DAVID MENZIES ｜ Why Salman Rushdie was targeted; New Rebel reporter Katie Daviscourt
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
141.28781
Summary
For those who embrace freedom, last Friday was a shocking day indeed. A 24-year-old hooligan attempted to murder author Salman Rushdie at a public event in New York, but why? Raheel Raza will try to make sense of it all, and say hello to our newest Rebel News reporter, Katie Davis-Court, based in Seattle, Washington.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you, in which we look back at
00:00:04.680
some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favorite rebels. I'm your host, David Menzies.
00:00:10.540
Well, for those who embrace freedom, last Friday was a shocking day indeed. A 24-year-old hooligan
00:00:18.260
attempted to murder author Salman Rushdie at a public event in New York. But why? Raheel Raza
00:00:26.120
will try to make sense of it all. And say hello to our newest Rebel News reporter. That would be
00:00:32.380
Katie Davis-Court, based in Seattle, Washington. And what a story she has to tell. You see,
00:00:38.960
Katie first got involved in journalism when City Council and the mainstream media in Seattle
00:00:44.920
decided to basically completely ignore the violent antics of Antifa and Black Lives Matter
00:00:52.940
as they laid siege to our city. Katie shall explain all. And letters, we get your letters.
00:00:59.640
We get your letters every minute of every day. And I'll share some of your letters about my monologue
00:01:04.900
last week regarding how the World Economic Forum wants us to surrender our cars in the name of
00:01:12.260
climate change or something. Sorry, Claude Schwab, it just ain't gonna happen. But hey,
00:01:19.180
Mr. Schwab, nothing's stopping you from giving up your chauffeur-driven limo or trading in your
00:01:25.760
filet mignon for a cricket sandwich. I think that's called leading by example, which ain't gonna happen
00:01:32.700
either. Those are your rebels. Now let's round them up.
00:01:36.180
Those who hadn't heard the name Salman Rushdie before have heard it now, as it's all over the
00:01:53.140
news. Millions of people across the globe know that British Indian author Salman Rushdie was brutally
00:02:00.480
attacked in New York on Friday the 12th of August. Rushdie was scheduled to give a lecture at Education
00:02:07.680
Center Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York, when a man ran up to the stage and attacked him
00:02:14.960
with a knife in the neck and abdomen. Police detained the assailant named Hadi Matar 24 from Fairview, New Jersey.
00:02:24.000
So who is Salman Rushdie? He is a literary giant. His famous words resonate with us today. He said,
00:02:34.160
what is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist. We are grateful that
00:02:43.440
Rushdie is recovering. But how long before some other mad jihadi attacks him? We at Rebel News condemn the
00:02:52.560
attack on Salman Rushdie and wish him a speedy recovery while showing our solidarity by starting
00:02:59.440
a petition to support freedom of expression. Please do sign the petition.
00:03:08.720
In 2007, Rushdie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to literature, making him Sir
00:03:16.800
Ahmed Salman Rushdie. He has won five Booker prizes. Rushdie pushed the margins of culture
00:03:25.200
by addressing issues in his writings which were considered taboo. He uses a wry sense of humor,
00:03:33.280
magical realism, and his own Indian culture to explore ideas from identity, history, and politics
00:03:42.160
to religious themes. He is a former president of the literary and human rights organization,
00:03:49.520
PEN America. He is a vocal and active defender of freedoms. In an interview with Deutsche Welle,
00:03:58.000
he said, we must defend our valuable and hard-won freedom. We have to fight for it if need be.
00:04:06.400
In 1988, Rushdie published his now infamous novel, The Satanic Verses. All hell broke loose in the
00:04:16.640
Muslim world when the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini accused the author of blasphemy,
00:04:23.600
and in 1989 issued a fatwa, a religious edict, against him, putting a bounty on his head which,
00:04:31.440
according to some reports, amounts to 3.3 million dollars today. All over the Muslim world, especially
00:04:40.320
in places like Pakistan, there were explosive rallies and calls to kill Rushdie. Ironically,
00:04:47.840
if you asked the protesters whether they had read satanic verses, you would find that most had not.
00:04:55.280
It was a mob action, but violent and angry. In 1991, two translators of the book were stabbed,
00:05:04.480
one fatally. You may ask, why did this happen? Khomeini wanted to attract political attention,
00:05:13.120
and Rushdie became a convenient skateboard. This was a time when we Muslim reformers saw the clear
00:05:20.400
distinction between Islam and Islamism, which is political Islam, because Khomeini was using this
00:05:27.840
as a purely political move. However, it picked up traction, and soon Rushdie had to go into hiding
00:05:35.440
while Scotland Yard provided security for him. In 2008, he moved to the United States.
00:05:42.160
In 1998, Iranian President Muhammad Khatami rescinded the fatwa, but the harm had been done.
00:06:02.640
We will kill you. We obey the Imam Khomeini the Great.
00:06:12.160
For those who care about freedom, August 12 was a dark day. That's when British Indian author
00:06:18.640
Salman Rushdie was brutally knifed in New York. Rushdie was scheduled to give a lecture at the
00:06:25.280
education center at the Chautauqua institution when a crazed man ran up to the stage and attacked Rushdie
00:06:34.000
with a knife, stabbing him in the neck and abdomen. Hadi Mattar of Fairview, New Jersey,
00:06:40.880
was arrested and charged with attempted murder. It was a shocking display of violence, and in truth,
00:06:47.840
one of the most disturbing elements of this attack is Mattar's age. He's only 24,
00:06:54.000
meaning that he wasn't even alive when the controversy erupted over the publication
00:07:00.000
of the satanic verses in the first place. And yet somehow this would-be assassin was motivated to
00:07:07.520
take someone's life for the alleged crime of writing a book that some in the Muslim world
00:07:13.600
considered to be offensive to Islam? How sad, how infuriating, how disturbing is that?
00:07:21.120
And joining me now for more on this shocking incident is Raheel Raza. Raheel, thank you so
00:07:27.920
much for coming on Rebel Roundup. And I gotta tell you, do you share my surprise that the fact that
00:07:36.080
the age of this would-be assassin, only 24, not even alive when Khomeini issued that fatwa back in 1989,
00:07:45.120
and yet somehow this person has been, I guess, indoctrinated to go out and try to carry out
00:07:53.680
first-degree murder? You know, David, it is shocking, of course, but not entirely surprising.
00:08:00.080
I mean, since 9-11, we have been talking and warning about the dangers of brainwashing young people.
00:08:06.800
Yes. And, you know, here is a pure example. When you look at it, as you say, he wasn't even born when
00:08:13.120
the fatwa was given. So it tells you of the level of the brainwashing. It tells you of the level of
00:08:20.240
the radicalization that a young man born in USA went for a visit to Lebanon and, according to his own
00:08:27.600
mother, came back radicalized. Yes. So people from, you know, thousands of miles away are able to push
00:08:35.600
his buttons. The question that we have to ask and our security agencies and our law enforcement and
00:08:41.840
our leaders is how many Mohadi Matars are there that we don't know about? You know, and that's a good
00:08:48.000
point too, Raheel. The fact that he was born in the United States of America, I mean, I think if you're
00:08:54.160
in a developed world democracy, life is probably pretty good. I don't know anything about this
00:08:59.440
character, but he's probably not languishing in poverty. And yet somehow he was motivated to go
00:09:06.720
out and carry out this atrocious act. I don't even know if he has read the satanic verses. You said in
00:09:12.800
your commentary, so many of the people that we saw from yesterday's decade writing in the streets,
00:09:18.160
they never read it. It's even been reported that Ayatollah Khomeini himself hadn't read it.
00:09:23.760
This is baffling to me, Raheel. Well, you know, you have to understand the mindset and the ideology
00:09:31.040
of the Islamists. And let me clarify that Islamists are those who are using Islam for a purely political
00:09:38.720
motive. Yes. You know, there's no spirituality in it. It is purely political and they're using it
00:09:44.880
for subversive agendas. Yeah. So you have to understand their thinking and their ideology to
00:09:50.480
appreciate what is unfolding. Now, I hope that what is unfolding is a lesson for people who are
00:09:58.160
looking at this. You know, every time I've spoken out in the last 20 years, I've been called a fear
00:10:05.120
monger. But invariably, some of the things that we Muslim reformers have talked about have come true
00:10:12.160
because we have been warning of the signs and connecting the dots. So I would be called a fear
00:10:17.200
monger again. But if I tell you that I believe that at least 40 percent of the Muslim communities
00:10:24.560
are Islamized, you know, they have leanings towards Islamist ideology. Now, this doesn't mean that
00:10:31.200
they're going out, they're going to go out and be violent because it's a mindset. It's a way of thinking.
00:10:37.760
And when young people are brainwashed into believing that they're doing this for God and that they're
00:10:43.200
doing this, they're going to find a place in heaven and that they can give their own lives and they
00:10:49.600
will, you know, become angels and have perhaps wishful thinking 72 virgins at their beck and call.
00:10:56.800
It's all a bunch of garbage, but they believe it. It's staggering. And, you know, one of the aspects we
00:11:02.240
have to look at, Raheel, is the reaction around the world. And I thought one of the most disturbing
00:11:10.960
reactions was in Pakistan. There is a journalist, Ali Waqar. He broadcast for Pakistan's English
00:11:19.440
language Dawn News Network. And he stated that Batar is, quote, a young freedom fighter for Uma's
00:11:27.280
dignity, end quote. I mean, this to me is almost as shocking as the knife attack. I saw that. As you
00:11:35.360
know, I am from Pakistan. I follow the news there. It was very disturbing, very concerning. I saw the
00:11:42.400
celebration, the jubilation. And I waited for at least one organization, even in North America,
00:11:49.520
one Muslim organization to show compassion, regardless of the religious affiliation, just to
00:11:55.920
show compassion for a 75-year-old man who nearly died. That's all I'm asking for.
00:12:01.840
And a week later, have we seen any? No. What is behind that, Raheel? Oh, they won't. Because
00:12:10.080
look at the date. 1988 was when Satanic Verses was published. 1989, the fatwa against Salman Rushdie
00:12:20.560
was given by Khomeini. Maybe it will help you to understand that in traditional Islam, there is no
00:12:30.240
formalized clergy. The concept of formalized clergy does not exist either in our holy book, the Quran,
00:12:36.560
or through the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. But if you look around you, especially in the Shia
00:12:42.480
faith. Now, Hadi Matar was following the Shia faith. And in the Shia faith, of which Khomeini is also a
00:12:50.560
part, they have the ayatollahs who behave like they are divinely appointed. And these people, the masses,
00:13:02.000
have been brainwashed to believe that whatever the mullah, whatever the ayatollah, whatever the clergy
00:13:07.440
says, is a divine message and set in stone. And if they don't do it, they'll burn in hell.
00:13:13.760
You know, it's staggering, Raheel. And I mean, I'm wondering if the lack of condemnation
00:13:20.240
is due to the fear factor. They don't want repercussions. I mean, back when the Danish
00:13:25.120
cartoons were published, I think around 2006, if memory serves me, you remember that, you know,
00:13:32.160
the world's media, with the exception of a few media outlets, as was at Western Standard,
00:13:37.840
didn't dare publish that offensive cartoon. Even on CNN, they would blue dot it like it was
00:13:44.960
pornography or something like that. And I think it was Mark Stein. He said something very profound.
00:13:49.600
We blew it. It should have been every single media outlet from the local town grocery flyer
00:13:56.720
to the New York Times should have reprinted those cartoons because for the amount of dynamite the
00:14:02.240
jihadis would have to buy it would bankrupt them. Right. But I, you know, but the point is,
00:14:08.240
we should have taken a principled and strong stance. And I think basically out of fear itself,
00:14:16.880
you had the biggest media organizations on the planet sitting this one out. And I think it was
00:14:22.160
shameful. It's more than that. It's political correctness. This is not the first time that they
00:14:27.680
watched the hands of anything where they might be targeting the Muslim communities. The Muslims,
00:14:32.400
of course, will never condemn this attack because for them, he is the enemy and they want him dead.
00:14:39.360
You know, so that's simple and straightforward. And you can, whether or not they're jihadis,
00:14:43.600
whether they're moderate Muslims, you know, except for the Muslim reform movement of which I am a part,
00:14:49.680
right. No one has made a peep. So, but for the rest of the non-Muslim, our governments, our leaders,
00:14:59.440
they are terrified to touch anything that has to do with Islam or Muslims with a 10-foot pole
00:15:05.600
for fear of our biggest issue, Islamophobia. And you know, and Raheel, it's not a two-way street. You can
00:15:13.360
do a mockery of Christianity, such as put a cross, you know, in a jar of urine, and you'll probably get
00:15:22.160
a government grant to assist in that artistry. So, it's very odd. It's not a two-way street. And yet,
00:15:30.400
the problem is, this is not a one-off. You know, when we look at Salman Rushdie, it was recently reported,
00:15:35.840
it was a woman in India, Nipur Sharma. I don't know if you know this case. Yes, yes. But she's now...
00:15:41.520
In hiding. She's now in a life of hiding because she dared to read from an Islamic text
00:15:48.400
about the Prophet Muhammad's marriage. And now, there's a fatwa on her. Yes. I mean,
00:15:54.640
I guess, Raheel, is there any hope things are going to get reformed and that this religion,
00:16:02.000
like any religion, like anything, is fair grounds for criticism? Well, the hope lies with us. We are
00:16:10.400
the reformist Muslims. The hope lies with that. One thing I will say that, you know, within the
00:16:18.640
liberal Muslim community, if you want to call it that, and the intellectuals, there has been
00:16:23.200
a lot of outreach from UK to Europe to North America, much more than I thought. You know,
00:16:30.560
so almost everybody came together and said, we have to say something. This is why I started that
00:16:35.680
petition on Rebel News, because I want people to sign it, that we are protecting our basic freedom
00:16:42.560
of expression. That, you know, we are protecting freedom of speech, without which we don't exist.
00:16:50.720
A hundred percent, Raheel. And by the way, where can our viewers go to sign that petition that they
00:16:55.840
haven't already? I believe it's W, the URL is www.istandwithhrushti.com. Fantastic. Well,
00:17:03.600
you know what, folks, it is well worth putting your signature on there if you care about freedom.
00:17:09.200
And Raheel, let's hope Salman Rushdie does make a full recovery. You know, at the end of the day,
00:17:18.480
I think the ultimate dark perversity of this is that so many in the Islamic community say Islam is
00:17:26.080
the religion of peace. But if you don't agree with that, or if you offend our sensibilities,
00:17:32.720
we're going to issue a fatwa, meaning we're going to kill you. And, you know, I'm not saying that,
00:17:39.360
you know, is right across the board with all Muslims. I'm just talking about those who
00:17:43.200
subscribe to political Islamist beliefs. And again, I guess last word goes to you, Raheel.
00:17:51.360
Do you see this getting worse in the years ahead or better, especially since I think there's been a
00:17:57.840
false belief that in the last two and a bit years with COVID, it's almost as though many people think
00:18:03.440
that radical Islam has taken a holiday? I don't think it has. I don't think it has either. However,
00:18:11.040
I'm an optimist, and there's always hope. When people say, I was going to tell you when people
00:18:16.320
say Islam is the religion of peace, I always respond by saying it is a religion of peace as long as that
00:18:22.560
peace is being practiced on a daily basis, as much as Muslims can practice peace. It's only then that
00:18:29.600
it becomes a religion of peace. Other than that, there are many more voices. There are many more
00:18:35.360
people speaking out. There is, you know, Islam is a young religion, not that it is a justification,
00:18:42.000
but it is younger than the other two. It's still going through its regurgitations. If this issue of not
00:18:50.080
having debate and discussion can be brought back, one of the most important things in the development
00:18:56.080
of early Islam was the concept of Ishtihad, which is debate and discussion. But that has been shut down.
00:19:02.080
These days, there is no debate and discussion. They'd rather kill than debate or discuss.
00:19:07.280
If we can bring back the whole idea of debate and discussion, because what Salman Rushdie had
00:19:14.080
mentioned in satanic verses, the so-called blasphemous part, is an idea that has floated around in the
00:19:22.000
Muslim world. And there have been great thinkers and intellectuals and activists and, you know,
00:19:28.720
but they're scared. Yeah. Well, I'll tell you, Raheel, I want to thank you for being, for you being so
00:19:35.680
outspoken over the years and for your bravery, because it does take a degree of bravery. Thank you for
00:19:42.560
coming on the show. My pleasure. You have a great weekend. And folks, if you can, please go to Raheel's
00:19:48.000
petition. Put your name to it if you care about freedom. It's a very worthy cause worth protecting,
00:19:55.200
that is for sure. More of Rebel Roundup coming up right after this. Thank you.
00:19:59.360
When Antifa and Black Lives Matter, the riots of 2020, they overthrew a six block radius of Seattle.
00:20:13.280
It was hardly reported on by our local news in Seattle. And so that's when I kind of started
00:20:18.880
getting my start. I started out as an independent reporter a little bit before the riots started,
00:20:24.080
because there wasn't a focus on the desecration of the city of Seattle by the hands of the progressive
00:20:30.960
policies that have been enacted. And I said, why is there only one side being shared? So I went out and
00:20:35.520
I started reporting the other side of the story, like what Rebel News does, and it is not being shared.
00:20:42.640
So I'm excited to continue my work there. Well, the fact that you had that contrarianism,
00:20:50.320
that you were not afraid to tell the story that the mainstream weren't is impressive. That's the
00:20:55.520
essential character element to be a rebel. Are you willing to stand apart from the from the crowd?
00:21:01.920
But physically to film Antifa, I mean, they are by definition violent. They by definition in believe in
00:21:13.360
shock tactics. They hide their identities. They have the style, the black walk where they're
00:21:18.960
indistinguishable. They all dress in black from head to toe. They are violent. They burnt cities and
00:21:24.160
they would hurt you if they could. Now, you were very wise about how you went about it. But in my
00:21:30.000
mind, it takes a little bit of courage to stand down what is really the brown shirts of our age.
00:21:36.480
Oh, I absolutely agree. And so when I started going out there in the beginning,
00:21:40.640
they would that they like to attack reporters because they consider people out there with
00:21:46.320
phones as cops. They think that cameras are cops. So they hate the police and reporters go and they
00:21:54.240
don't want their crimes to be filmed. So they I've actually been attacked by them a few times,
00:21:59.360
not any violent assaults, but they use intimidate intimidation tactics to silence who they believe
00:22:06.560
is their opposition. So not only have they physically assaulted me, but they have come to my apartment
00:22:13.360
and they know where I live. They have slashed my tires multiple times and they have put flyers of me
00:22:20.320
around my city. They put flyers of my own family members around my city all to try to intimidate me
00:22:26.400
to not report on their actions. And I just think that it is insane that our city council,
00:22:34.240
the Seattle city council actually kind of supports them. They are pro Antifa. They
00:22:39.600
are still using the phrase that, you know, Antifa is that is an anti-fascist group. You know,
00:22:45.280
there's no, they're really fascist. And you just look at the definition of that word. They act like
00:22:49.840
fascists. Can you imagine folks, the city of Seattle essentially gets taken over by violent radicals,
00:22:56.960
be they Antifa or BLM supporters and the politicians support the thugs as opposed to the law abiding
00:23:05.600
constituents that they are supposed to be serving. As for those useful leftist idiots in the mainstream
00:23:12.960
media. Well, it's all a matter of nothing to see here, folks, move along, move along. What a disgrace.
00:23:19.440
It's unbelievable. And joining me now is the newest member of the rebel news team. And that would be
00:23:26.080
Katie Davis court. Hey, Katie, welcome to rebel roundup. How are you doing there?
00:23:31.200
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be a part of the team.
00:23:34.480
Well, thank you for joining us today. And I got to tell you, Katie, my blood was boiling
00:23:40.080
when I saw the intimidation tactics you had to endure by those Antifa and BLM punks. But I guess
00:23:49.120
I always look for the silver lining and things, Katie. And the good news is once you saw what
00:23:54.400
happened to your city, once you saw city councilors supporting these thugs, once you saw the mainstream
00:24:01.360
media downplaying what was happening, you decided basically to become a citizen journalist. And
00:24:08.240
here you are now on the rebel news team. Is that correct, my friend?
00:24:12.400
Yeah, that's exactly correct. So Antifa, I actually got my start a little bit before
00:24:19.520
the George Floyd riots of 2020 and Antifa started seizing cities and really partnered with Black
00:24:25.680
Lives Matter and burned down Seattle for nearly nine months. And the reason why I got started was
00:24:32.960
because the Seattle was really the center of the defund the police movement. And I noticed that we
00:24:41.600
started electing Marxists and socialists to our city council. And the first thing that they started
00:24:47.120
to do was introduce defunding of the police. And because I'm educated, I know that that's a Marxist
00:24:53.360
tactic. And I went, why is no one speaking out on this? This is the United States of America. We don't
00:24:57.920
welcome these type of policies in our country. And so Seattle was really ground zero for that. And
00:25:04.800
that's when I noticed no local media was really reporting on it. And so I went out, I started reporting
00:25:10.560
on it. And then that's when really Antifa started building up their own presence here in the Pacific
00:25:18.000
Northwest, Seattle and Portland, really the epicenter of Antifa. And I was so shocked that our local news
00:25:25.600
wasn't reporting on these issues. And our own city council members, they make Antifa emboldened with
00:25:34.000
their support. I mean, they, one of our council members dresses up their own baby in an Antifa
00:25:41.840
onesie. And you have to think, yeah, it is just shocking. And so during George Floyd, like what
00:25:48.400
you mentioned was they, the real insurrection happened in Seattle. It wasn't the January 6th
00:25:55.360
Capitol riot in Washington, DC. It was when Antifa with Black Lives Matter overthrew a huge
00:26:03.840
six block radius of Seattle in the heart of downtown and created the Capitol Hill Autonomous
00:26:09.840
Zone, which our own city leaders helped them create and actually encourage. And they overthrew a police
00:26:16.640
precinct. And that is really where Seattle is. It hasn't recovered since. We have a new mayor,
00:26:23.680
he's trying, but we're still really a city in despair.
00:26:26.720
You know, and you're so right, Katie. When it comes to Antifa, when it comes to Black Lives Matter,
00:26:34.240
these are Marxist organizations, make no mistake. And they're following classical Marxism, i.e. tear
00:26:42.560
down the status quo and then build it back up in a Marxist utopia, which of course never comes to
00:26:50.480
fruition when you look at the communist countries around the world. They're hell holes, let's be honest.
00:26:56.400
But you know, when we focus on, you know, their impetus for this riot and that zone they created
00:27:05.520
was all about defunding the police regarding an incident that happened all the way over in
00:27:10.960
Minneapolis. But what I don't understand, Katie, take me through this. Say we defund the police,
00:27:17.040
we get rid of the police forces in America. When a bad guy does something really egregious to a victim,
00:27:26.560
who do you call? I mean, have they even thought this through?
00:27:30.400
Yeah, they want to move to community-led policing and it doesn't work. They tried it in CHAZ.
00:27:37.040
They had their own armed guards and it ended in death. It ended in rapes. It ended in
00:27:42.880
property destruction and stolen property. It doesn't work. They want to send social workers out
00:27:49.680
in place of police. But why this also would never work is we are, the Seattle is so corrupt that we have
00:28:00.080
prosecutors that don't prosecute, which has led into, which has created, or essentially Seattle has
00:28:06.800
become a lawless den of criminal lawlessness. Because our justice system is a revolving door
00:28:15.040
for criminals. They get away with committing as many crimes as they want. They go through the
00:28:22.240
courts and they immediately get released because we don't hold our own criminals accountable,
00:28:28.000
which is actually by design with these progressive policies.
00:28:32.400
Katie, tell our audience a bit about Seattle. I mean, I have to be honest. I was only in Seattle
00:28:37.120
once. It was 1986. That was a different world back then. It seemed way more normal. The whole
00:28:45.040
world was more normal back then. I found it to be a charming, very picturesque city. But what I'm
00:28:52.400
trying to get at, as you've mentioned, you've got these ultra leftists, even Marxists on city council.
00:28:58.720
When it comes to Seattle citizens, I mean, can you paint them with that kind of brush? Is there's this
00:29:06.240
support for this kind of anarchy? And also, how did these anarchists get elected in the first place?
00:29:15.360
Right. You have to wonder. So you said you were here in the 1980s. Now,
00:29:20.880
Seattle, Washington State implemented mail-in voting in the 1980s, late 1980s. And we used to
00:29:29.760
actually be run by Republicans, conservatives. Once we implemented this mail-in voting policies,
00:29:36.240
we haven't elected a conservative to city council since mail-in voting happened. So you have to wonder
00:29:42.880
what exactly is behind that. Obviously, that is a very deep investigation to get into.
00:29:50.640
And I'm still working on it. But once you speak out on it, everyone gets removed from their social
00:29:55.760
media platforms. So they try to limit your speech. But I would say that the majority of Seattle are
00:30:02.720
these far left progressives. And it's so interesting because we had the riots that lasted for nine
00:30:08.880
months. Their own buildings were burned down. Yet they are still electing these leaders into office
00:30:15.680
because this is the capital of virtue signaling. They are ran by their crazy, wacky thoughts that
00:30:27.200
everyone. If they vote differently for change, then they are racist or they are really playing into the
00:30:36.400
narrative that all Republicans are bad and they will continue voting alongside these corrupt politicians,
00:30:46.400
all because Trump was elected as the president of the United States in 2016. So we will see what
00:30:54.240
happens. But if they don't continue to wake up, then our city will not improve.
00:31:00.080
Wow. So Trump derangement syndrome is still lingering on in the Pacific Northwest, I suppose. But you know
00:31:08.160
what, Katie, one of the other angles, too, is the perverse hypocrisy of these groups
00:31:15.040
that have laid waste to your city. Black Lives Matter. I don't understand how they go by that
00:31:21.920
moniker when they go into neighborhoods where there are black owned businesses, small
00:31:27.680
ma and pa businesses, and they incinerate those businesses. They create carnage for black people.
00:31:35.840
Antifa, as you know, that's a contraction of anti and fascists. But they use the tools of
00:31:43.840
fascism, intimidation, violence, arson, you name it. They're not anti-fa. They're simply fa for fascists.
00:31:52.480
And yet they're tolerated by people on the left. I mean, I thought we're supposed to argue our points
00:32:00.560
with words. I thought we're supposed to debate. How is it that these groups are so entitled
00:32:07.520
to use violence even against a lady like yourself, vandalizing your car, following you back to your
00:32:14.000
apartment? I'm trying to make sense of it all, Katie. Why is there, I guess, this tolerance for these
00:32:24.080
Right. I wish I knew the answer to that. You know, you're right. They are absolutely the fascists.
00:32:29.520
And so I will say that Black Lives Matter during, whenever there is a rally, because Antifa, you know,
00:32:37.040
they are all essentially white people. Like 99% are white punks and Black Lives Matter. So they're
00:32:45.520
actually becoming less, Antifa is becoming less popular in the United States because they tried to
00:32:51.520
hijack the Black Lives Matter movement. And once they do that, they use violence, they destroy
00:32:55.840
property, they attack people. And then that's, their actions are tied to any other left-wing cause.
00:33:02.160
So whenever they show up, these left-wing groups actually will try to, to, to denounce Antifa, but
00:33:09.600
that, that doesn't care. And, you know, I think that there is a two-tiered system of justice here in
00:33:15.040
the United States right now. And I think what one of the tactics is for the Democrat politicians is to
00:33:23.760
kind of support Antifa and the, and the violence because they need chaos to further their progressive
00:33:30.400
policies to really create a police state, which is what their goal is right now.
00:33:37.040
No, I would agree with that, Katie. I would argue even that Antifa is the unofficial militia
00:33:42.480
of the Democrat Party in terms of carrying out their shenanigans. We're almost out of racetrack
00:33:49.280
here. One last question. Like I, like I said, it's our gain that you got into citizen journalism
00:33:57.440
and we discovered you, and I know you're going to do some fantastic work for us, Katie. But
00:34:01.360
in terms of being a Seattle resident, in terms of somebody who is not an ultra leftist, have you
00:34:07.040
considered moving? Is it that bad there? Or is there maybe does hope abound in Seattle that maybe
00:34:14.720
there'll be a turnaround at some date? Right. You know, I'm a very positive person and I love Seattle.
00:34:21.360
I've been here my whole life. My family's been here, but yes, I absolutely have considered moving.
00:34:26.960
I have my apartment, but I also stay elsewhere a lot of the time because I don't like people knowing
00:34:33.360
where I live, but I also don't want them to win and make them push me out of the city that I love
00:34:39.360
and grew up in. And it is so awful. You mentioned coming here in the past and how we have mountains
00:34:46.320
and oceans and it is really the most beautiful place in the country, in my opinion. And I would like
00:34:52.480
to say there's hope. But unfortunately, things are going to get much, much worse before they get
00:34:57.520
any better. So we'll see. Wow. Well, Katie, you are a strong woman indeed. You keep standing your
00:35:04.720
ground. We'll see how this plays out. And once again, welcome to Rebel News. You have a great
00:35:09.200
weekend, my friend. Thanks for having me on. You got it. It was a pleasure. And that was Katie
00:35:14.320
Davis-Gord from Seattle, Washington. Keep it here, folks. More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
00:35:22.480
And here's the thing when it comes to the war on the car, now being headed up by the WEF and their
00:35:30.800
various useful idiots in government and the mainstream media. This is a battle they will
00:35:37.680
not win. This is a battle they cannot win. For millions of people, including yours truly,
00:35:44.480
a car is not a mere conveyance akin to, say, a refrigerator or a dishwasher. No, a car
00:35:50.960
is a freedom machine. Depending on the season, you enter the heated or air-conditioned cabin,
00:35:58.080
you hit the accelerator, and you go straight to your destination while listening to your favorite
00:36:03.040
tunes or talk radio. What's not to love? As for public transit, well, you know, Elon Musk said it
00:36:10.320
best five years ago, I think. Quote, there is this premise that good things must be somehow painful.
00:36:17.440
I think public transportation is painful. It sucks. Why do you want to get on something
00:36:24.960
with a lot of other people that doesn't leave where you want it to leave, doesn't start where
00:36:31.440
you want it to start, doesn't end where you want it to end, and it doesn't go all the time? It's a pain
00:36:38.560
pain in the ass, end quote. And here's another thing that the WEFers and their useful idiots
00:36:45.520
fail to recognize. We live in a car culture. Be it art, movies, magazines, books, music, our love
00:36:53.840
for the internal combustion engine abounds. Put another way, nobody, not even the globalists,
00:37:00.240
write songs about solar panels and wind turbines. But when it comes to cars, well, let's sample
00:37:07.680
a smattering of audio content from Yesterdecade.
00:37:19.680
We always take my car, cause it's never been beat, and we've never missed yet with the girls we meet.
00:37:37.200
None of the guys go steady, cause it wouldn't be right to leave the best girl home now on Saturday night.
00:37:47.680
Wow, what gold. Indeed, is there a greater pop culture manifestation of the American dream,
00:38:18.080
than the combination of cars plus rock and roll music? And yet, across the pond, we have Dr. Evil,
00:38:25.200
or I'm sorry, I mean, Klaus Schwab, wanting you to, wanting to remove you from the driver's seat
00:38:31.600
and put you where? In the back of some smelly bus? No thanks. Similarly, cars are a staple when it comes
00:38:39.280
to TV shows and movies. From futuristic rides to car chases, Hollywood has long had a love affair
00:38:59.440
This machine only has to be ready for everyone heleara.
00:39:22.420
You know, I don't think there's any drama to be had if the Caped Crusader had to get around
00:39:43.840
Gotham City by taking public transit. In any event, coming after my beloved little
00:39:49.800
men's way mobile is the final straw. And I'm so sorry, but it's simply not going to happen,
00:39:55.960
Mr. Schwab and Mr. Torrey and Mr. Trudeau. Indeed, to paraphrase that famous quote from the late,
00:40:03.960
great Charlton Heston, you can have my steering wheel when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
00:40:13.420
Well, lots of response regarding my monologue from last week pertaining to the latest way
00:40:19.160
the World Economic Forum plans to make our lives miserable. Yes, they want to take away our cars
00:40:25.980
in the name of appeasing Mother Nature. Or is it Greta Thunberg? Jeez, give me a break already.
00:40:34.140
Roboprops writes, personal cars are the ultimate sign of freedom. They hate individual freedoms.
00:40:41.240
Call me bastards that they are. Oh, so true, Rob Props. This is not about environmentalism,
00:40:48.600
but rather pursuing a Marxist agenda. And by the way, what is the greatest threat to the planet
00:40:56.260
these days? Is it climate change or is it COVID-19? And if it is indeed the latter, isn't the car the
00:41:05.340
most hygienic way to get around when it comes to, you know, social distancing, as opposed to,
00:41:11.620
say, squeezing oneself into a jam-packed bus? Gee, whatever happened to follow the science?
00:41:20.700
Friend of the King writes, W-E-F, yeah, okay, sure. I will share my car when you start to share your
00:41:28.240
limos and jets, you hypocrites. Indeed, heck, all simply settled just for the chauffeur-driven limo in
00:41:35.360
trade. Alas, as much as I would love to globetrot around the world like a typical W-E-F-er, my beloved
00:41:44.420
prime minister won't let me leave my own country. Northern Paladin writes, how about getting on China
00:41:53.520
for creating 40% of the world's emissions? Oh, that's right. The W-E-F is on China's payroll.
00:42:00.580
Well, it sure seems that way. And one thing is for sure. We all know how committed China is to the so-called
00:42:07.820
green agenda these days, given the number of new coal plants this country continues to build on an annual
00:42:15.040
basis. Meanwhile, China is increasingly controlling the world's supply of those precious metals so needed
00:42:23.540
for EV batteries. Does anyone else find this disturbing? Boxlore writes, I will resist the W-E-F
00:42:33.560
at all costs until my death. I'm with you, Boxlore, as the saying goes, death before dishonor.
00:42:42.780
Truthfinder55Main writes, the W-E-F backwards is few. Is that not what they want? Fewer people,
00:42:51.820
fewer cars, fewer energy, which leaves it for the few. These people must be stopped. Well,
00:42:59.380
holy Riddler, great observation, Truthfinder, but they only want the great unwashed masses to downsize,
00:43:07.420
judging by their rides and their planes and their hotel suites. The W-E-F-ers are all about conspicuous
00:43:15.700
consumption, but that's okay. They're special people after all. And Brakey Joe writes,
00:43:23.620
well, as someone that doesn't even have a license, it's time I got me three vehicles.
00:43:29.520
Eat it close. Wow. Talk about the Barbra Streisand effect. Welcome to club car, Brakey Joe.
00:43:36.840
So you're going to love it and try to get a car with a manual transmission while you still can.
00:43:44.640
Happy trails to you, my friend. Well, that wraps up another edition of Rebel Roundup. Thanks so much
00:43:51.240
for joining us. See you next week. And hey folks, never forget without risk, there can be no glory.