Firebrand - Matt Gaetz - October 07, 2021


Episode 10: Welcome to the Woketopia – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz


Episode Stats


Length

43 minutes

Words per minute

149.98848

Word count

6,507

Sentence count

483

Harmful content

Misogyny

10

sentences flagged

Toxicity

18

sentences flagged

Hate speech

14

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode of America First, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-GA) takes aim at the deep state and its efforts to delegitimize his political career. And Apple CEO Tim Cook defends the Apple App Store and the privacy protections it provides to its users. Plus, a look at the dangers of big tech companies and why they need to be regulated as common carriers and why you should be mad at them if they don t allow you to download an app from Apple s App Store without permission. And a look into why big tech hates America and why it s time for Congress to do something about it. Subscribe to America First to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news and take a closer look at what s going on in our America First world. Subscribe to our new show on Apple Podcasts and leave us your thoughts and reactions in the comments section below. Use the hashtag on social media to join the conversation and let us know what you think! Thank you for listening and share the podcast with your fellow patriots everywhere! Timestamps: 5:00 - The deep state is trying to destroy my political career 6:30 - Big Tech Hates America 7:20 - Why Apple should be regulated 8:15 - Apple is a common carrier 9:40 - Apple s position on privacy 11:00- What are your thoughts on Big Tech? 13:00 | Big Tech s role in the digital world 15: What s the role of Big Tech in the 21st century 16:00s 17:00 18:40 19: What is the real threat to America? 21: What are you going to get from Big Tech 22:30 What s going to happen next? 23:30 | What s Apple s role? 26:00 // Is Apple s place in this podcast? 27:00 What s your opinion on the future of the digital space? 29:00 Is Apple's role in this episode? 30:00 Are you ready for Apple s app? 31:00 Does Apple s future? 32: What does Apple s a native app in the App Store? 35:00 Can Apple really have a place in the app store? 33:00 Do you agree with me? 36:00 Should I give in to this?

Transcript

Transcripts from "Firebrand - Matt Gaetz" are sourced from the Knowledge Fight Interactive Search Tool. Explore them interactively here.
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:01.000 The embattled Congressman Matt Gaetz.
00:00:03.000 Matt Gaetz was one of the very few members in the entire Congress who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents.
00:00:10.000 Matt Gaetz right now, he's a problem in the Democratic Party.
00:00:13.000 He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing the laws.
00:00:16.000 So we're going to keep running those stories to keep hurting him.
00:00:20.000 If you stand for the flag and kneel in prayer, if you want to build America up and not burn her to the ground, then welcome, my fellow patriots!
00:00:29.000 You are in the right place!
00:00:30.000 This is the movement for you!
00:00:32.000 You ever watch this guy on television?
00:00:35.000 It's like a machine.
00:00:36.000 Matt Gaetz.
00:00:37.000 I'm a canceled man in some corners of the internet.
00:00:41.000 Many days I'm a marked man in Congress, a wanted man by the deep state.
00:00:45.000 They aren't really coming for me.
00:00:47.000 They're coming for you.
00:00:49.000 I'm just in the way.
00:00:53.000 Do us a favor while you're listening to the episode.
00:00:56.000 Give us that five-star rating on Apple iTunes if that's your listening platform of choice.
00:01:01.000 And if you're enjoying the video, make sure you've got those notifications turned on so that you get our episode each and every Thursday.
00:01:08.000 Now, this week's episode is going to attack the politics and policy and ethic of fashion, of all things, from my America First perspective.
00:01:18.000 You'll be surprised at the Dems I dunk on and praise in that segment.
00:01:24.000 But the main focus of the show is the Woketopia.
00:01:27.000 They have crazy rules and dangerous plans.
00:01:31.000 The hall monitors of the Woketopia are in Silicon Valley, of course.
00:01:36.000 And Senator Elizabeth Warren has a point on the dangers of big tech.
00:01:41.000 We need to break up these big tech companies.
00:01:44.000 Think, for example, Amazon.
00:01:46.000 You want to buy or sell goods on that platform, you pretty much have to go to Amazon.
00:01:52.000 And Amazon makes money doing that, but they also rake off all of the information that goes on in those transactions.
00:02:00.000 So Amazon then decides, huh, let's see what else is happening here.
00:02:05.000 Andy is running a pet food business and you had the idea and you had to do the proof of concept and you had to finance it and get out there and start it.
00:02:17.000 Amazon looks at that and says, we can see from Andy's numbers It's turned out real good.
00:02:23.000 So we'll just move Andy, the original guy, back to page 7 and just scoop up all the business.
00:02:29.000 Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google.
00:02:32.000 I'd break them all up.
00:02:33.000 And I say that knowing full well that most of you are hearing or watching this podcast through one of these companies.
00:02:40.000 Whether we like it or not, they are the through point of access to the digital world.
00:02:45.000 Maybe that's why they should be regulated as common carriers to the extent that they do exist in any form.
00:02:51.000 Now, I've joined with Democrats in passing through the House Judiciary Committee legislation that would break them up.
00:02:56.000 Yes, I want to break up big tech so badly that I'm even willing to work with Elizabeth Warren and Hakeem Jeffries to do it.
00:03:05.000 I'm sure they have to hold their nose while working with me too.
00:03:09.000 If my adversary and I seek the same outcome on a particular matter, I'm willing to achieve it despite our different desires for doing so.
00:03:18.000 Big Tech Hates America.
00:03:20.000 It's a chapter title in my book, Firebrand, and it's true.
00:03:24.000 Just listen to what our bipartisan investigation uncovered regarding how Apple serves as an anti-competitive gatekeeper for those who want to innovate and enter the marketplace.
00:03:35.000 The App Store is a feature of the iPhone, much like the camera is and the chip is.
00:03:42.000 My point is, and I'm sorry to interrupt, but I want to get to the point.
00:03:47.000 Point is that Apple is the sole decision maker as to whether an app is made available to app users through the Apple Store.
00:03:56.000 Isn't that correct?
00:03:57.000 If it's a native app, yes, sir.
00:04:00.000 In 2010, Apple introduced an online bookstore called the iBookstore, where it offered eBooks.
00:04:07.000 And the only major publisher that didn't agree to join iBookstore was Random House.
00:04:13.000 Random House wanted to offer its own eBooks, Amidst continued negotiations between Apple and Random House, Senior VP Eddie Q said, and I'm quoting him, I'm quoting him when he said it prevented an app from Random House from going live in the App Store.
00:04:37.000 Q himself cited this app rejection as a factor in finally getting Random House to give in and join iBook Store.
00:04:46.000 Okay, alright.
00:04:47.000 So you were concerned about that the app basically undermined kids' privacy.
00:04:51.000 But another app that used this same tool was AppSure, an app owned by the Saudi Arabian government.
00:04:58.000 Do you recall What Apple's position was towards this app?
00:05:03.000 I'm not familiar with that app.
00:05:06.000 Okay.
00:05:07.000 Apple allowed this Saudi app to remain.
00:05:10.000 So there are two types of apps.
00:05:13.000 They use the same tool.
00:05:16.000 Apple kicks one out and said that one that was helping parents, but keeps the one owned by a powerful government.
00:05:26.000 If that is correct, Mr. Cook.
00:05:29.000 That abscess supposedly did the same thing.
00:05:33.000 Why do you, why would you keep the one owned by a powerful government?
00:05:41.000 I'd like to look into this and get back with your office.
00:05:44.000 It sounds like you applied different rules to the same apps.
00:05:49.000 Apple has sole control over who they allow to market their apps in their app store, enabling them to eliminate opportunity for anti-competitive reasons or really for no reason at all.
00:06:01.000 But it's not the quality of apps that they seek to ensure.
00:06:05.000 It is the quantity of their profit.
00:06:09.000 Those that pose a viable threat, or really any threat, to Apple-developed software, will they seem to suddenly be taken out of the market?
00:06:18.000 For the children, of course.
00:06:20.000 We were concerned, Congresswoman, about the privacy and security of kids.
00:06:25.000 The technology that was being used at that time was called MDM, and it had the ability to sort of take over the kids' screen and a third party could see it.
00:06:38.000 And so we were worried about their safety.
00:06:40.000 The same technologies that were unacceptable for outside competition were just as swiftly snatched up by Apple and rebranded as their own as soon as they were taken off the Apple Store.
00:06:52.000 Sure is a win for companies like Apple.
00:06:54.000 No longer do they need to come up with ideas of their own.
00:06:57.000 They just have to wait for the competition to plant the newest seed in the ever-growing apple tree so that they can pluck and harvest.
00:07:06.000 When you see evidence of this anti-competitive behavior, you have to wonder, why isn't the Department of Justice taking stronger action against Apple or really anyone else cheating the economy to kill innovation and competition?
00:07:21.000 The truth is that at the Department of Justice, the intensity of antitrust litigation is all about the jobs these DOJ officials want when they leave government service.
00:07:35.000 DOJ doesn't want to do nothing about big tech.
00:07:37.000 After all, if you want to sell the antidote, first you have to sell the virus.
00:07:42.000 But they don't want to do anything to actually hurt big tech in any real way.
00:07:47.000 Those are their future employers, after all.
00:07:49.000 There is a revolving door between the DOJ and big tech, as I laid bare here during debate in the House Judiciary Committee.
00:07:59.000 There is a final piece of evidence here, Mr. Chairman, and I did not expect to obtain this when we had our transcribed interview of the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Berman.
00:08:10.000 But in the inquiry of Mr. Berman, the majority asked a number of questions about why Attorney General Barr was asking him to leave the Southern District of New York.
00:08:20.000 And take over as head of the Civil Division.
00:08:22.000 And Mr. Berman explicitly says that the reason that the Attorney General is trying to coax him into the acceptance of that assignment is that it would be, and I'm quoting direct from the transcript here, a good resume builder.
00:08:34.000 Mr. Berman testifies, he said that I should want to create a book of business once I return to the private sector Which that role would help to achieve.
00:08:42.000 How improper for Attorney General Barr to be attempting to lure the US Attorney from the Southern District of New York to the Civil Division of the Department of Justice for the explicit purpose of building a business and then engaging in the revolving door back to the private sector to be able to leverage those contacts.
00:09:00.000 I was struck by To be honest, it's going to be very difficult for Congress to pass these breakup big tech bills.
00:09:14.000 They eked out of committee with Republicans and Democrats on both sides.
00:09:19.000 It's complex and messy to say the least.
00:09:22.000 And as you can see from the Barr-Berman fiasco, the DOJ is in on the big tech employment grift.
00:09:30.000 So outgunned, outfunded, small companies are having to go at it alone in the courtroom.
00:09:37.000 They're suing for their lives, for injunctions, to just open slivers of the marketplace for competition.
00:09:44.000 Usually they lose.
00:09:45.000 But a company called Epic Games just won.
00:09:49.000 And you better believe Apple felt it.
00:09:52.000 Previously, Apple required all transactions within the $100 billion mobile games market to go through their payment system.
00:10:00.000 And they take a hefty mandatory 30% commission for all transactions.
00:10:05.000 You can't escape it.
00:10:06.000 It generated nearly $20 billion per year for Apple with a 75% profit margin.
00:10:13.000 And now, they can't do that anymore.
00:10:17.000 Epic Games just got a federal judge to say that Apple must allow game developers to push purchasers to payment processors outside the Apple system.
00:10:27.000 This is huge.
00:10:29.000 In the days following the ruling, Apple lost $85 billion in valuation because now the marketplace has more choice.
00:10:37.000 Choice empowers consumers and it drives innovation and I'm for it.
00:10:42.000 It isn't just Apple who tries to scrub out its competition.
00:10:46.000 We have large conglomerates like Facebook who are more than willing to throw their elbows in the face of any competitor that comes their way.
00:10:55.000 You can see me here questioning Facebook's very own Mark Zuckerberg defending the acquisition of anyone that might pose a threat to their market dominance.
00:11:05.000 Mr. Zuckerberg, what is a digital land grab?
00:11:12.000 Congressman, I'm not sure what you're referring to.
00:11:14.000 Well, in the emails that your company produced to the committee, there's one from David Wehner in 2014, where he's describing under the mergers and acquisitions advice within the company that you need to engage in a land grab.
00:11:31.000 And he says, I hate the word land grab, but I think that's the best convincing argument, and we should own that.
00:11:37.000 And it goes on to describe a strategy wherein Facebook would spend 5 to 10 percent of its market cap each year to shore up its market position.
00:11:45.000 Does that refresh your recollection?
00:11:48.000 Yes, Congressman, thanks for the opportunity to address this and, frankly, to correct the record, because I believe that what he was referring to was a question that was incoming from investors about whether we would continue to acquire different companies.
00:12:06.000 I don't think that that wasn't referring to an internal strategy.
00:12:10.000 It was referring to an external question that we were facing about how investors should expect us to act going forward.
00:12:19.000 And I think he was discussing the fact that as mobile phones were growing in popularity, there were a lot of new ways that people could connect and communicate that were part of this overall broader space and market around humanity.
00:12:38.000 It seems to be both internal and external because then in an email from you in 2012 we see a similar sentiment expressed.
00:12:47.000 You write, we can likely always just buy any competitive startups.
00:12:52.000 So is your desire to limit competition by purchasing your competitors consistent with The message to your investors that the way you'll run your company is through digital land grabs.
00:13:08.000 Congressman, I'm not sure I agree with the characterization of how we communicated with investors.
00:13:13.000 But I think the broader point is that there were a lot of new ways that people can connect that were created by smartphones.
00:13:23.000 This is about your merger and acquisition strategy.
00:13:25.000 You went on to say one thing about startups is you can often acquire them.
00:13:28.000 So, I mean, I'm not interested in how people connect.
00:13:30.000 I'm interested in how you acquire businesses to limit competition.
00:13:34.000 The gentleman at the time has expired, but the witness may answer the question.
00:13:39.000 Congressman, in order to serve people better and help people connect in all the ways they would want, we innovated and built a lot of new use cases internally, and we acquired others.
00:13:49.000 And that, I think, has been a very successful strategy at serving people well.
00:13:56.000 And a lot of the companies that we've been able to acquire have gone on to reach and help connect many more people than they would have been able to on their own.
00:14:05.000 You've grabbed a lot of land.
00:14:07.000 I would say I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
00:14:09.000 Not only are big tech companies willing to spend their money to remove those who seek to compete against them, they are willing to lose money to do so.
00:14:16.000 $200 million worth, in fact.
00:14:18.000 Take a listen.
00:14:19.000 We saw one of your profit and loss statements and it appears that in one month alone, Amazon was willing to bleed over $200 million in diaper profit losses.
00:14:32.000 Mr. Bezos, how much money was Amazon ultimately willing to lose on this campaign to undermine diapers.com?
00:14:41.000 Thank you for the question.
00:14:42.000 I don't know the direct answer to your question.
00:14:45.000 This is going back in time, I think, maybe 10 or 11 years or so.
00:14:49.000 Normally, I view the government as a last resort to solve just about any problem.
00:14:54.000 But this is the last resort.
00:14:57.000 American innovators should not be shut out of a marketplace just because there's a bigger company willing to snuff them out for the monopoly with anti-competitive practices.
00:15:07.000 This is why I support the antitrust legislation that is currently being put forth in Congress.
00:15:13.000 Specifically, bills like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act would prevent companies like Apple and Amazon from giving preference to their own products and stifling those who would compete for the digital space.
00:15:27.000 It is bills like this that will put American innovators first, allowing them the opportunity to prosper and grow American technology.
00:15:36.000 I urge others to support these bills, as does our friend Tucker Carlson.
00:15:41.000 Well, the House Judiciary Committee just passed six bipartisan antitrust bills today that could finally in the end lead to breaking up the big tech companies and saving the nation.
00:15:51.000 One bill, it's called the American Choice Innovation Online Act, prohibits big tech companies from giving preference to their own products on their platforms.
00:15:59.000 That's a typical piece of antitrust legislation.
00:16:01.000 It also prevents them from discriminating against their competitors.
00:16:05.000 Another bill is called Ending Platform Monopolies Act, and that bill could force tech companies to break up in the end and sell their assets.
00:16:14.000 That bill passed by a single vote, in part thanks to two Republicans, Matt Gaetz and Ken Buck.
00:16:21.000 Republicans have talked about big tech censorship for years.
00:16:24.000 Ooh, we're against censorship.
00:16:26.000 Yet only a handful supported these bills.
00:16:28.000 In fact, most Republicans on the committee opposed them.
00:16:32.000 Why?
00:16:33.000 Well, let's see.
00:16:34.000 Big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon and Apple lobbied heavily against these bills.
00:16:40.000 Apple CEO Tim Cook even called Nancy Pelosi personally to complain about them.
00:16:45.000 Who else took the side of big tech to oppose these antitrust efforts?
00:16:49.000 Well, let's see.
00:16:50.000 House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did that.
00:16:52.000 He said these bills would give government antitrust agencies too much power.
00:16:56.000 Really?
00:16:57.000 More power than Google has?
00:16:58.000 Probably not!
00:17:00.000 We don't know where he got that talking point.
00:17:01.000 Maybe from Jeff Miller, his old friend.
00:17:03.000 Who's Jeff Miller?
00:17:04.000 Well, he's a Republican consultant and fundraiser.
00:17:06.000 He's been close to McCarthy for decades.
00:17:08.000 He also, not incidentally, is a lobbyist for Apple and Amazon.
00:17:13.000 Those two companies have paid his firm more than a million dollars combined since he began representing them two years ago.
00:17:18.000 So these bills are out of committee.
00:17:20.000 They still need to be voted on in the House and the Senate.
00:17:23.000 And by the way, they are not perfect.
00:17:24.000 No bill is perfect.
00:17:26.000 But this may be the best chance to pass antitrust legislation that will curb the power of big tech that is strangling our democracy.
00:17:33.000 And so, of course, we're rooting for Congress to do just that.
00:17:36.000 Back in June, the House Judiciary Committee undertook the task of considering this legislation.
00:17:40.000 The Ending Platform Monopolies Act was reported out of committee by a vote of 21 to 20. I'm proud to have been the 21st vote in favor of it.
00:17:52.000 But Nancy Pelosi hasn't signaled that these bills are coming to the floor for a full vote.
00:17:58.000 We must wonder why.
00:18:00.000 During the 2020 election cycle, Google's parent company, Alphabet, contributed 80% of its $21 million to Democrats.
00:18:11.000 In the same time, Microsoft, through their employees, contributed 75% of its $17 million in donations to Democrats.
00:18:20.000 Furthermore, Amazon contributed roughly 86% of its $8.9 million in individual donations to Democrat candidates.
00:18:28.000 Facebook, 80% of its 6 million to Democrats.
00:18:33.000 Apple donated 5.7 million, of which nearly 80% went to Democrats.
00:18:39.000 Now, there are other packs and vehicles that these big tech companies move many more millions of dollars through, but this just gives you a sense of the ratios and where their minds and hearts truly are.
00:18:53.000 Sometimes, the best government money can buy is a government that you know won't litigate against you from the DOJ or legislate against you from the DCCC. I recently went on a fact-finding mission to Portland, Oregon.
00:19:09.000 How is life in the Woketopia? 0.97
00:19:11.000 Portland is basically Antifa's Batcave.
00:19:15.000 Portlandia, the show, it reminds us that this is the place millennials go to retire.
00:19:21.000 A liberal paradise embodied in a city.
00:19:24.000 They're defunding police, embracing taxpayer-funded needle exchange.
00:19:28.000 Water and food are put out for the homeless.
00:19:31.000 The rich are heavily taxed, like a neo-modern reparations of sorts.
00:19:37.000 Social services abound, but I have to use the term service rather loosely.
00:19:42.000 All bathrooms are gender-neutral, but for customers only, of course.
00:19:47.000 And there are far fewer of those.
00:19:52.000 It's easy to tear down.
00:19:53.000 Harder to build.
00:19:54.000 This has been the hallmark of the left since Marx moved into his friend's basement and started writing.
00:19:59.000 As is tradition, development in Portland is absent.
00:20:03.000 Destruction is everywhere.
00:20:05.000 They have to fence and barbed wire their storefronts and streets like it's Sarajevo in the 90s.
00:20:11.000 Here in America, today, in 2021...
00:20:14.000 And if you ask a Portlander why their storefronts are boarded up like Florida anticipating a hurricane, they tell you it's for a good cause.
00:20:22.000 BLM and the oppression and senseless shooting of black Americans by police. 0.99
00:20:28.000 When walking the streets of Portland, I can tell you it's not the police you're afraid of. 0.97
00:20:33.000 It's the zombies who just got done chasing the dragon.
00:20:37.000 By the way, I guess somebody ought to tell the 15,000 Haitians camped at the southern border in Del Rio, Texas to turn around and go home, least they be subjected to our evil, irredeemable country and its systemic racism. 0.96
00:20:51.000 Having said this, we did meet some pretty great folks in Portland, especially in law enforcement.
00:20:56.000 But at times, I had to remember that this wasn't a foreign trip to Haiti or Syria.
00:21:02.000 Every day, people in America's cities are living in filth and squalor, often because the utopian-sounding policies pushed by the left result in chaos and failure.
00:21:16.000 I wonder if they named this place Outrage before or after the riots.
00:21:20.000 It would seem that there would be reasonable basis for both.
00:21:24.000 I came across a comic book store that undoubtedly serves as some sort of underworld meeting place in the dark hours.
00:21:30.000 Nothing like friendly ladies from the Women and Women First bookstore. 0.99
00:21:35.000 Hi, welcome to Women and Women First. 0.89
00:21:41.000 What happened to your pants?
00:21:44.000 They're frayed.
00:21:46.000 Um, the PSU bookstore sent me here.
00:21:49.000 I'm actually just, like, getting a bunch of books for class, for my learning studies class.
00:21:53.000 Do you have, like, a computer system where I can just look it up?
00:21:55.000 No, no, we're that computer. 0.97
00:21:58.000 Okay, um, different daughters, vaginas and owner's manual. 1.00
00:22:02.000 Hold on, slow down. 0.99
00:22:03.000 Different daughters.
00:22:04.000 If we could order that for you, it'll take a year to get here.
00:22:08.000 It has to be written.
00:22:09.000 They had this amazing poster in the front window.
00:22:13.000 198 methods of non-violent action.
00:22:18.000 Many of these methods we support strongly.
00:22:21.000 Like 1. Public speeches.
00:22:23.000 9. Books.
00:22:24.000 20. Prayer and worship.
00:22:27.000 38. Marches.
00:22:29.000 47. Assembly of protest or support.
00:22:32.000 Now, the left would be wise to support these principles without selective abandon.
00:22:37.000 After all, they tried to cancel Josh Hawley's book because they didn't like his viewpoint.
00:22:43.000 California venues canceled political assemblies of support for Marjorie Taylor Greene and me because they're triggered by America First content.
00:22:53.000 I covered in an earlier episode that the Democrat governor of New Jersey has me under criminal investigation for giving a political speech.
00:23:01.000 Hundreds of our fellow Americans have been targeted by the FBI for participation in nonviolent activities on January 6th.
00:23:10.000 But if this 198 Methods for Nonviolent Action is a playbook, it's various parts incoherent, contradictory, weird, downright grisly, and yes, violent, meaning perfectly Portland.
00:23:25.000 Let's detail the plan the left has devised in their Portland paradise for the rest of us to resolve conflicts for society.
00:23:33.000 Mock awards, 14. Mock elections, 17. And even mock funerals, 43. It sounds quirky to start.
00:23:42.000 Until you get to protest disrobings at 22, please know, can you imagine a society where when we get mad at each other, one advantage we have to get our way is to be so physically disgusting that the thought of us taking our clothes off would force the other side to relent?
00:24:01.000 If the left is serious about number 22, Republicans maybe have to nominate like Chris Christie just for deterrence.
00:24:09.000 Actually, of those two options, seeing him as the nominee would be worse.
00:24:17.000 Self-exposure to the elements at 158 seems intense.
00:24:21.000 You've got to be all in for that, to say the least.
00:24:24.000 At a MAGA rally, the only thing you have to do to expose yourself to the elements might be enduring a little bit of rain.
00:24:31.000 Rude gestures at 30 or taunting at 32 seem an unlikely way to make America great or kind again.
00:24:40.000 Meanness won't be the way to achieve number 33, fraternization.
00:24:45.000 Is this encouraging sleeping with the enemy?
00:24:48.000 Naughty naughty Portland.
00:24:50.000 54 is turning one's back.
00:24:52.000 We've actually seen that successful before when police turned their back on failed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
00:24:59.000 De Blasio embraced the anti-police Portland agenda.
00:25:04.000 Say what you will about Michael Bloomberg, but New York City was a more vibrant place with him in charge.
00:25:09.000 He may have taken away your guns and super gulps, but he didn't surrender the streets like de Blasio. 0.66
00:25:16.000 De Blasio went full Portland and it shows.
00:25:18.000 Never go full Portland.
00:25:21.000 They support embargoes 92-96 and severing diplomatic relations 154. But not with communist countries like Cuba.
00:25:30.000 Black Lives Matter opposes that blacklisting.
00:25:35.000 The fact that 11.3 million predominantly non-white people are being truly oppressed 90 miles from the United States is less significant to the woketopia than supporting a communist ideology.
00:25:48.000 For the tyrannical left, politics runs deeper than blood or color.
00:25:56.000 Excommunication is method 58. They welcome people pooping on their streets. 1.00
00:26:01.000 I observed a man pick up an abandoned half sandwich and then pee into a mailbox.
00:26:06.000 He might be elected the next mayor.
00:26:10.000 A young activist actually approached me to sign a petition recalling the current mayor, Wimpy Ted Wheeler.
00:26:16.000 So it might happen sooner than you think.
00:26:19.000 Bad news for Wheeler.
00:26:21.000 I'm sure he thought that he would be big man on campus by standing with and supporting the rioters during the destructive summer of love.
00:26:28.000 I stand with you no matter what.
00:26:33.000 And if they launch the tear gas against you, they are launching the tear gas against me.
00:26:40.000 So you can do all of these destructive things.
00:26:42.000 You can even agree with the people who are being destructive.
00:26:46.000 But disagree politically?
00:26:49.000 Excommunication.
00:26:49.000 It's the Portland way, it seems.
00:26:52.000 It's not just that the woketopians would excommunicate you. 0.99
00:26:55.000 I think they'll excommunicate themselves if you give them time.
00:27:00.000 60, 61, 64, and 65 call for ending sports and social gatherings, withdrawing from social affairs and institution, refusal to leave home, and total personal non-cooperation.
00:27:14.000 Was the Woke playbook co-authored by Ted Kaczynski or something?
00:27:18.000 Sounds like the pandemic lockdowns are a catalyst for this paradise.
00:27:23.000 But it all seems so sad and lonely.
00:27:26.000 The list now starts to get explicit.
00:27:29.000 119 calls for economic shutdown.
00:27:31.000 They seem to have achieved much of this already in Portland.
00:27:34.000 Businesses can't survive this.
00:27:36.000 But is your family better off with a shutdown of the American economy, all for the sake of woke Marxist control?
00:27:44.000 Would shutdown be good for you?
00:27:47.000 I say we shut down bad ideas, not the American way of life. 0.68
00:27:51.000 And we should get the chance to do so if they follow the left's plan dutifully.
00:27:56.000 123-131 call for boycotts of elections and government service.
00:28:00.000 Tell you what, I suggest the left follow these commandments first.
00:28:04.000 And don't forget 121, refusal of public support.
00:28:08.000 Nothing will stick it to the man like you tearing up that government welfare check right in our faces.
00:28:13.000 Portland, be true to your Nike identity on this one.
00:28:16.000 Just do it.
00:28:18.000 Boycott the elections.
00:28:19.000 Tear up the government support.
00:28:21.000 Actually, that might lead to better life in Portland.
00:28:24.000 Now things get spooky at number 69. Collective disappearance?
00:28:29.000 Is this some sort of cult death pact like Jim Jones and the Kool-Aid stuff?
00:28:34.000 Real grim.
00:28:36.000 If the woke mob collectively disappeared, just how would the rest of us cope?
00:28:42.000 The list goes on to showcase the real goal.
00:28:45.000 And it's not disappearing.
00:28:48.000 Social disobedience, 63. Non-obedience, 134. Disobedience of laws, 141. Blocking lines of command, 143. Obstruction, 144. Ignoring court orders, 146. You see, they are playing for keeps.
00:29:04.000 Are you paying attention?
00:29:05.000 It starts to feel more like I'm walking into shocking art supplies.
00:29:10.000 Haunting.
00:29:31.000 31.
00:29:32.000 Haunting officials.
00:29:35.000 Inviting people into a political movement predicated on using haunting as a force for change.
00:29:42.000 Does a voodoo doll come with membership in this political group?
00:29:46.000 148. Mutiny.
00:29:49.000 On the 198 methods for non-violent change, number 148 is mutiny.
00:29:56.000 Mutiny isn't a term we traditionally associate with non-violence.
00:30:00.000 Catch the signal here, not the noise.
00:30:03.000 They also put the word nonviolent in front of a bunch of stuff that would typically ignite violence, and they know it.
00:30:11.000 Harassment, 161. Raids, 168. Air raids, 169. What in the world is a nonviolent air raid?
00:30:18.000 I could see that escalating quickly.
00:30:21.000 Land seizure, 183. Not typically a non-violent act.
00:30:26.000 Occupation, 173. An invasion, 170. Just another run-of-the-mill, non-violent invasion.
00:30:34.000 178 is guerilla theater.
00:30:36.000 This could just be confusing to people.
00:30:39.000 Now the list rounds out with the express objective, overload administrative systems, seeking imprisonment, and number 198, setting up a parallel government.
00:30:52.000 They want to take what we have, ignore it, overload it, attack it, destroy it, and replace it.
00:31:01.000 They want to build a parallel society under these crazy rules.
00:31:06.000 God help us, it may look something like Portland.
00:31:09.000 The truth is, as barking mad as all of this is, we shouldn't take it lightly.
00:31:15.000 If all we do is mock them and go back to work, we'll end up living under these rules.
00:31:20.000 The political left is gaining ground in America today. 0.97
00:31:24.000 So calling out their lunacy and hypocrisy is not enough.
00:31:27.000 The left makes gains and establishment Republicans just complain about it on far too many days. 0.70
00:31:34.000 We have to fight this.
00:31:36.000 The left controls the executive and legislative branches of our government.
00:31:40.000 They're scheduling and scheming to pack the Supreme Court.
00:31:44.000 The only thing stopping the left's Portlandia dream or nightmare is us.
00:31:50.000 America first conservatives.
00:31:53.000 And if you want to see how they would operate if they had supreme unchecked power to take over and control our country, look no further than the microstates they control now.
00:32:03.000 From Portland to California to Chicago, Baltimore, DC, New York City.
00:32:09.000 This isn't the country I want for our great people, but great Americans live in those places under this terrible rule.
00:32:16.000 If we're going to stop this dystopic future in its tracks, we are going to have to get real tough, real fast.
00:32:23.000 The future is up for grabs, and we have no choice but to win it.
00:32:28.000 For there is no distant land to run to, no place to go, should we fail in saving America.
00:32:36.000 Fashion.
00:32:37.000 It's very political.
00:32:38.000 Sometimes it's destructive and deadly.
00:32:42.000 A fashion faux pas has killed many a career on the runway. 0.98
00:32:46.000 Politics is the runway for ugly people. 0.99
00:32:49.000 And fashion can be weaponized. 0.62
00:32:51.000 Who could forget George H.W. Bush's socks?
00:32:55.000 We make fast calls on people's fashion all the time, whether we realize it or not.
00:32:59.000 In an article published in the March 2020 issue of Nature Human Behavior, authors O, Shafir, and Todorov of New York University and Princeton conclude that a clothing's quality defines how others perceive competence.
00:33:15.000 After all, for many, why do good when you can look good?
00:33:20.000 Image as a metric of competence is a rising trend.
00:33:23.000 The generation that did it all for the gram is very visual. 0.76
00:33:27.000 They didn't sit up at night talking on the landline for hours like Gen X or on AIM Instant Messenger with four friends at once chatting like me and all the fellow zennials out there.
00:33:39.000 Conservative media went nuts when AOC wore a Tax the Rich dress to the Met Gala.
00:33:44.000 I loved it.
00:33:45.000 First, she looked great.
00:33:47.000 In an era when Victoria's Secret cancels fashion shows and surrenders to wokeness, it's nice for people to lean in and look good.
00:33:55.000 Second, and perhaps more importantly, the troll is epic.
00:33:59.000 Most people would do everything at the Met to fit in amongst the elite.
00:34:04.000 She knew what she was doing, getting attention on her terms on their turf.
00:34:08.000 Bravo!
00:34:10.000 Other strong female figures have used fashion in politics as well. 1.00
00:34:14.000 Kimberly Guilfoyle has a look. 0.98
00:34:17.000 It says power, control, achievement, excellence, success.
00:34:22.000 These reinforce MAGA political themes.
00:34:26.000 Men get in on it too.
00:34:27.000 Tucker had the bow tie forever, a wasp and brace for sure, even if he hasn't worn it for years.
00:34:33.000 The best dressed congressman is Congressman Jeff Van Drew.
00:34:37.000 He's a really good person, actually.
00:34:39.000 Just take a moment and ask yourself, what district do you think he represents?
00:34:44.000 Of course it's the Jersey Shore.
00:34:48.000 Van Drew was elected a Democrat, switched to become a Republican, and won re-election anyway.
00:34:53.000 That is a boss Nucky Thompson move if there ever was one, and the wardrobe is there to drive home the point.
00:35:01.000 But if there is a political figure I want to commend for using fashion to make a point that should be front of mind to American consumers...
00:35:10.000 It's Jill Biden.
00:35:11.000 Jill Biden is the first First Lady to have the courage and resolve and power to outfit repeat.
00:35:21.000 While she changed up her mask and accessories to freshen the look, Jill Biden wore this classy and stylish Narcisco Rodriguez piece to the Tokyo Olympics.
00:35:32.000 And in Florida with well-known American tyrant Dr. Anthony Fauci.
00:35:37.000 This wasn't the first lady economizing choices to accommodate a carry-on. 0.99
00:35:42.000 She isn't budget-restricted.
00:35:44.000 She was making a point, and it's one America-first nationalists, populist localists, and woke environmentalists alike need to hear. 0.98
00:35:55.000 Fast fashion sucks. 0.94
00:35:57.000 There's nothing chic about waste. 0.99
00:36:00.000 A culture which throws away its things will itself be tossed away.
00:36:06.000 The average piece of clothing in America is worn seven times and discarded.
00:36:11.000 Seven times!
00:36:12.000 And I know that some of you must be wearing things once and throwing them away because I have worn this Dewey Destin's tank top over 700 times.
00:36:21.000 We haven't made the clothes we actually wear in our country for a long time.
00:36:26.000 The price is lower, the quality lower, and when we're done wearing trendy, cheap, crappy stuff, We pollute the third world with it while patting ourselves on the back for donating to charity and destroying domestic industry.
00:36:43.000 America is the largest importer of garments in the world.
00:36:46.000 Nearly 40% of apparel products that are sold here are imported from China.
00:36:53.000 Fast fashion.
00:36:55.000 This is the research that startled me most.
00:36:58.000 Discarded textile products are the second largest industrial polluter on planet Earth, behind only oil, according to Forbes.
00:37:08.000 Aside from the buy once, wear once, throw away culture of detached consumerism, many people have falsely woven this lifestyle into a charitable cause.
00:37:18.000 You can indulge your vanity while virtue signaling.
00:37:21.000 You can have it all.
00:37:23.000 Cheap goods make cheap men, and cheap fashion cheapens us. 0.97
00:37:28.000 And our crap tends to end up in Africa, not to clothe the naked, but to clog the rivers, smother the beaches, and billow over the landfills. 1.00
00:37:39.000 If you donate your clothes to people in need, they aren't going to build a statue to you unless it is made out of unwanted, discarded clothes. 0.99
00:37:48.000 Over 15 million articles of clothing arrive in Ghana every week, probably about half of it bought at H&M. This is an indictment of globalism and its dysfunctionality.
00:37:59.000 This crap comes from China and ends up in Africa. 1.00
00:38:03.000 We wear it, I guess, once or twice in between. 1.00
00:38:07.000 Child labor and slave labor in China, that is the manufacturing force behind the poorly made Chinese garments that last two or three washes before disintegrating against your office chair. 0.99
00:38:20.000 China makes more than seven times as many textiles as the second largest producer, which is India.
00:38:26.000 Is there something wrong with a society that destroys our businesses in the name of tolerance, but won't tolerate an outfit repeat?
00:38:36.000 America at her golden age had people wearing their Sunday best every Sunday.
00:38:40.000 People had two pair of shoes, one for the work week and one for church.
00:38:44.000 Now people are keen on hoarding shoes, clothes, accessories.
00:38:48.000 That's mental.
00:38:50.000 America once manufactured well-made, lasting fabrics and garments that can still be found as relics in respectable vintage establishments across the country.
00:39:00.000 So let's bring classic back, not just as a look, but as a way to think about how we appoint ourselves.
00:39:09.000 I know it's the 21st century and Instagram's outfit of the day hashtag obsession is all the rage.
00:39:16.000 But fast fashion is ruining our planet with rampant pollution.
00:39:21.000 Are cheap, crappy, trendy clothes a good trade for soulless mercantilism?
00:39:27.000 I know it's hard to resist buying that skimpy summer dress for $7.99 that you'll wear once before realizing it makes you look like a rectangle.
00:39:37.000 My female staff wrote that last line. 0.99
00:39:39.000 I wrote this one.
00:39:41.000 We know clothes make the man, but do they make Earth worse?
00:39:46.000 There's a lot we can disagree on as Americans, but we should all agree as a nation we are better than the sale rack at Express.
00:39:55.000 Instead, invest in timeless pieces, knowing that you'll feel powerful in them.
00:40:00.000 And you also can hold on to those pieces, taking care of them and respecting our planet in doing so.
00:40:07.000 By resisting the urge to fast fashion, you're not only helping save the planet from endless trash, you're also contributing to a world where laborers aren't exploited for profit.
00:40:18.000 The evils of fast fashion are greatly on display in globalism's ugly underbelly.
00:40:26.000 Not all of us can be like elite AOC who wore a dress once and then never likely will wear it again.
00:40:32.000 You know, everyone talks about how courageous it was for her to wear that dress initially, and maybe it was.
00:40:37.000 Again, like I said, I'm not dunking on the move, but she should wear it again. 0.99
00:40:42.000 Shows she's not in for the fast fashion trend.
00:40:45.000 Now most of us don't even have gala events to attend, much less opportunities to design our own outfits, but we all can do our part in helping preserve the planet. 0.81
00:40:55.000 And the people in Africa who have to deal with our crap, and the people in Asia who are underpaid and enslaved, they'll thank you. 0.89
00:41:03.000 Even if they can't thank you directly, it'll certainly be a better life for them. 0.95
00:41:08.000 And hopefully one day, America First will prevail on trade, on globalism, in our hearts and in our lives.
00:41:16.000 And we will go back to making great American garments again.
00:41:21.000 Now, disclaimer, I've bought inexpensive clothing made from faraway lands for seemingly trendy looks with very negative results.
00:41:30.000 I thought the 90s were coming back.
00:41:32.000 I may have missed that by a few years and went full 1985 Miami Vice.
00:41:36.000 My wife still asks me, what were you thinking?
00:41:39.000 I think that entire outfit didn't cost a hundred bucks.
00:41:42.000 I know.
00:41:43.000 It shows.
00:41:45.000 I should be better.
00:41:46.000 The research for this episode has inspired me to be better.
00:41:51.000 Legislatively, we could look at alternatives to the international free trade system that doesn't seem to be free at all or fair.
00:41:59.000 For example, we've made progress in the National Defense Authorization Act that's being considered and hopefully will be sent to President Biden.
00:42:07.000 Namely, the Berry and Kissel amendments require certain goods to be purchased right here from American entities manufacturing them.
00:42:17.000 And we agree with those Buy American provisions.
00:42:20.000 But let's extend that.
00:42:22.000 So much of our clothing is bought online.
00:42:24.000 We should encourage major companies to be transparent regarding their supply lines.
00:42:29.000 I mean, in food, we've gotten so much healthier with labeling and transparency.
00:42:34.000 In fashion, we could learn a lot about what food labeling taught us about the supply chain.
00:42:40.000 Who wants to buy the cheapest thing if it comes at the price of our nation?
00:42:44.000 I'd like to know what I'm buying, where it comes from, and who made it.
00:42:48.000 If we can't break up Amazon, we should certainly clean up Amazon's supply chain.
00:42:55.000 We should tax Chinese goods for the environmental harms they cause and focus closer to home. 1.00
00:43:02.000 We might even find that our neighbors make for better trading partners.
00:43:06.000 They're more like us and part of a united front.
00:43:09.000 Friends don't let friends ruin the planet.
00:43:12.000 Sometimes we just need to slow down and think about the best way to look our best with what's nearest.
00:43:21.000 Thanks so much for listening to Firebrand.