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Speaker 1: Ah beaute force. If it doesn't work, you're just not

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Speaker 1: using enough. You're listening to Software Radio Special Operations, military

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Speaker 1: news and straight talk with the guys and the community.

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Speaker 1: Software Radio on Time on Target. Ian scott O here

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Speaker 1: with Alex Hollings. Before we get into anything, I want

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Speaker 1: to let you know about Pelican. Really excited to have

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Speaker 1: them on board. Uh. They have hard sided cores that

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Speaker 1: are all made in the USA. Most competitors, including Jetty,

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Speaker 1: make most of their stuff overseas. They have an actual

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Speaker 1: lifetime warranty, a wide variety of sizes and colors which

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Speaker 1: actually have ten different sizes and eleven colors, so huge,

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Speaker 1: huge variety to pick from. There, easy pull, hard latches

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Speaker 1: that aren't rubber bands like the other guys. Pelican is

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Speaker 1: a trusted brand since ninety six. They're seventy court cooler

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Speaker 1: can hold ice up to nine days. That's pretty awesome

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Speaker 1: because I feel like you go to a barbecue or

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Speaker 1: something and uh, you know, by the end of the

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Speaker 1: night the ice is all melted. I mean nine days,

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Speaker 1: that's a long amount of time. Well's looking about these

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Speaker 1: things in terms of how long I could be drunk

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Speaker 1: in the woods. So they're light other cores WAGH thirty

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Speaker 1: more on average. They have a built in bottle opener

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Speaker 1: under the lid that should come in handy ergonomic handles

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Speaker 1: which make them easier to carry. Check this out. Go

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Speaker 1: to Pelican Coors dot com and use the promo code

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Speaker 1: soft rep. Here's the deal. I mean, you can buy

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Speaker 1: Pelican coolers just about everywhere. They're on Amazon and all that.

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Speaker 1: But this coupon code is only good for the website.

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Speaker 1: But it's a pretty awesome coupon code. Uh So check

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Speaker 1: it out Pelican Coors dot com. Go to that website.

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Speaker 1: Coupon code is soft rep s O F R E P.

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Speaker 1: If you're listening to the show, I'm pretty sure you're

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Speaker 1: familiar without to spell it. Pelican Cooors dot com promo

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Speaker 1: code soft rep. Such a variety of stuff to choose from.

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Speaker 1: I know, Alex, you were raving about them as I

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Speaker 1: was telling you. They're on board it all this month,

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Speaker 1: man o, man, do I have some experience with Pelican

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Speaker 1: cases when I was out in Africa. You know a

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Speaker 1: CEC for I don't know if they call it something

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Speaker 1: different in other branches, but it's effectively you know, a

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Speaker 1: field expedient command center that we put up over this

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Speaker 1: We can put it up in just a few hours.

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Speaker 1: It's a huge building full of TVs and communications equipment

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Speaker 1: and everything that we brought with us on deployments. We

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Speaker 1: brought with us in Pelican cases. You know, it's tough

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Speaker 1: to find something that can hold up to the kind

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Speaker 1: of damage. Honestly, just that a bunch of eighteen year

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Speaker 1: olds carrying boxes out of a truck will will you know,

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Speaker 1: subject your equipment to And I mean as a result,

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Speaker 1: I ended up using Pelican stuff too for my wallet

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Speaker 1: for my phone when I was in country. You know,

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Speaker 1: you don't want to get that stuff all wet. You know,

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Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of Pelican. I didn't know they

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Speaker 1: were a sponsor. That's even better. Well, yeah, this is

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Speaker 1: the first show that they're sponsoring, and we're really excited

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Speaker 1: to have them on board. Uh with that, you know,

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Speaker 1: I want to get into everything. I feel like this

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Speaker 1: audience knows Alex really well. But you know, there's new

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Speaker 1: people tuning into each episode. So former Rene writer for

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Speaker 1: the News Rep dot com and the newest thing since

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Speaker 1: you've last been on is now the editor of Fighter Sweep,

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Speaker 1: which was our site that was sort of abandoned for

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Speaker 1: a while, and now you're you know, relaunching it and

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Speaker 1: it's getting a huge traction. Yeah, man, I'm I'm excited.

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Speaker 1: You know, I found my way to fighters Sweep in

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Speaker 1: an indirect path. You know. The previous editors of Fighter

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Speaker 1: Sweep have all been military aviators, and I'm not I'm

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Speaker 1: notably not a pilot running the site. But the way

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Speaker 1: I found my way to it was by way of

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Speaker 1: foreign policy analysis, you know. Uh, A big part of

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Speaker 1: foreign policy analysis is having a strong understanding of the

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Speaker 1: military capabilities of friendly and adversarial nations, you know. And Uh,

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Speaker 1: over the years, I've done a lot of work on

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Speaker 1: Russian military assets and Chinese, particularly their air assets. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And just you know, over time, you know, I've written

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Speaker 1: about Chinese and Russian military air forces for you know,

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Speaker 1: for News Rep obviously, I've done it for Popular Mechanics

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Speaker 1: a couple of times. Uh. And so when we're came

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Speaker 1: around that they wanted to bring fighters Sweep back, you know,

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Speaker 1: I I immediately emailed Nick Kaufman and was like, you know,

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Speaker 1: I know you're probably looking for an outside editor, but

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Speaker 1: I would be happy to jump in with some written

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Speaker 1: content here. And you know, just through conversation, he liked

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Speaker 1: the ideas that I had for the site, the directions

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Speaker 1: I wanted to go. I wanted to really emphasize bringing

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Speaker 1: in expert analysis for military aviators, but I also wanted

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Speaker 1: to include a bit of foreign policy analysis as as

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Speaker 1: it pertains to these types of aircraft. A great example

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Speaker 1: being China's J twenty Russia's TO fifty seven. These are

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Speaker 1: both fifth generation fighter jets. The theoretically, you are supposed

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Speaker 1: to be direct competitions for the best things that we've

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Speaker 1: got in the air right now here in the States.

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Speaker 1: We're in a really interesting time when it comes to

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Speaker 1: military aviation. And I feel like I got a winning

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Speaker 1: lottery ticket by getting to jump on board. Just as

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Speaker 1: all these big stories are breaking. You know, we've got

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Speaker 1: the F thirty five entering into combat operations in Israel

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Speaker 1: and with the Marine Corps this past year. You know,

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Speaker 1: we got the J twenty entering into production. Theoretically by

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Speaker 1: the end of this year. Uh, it's gonna be a

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Speaker 1: big couple of years for military aviation. The news is

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Speaker 1: going to be dominated by a lot of this new

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Speaker 1: technology and the years to come. And I'm pumped about

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Speaker 1: getting to position Fighter sweep in a way that it

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Speaker 1: becomes a source you can cite for reliable analysis about

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Speaker 1: not just what these planes can do, but how these

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Speaker 1: planes capabilities really do change the way we interact as nations.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm excited you're You're kind of like Brandon

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Speaker 1: in that sense, and that I mean Brandon technically is

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Speaker 1: a pilot, but he wasn't a pilot in the military

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Speaker 1: and was just a aviation enthusiast. I think people see

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Speaker 1: his pictures online before they get to know him, they

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Speaker 1: assume he was like a Navy pilot, especially with the

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Speaker 1: plane with the blue angel colors and all that. But

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Speaker 1: you know, I know, just as a friend of Brandon's,

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Speaker 1: even though he was a sniper, he's a guy who

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Speaker 1: rarely is at the shooting range. It's just something that

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Speaker 1: he did. It was a part of his life for

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Speaker 1: so long. But he's flying every week, at the very

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Speaker 1: least once a week. I gotta tell you, man, it

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Speaker 1: is really hard not to fall in love with these

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Speaker 1: jets when you're around them. You know, Uh, you go

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Speaker 1: to a just go to an air show, let alone,

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Speaker 1: you know, being a uniform and being on base, but

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Speaker 1: go to an air show and walk around some of

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Speaker 1: these aircraft. This scale of them is one thing I

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Speaker 1: think a lot of people would be surprised about. You know,

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Speaker 1: you walk around enough twenty two. It's not like walking

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Speaker 1: around a Toyota camera. You know, it's it's incredible. And

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Speaker 1: so when you get to see what these planes in person,

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Speaker 1: or if you get to see what they can do

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Speaker 1: in the skies, it's hard not to just be taken aback,

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Speaker 1: you know, like how the United States, the world in

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Speaker 1: general has kind of fallen by the wayside in terms

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Speaker 1: of incredible advancements in the past few decades. We're not

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Speaker 1: building bases on the Moon like we were promised for

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Speaker 1: you know, We're we're not flying around in hovercrafts like

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Speaker 1: we hope we would be by now. But the one

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Speaker 1: place you can really find technology fulfilling the promises of

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Speaker 1: previous generations, it's a military aviation. You know, there's if

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Speaker 1: you look at a comparison video of a harrier versts

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Speaker 1: is enough thirty five landing on a carrier, for instance,

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Speaker 1: you can see just how far we've come in a

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Speaker 1: very short amount of time. You know, the thirty five

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Speaker 1: it lands like it's on rails. You know, it moves

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Speaker 1: like robotically. Down the harrier is like wrestling a bear.

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Speaker 1: You're trying to land that thing without dying, is the goal.

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Speaker 1: You know. So when you see things like that, it's

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Speaker 1: hard not to just be like, it's hard for your

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Speaker 1: interest not to be piqued, even if you're not an aviator.

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Speaker 1: You know, I started out analyzing, you know, I worked

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Speaker 1: my way to aircraft by way of First it was

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Speaker 1: you know, naval equipment. Then eventually it became things like tanks.

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Speaker 1: Air assets kinda ended up being the last element of it,

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Speaker 1: but it was the element that I fell in love with.

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Speaker 1: Very cool, man, is it? By the way, this is

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Speaker 1: a little bit off subject, but but sort of on

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Speaker 1: the subject. Is it weird to you that I've slept

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Speaker 1: over the hangar that Brandon has in California? I mean,

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Speaker 1: I was like, what I'm gonna say, the the planes

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Speaker 1: were awesome to see. I loved it. All that quote

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Speaker 1: was cool. But that I I turned down getting in

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Speaker 1: Brandon's plane. I'm just very scared of getting in one

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Speaker 1: of those little planes. I'm not gonna lie, guys, I

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Speaker 1: gotta tell you from my perspective, and this is this

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Speaker 1: is something I've had to come to terms with as

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Speaker 1: a dad in the past year. From my perspective, it's

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Speaker 1: always about if I were to die right now, how

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Speaker 1: cool would the story be? Honestly, Diane in a small

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Speaker 1: plane flown by an avcal is a pretty good story. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I trust Brandon completely, and it's I shouldn't even say

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Speaker 1: fear I'm just because I would get in it. I

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Speaker 1: just know I wouldn't enjoy it, just like if someone

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Speaker 1: convinces me enough to go on a roller coaster. I've

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Speaker 1: gotten on, but for the most part, the whole time,

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Speaker 1: like when is this gonna end? I hate this? I'm

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Speaker 1: not I'm not someone who's like screaming. I'm just inside

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Speaker 1: being like, ah, when is this gonna be over? I

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Speaker 1: feel like I have the same experience in one of

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Speaker 1: those no, I could totally appreciate in a past life.

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Speaker 1: Back before I was a writer, I worked in the

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Speaker 1: racing industry, and uh, A big part of racing is

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Speaker 1: what they call him hot laps. You know. Hot laps

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Speaker 1: are are usually something that you give is kind of

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Speaker 1: an incentive or like a hook up for a buddy

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Speaker 1: years and what it is is like, let's say you

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Speaker 1: have a big race at Roaded Lana, for instance. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna plug back because my brother runs Road Atlanta. So

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Speaker 1: let's say you have a big race at road Atlanta.

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Speaker 1: During a break between races, you'll see lap cars going

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Speaker 1: out there. You'll see every once in all a corvettera

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Speaker 1: ferrari hitting the track and doing a lap or two.

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Speaker 1: Often that's a hot lap. It's a professional driver with

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Speaker 1: someone in the passenger seat that knows somebody or is

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Speaker 1: a company hook up or something, and you're giving them

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Speaker 1: an experience on the race track. Usually hot labs are

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Speaker 1: pretty docile. They feel crazy to a guy who hasn't

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Speaker 1: done a hundred miles an hour, you know, approaching a

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Speaker 1: ninety degree turn before. But if you've driven a race

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Speaker 1: car before, hot laps are usually pretty safe, pretty calm.

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Speaker 1: Unless you're a guy who has driven race cars and

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Speaker 1: your brother or some other asshole you know as the

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Speaker 1: driver for the hot lab. Those are usually the times

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Speaker 1: that you feel like your life is really in jeopardy.

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Speaker 1: I'm very familiar with that sense of foreboding, like I

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Speaker 1: don't think I want to get in this car, but

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Speaker 1: you've done it. You're saying, oh, absolutely, I've done hot laps,

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Speaker 1: and I've driven hot laps and written in hot laps,

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Speaker 1: and lord knows this what every kind of cool car

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Speaker 1: on the market, but every once in a while. But

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Speaker 1: my brother is a fantastic driver. He was the racer

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Speaker 1: for a while. He became a racing instructor for years

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Speaker 1: before he got into the executive side of racing. But

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Speaker 1: something about my brother putting me in a car always

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Speaker 1: makes him want to try to kill me. I've never

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Speaker 1: I've never been to like a NASCAR race, and I've

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Speaker 1: always wanted to. I don't I'm not like a NASCAR enthusiast,

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Speaker 1: but whenever I just see NASCAR and TV, I'm like,

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Speaker 1: this looks like a great time. I'll be honestly, I

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Speaker 1: actually wasn't a NASCAR guy, so I worked The racing

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Speaker 1: team I worked for was an open wheel Formula Dodge team,

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Speaker 1: which is it's like an indiecr but smaller the pound

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Speaker 1: for pound about as fast as a Dodge Viper. So

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Speaker 1: skip Barber Racing as a whole series, or used to

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Speaker 1: have a whole series for these cars. It's really competitive racing,

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Speaker 1: but the cost of entrance isn't quite as high as

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Speaker 1: yourself into a million and a half hour car. You know.

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Speaker 1: Uh so at these race tracks you see everything from

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Speaker 1: open wheel to road course to the occasional bush North

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Speaker 1: type NASCAR race. I'm not a big fan of oival

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Speaker 1: track NASCAR races. It's it's boring to me, I know,

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Speaker 1: that's it looks like a party more than anything. That's

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Speaker 1: all racing is man when you go to you know,

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Speaker 1: for instance, I went to Petite Lamans. I covered it

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Speaker 1: for news rapping for the load out room this past year.

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Speaker 1: And Petite Lamans is an endurance race where they have

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Speaker 1: three classes of cars racing simultaneously on the same track.

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Speaker 1: So you've got prototype cars that are like airplanes without

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Speaker 1: wings all the way down to get class cars that

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Speaker 1: are like the Porsche you buy at the dealership, and

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Speaker 1: they're all racing at the same time on crowded streets.

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Speaker 1: It's intense, it's terrifying, it's exciting, but it's also like

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Speaker 1: twelve hours long, so everybody who's there to watch the

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Speaker 1: race is pretty much just tailgating for twelve hours straight.

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Speaker 1: It's like it's like going to a rich guy would stock.

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Speaker 1: It's it's pretty awesome. You can't eat it now. It

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Speaker 1: looks like it will be a lot of fun. So

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Speaker 1: back with a fighter sleep, I was actually wondering why,

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Speaker 1: while you were in the Marines, did you have any

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Speaker 1: interest in the aviation field. Did you want to do

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Speaker 1: something in that field possibly? You know. I wrote about

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Speaker 1: this in an op ed the other day about why

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Speaker 1: recruiting is down when I joined. My story of joining

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Speaker 1: the Marines is different than a lot of folks because

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Speaker 1: I was older. I was twenty one. I had already

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Speaker 1: been turned down by the Marine Corps before because an

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Speaker 1: old ankle injury from football. But then in two thousand six,

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Speaker 1: we had this big recruiting push, you know, we really

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Speaker 1: needed to get more guys into the fight. So I

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Speaker 1: went back to the recruiter. My wife was in the

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Speaker 1: hospital at the time and we didn't have health insurance.

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Speaker 1: She was my girlfriend. We didn't have health insurance. So

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Speaker 1: I went into my local recruiter and I was like, hey, man,

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Speaker 1: so you guys give health insurance for you know, for

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Speaker 1: the service member and the spouse, right, And he was like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: of course. And I said, so when I signed the papers,

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Speaker 1: when does the health insurance start? And he was like, well,

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Speaker 1: the health insurance would start when you leave for boot camp,

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Speaker 1: and I was like, fantastic, when can I go? And uh,

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Speaker 1: so I signed, I, I got married, signed the papers,

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Speaker 1: left on Sunday. I signed the papers on Wednesday, left

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Speaker 1: on Sunday. So I didn't pick my job. I told

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Speaker 1: him I take any job I could get, which anyone

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Speaker 1: who's listening to this podcast and has served knows what

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Speaker 1: a terrible fucking idea that is. It was. It was

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Speaker 1: a real bad call. It worked out for me in

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Speaker 1: the long run, but also I ended up at a

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Speaker 1: desk for like the first year that I was in

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Speaker 1: the Marine Corps until I was able to kind of

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Speaker 1: finagle my way out by volunteering for every kind of

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Speaker 1: extra course I could find. And uh but throughout you know,

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Speaker 1: my first duty station was twenty nine palms and out

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Speaker 1: at Camp Wilson, which Marines are familiar with. It's where

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Speaker 1: Mohabi Vipers located. It's where we trained for deployments to Iraq. Uh.

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Speaker 1: There's an airstrip out at Camp Wilson that you'd see

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Speaker 1: Marine Corps harriers landing at pretty regularly and stuff like that.

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Speaker 1: You cannot be driving through Camp Wilson, which is just

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Speaker 1: a desert waste land and watch harriers come flying over

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Speaker 1: you and land vertically without falling in love. You know,

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Speaker 1: my wife worked at Camp Wilson for a while. We

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Speaker 1: would just hang out near the fence and watch, you know,

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Speaker 1: the planes come in. Then when I when I changed

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Speaker 1: duty stations, I went out to Massachusetts and the closest

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Speaker 1: large base was Handsome Air Force Space. So we spent

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Speaker 1: a lot of time on Handsome Air Force Space again,

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Speaker 1: just watching aircraft come and go, talking to pilots, getting

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Speaker 1: a sense of what life in the Air Force is like,

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Speaker 1: which at that point I really didn't know. Spoilers it's better,

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Speaker 1: but it I just, by happenstance, ended up being surrounded

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Speaker 1: by aircraft throughout most of my Marine Corps career. Never

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Speaker 1: gotten the seat of any of them or anything like that.

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Speaker 1: I just got to be awe inspired by them, you know.

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Speaker 1: So now working with fighters, we've been getting to interact

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Speaker 1: with these pilots directly and really get their perspectives on things. Uh,

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Speaker 1: it's really been a dream come true. So you've been

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Speaker 1: interviewing actual pilots since you've gotten the job. Absolutely, I've

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Speaker 1: been interviewing some guys. I've been talking to some guys.

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Speaker 1: I've got something actually that Brandon is helping me put

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Speaker 1: together possibly here next month that will be really really exciting.

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Speaker 1: I'll be doing some work hopefully here with some aggressive squadrons. Uh.

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Speaker 1: For those who aren't familiar, aggressor aircraft are effectively now

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Speaker 1: often contractor companies that operate own and operate their own

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Speaker 1: fleets of fighters that they engage our fighters against. That

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Speaker 1: things like the Naval Weapons School top On School, so

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Speaker 1: that we can get experience competing against aircraft that aren't

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Speaker 1: our F sixteens, our F fifteen is our fenty two. Uh.

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Speaker 1: These aggressor squadrons are operating often dated platforms, but so

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Speaker 1: were most of the nations we'll be flying against. Uh.

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Speaker 1: You know a guy in Hawaii actually just crashed and

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Speaker 1: got hurt pretty badly. He was a civilian contractor. I

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Speaker 1: believe he was retired Air Force who was flying an

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Speaker 1: aggressive fighter. It eludes me not right now which what

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Speaker 1: what airplane he was in, but it's it's becoming more

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Speaker 1: and more prominent where you're seeing civilians, effectively often retired military,

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Speaker 1: flying civilian owned fighters against our fighters in training. And

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Speaker 1: I think it's a story that not a lot of

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Speaker 1: people know about. So I'm really hoping I'll be able

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Speaker 1: to get get in the hangar with some of these guys,

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Speaker 1: maybe even get some seat time and some of these

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Speaker 1: planes and really tell people what it's like to be

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Speaker 1: an addressor pilot whose job is to fight the best

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Speaker 1: of the best that we've got in the U. S. Military.

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Speaker 1: You know, I think it's how cool a job is that. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: And I feel like for each of these, like high

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Speaker 1: risk job, there's a certain mentality that comes with it.

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Speaker 1: And and interviewing guys who do different high risk things,

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Speaker 1: I see that, you know, when we interview e O

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Speaker 1: D s on here, I think there's a certain attitude

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Speaker 1: they have or that snipers have, and I'm sure that

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Speaker 1: that pilots do. I would I agree, you know. And uh,

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Speaker 1: my experiences in the military are are a lot different

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Speaker 1: than a lot of like a guy like a sniper

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Speaker 1: for instance, or or a fighter pilot. But unfortunately, or fortunately,

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Speaker 1: one of the longer duties I had in the Marine

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Speaker 1: Corps was funeral on our duty. You know. I I

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Speaker 1: was a sergeant on funeral on our for close to

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Speaker 1: four years. Lord knows, I did probably a thousand funerals. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And the one thing I could tell you throughout is

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Speaker 1: that you'll there's you'll find that people whose jobs require

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Speaker 1: looking death in the eye, I guess on a fairly

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Speaker 1: regular basis, you'll find that even their family members approach

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Speaker 1: it in a different way. You know. Uh, It's like

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Speaker 1: it's this understanding that it could happen at any time.

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Speaker 1: It really forces you to face your own mortality in

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Speaker 1: a way that I think a lot of folks don't

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Speaker 1: engage with. I think most of us pretend we're never

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Speaker 1: gonna die. You know, it's interesting you said it because

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Speaker 1: did you listen to the interview I did with Christian Bustler,

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Speaker 1: who you know worked on military funerals and that you know,

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Speaker 1: bury these guys and grape the flag over them. He

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Speaker 1: wrote the book No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor. I

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Speaker 1: mean we went pretty in depth with that. I have

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Speaker 1: the book, but I only listened to about twenty minutes

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Speaker 1: of Excep's how much Cardio I did that day? Got

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Speaker 1: you all right? I was like, when you said twenty minutes,

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Speaker 1: I was like, I hope we I didn't bore you

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Speaker 1: or something. You're like, I right have done with this.

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Speaker 1: I thought it was an interesting Um. Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: just an interesting perspective from a guy that you don't

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Speaker 1: often here and having to deal with death that up

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Speaker 1: close and personal, and how seriously he took the job.

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Speaker 1: So you know, it led to a lot of personal

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Speaker 1: growth for me. The first couple of funerals that you work,

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Speaker 1: and I want to point out a large number of

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Speaker 1: the funerals that I worked for were for men or

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Speaker 1: women that led long fulfilled lives. They passed away and

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Speaker 1: their eighties or nineties sometimes and they earned their rights

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Speaker 1: to a funeral honor service through their service earlier in

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Speaker 1: their life. A number of the funerals I worked, however,

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Speaker 1: we're not you know, many of them were for people

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Speaker 1: who are lost in combat. I'd argue more were for suicidence. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And it it forces you to either you either adopt

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Speaker 1: one or the other perspective in order to survive funeral duty.

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Speaker 1: In my opinion, you either empathize with everyone or you

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Speaker 1: can't empathize with anyone, you know, And I think I

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Speaker 1: bounced back and forth between the two extremes a bit

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Speaker 1: over the years that I did it. But the first

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Speaker 1: few funerals that you work, when you start to see

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Speaker 1: parallels between the departed life and your own. When you

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Speaker 1: see your wife's face in their face, or you see

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Speaker 1: your own kids and their kids, it gets really really

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Speaker 1: hard to carry out your duty the way you're supposed to,

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Speaker 1: you know, so you've got to kind of distance yourself

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Speaker 1: from it a little bit. So I would say early on,

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Speaker 1: I think that I probably insulated myself. I tried really

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Speaker 1: hard not to let the people's experiences affect me, even

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Speaker 1: though when you're the senior marine and a funeral duty,

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Speaker 1: you might maintain a relationship with the next of kin

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Speaker 1: for months or years. You know. I'm friends with some

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Speaker 1: of them on Facebook still, because it's your responsibility to

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Speaker 1: kind of help them get through this process. You know.

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Speaker 1: Some of them are better prepared than others, some of

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Speaker 1: them are are more willing to accept help than others. Uh.

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Speaker 1: But through that engage, you can't help but grow, you know.

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Speaker 1: And uh, it changed the way that I saw death.

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Speaker 1: That changed the way that I saw life, And it

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Speaker 1: definitely changed the way that I saw service, you know.

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Speaker 1: I Uh. I used to always say my job is

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Speaker 1: to bury heroes. You know, that's it's a that's a

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Speaker 1: rough gig. But the harder job is being those heroes,

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Speaker 1: you know, and it gives you. It gives you some

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Speaker 1: great perspective. It's interesting. We got into this because I

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Speaker 1: know that another topic that you wanted to discuss that

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Speaker 1: connects with this is that you've been writing about the

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Speaker 1: v A bowling on suicide prevention. This is absolutely outrageous

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Speaker 1: to me. For in case you haven't seen the article

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Speaker 1: or any of the other headlines around the internet about it. Effectively,

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Speaker 1: you know, the v A has suffered a changeover in

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Speaker 1: leadership rapidly multiple times in the past year or two

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Speaker 1: under President Trump that have been almost as many Secretaries

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Speaker 1: of Veterans Affairs as there were under Obama and W.

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Speaker 1: Bush's administrations combined. How many have there been so far?

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Speaker 1: Do you know? I want to say there's been five.

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Speaker 1: I've got it open somewhere around here. Although to be fair,

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Speaker 1: that's kind of a misleading number because one of them

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Speaker 1: was a previously acting Secretary Veterans Affairs who then was appointed, uh,

427
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,439
Speaker 1: the official Secretary Veterans Affairs. To be honest with you,

428
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: that's neither here nor there. That's the excuse the v

429
00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:19,800
Speaker 1: A has provided for effectively freezing their suicide prevention efforts

430
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:25,639
Speaker 1: over the past almost two years, which is absolutely outrageous

431
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,240
Speaker 1: to me. Now, I mean, that should be the number

432
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,640
Speaker 1: one thing where we have more guys taking their own

433
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,960
Speaker 1: lives and losing their lives in combat. As a reminder

434
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,120
Speaker 1: that twenty that OFT touted twenty two suicides a day

435
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,560
Speaker 1: figure may not be entirely accurate. It might be closer

436
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,120
Speaker 1: to twenty one and change. But more than twenty veterans

437
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,560
Speaker 1: killed themselves every day, and even worse than that, veterans

438
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,840
Speaker 1: in our age group, you know, the eighteen to thirty

439
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,720
Speaker 1: five year old veterans. UH, they've seen a dramatic increase

440
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,240
Speaker 1: in suicides over the past few years. In two thousand

441
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,120
Speaker 1: fifteen and two thousand sixteen, which were the last years

442
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:00,480
Speaker 1: that we had real hard data that we can already

443
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,280
Speaker 1: pull from UH, veterans aged eighteen to thirty five saw

444
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,080
Speaker 1: an increase from forty points something out of a hundred

445
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:11,040
Speaker 1: thousand veterans suicides per year to forty So that's a

446
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,840
Speaker 1: pretty sharp uptick considering the fact that this is something

447
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,440
Speaker 1: we're all cognizant of, you know, UH, in the media

448
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,160
Speaker 1: on Facebook, it's hard to find something related to veterans

449
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 1: without finding someone talking about veteran suicide, and and but

450
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 1: the figures are showing that we're not making any progress.

451
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:30,879
Speaker 1: So then when you find out that the v A

452
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,119
Speaker 1: literally did not produce a single new piece of media

453
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,240
Speaker 1: content throughout the year of two thousand eighteen aimed at

454
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:43,040
Speaker 1: preventing suicide, despite having more than six million dollars allocated

455
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 1: to do so. When you look at the fact that

456
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,240
Speaker 1: the number of six million, when you think about it,

457
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,200
Speaker 1: that's a pretty small number. Now, it's important to note

458
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,240
Speaker 1: that that six million dollars was year marked specifically for

459
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 1: radio and television advertising directed at suicide prevention. We're not

460
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,280
Speaker 1: talking about their overall d A budget. We're not talking

461
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,919
Speaker 1: about the vas overall budget. We're talking about earmarks specifically

462
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,040
Speaker 1: for suicide prevention on television and radio. They didn't use it.

463
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,560
Speaker 1: They just left it on the table, you know. Uh.

464
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 1: In two thousand sixteen, the v A posted three and

465
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,560
Speaker 1: thirty nine pieces of content on social media aimed at

466
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:24,800
Speaker 1: suicide prevention. The next year, it dropped to explain that

467
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 1: to me, as suicide's going up, they're trying less to

468
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,240
Speaker 1: prevent it. And the reason that they've provided is that

469
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,879
Speaker 1: they've had a revolving door of leadership, you know, uh,

470
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:37,600
Speaker 1: to be fair, in two thousand eighteen, the suet the

471
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,840
Speaker 1: National Director of Suicide Prevention was gapped for three months.

472
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,119
Speaker 1: That role, you know, it's an important role in this fight.

473
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,520
Speaker 1: When you're changing secretaries of the v A repeatedly, you know,

474
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,840
Speaker 1: it makes it tough to have a unified vision for

475
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 1: the organization. However, I call bullshit on any of those excuses.

476
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,520
Speaker 1: You've got people who have been working for the VA

477
00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,439
Speaker 1: for years. You know, You've got people who have been

478
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 1: in these position for years. They know what the responsibilities are,

479
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 1: they know what the situation is, and they literally just

480
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,560
Speaker 1: dropped the ball. And you know what I mean. Part

481
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,880
Speaker 1: of me says like, hmm, I wonder how effective these

482
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,199
Speaker 1: radio and TV ads even are in suicide prevention. But

483
00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 1: on the other hand, I mean, I would think that

484
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 1: a veteran who happens to be hearing it, who might

485
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:26,040
Speaker 1: be thinking of, you know, doing such a thing, might

486
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:28,480
Speaker 1: hear it and it might make them feel hey, I'm

487
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 1: not forgotten about. There's there's others out there like me.

488
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:32,879
Speaker 1: I mean, I would think that it would have to

489
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,479
Speaker 1: have some positive effect. Now I'm personal backstory for me.

490
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 1: I've had three marines that worked with me out on

491
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,960
Speaker 1: twenty one Palms commits suicide. You know, that's a lot.

492
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 1: You know, I'm one guy. I know four people who

493
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,800
Speaker 1: have killed themselves. You know that's that's a really high number.

494
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,480
Speaker 1: You know. I was very closely involved in two of them.

495
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,119
Speaker 1: I helped find the body of one of them. Uh,

496
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,440
Speaker 1: this is a subject that's near and dear to my heart.

497
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,879
Speaker 1: I don't want to say his name, but the first

498
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,440
Speaker 1: time one of my marines killed himself, I was a

499
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,439
Speaker 1: lance corporal who had just been put in charge of

500
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,480
Speaker 1: his own shop. Uh. Two weeks later, one of my

501
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,600
Speaker 1: guys hung himself. It was really difficult on all the

502
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,639
Speaker 1: Marines that were with us. It was difficult on me

503
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,159
Speaker 1: as a leader. I can't imagine how difficult it was

504
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,879
Speaker 1: for his family. I engaged with them a bit, but

505
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,239
Speaker 1: they really weren't interested in talking to any Marines at

506
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,880
Speaker 1: the time. At the time. Back then, we're talking two

507
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:33,120
Speaker 1: thousand six, maybe two thousand seven. At the time, suicide

508
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 1: prevention was already part of our training syllabus. But the

509
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,160
Speaker 1: military is really good at power pointing things to death,

510
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:43,199
Speaker 1: and I'd argue most of our suicide prevention training really

511
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,400
Speaker 1: just taught those with suicidal ideations how not to red

512
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 1: flag yourself. Uh. You know, we we put up a

513
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,879
Speaker 1: power point and we said look for these four things.

514
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,040
Speaker 1: So if you're the type of guy who's thinking about

515
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,840
Speaker 1: killing yourself, what you really learned from that course was

516
00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,960
Speaker 1: make sure my platoon sergeant doesn't see me exhibiting any

517
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,280
Speaker 1: these four symptoms. You know. I one of the other

518
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:08,640
Speaker 1: suicides happened post service, UH talked to the guy that night.

519
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,920
Speaker 1: I didn't realize where he was. I here a lot

520
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 1: of guilt, uh, surrounding those two, in particular, specifically because

521
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: I dealt with the people the day that had happened.

522
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,800
Speaker 1: I even at one point tried to engage with one

523
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,399
Speaker 1: of them because I was worried about it. Uh. And he,

524
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,159
Speaker 1: you know, he was really good at and I guess

525
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,080
Speaker 1: selling me on the idea that he was on the

526
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,639
Speaker 1: up and up, you know. But ultimately, you know, you

527
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,240
Speaker 1: can play the what F game all you want, but

528
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 1: it's hard for me not to play the what F

529
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,119
Speaker 1: game at three o'clock in the morning, you know, drinking

530
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 1: in my basement. I guess if people at the v

531
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 1: A are willing to let suicide prevention go by the wayside,

532
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:54,360
Speaker 1: just because they don't have a manager looking over their shoulder.

533
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,040
Speaker 1: It really makes me wonder if they have any real

534
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,080
Speaker 1: sense at all of how a suicide reverberates throughout the

535
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,800
Speaker 1: military community, throughout the veteran community, not just for the

536
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 1: person who passed away, not just for their loved ones. Statistically,

537
00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,639
Speaker 1: when one suicide happens within a unit or a veterans group,

538
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,679
Speaker 1: the likelihood that other veterans or service members within that

539
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 1: group will commit suicide goes up. When you see someone

540
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:22,880
Speaker 1: commit suicide, it doesn't scare you away from it. By

541
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 1: and large, it encourages you to pursue that same outcome.

542
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 1: Suicides are real serious issue. It's not just an issue

543
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 1: because of decency and ethics. It's an issue for military

544
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 1: readiness active duties. Suicides will not just affect the section

545
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,320
Speaker 1: the shop, the fire team that loses a marine or

546
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 1: a soldier and airman, a sailor. It affects the entire unit.

547
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 1: It affects the entire command. It affects your combat capability.

548
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,160
Speaker 1: We're not engaging with this issue, and you know we're

549
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 1: videotaping ourselves doing push ups on Facebook. That's great. You know,

550
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,760
Speaker 1: I'm I'm glad that people are trying to raise awareness,

551
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,240
Speaker 1: but at this point, I'd argue, we're aware, it's time

552
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,240
Speaker 1: to do something about it, and the v A should

553
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,400
Speaker 1: be at the forefront of doing something about this, and

554
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,200
Speaker 1: instead they spent the last two years just sitting on

555
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,480
Speaker 1: their hands. Uh. And now they want to blame Donald Trump.

556
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,440
Speaker 1: I'm not a Donald Trump fan, but honestly, you made

557
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,400
Speaker 1: the sandwich, you need to eat it. Yeah. And as

558
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,239
Speaker 1: you're talking about this, just thinking about effective ads they

559
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,040
Speaker 1: could be doing. I mean, I've interviewed you know, I'm

560
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,440
Speaker 1: just talking that's from my own experience. Plenty of guys

561
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 1: who have had the issue of struggling with suicidal thoughts.

562
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,720
Speaker 1: You know. I think of Mike Schlitz, who lost both

563
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,400
Speaker 1: his arms in combat, and I'm trying to think of

564
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 1: it's one of his legs. I mean, he's Anybody who's

565
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 1: seeing Mike Schlitz knows that he's heavily burned. Um and

566
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 1: he wrote an article I believe a ranger up about

567
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: you know, having suicidal thoughts. And now he's become such

568
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 1: an inspirational guy, you know, running and working out all

569
00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,360
Speaker 1: the time, and when you see him, he's constantly in

570
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,479
Speaker 1: a great mood and it lifts you up. And I

571
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,200
Speaker 1: think someone like that doing an ad for the military

572
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: would be really useful, you know. And to bring it

573
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,640
Speaker 1: back to uh, to our own stable George Hand a

574
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,400
Speaker 1: few years ago, George Hand, if you're not familiar with him,

575
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,719
Speaker 1: he's a I mean, we're talking about a legendary delta operator. Uh.

576
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 1: He wrote a piece about his own suicidal ideations a

577
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 1: few years ago that hit me home, like really hit

578
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 1: home for me in a way that's hard to articulate.

579
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 1: But when a guy like George Hand, who is I mean,

580
00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 1: he's a g I. Joe guy. You know, he was

581
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,680
Speaker 1: built for this. You know, he's a war fighter through

582
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,240
Speaker 1: and through, one of the few, like one of the

583
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,560
Speaker 1: last bastions of a previous era of warrior. I would

584
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,560
Speaker 1: argue and for George to open himself up like that

585
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 1: and be vulnerable to the world, and say, even this guy,

586
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 1: even George Hand, who is the guy you'd call if

587
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:50,120
Speaker 1: your daughter was in trouble? George Hand? Literally, you know,

588
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:53,720
Speaker 1: if George Hand is the guy that you'd call when

589
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 1: you're in the worst kind of trouble you can imagine,

590
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,680
Speaker 1: And he's struggled with suicide. It's not a it's not

591
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 1: a strength. George is strong, strongest guy I've ever met.

592
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,280
Speaker 1: It's not a question of strength. You know, a lot

593
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: of times when it comes to things like suicide, we're

594
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:14,440
Speaker 1: talking about long term depression or anxiety issues or combined. Absolutely,

595
00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: but suicidal ideations themselves tend to be rather short lived. Often. Uh,

596
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:24,720
Speaker 1: intervention that day can often be enough to get you

597
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 1: over the hump. You know, I think it would be

598
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:30,760
Speaker 1: hard for a lot of service members to argue that

599
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 1: they've never considered it. You know. Uh, the s g

600
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,280
Speaker 1: l I, the Service Member Group Life Insurance Policy is

601
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,360
Speaker 1: it's a four thousand dollar life insurance policy you get

602
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,360
Speaker 1: through the military while you're serving, right, and then you

603
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 1: get a death gratuity which is ten thousand dollars unless

604
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:47,760
Speaker 1: you die in country. At that point it's a hundred

605
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,640
Speaker 1: and twenty. These numbers may have changed since I got out,

606
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 1: but that's this is what they were during my time

607
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,920
Speaker 1: in Your s g l I still pays out if

608
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 1: you kill yourself. You know a lot of people argue

609
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: that it doesn't. I know firsthand that it does. Is Uh.

610
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,800
Speaker 1: I know people have thought about it as a way

611
00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 1: to get their family out of a jam. Uh. I

612
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,280
Speaker 1: know people have seen suicide as a tool. And the

613
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,200
Speaker 1: reason why I think that this is more prevalent in

614
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: the military is because you can't fill out one of

615
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 1: those s g l I forms. You can't hop on

616
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:23,920
Speaker 1: a deployment without thinking about your own mortality. Right, you

617
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 1: have to think about the fact that you might not

618
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 1: come back, you know, and what what happened to your

619
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,720
Speaker 1: family if you didn't. For some guys, uh and girls,

620
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:34,680
Speaker 1: when you join the military, you join the military because

621
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:37,800
Speaker 1: you don't think that your your life back home has

622
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,120
Speaker 1: much left to offer you, or you have much left

623
00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:43,280
Speaker 1: to offer them anymore. Right, So you're already a little

624
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 1: detached often, right, you're already running away from something to

625
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 1: a certain extent. Uh. Then you then you miss home.

626
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,880
Speaker 1: Then you start to think about your family members back

627
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 1: there and what they're going through. And then, like in

628
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 1: the case of one of my friends that passed away,

629
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,320
Speaker 1: you know, maybe maybe your mom's losing her house. Maybe

630
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,120
Speaker 1: as a result of losing her house, she's also losing

631
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: custody of your sister, you know. And when you start

632
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:08,000
Speaker 1: looking at those things and you start weighing that against

633
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,400
Speaker 1: your existential depression that's going untreated because you're afraid you'll

634
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,920
Speaker 1: being undeployable, so you won't go to medical and talk

635
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,160
Speaker 1: about it. Right, So here you are, on the one hand,

636
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,640
Speaker 1: just miserable and you don't really feel like there's much

637
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 1: reason for you to go on. And on the other hand,

638
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,560
Speaker 1: there's a half a million dollars you could hand your mom.

639
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,760
Speaker 1: All you gotta do is kill yourself. If you're already

640
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 1: leaning towards killing yourself, that's a great incentive. Now, I'm

641
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,920
Speaker 1: not arguing that we need to do away with the

642
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 1: STLI paying out for suicide. I'm not arguing anything. All

643
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,880
Speaker 1: I'm saying is that we really need to look at

644
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,600
Speaker 1: suicide realistically. It's not just somebody writing breakup poetry because

645
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,760
Speaker 1: they're upset about losing their friend. And combat suicide is

646
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,440
Speaker 1: just as prevalent among people who didn't deploy as it

647
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,800
Speaker 1: is among veterans who did. It's not just about PTSD.

648
00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,520
Speaker 1: It's really about this cultural issue that compounds owns on

649
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 1: service members and veterans that we're not engaging in any

650
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:08,520
Speaker 1: real reasonable way. We're engaging with awareness campaigns after awareness

651
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 1: campaign after awareness campaign. It's important that we raise awareness

652
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,279
Speaker 1: but it's important at some point that we engage with

653
00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,360
Speaker 1: the problem. Yeah, well, well said. I mean, if you

654
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 1: listen back to the interview that we did with Carl Monger,

655
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,680
Speaker 1: who runs Gallant for you, I think we need more

656
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,880
Speaker 1: people like that. I mean, uh, there's you know, I

657
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,799
Speaker 1: know that there's all these different veterans charities out there,

658
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,880
Speaker 1: but I think Carl's is different in that this really

659
00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,080
Speaker 1: means something to him. The fact that he gives out

660
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,279
Speaker 1: his personal number and says, like, if you're having those

661
00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 1: thoughts and you need someone to talk to, call me,

662
00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:44,759
Speaker 1: and so I know he takes those issues really seriously.

663
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,359
Speaker 1: And I think we need more people out there like that,

664
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,799
Speaker 1: because you need some of these guys just need someone

665
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,239
Speaker 1: to talk to, and that might that might prevent this

666
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,560
Speaker 1: that's becoming more and more prevalent and veteran circles. And

667
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,040
Speaker 1: I love it. You know. Uh, I'll shout out to

668
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,560
Speaker 1: Western Scott. He works for We Are the Mighty. He's

669
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,640
Speaker 1: a great guy. I've known Weston Scott way back when

670
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,200
Speaker 1: I was on active duty. I ran this, you know,

671
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:09,360
Speaker 1: this dumb blog website that had a little bit of traction,

672
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 1: and I interviewed Weston at the time. He was a

673
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,839
Speaker 1: former marine. He was an already guy who went on

674
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,960
Speaker 1: to be a tactical adviser on movies. He was he

675
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,920
Speaker 1: had a show on G four for a while. We

676
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,400
Speaker 1: still talk here and there, you know, and uh, not

677
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,759
Speaker 1: long ago. I was up late working one o'clock in

678
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,920
Speaker 1: the morning. Is not weird for me to still be writing,

679
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 1: you know. And I got a message from Weston on

680
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 1: Facebook and he was like, hey, man, you are right,

681
00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:33,359
Speaker 1: And I was like, yeah, what's up? You know what

682
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 1: would what prompted this? You know? And he was like,

683
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:37,439
Speaker 1: every once in a while when I see other Marines

684
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,480
Speaker 1: still up at when I am on a Tuesday, you know,

685
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:41,520
Speaker 1: I just shoot him a message to make sure they're

686
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: not drinking alone in their basement. For you, you're probably

687
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,160
Speaker 1: just like writing, right, I mean, but yeah, if I

688
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,319
Speaker 1: was just at work. But our job, it's just it's

689
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,320
Speaker 1: so funny how it's no uh, it's just get shipped

690
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,839
Speaker 1: done whenever you can get shipped done, because it's it's funny. Man.

691
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,800
Speaker 1: I Like, I totally different subject. But I do have

692
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:58,280
Speaker 1: friends who, um, you know, if it's a Saturday or Sunday,

693
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:00,279
Speaker 1: they're like, why, you know, why are you working? It's

694
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 1: you know, maybe I want to do something on a

695
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,120
Speaker 1: Monday or something, and you know, it's kind of cool.

696
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:05,920
Speaker 1: You do get to make your own schedule. But anyway,

697
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:07,840
Speaker 1: just I assume for you if your own schedules a

698
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:09,319
Speaker 1: double edged sort, because I don't think I've got a

699
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,400
Speaker 1: whole day off in three years, I don't know, at

700
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 1: least for me, I do. I'm lucky for that, but

701
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:19,080
Speaker 1: I do all the time. But you know, I get

702
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,600
Speaker 1: the opportunity to put my work up on news, rep

703
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:23,640
Speaker 1: Fight or sweep, and you know when Scott over the

704
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,759
Speaker 1: load out room occasionally lets me, you know, jump in

705
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,520
Speaker 1: over there. I'm lucky as a writer that I get

706
00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,040
Speaker 1: to spread my work out to so many people. But

707
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,000
Speaker 1: if if you give me a chance to set my

708
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 1: own schedule, it just means I'm gonna work twelve hours

709
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:38,480
Speaker 1: a day, seven days a week. Yeah, you you personally

710
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,960
Speaker 1: give yourself more work though, I mean, you put you

711
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 1: put out a book, but independently, and and I don't

712
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,439
Speaker 1: I don't know, to be honest, how well the book

713
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,920
Speaker 1: is done. Because for the most part, if you independently

714
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,279
Speaker 1: publish a book, it's more of a labor of love.

715
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,879
Speaker 1: You're not you know, most people independently publish a book.

716
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:57,279
Speaker 1: They're not getting a million dollar advanced or anything. You know.

717
00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 1: It just you wanted to put a book out. My

718
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 1: book did fantastically well for like a week. That's how

719
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,719
Speaker 1: it always is. I am. I'm over the moon with

720
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,200
Speaker 1: it with how successful it was, because I really expected

721
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,319
Speaker 1: very little and instead, I think I peaked at like

722
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,520
Speaker 1: number eight in my category on Amazon for a few days,

723
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,680
Speaker 1: which was fantastic, you know, especially because it's it was.

724
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 1: The book is called The Perception Wars. It's about how

725
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,720
Speaker 1: foreign influence campaigns can affect us here in the States,

726
00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,719
Speaker 1: and how our foreign influence campaigns can affect others. It's

727
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:31,600
Speaker 1: another subject that's near and dear to my heart because

728
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,680
Speaker 1: I think it speaks directly to how we live nowadays,

729
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,680
Speaker 1: you know. And so I was not only was I

730
00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:39,719
Speaker 1: stoked to see it gets so much traction, but I

731
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,480
Speaker 1: was really excited to see readers on news rep uh

732
00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 1: you know, comment I can being like, oh, I read

733
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:46,719
Speaker 1: about this in your book. You know. It's like, as

734
00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:48,439
Speaker 1: a writer, and I've always wanted to be a writer,

735
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,080
Speaker 1: there are a few things that can make your heart

736
00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,040
Speaker 1: skip a beat more than someone saying I read this

737
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,960
Speaker 1: other thing you wrote and this other place. Yeah, that's

738
00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:58,719
Speaker 1: why I assume if you're up at one am or

739
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 1: three am, you're right, because it's like you also have

740
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:02,799
Speaker 1: a daughter. For those who don't know that, you know

741
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,959
Speaker 1: it was a baby, soho. And and that's the other

742
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,480
Speaker 1: best part of this job, man, is that yes, I

743
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,839
Speaker 1: do maybe work NonStop all the time, but I'd argue

744
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:14,120
Speaker 1: act at half of that time my daughters on the

745
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:15,799
Speaker 1: floor next to me. You know, I could take a

746
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:18,600
Speaker 1: break any time I want. This job is it's a

747
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 1: winning lottery ticket. It's the best job in the world,

748
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,160
Speaker 1: you know. So So, just kind of wrapping up the

749
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,879
Speaker 1: subject we were talking about, though, I'm just wandering from

750
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:30,000
Speaker 1: your perspective. That money that's allocated to stop veteran and

751
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:33,279
Speaker 1: millet the active duty military suicides. What what do you

752
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,600
Speaker 1: think should be done with that? Like, what would you

753
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,440
Speaker 1: personally do? I know it's TV and radio ads, Like, well,

754
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,000
Speaker 1: what do you think would be effective? Well, first off,

755
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,520
Speaker 1: you touched on something earlier that I think is really important.

756
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:45,840
Speaker 1: The v A does not currently have any model or

757
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,839
Speaker 1: system in place to gauge the efficacy of their initiatives,

758
00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,040
Speaker 1: so they try things Let's say they spent that full

759
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:54,880
Speaker 1: six million dollars. I think it was six point two

760
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,520
Speaker 1: six point two million dollars. Let's say they spent all

761
00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:01,719
Speaker 1: of it. They don't have any procedure years currently to

762
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,359
Speaker 1: judge whether or not it was successful at all. So

763
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,839
Speaker 1: if this year they you know, they mounted six one

764
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:13,360
Speaker 1: million dollar commercials starring Troy Aikman and Will Smith telling

765
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,040
Speaker 1: you that suicide is bad, they really wouldn't have any

766
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:18,319
Speaker 1: way of knowing whether or not that worked anyway. So

767
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:19,920
Speaker 1: next year they might do more of the same to

768
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,319
Speaker 1: no avail. They need, first and foremost to establish a

769
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:28,160
Speaker 1: system that creates some kind of quantitative basis to gauge

770
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:30,960
Speaker 1: the advocacy of these of these efforts. I know that's

771
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,000
Speaker 1: really difficult. This is a qualitative issue. It's hard to

772
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,360
Speaker 1: take it. It's hard to give hard numbers to things

773
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,640
Speaker 1: like suicidal ideations. So I would think, though, if you

774
00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 1: do um, you know, like a market research thing, the

775
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,600
Speaker 1: same way they do for everything else, get you know,

776
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,319
Speaker 1: a hundred veterans in a room or something, you know,

777
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:50,320
Speaker 1: how effective do you think this add is? Does this

778
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,279
Speaker 1: speak to you? I think that's worth doing. But it's

779
00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 1: important to note that. Uh. When you do that that

780
00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:01,319
Speaker 1: kind of market research, Uh, you're relying on self reported information,

781
00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:05,480
Speaker 1: and self reported information becomes increasingly less reliable the more

782
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:09,279
Speaker 1: sensitive the information is. Uh. It's the reason why, like

783
00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:11,800
Speaker 1: the statistics we have about alcohol consumption in the United

784
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,839
Speaker 1: States don't coalesce with the statistics we have about alcohol sales. Yeah,

785
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:17,799
Speaker 1: because when you go to the doctor, he asks how

786
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:21,000
Speaker 1: often you drink? And I say socially because I drink

787
00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:23,560
Speaker 1: every day, but I talk to people every day, So

788
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:25,719
Speaker 1: as far as I'm concerned, that's social. Yeah. You know.

789
00:40:25,719 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 1: It's funny when they asked me and they're like, how

790
00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,160
Speaker 1: often do you drink? And I'm like never. I think

791
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 1: they think I'm lying, but I really don't. I'm sure

792
00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:37,080
Speaker 1: they think you're lying because they're like nothing, never, I

793
00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:40,680
Speaker 1: thought I haven't added, you know, I'm not. And it's funny.

794
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:42,160
Speaker 1: And then the other thing is people assume I'm like

795
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:46,160
Speaker 1: an alcoholic or something. I just haven't had a drink since. Uh,

796
00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 1: I think I think March I just haven't. I respect that, man,

797
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,440
Speaker 1: I respect the hell out of that. But but you know,

798
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,080
Speaker 1: when you go to the doctor and the doctor asks

799
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,160
Speaker 1: if you smoke, you know, if you're the type of

800
00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:58,040
Speaker 1: person who quit six months ago but still smokes a

801
00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:00,719
Speaker 1: cigarette every once in a while, you say no, or

802
00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,040
Speaker 1: even if you smoke weed, right, I mean, because if

803
00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:06,320
Speaker 1: you're someone who smokes like a blunt that has tobacco

804
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,840
Speaker 1: and it, you know, it's still the same ship. I actually,

805
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:10,799
Speaker 1: I've got a whole different tirade. I could go on

806
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:12,960
Speaker 1: about that because I've got a buddy. He's a Vietnam

807
00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:17,200
Speaker 1: veteran who recently went in to have uh, you know something,

808
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:19,920
Speaker 1: They're trying to see if he's got cancer. And the

809
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,120
Speaker 1: doctor asked him, He's like, do you smoke? And he said, no,

810
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:23,960
Speaker 1: but I do smoke pot it rounce in a while. Yeah,

811
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 1: and uh which here in Georgia is a big no no,

812
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 1: you know, because in New York, no one gives you

813
00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:31,959
Speaker 1: s Yeah. Yeah here here down in Georgia, that's still

814
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,799
Speaker 1: close to being a communist. Uh So, he's since then

815
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:39,399
Speaker 1: just been inundated by calls from the hospital and other

816
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:43,120
Speaker 1: narcotics treatment facilities asking him if he wants to, you know,

817
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,080
Speaker 1: if he wants help kicking his pot habit, and he's like,

818
00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:48,320
Speaker 1: I have a smoked weed. In a couple of months,

819
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:53,239
Speaker 1: just do sometimes. You know. That's so I know we're

820
00:41:53,239 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: we're both going like so a D D here, But

821
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,800
Speaker 1: that's this is so weird to me, how much different

822
00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,799
Speaker 1: state by state the attitudes are towards these things. Because

823
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,840
Speaker 1: like in New York, I could walk outside the studio

824
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:05,879
Speaker 1: and you can smell weed, you know what I mean,

825
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:09,279
Speaker 1: no one really cares, including the police. It's just not

826
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:12,200
Speaker 1: like a non issue here. And it almost reminds me

827
00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:16,000
Speaker 1: of this, you know, different subject. But I saw. I

828
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,600
Speaker 1: don't know if you. I just follow Kristen Beck's Instagram

829
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:22,160
Speaker 1: and Twitter and everything, and I know, um, Kristen Beck

830
00:42:22,239 --> 00:42:25,879
Speaker 1: went through like the facial feminization surgery and everything and

831
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:28,800
Speaker 1: wrote a post about how you know now that Kristen

832
00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:31,960
Speaker 1: Buck looks more like a female. Um wrote, you know,

833
00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:36,080
Speaker 1: I didn't get anyone harassing me or Bible thumping with

834
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,200
Speaker 1: me or saying all this crap, And like, to me,

835
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:40,719
Speaker 1: that's kind of foreign because like in the streets of

836
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:43,520
Speaker 1: New York, if you're a transgender, like no one really

837
00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:48,279
Speaker 1: gives a ship, No one really. It's it's like a

838
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:51,759
Speaker 1: totally different culture here. Like if Kristen Beck walked around

839
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:53,399
Speaker 1: the streets of New York and no one would look

840
00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,600
Speaker 1: twice at her, or however you want to label Kristen Beck.

841
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:58,800
Speaker 1: My perspective of New York is different than years obviously,

842
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:00,799
Speaker 1: because you're there every day and I live in the

843
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:04,400
Speaker 1: woods and hate the city. But uh, in my opinion,

844
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 1: in New York, the reason why no one would engage

845
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,759
Speaker 1: with her isn't because people don't have those prejudices. It's

846
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 1: because you're insulated by an overabundance of people. In New York.

847
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,680
Speaker 1: You tend not to talk to your neighbors, even though

848
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:19,160
Speaker 1: your bathroom wall like you can hear them showering through it. Yeah,

849
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,000
Speaker 1: but you know, I have to say, man, you would

850
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,319
Speaker 1: get more dirty looks on the streets in New York

851
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:25,600
Speaker 1: City wearing and make America great again hat than being

852
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,880
Speaker 1: I don't doubt that one bit. But I think that

853
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:33,520
Speaker 1: you'd find like here in Georgia, where you'd expect racism

854
00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:39,160
Speaker 1: and sexism and prejudice against the LGBTQ community. I found

855
00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:43,520
Speaker 1: overwhelmingly people don't give a ship. Yeah, you know, you like,

856
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,800
Speaker 1: Rednecks may have beliefs about what they want their daughter

857
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:50,680
Speaker 1: to do, you know, but by and large, they don't

858
00:43:50,719 --> 00:43:52,480
Speaker 1: really give a shit about what you do, because they

859
00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:55,560
Speaker 1: tend to fall into the old school conservative category of

860
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,560
Speaker 1: stay out of my living room, you know what I mean,

861
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:02,160
Speaker 1: don't bother me. I think that I think that this

862
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:05,000
Speaker 1: kind of speaks to that rural versus urban break that

863
00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:08,440
Speaker 1: we have where we think we're so culturally different. The

864
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:11,880
Speaker 1: truth is is that we're represented very differently. You know.

865
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:16,200
Speaker 1: I moved to Georgia from Bromston, so it was it

866
00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:19,239
Speaker 1: was a dramatic change. And when I came down here,

867
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:21,800
Speaker 1: I was expecting to live in an episode of Moonshiners,

868
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,040
Speaker 1: you know. And I was expecting, you know, because my

869
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:28,400
Speaker 1: best friends a Dominican guy, you know, like I had

870
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:30,360
Speaker 1: all these concerns that I was going to be that

871
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:33,040
Speaker 1: I was gonna have to worry about, you know, my

872
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:37,759
Speaker 1: daughter being raised to think creationism was was true vice

873
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:41,480
Speaker 1: evolution and you know, and things like that. When once

874
00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:45,480
Speaker 1: you get here, there are those elements. Absolutely, in my opinion,

875
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:47,880
Speaker 1: though at least in my experience, that a vocal minority

876
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,880
Speaker 1: that ends up skewing our perspective of the South. You know,

877
00:44:51,239 --> 00:44:54,600
Speaker 1: there are lots of very bright, very educated, intellectual folks

878
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:57,080
Speaker 1: with a Southern drawing. Yeah, for sure, I agree. When

879
00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:59,400
Speaker 1: I like when I went to South Dakota, I didn't

880
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,360
Speaker 1: feel and anybody was all that different. The biggest difference

881
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:05,680
Speaker 1: is just people being way more polite, way more um uh,

882
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:08,040
Speaker 1: way more trusting. I mean, it was the first time

883
00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,000
Speaker 1: in my life that I got gass and I was

884
00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:14,360
Speaker 1: told I couldn't pay in advance. They were gosh totally.

885
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:16,480
Speaker 1: But I think it's important to note that because of that,

886
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:19,440
Speaker 1: because you'll find much more of that positive element than

887
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:23,279
Speaker 1: you'd expect in places that you think would be, you know,

888
00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:26,839
Speaker 1: a very prejudiced. I think that you would find more

889
00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:29,040
Speaker 1: prejudice in a place where you don't expect it. It's

890
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,520
Speaker 1: just better hidden, you know, And I think hidden prejudice,

891
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,839
Speaker 1: in my opinion, is the much more dangerous kind. I'm

892
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:37,920
Speaker 1: much more concerned about you making a hiring decision inside

893
00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:41,360
Speaker 1: your head based on your own secret prejudices than I

894
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:43,680
Speaker 1: am about whether or not you'll give Kristen back a

895
00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:46,520
Speaker 1: snide remark on the subway. Honestly, that Snyde remark, it

896
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:48,520
Speaker 1: means you're worthless. If if you're the type of dude

897
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:50,080
Speaker 1: who wants to pick a fight with somebody just over

898
00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:52,759
Speaker 1: what they're wearing, you're an idiots back. You know, I

899
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,080
Speaker 1: think you'd be stupid to pick Kristen back in the

900
00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:59,160
Speaker 1: first place. You know, But I think that those outspoken

901
00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:01,799
Speaker 1: prejudices are the ones were the most worried about, and

902
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:03,719
Speaker 1: in the real world, they're the ones that end up

903
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:06,360
Speaker 1: having the least effect on how we live. It's those

904
00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:08,600
Speaker 1: ones in New York City that you know you can't

905
00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:11,879
Speaker 1: get away without loud that I worry about. So back

906
00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:13,839
Speaker 1: to how we got here. As I said, we're both

907
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:15,840
Speaker 1: super a D D. But I always remember how we

908
00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,560
Speaker 1: got here. Uh. So you're the radio guy, how that

909
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,600
Speaker 1: money I should be allocated? And you were saying that

910
00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:25,960
Speaker 1: it's you know, it might not be effective. So first off,

911
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:29,560
Speaker 1: we need a way to determine its efficacy. The second

912
00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:31,680
Speaker 1: thing that I would really love to see is a

913
00:46:31,719 --> 00:46:37,160
Speaker 1: big effort towards destigmatizing uh, seeking help. I'd also like

914
00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:41,640
Speaker 1: to see a push away from medication as your sole

915
00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:44,680
Speaker 1: source of help. Now, I said it on this podcast before,

916
00:46:44,719 --> 00:46:47,920
Speaker 1: I've taken any type of pressents for years. Uh for me,

917
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:49,960
Speaker 1: I've gone on and off. I've gone on them, I've

918
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,920
Speaker 1: gone off them every so often. I just get this

919
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,839
Speaker 1: idea in my head that I don't think I need

920
00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:57,120
Speaker 1: this anymore. I'll hop off for a while and then

921
00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:58,880
Speaker 1: I'll be like, oh, you know what, I was a

922
00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:02,040
Speaker 1: better version of myself when when I was on it. Uh.

923
00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:04,399
Speaker 1: Most recently, I started taking them again when my wife

924
00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:07,680
Speaker 1: got pregnant because I didn't want my baggage to be

925
00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:11,920
Speaker 1: my daughter's problem. You know. I can. I tend to

926
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:14,600
Speaker 1: isolate myself when I'm in a bad place, and that's

927
00:47:14,680 --> 00:47:16,200
Speaker 1: that's a bad place for dad to be. That's not

928
00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:19,160
Speaker 1: a good father, you know. Uh. So I got back

929
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,400
Speaker 1: on the bandwagon, uh for the sake of my daughter.

930
00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:26,200
Speaker 1: But I'm still not a sure that it's not the

931
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,359
Speaker 1: placebo effect. I guess, And the problem is, statistically, looking

932
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:34,160
Speaker 1: at antidepressants, it's really hard to know that you're not

933
00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:39,280
Speaker 1: just going on the placebo effect. Uh. In blind studies,

934
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:43,400
Speaker 1: antidepressants fair only slightly better than placebo in terms of

935
00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:47,200
Speaker 1: helping long term depression, in part because we don't really

936
00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:50,400
Speaker 1: understand how antidepressants work. So when you look at the

937
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:53,760
Speaker 1: real studies, the real data, it says your best chance

938
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:58,440
Speaker 1: at combating long term depression, your best chance at combating

939
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:03,040
Speaker 1: suicidal ideations, is a mix of medication and treatment. Therapy.

940
00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:06,840
Speaker 1: Therapy alone is not as effective as therapy without medication.

941
00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:10,840
Speaker 1: Medication without therapy is only slightly better than placebo. You

942
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:13,800
Speaker 1: put them together and you have a pretty effective solution

943
00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:17,400
Speaker 1: for depression. Solution is probably an unfair word, but at

944
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,759
Speaker 1: least method of treatment. The v A doesn't lean on

945
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:24,000
Speaker 1: that concept at all, because it would need to staff

946
00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:27,560
Speaker 1: counselors and it would need to make it somewhat feasible

947
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:29,759
Speaker 1: for you to get an appointment, which right now, as

948
00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:31,520
Speaker 1: most people who attend to who go to the VA

949
00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:33,759
Speaker 1: for medical treatment can tell you, you you need to set

950
00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:37,080
Speaker 1: your appointments, you know, three months or more ahead, and

951
00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:38,800
Speaker 1: then when you get there, you're gonna sit in the

952
00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,400
Speaker 1: waiting room for six hours before anyone sees you. If

953
00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:43,680
Speaker 1: you have a job, it makes it really tough to do,

954
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:45,960
Speaker 1: you know. And if you make an appointment and then

955
00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:48,040
Speaker 1: leave or don't attend it, the v A will punish you.

956
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:50,840
Speaker 1: I had the v A set me an appointment for

957
00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 1: my knees, which was the condition the Marine Corps retired

958
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:54,920
Speaker 1: me for I had a bunch of surgeries on my

959
00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:57,840
Speaker 1: knees when I wasn't able to make the appointment because

960
00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:00,440
Speaker 1: they set the appointment with a past tense date with

961
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:03,640
Speaker 1: a clinical error. They sent me another letter saying that

962
00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:06,400
Speaker 1: they have they've decided that my knees must have resolved

963
00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:09,520
Speaker 1: themselves because I didn't seek treatment, so they took away

964
00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:12,960
Speaker 1: my disability. Uh, and then I needed to either file

965
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,320
Speaker 1: an appeal, which takes on average two to three years,

966
00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:17,840
Speaker 1: or start an entirely new claim, which takes on average

967
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:20,160
Speaker 1: two or three years to get my disability payments from

968
00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:22,600
Speaker 1: my knees back. So the v A first makes it

969
00:49:22,640 --> 00:49:25,480
Speaker 1: too difficult for you to seek treatment and then punishes

970
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:27,880
Speaker 1: you if you don't take it when they demand you

971
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:31,520
Speaker 1: take it. It makes most veterans not very apt to

972
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:33,960
Speaker 1: go seek treatment with the v A, you know, if

973
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:37,560
Speaker 1: you can avoid it bottle, you know. So let's say

974
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:39,560
Speaker 1: you do go. Let's say you make your appointment for

975
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:42,719
Speaker 1: three months because you're really really upset right now. Let's

976
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:46,520
Speaker 1: say today I'm on the edge, you know, today I'm

977
00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:49,719
Speaker 1: standing at the edge of my apartment building, and I go, no,

978
00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:51,200
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm gonna get help. I call the

979
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:53,680
Speaker 1: v A and I'm make an appointment so that I

980
00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:56,320
Speaker 1: can go speak to a counselor. They set the appointment

981
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:59,400
Speaker 1: for three months in the future. Let's just say I

982
00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,719
Speaker 1: make it to and then, in the case of one

983
00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:03,960
Speaker 1: guy that's past year, if they canceled that appointment and

984
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:06,120
Speaker 1: then a series of other ones until he let himself

985
00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:09,279
Speaker 1: on fire in the v A parking lot to commit suicide.

986
00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:12,160
Speaker 1: But let's just say they give me that three month appointment, right,

987
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:14,359
Speaker 1: So now I've waited three months since I was at

988
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,439
Speaker 1: what I felt like was my lowest point that day.

989
00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:20,279
Speaker 1: They will prescribe me an antidepressant and send me on

990
00:50:20,360 --> 00:50:24,279
Speaker 1: my way. Assuming Now, an important part that you need

991
00:50:24,320 --> 00:50:26,279
Speaker 1: to consider with depression is that it tends to make

992
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:30,320
Speaker 1: you inactive. People who are really clinically depressed don't have

993
00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:33,440
Speaker 1: a whole lot of initiative, you know. Uh, So they

994
00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:36,160
Speaker 1: give you this prescription and you need to go fill it. Right,

995
00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:41,080
Speaker 1: For a person who's suffering really, really hard bad clinical depression,

996
00:50:41,440 --> 00:50:43,439
Speaker 1: going and hanging out at CBS for an hour waiting

997
00:50:43,480 --> 00:50:45,440
Speaker 1: for your meds couldn't be a real challenge. But let's

998
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:48,600
Speaker 1: say you do that. You take your first pill that day,

999
00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:50,439
Speaker 1: and it's going to be a minimum afford or six

1000
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:53,040
Speaker 1: weeks before that medication has any actual effect on you.

1001
00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:57,240
Speaker 1: Assuming it has any effect on you at all, assuming

1002
00:50:57,239 --> 00:50:59,560
Speaker 1: you're part of those people who score slightly better than

1003
00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:03,319
Speaker 1: we'll see taking that medication during that four to six

1004
00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:05,799
Speaker 1: weeks span. Because it's such a gradual change, it's really

1005
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,920
Speaker 1: difficult for you to assess if the medication is helping

1006
00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:11,920
Speaker 1: or if I'm just getting over it. Maybe I was

1007
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:13,960
Speaker 1: just in a real bad spot, you know what, I'm

1008
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:17,719
Speaker 1: bouncing back. So five weeks in you're like, I don't

1009
00:51:17,719 --> 00:51:19,920
Speaker 1: think I really need this ship and you stopped taking it.

1010
00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:22,480
Speaker 1: If you stop taking any to Presson's cold turkey, that

1011
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:24,919
Speaker 1: can throw you in a spiral. Let's say let's say

1012
00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:26,600
Speaker 1: though you haven't been taking it for that long, you

1013
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:29,319
Speaker 1: cycle off properly. You just stopped taking it. Three months later,

1014
00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:31,400
Speaker 1: you find yourself in that same bad place and you

1015
00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:33,680
Speaker 1: don't know what to do. You call the same phone number,

1016
00:51:33,719 --> 00:51:35,719
Speaker 1: you start the same song and dance over again. You

1017
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:38,879
Speaker 1: never get any better. Eventually, one of those cycles could

1018
00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,160
Speaker 1: be the one where you reach a point that's low

1019
00:51:41,320 --> 00:51:43,799
Speaker 1: enough where you're like, this has happened to me so

1020
00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:46,280
Speaker 1: many times. I'm never bouncing back from this. I'm just done.

1021
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:51,280
Speaker 1: You know, suicide is not I think people mistake suicide

1022
00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:53,680
Speaker 1: for a big dramatic act. I think more often than not,

1023
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:58,439
Speaker 1: suicide is seen as an act of mercy. In your head,

1024
00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:02,000
Speaker 1: you're you can't it anymore, is what you think? It hurts,

1025
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:05,839
Speaker 1: you know, So suicide, even though it's a physical act,

1026
00:52:05,920 --> 00:52:10,759
Speaker 1: feels easier than hurting more, you know. So what we

1027
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:13,920
Speaker 1: need the VA needs to do, because the VA should

1028
00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:15,759
Speaker 1: be at the forefront of this, is we need to

1029
00:52:15,760 --> 00:52:19,080
Speaker 1: get rid of the stigma associated with seeking treatment, but

1030
00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:24,600
Speaker 1: we also need to provide actual treatment. You know. Until

1031
00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:27,840
Speaker 1: our solution isn't just throwing you a bottle of pills

1032
00:52:28,239 --> 00:52:30,239
Speaker 1: and telling you we'll see you in six months, We're

1033
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:32,360
Speaker 1: not actually going to see any change in my opinion

1034
00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,480
Speaker 1: and the veteran suicide rate. You know, we've been we've

1035
00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:38,120
Speaker 1: been throwing pills at best for years, you know, and

1036
00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:40,640
Speaker 1: it hasn't done anything since. If anything, all we've really

1037
00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:42,719
Speaker 1: done is managed to get a whole bunch of people

1038
00:52:42,719 --> 00:52:45,239
Speaker 1: addicted to opioids, which will then make you even more

1039
00:52:45,280 --> 00:52:49,040
Speaker 1: prone to suicide. It's interesting you mentioned that because next week,

1040
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,719
Speaker 1: coming on the podcast, I'm really excited at Peter Gidrey. Um,

1041
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:55,440
Speaker 1: there's this documentary I've talked about on the podcast on

1042
00:52:55,520 --> 00:52:58,640
Speaker 1: Netflix called The Leaf of Faith about CREATUM, which I

1043
00:52:58,640 --> 00:53:01,839
Speaker 1: don't know if you're familiar with UM. Yeah, so it's

1044
00:53:01,880 --> 00:53:04,200
Speaker 1: it's a natural substance that a lot of people are

1045
00:53:04,239 --> 00:53:07,080
Speaker 1: taking and they're saying it helps UM, it helps get

1046
00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:10,759
Speaker 1: people off opioids. And Peter Guidry was in the documentary.

1047
00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:13,919
Speaker 1: He's a veteran who runs a veterans group UM out

1048
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,440
Speaker 1: of Vegas. They do all sorts of cool stuff with UM.

1049
00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:19,720
Speaker 1: They're they're very like active with doing athletic type of stuff.

1050
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:23,240
Speaker 1: But he's a huge advocate of creative and he says

1051
00:53:23,280 --> 00:53:26,799
Speaker 1: that creative has helped him from aggressively acting out due

1052
00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:29,080
Speaker 1: to post traumatic stress and that type of thing. His

1053
00:53:29,120 --> 00:53:31,480
Speaker 1: wife is a veteran as well. So it was just

1054
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:33,480
Speaker 1: one of those things whereas I said to Jack, like,

1055
00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:38,120
Speaker 1: whenever I'm doing doing something else in my life, uh,

1056
00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:40,520
Speaker 1: something will come across the mind sometimes of like how

1057
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:42,319
Speaker 1: can I use this on the podcast, And right when

1058
00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:45,279
Speaker 1: I was watching that documentary having nothing to do with

1059
00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:47,640
Speaker 1: the podcast, when I saw Peter Gidri, It's like, I

1060
00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:49,640
Speaker 1: gotta get this guy on. So I'm really excited I

1061
00:53:49,680 --> 00:53:52,799
Speaker 1: have him coming on next week UM because we've had

1062
00:53:53,239 --> 00:53:55,279
Speaker 1: guys on the podcast like a New York Times writer

1063
00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,280
Speaker 1: who too talked about a study that ecstasy is helping

1064
00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:01,080
Speaker 1: post traumatic stress is created that m A has proven

1065
00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:04,120
Speaker 1: to be pretty six and this is I'm a square,

1066
00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:08,280
Speaker 1: you know. I like, I was probably the most anti

1067
00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:11,840
Speaker 1: weed guy he probably could ever meet. Late into my twenties.

1068
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:14,440
Speaker 1: It wasn't until my mother Invaw was diagnosed with cancer

1069
00:54:15,080 --> 00:54:17,680
Speaker 1: that and she started smoking weed to eat that I

1070
00:54:17,719 --> 00:54:20,680
Speaker 1: was like, I guess this. This didn't You're not a crackhead,

1071
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:24,880
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, You're just a lady smoking weed. Us.

1072
00:54:25,239 --> 00:54:27,520
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, there there is that stereotype

1073
00:54:27,520 --> 00:54:29,200
Speaker 1: of like the lazy guy sits at his house and

1074
00:54:29,239 --> 00:54:31,600
Speaker 1: does absolutely nothing all day, and then there's the people

1075
00:54:31,600 --> 00:54:34,360
Speaker 1: who are super motivated and and they happen to smoke.

1076
00:54:35,120 --> 00:54:37,600
Speaker 1: It really does. Yeah, I mean it just you can't.

1077
00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:39,759
Speaker 1: You can't put everything everyone in a box. I think.

1078
00:54:39,800 --> 00:54:41,920
Speaker 1: I mean, personally, I don't think I'd be able to

1079
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:44,360
Speaker 1: function that well on it. Other people they seem to

1080
00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:47,040
Speaker 1: do fine. So it's to me, I've I have officially

1081
00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:49,279
Speaker 1: retired my judge pants, you know what I mean? Like

1082
00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:51,640
Speaker 1: whatever it is, like I drink too much, I'll readily

1083
00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:53,920
Speaker 1: admit that I drink you. But you know, whatever it

1084
00:54:53,960 --> 00:54:55,359
Speaker 1: is that you do that gets you through your day,

1085
00:54:55,400 --> 00:54:57,840
Speaker 1: if you're fulfilling your family obligations, if you're being a

1086
00:54:57,840 --> 00:55:00,400
Speaker 1: good parent, if you got kids, if you're doing your job. Uh,

1087
00:55:00,480 --> 00:55:02,680
Speaker 1: you're getting through your life. I don't I don't care

1088
00:55:02,719 --> 00:55:04,200
Speaker 1: what kind of porn you watch. I don't care if

1089
00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:06,399
Speaker 1: you smoke a bull on your couch. It's not my business. Yeah,

1090
00:55:06,520 --> 00:55:07,960
Speaker 1: you know, as long as it's not you know, I

1091
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,759
Speaker 1: I don't think you could truly be like a functioning

1092
00:55:10,880 --> 00:55:14,480
Speaker 1: heroin addict, you know, and some people, Yeah, I mean

1093
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:16,959
Speaker 1: there are there's guys on Wall Street. Yeah, there's guys

1094
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:19,440
Speaker 1: on Wall Street who we know are like, you know, millionaires,

1095
00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:21,400
Speaker 1: sniff and coke every day. But is that a healthy

1096
00:55:21,440 --> 00:55:24,239
Speaker 1: way to live your life? Now? See, that's where you're

1097
00:55:24,239 --> 00:55:26,480
Speaker 1: gonna get me, because yeah, I agree, I don't think

1098
00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:28,719
Speaker 1: anybody should be a heroin addict. But honestly, I don't

1099
00:55:28,719 --> 00:55:30,319
Speaker 1: give a ship if you're living your life in a

1100
00:55:30,320 --> 00:55:33,840
Speaker 1: healthy way. Honestly, Now, you couldn't make you know. Macro

1101
00:55:34,040 --> 00:55:36,960
Speaker 1: arguments about the cost to our overall health system, our

1102
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,920
Speaker 1: medical system because of people who, for instance, eat too

1103
00:55:39,960 --> 00:55:41,960
Speaker 1: much and are morbidly obese, and then we have to

1104
00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:44,960
Speaker 1: pay for their medical caraman they don't have insurance. But

1105
00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:47,080
Speaker 1: if we want to make that argument, we gotta outlaw

1106
00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:50,680
Speaker 1: McDonald's the same way we gotta outlaw everything else I do.

1107
00:55:50,840 --> 00:55:53,439
Speaker 1: I am not one of those libertarians who say let's

1108
00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:58,000
Speaker 1: just legalize all drugs. I think that's that's foolish. However, Uh,

1109
00:55:58,120 --> 00:56:02,040
Speaker 1: I really am a strong proponent and kind of what

1110
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:05,279
Speaker 1: what I call classic classic conservatism. You know, I like,

1111
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:07,279
Speaker 1: I don't care who you marry. I don't care what

1112
00:56:07,360 --> 00:56:09,520
Speaker 1: you drink. I don't care what kind of porn you watch,

1113
00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:12,040
Speaker 1: and as long as you're not hurting anyone else or

1114
00:56:12,080 --> 00:56:15,399
Speaker 1: the country. For the most part, I really don't much

1115
00:56:15,440 --> 00:56:18,200
Speaker 1: care about what you're doing in your house now, seeing

1116
00:56:18,239 --> 00:56:20,520
Speaker 1: things like heroin and stuff, I can make really strong

1117
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:23,520
Speaker 1: arguments about how that hurts the country. You individually doesn't,

1118
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:26,799
Speaker 1: but as a whole it certainly does. Uh. And that's

1119
00:56:26,840 --> 00:56:29,480
Speaker 1: the reason that's that tight rope walk of freedom right

1120
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:31,640
Speaker 1: that we always have to make. We're always balancing between

1121
00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:35,239
Speaker 1: fascism on one side and anarchy on the other. Right,

1122
00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:38,080
Speaker 1: We've always got to find this balance and a problem

1123
00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:41,560
Speaker 1: we have in politics is this belief that one argument

1124
00:56:41,960 --> 00:56:44,080
Speaker 1: can just be universally correct while the other one is

1125
00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:48,000
Speaker 1: universally wrong. The fact of the matter is that that

1126
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:51,520
Speaker 1: this is experiment in democracy that we call America is

1127
00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:54,759
Speaker 1: based on a tight rope walk. It's not based on

1128
00:56:54,880 --> 00:56:57,160
Speaker 1: putting all of our chickens in one basket. It's based

1129
00:56:57,200 --> 00:57:00,000
Speaker 1: on this constant debate, in this constant argument, and drug

1130
00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:02,480
Speaker 1: being one of them. You know, I I honestly at

1131
00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:05,160
Speaker 1: this point I'm all in favor of legalizing marijuana. But

1132
00:57:05,239 --> 00:57:06,880
Speaker 1: you're not going to catch me being in favor of

1133
00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:10,480
Speaker 1: legalizing morphine or heroin because of the same drug. Yeah,

1134
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:13,560
Speaker 1: you know, I am interested in in in Peter Gudri

1135
00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:16,600
Speaker 1: coming on, And I think the interesting thing true is

1136
00:57:16,640 --> 00:57:19,280
Speaker 1: that when I mentioned Creatum to Jack and when I

1137
00:57:19,320 --> 00:57:21,880
Speaker 1: mentioned creative to you, you guys were like, I'm not

1138
00:57:21,960 --> 00:57:24,040
Speaker 1: familiar with it, which tells me that a lot of

1139
00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:26,040
Speaker 1: the country is not familiar with it. But here's the

1140
00:57:26,040 --> 00:57:29,880
Speaker 1: crazy Driving around um, just Long Island, I don't see

1141
00:57:29,920 --> 00:57:31,880
Speaker 1: it as much in the city. I have seen gas

1142
00:57:31,880 --> 00:57:35,120
Speaker 1: stations that say, you know, we sell CBD oil and

1143
00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:38,000
Speaker 1: we sell creative because it is legal right now. I

1144
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:40,520
Speaker 1: think it's I think it's legal in almost every state.

1145
00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:43,560
Speaker 1: I believe cd D oil is even legal here in Georgia. Yeah,

1146
00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:45,840
Speaker 1: And I mean it doesn't get you high or anything.

1147
00:57:45,960 --> 00:57:48,480
Speaker 1: So I think I'll say I've I've taken CBD oil

1148
00:57:48,480 --> 00:57:50,600
Speaker 1: in a couple of different ways because you know, again

1149
00:57:50,640 --> 00:57:52,919
Speaker 1: background on me. On my way out of the Marine Corps,

1150
00:57:52,920 --> 00:57:55,960
Speaker 1: I had five surgeries in two years. Uh, two on

1151
00:57:56,040 --> 00:57:58,280
Speaker 1: my ankle, three on my knees, and one on my abdomen.

1152
00:57:58,680 --> 00:58:03,320
Speaker 1: H multiple reads from different situations. Uh. But when I

1153
00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:07,320
Speaker 1: was getting out, I had, you know, I throughout those surgeries.

1154
00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:09,720
Speaker 1: On my last surgery, I actually got on terminal leave

1155
00:58:10,200 --> 00:58:13,000
Speaker 1: from medical hold. But you know I had like a

1156
00:58:13,040 --> 00:58:16,200
Speaker 1: near limitless prescription to not just one opioid, but multiple.

1157
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,560
Speaker 1: You know. I'd go to my my orthopedic surgeon that

1158
00:58:19,600 --> 00:58:22,200
Speaker 1: did two of my three knee surgeries, and he'd give me,

1159
00:58:22,280 --> 00:58:24,240
Speaker 1: you know, a bottleful of oxycount. And then I go

1160
00:58:24,280 --> 00:58:26,280
Speaker 1: to the surgeon that that did my stomach and he'd

1161
00:58:26,280 --> 00:58:29,960
Speaker 1: give me another bottleful of percoset. And unless I told him,

1162
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:32,320
Speaker 1: oh no, man, I don't need this, they were happy

1163
00:58:32,320 --> 00:58:35,360
Speaker 1: to give it to me. Not because their drug dealers

1164
00:58:35,360 --> 00:58:37,800
Speaker 1: trying to get me addicted. But because they know that

1165
00:58:37,880 --> 00:58:40,560
Speaker 1: I'm the type of guy who probably won't tell you

1166
00:58:40,600 --> 00:58:43,280
Speaker 1: if I'm hurting, and I am hurting because I've got

1167
00:58:43,320 --> 00:58:46,360
Speaker 1: stitches all over me, you know, and so they would

1168
00:58:46,480 --> 00:58:49,040
Speaker 1: they would happily give me these prescriptions. Then, when my

1169
00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:52,640
Speaker 1: healthcare transitioned over to the v A, those prescriptions just

1170
00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:55,640
Speaker 1: kind of stayed. You know, I was able to. I

1171
00:58:55,640 --> 00:58:57,440
Speaker 1: could go in and be like, hey, man, you know

1172
00:58:57,560 --> 00:59:00,280
Speaker 1: I've got metal bolts and screws and pins and wire

1173
00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:03,560
Speaker 1: and every joint below my waist. I'm hurting right now.

1174
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:06,600
Speaker 1: I slipped three discs in my back. I'm hurting right now.

1175
00:59:06,800 --> 00:59:08,640
Speaker 1: Can you give me something? And they were always happy

1176
00:59:08,680 --> 00:59:10,920
Speaker 1: to do so. I'm sure it's tougher now to get

1177
00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:13,480
Speaker 1: them than it was when I got out back in

1178
00:59:13,520 --> 00:59:17,760
Speaker 1: a two tho nine ish. Uh no, not to but

1179
00:59:17,920 --> 00:59:20,600
Speaker 1: uh I'm sure it's gotten tougher. But I would have

1180
00:59:20,600 --> 00:59:23,560
Speaker 1: been very easy for me. I'd argue to fall into

1181
00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:27,040
Speaker 1: opioid addiction during that period of time because I saw

1182
00:59:27,120 --> 00:59:30,040
Speaker 1: I saw the telltale signs of it already. I I

1183
00:59:30,080 --> 00:59:33,120
Speaker 1: started out taking the pills when my parts hurt, right

1184
00:59:33,200 --> 00:59:36,200
Speaker 1: like something hurts. I took a pill. Then I started

1185
00:59:36,200 --> 00:59:40,080
Speaker 1: taking it to make sure things didn't start hurting. Right, So,

1186
00:59:40,280 --> 00:59:42,000
Speaker 1: you know, I've got a whole bunch of you know,

1187
00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:45,000
Speaker 1: healing surgery wounds. I get up in the morning, I

1188
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:46,920
Speaker 1: pop a pill right away, even though the one from

1189
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:49,360
Speaker 1: last night that I took before bed hasn't totally worn off,

1190
00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:51,840
Speaker 1: because otherwise I know by ten am it's gonna hurt

1191
00:59:51,840 --> 00:59:54,720
Speaker 1: real bad. Right, So you take it pre emptively, No

1192
00:59:54,800 --> 00:59:59,040
Speaker 1: big deal. Right, Then you start taking them preemptively without

1193
00:59:59,120 --> 01:00:02,640
Speaker 1: being sure it's gonna hurt by ten i am, you know,

1194
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:05,760
Speaker 1: and before you know what, you're just taking him. You know,

1195
01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:07,760
Speaker 1: it's just a part of your day. You know. My

1196
01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:09,960
Speaker 1: daily regiment for a long time was get up in

1197
01:00:09,960 --> 01:00:12,320
Speaker 1: the morning, pop a couple of pills, take my vitamin,

1198
01:00:12,720 --> 01:00:15,400
Speaker 1: you know, pound a protein shake, go to physical therapy,

1199
01:00:15,680 --> 01:00:17,880
Speaker 1: come back home and popping another couple of pills, you know,

1200
01:00:18,160 --> 01:00:22,000
Speaker 1: like go about my day. Uh. It came to the

1201
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:23,960
Speaker 1: point where I sat down with my wife and I said,

1202
01:00:24,080 --> 01:00:28,080
Speaker 1: I don't think I should keep taking these pills. You know,

1203
01:00:28,880 --> 01:00:31,440
Speaker 1: Addiction runs in my family. My father struggled with alcohol

1204
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:34,400
Speaker 1: dependency his whole life, along with a litany of other

1205
01:00:34,480 --> 01:00:37,800
Speaker 1: drugs when he was younger. I was like, I I've

1206
01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:42,560
Speaker 1: got enough vice in my life without adding to it. Uh.

1207
01:00:42,600 --> 01:00:45,280
Speaker 1: You know. Unfortunately, I had a really strong support system.

1208
01:00:45,320 --> 01:00:47,360
Speaker 1: You know, my wife, we've been married, We've been together

1209
01:00:47,440 --> 01:00:50,040
Speaker 1: now for fourteen years, which is crazy for a guy

1210
01:00:50,080 --> 01:00:53,240
Speaker 1: who's thirty three. You know, I've got, you know, my

1211
01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:55,360
Speaker 1: mom and my big brother to rely on when times

1212
01:00:55,400 --> 01:00:57,840
Speaker 1: get tough. A lot of guys don't have that support structure.

1213
01:00:58,200 --> 01:01:00,120
Speaker 1: I was able to walk away from these pills is

1214
01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:03,400
Speaker 1: before they became a problem for me because I saw

1215
01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:06,360
Speaker 1: the writing on the wall. If I were by myself,

1216
01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:08,960
Speaker 1: I don't think I would have seen it. Yeah. You know,

1217
01:01:09,320 --> 01:01:12,280
Speaker 1: you don't become addicted to opioids because you're a drug addict.

1218
01:01:12,320 --> 01:01:14,360
Speaker 1: A lot of times you become addicted to opioids because

1219
01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:17,640
Speaker 1: you're addicted to being able to walk. Yeah, you know. Uh,

1220
01:01:17,720 --> 01:01:19,200
Speaker 1: And then when you try to get off of them,

1221
01:01:19,600 --> 01:01:21,680
Speaker 1: you can't really get off of them. No doctor's gonna

1222
01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:23,680
Speaker 1: give them to you anymore. You turn the harder drugs

1223
01:01:24,320 --> 01:01:26,520
Speaker 1: leads to depression. You end up killing yourself two years

1224
01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:30,240
Speaker 1: down the road. And it started with pain management, you know.

1225
01:01:30,920 --> 01:01:33,320
Speaker 1: So I'm wondering then when we because I mentioned the

1226
01:01:33,320 --> 01:01:36,240
Speaker 1: CBD oil thing, has they had any Has it helped

1227
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:39,760
Speaker 1: you at all? That's tough, man, because I've only tried

1228
01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:41,520
Speaker 1: it a couple of times, and I'm like, you know,

1229
01:01:41,560 --> 01:01:43,280
Speaker 1: like I said, I'm a square, you know what I mean.

1230
01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:46,240
Speaker 1: So I think I was probably paranoid, you know, like,

1231
01:01:46,640 --> 01:01:49,160
Speaker 1: what's this gonna do to me? It does anything? Here's

1232
01:01:49,160 --> 01:01:53,040
Speaker 1: the thing next to this office. I remember, actually the

1233
01:01:53,120 --> 01:01:55,720
Speaker 1: last time you were here. I'm a big fan of

1234
01:01:55,720 --> 01:01:57,800
Speaker 1: ass evils, and I remember you being like, what the

1235
01:01:57,840 --> 01:02:00,760
Speaker 1: fund is? Its evil? But but they're they're kind of

1236
01:02:00,800 --> 01:02:02,600
Speaker 1: big here. I mean, for those who don't know, it's

1237
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:06,280
Speaker 1: um like different fruits and granola and ship for those

1238
01:02:06,280 --> 01:02:08,880
Speaker 1: who aren't sure, he's in New York City, lots of

1239
01:02:08,920 --> 01:02:13,439
Speaker 1: weird shit is big. There's big other places, dude, because

1240
01:02:13,440 --> 01:02:16,560
Speaker 1: I've been in Florida, but um recently, and you see

1241
01:02:16,560 --> 01:02:20,439
Speaker 1: I think it's it's it's Florida your argument for normal, Well, yeah,

1242
01:02:20,440 --> 01:02:23,760
Speaker 1: that's that's that's a good point. But anyway, so Juice Generation,

1243
01:02:23,880 --> 01:02:25,919
Speaker 1: which is right next year, which I love. They sell

1244
01:02:25,960 --> 01:02:28,520
Speaker 1: an asci evil that as CBD oil, and I tried

1245
01:02:28,600 --> 01:02:30,680
Speaker 1: it just because I was like, why not, And I

1246
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:33,320
Speaker 1: don't think I felt anything at all. But I also

1247
01:02:33,600 --> 01:02:35,200
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not in pain, so you know,

1248
01:02:35,640 --> 01:02:38,040
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's why. The one thing I'll say,

1249
01:02:38,080 --> 01:02:40,920
Speaker 1: I'm not entirely sure I've gotten so so there isn't

1250
01:02:40,960 --> 01:02:43,120
Speaker 1: any cartilage in either of my knees, right, so it

1251
01:02:43,200 --> 01:02:45,240
Speaker 1: just feels like peanut butter with gravel, and at all

1252
01:02:45,240 --> 01:02:47,600
Speaker 1: the time, I'm just used to that, right, So I

1253
01:02:47,640 --> 01:02:49,960
Speaker 1: can't tell you for sure, you know, I I was

1254
01:02:50,000 --> 01:02:52,520
Speaker 1: somebody's bait pen with CBD oil in it that I tried.

1255
01:02:52,800 --> 01:02:54,520
Speaker 1: I can't tell you for sure that helped with pain.

1256
01:02:54,640 --> 01:02:58,200
Speaker 1: I honestly do think it helped with social anxiety, which

1257
01:02:58,560 --> 01:03:00,880
Speaker 1: you might not realize because I talked so much. An

1258
01:03:00,920 --> 01:03:05,840
Speaker 1: incredibly uncomfortable in social situation. I do not like crowds, uh,

1259
01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:12,240
Speaker 1: I hate bars, for instance. But when I tried it,

1260
01:03:12,840 --> 01:03:14,720
Speaker 1: I I felt as though I was a little bit

1261
01:03:14,760 --> 01:03:17,439
Speaker 1: more comfortable because it was a social situation. I felt

1262
01:03:17,440 --> 01:03:20,440
Speaker 1: a little more comfortable after. I didn't feel high, but

1263
01:03:20,520 --> 01:03:22,920
Speaker 1: I felt a little bit less panicky. And I don't

1264
01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:24,920
Speaker 1: think I'm supposed to get high off of it. So

1265
01:03:25,600 --> 01:03:27,640
Speaker 1: I have heard people you have heard of people using

1266
01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:31,200
Speaker 1: CBD for things like anxiety and depression. My my experience

1267
01:03:31,200 --> 01:03:34,840
Speaker 1: with it, I suppose is uh. I wouldn't call it evidence,

1268
01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:36,320
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, because it's just my own

1269
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:39,960
Speaker 1: one time experience. And yeah, and also support that. Yeah,

1270
01:03:40,040 --> 01:03:42,600
Speaker 1: you're a guy who's big on um, you know, talking

1271
01:03:42,600 --> 01:03:45,280
Speaker 1: about supplements and all that, and and from my experience,

1272
01:03:45,280 --> 01:03:48,120
Speaker 1: I think you'll agree there's very few supplements where you

1273
01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:51,640
Speaker 1: could like guarantee be like this is having a huge

1274
01:03:51,640 --> 01:03:54,200
Speaker 1: effect on me. Like there's stuff that that I take,

1275
01:03:54,280 --> 01:03:56,560
Speaker 1: and I'm like, you know, maybe a factor may not

1276
01:03:56,640 --> 01:04:00,280
Speaker 1: the only actually the only supplement for me, and it

1277
01:04:00,280 --> 01:04:02,640
Speaker 1: would be a whole different subject that I've ever taken

1278
01:04:03,000 --> 01:04:04,920
Speaker 1: that I am like, And I could point to the

1279
01:04:05,000 --> 01:04:09,480
Speaker 1: physical reasons and all that that stand by, and I'm like,

1280
01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:12,400
Speaker 1: this has an absolute impact on me. Is z m A,

1281
01:04:12,520 --> 01:04:14,200
Speaker 1: which I don't know if you're familiar with, which are

1282
01:04:14,240 --> 01:04:16,680
Speaker 1: just a zinc magnesium ass for tate. I think z

1283
01:04:16,920 --> 01:04:20,360
Speaker 1: m A is amazing, But like every other supplement I've taken,

1284
01:04:20,400 --> 01:04:23,240
Speaker 1: from like multi vitamins to the only way I've ever

1285
01:04:23,240 --> 01:04:25,000
Speaker 1: been able to see if they had any impact on

1286
01:04:25,080 --> 01:04:27,200
Speaker 1: me is from doing blood work and seeing like my

1287
01:04:27,200 --> 01:04:30,360
Speaker 1: my vitamin D levels rise, but but personally I'm not

1288
01:04:30,400 --> 01:04:32,080
Speaker 1: able to be like, wow, this had a huge impact

1289
01:04:32,160 --> 01:04:34,520
Speaker 1: on me. Well, the supplements that are there's a similar

1290
01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:38,160
Speaker 1: supplement space, a similar problem that intidepressants do, and that

1291
01:04:38,520 --> 01:04:41,000
Speaker 1: the change is so gradual it's very difficult to attribute

1292
01:04:41,040 --> 01:04:44,240
Speaker 1: it to anyone variable. Right, So let's say you change

1293
01:04:44,280 --> 01:04:48,800
Speaker 1: your protein supplement that you take. Now, I don't the

1294
01:04:48,800 --> 01:04:51,680
Speaker 1: word supplement is the correct It's the correct word because

1295
01:04:51,760 --> 01:04:54,600
Speaker 1: you're supplementing your diet. But people tend to think of

1296
01:04:54,600 --> 01:04:59,760
Speaker 1: supplements as either herbal remedies or advanced science some kind

1297
01:04:59,760 --> 01:05:04,560
Speaker 1: of eagle steroid. All real legitimate supplements are neither. Uh.

1298
01:05:04,600 --> 01:05:06,840
Speaker 1: They're backed by science and they are not a steroid

1299
01:05:06,840 --> 01:05:09,920
Speaker 1: of any sort. Right, protein being one of them. The

1300
01:05:09,960 --> 01:05:14,440
Speaker 1: idea that your body builds muscle mass using the elements

1301
01:05:14,440 --> 01:05:18,000
Speaker 1: protein breaks down to you know, amino acids, uh, as

1302
01:05:18,000 --> 01:05:19,960
Speaker 1: well as you know things like a dnazine, triposphates that

1303
01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:22,320
Speaker 1: you use for fuel that you can get from creatine

1304
01:05:22,320 --> 01:05:26,520
Speaker 1: for instance, and things like that. These supplements are they

1305
01:05:26,560 --> 01:05:28,880
Speaker 1: exist in your diet as is, they exist in your

1306
01:05:28,920 --> 01:05:32,040
Speaker 1: body as is. You're just adding more in the hopes

1307
01:05:32,120 --> 01:05:34,640
Speaker 1: that you're gonna that you're gonna benefit yourself. It's not

1308
01:05:34,720 --> 01:05:37,520
Speaker 1: a guarantee. For instance, your body. The rule of thumb

1309
01:05:37,600 --> 01:05:39,640
Speaker 1: is your body is only gonna metabolize like let's say,

1310
01:05:39,680 --> 01:05:42,760
Speaker 1: flordy grams of protein in a sitting. That's the rule

1311
01:05:42,840 --> 01:05:46,600
Speaker 1: of thumb. We call it that because it's not true

1312
01:05:46,600 --> 01:05:48,360
Speaker 1: for you. I can almost guarantee it. Nor is it

1313
01:05:48,400 --> 01:05:51,080
Speaker 1: for me or the next person. The truth is your

1314
01:05:51,080 --> 01:05:53,280
Speaker 1: body is gonna metabolize protein at a different rate than

1315
01:05:53,320 --> 01:05:56,320
Speaker 1: mine is. There's a million variables at play too that

1316
01:05:56,320 --> 01:05:59,680
Speaker 1: that dictate that my wife's body is gonna metabolize protein

1317
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:02,440
Speaker 1: slightly differently than I do, at a different rate. She

1318
01:06:02,640 --> 01:06:04,600
Speaker 1: may get more out of a protein shape than I do.

1319
01:06:04,800 --> 01:06:06,800
Speaker 1: If we drink the same protein shake, the rest of

1320
01:06:06,840 --> 01:06:08,680
Speaker 1: it's gonna get passed through was waste. You're gonna shoot

1321
01:06:08,720 --> 01:06:12,360
Speaker 1: it out right. So it's really difficult when you're taking

1322
01:06:12,400 --> 01:06:15,960
Speaker 1: a suite of let's say six supplements, and you're eating

1323
01:06:16,200 --> 01:06:18,960
Speaker 1: different kinds of foods than I am. As we just discussed,

1324
01:06:19,200 --> 01:06:21,000
Speaker 1: you're eating ship that I don't even know what it is.

1325
01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:23,840
Speaker 1: If you're going to juice bars and your meals are liquids,

1326
01:06:24,280 --> 01:06:25,760
Speaker 1: I on the other hand, I go to the grocery

1327
01:06:25,760 --> 01:06:27,200
Speaker 1: store and I buy a piece of meat and a vegetable,

1328
01:06:27,200 --> 01:06:29,240
Speaker 1: and I put it on for most of the most

1329
01:06:29,320 --> 01:06:32,360
Speaker 1: part to be I mean, I'm not I'm not someone

1330
01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:34,760
Speaker 1: in a liquid diet for those wonder, and actually for me,

1331
01:06:34,840 --> 01:06:38,000
Speaker 1: a big reason that I'm into all that is just um,

1332
01:06:38,280 --> 01:06:41,120
Speaker 1: getting enough amount of vegetables in. For example, I like

1333
01:06:41,320 --> 01:06:43,480
Speaker 1: to have like a green drink. But but it's not

1334
01:06:43,520 --> 01:06:46,840
Speaker 1: a cleansing thing. It's just about like I'm getting kale

1335
01:06:46,880 --> 01:06:49,880
Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, being consciously involved in what

1336
01:06:49,920 --> 01:06:53,080
Speaker 1: you put on. Absolutely yeah. But because of that, you

1337
01:06:53,160 --> 01:06:54,680
Speaker 1: and I, like let's say you and I were on

1338
01:06:54,720 --> 01:06:57,080
Speaker 1: the exact same suite of supplements, we were on the

1339
01:06:57,080 --> 01:07:00,680
Speaker 1: exact same workout regiment none the US. We would have

1340
01:07:00,800 --> 01:07:03,840
Speaker 1: very different diets, we would have very different sleep schedules,

1341
01:07:04,120 --> 01:07:06,840
Speaker 1: we would have very different stressors in our lives. All

1342
01:07:06,880 --> 01:07:10,000
Speaker 1: of these things compound to produce a different result. We're

1343
01:07:10,040 --> 01:07:12,360
Speaker 1: biologically different from the get go. I don't think that

1344
01:07:12,400 --> 01:07:14,800
Speaker 1: you'd argue that you and I have a different build

1345
01:07:14,960 --> 01:07:18,200
Speaker 1: to start with, right, Some people are more prone to

1346
01:07:18,200 --> 01:07:20,720
Speaker 1: adding muscle mass than others. Other people who are more

1347
01:07:20,760 --> 01:07:23,600
Speaker 1: prone to staying lean than others. Yeah, I'm in camp

1348
01:07:23,720 --> 01:07:26,640
Speaker 1: number two. Absolutely. I started in camp number two and

1349
01:07:26,640 --> 01:07:28,840
Speaker 1: now I'm just trying to stave off the diabetes. But

1350
01:07:29,400 --> 01:07:32,160
Speaker 1: you know, when you you take all of these variables,

1351
01:07:32,680 --> 01:07:35,840
Speaker 1: and so many of them are immeasurable, like you're saying,

1352
01:07:35,920 --> 01:07:40,080
Speaker 1: without blood work, without someone paying close observational attention to

1353
01:07:40,160 --> 01:07:43,080
Speaker 1: how you spend your time, so many of these variables

1354
01:07:43,120 --> 01:07:47,200
Speaker 1: are non quantifiable. They're just they're just mysteries out there

1355
01:07:47,200 --> 01:07:49,520
Speaker 1: in the ether. So when I go on your body

1356
01:07:49,520 --> 01:07:50,960
Speaker 1: space account, I don't know if you've got one that

1357
01:07:51,040 --> 01:07:55,440
Speaker 1: used to be a thing. Yeah, I use my fitness

1358
01:07:55,480 --> 01:07:57,880
Speaker 1: Pal for my running. So when you go on that

1359
01:07:57,920 --> 01:08:00,680
Speaker 1: account and you see this guy who is yoked, you know,

1360
01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:03,080
Speaker 1: and you're like, I want to get on that guy's program.

1361
01:08:03,080 --> 01:08:05,200
Speaker 1: What's he doing? And you look at his suite of supplements,

1362
01:08:05,600 --> 01:08:09,600
Speaker 1: you assume those are what led to his physique, yea,

1363
01:08:09,680 --> 01:08:11,800
Speaker 1: and not the four hours a day that he's spending,

1364
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:15,800
Speaker 1: not steroids he didn't include. You know, I know a

1365
01:08:15,840 --> 01:08:18,200
Speaker 1: guy who's a fitness model who did some modeling for

1366
01:08:18,280 --> 01:08:20,599
Speaker 1: I don't know if I should say for hydroxy cut

1367
01:08:20,960 --> 01:08:23,360
Speaker 1: years ago, and I asked him about it at the time.

1368
01:08:23,400 --> 01:08:25,160
Speaker 1: I was like, do you have a problem with the

1369
01:08:25,200 --> 01:08:28,320
Speaker 1: fact that they're using your body to pretend hydroxy cut

1370
01:08:28,360 --> 01:08:30,400
Speaker 1: can do that? And he was like, no, because if

1371
01:08:30,400 --> 01:08:32,040
Speaker 1: you think you can look like this without steroids, you're

1372
01:08:32,040 --> 01:08:35,519
Speaker 1: an idiot. Wait, dude, you've seen Bigger, Faster, Stronger, right

1373
01:08:35,960 --> 01:08:38,480
Speaker 1: that document That's the exact same thing in that documentary.

1374
01:08:38,560 --> 01:08:40,600
Speaker 1: He yes, that, And I think that guy lost his

1375
01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:43,479
Speaker 1: contract because of saying that. I don't doubt it. That's why.

1376
01:08:43,680 --> 01:08:49,360
Speaker 1: That's why I was reluctant to mention. But although Bigger, Stronger,

1377
01:08:49,400 --> 01:08:52,760
Speaker 1: Faster did point out a lot of important misconceptions that

1378
01:08:52,800 --> 01:08:56,160
Speaker 1: we do have about steroids is associated with him. It's

1379
01:08:56,160 --> 01:08:58,800
Speaker 1: funny that we mentioned this because going full circle here,

1380
01:08:59,320 --> 01:09:03,400
Speaker 1: the guy who did Um, Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Mark Bell

1381
01:09:03,960 --> 01:09:05,840
Speaker 1: is the same guy who did A Leaf of Faith,

1382
01:09:05,880 --> 01:09:09,920
Speaker 1: the creative documentary. Yeah, so it's his documentary. It's yeah.

1383
01:09:09,960 --> 01:09:11,559
Speaker 1: I think that's his fourth or fifth. I've seen all

1384
01:09:11,600 --> 01:09:14,000
Speaker 1: of his documentaries. Um, so that's what made me want

1385
01:09:14,000 --> 01:09:15,960
Speaker 1: to get Peter Gidrey on and and back to what

1386
01:09:16,000 --> 01:09:18,160
Speaker 1: I was saying, like, I've been seeing more and more

1387
01:09:18,200 --> 01:09:21,120
Speaker 1: gas stations selling Creatum and then when I went to

1388
01:09:21,160 --> 01:09:25,000
Speaker 1: Florida earlier this month. You see these things called CABA bars,

1389
01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:27,080
Speaker 1: which is create them in like a t and you

1390
01:09:27,120 --> 01:09:28,920
Speaker 1: go to a bar and drink it. And they are

1391
01:09:29,120 --> 01:09:31,880
Speaker 1: all over the place in South Florida. You cannot get

1392
01:09:31,920 --> 01:09:35,280
Speaker 1: away from it. Caba boards called k v A things

1393
01:09:35,320 --> 01:09:38,800
Speaker 1: with k or se um and they are everywhere. It

1394
01:09:38,920 --> 01:09:41,120
Speaker 1: is like the big things. So consider this is an

1395
01:09:41,160 --> 01:09:43,160
Speaker 1: important thing for me to point out here as as

1396
01:09:43,200 --> 01:09:46,919
Speaker 1: while we're talking about supplements. Yeah, there is no FDA

1397
01:09:47,040 --> 01:09:50,200
Speaker 1: oversight on things like this. Well here's the thing. So

1398
01:09:50,200 --> 01:09:54,080
Speaker 1: he talks about it in the documentary. There's politicians who wanna,

1399
01:09:54,400 --> 01:09:57,120
Speaker 1: you know, who basically want to ban it and get

1400
01:09:57,200 --> 01:09:59,360
Speaker 1: the FDA involved. But I think right now it is

1401
01:09:59,439 --> 01:10:03,519
Speaker 1: under that applement. But the weird thing about creatum is

1402
01:10:03,800 --> 01:10:06,880
Speaker 1: it is not sold in like a vitamin shop. It's

1403
01:10:06,880 --> 01:10:11,680
Speaker 1: sold where like people buy vape and that type of that,

1404
01:10:11,840 --> 01:10:14,320
Speaker 1: and that's the concern of some people in the documentary,

1405
01:10:14,520 --> 01:10:16,080
Speaker 1: So you got to see it. So my point though,

1406
01:10:16,160 --> 01:10:20,160
Speaker 1: is um South Florida is like the rehab capital of

1407
01:10:20,200 --> 01:10:22,920
Speaker 1: the world, all right, So that's why I think it's

1408
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:26,000
Speaker 1: so big there. It's people getting off opioids and looking

1409
01:10:26,000 --> 01:10:28,400
Speaker 1: for alternatives and that's why you see these cobba bars everything.

1410
01:10:28,760 --> 01:10:32,280
Speaker 1: But if it's if it's getting huge in Florida, I

1411
01:10:32,320 --> 01:10:34,840
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be huge in other states really soon.

1412
01:10:34,960 --> 01:10:37,080
Speaker 1: So I'd like to be ahead of the curve. Get

1413
01:10:37,080 --> 01:10:39,719
Speaker 1: this vet on to talk about the benefits of creatum

1414
01:10:39,720 --> 01:10:42,880
Speaker 1: and his experience, uh and you know, and and have

1415
01:10:43,040 --> 01:10:45,880
Speaker 1: other people do their own research and maybe it'll help

1416
01:10:45,960 --> 01:10:48,600
Speaker 1: some people. I don't think it'll hurt anybody based on

1417
01:10:48,760 --> 01:10:52,439
Speaker 1: what I've seen. Um. You know, the documentary may be skewed,

1418
01:10:52,439 --> 01:10:56,080
Speaker 1: but I I don't see any negative impact really. I mean,

1419
01:10:56,120 --> 01:10:59,040
Speaker 1: they're the one suicide that they talk about, and there's

1420
01:10:59,080 --> 01:11:02,840
Speaker 1: apparently been a small handful. Uh. It seems like it

1421
01:11:02,840 --> 01:11:04,920
Speaker 1: could have been many factors, and you know, it's it's

1422
01:11:04,920 --> 01:11:07,680
Speaker 1: just it's much like um. When I was younger, I

1423
01:11:07,720 --> 01:11:11,000
Speaker 1: was put on accutane for ACTI, right, And before you

1424
01:11:11,040 --> 01:11:13,040
Speaker 1: start taking acutane they have to tell you about the

1425
01:11:13,080 --> 01:11:16,800
Speaker 1: side effects. And it's all because I think because of

1426
01:11:16,840 --> 01:11:19,840
Speaker 1: one big lawsuit if someone killing themselves who was on accutane.

1427
01:11:19,880 --> 01:11:22,880
Speaker 1: But is there really a link to suicide? And accutane

1428
01:11:23,160 --> 01:11:25,240
Speaker 1: doesn't seem like there really is, you know, so I

1429
01:11:25,280 --> 01:11:27,519
Speaker 1: think it's in that same camp. Well, you make a

1430
01:11:27,520 --> 01:11:30,280
Speaker 1: great point about the importance of doing your own research

1431
01:11:30,320 --> 01:11:34,040
Speaker 1: and understanding that just because something has a bias doesn't

1432
01:11:34,080 --> 01:11:35,960
Speaker 1: mean there's nothing of value to be gained from it,

1433
01:11:36,240 --> 01:11:41,080
Speaker 1: provided you acknowledge the bias. Right. So you know, people

1434
01:11:41,240 --> 01:11:43,439
Speaker 1: often will say, you know, c ann is for liberals,

1435
01:11:43,439 --> 01:11:46,519
Speaker 1: Fox News is for conservatives. I'd argue, all the more

1436
01:11:46,560 --> 01:11:49,640
Speaker 1: reason to watch them both. Uh, you know when you

1437
01:11:49,680 --> 01:11:52,600
Speaker 1: watch Fox News, when you watch a documentary, that that

1438
01:11:52,760 --> 01:11:56,360
Speaker 1: is obviously selling you something, maybe not selling you a product,

1439
01:11:56,360 --> 01:12:00,680
Speaker 1: but is. But as it's a persuasive essay, right, it's

1440
01:12:00,720 --> 01:12:03,640
Speaker 1: important to look at the points that they bring up

1441
01:12:03,640 --> 01:12:09,200
Speaker 1: in this persuasive essay objectively. Try to delineate between where

1442
01:12:09,240 --> 01:12:12,400
Speaker 1: you're getting subjective information and when you're getting objective information,

1443
01:12:12,520 --> 01:12:15,120
Speaker 1: because every good persuasive essay has both, you know what

1444
01:12:15,200 --> 01:12:17,639
Speaker 1: I mean, and weigh them, weigh them equally. So, for instance,

1445
01:12:17,640 --> 01:12:20,320
Speaker 1: when you're watching this documentary about creedom, you may you

1446
01:12:20,760 --> 01:12:23,120
Speaker 1: because you're a pretty savvy guy, you work in this industry,

1447
01:12:23,400 --> 01:12:26,840
Speaker 1: you realize pretty shortly after starting watching it, I gather Okay,

1448
01:12:26,880 --> 01:12:30,800
Speaker 1: so there's they have an angle. You know, they believe

1449
01:12:31,000 --> 01:12:33,920
Speaker 1: something and they want to tell me why they believe

1450
01:12:33,960 --> 01:12:35,920
Speaker 1: in it. Right. That's the point of a lot of

1451
01:12:35,960 --> 01:12:38,200
Speaker 1: documentaries is I have a belief and I'm trying to

1452
01:12:38,200 --> 01:12:40,639
Speaker 1: convey it to you. But you need to be able

1453
01:12:40,680 --> 01:12:43,840
Speaker 1: to differentiate between those beliefs and the objective facts. So

1454
01:12:44,600 --> 01:12:47,880
Speaker 1: if this documentary with you being able to delineate between

1455
01:12:47,880 --> 01:12:50,240
Speaker 1: the two, it piqued your interest, It's a good reason

1456
01:12:50,280 --> 01:12:52,519
Speaker 1: to do that third party research, you know what I mean,

1457
01:12:52,920 --> 01:12:54,680
Speaker 1: do a little bit of reading into it. It may

1458
01:12:54,680 --> 01:12:56,720
Speaker 1: well be the right thing for you. It might not

1459
01:12:56,760 --> 01:12:58,840
Speaker 1: be the right thing for everybody. It may be the

1460
01:12:58,920 --> 01:13:02,280
Speaker 1: right thing for everybody. But don't trust a single source

1461
01:13:02,320 --> 01:13:07,320
Speaker 1: about anything, right, But don't dismiss something just because of

1462
01:13:07,320 --> 01:13:10,840
Speaker 1: the source. Exactly. Agree, And I thought to be fair

1463
01:13:10,840 --> 01:13:12,800
Speaker 1: if people watch it, I think Mark Bell is pretty

1464
01:13:12,840 --> 01:13:15,040
Speaker 1: objective about it. I mean, he has a bigger, stronger,

1465
01:13:15,080 --> 01:13:17,599
Speaker 1: faster I thought was a very well done documentary, exactly.

1466
01:13:17,600 --> 01:13:20,160
Speaker 1: And I feel the same way about prescription thugs in

1467
01:13:20,200 --> 01:13:23,439
Speaker 1: this documentary. I mean, obviously he has his message. I

1468
01:13:23,479 --> 01:13:26,920
Speaker 1: think that it is a pro creative documentary, but he

1469
01:13:26,960 --> 01:13:29,720
Speaker 1: interviews a lot of people on the anti side, and

1470
01:13:29,760 --> 01:13:32,000
Speaker 1: I didn't find most of them very and that's all

1471
01:13:32,040 --> 01:13:34,559
Speaker 1: I ask, you know, Like for Morgan Spurlock is a

1472
01:13:34,560 --> 01:13:36,680
Speaker 1: great example of the other end of that spectrum in

1473
01:13:36,720 --> 01:13:39,400
Speaker 1: my opinion. You know, when you do some reading into uh,

1474
01:13:39,439 --> 01:13:43,920
Speaker 1: what was the McDonald's documentary Supersize Me? Riddled with errors,

1475
01:13:44,000 --> 01:13:46,760
Speaker 1: utter bullshit. It is a factually inaccurate documentary and just

1476
01:13:46,920 --> 01:13:48,960
Speaker 1: what every which way you can comby, but it was

1477
01:13:49,000 --> 01:13:53,439
Speaker 1: a very marketable documentary. Morgan Spurlock wasn't trying to convince

1478
01:13:53,520 --> 01:13:56,360
Speaker 1: you of his perspective. He was trying to sell you

1479
01:13:56,439 --> 01:13:59,360
Speaker 1: a movie, you know, he and he has since done

1480
01:13:59,360 --> 01:14:02,120
Speaker 1: it with television, chosen further documentaries, and so honest, I

1481
01:14:02,120 --> 01:14:04,200
Speaker 1: don't trust a single thing that guy says. You know,

1482
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:07,519
Speaker 1: he may well have some important points, but because at

1483
01:14:07,520 --> 01:14:09,519
Speaker 1: this point he has proven himself to be an unreliable

1484
01:14:09,560 --> 01:14:11,400
Speaker 1: source to me, he gets filed in with Michael Moore.

1485
01:14:11,920 --> 01:14:14,439
Speaker 1: You know, uh, I know for a fact that what

1486
01:14:14,479 --> 01:14:17,360
Speaker 1: you're gonna tell me is colored with bullshit. So I'm

1487
01:14:17,400 --> 01:14:20,200
Speaker 1: not gonna try. You know, I don't expect you to

1488
01:14:20,240 --> 01:14:23,880
Speaker 1: come at me with no bias whatsoever. Even an objective journalism,

1489
01:14:24,120 --> 01:14:26,639
Speaker 1: there are inherent biases that we work hard to try

1490
01:14:26,680 --> 01:14:29,320
Speaker 1: to get rid of. But that's the importance of a

1491
01:14:29,360 --> 01:14:33,080
Speaker 1: good editorial team, because you don't always see your biases.

1492
01:14:33,520 --> 01:14:36,679
Speaker 1: You know, you need to have a guy go hey, man,

1493
01:14:37,479 --> 01:14:39,760
Speaker 1: you know you're kind of you're Kurt. You're touching the

1494
01:14:39,800 --> 01:14:42,240
Speaker 1: line here a little bit and telling the reader what

1495
01:14:42,280 --> 01:14:44,439
Speaker 1: to think. Even I've been doing this for a while now,

1496
01:14:44,640 --> 01:14:47,240
Speaker 1: you know, but every once in a while, I'll either

1497
01:14:47,280 --> 01:14:49,080
Speaker 1: get an email or a note from one of the editors,

1498
01:14:49,160 --> 01:14:50,760
Speaker 1: or I'll read one of my own pieces myself, and

1499
01:14:50,800 --> 01:14:53,960
Speaker 1: I'll be like, you know what, I think I should

1500
01:14:53,960 --> 01:14:56,280
Speaker 1: have feathered off of that a little bit, because right

1501
01:14:56,320 --> 01:14:58,000
Speaker 1: there it kind of seems as that I'm trying to

1502
01:14:58,040 --> 01:15:01,679
Speaker 1: lead the lead the reader to a inclusion and that's

1503
01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:03,639
Speaker 1: not my job. You know, That's not what I'm here

1504
01:15:03,680 --> 01:15:06,479
Speaker 1: to do. I think every journalist who's worth the damn

1505
01:15:07,200 --> 01:15:09,840
Speaker 1: is worried about that. I think more and more that

1506
01:15:09,920 --> 01:15:12,559
Speaker 1: are fewer and fewer journalists that are worth the damn. Yeah,

1507
01:15:12,560 --> 01:15:16,160
Speaker 1: I know. So I was gonna actually mentioned this at

1508
01:15:16,160 --> 01:15:19,160
Speaker 1: the beginning of the show, but uh, you know, wrapping

1509
01:15:19,200 --> 01:15:20,920
Speaker 1: things up here, we just got so caught up in

1510
01:15:21,000 --> 01:15:23,639
Speaker 1: conversation that every time I come on, man, we just yeah,

1511
01:15:23,800 --> 01:15:25,880
Speaker 1: this is my fault, not your No, it's great. I

1512
01:15:25,920 --> 01:15:27,439
Speaker 1: love it. I write down a few notes and then

1513
01:15:27,479 --> 01:15:28,920
Speaker 1: we end up going all over the place. But I

1514
01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:30,840
Speaker 1: actually think this is a really important show. I mean

1515
01:15:30,920 --> 01:15:33,960
Speaker 1: the mean point of of what we got into. And

1516
01:15:34,000 --> 01:15:36,519
Speaker 1: I thought it would have been a shorter discussion, but

1517
01:15:36,600 --> 01:15:38,240
Speaker 1: we ended up going really long, and it was the

1518
01:15:38,280 --> 01:15:40,960
Speaker 1: suicide prevention stuff, and I think that that's a really

1519
01:15:41,040 --> 01:15:43,200
Speaker 1: valuable thing people are gonna learn. But what I was

1520
01:15:43,200 --> 01:15:46,920
Speaker 1: going to mention was that Jack is not here because

1521
01:15:46,960 --> 01:15:49,680
Speaker 1: he's I guess I'm kind of sick. It seems like

1522
01:15:49,680 --> 01:15:51,760
Speaker 1: he might be getting over the flu. So that well,

1523
01:15:51,800 --> 01:15:54,000
Speaker 1: what I heard was that George Sorrow's page Jack not

1524
01:15:54,120 --> 01:15:59,200
Speaker 1: to come. That's the street. That's what I heard on Twitter. Yeah,

1525
01:16:00,120 --> 01:16:02,840
Speaker 1: but hopefully you'll be back next episode. I was like, dude,

1526
01:16:02,880 --> 01:16:05,439
Speaker 1: don't get me sick, please, So I don't mind doing

1527
01:16:05,479 --> 01:16:07,639
Speaker 1: the show by myself. But that's why he didn't sound

1528
01:16:07,640 --> 01:16:09,479
Speaker 1: like he was doing well. Yeah, so that that's why

1529
01:16:09,560 --> 01:16:11,679
Speaker 1: he used away. But I we have plenty of awesome

1530
01:16:11,680 --> 01:16:15,560
Speaker 1: guests lined up for the next few weeks, so that's great. Um,

1531
01:16:15,600 --> 01:16:17,800
Speaker 1: but yeah, wrapping things up here, what are you working

1532
01:16:17,840 --> 01:16:20,759
Speaker 1: on currently at both sides. Well on fighting or sleep

1533
01:16:20,760 --> 01:16:22,960
Speaker 1: dot Com, You're gonna find all kinds of really good

1534
01:16:22,960 --> 01:16:25,920
Speaker 1: contact coming up that's really delving into what it's like

1535
01:16:26,080 --> 01:16:28,600
Speaker 1: to be not just a fighter pilot, but it's like

1536
01:16:28,640 --> 01:16:31,240
Speaker 1: to be a pilot. And this actually leads to something

1537
01:16:31,280 --> 01:16:32,880
Speaker 1: I'd like to get out there while I'm here. I

1538
01:16:32,920 --> 01:16:37,480
Speaker 1: am on the hunt for World War two bomber crewmen. Uh.

1539
01:16:37,560 --> 01:16:40,160
Speaker 1: I've got a book project that I'm working on. I'm

1540
01:16:40,200 --> 01:16:43,400
Speaker 1: working on it through Hurricane. I want to tell the

1541
01:16:43,520 --> 01:16:47,640
Speaker 1: stories of guys who actually flew in bomber cruise in

1542
01:16:47,680 --> 01:16:50,280
Speaker 1: World War Two in a way that doesn't just recount

1543
01:16:50,640 --> 01:16:53,680
Speaker 1: the missions or you know, their accomplishments, but in a

1544
01:16:53,720 --> 01:16:57,679
Speaker 1: way that's engaging, uh, for someone who's not necessarily interested

1545
01:16:57,720 --> 01:17:01,280
Speaker 1: in military aviation. These are human story, you know, And

1546
01:17:01,439 --> 01:17:05,120
Speaker 1: we're rapidly losing our World War Two veterans. Right My

1547
01:17:05,200 --> 01:17:07,600
Speaker 1: daughter when she's my age, isn't going to have a

1548
01:17:07,640 --> 01:17:10,559
Speaker 1: World War Two veteran to ask what was it? Like?

1549
01:17:11,040 --> 01:17:13,599
Speaker 1: I don't need, you know, She'll have plenty of sources

1550
01:17:13,640 --> 01:17:16,760
Speaker 1: to find out what day, what mission was flown, on,

1551
01:17:16,800 --> 01:17:19,960
Speaker 1: how many bombs were draft where she won't have any

1552
01:17:20,000 --> 01:17:23,040
Speaker 1: real sources to speak to directly and say what was

1553
01:17:23,080 --> 01:17:25,800
Speaker 1: going through your head, what were you thinking about? Who

1554
01:17:25,800 --> 01:17:29,760
Speaker 1: did you miss? You know, make these stories real in

1555
01:17:29,800 --> 01:17:31,479
Speaker 1: a way that's not just about a war, but it's

1556
01:17:31,479 --> 01:17:35,160
Speaker 1: about people. I'm looking for people with stories to tell

1557
01:17:35,800 --> 01:17:37,479
Speaker 1: so that I can put them together in this book.

1558
01:17:37,760 --> 01:17:39,280
Speaker 1: I would love for you to reach out. It'll be

1559
01:17:39,280 --> 01:17:41,479
Speaker 1: working through Fighter Sweep and through News Rep as well

1560
01:17:41,520 --> 01:17:44,160
Speaker 1: as in a new book. So please, by all means,

1561
01:17:44,479 --> 01:17:46,639
Speaker 1: reach out to me on Twitter Alex Helen fifty two,

1562
01:17:46,640 --> 01:17:49,160
Speaker 1: reach out to me on Facebook, uh Facebook dot com,

1563
01:17:49,160 --> 01:17:53,160
Speaker 1: Slash Alex Holns writer, or by email Alex at the

1564
01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:55,840
Speaker 1: News Rep dot com if you know somebody. If you

1565
01:17:55,840 --> 01:17:58,720
Speaker 1: are somebody, let me know. But you'll be getting more

1566
01:17:58,720 --> 01:18:00,360
Speaker 1: stories like that on Fight or Sweep here in the

1567
01:18:00,360 --> 01:18:04,759
Speaker 1: near future, as well as just more analysis into how

1568
01:18:04,800 --> 01:18:07,280
Speaker 1: these stories are developing and how it pertains to our

1569
01:18:07,360 --> 01:18:11,599
Speaker 1: national security apparatus. You know, Hypersonic missiles, for instance, may

1570
01:18:11,640 --> 01:18:13,960
Speaker 1: not be fighter jets, but they deal directly with our

1571
01:18:14,000 --> 01:18:17,720
Speaker 1: aircraft carrier operations. Without aircraft carriers, we don't really have

1572
01:18:17,760 --> 01:18:20,760
Speaker 1: a reliable means for Navy aviation to go out there

1573
01:18:20,800 --> 01:18:24,240
Speaker 1: and put put bombs out of targets. Uh, we need

1574
01:18:24,240 --> 01:18:26,240
Speaker 1: to be worried about China, we need to be worried

1575
01:18:26,280 --> 01:18:30,040
Speaker 1: about Russia, we need to be worried about our own

1576
01:18:30,080 --> 01:18:32,360
Speaker 1: defense spending, and fighter Sweep is gonna be giving you

1577
01:18:32,400 --> 01:18:34,519
Speaker 1: a lot of analysis about that over on the news

1578
01:18:34,520 --> 01:18:36,680
Speaker 1: web side here in the next couple of days. Go on,

1579
01:18:36,840 --> 01:18:40,200
Speaker 1: I beg you read my articles about our recruitment issues.

1580
01:18:40,240 --> 01:18:44,080
Speaker 1: Read my article about v I suicide prevention issues. I

1581
01:18:44,160 --> 01:18:48,479
Speaker 1: also put an op ed in today about contemporary politics

1582
01:18:48,479 --> 01:18:51,200
Speaker 1: here in America and how we've just kind of accepted

1583
01:18:51,240 --> 01:18:53,400
Speaker 1: that we don't need the truth anymore. We just want

1584
01:18:53,439 --> 01:18:55,880
Speaker 1: whoever is the best salesman at their brand of bullshit

1585
01:18:56,400 --> 01:18:58,560
Speaker 1: that's on the left and the right. Uh So it

1586
01:18:58,640 --> 01:19:00,240
Speaker 1: might make you real mad. If it pisses you all,

1587
01:19:00,280 --> 01:19:01,640
Speaker 1: let me know on Twitter. I'd be happy to hear

1588
01:19:01,680 --> 01:19:04,680
Speaker 1: from people. Yeah, these are important stories, man. I mean,

1589
01:19:05,120 --> 01:19:08,040
Speaker 1: looking back on the show, I think we've had two

1590
01:19:08,200 --> 01:19:10,559
Speaker 1: World War Two veterans, and I think both of them,

1591
01:19:10,800 --> 01:19:12,920
Speaker 1: I think both of them are no longer with us.

1592
01:19:12,920 --> 01:19:14,960
Speaker 1: So I really value every time we get to speak

1593
01:19:14,960 --> 01:19:17,439
Speaker 1: to those guys. Same with every time I've gotten a

1594
01:19:17,560 --> 01:19:20,720
Speaker 1: meet in person a holocoust survivor. I've probably met a

1595
01:19:20,840 --> 01:19:24,320
Speaker 1: good I probably met about eight or so Holocaust survivors

1596
01:19:24,320 --> 01:19:27,280
Speaker 1: in my life. And and as you've said, uh, you know,

1597
01:19:27,360 --> 01:19:29,479
Speaker 1: like when your daughter is our age, they're not going

1598
01:19:29,560 --> 01:19:31,559
Speaker 1: to be around anymore. I've met, you know, quite a

1599
01:19:31,560 --> 01:19:33,400
Speaker 1: few of them, man, And it's it's an honor. You know.

1600
01:19:33,479 --> 01:19:36,320
Speaker 1: My mom's aunt was an Holocaust survivor, and you know,

1601
01:19:36,600 --> 01:19:39,280
Speaker 1: to get to hear those stories. Yeah, and a decade

1602
01:19:39,520 --> 01:19:41,680
Speaker 1: decade down the line, two decades down the line, they're

1603
01:19:41,680 --> 01:19:43,439
Speaker 1: all gonna be gone, you know. And this is a

1604
01:19:43,600 --> 01:19:47,360
Speaker 1: particular import to me because you know, talking about funeral honors, duties. Earlier.

1605
01:19:47,640 --> 01:19:49,760
Speaker 1: I was working a memorial surface years ago. I think

1606
01:19:49,760 --> 01:19:51,120
Speaker 1: I was like a lance No, I must have been

1607
01:19:51,120 --> 01:19:53,519
Speaker 1: a corporal at the time. Uh. And I met this

1608
01:19:53,560 --> 01:19:56,040
Speaker 1: guy who had a big purple scar on his cheekbone,

1609
01:19:56,120 --> 01:19:59,200
Speaker 1: on his right cheekbone. Uh. He was a former marine.

1610
01:19:59,240 --> 01:20:02,320
Speaker 1: I knew that right at he introduced himself as such. Uh.

1611
01:20:02,360 --> 01:20:04,400
Speaker 1: And I tried. You know, when you see when you

1612
01:20:04,439 --> 01:20:06,280
Speaker 1: meet somebody with a big birthmark on their face, the

1613
01:20:06,360 --> 01:20:08,120
Speaker 1: last thing you do is mention it, like Austin power

1614
01:20:08,160 --> 01:20:11,200
Speaker 1: shouting mole. Right. So you know, I didn't engage with

1615
01:20:11,240 --> 01:20:12,920
Speaker 1: it and him Finally he was like, you can ask

1616
01:20:12,960 --> 01:20:15,720
Speaker 1: me about it. You can ask me about the scar. Uh.

1617
01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:17,760
Speaker 1: He was in the Chosen Reservoir. He was one of

1618
01:20:17,800 --> 01:20:20,240
Speaker 1: the marines. His rifle froze to his face while he

1619
01:20:20,280 --> 01:20:22,760
Speaker 1: was fighting at the Chosen Reservoir, you know, one of

1620
01:20:22,800 --> 01:20:25,640
Speaker 1: the the frozen, Chosen, the chosen a few. You know,

1621
01:20:25,680 --> 01:20:28,599
Speaker 1: we're talking about a real war hero, a story I've

1622
01:20:28,600 --> 01:20:31,360
Speaker 1: heard a million times, a story every marine knows. But

1623
01:20:31,479 --> 01:20:33,880
Speaker 1: to meet a guy, to look a guy in the face,

1624
01:20:33,960 --> 01:20:36,519
Speaker 1: to hear his story, to hear about coming back to

1625
01:20:36,600 --> 01:20:40,280
Speaker 1: his wife after made that story no longer a kick

1626
01:20:40,320 --> 01:20:42,599
Speaker 1: ass story about marines in the fight to me anymore.

1627
01:20:43,120 --> 01:20:45,760
Speaker 1: It made it a human story about a guy who

1628
01:20:45,800 --> 01:20:49,000
Speaker 1: was fighting for something. You know. Uh. For me, as

1629
01:20:49,000 --> 01:20:52,200
Speaker 1: a young corporal, that was incredibly important to hear. You know,

1630
01:20:53,640 --> 01:20:56,600
Speaker 1: I think that it's just as important for later generations

1631
01:20:56,600 --> 01:20:58,040
Speaker 1: to be able to go back and pick up a

1632
01:20:58,040 --> 01:21:00,960
Speaker 1: book and read those firsthand accoud from guys who aren't

1633
01:21:01,000 --> 01:21:05,120
Speaker 1: talking about the foreign policy implications of bombing Japan. They

1634
01:21:05,160 --> 01:21:08,160
Speaker 1: weren't talking about the access powers versus the Allied powers.

1635
01:21:08,439 --> 01:21:11,360
Speaker 1: They're talking about John fighting in this war and them

1636
01:21:11,360 --> 01:21:15,160
Speaker 1: getting home you know, uh, we need to connect with

1637
01:21:15,200 --> 01:21:17,240
Speaker 1: that because we need to remember what war really is,

1638
01:21:17,360 --> 01:21:19,920
Speaker 1: especially in today's day and age, where every time you

1639
01:21:19,960 --> 01:21:22,400
Speaker 1: see something on the news, people immediately shout, we got

1640
01:21:22,479 --> 01:21:24,320
Speaker 1: to send troops over there, and then once we send

1641
01:21:24,320 --> 01:21:26,000
Speaker 1: troops over there, we shout, we gotta get them home.

1642
01:21:26,920 --> 01:21:29,880
Speaker 1: We're happy, We're happy to throw our countries into wars

1643
01:21:29,880 --> 01:21:31,720
Speaker 1: as long as we're not the ones fighting them. I

1644
01:21:31,760 --> 01:21:33,720
Speaker 1: want to make sure people remember what it's like to

1645
01:21:33,720 --> 01:21:36,240
Speaker 1: be the ones fighting those wars. To be I think

1646
01:21:36,280 --> 01:21:38,600
Speaker 1: I think less so I think I think more and

1647
01:21:38,640 --> 01:21:43,920
Speaker 1: more people are are more cautious about US going into

1648
01:21:43,920 --> 01:21:47,040
Speaker 1: foreign conflicts, and and it's part of whether you like

1649
01:21:47,120 --> 01:21:49,479
Speaker 1: and we're not why Trump got elected in terms of

1650
01:21:49,920 --> 01:21:53,040
Speaker 1: him being a little bit more critical of that. I'm

1651
01:21:53,040 --> 01:21:55,280
Speaker 1: reluctant to agree with you. I hope you're right. But

1652
01:21:55,439 --> 01:21:58,000
Speaker 1: the rhetoric that I see on social media. You know,

1653
01:21:58,080 --> 01:22:01,519
Speaker 1: it's like with North Korea last year, where especially on

1654
01:22:01,560 --> 01:22:04,200
Speaker 1: the conservative side, you saw it repeatedly like we just

1655
01:22:04,240 --> 01:22:05,840
Speaker 1: need to invade, we need to get rid of Kim,

1656
01:22:05,880 --> 01:22:08,400
Speaker 1: Kim needs to be assassinated. You know, a lot of

1657
01:22:08,479 --> 01:22:12,320
Speaker 1: rhetoric based on the idea of us using military force

1658
01:22:12,800 --> 01:22:15,200
Speaker 1: to change the way things are operating in North Korea,

1659
01:22:15,600 --> 01:22:18,679
Speaker 1: when from an objective standpoint, we know full well that's

1660
01:22:18,680 --> 01:22:21,000
Speaker 1: a no win situation. Even if we can go in

1661
01:22:21,040 --> 01:22:24,879
Speaker 1: and totally dominate the North Korean military, which unfortunately, despite

1662
01:22:24,960 --> 01:22:28,720
Speaker 1: our technological advantages, we likely couldn't based on just their

1663
01:22:28,880 --> 01:22:33,280
Speaker 1: artillery's capability to destroy Soul, South Korea. Even if we

1664
01:22:33,280 --> 01:22:35,400
Speaker 1: were able to roll through them, we would then be

1665
01:22:35,439 --> 01:22:40,760
Speaker 1: faced with another occupational quagmire of keeping US troops overseas

1666
01:22:41,200 --> 01:22:45,479
Speaker 1: fighting insurgent forces for years, for decades to come. We

1667
01:22:45,520 --> 01:22:47,960
Speaker 1: don't think like this, though, We go this guy is

1668
01:22:47,960 --> 01:22:50,320
Speaker 1: a bad guy. We gotta get rid of them. You know. Uh,

1669
01:22:50,920 --> 01:22:53,800
Speaker 1: We can't think about our national security apparatus in terms

1670
01:22:53,800 --> 01:22:55,720
Speaker 1: of US fighting bad guys. It's got to be in

1671
01:22:55,840 --> 01:23:00,040
Speaker 1: terms of America's self interest to sustain our well be

1672
01:23:00,280 --> 01:23:02,880
Speaker 1: looking towards the future. And as selfish as that may sound,

1673
01:23:03,240 --> 01:23:06,519
Speaker 1: it's pragmatic and realistic. It's the truth of foreign policy.

1674
01:23:06,600 --> 01:23:08,839
Speaker 1: Even though in the media we really like to pretend

1675
01:23:09,200 --> 01:23:12,840
Speaker 1: it's all about ethics and morals, it's not, you know, uh,

1676
01:23:12,920 --> 01:23:16,120
Speaker 1: wrapping things up here, be sure to check out create club.

1677
01:23:16,200 --> 01:23:18,839
Speaker 1: We have different tiers of membership depending on how prepared

1678
01:23:18,960 --> 01:23:21,960
Speaker 1: you want to be, and gift options are available as well.

1679
01:23:22,000 --> 01:23:25,519
Speaker 1: Scott Whittner from the load out room, uh, Drew Wallace,

1680
01:23:26,040 --> 01:23:29,960
Speaker 1: those guys are currently working on bringing custom products for

1681
01:23:30,000 --> 01:23:33,879
Speaker 1: this year, everything from sunglass cases to E d C bags.

1682
01:23:34,280 --> 01:23:36,320
Speaker 1: I even saw that we're doing a protein line. It

1683
01:23:36,320 --> 01:23:39,000
Speaker 1: looks like that should be pretty cool. It's a club

1684
01:23:39,120 --> 01:23:41,720
Speaker 1: four men by men. You could check that all out

1685
01:23:41,720 --> 01:23:44,759
Speaker 1: at Create Club dot Us. Once again, that's Create Club

1686
01:23:45,240 --> 01:23:47,600
Speaker 1: dot Us. Also, you know that stuff is not just

1687
01:23:47,680 --> 01:23:50,920
Speaker 1: for like cool survival stuff either. Man. I I took

1688
01:23:50,920 --> 01:23:53,040
Speaker 1: a road trip up to Kentucky for New Year's and

1689
01:23:53,080 --> 01:23:55,240
Speaker 1: I've got my breakdown bag in the trunk of my car.

1690
01:23:55,280 --> 01:23:57,599
Speaker 1: I swear to god, the whole bag was great club stuff. Yeah,

1691
01:23:57,640 --> 01:23:59,760
Speaker 1: And I thought that it looks like I'm advertising for

1692
01:23:59,800 --> 01:24:02,360
Speaker 1: the companies. But I saw that. Uh. I saw that

1693
01:24:02,520 --> 01:24:05,920
Speaker 1: video too of Eric Meisner and Scott Wittner actually having

1694
01:24:05,960 --> 01:24:09,640
Speaker 1: to use um what is it called to to to

1695
01:24:09,680 --> 01:24:12,400
Speaker 1: get the jeep back on the road a winch. Probably

1696
01:24:12,400 --> 01:24:15,360
Speaker 1: I didn't see the video. They probably used the toast

1697
01:24:15,360 --> 01:24:17,880
Speaker 1: trap from the Crazy Yes which the trap Yes Yes Yes,

1698
01:24:18,080 --> 01:24:20,840
Speaker 1: which is in my breakdown back. You gotta go back,

1699
01:24:20,880 --> 01:24:23,599
Speaker 1: I gotta breakdown back, right, they used it, It worked

1700
01:24:23,760 --> 01:24:26,439
Speaker 1: and uh yeah so. Also as a reminder for those listening,

1701
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Speaker 1: for a limited time, you can receive a fifty percent

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna mention the newest thing that you've heard me

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Speaker 1: Financial Report, exclusive information that you can act on today

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Speaker 1: unmatched defense industry familiarity and expertise, unbiased knowledge of geopolitical trends,

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1729
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Speaker 1: There's a fin rep tab at the top of the page.

1730
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Speaker 1: You can sign up right there. So that's finn Rep

1731
01:26:24,439 --> 01:26:28,280
Speaker 1: on the news rep dot com. Really awesome newsletter that

1732
01:26:28,320 --> 01:26:30,080
Speaker 1: we want you to be a part of. We're excited

1733
01:26:30,120 --> 01:26:32,519
Speaker 1: for it, um and it's just something new that we

1734
01:26:32,560 --> 01:26:36,559
Speaker 1: are offering here at Hurricane Media. I guess that's about it, man.

1735
01:26:36,600 --> 01:26:38,519
Speaker 1: I mean, as we're recording this, people will have heard

1736
01:26:38,560 --> 01:26:40,760
Speaker 1: it already. But what is tonight is tonight the state

1737
01:26:40,760 --> 01:26:46,880
Speaker 1: of the Union. I believe I think I've seen people

1738
01:26:46,880 --> 01:26:49,960
Speaker 1: tweet about it, so I know Trump is giving it,

1739
01:26:50,400 --> 01:26:52,240
Speaker 1: think it should be tonight, So I thought it was

1740
01:26:52,320 --> 01:26:55,479
Speaker 1: j don't quote me on that, man, I don't know

1741
01:26:55,520 --> 01:26:59,679
Speaker 1: what they today is State of the Union. I'm probably wrong.

1742
01:27:00,080 --> 01:27:03,160
Speaker 1: Um it says I guess the news that he is

1743
01:27:03,200 --> 01:27:06,960
Speaker 1: giving a State of your Union. Yeah, January address about

1744
01:27:07,120 --> 01:27:09,439
Speaker 1: the shutdown on the wall. That's what it is. Yeah,

1745
01:27:09,520 --> 01:27:11,599
Speaker 1: January is going to do a State of the Union

1746
01:27:11,840 --> 01:27:15,160
Speaker 1: despite any shutdown. And this is why it's at least

1747
01:27:15,160 --> 01:27:19,080
Speaker 1: in New York. I see trending boycott Trump prime time

1748
01:27:19,200 --> 01:27:21,920
Speaker 1: because these people on the left don't want them to

1749
01:27:22,080 --> 01:27:25,280
Speaker 1: even air Trump even though he's the president. Well, the

1750
01:27:25,680 --> 01:27:28,240
Speaker 1: argument is that Barack Obama tried to make an immigration

1751
01:27:28,280 --> 01:27:31,160
Speaker 1: speech in prime time that wasn't broadcast because they said

1752
01:27:31,200 --> 01:27:34,800
Speaker 1: that it was two partisan. Got it. However, I mean, look,

1753
01:27:35,400 --> 01:27:38,960
Speaker 1: here's the government is shut down. That's a problem. Well,

1754
01:27:39,120 --> 01:27:43,000
Speaker 1: you work together as a problem. Do. People who have

1755
01:27:43,040 --> 01:27:45,519
Speaker 1: listening this podcasts have said, I've been critical of Trump

1756
01:27:45,600 --> 01:27:48,200
Speaker 1: or I praised Trump, but you know, I'm gonna be honest,

1757
01:27:48,240 --> 01:27:50,439
Speaker 1: like as much as he loves to tout it where

1758
01:27:50,439 --> 01:27:53,640
Speaker 1: he's like I'm a ratings bonanza or what he really is.

1759
01:27:53,760 --> 01:27:56,240
Speaker 1: I mean, if Trump is on TV, people fucking watch

1760
01:27:56,479 --> 01:27:58,439
Speaker 1: and then this is what these news stations care about.

1761
01:27:58,479 --> 01:28:01,479
Speaker 1: They want viewers no matter what's going on, and they

1762
01:28:01,520 --> 01:28:03,960
Speaker 1: are obsessed with Trump. It's all Trump all the time.

1763
01:28:04,400 --> 01:28:06,519
Speaker 1: I personally don't even watch the news, but I just

1764
01:28:06,640 --> 01:28:08,880
Speaker 1: know that you know that this is what they cover.

1765
01:28:09,280 --> 01:28:12,240
Speaker 1: And Trump is a ratings machine the way that he

1766
01:28:12,479 --> 01:28:15,960
Speaker 1: loves to tout. It's true. Here's my genuine analysis of

1767
01:28:16,000 --> 01:28:21,639
Speaker 1: the argument against televising Donald Trump. The studios intentionally waited

1768
01:28:21,680 --> 01:28:23,479
Speaker 1: a bit. They hesitated to say that they were going

1769
01:28:23,520 --> 01:28:26,519
Speaker 1: to televise it on purpose because then it became a

1770
01:28:26,560 --> 01:28:30,560
Speaker 1: trending topic. Then there became boycott Trumps. All the conservatives

1771
01:28:30,560 --> 01:28:32,280
Speaker 1: were saying, you have to give him an opportunity to

1772
01:28:32,320 --> 01:28:34,960
Speaker 1: speak his mind. Now, we give a ship. If they

1773
01:28:34,960 --> 01:28:36,719
Speaker 1: had just said, yeah, man, we'll put you on TV,

1774
01:28:37,280 --> 01:28:39,400
Speaker 1: it would have gotten maybe a third the audience that

1775
01:28:39,439 --> 01:28:42,040
Speaker 1: it will now because it's a controversy. Uh you know,

1776
01:28:42,080 --> 01:28:44,439
Speaker 1: it's the exact same thing as Uh there's a show

1777
01:28:44,479 --> 01:28:47,080
Speaker 1: on Netflix called what is It with the National or

1778
01:28:47,160 --> 01:28:52,080
Speaker 1: the Patriot Act where they buy Saudi Arabia's request removed

1779
01:28:52,080 --> 01:28:55,719
Speaker 1: an episode that was critical of Saudi Arabia of course

1780
01:28:55,720 --> 01:28:57,960
Speaker 1: they did, because now it's free on YouTube and everyone's

1781
01:28:58,000 --> 01:29:00,120
Speaker 1: gonna go watch the Patriot Act. It's trending now. It

1782
01:29:00,160 --> 01:29:02,960
Speaker 1: was an excellent marketing strategy. It's all about ratings. It's

1783
01:29:02,960 --> 01:29:05,400
Speaker 1: got nothing to do with policy, all right. All I

1784
01:29:05,479 --> 01:29:15,000
Speaker 1: gotta say is Alex Hollings, huge loser, failed writer. I'll

1785
01:29:15,000 --> 01:29:19,280
Speaker 1: take huge losers. But i'd like to say, and no

1786
01:29:19,280 --> 01:29:21,120
Speaker 1: one can see the video, but I'm doing the thing

1787
01:29:21,680 --> 01:29:23,720
Speaker 1: I don't do like a great Trump impression, but I

1788
01:29:23,760 --> 01:29:25,479
Speaker 1: do always have to do the thing where he puts

1789
01:29:25,560 --> 01:29:28,960
Speaker 1: like the the A O K and both. It always

1790
01:29:28,960 --> 01:29:32,320
Speaker 1: has every single speech that it's the exact same. It's

1791
01:29:32,360 --> 01:29:36,920
Speaker 1: the hand yesture that sells. We all know exactly what

1792
01:29:37,000 --> 01:29:40,280
Speaker 1: he's gonna say. Yeah, but you're just gonna tune in

1793
01:29:40,280 --> 01:29:42,120
Speaker 1: so that the Democrats can be mad that he lied

1794
01:29:42,160 --> 01:29:44,000
Speaker 1: and the Republicans can be proud of him for lying.

1795
01:29:45,040 --> 01:29:46,960
Speaker 1: To tune in. But I'm sure I'll see like highlights

1796
01:29:46,960 --> 01:29:48,920
Speaker 1: on Twitter. That's all I care about the next morning.

1797
01:29:48,960 --> 01:29:51,880
Speaker 1: And um, you know, everybody fighting over whatever he said,

1798
01:29:51,920 --> 01:29:54,600
Speaker 1: and oh my god, I'm so outraged. If you're not

1799
01:29:54,600 --> 01:29:56,479
Speaker 1: willing to to hear the other side of the argument,

1800
01:29:56,479 --> 01:29:59,240
Speaker 1: then how can you argue that you're willing to compromise, Right, Yeah,

1801
01:29:59,479 --> 01:30:02,360
Speaker 1: I get. I just don't watch any news anymore. To

1802
01:30:02,360 --> 01:30:04,439
Speaker 1: be honest, I go on Twitter, I see what people

1803
01:30:04,439 --> 01:30:07,200
Speaker 1: are talking about. I read a few articles here and there.

1804
01:30:07,360 --> 01:30:09,479
Speaker 1: But I'm not gonna lie to you guys. Man, I

1805
01:30:09,760 --> 01:30:12,280
Speaker 1: just I don't. I don't. I don't care enough anymore.

1806
01:30:13,120 --> 01:30:15,920
Speaker 1: I know enough to like talk about what's going on,

1807
01:30:15,960 --> 01:30:17,559
Speaker 1: But I'm not one of these people who's like tuned

1808
01:30:17,600 --> 01:30:21,160
Speaker 1: into seven news cycle. It's all the same ship over

1809
01:30:21,200 --> 01:30:23,559
Speaker 1: and over again. It's like, that's actually the big thing

1810
01:30:23,600 --> 01:30:26,360
Speaker 1: that's changed in my life since taking this job is

1811
01:30:26,400 --> 01:30:28,280
Speaker 1: that when I worked at Serious XM, I mean, we

1812
01:30:28,320 --> 01:30:30,880
Speaker 1: had Fox News seven, and I would also see the

1813
01:30:30,880 --> 01:30:33,559
Speaker 1: other channels on in the studio, and it was like

1814
01:30:33,560 --> 01:30:36,320
Speaker 1: all this news all the time, and I barely watched

1815
01:30:36,320 --> 01:30:38,439
Speaker 1: it at home. Now that I'm home and I'm here, like,

1816
01:30:38,560 --> 01:30:41,800
Speaker 1: I don't watch any of it. I really don't televisions.

1817
01:30:43,600 --> 01:30:46,200
Speaker 1: I feel that I'm just as informed as uh I

1818
01:30:46,320 --> 01:30:48,280
Speaker 1: need to be. I mean, I've talked about it on

1819
01:30:48,320 --> 01:30:50,719
Speaker 1: the show before, but like it's way more split screen

1820
01:30:50,760 --> 01:30:54,000
Speaker 1: debate than anything that informing you on policy. I feel

1821
01:30:54,000 --> 01:30:57,320
Speaker 1: fine just reading you know, you guys, reading the sources

1822
01:30:57,360 --> 01:30:59,400
Speaker 1: that I want, and then seeing what you know as

1823
01:30:59,479 --> 01:31:02,040
Speaker 1: as stupid, maybe what's trending on Twitter, what are people

1824
01:31:02,080 --> 01:31:05,720
Speaker 1: saying about it, reading some articles from different perspectives on it,

1825
01:31:05,800 --> 01:31:08,960
Speaker 1: and and then I, you know, I see what You'll

1826
01:31:09,080 --> 01:31:11,840
Speaker 1: end up with. That approach a much better rounded idea

1827
01:31:11,880 --> 01:31:14,320
Speaker 1: of what's going on, i'd argue than just watching television

1828
01:31:14,360 --> 01:31:16,640
Speaker 1: news anyway. You know. But I'll say this as my

1829
01:31:16,760 --> 01:31:18,360
Speaker 1: as my parting shot, because I know that I was

1830
01:31:18,400 --> 01:31:21,840
Speaker 1: pretty critical of Trump here at the end here as

1831
01:31:21,880 --> 01:31:25,599
Speaker 1: a conservative leading guy, which I have, I would argue,

1832
01:31:25,600 --> 01:31:27,519
Speaker 1: the last thing you want is Donald Trump up there

1833
01:31:27,600 --> 01:31:30,680
Speaker 1: arguing in favor of something that you want. He's not

1834
01:31:30,800 --> 01:31:34,479
Speaker 1: good and arguing in favor of things. Every time he does,

1835
01:31:34,520 --> 01:31:37,600
Speaker 1: he creates an incredible controversy. He provides the left with

1836
01:31:37,720 --> 01:31:39,960
Speaker 1: a dozen new talking points that make him look bad.

1837
01:31:40,840 --> 01:31:43,400
Speaker 1: The last thing as a Republican, if you're if you're

1838
01:31:43,400 --> 01:31:45,680
Speaker 1: a Trump supporter, which it's pretty clear that I'm not

1839
01:31:45,720 --> 01:31:48,120
Speaker 1: an Adam and Trump supporter. If you are a Trump

1840
01:31:48,120 --> 01:31:51,560
Speaker 1: supporter and you appreciate the things that he's trying to accomplish,

1841
01:31:51,640 --> 01:31:54,000
Speaker 1: you should by now appreciate that he's not the best

1842
01:31:54,000 --> 01:31:57,200
Speaker 1: salesman for it. Yeah, to the contrary of that, though,

1843
01:31:57,200 --> 01:32:01,200
Speaker 1: I actually watched um Ben ship Euro debating some people

1844
01:32:01,200 --> 01:32:03,920
Speaker 1: on CNN recently. I am a huge Ben Shapiro fan.

1845
01:32:04,240 --> 01:32:05,920
Speaker 1: By the way, I watched. Don't always agree with him,

1846
01:32:06,200 --> 01:32:08,599
Speaker 1: but I like I watched this on YouTube. By the way,

1847
01:32:08,640 --> 01:32:12,000
Speaker 1: if anybody's gonna think I'm lying about not watching seven

1848
01:32:12,000 --> 01:32:13,760
Speaker 1: news Cycle like I didn't, I didn't actually see it

1849
01:32:13,800 --> 01:32:16,759
Speaker 1: on CNN. I saw the YouTube. But um, he said

1850
01:32:16,800 --> 01:32:21,240
Speaker 1: to um, what's his name? Man? The guy who's my age?

1851
01:32:21,240 --> 01:32:24,320
Speaker 1: But he looks like he's Brian Stelter. Dude, Brian Stelter

1852
01:32:24,479 --> 01:32:25,920
Speaker 1: is our age, and he looks like he's like a

1853
01:32:25,960 --> 01:32:32,040
Speaker 1: fifty year old man. Um, but yeah, look him up, dude,

1854
01:32:32,120 --> 01:32:35,080
Speaker 1: I think he's thirty three years old. It's insane. I

1855
01:32:35,080 --> 01:32:38,040
Speaker 1: would never think that he's that young. I mean, dude,

1856
01:32:38,040 --> 01:32:40,559
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie Brian Stealt. They're not looking good

1857
01:32:40,600 --> 01:32:43,840
Speaker 1: for his age. Someone's gonna give me ship I'm sure.

1858
01:32:44,000 --> 01:32:47,160
Speaker 1: But anyway, so, um Ben Shapiro is on there debating

1859
01:32:47,160 --> 01:32:49,960
Speaker 1: her debating Sorry him and some woman I was That's

1860
01:32:49,960 --> 01:32:53,080
Speaker 1: why I'm saying her on CNN and what he said

1861
01:32:53,120 --> 01:32:55,240
Speaker 1: it was true, I think, and that he's like the

1862
01:32:55,280 --> 01:32:58,479
Speaker 1: mainstream media needs to stop picking a fight with Trump

1863
01:32:58,760 --> 01:33:01,120
Speaker 1: because it's a fight they're gonna lose every time. If

1864
01:33:01,120 --> 01:33:03,559
Speaker 1: it's the media versus him, just reporting what's going on,

1865
01:33:03,840 --> 01:33:05,840
Speaker 1: you could fact check things he's saying. But if it's

1866
01:33:05,880 --> 01:33:08,479
Speaker 1: like this coverage of what a terrible person he is

1867
01:33:08,600 --> 01:33:10,800
Speaker 1: and and how bad he is, like it's just a

1868
01:33:10,800 --> 01:33:13,360
Speaker 1: fight that you know that he is winning every time,

1869
01:33:13,400 --> 01:33:16,040
Speaker 1: and it's actually getting people on board with Trump when

1870
01:33:16,120 --> 01:33:18,920
Speaker 1: he makes it seem like the news media is against

1871
01:33:19,000 --> 01:33:21,599
Speaker 1: him and unfair to him. I think, you know, just

1872
01:33:21,640 --> 01:33:24,080
Speaker 1: reporting on what's going on, and if he's lying about something,

1873
01:33:24,120 --> 01:33:26,120
Speaker 1: you need to report it. But there are times you

1874
01:33:26,120 --> 01:33:28,240
Speaker 1: watch the news and it just seems like it's a

1875
01:33:28,960 --> 01:33:32,280
Speaker 1: seven you know, Trump bash and the Boy who Cried Wolf.

1876
01:33:32,400 --> 01:33:34,679
Speaker 1: You know, there there have been legitimate things that Donald

1877
01:33:34,680 --> 01:33:37,240
Speaker 1: Trump has done that I have found to be a

1878
01:33:37,280 --> 01:33:40,120
Speaker 1: really poor decision. There's also been things he's done. For instance,

1879
01:33:40,160 --> 01:33:42,639
Speaker 1: his pushed for space defense. Whether you think the Space

1880
01:33:42,680 --> 01:33:45,160
Speaker 1: Force is or isn't the most economically efficient means of

1881
01:33:45,200 --> 01:33:48,360
Speaker 1: space defense, we need space defense and he's made it

1882
01:33:48,439 --> 01:33:52,360
Speaker 1: something we talk about, Uh, he's not always wrong, but

1883
01:33:52,439 --> 01:33:54,880
Speaker 1: when you paint it as though he's always wrong when

1884
01:33:54,920 --> 01:33:58,280
Speaker 1: he is, the teeth are out of your argument. Jack

1885
01:33:58,280 --> 01:34:00,320
Speaker 1: wrote an article on this on the News Up and

1886
01:34:00,400 --> 01:34:03,280
Speaker 1: Jack has been extremely critical of Trump and he wrote

1887
01:34:03,280 --> 01:34:07,400
Speaker 1: about how, um yeah, and at the same time, you know,

1888
01:34:07,439 --> 01:34:09,400
Speaker 1: I think he's a critical of every everyone. I don't

1889
01:34:09,400 --> 01:34:12,320
Speaker 1: want anybody to think, yeah, this is Jack, you know,

1890
01:34:12,479 --> 01:34:15,960
Speaker 1: picking a fight with just Trump. He was extremely critical

1891
01:34:16,000 --> 01:34:18,920
Speaker 1: of Obama. So I'm not it's not a bias thing.

1892
01:34:19,000 --> 01:34:21,120
Speaker 1: He's He's just a speaking truth to power, is what

1893
01:34:21,240 --> 01:34:23,360
Speaker 1: it is exactly. So, but I'm just saying he's not

1894
01:34:23,479 --> 01:34:25,560
Speaker 1: He's not a guy who sugarcoats for Trump does. But

1895
01:34:25,600 --> 01:34:27,120
Speaker 1: he wrote an article he talked about it in the

1896
01:34:27,160 --> 01:34:30,840
Speaker 1: last episode, UM about how the media was saying, when

1897
01:34:30,920 --> 01:34:32,680
Speaker 1: is Trump going to visit the troops? This is an

1898
01:34:32,720 --> 01:34:35,240
Speaker 1: outrage And when he didn't visit the troops, there was

1899
01:34:35,240 --> 01:34:38,160
Speaker 1: an outrage over that, you know, So it really is

1900
01:34:38,200 --> 01:34:40,559
Speaker 1: true that, like it's just the media is looking for

1901
01:34:40,600 --> 01:34:43,320
Speaker 1: anything to bash Trump and it and I think Trump

1902
01:34:43,400 --> 01:34:46,360
Speaker 1: wins in that fight every time. Is this is this

1903
01:34:46,439 --> 01:34:48,400
Speaker 1: is where I'm this is insider baseball that I could

1904
01:34:48,439 --> 01:34:51,880
Speaker 1: go on for another whole podcast on so because a

1905
01:34:51,880 --> 01:34:54,160
Speaker 1: lot of the reason why you see so much Trump

1906
01:34:54,280 --> 01:34:57,880
Speaker 1: in the press, especially anti Trump in the press, it's

1907
01:34:57,880 --> 01:35:02,120
Speaker 1: not because the media wants necessarily to only post or

1908
01:35:02,160 --> 01:35:05,879
Speaker 1: write anti Trump articles. It's because those are the traffic drivers.

1909
01:35:06,520 --> 01:35:08,519
Speaker 1: You know, the media is ultimately a business. It's a

1910
01:35:08,600 --> 01:35:12,240
Speaker 1: number of businesses Fox CNN. The reason why when Donald

1911
01:35:12,240 --> 01:35:15,320
Speaker 1: Trump does or says something really stupid, Fox doesn't run

1912
01:35:15,400 --> 01:35:17,519
Speaker 1: that as their headline. But will Onceton wrote a handline

1913
01:35:17,560 --> 01:35:20,920
Speaker 1: about a criminal who is an illegal immigrant is because

1914
01:35:20,920 --> 01:35:24,080
Speaker 1: they're selling space. They're selling real estate on their website

1915
01:35:24,080 --> 01:35:27,000
Speaker 1: to their audience. The reason why when Donald Trump says

1916
01:35:27,000 --> 01:35:30,840
Speaker 1: something that's good, or some senior officials says no, this

1917
01:35:30,880 --> 01:35:32,840
Speaker 1: is a really good idea, they don't run that as

1918
01:35:32,840 --> 01:35:35,080
Speaker 1: their headline either. They run something about how Donald Trump

1919
01:35:35,080 --> 01:35:37,880
Speaker 1: said something done last week for the same reason they're

1920
01:35:37,920 --> 01:35:41,360
Speaker 1: selling real estate to their audience. They're not that interested

1921
01:35:41,360 --> 01:35:44,200
Speaker 1: in informing you. What they're really interested in is getting

1922
01:35:44,200 --> 01:35:46,200
Speaker 1: you to glance at the advertisement on the side of

1923
01:35:46,240 --> 01:35:50,759
Speaker 1: the website. You know. And as long as uh, anti

1924
01:35:50,800 --> 01:35:53,360
Speaker 1: Donald Trump articles get just as many hate shares as

1925
01:35:53,400 --> 01:35:57,160
Speaker 1: they do support shares, as long as Donald Trump supporters

1926
01:35:57,200 --> 01:36:00,439
Speaker 1: hate read these articles for the sake of I'm enting

1927
01:36:00,439 --> 01:36:04,240
Speaker 1: on them at the bottom. That's currency in a digital market.

1928
01:36:04,520 --> 01:36:07,120
Speaker 1: When you hate click on an article, that's currency you're

1929
01:36:07,160 --> 01:36:11,160
Speaker 1: paying them to write more like it. Yep, absolutely setting

1930
01:36:11,200 --> 01:36:14,040
Speaker 1: with Donald Trump. Yeah, I've mentioned this before, I think

1931
01:36:14,040 --> 01:36:16,519
Speaker 1: on this podcast. I've definitely mentioned it on the Power

1932
01:36:16,520 --> 01:36:19,160
Speaker 1: of Thought podcast. When I got my degree in radio,

1933
01:36:19,800 --> 01:36:23,240
Speaker 1: UM probably actually definitely the best professor I had was

1934
01:36:23,280 --> 01:36:26,280
Speaker 1: this guy named John Mullen. He's the guy who um

1935
01:36:26,400 --> 01:36:28,559
Speaker 1: one of the people behind making Hot ninety seven in

1936
01:36:28,560 --> 01:36:31,160
Speaker 1: New York rap station, which you know, it's the most

1937
01:36:31,160 --> 01:36:34,400
Speaker 1: successful rap station of all time and it really started

1938
01:36:34,439 --> 01:36:37,639
Speaker 1: the whole trend of making a lot of dance stations

1939
01:36:37,640 --> 01:36:40,479
Speaker 1: in major markets into rap stations. And he, as he

1940
01:36:40,520 --> 01:36:42,640
Speaker 1: said himself, he's like an older white guy. He's like,

1941
01:36:42,680 --> 01:36:44,559
Speaker 1: I'm not I don't really listen to hip hop. I

1942
01:36:44,600 --> 01:36:46,200
Speaker 1: just knew there was a market for it and I

1943
01:36:46,240 --> 01:36:48,800
Speaker 1: had to fill it. So anyway, he would always say,

1944
01:36:49,240 --> 01:36:52,320
Speaker 1: radio is essentially selling people to advertisers. Like, you want

1945
01:36:52,320 --> 01:36:54,200
Speaker 1: to be creative, you want to do all this other stuff,

1946
01:36:54,280 --> 01:36:57,439
Speaker 1: but essentially if you're not, you know, selling people to

1947
01:36:57,520 --> 01:37:00,719
Speaker 1: advertise here as you're dead and UM. You know, even

1948
01:37:00,800 --> 01:37:03,080
Speaker 1: with this podcast like, it's about striking a balance. Do

1949
01:37:03,120 --> 01:37:06,120
Speaker 1: I want all of you guys listening to UM to

1950
01:37:06,479 --> 01:37:09,320
Speaker 1: be honest, go to Pelican Coolers dot com right now

1951
01:37:09,680 --> 01:37:12,920
Speaker 1: and use the soft rep coupon code. Yeah, it would

1952
01:37:12,920 --> 01:37:15,080
Speaker 1: be great for us. It grows the podcast, But it's

1953
01:37:15,080 --> 01:37:17,360
Speaker 1: all about striking the balance. I also want to make

1954
01:37:17,360 --> 01:37:19,519
Speaker 1: sure that we're reporting on real news stories and having

1955
01:37:19,520 --> 01:37:22,519
Speaker 1: guys on like you talking about these serious issues like

1956
01:37:22,600 --> 01:37:25,080
Speaker 1: veteran suicide. At the same point, I want, you know,

1957
01:37:25,120 --> 01:37:27,680
Speaker 1: this to be a successful podcast. If I'm talking, if

1958
01:37:27,720 --> 01:37:30,760
Speaker 1: we're talking to five people, then then then this is

1959
01:37:30,800 --> 01:37:32,920
Speaker 1: going away and I will not have a job. You know,

1960
01:37:33,120 --> 01:37:35,360
Speaker 1: and what you're what you're providing right there is transparency.

1961
01:37:35,439 --> 01:37:37,559
Speaker 1: Like do I, as a guy who doesn't work for

1962
01:37:37,600 --> 01:37:39,719
Speaker 1: this podcast but works for the company that that also

1963
01:37:39,760 --> 01:37:41,719
Speaker 1: owns it, do I want you to go to Pelican

1964
01:37:41,800 --> 01:37:45,680
Speaker 1: and by I do. The reason being when these advertisers

1965
01:37:45,720 --> 01:37:48,120
Speaker 1: come and give us money for website, real estate or

1966
01:37:48,120 --> 01:37:51,360
Speaker 1: time on the podcast, that are enabling us to keep

1967
01:37:51,400 --> 01:37:54,160
Speaker 1: getting our messages out there to an audience. But I

1968
01:37:54,200 --> 01:37:56,519
Speaker 1: won't lie to you. I have adopted over the years,

1969
01:37:56,560 --> 01:37:59,200
Speaker 1: a one for me, one for hu mentality. A lot

1970
01:37:59,240 --> 01:38:01,920
Speaker 1: of times I'll write an article that I'll go, well,

1971
01:38:01,920 --> 01:38:04,240
Speaker 1: this one will be a strong traffic driver, I know that.

1972
01:38:04,720 --> 01:38:07,000
Speaker 1: But then I'll write another article that, in my opinion,

1973
01:38:07,120 --> 01:38:09,960
Speaker 1: is very important. It's an in depth analysis into something

1974
01:38:10,080 --> 01:38:13,519
Speaker 1: like a way that your perception is being shaped by

1975
01:38:13,600 --> 01:38:16,960
Speaker 1: popular culture. China's investment in Hollywood is a great example.

1976
01:38:17,479 --> 01:38:19,720
Speaker 1: Those articles don't tend to do very well. You know,

1977
01:38:20,120 --> 01:38:23,679
Speaker 1: people don't really want to read two thousand words about

1978
01:38:23,680 --> 01:38:26,720
Speaker 1: how they're being fucked with. You know, it's a hard day.

1979
01:38:26,800 --> 01:38:28,680
Speaker 1: It's you're already having a hard day. Why make it

1980
01:38:28,720 --> 01:38:31,880
Speaker 1: harder by reading some hard truths about how even in

1981
01:38:31,880 --> 01:38:35,240
Speaker 1: the Captain America Civil War they were selling you Chinese

1982
01:38:35,240 --> 01:38:39,400
Speaker 1: phones throughout. It's a really hard conversation to have. I

1983
01:38:39,439 --> 01:38:43,479
Speaker 1: write those articles because if two thousand people read that article,

1984
01:38:43,720 --> 01:38:46,160
Speaker 1: that's important. Some of the other ones I'm aim in

1985
01:38:46,200 --> 01:38:48,640
Speaker 1: for sixty you know what I mean. But every once

1986
01:38:48,680 --> 01:38:50,839
Speaker 1: in a while, I write those two thousand reader articles

1987
01:38:50,840 --> 01:38:54,200
Speaker 1: because I find that they're important. But I can't unless

1988
01:38:54,360 --> 01:38:57,840
Speaker 1: I have that sixty thou reader article. Unless Pelican is

1989
01:38:57,880 --> 01:39:01,080
Speaker 1: willing to buy real estate on the website. So that's

1990
01:39:01,120 --> 01:39:04,000
Speaker 1: not just true for us, it's true for all media news.

1991
01:39:04,520 --> 01:39:07,320
Speaker 1: If you're upset about not seeing enough of a certain

1992
01:39:07,320 --> 01:39:09,880
Speaker 1: type of content, the reason why you're not seeing it

1993
01:39:09,920 --> 01:39:12,160
Speaker 1: is because people aren't clicking on it. The way you

1994
01:39:12,160 --> 01:39:14,920
Speaker 1: can change that is by clicking on that content when

1995
01:39:14,960 --> 01:39:17,000
Speaker 1: you see it, share of that content when you see it,

1996
01:39:17,360 --> 01:39:19,639
Speaker 1: if you think better. In suicide is an important story,

1997
01:39:20,040 --> 01:39:21,960
Speaker 1: you may notice it's not getting a lot of coverage

1998
01:39:22,000 --> 01:39:25,000
Speaker 1: in CNN or Writers or Fox this week because it's

1999
01:39:25,000 --> 01:39:27,800
Speaker 1: not an election year. Politicians don't really care. Therefore, the

2000
01:39:27,800 --> 01:39:30,240
Speaker 1: media doesn't really care. Nobody much gives a ship that

2001
01:39:30,320 --> 01:39:32,840
Speaker 1: veterans are killing themselves except for veterans and people who

2002
01:39:32,920 --> 01:39:35,479
Speaker 1: know them. You know, I wish I could find I

2003
01:39:35,479 --> 01:39:38,559
Speaker 1: I don't know what the podcast is that Jack said it.

2004
01:39:38,560 --> 01:39:42,040
Speaker 1: It was really old, um, and I really don't remember

2005
01:39:42,040 --> 01:39:44,439
Speaker 1: which podcast was. But Jack went on such a great

2006
01:39:44,520 --> 01:39:47,639
Speaker 1: rant that I'll always remember where He was like, I'll

2007
01:39:47,640 --> 01:39:49,599
Speaker 1: figure out which it was. But he was like, don't

2008
01:39:49,600 --> 01:39:51,680
Speaker 1: tell me that. You guys don't want to read this

2009
01:39:51,760 --> 01:39:54,400
Speaker 1: stuff because this is what you click on. It SAMs

2010
01:39:54,479 --> 01:39:57,559
Speaker 1: like if I write an article about, you know, China,

2011
01:39:58,040 --> 01:40:00,640
Speaker 1: something as you were saying, and privacies can certens. He's like,

2012
01:40:00,880 --> 01:40:03,040
Speaker 1: it will get a fraction of the hits. As if

2013
01:40:03,080 --> 01:40:04,920
Speaker 1: I write an article about a guy at the mall

2014
01:40:05,160 --> 01:40:07,479
Speaker 1: stolen valor dressing up as an army ranger. He's like,

2015
01:40:07,520 --> 01:40:09,680
Speaker 1: this is what you guys don't tell me. It's not

2016
01:40:10,439 --> 01:40:12,759
Speaker 1: excuse to post a picture of a girl in a bikini.

2017
01:40:12,800 --> 01:40:16,360
Speaker 1: It'll be our best traffic driver day. The problem is

2018
01:40:16,360 --> 01:40:19,160
Speaker 1: is that that's not very often newsworthy. You know. The

2019
01:40:19,479 --> 01:40:22,120
Speaker 1: thing is is that we all have this line in

2020
01:40:22,160 --> 01:40:24,120
Speaker 1: our heads between what we'll actually do and what we

2021
01:40:24,160 --> 01:40:26,919
Speaker 1: see ourselves doing. We'll tell the doctor we only drink socially.

2022
01:40:27,400 --> 01:40:29,880
Speaker 1: We tell our friends that we just read this very

2023
01:40:29,960 --> 01:40:32,599
Speaker 1: interesting article on National geographic put in truth. We watched

2024
01:40:32,600 --> 01:40:37,040
Speaker 1: a YouTube video. You know, Uh, people vote with their clicks.

2025
01:40:37,400 --> 01:40:39,160
Speaker 1: If you want to see more of a certain type

2026
01:40:39,160 --> 01:40:41,599
Speaker 1: of content, you know, give it a few minutes, share

2027
01:40:41,640 --> 01:40:43,599
Speaker 1: it with your friends, Encourage people to click on it,

2028
01:40:43,920 --> 01:40:46,040
Speaker 1: because as long as you click on garbage, garbage is

2029
01:40:46,080 --> 01:40:48,880
Speaker 1: what they're gonna give you. You know, we as writers

2030
01:40:48,920 --> 01:40:51,360
Speaker 1: don't want to write garbage. You know. That's my favorite

2031
01:40:51,360 --> 01:40:53,320
Speaker 1: part about working for News Rep is that I have

2032
01:40:53,439 --> 01:40:55,439
Speaker 1: never once that's not sure. One time I had the

2033
01:40:55,520 --> 01:40:57,320
Speaker 1: need to come back and say I'm not going to

2034
01:40:57,439 --> 01:40:59,760
Speaker 1: run the story. It was not bet that it was

2035
01:40:59,760 --> 01:41:03,040
Speaker 1: a good call, you know. But one time. In three

2036
01:41:03,120 --> 01:41:06,000
Speaker 1: years with this company, I've published more than two thousand

2037
01:41:06,000 --> 01:41:09,200
Speaker 1: pieces of content with news Rep. Out of those, one

2038
01:41:09,280 --> 01:41:12,519
Speaker 1: time I had an editor come back and say, listen,

2039
01:41:12,520 --> 01:41:15,040
Speaker 1: we're scrapping this. I've certainly gotten notes, you know, to

2040
01:41:15,160 --> 01:41:17,160
Speaker 1: change things, but only one time that I get a

2041
01:41:17,200 --> 01:41:20,599
Speaker 1: hard no. The reason being that news Rep never has

2042
01:41:20,680 --> 01:41:24,759
Speaker 1: given me a narrative to sell news Rep soft repent.

2043
01:41:24,880 --> 01:41:27,000
Speaker 1: Pro prior to being a news rep has always been

2044
01:41:27,280 --> 01:41:28,920
Speaker 1: give us the truth, the best you can find it,

2045
01:41:29,960 --> 01:41:32,640
Speaker 1: you know. Unfortunately for us, we've had subscribers, we've had

2046
01:41:32,640 --> 01:41:35,960
Speaker 1: a strong reader base that wants that. But when you

2047
01:41:36,000 --> 01:41:38,760
Speaker 1: see CNN, when you see Fox News, these have much

2048
01:41:38,840 --> 01:41:42,280
Speaker 1: broader audiences, much larger audiences. Stop the people who are

2049
01:41:42,320 --> 01:41:45,200
Speaker 1: listening to this podcast we're preaching to the choir. They're

2050
01:41:45,240 --> 01:41:47,320
Speaker 1: already clicking on the articles that are given them hard

2051
01:41:47,320 --> 01:41:49,280
Speaker 1: news about Afghanistan when the rest of the world doesn't

2052
01:41:49,280 --> 01:41:51,400
Speaker 1: give a ship that we're still at war there. You know,

2053
01:41:51,720 --> 01:41:55,320
Speaker 1: they're already clicking on our articles. Great example being I

2054
01:41:55,360 --> 01:41:57,479
Speaker 1: had a senator read one of my pieces about Arctic

2055
01:41:57,520 --> 01:42:01,479
Speaker 1: defense before sent coom last year. That article only did

2056
01:42:01,520 --> 01:42:04,479
Speaker 1: like a thousand views, you know, because people don't actually

2057
01:42:04,479 --> 01:42:08,040
Speaker 1: give a shit about Arctic defense. But it does really matter, right,

2058
01:42:08,520 --> 01:42:11,479
Speaker 1: So even I had a thousand readers click on it

2059
01:42:11,520 --> 01:42:13,120
Speaker 1: on SOFTWAUP. I bet you have CNN ran it, they

2060
01:42:13,160 --> 01:42:16,160
Speaker 1: get the same thousand because people aren't interested. You know,

2061
01:42:16,880 --> 01:42:19,840
Speaker 1: when you see something that's important, make it important to

2062
01:42:19,880 --> 01:42:23,080
Speaker 1: you and your friends. It sounds small, but every little

2063
01:42:23,080 --> 01:42:26,200
Speaker 1: bit counts, you know, on a web page like fighters Sleep.

2064
01:42:26,240 --> 01:42:29,880
Speaker 1: For instance, if I notice a dozen views on an article,

2065
01:42:30,120 --> 01:42:32,360
Speaker 1: some of my articles might get twenty thousand views, but

2066
01:42:32,439 --> 01:42:34,160
Speaker 1: I noticed when I get a dozen over ten minutes,

2067
01:42:34,160 --> 01:42:36,240
Speaker 1: because I'm keeping track all the time, and I go,

2068
01:42:36,840 --> 01:42:39,880
Speaker 1: that's awesome, that's trending. That means that in some small

2069
01:42:39,920 --> 01:42:43,720
Speaker 1: little group, some small sect of people, this story is

2070
01:42:43,760 --> 01:42:46,640
Speaker 1: resonating in an important way. That's what we're trying to

2071
01:42:46,680 --> 01:42:49,200
Speaker 1: do ultimately. So when you see something a headline that

2072
01:42:49,200 --> 01:42:51,760
Speaker 1: seems important, don't scroll by and go oh that's good,

2073
01:42:52,080 --> 01:42:54,280
Speaker 1: click on it, share it with your friends. That's how

2074
01:42:54,320 --> 01:42:57,080
Speaker 1: you change how shitty media has become Yeah, I have

2075
01:42:57,120 --> 01:43:00,120
Speaker 1: a friend I went to college with who worked in

2076
01:43:00,479 --> 01:43:04,120
Speaker 1: you know, major media and Queens New York. Uh. He

2077
01:43:04,120 --> 01:43:07,240
Speaker 1: he recently quit doing that and is now working in

2078
01:43:07,280 --> 01:43:10,240
Speaker 1: real estate, and it's strictly for financial reasons. He he

2079
01:43:10,360 --> 01:43:12,640
Speaker 1: was like, you know, this is my passion, this is

2080
01:43:12,640 --> 01:43:13,960
Speaker 1: what I love, this is what I went to college

2081
01:43:14,000 --> 01:43:15,719
Speaker 1: to do. But he's like, it's just not paying the bills.

2082
01:43:16,040 --> 01:43:18,080
Speaker 1: I have to leave it. And he wrote a whole

2083
01:43:18,120 --> 01:43:21,880
Speaker 1: explanation for you know, why print media is dying in

2084
01:43:21,920 --> 01:43:24,800
Speaker 1: some ways, and he talked about, you know, one week,

2085
01:43:24,840 --> 01:43:28,920
Speaker 1: for example, all the important articles that were being covered

2086
01:43:28,960 --> 01:43:32,920
Speaker 1: by the publication he worked for, of kidnappings and serious

2087
01:43:32,960 --> 01:43:36,360
Speaker 1: election stuff. And he's like, what article drove the most traffic?

2088
01:43:36,439 --> 01:43:38,559
Speaker 1: He was like, it was a throwaway piece on where

2089
01:43:38,680 --> 01:43:41,160
Speaker 1: Nicki Minaj bays or whigs in New York. He was like,

2090
01:43:41,200 --> 01:43:43,160
Speaker 1: it was a piece that was done at the very

2091
01:43:43,240 --> 01:43:45,640
Speaker 1: last minute to sell some advertisers, and that drove the

2092
01:43:45,680 --> 01:43:48,679
Speaker 1: most traffics. So once again, it's like, don't don't tell

2093
01:43:48,720 --> 01:43:50,120
Speaker 1: me that this is a piece no one gives a

2094
01:43:50,120 --> 01:43:52,360
Speaker 1: shit about. People are clicking on it. This is one

2095
01:43:52,439 --> 01:43:55,040
Speaker 1: the most people give a shit about exactly, you know,

2096
01:43:55,520 --> 01:43:57,880
Speaker 1: and again we're not. It's important that we say this.

2097
01:43:58,320 --> 01:44:00,720
Speaker 1: I get escapism. Yeah, you know what I mean. When

2098
01:44:00,720 --> 01:44:02,519
Speaker 1: I clock out, I don't want to go read more

2099
01:44:02,920 --> 01:44:04,960
Speaker 1: like a hard hitting news about how shitty life is.

2100
01:44:05,439 --> 01:44:07,400
Speaker 1: You know. I I can't turn it off, so I'm

2101
01:44:07,400 --> 01:44:10,240
Speaker 1: always there. But I understand that when you've got fifteen

2102
01:44:10,280 --> 01:44:12,920
Speaker 1: minutes to scroll through your Facebook feed in between bringing

2103
01:44:12,960 --> 01:44:15,160
Speaker 1: your kids to soccer, making dinner, doing your full time

2104
01:44:15,240 --> 01:44:17,559
Speaker 1: job cleaning the house would have taken the garbage out

2105
01:44:17,600 --> 01:44:19,000
Speaker 1: and all the rest of the stuff you've got to

2106
01:44:19,040 --> 01:44:22,439
Speaker 1: failure day with, You've only got ten minutes for news.

2107
01:44:22,880 --> 01:44:25,320
Speaker 1: You know you're gonna get it and the most digestible way.

2108
01:44:25,360 --> 01:44:27,120
Speaker 1: And the last thing you want is another reason to

2109
01:44:27,160 --> 01:44:30,120
Speaker 1: be depressed during or anxious. Right. I get it, I

2110
01:44:30,200 --> 01:44:33,080
Speaker 1: really do. But if you want things to get better,

2111
01:44:33,680 --> 01:44:36,840
Speaker 1: you've got to take responsibility for it yourself. The media

2112
01:44:36,960 --> 01:44:39,479
Speaker 1: isn't going to change as long as they're buying gold

2113
01:44:39,479 --> 01:44:43,840
Speaker 1: plated ferraris on their Nicki Munah stories. You know. Like

2114
01:44:44,000 --> 01:44:46,000
Speaker 1: it's just like I wrote in my in my article

2115
01:44:46,040 --> 01:44:49,080
Speaker 1: about China's investments in Hollywood the other day, the reason

2116
01:44:49,120 --> 01:44:52,960
Speaker 1: why America is refusing to engage with this persuasion, and

2117
01:44:53,160 --> 01:44:56,559
Speaker 1: like objective is that it's coming disguised as big bags

2118
01:44:56,560 --> 01:44:59,599
Speaker 1: of money. You know, we like things to be simple,

2119
01:44:59,640 --> 01:45:02,880
Speaker 1: and we lots of money. You know. Until we're willing

2120
01:45:02,960 --> 01:45:05,519
Speaker 1: to own that, the media is not going to get better.

2121
01:45:05,840 --> 01:45:08,320
Speaker 1: We've got to own it ourselves. Us as consumers have

2122
01:45:08,400 --> 01:45:11,160
Speaker 1: got to demand more. Again, we're preaching to the choir

2123
01:45:11,200 --> 01:45:13,720
Speaker 1: because soft reps, news reps, Fighter Sleeps readers are the

2124
01:45:13,760 --> 01:45:17,360
Speaker 1: guys that are looking for informed guys and informed analysis.

2125
01:45:17,960 --> 01:45:21,880
Speaker 1: We need that notion to grow. We needed to and

2126
01:45:22,120 --> 01:45:25,000
Speaker 1: we need the mainstream media to embrace that same concept

2127
01:45:25,439 --> 01:45:30,200
Speaker 1: that it's not just about selling traffic, it's also about

2128
01:45:30,280 --> 01:45:33,360
Speaker 1: doing this doing a service to the population. Right now,

2129
01:45:33,400 --> 01:45:35,800
Speaker 1: we're just selling traffic on the mainstream side. They're not

2130
01:45:35,840 --> 01:45:37,800
Speaker 1: trying to do a service. We've got to get back

2131
01:45:37,800 --> 01:45:40,519
Speaker 1: to that, but they won't unless we demand it. While

2132
01:45:40,640 --> 01:45:43,679
Speaker 1: said man uh well, once again, go to the news

2133
01:45:43,720 --> 01:45:47,360
Speaker 1: rep dot com. Check out Alex's pieces Fighter Sleep dot

2134
01:45:47,400 --> 01:45:51,519
Speaker 1: com at fight or Sleep on Twitter, on Instagram, Alex

2135
01:45:51,600 --> 01:45:55,480
Speaker 1: is on Twitter at Alex Hong's fifty two at Archetype

2136
01:45:55,520 --> 01:45:58,600
Speaker 1: fifty two on Instagram. And I guess that's about it,

2137
01:45:58,600 --> 01:46:00,800
Speaker 1: and then I always love speak with you because this

2138
01:46:00,880 --> 01:46:02,280
Speaker 1: is one of those shows that I thought would be

2139
01:46:02,320 --> 01:46:04,680
Speaker 1: a quick, forty five minutes show. We went about an

2140
01:46:04,720 --> 01:46:07,760
Speaker 1: hour over that, and uh, you know, I have like

2141
01:46:08,160 --> 01:46:10,479
Speaker 1: a few notes to hit in front of me, and

2142
01:46:10,520 --> 01:46:12,280
Speaker 1: we ended up going all over the place. And I

2143
01:46:12,280 --> 01:46:14,080
Speaker 1: love it. Man. It's always a great Yeah, it's always

2144
01:46:14,080 --> 01:46:16,160
Speaker 1: a blast coming on. Man. I really appreciate you having me.

2145
01:46:16,320 --> 01:46:18,120
Speaker 1: I did want to make one more announcement about all

2146
01:46:18,120 --> 01:46:21,519
Speaker 1: those domains I just heard from my boss. Starting very soon,

2147
01:46:21,600 --> 01:46:23,639
Speaker 1: It's not gonna be done news rep dot com anymore.

2148
01:46:23,640 --> 01:46:26,599
Speaker 1: It'll just be news rep dot com, which is awesome.

2149
01:46:26,640 --> 01:46:29,120
Speaker 1: I like that way better. I think it will really

2150
01:46:29,160 --> 01:46:31,439
Speaker 1: streamline things so pretty soon you'll be able to just

2151
01:46:31,479 --> 01:46:34,720
Speaker 1: type in news rep. Awesome. All right, cool man, I'll

2152
01:46:34,720 --> 01:46:38,840
Speaker 1: talk to you soon out. Thanks for having me. Used

2153
01:46:38,880 --> 01:46:43,160
Speaker 1: them listening to self Rep Radio. New episodes up every

2154
01:46:43,240 --> 01:46:47,320
Speaker 1: Wednesday and Friday. Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter

2155
01:46:47,720 --> 01:47:02,519
Speaker 1: at self Rep Radio or