --> 0:02:25.380 listening around the country. We all know this in California. 0:02:25.870 --> 0:02:30.680 It's a 50-minute flight between San Francisco and Los Angeles, 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.320 and it ain't real expensive, and they have them every 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:34.480 hour all day long. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:36.900 Cost you less than a nice dinner with a bottle 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.100 of wine, please. A decent dinner with a bad bottle 0:02:40.150 --> 0:02:43.490 of wine, as a matter of fact. Anyway, yeah, how 0:02:43.510 --> 0:02:45.950 many flights are there just between San Francisco and L.A. 0:02:45.990 --> 0:02:47.230 every day on Southwest Airlines? 0:02:47.270 --> 0:02:47.910 Like 50? 0:02:47.910 --> 0:02:48.430 50? 0:02:48.430 --> 0:02:50.510 I think, yeah, I think it's hourly, certainly. 0:02:50.810 --> 0:02:53.460 If you include like Burbank and not to get overly 0:02:54.340 --> 0:02:57.040 local about it, but San Jose, yeah, it's insane. 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:58.460 Anyway, let's see. 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.960 So done by 2020, done at a cost of $ 33 billion. 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:07.760 After years of legal battles, cost overruns, leadership changes, and 0:03:07.810 --> 0:03:10.250 political fights, none of that has anything to do with this. 0:03:10.740 --> 0:03:16.160 The price tag is up to $ 126 billion, bare minimum, 0:03:16.419 --> 0:03:21.139 with a high estimate of $ 231 billion and isn't expected 0:03:21.180 --> 0:03:24.650 to be fully operational until 2040 and isn't going to 0:03:24.690 --> 0:03:27.170 get anywhere close to L.A. 0:03:27.690 --> 0:03:29.050 Or San Francisco. 0:03:29.070 --> 0:03:30.710 You're going to have to take like a three and 0:03:30.730 --> 0:03:32.650 a half hour cab ride. 0:03:34.380 --> 0:03:36.440 Depending on traffic, the train station to the heart of 0:03:36.470 --> 0:03:42.370 the city. It's amazing how few journalists read the train 0:03:42.390 --> 0:03:46.350 authority's own website. They put on there what their current 0:03:46.410 --> 0:03:48.950 plans are, and their plans are not currently to have 0:03:48.990 --> 0:03:53.510 a train from San Francisco to L.A. It's from, what 0:03:53.570 --> 0:03:57.930 is it, Gilroy to Palmdale or something? Yeah, something like that. 0:03:58.950 --> 0:04:03.600 Which are towns not very close to downtown San Francisco 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:04.440 or downtown LA. 0:04:05.780 --> 0:04:09.860 Said Democratic State Senator Catherine Blakespear at a transportation committee 0:04:09.900 --> 0:04:10.620 meeting in April. 0:04:10.700 --> 0:04:12.280 Quote, this is a disaster. 0:04:12.300 --> 0:04:15.380 I'm such an enthusiast for rail and I really wanted 0:04:15.420 --> 0:04:17.380 this to be a successful and just hearing these things 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.210 make it seem like we're proceeding on a wing and 0:04:19.250 --> 0:04:19.670 a prayer. 0:04:19.850 --> 0:04:22.970 I know when I was going around England, I thought 0:04:23.010 --> 0:04:25.590 this is really cool. I never rented a car when 0:04:25.610 --> 0:04:27.390 I was in England. I went everywhere by train and 0:04:27.410 --> 0:04:29.370 they're running all the time from town to town and 0:04:29.410 --> 0:04:32.760 they were cheap and easy and But for a variety 0:04:32.779 --> 0:04:35.920 of reasons, we can't and haven't done that here in 0:04:35.940 --> 0:04:40.230 the United States. But that wasn't high-speed rail. That was 0:04:40.250 --> 0:04:44.150 just regular rail. It was a good way to get around. Oh, 0:04:44.370 --> 0:04:46.510 and then the high-speed rail turned into regular rail. That's 0:04:46.550 --> 0:04:49.600 the other thing that's on the website, if you read it. 0:04:49.860 --> 0:04:53.339 It's not bullet train like you see on some video 0:04:53.380 --> 0:04:58.000 about what they got in Japan anyway. Yeah, yeah. So, 0:04:58.210 --> 0:05:00.280 I don't know. There's plenty you could say about it. 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.920 Also, part of the original plan said that private money 0:05:04.339 --> 0:05:08.080 would do most of the heavy lifting. But the initial 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.060 plan included, and I remember we were talking about this 0:05:11.100 --> 0:05:13.100 at the time, and a lot of this most people 0:05:13.140 --> 0:05:15.080 didn't hear about because most voters don't know what they're 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.820 voting about. But the estimates for the ridership and the 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:23.740 ticket prices and every single number in the formula, every 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:25.060 single one was updated. 0:05:25.470 --> 0:05:28.830 Utterly ridiculous. Shouldn't that be a crime of some sort? 0:05:28.870 --> 0:05:31.190 Shouldn't you be charged with fraud or something? 0:05:32.170 --> 0:05:36.050 It's not fraud if the government does it. And there 0:05:36.089 --> 0:05:38.909 have been all sorts of trials and cases and petitions 0:05:38.950 --> 0:05:41.270 to end the thing, just to end it. And I've 0:05:41.290 --> 0:05:44.039 been calling it a vampire now for like 15 years. 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.030 It can't be killed. Here's a little more from the 0:05:46.029 --> 0:05:48.960 60 Minutes piece on trying to complete this dang thing. 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.930 Back in California, the rail authority insists state funds can 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:55.050 cover the cost of the Central Valley leg. 0:05:55.490 --> 0:05:56.170 As for the rest. 0:05:56.950 --> 0:05:59.370 Just to be clear, as we speak right now, are 0:05:59.390 --> 0:06:01.950 the funds there to complete L.A. 0:06:01.970 --> 0:06:04.730 To San Francisco? The entire amount of money we need, 0:06:05.330 --> 0:06:09.050 not there today. But do we believe we can get 0:06:09.089 --> 0:06:12.070 those funds to get the project done? Absolutely. We believe 0:06:12.110 --> 0:06:15.830 we can milk more taxpayers for millions of more dollars. 0:06:16.310 --> 0:06:19.470 Basically stealing from them, basically the same as knocking them 0:06:19.510 --> 0:06:22.420 down on the sidewalk and reaching into their pocket theft because, 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:23.500 you know, it's freaking theft. 0:06:23.940 --> 0:06:24.700 I don't know. 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:30.200 Do I just have do you have abnormal moral compasses 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:36.940 or consciences? How does so many people rip people off 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:40.349 and sleep at night? How do you how are there? 0:06:40.370 --> 0:06:43.220 So how many people must be involved in this? Thousands 0:06:43.260 --> 0:06:46.420 of people over the decades that know they're just flat 0:06:46.540 --> 0:06:49.580 out stealing. How do you do that with your life 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:50.849 and be OK with it? 0:06:50.870 --> 0:06:54.370 You just see the scam all around them, and that's 0:06:54.410 --> 0:06:56.310 the scam is how you work it. It's like being 0:06:56.330 --> 0:06:59.190 in the Soviet Union or something like that. Scamming the 0:06:59.230 --> 0:07:02.400 government's the only way to get ahead. And the politicians, 0:07:02.420 --> 0:07:05.790 they understand that the people, the unions, the towns, whatever, 0:07:05.870 --> 0:07:08.250 that are depending on this flow of money will always, always, 0:07:08.310 --> 0:07:11.430 always vote Democrat. because the Democrats will keep the money flowing. 0:07:11.630 --> 0:07:13.710 It's graft of the most obvious sort. 0:07:13.930 --> 0:07:16.610 So they convince themselves somehow that either this is actually 0:07:16.650 --> 0:07:18.520 going to happen and it's good for the environment because 0:07:18.580 --> 0:07:22.560 climate change is so important, or this will help us 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.700 get votes and our party is the only thing standing 0:07:25.740 --> 0:07:29.340 between us and fascism. There must be some stretch that 0:07:29.380 --> 0:07:32.280 they use to convince themselves that they're doing the right thing. 0:07:35.130 --> 0:07:37.610 I think what's at the heart of the answer to 0:07:37.630 --> 0:07:42.280 your question is that Most people, and I've learned this 0:07:42.340 --> 0:07:48.160 slowly but surely, most people are way better at rationalizing 0:07:48.220 --> 0:07:54.500 away reality than you think they are. These people think 0:07:54.750 --> 0:07:57.530 it's a great project. It's going to be built. There's 0:07:57.690 --> 0:08:00.230 just been a hiccup or two because the money's flowing 0:08:00.290 --> 0:08:03.750 into their pockets. A lot of otherwise decent people convince 0:08:03.790 --> 0:08:06.730 themselves that what they're doing is not wrong. 0:08:06.490 --> 0:08:08.050 Because then they can sleep at night. 0:08:09.530 --> 0:08:11.890 Certain ones of us, we bump up against our conscience 0:08:11.970 --> 0:08:14.570 and our grasp of reality, and we can't do that. 0:08:14.590 --> 0:08:16.770 But these people can do that, and they're good at it. 0:08:17.300 --> 0:08:23.660 One more couple of numbers. The initial section now. between Bakersfield, California, 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.380 and Merced, California. And for what it's worth, if you're 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:33.069 not familiar with the topography, I mean, Bakersfield is a 0:08:33.170 --> 0:08:37.849 mountain range and a long drive away from Los Angeles. 0:08:38.490 --> 0:08:42.470 And Merced is so far away from San Francisco, it's 0:08:42.530 --> 0:08:46.449 not even like an exurb. It's like a different region. 0:08:47.530 --> 0:08:56.850 So the Merced to Bakersfield... will be done in 2023, 0:08:56.850 --> 0:09:00.830 they say, and will cost something like $ 36 billion. 0:09:00.890 --> 0:09:03.189 Did you mean 33 or did you have a time machine? 0:09:03.190 --> 0:09:05.700 2023 is three years ago. I'm sorry. 0:09:05.700 --> 0:09:05.770 2033. 0:09:05.770 --> 0:09:11.679 Oh, okay. 2033 and cost $ 36 billion. Okay. So here's 0:09:11.700 --> 0:09:13.820 the answer. How much will it cost to finish the 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:15.819 part that gets it LA to San Francisco? This is 0:09:15.860 --> 0:09:16.319 from 60 Minutes. 0:09:17.590 --> 0:09:19.570 How much do you estimate it's going to cost to 0:09:19.610 --> 0:09:21.709 connect high-speed rail San Francisco to LA? 0:09:22.170 --> 0:09:26.750 Today, we estimate, with the right optimization, just over $ 125 billion. 0:09:26.990 --> 0:09:29.829 I think $ 126 billion is the current estimate for that. 0:09:30.050 --> 0:09:33.090 That's more funding than Amtrak has received in its history 0:09:33.429 --> 0:09:36.010 and still leaves a shortfall of roughly $ 90 billion. 0:09:37.370 --> 0:09:39.220 That's a big gap to fill. 0:09:39.700 --> 0:09:41.820 It is a big gap to fill, but again, we 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.320 have an understanding of how to get there and to 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:44.940 fill that gap. 0:09:45.740 --> 0:09:48.140 A gap the authority hopes to fill with a new 0:09:48.179 --> 0:09:51.760 plan to cut costs, lure private investment, and connect to 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:53.140 bigger cities much sooner. 0:09:53.300 --> 0:09:57.550 That's more than nationwide Amtrak that's been around my whole 0:09:57.610 --> 0:09:59.530 life has received in its history. 0:10:00.140 --> 0:10:03.160 Wow, that's a stat. And don't let that last quote 0:10:03.620 --> 0:10:06.140 go by you too quickly. It's a gap that the 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:11.120 real authority plans to, you know, bridge through lowering costs. 0:10:11.700 --> 0:10:12.160 Oh, good. 0:10:12.500 --> 0:10:13.440 I'll do the same. 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.710 I'm going to lower the costs of my mortgage. In 0:10:16.790 --> 0:10:19.290 my car, I'm going to lower the cost of the 0:10:19.370 --> 0:10:22.100 food I buy at the grocery store. How are you 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.260 going to do that exactly? Anyway, we'll put that aside. 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:27.560 Maybe they can buy in bulk and get a discount 0:10:27.860 --> 0:10:30.020 and attract private investment. 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:31.820 To what? 0:10:31.980 --> 0:10:32.859 An asshole? 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:37.040 A money pit that will never be filled? What sort 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:40.870 of moron would invest in your project? Nobody has and 0:10:40.950 --> 0:10:44.530 nobody will. Unless they're on the take from Gavin Newsom. 0:10:44.790 --> 0:10:47.870 What a good plan you have for bridging the gap. 0:10:48.210 --> 0:10:50.830 Good Lord. Well, we're arguing like these are good faith 0:10:50.870 --> 0:10:57.819 arguments and they aren't. Right. The people, the taxpayers. 0:10:58.630 --> 0:11:02.400 Have to realize this stuff, internalize it, and act on it. 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:06.880 Liberals, this is what I always say about this stuff. Liberals, again, 0:11:06.900 --> 0:11:09.720 I don't care about the downtrodden. I really don't. 0:11:10.380 --> 0:11:10.880 You do. 0:11:11.620 --> 0:11:14.400 You're the one who cares. You're the one who should 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:17.300 be upset about this. This is taxpayer money, which there's 0:11:17.340 --> 0:11:20.120 a limited amount of. You should want this money going 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:24.589 to all the, you know, one-legged trans BIPOC kids who 0:11:24.610 --> 0:11:28.010 need your help. Yes, look at them struggling with their 0:11:28.090 --> 0:11:31.390 one leg. Two final quotes from me, then I'll shut up. 0:11:32.220 --> 0:11:36.840 State Senator Tony Strickland, a Republican, said at the Transportation 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.670 Committee meeting, I don't think this will ever be built, 0:11:39.730 --> 0:11:42.109 has proposed to the people in California. I know I 0:11:42.130 --> 0:11:44.309 wouldn't put my money and invest in this, but I 0:11:44.350 --> 0:11:49.590 wish you luck. Second quote, Joe Pearson, a Bakersfieldian, quote, 0:11:50.630 --> 0:11:53.360 nobody here in Bakersfield says, hey, I want to go 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:54.000 to Merced. 0:11:54.500 --> 0:11:58.579 Yeah, which is a good joke, but and true. But 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.610 I was watching the 60 Minutes piece in there. They 0:12:01.630 --> 0:12:03.410 had the map up there and everything like that. And 0:12:03.890 --> 0:12:07.370 I thought, when would I ever, even if they got 0:12:07.390 --> 0:12:09.630 this thing built and it's running all the time and 0:12:09.670 --> 0:12:13.300 it's efficient and reliable, when would I ever decide, you know, 0:12:13.340 --> 0:12:15.719 I'm going to take the train this time instead of 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:18.839 fly southwest? When would I ever do that? 0:12:21.330 --> 0:12:23.630 You had a day to kill and wanted to look 0:12:23.670 --> 0:12:26.470 at the stunning scenery of the Central Valley of California. 0:12:29.530 --> 0:12:31.700 Which is fine, but I'm joking. It's not that stunning. 0:12:35.179 --> 0:12:41.859 No, no, it is an absolutely transparent, ginormous theft of 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:42.660 taxpayer money. 0:12:44.820 --> 0:12:45.340 You laugh. 0:12:45.700 --> 0:12:46.180 I laugh. 0:12:46.500 --> 0:12:51.689 Yeah, I have a laugh. Some more interesting Dolly facts 0:12:51.790 --> 0:12:55.050 for you as the world pours out their heart in 0:12:55.130 --> 0:12:59.180 memory of Dolly Parton. And I mean everyone. The wide 0:12:59.220 --> 0:13:03.760 variety is just absolutely incredible. The most famous Dolly of 0:13:03.820 --> 0:13:10.410 all time, probably. Dolly the cloned sheep, a contender. Dolly Madison. 0:13:10.809 --> 0:13:16.630 Dolly Madison, a hugely popular Dolly. Hailing in comparison. Historical significance? 0:13:16.710 --> 0:13:19.710 I don't know. We'll see. 0:13:19.730 --> 0:13:22.489 Probably Dolly Parton. We'll have to see. Check back in 0:13:22.490 --> 0:13:25.550 100 years. And remembering, we got a text earlier. She 0:13:25.590 --> 0:13:27.510 had big boobs. Thank you for that text. 0:13:27.970 --> 0:13:33.500 Well observed. Well observed. Okay, more on the way. Stay here. 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:43.640 Armstrong and Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show. 0:13:53.990 --> 0:13:57.850 This is the band at Buckingham Palace. The guys in 0:13:57.870 --> 0:14:01.010 the red coats and the big, tall fur hats. Standing 0:14:01.050 --> 0:14:03.680 out on the lawn at Buckingham Palace playing 9 to 5, 0:14:03.670 --> 0:14:04.650 the Dolly Parton song. 0:14:05.330 --> 0:14:05.510 Huh. 0:14:06.070 --> 0:14:10.290 That's lovely. Once again, showing the reach of Dolly Parton, 0:14:10.330 --> 0:14:15.859 which should be studied and understood. She's one of the 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.000 most universally liked things. 0:14:19.750 --> 0:14:22.430 Up there with hamburgers and sex in the history of 0:14:22.450 --> 0:14:26.490 the world. It's really quite amazing. Yeah. And we were 0:14:26.530 --> 0:14:29.350 talking earlier about why that is, so we'll probably talk 0:14:29.370 --> 0:14:32.980 about that more later. I had one more point I 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.540 was going to make before I got to this breaking news. 0:14:36.620 --> 0:14:42.520 Breaking news! Breaking news, Donkey Michael! Breaking news, Donkey! The 0:14:42.580 --> 0:14:45.479 news breaks the donkey braids. It was happening right in 0:14:45.500 --> 0:14:49.500 our backyard in federal court in Oakland. Meta has settled 0:14:49.580 --> 0:14:52.200 out of court. I took one law class in college. 0:14:52.780 --> 0:14:52.900 One. 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:56.660 And he hammered this every single day. So it stuck 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.910 in my head. I guess he wanted us to remember this. 0:14:59.470 --> 0:15:03.850 You can settle at any time. At any time. Before 0:15:04.370 --> 0:15:06.530 the very beginning. Right before the end. In the middle. 0:15:06.790 --> 0:15:07.170 Any time. 0:15:07.390 --> 0:15:11.520 You can settle. And that's what happened here. Meta to 0:15:11.580 --> 0:15:15.560 pay up to 17.1 billion dollars in landmark settlement over 0:15:15.620 --> 0:15:21.210 social media addiction claims. There are 47 states involved. The 0:15:21.230 --> 0:15:25.690 District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Trying to claim that 0:15:25.770 --> 0:15:31.600 Meta was purposefully ruining our children or something. Certainly recklessly. 0:15:33.710 --> 0:15:36.450 And at some point, Meta decided that cutting a check 0:15:36.470 --> 0:15:39.570 for $ 17 billion is better than letting this continue. That's 0:15:39.610 --> 0:15:43.850 a big check. That is a big dang check. Jonathan Turley, 0:15:43.950 --> 0:15:47.090 the lawyer from George Washington Law School, the professor who's 0:15:47.130 --> 0:15:49.650 on Fox all the time, has some commentary on this. 0:15:49.730 --> 0:15:53.590 Let's hear a little of that. Click 90, Michael. Well, 0:15:53.610 --> 0:15:54.570 this is seismic. 0:15:55.030 --> 0:15:57.460 It's going to be something of a dinner gong for 0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:00.920 both states and plaintiff attorneys. And I think that Meta 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:05.190 knows that. But in many ways, for the company, this 0:16:05.270 --> 0:16:07.450 is still chump change. I mean, this is a company 0:16:07.490 --> 0:16:11.440 that makes a huge amount of money. And when you 0:16:11.500 --> 0:16:14.580 reach a settlement like this, we've seen, for example, in 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:18.420 the tobacco settlement, that these companies actually don't end up 0:16:18.500 --> 0:16:22.100 losing money because of the benefits in the market in 0:16:22.140 --> 0:16:26.240 resolving litigation. Their stock tends to go up and they're 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:27.820 able to cover these losses. 0:16:30.310 --> 0:16:32.130 That's kind of interesting. I guess I didn't know that 0:16:32.170 --> 0:16:35.430 last part. Just roll into the next one. I'm kind 0:16:35.450 --> 0:16:38.050 of interested in the details of the arguments. 0:16:38.470 --> 0:16:41.630 I think in fairness to the 29 states that brought 0:16:41.650 --> 0:16:46.359 this lawsuit, there is a commitment here to change the app, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:52.140 to change this software to create greater protections. The issue 0:16:52.260 --> 0:16:55.600 here for Meadow was that legally they had some very 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.490 good arguments to make here. The line between What's an 0:16:59.540 --> 0:17:04.290 addictive and what's a popular product is often hard to define. 0:17:04.450 --> 0:17:06.430 I'd say. It's interesting. 0:17:06.470 --> 0:17:10.060 The settlement was actually with 47 states, the District of 0:17:10.140 --> 0:17:13.280 Columbia and U.S. territories, some of which were not part 0:17:13.300 --> 0:17:15.980 of this specific suit, I have a feeling. But, yeah, 0:17:16.020 --> 0:17:18.740 that's a heck of a gesture, thinking, no, let's not 0:17:18.869 --> 0:17:20.030 take this all the way to the jury. 0:17:20.070 --> 0:17:22.930 Let's just end it. Well, and as Turley said there, 0:17:22.950 --> 0:17:25.410 and if we've talked about, Meta has some really good arguments, 0:17:25.490 --> 0:17:27.530 you know, so did Roundup, and they ended up paying 0:17:27.609 --> 0:17:30.359 out ridiculous amounts of money, even though there's no scientific 0:17:30.430 --> 0:17:33.000 proof they caused cancer. So that's a tough one. 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:44.970 Armstrong and Getty. Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. The Armstrong and 0:17:45.010 --> 0:17:45.609 Getty Show. 0:17:49.010 --> 0:17:50.590 What we're not going to do is talk about Dolly 0:17:50.630 --> 0:17:54.040 Parton like we lost an 80-year-old woman because Dolly Parton 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.840 was 25 years old for approximately 55 consecutive years. I 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.619 don't know how she did it. Dolly Parton looked at 0:18:01.780 --> 0:18:05.169 aging and said, well, there's a precious little idea. 0:18:05.220 --> 0:18:05.870 No, thank you. 0:18:05.970 --> 0:18:08.470 That woman had the same blood, had the same smile, 0:18:08.510 --> 0:18:11.169 the same energy, the same heels, the same amount of 0:18:11.310 --> 0:18:14.150 woman from the time your grandma was young until five 0:18:14.190 --> 0:18:14.650 minutes ago. 0:18:14.690 --> 0:18:16.280 Dolly Parton didn't get older. 0:18:16.859 --> 0:18:19.800 The rest of us just kept catching up to her. 0:18:19.980 --> 0:18:22.780 How great is that, Katie? That's a comedian I don't know. 0:18:22.820 --> 0:18:25.220 Who was that? A comedian named Josh Bray that I 0:18:25.260 --> 0:18:31.550 don't know. She's been 25. Right. She looked at age 0:18:31.570 --> 0:18:34.630 and said, I'm not going to do that. Oh, no, 0:18:34.650 --> 0:18:40.359 thank you. Fantastic. Good stuff. Good stuff. So I wanted 0:18:40.380 --> 0:18:44.220 to play this, this this whole appearance of Dolly Parton 0:18:44.260 --> 0:18:46.200 on Johnny Carson way back in the day. The whole 0:18:46.220 --> 0:18:49.310 thing is good, including her singing the song to Johnny 0:18:49.350 --> 0:18:51.970 that she wrote for him. But this is a classic moment. 0:18:52.350 --> 0:18:53.910 I've always been pretty well-blessed. 0:18:53.930 --> 0:18:56.330 People are always asking if they're real. 0:18:56.630 --> 0:18:59.050 Oh, I would never. I would never, you see. No, 0:18:59.070 --> 0:18:59.639 you don't have to ask. 0:19:00.130 --> 0:19:00.570 I would not. 0:19:00.670 --> 0:19:06.530 I'll tell you what. I have certain guidelines. 0:19:06.570 --> 0:19:08.550 But I would give about a year's pay to peek 0:19:08.590 --> 0:19:15.310 under there. That is just lurid, I don't tell. I 0:19:15.450 --> 0:19:20.010 can't believe it. We've got some more interesting Dolly Parton stuff. 0:19:20.090 --> 0:19:23.399 I keep scrolling through and coming across. Some of the 0:19:23.460 --> 0:19:26.590 musical performances. When she got together with Emmylou Harris and 0:19:26.630 --> 0:19:28.770 Linda Ronstadt for a couple albums, there was some really 0:19:28.810 --> 0:19:31.270 good music on there. But this performance of Neil Young's 0:19:31.510 --> 0:19:34.290 After the Gold Rush from Letterman in the 90s, whoa, 0:19:34.330 --> 0:19:37.969 that's good. Really, really good. Have to dig into that. 0:19:38.250 --> 0:19:42.650 I loved, Jack was texting, tweeting, I guess texting Twitter 0:19:42.670 --> 0:19:45.449 links to the internal group here of the show of 0:19:45.570 --> 0:19:47.810 all the tributes that were pouring out. 0:19:48.070 --> 0:19:52.560 And they were all really beautiful images. touching, including Eminem, a.k.a. 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.030 Marshall Mathers. who shared a note Dolly wrote to him 0:19:56.090 --> 0:19:58.320 when he won, I can't remember. Yeah, I got that 0:19:58.340 --> 0:20:01.580 in front of me. So Eminem tweeted out, I'm sorry 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:03.240 we never got a chance to meet, but getting this 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:05.239 note from Dolly really had an impact on me. She 0:20:05.260 --> 0:20:07.030 definitely didn't have to take the time to do it. 0:20:07.100 --> 0:20:09.109 Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, 0:20:09.140 --> 0:20:12.389 she was an icon, a superstar in every sense. Rest easy, Dolly, 0:20:12.410 --> 0:20:14.290 and thank you for the kind words. This is the 0:20:14.350 --> 0:20:18.969 letter that Dolly Parton wrote to Eminem out of nowhere. Marshall, Eminem, 0:20:19.430 --> 0:20:21.830 congratulations on your induction into the Rock and Roll Hall 0:20:21.869 --> 0:20:24.240 of Fame. Your performance was amazing and everybody said so. 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.379 Even though I don't know a lot about rap music, 0:20:26.420 --> 0:20:27.880 I've come to know that you were the very best 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:29.859 at it. Aside from that, I hope what I have 0:20:29.900 --> 0:20:32.000 to say will not seem weird or strange to you, 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:34.900 but I've always felt some unexplained connection to you, like 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:37.060 I know you somehow. I'd hope to meet you at 0:20:37.100 --> 0:20:39.380 the show, but you know how nuts those things are. Personally, 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.400 I hate them and I missed my chance. But maybe 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:43.810 someday we'll meet. In the meantime, keep doing what you're 0:20:43.830 --> 0:20:45.770 doing because you do it so well. No matter how 0:20:45.830 --> 0:20:48.170 complex your world may be, just know you're very special 0:20:48.410 --> 0:20:50.330 and touch people in ways you don't even know. With 0:20:50.390 --> 0:20:51.649 love and respect, Dolly Parton. 0:20:51.830 --> 0:20:52.510 Wow. 0:20:53.930 --> 0:20:58.200 Wow. That's a beautiful soul. And, you know, it's funny. 0:20:58.220 --> 0:20:59.100 I was thinking about this. 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:06.240 As a girl from an Appalachian family, 12 people, 12 kids. 0:21:06.700 --> 0:21:10.100 Mom and dad living in a one-room cabin. 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.500 Whereas Marshall Mathers grew up on the outskirts of crappy, 0:21:15.660 --> 0:21:17.300 depressed Detroit. 0:21:17.460 --> 0:21:21.179 She knew they had something in common. You're right. I 0:21:21.220 --> 0:21:23.100 never thought about it from that angle, but that's clearly true. 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:25.720 Dolly Parton and Eminem had more in common than my 0:21:25.780 --> 0:21:27.880 son and Eminem. And my son sees himself as like 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:30.510 a rapper or those kind of people. But, you know, 0:21:31.130 --> 0:21:34.250 growing up in poor, difficult times. Yeah, that's interesting. 0:21:34.530 --> 0:21:38.010 Eminem is part of the soundtrack for all millennials. Just 0:21:38.030 --> 0:21:40.290 to let you know, he was like huge for us. 0:21:40.550 --> 0:21:44.750 But that particular Eminem thing there, there are so many 0:21:44.790 --> 0:21:50.830 of those crossing every spectrum of the world and generations. 0:21:51.130 --> 0:21:54.410 And it's just, it's amazing. Yeah, yeah. 0:21:54.770 --> 0:21:58.650 People are making a fortune on TikTok imitating him. They 0:21:58.690 --> 0:22:01.110 sound exactly like him. Like if I close my eyes, 0:22:01.150 --> 0:22:04.510