In this episode of FiveHeadlines, host Alex Blumberg talks about why conservative punditry is getting boring, and why we need more of them. Plus, a story about California prisoners who are turning government-funded tablets into sex machines.
00:00:30.000All right. Time for five headlines. Fans of the show may have noticed that we don't do this segment on the show anymore. And the reason is that we decided to make some format changes to the show. It was time for a change. So we've, as you probably noticed, we've gotten more into longer in-depth analysis of a single topic per show, expanded the range of topics that we cover, doing a lot more cultural analysis.
00:00:57.620Why do we make that change? Well, because honestly, I was talking about this yesterday.
00:01:03.120It's like everything is getting very boring. And I felt that about the show as well.
00:01:07.720I was repeating myself way too much. Even worse, repeating other commentators in the space,
00:01:13.460not on purpose, but when you talk about politics and news of the day every day,
00:01:16.820you end up inevitably hitting the same subjects and you make a lot of the same points as everybody
00:01:20.960else. It's just that's just it's just the way it works. And this is the whole problem with the
00:01:26.520space right now, to be honest with you. I think conservative commentary in general has gotten
00:01:31.420incredibly boring. I'm certainly not the only one that feels that way. I think the audience
00:01:35.660obviously feels that way because it's the same takes, it's the same arguments, the same points,
00:01:40.780the same squabbles and feuds over and over and over again. It never ends. Just the same thing
00:01:47.840every day. Tedious. It's very tedious. It's redundant. Like, we get it. We get it.
00:01:56.320And there's just this total lack of creativity among conservative commentators. Everyone has
00:02:01.160basically like three opinions, three to five opinions that they just repeat over and over
00:02:05.840and over again without finding any kind of new or entertaining way to deliver the opinion.
00:02:11.500I mean, it's one thing if you have a few basic ideas or opinions, but you find interesting ways
00:02:17.560to convey them and to sort of package them, but you don't find that in conservative media very
00:02:24.540much. It's just, it's the least creative, least imaginative way of just, here's what I think
00:02:31.160over and over and over and over again. So now in my own defense, I've always tried to find
00:02:36.000creative ways to approach these subjects. That's why I've made two movies. I've done two different
00:02:40.040series, not to mention books, you know, over the last few years. But the show itself had not changed
00:02:46.700for like five years. And you got to keep changing. You got to switch things up. If you don't switch
00:02:53.540things up, if you don't change, then you just shrivel up and die. At least that's how it feels
00:02:59.700to me. So we have switched up to how we do things, but we'll still do five headlines probably once a
00:03:08.400week as a separate thing. And that's what we're doing now. Okay, so let's start with Chris Ruffo
00:03:42.720anyway under uh governor gavin newsom california sought to transform its massive prison system
00:03:49.520into a nordic style rehabilitation program newsom has placed a moratorium on all executions
00:03:54.200transferred condemned prisoners to facilities across the state dismantled san quentin state
00:03:58.720prison's death row and turned the notorious prison into a therapeutic center with art classrooms a
00:04:03.660cafe and podcast studios oh my god um because that's what we need that's definitely what we
00:04:10.960We need more. We're so in need of podcast studios that we have to we have to convert prisons into them.
00:04:20.040Podcasting feels like a prison sometimes. So maybe it's appropriate. I'm joking. Not really.
00:04:25.940As part of this transformation, the Newsom administration approved a one hundred eighty nine million dollar contract to provide new digital tablets,
00:04:32.720generic flat screen devices in a plastic shell to every inmate in the state prison at no cost to offenders.
00:04:38.520The administration heralded the effort to replace inmates' old tablets, which were piloted in 2018 and given to nearly all prisoners by 2023.
00:04:46.960And as the story goes on, which you can go to City Journal and read it, and you should, it goes into detail about how all these different prisoners are, including prisoners on death row, even though there really is no death row now in California, are using these tablets, which are given to them.
00:06:20.300But if we shouldn't trust convicted murderers, which we shouldn't,
00:06:23.000then why are you trusting them with a tablet?
00:06:24.740If convicted murderers are so untrustworthy that you cannot believe what they say about their own tablet usage,
00:06:33.000then does it not stand to reason that they are not trustworthy enough to have the tablets to use in the first place?
00:06:39.860Also, if a prisoner was going to lie about this, wouldn't they lie and say they aren't using the tablets for porn?
00:06:48.320Why would they lie and say something that is going to result in them getting their tablet taken away?
00:06:54.740Like, why would a prisoner who is very fastidious and is making sure to not look at any inappropriate content with his tablet and is only using it for education, right?
00:07:09.980Why would a prisoner who's only watching PragerU videos, if you asked him what he's doing with it, why would he say on the record with his name attached to it, oh, I'm looking at porn, if he's not?
00:10:39.900And giving them tablets, I mean, I can certainly see why.
00:10:42.920Even if you gave prisoners tablets and you did lock it down so that they could never access any inappropriate images at all,
00:10:48.960which, again, is not what they're actually doing.
00:10:50.340But even if you could, still, like, having a tablet in prison would, yeah, I mean, that would make the experience so much easier.
00:11:00.720Now, you still wouldn't want to be there, but being able to get a tablet, being able to have a tablet, especially like a tablet full-time, whenever you just have it in your prison cell, that's got to improve the prison experience exponentially.
00:11:17.220I mean, just being able to distract yourself in that way, that's got to make it so much better, for sure.
00:11:26.220That's exactly why you shouldn't do it.
00:11:27.940I mean, you could give them a recliner in their prison cell with like, you know, give them an expensive massage recliner chair in their prison.
00:11:38.780That would make the experience so much better.
00:11:41.880Again, that's why you shouldn't do it, because then it's not a punishment.
00:11:45.800And if you really want to rehabilitate these people, then they need to actually be punished and suffer for what they did, or there can be no rehabilitation.
00:11:52.560Also, by the way, if they're on death row and Newsom says, well, we've got to give them the, you know, this helps to reduce crime rates so that they can reenter society.
00:13:46.380maybe you've seen some of this stuff already,
00:13:48.260And there were some videos and pictures as well, but they're mostly just lights and blurry spots in the sky, basically what you've seen before.
00:17:07.940I'm, I'm, my faith is wavering in that, in that, in that, you know, I've never seen any evidence
00:17:15.380that's really all that compelling. And I, and I'm, I'm not even objective. Like I'm saying,
00:17:20.660I'm saying this as someone who's not objective. Anytime someone has what they claim is proof of
00:17:24.680aliens visiting earth, I looked at that wanting to believe it, totally biased in your favor.
00:17:31.160When you come to me with a video of a UFO, I am completely biased in your favor. I want to believe
00:17:36.720I am not an objective observer at all, and yet even I, I look at it and I go, okay, I mean, this again, like, come on, can you get, it's always just, it's always just every video, it's like a light, it's a blur, it's some weird blur in the sky, and it's moving all around, and they're always just like whipping up and back and forth, up and down, all around and disappearing.
00:18:05.020And sure, that defies the known technical abilities of earthly aircraft.
00:21:19.760I mean, if Earth is like the, I don't know, the Cancun of the universe, sort of a tourist destination with a couple of nice spots, but the rest of it is pretty shitty.
00:21:30.300It's like you go, you know, you go to Cancun.
00:21:32.380It's like, here's the little strip of land where you can hang out, but don't go anywhere.
00:22:41.740So if we do get evidence tomorrow or next week or even next month, I am going to come
00:22:46.300on here and say, I told you so. And I think you all should be cool about it. And what you shouldn't
00:22:51.180do is say, well, actually you said on May 14th at this timestamp that you don't believe it anymore.
00:22:57.700Like, don't do that. Just be cool about it. Just be, just be cool. Let me have my moment. Okay.
00:23:03.780I've, you know, I'm whatever. I complain both sides of the fence now on this thing. That's,
00:23:09.600I guess that's what it's going to be. So just, you know, anyway, supposedly there are more files
00:23:15.840coming out. I've heard that the really crazy stuff is still coming. That's what they're saying
00:23:21.380on social media. That's probably not true. That's never true, actually. Here's a general rule of
00:23:27.100thumb that I think holds true in like 100% of cases. I think in 100% of cases, it holds true
00:23:31.940that if somebody is releasing something, some kind of information, whether it's a government entity
00:23:37.300or a journalist or an influencer, whoever, the craziest stuff is never coming later.
00:23:45.840And they say that it is. It never is. It never, ever is. Whatever they drop initially is the best they got. That's as good as it's going to get is whatever they first tell you about. And then they'll always try to string you along and say, oh, hang on, hang on, the real stuff is coming. Oh, if you think this is crazy, it gets so much crazier. That's never true.
00:24:08.240Because if it does get crazier, why would you not have just told it?
00:24:11.980Like, if you have video of an actual alien, you know, greeting the Pope or something, you probably would lead with that.
00:24:21.200You wouldn't put out a week's worth of blurry stuff in the sky and then say, oh, hey, by the way, we actually also have this.
00:24:29.380and a corollary to that by the way is that anytime the release of files or a story or
00:24:37.120news of any kind is hyped up ahead of time anytime anytime anytime you hear ahead of time
00:24:46.280about some big news some big thing that's dropping whether it's from the government or a journalist
00:24:52.940or an influencer on Twitter or anyone else,
00:24:56.340anytime they hype it up ahead of time,
00:26:18.180so why waste time sending important documents the old-fashioned way?
00:26:21.980Mail and ship when you want, how you want with Stamps.com.
00:26:25.720Print postage on demand 24-7 and schedule pickups from your office or home.
00:26:30.320Save up to 90% with automated rate shopping.
00:26:33.320That's why over 1 million small businesses trust Stamps.com.
00:26:37.100Go to Stamps.com and use code PODCAST to try Stamps.com risk-free for 60 days.
00:26:42.720Let's be honest. The cost of living isn't just high, it's exhausting.
00:26:45.900If you've been leaning on credit cards lately just to cover the basics like groceries, gas, and utility bills, you're essentially paying a survival tax of 20% interest or more.
00:26:55.880Why keep handing your hard-earned paycheck to big banks when you could keep it for your own family?
00:27:01.140My friends at American Financing have a better way.
00:27:03.040They're helping homeowners tap into their equity to pay off high-interest debt with mortgage rates currently in the fives.
00:27:09.300On average, American Financing is saving their customers $800 a month.
00:27:13.500That's nearly $10,000 a year back in your pocket.
00:27:15.900It's not just a loan, it's a total financial reset.
00:27:18.940It takes just 10 minutes to find out what you could save.
00:27:21.140There are no upfront fees and no obligation to talk to a salary-based mortgage consultant.
00:27:26.100Start today, and you could even delay two mortgage payments.
00:27:28.940American Financing, America's home for home loans, 866-569-4711.
00:27:32.940That's 866-569-4711, or visit AmericanFinancing.net slash Walsh.
00:27:39.400All right, finally, headline here, probably the most important.0.88
00:27:43.820HackySack mounts a comeback with Gen Z.0.52
00:27:45.740A couple of weeks ago, a gaggle of freshmen at McCallum High School in Austin, Texas, this is from Seattle Times, pulled out a pouch the size of a clementine and began battling it back and forth between their feet.
00:28:00.120Took a minute for me to realize, wait, this is a hacky sack, said Sandra Primo, 56, a teacher at McCallum.
00:28:07.460Young customers at Play It Against Sports in Concord, California, have been clearing the shelves of suede-paneled sandmasters and multicolored Buddha bags for at least a month, said Billy Ball, 46, a sales associate.
00:28:21.200He works at Play It Against Sports. His name is Billy Ball. Really?
00:28:24.260I mean, you couldn't ask for a better name.
00:29:08.760And I get really tired of Gen X constantly trying to attach themselves like barnacles to our stuff.0.77
00:29:14.860I get tired of these Gen Xers with their inferiority complex, which is well-deserved because they are inferior.0.98
00:29:22.300I mean, their generation is in terms of like the culture.
00:29:25.900They just attach themselves to our, they're just, you know, Gen Xers are mad because the 90s belonged to millennials because it was our coming of age decade.
00:29:33.420you know it's the age it's the decade you count came of age and that's kind of your decade
00:29:37.920and jet extras came of age in the 80s with like crack and aids and boy george that's what the
00:29:45.58080s are known for is a is is is aids and crack and boy george that's like those are the main
00:29:52.520things from the 80s and they're so embarrassed that they try to glom on to millennial stuff
00:29:57.020that's why whenever whenever we're talking about the 90s you know a bunch of millennials are
00:30:02.400together talking about the 90s, because what else are we going to talk about? A Gen Xer will show
00:30:06.440up and go, oh, yeah, I remember Nickelodeon. It's like, okay. Oh, cool. Anyway. Oh, cool. Oh,0.92
00:30:14.420you do? Yeah. Anyway, Gramps. Now, all that to say, I think it's generally cool when 90s stuff
00:30:21.720makes a resurgence like this. And in the 90s, we had a ton of random little trinkets and toys and
00:30:28.480things. We had hacky sacks. We had the skate, the little finger skateboard things. We had
00:30:33.760Tamagotchis and we had GAC, which was basically like a ball of mucus that sounded like farts,
00:30:42.100smelled like a two actually. And it was a thing, you know, and they had commercials for it.
00:30:47.600Back in the 90s, they had commercial. They sold a ball of mucus and there were like tons of
00:30:52.000commercials. They were making so much money on the GAC. And I don't know, you were a kid and you saw
00:30:57.340a commercial for GAC and you just said, what do you do with GAC? Nothing. You don't do anything
00:31:01.940with it. You just have it. You just have it. And then you lose it under the couch.
00:31:07.900And then three and a half months later, your mom pulls it out from under the couch and it's
00:31:11.640covered in like cat hair, you know, and then she throws it away. And then you ask her to buy you
00:31:19.060some new GAC. And she says, no, I'm not going to buy anymore because you lose it under the couch
00:31:23.720every time that that's that's the experience we all had anyway uh gack you know yo-yos you bring
00:31:32.160a yo-yo to school i'm not saying we invented yo-yos but it was a thing in the 90s uh it was
00:31:37.380a big thing for a while where we all we had yo-yos you brought them to school you carry around your
00:31:41.520pocket your yo-yo you always made sure you had it on you you go up to a group of people in the
00:31:45.460hallway at school and you'd say hey i could walk the dog watch this and they would say oh you're
00:31:51.080a dork leave us alone it was it was awesome you know and but here's the issue though the resurgence
00:31:55.160of the 90s 90s trends 90s toys 90s fashion um and there's a lot of that happening now and and0.85
00:32:03.220all of that is is kind of cool if you were a 90s kid and now you're old as hell like me
00:32:07.220so you see that there's part of you that's you know feels nostalgic for it and so it's kind of
00:32:11.840cool but it's also a sign of something deeply wrong you know that kids today have to go back
00:32:18.920and resurrect trends and fashions and toys from the 90s
00:32:22.780because they don't have any of their own.
00:35:28.080I mean, female pop artists, we've had female pop artists for decades, and the female pop artists of 30 years ago were far more iconic, ubiquitous, distinct than the ones today.
00:35:40.220Like the female pop artists of 30 years ago or 40 years ago, they take Madonna or go to the late 90s, Britney Spears or something, right?
00:35:49.520Like, but they were, like, even if you didn't like the music, you knew who those people were, and you knew at least some of their songs.
00:35:59.320Maybe not by heart, but, like, you knew, you could probably name a couple of the songs at least.
00:39:44.980The algorithm is going to decide based on what it perceives your interest to be and your personal preferences.
00:39:50.520It's going to decide what you have access to and what you see.
00:39:53.440And pretty soon after that, Twitter followed suit and Instagram and all the social media companies, and now everything is controlled by the algorithm.
00:40:01.720And I think that if I were to point to one thing, it would be that.
00:40:07.180And we now have a culture defined entirely by algorithms.
00:40:10.680That is the issue, really, more than anything else.
00:40:13.780I mean, there's a lot of other factors that play into it, but I really do think if I had to point to one thing, it's probably that.
00:40:20.600but that's maybe a topic that deserves a deeper dive and uh maybe we'll do that soon
00:40:27.280i don't really know how to end this now because it's not really a show so
00:40:31.240see you later ready or not summer is coming and wayfair's memorial day clearance is on now
00:40:39.060right now through may 25th get up to 70 off everything home at wayfair plus score amazing
00:40:44.580doorbuster deals all sale long and surprise flash deals on memorial day we're talking
00:40:49.180thousands of products at every style and budget.
00:40:52.000Now is the time to save big on must-haves