Rebel News Podcast - August 01, 2018


Premier Ford works at the speed of business — not bureaucracy


Episode Stats

Length

31 minutes

Words per Minute

161.18845

Word Count

5,087

Sentence Count

336

Misogynist Sentences

7

Hate Speech Sentences

10


Summary

David Menzies explains why Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford is moving at the speed of business, not bureaucracy, and why those on the progressive left are losing their minds these days. He also explains why he thinks Toronto should get 25 new Councillors instead of 47.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Tonight, Doug Ford is cutting the size of Toronto Council, and the career politicians are losing their minds.
00:00:07.860 Maybe they're just scared they will have to, oh, I don't know, work for a living?
00:00:11.560 It's July 31st. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levent Show.
00:00:21.760 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:00:25.580 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
00:00:29.180 You come here once a year with a sign, and you feel morally superior.
00:00:32.720 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it is because it's my bloody right to do so.
00:00:42.860 There's something decidedly different about Premier Doug Ford's style of governance.
00:00:48.360 At first, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and then it dawned on me.
00:00:52.660 The Ford PCs are moving at the speed of business, not bureaucracy.
00:00:57.860 No wonder those on the progressive left are losing their minds these days.
00:01:03.300 So, late last week it was when Premier Doug Ford dropped a bombshell.
00:01:08.300 Well, it was only really a bombshell to anyone who neglected to pay attention to Doug's time on the campaign trail these past few months,
00:01:17.400 particularly when he promised to reduce government waste.
00:01:21.120 Well, too bad, so sad, for the asleep-at-the-switch progressives then.
00:01:26.080 Because last Thursday night, Ford said he was gutting Toronto's municipal government
00:01:30.840 by cutting the number of city councillors from 47 to 25 ahead of the October 22nd municipal election.
00:01:38.280 And the look on the faces of so many of these career politicians who were on cruise control was absolutely priceless.
00:01:47.900 It was as though they had just taken a drag on one of those joke store cigars,
00:01:51.800 you know, the kind that explode in your mouth at a certain point.
00:01:54.960 And when the shock wore off, out came the over-the-top pronouncements,
00:02:00.000 you know, that Ford's move was undemocratic,
00:02:03.500 that it was a thinly-veiled personal vendetta against Mayor John Tory,
00:02:08.260 that there was no consultation,
00:02:11.040 that the changes were being done, well, just too darn fast.
00:02:16.820 You know, that last complaint is the funniest, folks.
00:02:19.600 You see, the Toronto election is almost three months away.
00:02:23.140 For those in the private sector in which decisions must be dealt with on a daily basis,
00:02:27.880 three months is an eternity.
00:02:30.000 But for many politicians, a three-month deadline is like asking for a task to be completed yesterday.
00:02:37.100 You see, government likes to take its sweet time when it gets around to that whole governance part of government,
00:02:43.820 which is probably why just about every government-run construction program I can think of
00:02:49.440 never came in ahead of deadline and always came in over budget, of course.
00:02:54.840 But as Premier Ford noted in the Ontario legislature the other day,
00:02:58.720 his government is cut from a different cloth than those politicians who worship at the altar of tax and spend.
00:03:06.620 You ask anyone in the GTA, even better, you ask anyone in Ontario,
00:03:12.100 how does the city of Toronto work?
00:03:15.380 Every single person I've talked to says there's too many politicians.
00:03:20.720 And I don't remember any consultation when they wanted to cut the 800 police,
00:03:25.460 or they wanted to raise taxes, or they wanted to get themselves in debt another $550 million,
00:03:31.180 or if they wanted to increase politicians.
00:03:34.840 Maybe I was away campaigning, but I can tell you I never heard that whatsoever.
00:03:40.460 It's about driving efficiencies, respecting the taxpayers,
00:03:44.420 putting money back into the taxpayers' pocket instead of the government.
00:03:47.800 It's about empowering the people instead of the government.
00:03:52.160 I know my opposition, they love big government.
00:03:55.600 They love to spend.
00:03:57.300 They love high taxes.
00:04:00.320 We aren't cut from the same cloth.
00:04:02.660 We're cut from a different cloth.
00:04:04.760 We're cut from a cloth that are reducing taxes,
00:04:07.500 making smaller government,
00:04:10.600 having accountability and transparency.
00:04:13.560 Absolutely.
00:04:14.760 Love it.
00:04:15.500 Oh, by the way, folks, the very fact that the Ontario legislature
00:04:19.420 is sitting during the summertime speaks volumes, too.
00:04:23.720 I mean, the PCs won bigly on June 7th,
00:04:26.680 and 22 days later, they were already hard at work in the House
00:04:29.940 during a time period in which most MPPs are heading to cottage country at warp factor 9.
00:04:36.160 Oh, and how the NDP and Liberal members and the green guy
00:04:40.500 must absolutely despise coming to Queen's Park
00:04:43.900 and putting in a full day at the office during the dog days of summer
00:04:47.740 when they likely feel they should be using this time frame to work on their tan lines.
00:04:54.120 But the fact is, after 15 years of grotesque liberal mismanagement,
00:05:00.040 there's so much work to be done, so much damage to repair.
00:05:04.240 Forget about yours to discover.
00:05:05.640 However, the official tagline on Ontario license plates should read,
00:05:09.360 yours to recover.
00:05:10.840 As for those Toronto City councillors who are screaming that this is Doug Ford's
00:05:15.780 so-called latest blow to democracy,
00:05:18.520 where's the proverbial proof in that political pudding?
00:05:22.080 Toronto, as well as all the other municipalities,
00:05:24.680 exist by the whim of the provincial government,
00:05:27.660 and t'was ever thus.
00:05:28.720 Yet, even so, Mayor John Tory thinks there should be a referendum on this issue
00:05:34.320 that the people need to weigh in on something as fundamentally important
00:05:40.060 as council being slimmed down.
00:05:43.140 Here's what Tory had to say,
00:05:44.560 quote,
00:05:45.280 Change of this magnitude should always happen with a degree of consultation
00:05:49.020 that allows the public to be heard,
00:05:51.580 and I believe a referendum will ensure that opportunity, end quote.
00:05:55.680 Oh, really, Mayor?
00:05:57.840 People power is suddenly a big deal with you?
00:06:00.940 Where was that referendum when City Council recently decided to swell its ranks
00:06:06.000 from 44 to 47 councillors?
00:06:09.040 Oops, all of a sudden,
00:06:10.700 the opinions of Hogtown's great unwashed masses weren't all that important.
00:06:14.780 Oh no, not when government was enjoying a growth spurt
00:06:18.180 as opposed to facing a downsizing.
00:06:21.740 And then there was NDP leader Andrea Horwath yesterday,
00:06:24.780 who laughably accused the Premier of, quote,
00:06:28.260 abusing his power.
00:06:29.880 Here's what she said, quote,
00:06:31.400 The Premier's secret plot, cooked up in a back room,
00:06:34.680 hidden from the people of Ontario for the entire election campaign,
00:06:38.400 doesn't just fit the very definition of a hidden agenda,
00:06:41.780 it is also petty and mean-spirited,
00:06:44.160 and it is the vendetta of a man who doesn't want to lead.
00:06:48.020 Instead, he wants to bully his way through, end quote.
00:06:51.100 Oh well, on the bright side, at least Ford wasn't called a racist.
00:06:55.900 And for those keeping score,
00:06:57.880 I think this is the 181st time in the space of one month
00:07:01.840 that Horwath has uttered a sentence pertaining to Ford
00:07:04.900 using the words,
00:07:06.480 Hidden Agenda.
00:07:07.620 Hey Andrea,
00:07:08.740 it's getting really boring already,
00:07:11.100 especially since there is no hidden agenda, of course.
00:07:14.480 Doug campaigned on a three-word slogan
00:07:16.960 that was so often repeated by his late brother, Rob.
00:07:20.520 Respect for taxpayers.
00:07:22.920 And cutting council in half is going to save those taxpayers
00:07:26.020 some $25 million over the course of a four-year term.
00:07:30.660 And another thing,
00:07:31.660 if the city of Los Angeles,
00:07:33.820 with a population of almost 4 million people,
00:07:37.060 can be governed with a 15-member city council,
00:07:40.600 then why is it so inconceivable
00:07:42.880 that the city of Toronto,
00:07:44.420 with a population of 2.8 million,
00:07:47.160 cannot possibly function with a 25-member council?
00:07:51.640 Moving forward,
00:07:52.920 instead of braying at the moon
00:07:54.600 like a pack of frenzied werewolves,
00:07:57.120 I suggest the old-school,
00:07:58.780 same-old, same-old political elites
00:08:00.760 in the province of Ontario
00:08:02.260 get back with the program
00:08:04.220 and adept to the fact
00:08:05.540 that there really is a new sheriff in town.
00:08:09.040 And this sheriff is charging out of the gate
00:08:11.620 atop a thoroughbred
00:08:12.860 as opposed to lazily meandering along
00:08:15.760 on the back of an old jackass.
00:08:34.560 Well, whether it's saving the planet
00:08:36.600 or saving the whales
00:08:37.820 or saving the fill-in-the-blank right here,
00:08:40.320 the green police just love banning things
00:08:43.820 from plastic bags to incandescent light bulbs.
00:08:47.680 And as for the latest consumer product
00:08:50.080 on their hit list,
00:08:51.580 well, it's the ever-so-humble straw.
00:08:54.820 And with more on this latest environmental villain
00:08:58.320 allegedly bringing planet Earth to its very knees
00:09:01.780 is Mark Moreno, founder of ClimateDepot.com.
00:09:05.460 Welcome to the Ezra Levent Show, Mark.
00:09:07.760 Thank you, David.
00:09:08.640 Happy to be here today.
00:09:09.600 I should have had a straw.
00:09:10.820 I should have been drinking out of a straw here.
00:09:12.260 That would have been more...
00:09:13.100 Well, Mark, you don't want to trigger anyone out there.
00:09:16.380 But, Mark, take us through this.
00:09:19.420 How exactly are drinking straws
00:09:22.380 supposedly killing the planet?
00:09:25.380 Well, the idea is it's plastic.
00:09:27.860 And plastic is the evil of the environmentalists,
00:09:30.640 despite all of the positive benefits
00:09:33.420 that plastic has brought to us as humans.
00:09:36.200 And so what's happened here is
00:09:38.640 it's become the ultimate virtue signaling movement.
00:09:42.300 The idea is that plastic's bad,
00:09:44.140 the straws are horrible,
00:09:45.160 so everyone wants to ban it.
00:09:46.540 You have Starbucks banning it.
00:09:48.180 You have other major companies.
00:09:49.240 You have the United Kingdom
00:09:50.760 being the first major country.
00:09:53.580 Now, the first one in Europe, I should say,
00:09:55.660 banning straws.
00:09:57.160 California, cities in Seattle.
00:09:58.460 So this is continuing.
00:09:59.900 The idea is this is bad for the planet.
00:10:02.180 It doesn't biodegrade.
00:10:04.400 We have to send it far away to recycle.
00:10:07.220 And then it turns out that actually these plastic,
00:10:09.980 because of the recycling laws,
00:10:11.540 it's all going to countries in Asia.
00:10:13.320 And five of the countries in Asia
00:10:14.680 have the biggest disposal problem.
00:10:17.000 They're ending up dumping it in the ocean.
00:10:19.300 So this is part of the problem
00:10:21.460 is we send it off for recycling.
00:10:22.900 To make a long story short here,
00:10:25.660 the plastic ban is now going into effect
00:10:28.620 because the liberals seem to think
00:10:30.200 it's the worst thing on Earth.
00:10:31.420 However, the ban,
00:10:33.160 we're finding in the case of Starbucks
00:10:34.700 that they're actually using more plastic
00:10:36.940 in the replacement for the straws
00:10:38.720 with their new lids.
00:10:39.960 And we're also finding
00:10:41.060 that the replacements for straws,
00:10:43.160 biodegradable and other things aren't good.
00:10:45.020 They're not degraded in landfills.
00:10:46.500 And disabled advocates are complaining about it
00:10:48.760 because they dissolve in liquids.
00:10:50.700 As you would imagine,
00:10:51.580 the substitute isn't as good as the original.
00:10:53.840 It's sort of like the sequel.
00:10:55.100 So the replacements they're trying to mandate
00:10:57.260 on people aren't working.
00:10:58.720 You know, you've touched upon many things there, Mark.
00:11:01.560 And the first thing I want to talk to you about
00:11:03.000 is this whole idea of how good
00:11:04.940 the replacement products are.
00:11:06.440 And it reminds me,
00:11:07.560 about 10 years ago in this province in Ontario,
00:11:10.740 we have an entity,
00:11:11.820 it's a government liquor monopoly
00:11:13.100 called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
00:11:16.020 And in a example of virtue signaling,
00:11:19.280 they got rid of their plastic bags,
00:11:21.380 which were the best plastic bags in Ontario.
00:11:24.340 They were thick.
00:11:25.100 You could carry, you know,
00:11:26.720 lots of bottles in them.
00:11:27.900 And they replaced them with paper bags,
00:11:29.800 which, as you can imagine,
00:11:31.180 are proning to ripping.
00:11:32.920 And when you have a $100 bottle of scotch
00:11:35.080 going kerplunk on the pavement,
00:11:37.760 it's not fun.
00:11:39.160 So, you know, that's what drove me crazy.
00:11:41.700 That's just one example
00:11:42.760 where you had a solution
00:11:44.580 that nobody was complaining about.
00:11:46.960 And simply for the PR aspects
00:11:49.460 of banning plastic,
00:11:51.280 in this case, a plastic bag,
00:11:52.480 you replaced it with something
00:11:53.860 that is inferior,
00:11:54.900 that just about nobody wanted.
00:11:56.500 It doesn't make sense to me, Mark.
00:11:58.840 No, it doesn't.
00:11:59.660 In fact, here's the deal.
00:12:00.460 In California,
00:12:01.780 they're now contemplating
00:12:03.300 a $1,000 fine to a waiter
00:12:05.380 if he offers you,
00:12:06.660 a waiter or waitress
00:12:07.420 offers you a plastic straw.
00:12:09.300 They will be personally fined.
00:12:10.640 On the same thing,
00:12:12.400 tucked away in this legislation
00:12:14.640 are provisions for
00:12:16.160 they can allow a plastic straw
00:12:17.740 if someone is physically disabled
00:12:19.420 and there's no suitable alternative.
00:12:21.500 So what are you going to end up getting?
00:12:23.260 You're going to get waiters
00:12:24.160 and waitresses and customers
00:12:25.500 claiming,
00:12:26.460 oh, well, they were disabled.
00:12:27.540 I had to do it
00:12:28.320 to avoid these big fines.
00:12:29.900 It's a way for the government
00:12:31.220 nanny state to turn us all into liars
00:12:33.440 and to start micromanaging
00:12:34.780 more aspects of our lives.
00:12:37.100 But you're absolutely right.
00:12:38.000 The disabled advocates
00:12:38.980 are now standing up strong here
00:12:40.740 and saying that
00:12:41.780 they don't want to see straws banned.
00:12:43.400 In fact, they're going after Starbucks
00:12:45.120 specifically for this
00:12:46.660 because straws are strong
00:12:48.680 than any other alternative
00:12:51.080 made from these biodegradable materials
00:12:53.580 that they claim to be using
00:12:54.720 or some of them not so biodegradable.
00:12:57.500 And so this is going to go forward.
00:12:59.940 In addition,
00:13:00.880 these five countries I mentioned in Asia,
00:13:03.240 including Vietnam
00:13:04.280 and a couple other countries,
00:13:05.820 they have been dumping
00:13:07.500 all of these liberal do-gooding,
00:13:09.760 oh, we'll mandate all these straws
00:13:12.220 go out of the country
00:13:13.160 and we'll recycle them.
00:13:14.240 Well, guess what?
00:13:15.120 They're not being recycled.
00:13:16.660 So we're ending up
00:13:17.480 with massive ocean pollution.
00:13:20.240 And it's not because
00:13:21.000 we're using the straws.
00:13:22.120 It's because we're not
00:13:22.960 disposing of them correctly
00:13:24.620 and we're not,
00:13:25.720 we're not,
00:13:26.480 some people are saying
00:13:27.600 burn them,
00:13:28.180 put them in landfills.
00:13:29.000 There's other ways to do it
00:13:29.900 than to ship them expensively
00:13:31.560 through fossil fuels,
00:13:32.680 by the way,
00:13:33.200 over to Asian countries
00:13:34.380 which aren't actually
00:13:35.260 meeting the requirements
00:13:36.400 and dumping them
00:13:37.160 in the ocean anyway
00:13:38.080 to becoming a big biohazard.
00:13:40.080 And you know, Mark,
00:13:40.900 this is a very important
00:13:42.280 part of the story too.
00:13:43.460 It's like we are collectively
00:13:45.520 absolving ourselves
00:13:46.920 of taking care
00:13:48.580 of the dirty work,
00:13:49.680 if you will,
00:13:50.380 that we're ostensibly
00:13:51.840 sending these things off
00:13:53.220 to get recycled
00:13:54.080 when the evidence shows
00:13:55.700 that it is just ending up
00:13:57.880 in a landfill
00:13:59.020 or even worse,
00:13:59.820 in the oceans.
00:14:00.440 But because it's way off there,
00:14:02.340 it's in some developing country,
00:14:05.440 that doesn't make it our problem.
00:14:08.900 I mean,
00:14:09.280 this is outrageous hypocrisy
00:14:11.860 of the very worst,
00:14:13.000 I think.
00:14:14.260 No,
00:14:14.820 but it's also in a long line.
00:14:16.540 I mean,
00:14:16.640 we had McDonald's Happy Meals.
00:14:18.600 They came in and said
00:14:19.340 there's too many French fries
00:14:20.460 and we don't need the toys.
00:14:21.900 So they started,
00:14:22.920 you know,
00:14:23.340 changing the amount
00:14:24.240 of French fries.
00:14:24.920 Well, it ended up,
00:14:25.960 parents ended up
00:14:26.860 buying extra French fries
00:14:28.220 or foregoing Happy Meals
00:14:29.600 because kids were complaining
00:14:30.560 they were getting
00:14:31.120 hardly any French fries.
00:14:32.980 And there's other examples
00:14:34.500 like this where,
00:14:35.360 you know,
00:14:36.080 corporate America
00:14:36.900 trying to be green.
00:14:38.500 Campbell's Soup
00:14:39.040 was another example
00:14:39.860 where they decided
00:14:40.620 the salt nannies got on them
00:14:42.740 and said there's too much sodium.
00:14:43.820 So they started reducing
00:14:44.800 the sodium in their soups.
00:14:46.560 Guess what?
00:14:47.160 Sales started dropping
00:14:48.160 because they didn't taste as good.
00:14:49.680 So they ended up
00:14:50.380 having to reverse that decision.
00:14:52.060 So this is all corporations
00:14:53.680 essentially trying to appease
00:14:55.220 noisy activists
00:14:56.720 who go to shareholder meetings,
00:14:58.480 who cause problems,
00:14:59.740 who try to threaten
00:15:00.480 the bottom line.
00:15:01.340 And so they easily capitulate.
00:15:03.400 And then the bigger bottom line
00:15:04.640 is the consumer out there
00:15:06.040 who ends up voting
00:15:07.120 with their dollar.
00:15:08.400 And that's what ends up
00:15:09.820 hurting the most.
00:15:10.480 And we're seeing many
00:15:11.220 of these reversed.
00:15:12.400 So interestingly enough,
00:15:13.700 in the Starbucks ban,
00:15:14.680 you're having the disabled
00:15:15.680 go up against Starbucks,
00:15:17.420 which Starbucks like to see
00:15:18.620 it and see itself
00:15:19.440 as the as the champion
00:15:21.900 of all things,
00:15:23.180 you know,
00:15:23.420 minority and disabled
00:15:25.160 and disenfranchised
00:15:27.740 in our society.
00:15:28.440 So we'll see how that turns out
00:15:29.920 with disabled people
00:15:31.100 lobbying against this straw ban.
00:15:33.420 Well, right now,
00:15:34.380 I think Starbucks
00:15:35.500 has enough problems
00:15:36.960 that by the very fact
00:15:38.340 they've declared themselves
00:15:39.420 sanctuary city washrooms
00:15:41.820 for drug dealers
00:15:43.740 and the homeless,
00:15:44.300 you think, you know,
00:15:45.360 they'd only take on
00:15:46.220 one major problem
00:15:47.420 at a time.
00:15:48.180 But Mark,
00:15:48.720 just before we wrap,
00:15:49.680 I just I still want
00:15:50.700 to get in my head,
00:15:51.440 as you said
00:15:51.920 at the very beginning,
00:15:52.540 there's so much
00:15:53.780 in our lives
00:15:54.520 made of plastic.
00:15:55.400 And let's face it,
00:15:56.560 they improve our lives.
00:15:57.700 And even the environmentalists
00:15:59.100 that campaigned
00:16:00.240 against plastic,
00:16:00.900 I don't think could survive
00:16:02.620 without plastic
00:16:03.480 in their lifestyles.
00:16:04.820 What is it about
00:16:05.900 this tiny piece of plastic,
00:16:07.800 the straw,
00:16:08.580 in the first place?
00:16:09.640 I guess what I'm saying, Mark,
00:16:10.760 I remember reading stories
00:16:12.460 years ago
00:16:13.220 about the plastic
00:16:15.320 holders for six packs.
00:16:18.340 And there was an argument
00:16:19.580 made that animals
00:16:20.560 can get their throat
00:16:22.020 caught in those spaces.
00:16:24.940 when it's discarded.
00:16:26.320 But is there anything
00:16:27.640 particularly,
00:16:29.440 you know,
00:16:30.260 really bad
00:16:31.220 about a plastic straw
00:16:32.420 that would have
00:16:33.460 some poor waiter
00:16:34.420 in California
00:16:35.260 get a $1,000 fine
00:16:37.120 for offering it?
00:16:38.980 The answer to that, David,
00:16:40.280 is ask a nine-year-old.
00:16:41.640 And I'm not kidding.
00:16:42.460 A lot of this was based
00:16:43.560 on the school project
00:16:45.820 by a nine-year-old
00:16:46.880 elementary student
00:16:47.720 who claimed
00:16:48.580 500 million straws
00:16:49.760 were being used.
00:16:50.400 The real number
00:16:50.960 is many times
00:16:51.740 lower than that.
00:16:52.500 He made a couple surveys.
00:16:53.720 The media,
00:16:54.140 I think it was NPR,
00:16:55.140 someone picked up on it.
00:16:56.380 And this nine-year-old study
00:16:57.820 from a few years ago,
00:16:59.040 nine-year-old elementary
00:16:59.820 spawned this whole
00:17:01.440 straw movement.
00:17:02.180 But it's the perfect movement
00:17:03.760 for the left
00:17:04.880 because it's all symbolism.
00:17:06.300 I mean,
00:17:06.460 we've talked about climate.
00:17:07.880 Think of the UN-Paris agreement.
00:17:09.480 Even the UN admits
00:17:10.500 it would have no impact,
00:17:11.580 no detectable impact
00:17:12.680 on climate
00:17:13.160 100 years out.
00:17:14.240 But yet it's the most important
00:17:15.560 thing in the world to them.
00:17:16.640 It's about power,
00:17:17.540 control,
00:17:18.220 virtue signaling.
00:17:19.240 Same thing is true
00:17:20.280 of the lowly straw.
00:17:21.500 And I really wish
00:17:22.120 I had that prop right here.
00:17:23.580 But interestingly enough,
00:17:24.620 on the larger issue
00:17:25.560 of plastics,
00:17:26.700 the environmentalists
00:17:27.600 right now
00:17:28.260 are fighting
00:17:28.700 the Trump administration
00:17:29.560 because they want to
00:17:30.780 enforce these
00:17:32.180 Obama-era
00:17:33.020 CAFE standards
00:17:34.300 on cars in the U.S.
00:17:35.580 where we're going to have
00:17:36.200 that 54 miles per gallon,
00:17:39.040 the average
00:17:39.620 for each fleet of cars,
00:17:41.280 which means what?
00:17:43.180 More plastic in cars.
00:17:45.540 And that's what
00:17:46.140 they've been doing
00:17:46.520 for years,
00:17:47.060 getting rid of aluminum
00:17:47.940 and steel
00:17:48.540 and packing automobiles
00:17:50.080 with more plastic
00:17:50.940 to lighten the weight,
00:17:52.300 to use less fuel
00:17:53.500 to meet the global
00:17:54.500 warming standards.
00:17:55.680 So the irony here
00:17:56.820 is the environmentalists
00:17:57.720 on one hand
00:17:58.400 are forcing
00:17:59.380 a massive increase
00:18:00.720 in plastics
00:18:01.360 in many areas,
00:18:02.280 including automobiles.
00:18:03.660 But on the other hand,
00:18:04.700 they're lamenting it.
00:18:05.620 It all comes down to
00:18:06.620 it's really a war
00:18:08.440 with modern life
00:18:09.440 in terms of all
00:18:11.180 our modern benefits.
00:18:12.000 That's really what
00:18:12.780 it comes down to.
00:18:13.540 They want the virtue signaling,
00:18:15.260 they want the power,
00:18:16.120 and they like the idea
00:18:17.920 that these companies
00:18:18.600 bow to their demands.
00:18:20.740 Incredible.
00:18:21.360 Well, Mark,
00:18:21.740 you know what?
00:18:22.420 There's no making sense
00:18:23.660 of this
00:18:24.000 and there is no appeasing
00:18:25.540 the loony left.
00:18:27.180 If we all acquiesced
00:18:29.160 to a global ban
00:18:30.460 on straws,
00:18:31.320 you know they would
00:18:31.960 just spin the wheel,
00:18:32.940 pick out something else
00:18:33.820 made of plastic
00:18:34.500 and that would be
00:18:35.420 their newest campaign.
00:18:36.860 Mark, thank you so much
00:18:37.860 for weighing in on this
00:18:38.880 and I guess,
00:18:39.960 folks,
00:18:41.000 if you've got straws,
00:18:42.160 use them
00:18:42.600 while you still can.
00:18:46.120 Thank you.
00:18:47.280 Thank you, Mark.
00:18:48.220 And folks,
00:18:48.940 keep it here.
00:18:49.460 More of the Ezreal event
00:18:50.300 show to come
00:18:50.880 right after this.
00:19:02.800 A few weeks ago,
00:19:04.100 we raised the alarm
00:19:05.020 that the Bradford Exchange
00:19:06.340 is now selling
00:19:07.440 this here
00:19:07.920 Justin Trudeau doll
00:19:09.080 for just $130
00:19:11.000 plus shipping
00:19:12.200 and handling.
00:19:13.320 You too can get
00:19:14.200 your hands
00:19:14.740 on a miniature version
00:19:16.200 of the kokanee groper
00:19:18.060 if you so choose.
00:19:19.820 But thankfully,
00:19:20.860 for those who would
00:19:21.560 rather display
00:19:22.280 a political leader
00:19:23.260 of more substance,
00:19:24.440 my next guest,
00:19:25.520 George Peter Gatsas,
00:19:27.180 is marketing
00:19:27.920 a Donald Trump figurine.
00:19:29.460 Actually,
00:19:29.820 a few of them.
00:19:30.940 Now,
00:19:31.380 that's more like it,
00:19:32.460 I should think.
00:19:33.540 So, hey, George,
00:19:34.340 welcome to the Ezreal event show.
00:19:36.480 Thank you so much.
00:19:36.960 Yeah, a pleasure.
00:19:38.000 And tell me,
00:19:38.640 what got you
00:19:39.840 into manufacturing
00:19:41.280 these Donald Trump figurines
00:19:43.720 using 3D technology,
00:19:45.500 I guess.
00:19:45.900 Yes.
00:19:46.860 What happened is
00:19:47.860 when President Trump
00:19:49.700 became president,
00:19:50.860 I looked on the internet
00:19:51.820 for something,
00:19:53.380 anything of patriotic
00:19:55.360 regarding him
00:19:55.960 so I can buy it.
00:19:57.980 I loved his campaign.
00:20:00.100 The Democrats
00:20:00.860 and the Republicans
00:20:01.660 were all fighting
00:20:02.400 against him.
00:20:03.320 The only people
00:20:04.000 that actually stood for him
00:20:06.040 were the actual people
00:20:07.300 of the United States.
00:20:09.420 So...
00:20:09.560 Yeah, can you imagine?
00:20:10.400 Shock.
00:20:11.920 Shock.
00:20:13.240 So,
00:20:14.320 when I was shocked,
00:20:16.000 I was equally shocked
00:20:17.560 was that
00:20:18.360 there was actually
00:20:19.380 no respectable figurine.
00:20:22.240 You know,
00:20:22.780 that's very interesting,
00:20:23.800 George.
00:20:24.120 I think you told me
00:20:25.180 off camera
00:20:25.620 when you were
00:20:26.280 searching around the web,
00:20:28.020 a lot of
00:20:28.700 Trump merchandise
00:20:30.340 that mock
00:20:31.980 and, you know,
00:20:33.420 defile the president.
00:20:35.100 Plenty of that
00:20:35.840 to be found.
00:20:36.820 And yet,
00:20:37.240 here he is,
00:20:37.900 you know,
00:20:38.160 the president
00:20:38.540 of the United States
00:20:39.260 and nothing
00:20:40.100 that was,
00:20:41.400 you know,
00:20:41.720 done respectfully.
00:20:43.140 Do you think
00:20:43.620 this ties into
00:20:44.740 what I call
00:20:46.060 the uncharted waters
00:20:47.300 we're in right now?
00:20:48.180 That here we have
00:20:49.520 a president
00:20:50.040 that the elites
00:20:51.980 despise,
00:20:52.880 the left despises,
00:20:54.180 the media has an agenda
00:20:55.560 against him,
00:20:56.280 and I've just
00:20:58.400 never seen anything
00:20:59.900 like this
00:21:00.500 in American politics
00:21:01.500 before.
00:21:02.500 Yes, absolutely.
00:21:03.740 And my understanding
00:21:05.260 of this whole process
00:21:06.200 is they're trying
00:21:07.620 to bring him down
00:21:09.800 indirectly
00:21:10.500 through any means
00:21:12.200 necessary.
00:21:13.380 Making fun of him
00:21:14.540 in comedy
00:21:15.000 and making fun of him
00:21:16.120 in product
00:21:17.040 and making a mockery
00:21:19.680 of the man
00:21:20.600 and the position
00:21:21.860 of the office
00:21:22.540 in general.
00:21:23.960 And don't get me wrong,
00:21:24.900 I mean,
00:21:25.240 twas ever thus,
00:21:26.180 especially in a society
00:21:27.680 like the U.S.
00:21:28.380 that embraces freedoms,
00:21:29.820 it's, you know,
00:21:30.320 part of the Constitution,
00:21:31.980 you know,
00:21:32.360 to, you know,
00:21:33.660 do a caricature
00:21:34.480 of a president,
00:21:35.800 you know,
00:21:36.180 to mock him
00:21:36.840 in comedy,
00:21:37.320 that's one thing.
00:21:37.920 But when you see
00:21:39.040 the likes
00:21:39.440 of a Kathy Griffin,
00:21:40.900 you know,
00:21:41.540 posing with a decapitated,
00:21:43.340 bloody head
00:21:43.960 of the president,
00:21:45.360 there is this,
00:21:46.200 I guess what I'm saying,
00:21:46.980 George,
00:21:47.160 there's this element
00:21:47.940 of mean-spiritedness
00:21:49.600 that we've never seen
00:21:51.300 for any leader
00:21:52.540 before.
00:21:53.480 Well, yes,
00:21:54.480 but the beauty
00:21:56.000 behind the United States,
00:21:57.440 the Constitution,
00:21:58.220 the Bill of Rights,
00:21:58.840 is she has the right
00:21:59.640 to do what she did.
00:22:01.620 But in the spirit
00:22:03.900 of respect
00:22:05.080 for the man
00:22:06.520 and for the office,
00:22:07.780 it goes against the grain
00:22:09.080 completely.
00:22:10.900 Indeed.
00:22:11.340 And now,
00:22:11.720 you have been selling,
00:22:13.360 actually,
00:22:13.900 tell us about these figurines.
00:22:15.160 The first one,
00:22:16.360 the one in gray,
00:22:17.520 George,
00:22:18.340 it's Donald Trump
00:22:19.260 in a business suit.
00:22:21.620 And the second one,
00:22:23.900 the white one,
00:22:25.400 it looks like he's in
00:22:26.520 a Buzz Lightyear suit
00:22:28.600 or something.
00:22:29.220 Yes, he is.
00:22:31.820 He's in a Space Force
00:22:34.100 outfit.
00:22:35.680 Oh, okay.
00:22:36.240 An astronaut's outfit.
00:22:37.180 I modeled it
00:22:37.800 as close as I can
00:22:39.400 to the astronauts
00:22:41.060 that we have in space.
00:22:43.440 Yes.
00:22:43.620 Except I added
00:22:44.280 a few little
00:22:45.140 awesome items
00:22:46.940 like the jets,
00:22:49.020 the 45,
00:22:50.320 the Saturn-type planet
00:22:52.560 on the bottom.
00:22:53.540 45 signifying
00:22:54.620 his presidency number.
00:22:56.640 And just pointing
00:22:57.820 to the stars.
00:22:58.820 Right.
00:22:59.540 And also,
00:23:00.660 a nice little gun
00:23:01.920 for the NRA.
00:23:03.700 Oh, well,
00:23:04.200 there you go.
00:23:04.700 That's going to trigger
00:23:05.540 a few social justice warriors,
00:23:07.180 even though it's a space gun.
00:23:09.980 I mean,
00:23:10.280 guns are bad,
00:23:11.040 as you know.
00:23:11.660 And I also see
00:23:12.580 to your left
00:23:13.780 that you've got the,
00:23:15.220 this is a prototype.
00:23:16.500 This is not yet available.
00:23:18.280 This bust.
00:23:18.560 And this is a prototype.
00:23:20.380 It's a 3D bust
00:23:22.800 of Donald Trump.
00:23:23.840 It can be taken apart
00:23:24.880 real quick
00:23:25.780 through interconnections
00:23:28.080 and just standard screws,
00:23:32.000 which I'll just demonstrate here.
00:23:33.700 Okay.
00:23:34.760 The whole thing
00:23:35.840 is designed
00:23:36.720 so that way
00:23:37.660 when it gets sold,
00:23:39.440 there is no instructions.
00:23:41.600 Okay.
00:23:41.900 You just get all the parts,
00:23:43.420 you know,
00:23:43.760 neatly packaged up
00:23:44.920 and with a challenge.
00:23:48.000 How fast
00:23:48.480 can you put this together?
00:23:49.480 Oh,
00:23:49.920 so it's kind of like
00:23:51.020 a presidential
00:23:51.820 Mr. Potato Head
00:23:52.900 for lack of a better description.
00:23:54.380 except all the pieces
00:23:55.780 do logically fit
00:23:56.720 within each other
00:23:57.500 and they interlock,
00:23:59.140 interconnect.
00:24:00.060 Okay.
00:24:00.460 And they're held
00:24:01.280 into place
00:24:01.860 by just a very small number
00:24:05.120 of actual screws,
00:24:06.920 which are all custom made.
00:24:09.040 Everything's custom made.
00:24:09.980 And they get
00:24:10.340 a little mini screwdriver
00:24:13.000 to boot.
00:24:14.620 Okay.
00:24:15.160 Now that one's
00:24:15.900 not available yet.
00:24:16.640 You're still working on it.
00:24:17.600 But tell me,
00:24:18.440 these two,
00:24:19.860 what are you looking at
00:24:22.100 in terms of
00:24:22.640 the off-the-lot price?
00:24:23.900 Well, right now,
00:24:24.720 the little one
00:24:25.460 is selling for $79.
00:24:26.920 Okay.
00:24:27.720 And it's American.
00:24:29.600 And the big one,
00:24:31.940 the Space Force,
00:24:32.780 is selling for $125 American.
00:24:34.540 Okay, then.
00:24:35.320 And it's very nice.
00:24:36.880 They sell consistently,
00:24:40.640 quietly.
00:24:41.140 I tried to go
00:24:43.220 to the internet
00:24:44.260 and put this out there
00:24:45.960 through Twitter,
00:24:47.480 Facebook, Reddit,
00:24:48.840 you name it.
00:24:49.760 And there was no takers.
00:24:51.400 So, you know,
00:24:52.820 the initial moment,
00:24:54.660 the initial time
00:24:55.740 of the offering.
00:24:57.160 So I became clever
00:24:58.720 and I just kept my mouth shut
00:24:59.820 and I put out,
00:25:02.020 I have two direct links
00:25:04.180 to my stores
00:25:05.040 that you can't find
00:25:06.120 unless you actually
00:25:06.960 know about it.
00:25:08.240 And then I just waited.
00:25:09.460 After a couple of weeks,
00:25:12.620 people started
00:25:13.280 paying attention.
00:25:15.160 Oh, so people had
00:25:16.240 to make an effort
00:25:16.920 to find you
00:25:17.720 in this website
00:25:18.520 and that was the way
00:25:19.400 you were able to
00:25:20.200 go under the radar
00:25:21.400 in terms of selling it.
00:25:22.320 Well, can you give out
00:25:23.280 that website for...
00:25:24.520 Well, yes, absolutely.
00:25:25.620 GeorgePeterGatzis.com
00:25:27.060 slash Get45.
00:25:28.940 And can you just spell it?
00:25:29.980 It says George,
00:25:30.840 the normal way,
00:25:31.400 Peter,
00:25:31.880 and Gatzis is spelled...
00:25:33.160 G-A-T-S-I-S.
00:25:34.580 ...dot com.
00:25:35.420 Okay, then.
00:25:36.200 Now, you mentioned
00:25:36.840 something interesting
00:25:37.580 off air.
00:25:38.080 It was about,
00:25:38.660 I think it was Reddit
00:25:39.680 that they were selling there
00:25:41.880 and then there were spikes
00:25:43.360 and then there would be dips
00:25:44.760 where...
00:25:45.480 Well, I posted this
00:25:46.640 on Reddit.
00:25:47.160 It wasn't selling on Reddit.
00:25:48.160 I posted the figurines
00:25:50.720 on Reddit.
00:25:51.520 There was a form
00:25:52.200 regarding the QAnons
00:25:54.040 and all that stuff.
00:25:55.180 I just posted
00:25:56.300 on a lot of the patriotic forms
00:25:57.820 and I watched
00:25:59.820 the pluses and minuses
00:26:02.560 on Reddit.
00:26:03.880 So, I was curious
00:26:05.100 because after a week
00:26:06.200 it didn't go that far.
00:26:07.660 In fact,
00:26:08.020 it went down
00:26:08.700 and then it went up.
00:26:09.880 So, I did a quick test
00:26:11.980 and I did a video
00:26:12.960 on my BitChute channel
00:26:15.460 where I actually recorded
00:26:17.340 over a period of five minutes
00:26:19.680 and watched the positives
00:26:21.240 and negatives
00:26:21.720 go up and come down,
00:26:23.060 go up and come down.
00:26:24.280 And then I knew
00:26:24.800 there was some sort
00:26:26.200 of censorship going on.
00:26:28.880 Not necessarily censorship
00:26:30.260 but counter-positive attitudes.
00:26:33.940 And the whole idea
00:26:35.220 was to economically penalize
00:26:37.280 the promotion of it.
00:26:39.000 Much like what Ivanka Trump
00:26:41.000 has gone through
00:26:42.220 with her clothing line.
00:26:43.740 Several retailers
00:26:44.520 have dropped it.
00:26:45.420 The latest was Hudson's Bay
00:26:46.680 and it looks like
00:26:47.300 she's going to walk away
00:26:48.800 from the entire clothing line.
00:26:52.100 It's kind of disturbing to me.
00:26:54.080 I mean, you know,
00:26:55.680 if you like the Trumps,
00:26:57.800 if you like Ivanka,
00:26:58.940 if you like the clothing,
00:27:00.160 fine, buy it.
00:27:00.800 If you don't like it,
00:27:01.540 don't buy it.
00:27:02.060 But this bullying on the left,
00:27:04.480 I would say, George,
00:27:05.680 to pressure retailers,
00:27:07.880 you know, to drop it.
00:27:09.180 And much like the kind of pressure
00:27:11.300 you went through
00:27:12.640 with the Trump figurines,
00:27:14.280 you know,
00:27:15.140 to just make sure
00:27:16.400 it stays out of the hands
00:27:17.860 of people who want to buy it
00:27:19.200 with their own money,
00:27:20.040 I just find that despicable.
00:27:21.760 Yeah, it's sad.
00:27:23.140 The people who are doing
00:27:24.280 the actual bullying
00:27:25.000 or the pressuring
00:27:25.740 are the people
00:27:26.840 who are non-buyers.
00:27:28.160 They have no interest
00:27:30.600 in buying stuff
00:27:31.300 because their attitude
00:27:33.420 is poor in general
00:27:36.220 and poor in economics.
00:27:38.760 So the bullying of it
00:27:42.440 is more of a virtue signaling
00:27:44.060 and they feel good
00:27:45.840 that they've done it,
00:27:46.640 but they don't understand
00:27:47.800 the economic effect
00:27:48.740 of actually pulling down the line
00:27:50.440 because it's not just Ivanka
00:27:51.660 that came down.
00:27:52.660 It was all the people
00:27:53.600 that she had employed,
00:27:54.880 the thousands of people.
00:27:55.820 So their feel-good attitude
00:27:58.220 of taking down a company
00:27:59.600 is that the indirect consequences
00:28:05.500 is that many, many people,
00:28:08.060 maybe thousands of people
00:28:09.100 got unemployed.
00:28:10.260 Yeah.
00:28:10.560 No, you said it.
00:28:12.100 The left has a profound problem
00:28:13.940 in connecting the dots
00:28:15.120 when it comes to a logical process.
00:28:17.440 George, we have to wrap it here.
00:28:18.800 Thank you so much for coming in
00:28:20.300 and showing our audience
00:28:21.620 your figurines.
00:28:22.840 And folks,
00:28:23.680 you've got the website now
00:28:25.140 if you'd like to buy
00:28:26.060 one of those figurines.
00:28:27.340 I'm telling you,
00:28:27.980 you're getting way more bang
00:28:29.560 for your buck
00:28:30.240 than this plastic lunkhead
00:28:32.680 right here.
00:28:33.520 Then visit George's website
00:28:35.160 and make your purchase
00:28:37.200 just in time for Christmas.
00:28:38.800 Keep it here.
00:28:39.360 More of the Ezra
00:28:39.840 on The Ben Show to come
00:28:40.740 right after this.
00:28:41.700 Regarding my monologue yesterday
00:28:54.380 about the angry Toronto schoolteacher
00:28:56.580 demonstrating eight leftist tactics
00:28:59.500 of debate,
00:29:01.020 Bruce writes,
00:29:02.140 great show this evening, Dave.
00:29:03.680 I love your dissection
00:29:05.580 of the lunatic teacher's rant.
00:29:07.660 It was classic left-wing hate speech.
00:29:10.860 Well, thank you, Bruce.
00:29:12.140 But it seemed as if
00:29:13.500 this social justice warrior teacher
00:29:15.480 was completely unaware
00:29:17.380 of the irony.
00:29:18.540 After all,
00:29:19.300 what she was uttering
00:29:20.440 was indeed far more hateful
00:29:22.020 than anything I said.
00:29:23.540 For the record,
00:29:24.260 I was merely asking people
00:29:25.820 if they were buying
00:29:26.980 the official narrative
00:29:28.080 that the actions
00:29:29.320 of Faisal Hussein
00:29:30.460 had nothing to do
00:29:31.760 with terrorism
00:29:32.440 and more to do
00:29:33.420 with mental illness,
00:29:34.940 especially given
00:29:35.860 a breaking CBS report
00:29:37.400 that he had visited
00:29:38.820 ISIS websites.
00:29:40.120 And merely for asking
00:29:42.300 such questions,
00:29:43.800 this makes me a racist?
00:29:46.700 Gee, I'm really,
00:29:47.840 really having a tough time
00:29:49.140 these days
00:29:49.640 connecting the dots
00:29:50.700 when it comes to making sense
00:29:52.940 of leftist logic.
00:29:55.380 Keith writes,
00:29:56.360 with teachers like this,
00:29:57.800 is it any wonder
00:29:58.520 that today's and yesterday's
00:29:59.960 kids are all mixed up?
00:30:01.920 The Marxist creep
00:30:03.020 shows in education
00:30:04.640 and it goes back
00:30:05.720 to when this female
00:30:06.760 was brainwashed.
00:30:08.060 You know,
00:30:08.880 I'm afraid you're right,
00:30:09.800 Keith,
00:30:09.980 when it comes to the
00:30:10.900 department of
00:30:11.780 you reap what you sow,
00:30:13.460 I find it downright disturbing
00:30:15.100 this woman is indeed
00:30:16.340 a high school teacher
00:30:17.360 who is presumably
00:30:18.620 doing her utmost
00:30:20.000 to indoctrinate
00:30:21.120 impressionable young minds
00:30:22.780 to embrace
00:30:23.820 her own toxic worldview.
00:30:26.280 Man,
00:30:27.020 talk about a walking,
00:30:28.620 talking advertisement
00:30:29.740 for private schools
00:30:31.400 and homeschooling.
00:30:33.340 Stephen writes,
00:30:34.240 you forgot the number
00:30:35.620 nine tactic of the left,
00:30:37.200 shout and or talk over you,
00:30:38.900 not letting you finish
00:30:39.860 what you say
00:30:40.580 and just plain ignore
00:30:41.700 what you have to say.
00:30:43.580 You know,
00:30:43.960 you're right,
00:30:44.460 Stephen,
00:30:44.800 I was indeed trying
00:30:45.900 to engage her
00:30:46.620 in a discussion,
00:30:47.320 but it was akin
00:30:48.300 to having a debate
00:30:49.260 with a jackhammer.
00:30:51.000 Oh well,
00:30:51.520 to her credit,
00:30:52.340 at least she didn't
00:30:53.120 embrace tactic number
00:30:54.220 ten of the left,
00:30:55.260 which is,
00:30:55.860 of course,
00:30:56.700 to act out violently.
00:30:58.880 After all,
00:30:59.520 there is this feeling
00:31:00.460 among some
00:31:01.120 on the far left,
00:31:02.000 such as the rank
00:31:02.720 and file of Antifa,
00:31:04.380 that it's perfectly okay
00:31:05.800 to engage in violence
00:31:07.160 if one feels triggered
00:31:08.820 by certain words
00:31:10.600 and or ideas.
00:31:12.400 Hey,
00:31:12.900 does anyone remember
00:31:13.900 when the left
00:31:14.600 was all about
00:31:15.340 free speech
00:31:16.160 and peace
00:31:16.780 and tolerance?
00:31:18.020 Jeez,
00:31:18.780 what happened?
00:31:20.740 Well,
00:31:21.140 folks,
00:31:21.460 that wraps up
00:31:22.080 another edition
00:31:22.940 of the Ezra Levent Show.
00:31:24.440 I'll be back in here
00:31:25.500 for Ezra tomorrow.
00:31:27.200 In the meantime,
00:31:28.280 thanks for tuning in
00:31:29.100 and hey,
00:31:29.520 never forget,
00:31:30.620 without risk,
00:31:31.520 there can be no glory.
00:31:33.080 Good night.
00:31:33.480 Good night.
00:31:33.520 Good night.