Rebel News Podcast - Premier Ford works at the speed of business — not bureaucracy

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. 0.95

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 1.00

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 0.98

00:12:25.500 claiming,

00:12:26.460 oh, well, they were disabled. 0.99

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 0.98

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 1.00

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 1.00

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 0.92

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 0.75

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. 1.00

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 1.00

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 0.92

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 1.00

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 0.98

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 0.98

00:30:22.780 to embrace

00:30:23.820 her own toxic worldview. 0.73

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.

Rebel News Podcast - August 01, 2018

Premier Ford works at the speed of business — not bureaucracy

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