Verdict with Ted Cruz - ＊＊＊100＊＊＊

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.040 We have two really important things to celebrate today.

00:00:08.320 We, of course, are celebrating Christmas.

00:00:11.080 That's a pretty big holiday to celebrate.

00:00:12.880 We're also celebrating the 100th episode

00:00:16.300 of Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:18.040 And to celebrate, we're going to be giving away

00:00:20.380 a bunch of stuff.

00:00:22.380 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:23.440 Today's very special Christmas episode

00:00:31.440 of Verdict with Ted Cruz

00:00:32.400 is sponsored by American Hartford Gold.

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00:03:01.980 VERDICT with Ted Cruz is also brought to you by AMAC.

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00:04:10.600 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz,

00:04:12.920 where there are so many ads.

00:04:16.160 When did that happen?

00:04:17.000 When did we start getting,

00:04:17.920 I guess it's good

00:04:18.580 that we're getting these ads

00:04:19.460 so that we can keep this show on the air

00:04:21.680 free, available to so many people.

00:04:23.540 But Liz, please tell me

00:04:24.740 there is some way

00:04:26.060 to avoid all of the ads.

00:04:27.640 Well, there certainly is, Michael.

00:04:29.260 If you just head right on over

00:04:30.360 to verdictwithtedcruise.com slash plus

00:04:32.640 and become a Verdict Plus subscriber,

00:04:35.180 then you can watch this entire episode

00:04:37.620 free from the terrible ads,

00:04:39.900 free from these advertisements,

00:04:41.240 all the way through, straight through.

00:04:42.900 Verdictwithtedcruise.com slash plus.

00:04:44.620 Well, that's wonderful.

00:04:45.320 Grateful to you, the listeners.

00:04:46.460 Grateful to Verdict Plus

00:04:47.400 and grateful to our advertisers as well,

00:04:49.540 who allow us to remain on the air.

00:04:50.880 Senator, congratulations on 100 episodes.

00:04:54.560 That is crazy.

00:04:56.760 You know, when we sat down January,

00:05:00.820 almost two years ago,

00:05:02.400 and in the basement

00:05:05.100 and did it at, what,

00:05:06.660 one, two in the morning.

00:05:08.720 Every night.

00:05:10.140 Every night.

00:05:11.340 And the first time we did it,

00:05:13.060 we had this shag carpet.

00:05:14.280 We had this chair.

00:05:15.780 I mean, the chair and the carpet

00:05:18.640 are veterans of 100 episodes.

00:05:21.660 Um, and, and listen,

00:05:24.540 I've been upstaged by a cactus, 1.00

00:05:26.220 but, but for a shag carpet to kick your ass, 1.00

00:05:29.980 that, that, that, that is a little much. 0.99

00:05:32.420 But, I mean, I remember the, the,

00:05:35.140 that, that first night,

00:05:36.580 there was a lot of skepticism,

00:05:38.980 one, a skepticism from one young Michael Knowles,

00:05:41.780 skepticism from our producers,

00:05:43.540 skepticism from almost anyone sentient

00:05:47.160 with a discernible sense of judgment.

00:05:51.480 Like, how is this going to work?

00:05:53.580 Is this going to work?

00:05:55.660 And then we rocketed up the charts

00:05:57.680 and, and within weeks,

00:05:59.580 we're the number one podcast in the world.

00:06:01.480 So I admit, I was skeptical

00:06:03.040 at the very beginning.

00:06:04.560 I, I, you know,

00:06:05.360 I have great admiration for you, Senator.

00:06:07.160 I have voted for you,

00:06:08.660 but I was a little skeptical

00:06:10.820 that you were going to beat Joe Rogan

00:06:12.280 on the podcast charts.

00:06:14.020 And, and yet, uh,

00:06:15.480 after just a week, I guess,

00:06:16.920 on, on the air,

00:06:18.160 the show hit number one.

00:06:20.140 Obviously it's been going for two years

00:06:21.420 and, and, uh, that is, uh,

00:06:23.680 now it's a very popular thing to do.

00:06:25.460 A lot of politicians have podcasts.

00:06:27.660 It, it had never been done

00:06:29.160 in a popular way before.

00:06:30.320 And so I, I am thrilled

00:06:31.940 and, and I'm sorry for forever doubting

00:06:34.940 that you would become

00:06:35.920 one of the biggest broadcasters in America.

00:06:37.600 Well, look, I, I will say this.

00:06:39.620 I, one of the things I get great joy from

00:06:41.980 is verdict has more viewers

00:06:44.480 than CNN's morning show.

00:06:47.800 But like, like in some ways,

00:06:50.140 that's such an incredibly low bar

00:06:51.780 that that's like saying, okay,

00:06:53.820 you know, we exceed three.

00:06:57.020 Um, but, but it is really

00:06:59.840 an amazing sort of commentary

00:07:02.140 on the shift of media and discussion.

00:07:05.960 You know, it used to be that,

00:07:09.080 that, you know,

00:07:10.780 the big three at ABC, CBS, NBC back when,

00:07:15.140 all right, Michael, I bet you don't,

00:07:16.720 do you remember television sets

00:07:18.520 that had knobs that turned

00:07:19.800 or was that before your time?

00:07:22.180 I do, but only because

00:07:23.180 I grew up kind of poor.

00:07:24.640 That's the only reason I remember it,

00:07:26.400 but they were basically extinct

00:07:28.160 by the time I was a kid.

00:07:29.240 You know, when I was a kid,

00:07:31.020 we had remote control

00:07:32.700 and they called it kids.

00:07:35.220 As in, you yell at the kid,

00:07:36.620 go change the station.

00:07:37.700 And I did, look, I wasn't growing up

00:07:38.880 in, you know, Ward Beaver, 1950s,

00:07:41.020 but, uh, uh, you know,

00:07:43.880 walked uphill, both school,

00:07:45.660 both uphill, both ways.

00:07:47.120 Snowing both ways.

00:07:48.060 Yep.

00:07:48.400 Yeah.

00:07:49.100 Yeah.

00:07:49.420 I'm thrilled that we've hit number 100.

00:07:51.680 And I love the coincidence

00:07:52.600 that we are celebrating this

00:07:54.720 as we are getting ready

00:07:55.840 to celebrate Christmas.

00:07:56.980 Although there was a story

00:07:58.400 that Liz turned me on to

00:08:00.300 that apparently, you know,

00:08:01.820 there are all these wars on Christmas

00:08:03.060 and sometimes the wars

00:08:03.980 are being waged by the liberals

00:08:05.380 and sometimes they're being waged

00:08:06.700 by the Puritans.

00:08:07.840 And sometimes they're,

00:08:08.540 people attack Christmas

00:08:10.140 for a whole lot of reasons.

00:08:11.760 Apparently BLM is attacking Christmas

00:08:13.720 and specifically calling

00:08:15.260 for a boycott of the song

00:08:17.260 White Christmas,

00:08:18.800 because obviously

00:08:20.000 that is a white supremacist anthem.

00:08:22.340 Liz, do I have that right?

00:08:23.480 Um, no, you do not have that right,

00:08:25.120 but don't worry.

00:08:25.720 I'm here to correct the record on it.

00:08:27.820 They are calling for a boycott

00:08:28.960 of a white Christmas,

00:08:30.740 meaning they don't want anybody

00:08:33.400 to purchase any Christmas gifts

00:08:35.240 from white owned businesses

00:08:36.420 or to bank with any banks

00:08:38.500 that are owned by white people. 0.66

00:08:40.660 They only want... 0.98

00:08:42.040 That's even worse.

00:08:42.880 That's even worse

00:08:43.460 than boycotting the song.

00:08:44.420 Although it's so much worse.

00:08:45.640 Although the song is a beautiful song.

00:08:46.720 No, they said that they are dreaming

00:08:47.880 and this is a play on the song.

00:08:49.480 They're dreaming of a black Christmas 0.68

00:08:50.600 because they want black people 0.97

00:08:52.000 in our country 0.98

00:08:52.700 to only solely exclusively buy 0.67

00:08:55.020 from black owned businesses 0.85

00:08:56.420 because they say that

00:08:57.740 white supremacist capitalism

00:08:59.920 is a thing, 0.94

00:09:00.800 is a problem in our nation.

00:09:01.860 I'm not exactly sure

00:09:02.940 what the tie in there.

00:09:04.420 I don't know how you can tie

00:09:05.620 those three things together,

00:09:06.420 but that's the beauty

00:09:07.160 of Black Lives Matter

00:09:08.020 is they can invent connections

00:09:09.300 to try to take down

00:09:10.740 the institutions of our country

00:09:11.920 everywhere.

00:09:12.920 So yes,

00:09:13.660 they are attacking Christmas.

00:09:15.060 So it really is amazing

00:09:16.820 that Bing Crosby

00:09:18.780 is now controversial.

00:09:21.300 You know,

00:09:21.600 I'm dreaming

00:09:23.280 of a white Christmas.

00:09:26.560 Bing,

00:09:27.000 did you enter the room?

00:09:28.020 Where did I...

00:09:28.560 I thought he was long gone.

00:09:29.840 I can't...

00:09:30.140 Oh no,

00:09:30.440 that was you, Senator.

00:09:31.640 Of course,

00:09:32.580 the terror of it

00:09:33.660 is it's a white Christmas

00:09:35.960 because frigging snow is white.

00:09:38.200 It's not a racial thing.

00:09:40.060 It's when you freeze water

00:09:41.960 and it condenses in the air

00:09:43.220 and turns into snowflakes.

00:09:44.540 It's not blue.

00:09:45.780 It's not pink.

00:09:46.540 It's not purple.

00:09:48.680 That's...

00:09:49.120 It just happens to be white

00:09:50.600 and now that is...

00:09:54.860 You know,

00:09:55.540 who knew

00:09:56.120 that snow had racial overtones?

00:10:00.420 By the way,

00:10:01.700 I just want to say right now

00:10:03.240 it's not fair

00:10:04.080 that the Grinch is green.

00:10:06.620 What about green people?

00:10:08.660 What do they have

00:10:09.540 against green people?

00:10:11.500 Fair enough.

00:10:12.040 And it really is...

00:10:14.540 Well,

00:10:14.880 you are noticing

00:10:15.700 this strange phenomenon now

00:10:17.580 and it's not just BLM

00:10:18.980 calling for a boycott

00:10:20.340 of white businesses

00:10:21.100 but you're seeing

00:10:22.020 from other major retailers

00:10:23.640 or aggregators

00:10:24.740 black and white-owned businesses

00:10:27.340 being treated differently.

00:10:28.600 I remember during

00:10:29.320 the BLM riots,

00:10:31.120 I think it was Uber Eats

00:10:32.640 was treating

00:10:33.600 black-owned businesses,

00:10:35.080 whatever that means,

00:10:35.840 by the way.

00:10:36.140 It's not as though

00:10:36.660 businesses are only owned

00:10:37.820 by a single individual

00:10:38.700 a lot of the time

00:10:39.420 but they were treating them differently,

00:10:40.880 giving different incentives.

00:10:42.340 Is that sort of thing

00:10:43.280 even legal?

00:10:44.740 So it's not

00:10:45.420 and it is explicitly

00:10:48.120 discriminating based on race

00:10:49.700 and the sad reality

00:10:50.740 is leftists 0.69

00:10:51.400 have always been racist.

00:10:52.860 They've always embraced

00:10:54.260 racial discrimination.

00:10:56.780 You know,

00:10:57.020 Black Lives Matter 1.00

00:10:57.920 is a racist organization 0.99

00:10:59.320 and one of the ironies,

00:11:01.100 we did one of the earlier

00:11:02.620 verdicts,

00:11:04.120 we did a whole pod

00:11:06.540 on the history

00:11:08.460 of the organization

00:11:09.680 Black Lives Matter

00:11:10.920 founded by

00:11:13.880 explicit and avowed communists

00:11:17.100 and supported

00:11:18.880 by woke corporations.

00:11:20.940 So Microsoft,

00:11:22.520 I forget the stats,

00:11:23.420 we went through the stats

00:11:24.460 and Microsoft had given,

00:11:25.600 I don't know,

00:11:25.780 $100,000, $250,000.

00:11:28.620 Amazon had given $150,000

00:11:30.500 or $250,000.

00:11:31.820 I forget the amount.

00:11:32.580 Of course,

00:11:34.980 you know,

00:11:35.340 Microsoft,

00:11:36.220 Bill Gates, 0.91

00:11:37.240 ain't a black guy. 0.82

00:11:38.820 Jeff Bezos 0.93

00:11:39.560 ain't a black guy. 0.97

00:11:40.500 They're literally 0.94

00:11:41.200 funding an organization

00:11:43.280 calling on you

00:11:45.060 to boycott

00:11:45.940 their own business.

00:11:49.100 So Jeff Bezos

00:11:50.260 is cutting a check

00:11:51.180 to an organization

00:11:51.860 saying,

00:11:52.680 don't you order

00:11:53.520 your Christmas presents

00:11:54.360 on Amazon.

00:11:55.080 Uh-uh.

00:11:55.560 Do not do that.

00:11:57.400 But like the woke consciousness 0.99

00:12:00.320 is really asinine. 0.98

00:12:02.900 All right, guys. 0.97

00:12:03.660 Way to keep it light

00:12:04.580 and cheery for Christmas.

00:12:05.860 This is the Christmas episode.

00:12:07.500 We're supposed to be

00:12:08.060 spreading joy

00:12:08.840 all over the world.

00:12:09.860 In fact,

00:12:10.300 that's kind of what

00:12:10.940 this episode is about today.

00:12:12.500 We have some Christmas gifts,

00:12:14.120 if you will,

00:12:14.500 in honor of both,

00:12:15.340 you know,

00:12:16.040 Christmas and of

00:12:17.120 the 100th episode

00:12:18.100 of Verdict.

00:12:18.920 And I want to talk about

00:12:19.880 those a little right now

00:12:20.460 because they're really fun.

00:12:21.240 So if you join Verdict Plus

00:12:23.200 as a member,

00:12:24.480 now I want to be very clear here.

00:12:25.500 If you join Verdict Plus

00:12:26.320 as a member,

00:12:26.880 that's completely free.

00:12:27.660 You don't have to give

00:12:28.100 your credit card information.

00:12:29.180 That's a non-paid way

00:12:30.740 to join this insider community.

00:12:33.720 It's verdictwithtedcruise.com

00:12:35.220 slash plus.

00:12:36.080 If you join,

00:12:37.940 it's completely free.

00:12:38.620 And if we reach 15,000 members

00:12:41.660 on Verdict Plus

00:12:42.920 by January 21st,

00:12:44.340 January 21st is a very special day

00:12:46.120 because that is

00:12:46.760 the inaugural episode,

00:12:48.120 the anniversary

00:12:48.560 of the inaugural episode

00:12:49.680 of Verdict.

00:12:50.640 15,000 members

00:12:51.760 on Verdict Plus

00:12:52.420 by January 21st,

00:12:53.520 then we will randomly

00:12:54.920 select one member

00:12:56.020 to come to a live taping

00:12:58.680 of Verdict.

00:13:00.000 This is just one of many

00:13:01.320 Christmas presents here

00:13:02.520 on our 100th episode.

00:13:04.840 And by the way,

00:13:05.940 because today is the 100th episode

00:13:07.420 in January 21st,

00:13:08.680 a little bit different date,

00:13:09.720 is the anniversary

00:13:10.520 of the inaugural episode.

00:13:11.360 We will be announcing

00:13:12.060 the winner of that

00:13:12.880 on our January 21st episode.

00:13:15.300 So go to

00:13:15.740 verdictwithtedcruise.com

00:13:17.080 slash plus.

00:13:18.160 Let's get to 15,000 members

00:13:20.120 so one of you can come

00:13:21.620 to a live taping

00:13:22.800 of Verdict.

00:13:23.240 Michael,

00:13:23.820 this is the Christmas spirit.

00:13:25.500 All right.

00:13:25.680 Well, Liz,

00:13:26.040 let me ask you

00:13:26.720 a couple of clarifications.

00:13:28.000 Number one,

00:13:28.760 15,000.

00:13:30.180 How close are we now, Liz?

00:13:31.380 Where are we right now?

00:13:33.440 We're about to hit

00:13:34.900 the 10,000 mark.

00:13:36.160 Well, I mean,

00:13:36.460 we can do it.

00:13:37.120 We can definitely do this.

00:13:38.800 All right.

00:13:39.100 So 15,000,

00:13:40.320 we're in shooting range

00:13:42.680 of 15,000.

00:13:44.120 And the lucky winner

00:13:45.880 who gets to come

00:13:46.740 to a taping

00:13:48.220 of Verdict Live,

00:13:49.020 are we going to tell them,

00:13:51.140 all right,

00:13:51.540 you got to buy

00:13:52.660 your own plane ticket.

00:13:53.740 You got to pony up the cash.

00:13:55.020 You got to fly to where it is.

00:13:56.320 Or is this an even,

00:13:58.040 even it gets more,

00:14:00.120 it gets better

00:14:01.000 as they say

00:14:01.720 on the Romco ads.

00:14:03.280 What kind of Christmas gift

00:14:04.440 would it be

00:14:04.880 if we said,

00:14:05.540 you're the winner,

00:14:06.720 but oh,

00:14:07.180 you got to pay us

00:14:08.020 for your Christmas present.

00:14:09.400 No, no.

00:14:10.060 This is a Christmas present

00:14:12.120 in all its glory.

00:14:13.280 We will bring you

00:14:14.660 to a live taping

00:14:15.560 at no expense to you.

00:14:17.060 I mean,

00:14:17.400 this is the real deal.

00:14:18.060 This is a really fun thing.

00:14:19.400 People who are part

00:14:20.400 of the Verdict Plus community,

00:14:22.300 I mean,

00:14:22.680 they follow Verdict

00:14:24.180 to a T.

00:14:25.720 These are people

00:14:26.160 who are really in

00:14:27.020 to what we're talking about

00:14:27.820 and what the goal

00:14:28.380 of this podcast is.

00:14:29.500 And this is just

00:14:30.040 a little way

00:14:30.520 of giving back.

00:14:31.940 These people are,

00:14:32.700 you know,

00:14:33.280 true blues.

00:14:33.760 These people are fans

00:14:35.100 of the show

00:14:35.720 and it's going to be

00:14:36.320 really exciting

00:14:36.940 to meet one of y'all

00:14:38.980 in person.

00:14:40.000 And Michael,

00:14:40.660 I got to ask a question.

00:14:41.760 So if the winner comes

00:14:43.020 and happens,

00:14:44.700 say,

00:14:45.260 to want to recite

00:14:47.300 Dante and the original Italian, 0.99

00:14:49.820 are you able to join them

00:14:51.060 in that?

00:14:51.980 Well,

00:14:52.260 I hope so.

00:14:53.120 You know,

00:14:53.580 fortunately,

00:14:54.500 the last Verdict listener

00:14:56.100 who came up

00:14:56.720 and just began reciting

00:14:58.160 Dante in Italian,

00:14:59.300 fortunately,

00:15:00.640 he knew one fewer line

00:15:02.260 than I did.

00:15:02.960 But the next one,

00:15:03.640 who knows?

00:15:03.960 We have an eclectic,

00:15:04.980 intellectual group

00:15:05.960 that listens to the show.

00:15:07.500 And, you know,

00:15:08.140 I take Liz's correction

00:15:10.160 in a proper spirit.

00:15:13.460 It's true.

00:15:14.200 I don't,

00:15:14.880 this is Christmas time.

00:15:15.980 I don't want to focus

00:15:17.040 on the rioters

00:15:18.580 and the pagans

00:15:19.700 and all the negative stuff.

00:15:21.420 This is a great time

00:15:22.560 to celebrate

00:15:23.100 a great 100th episode.

00:15:24.680 So shall we get

00:15:26.020 to some mailbag questions

00:15:27.360 from the viewers

00:15:28.460 who may very well

00:15:29.880 be flying out

00:15:30.580 to see us live?

00:15:31.740 Absolutely.

00:15:32.480 We have some,

00:15:33.280 actually some very

00:15:33.860 interesting questions.

00:15:34.680 Michael,

00:15:34.860 I feel like there's a question

00:15:35.720 that puts you and I

00:15:37.600 on the spot

00:15:38.320 in front of the senator here.

00:15:39.520 So let's start with that one

00:15:40.840 because that sounds fun.

00:15:41.720 This is from Paul

00:15:42.560 over on Verdict Plus.

00:15:43.800 Of course,

00:15:44.180 these questions are all

00:15:44.960 from Verdict Plus subscribers.

00:15:47.380 He says,

00:15:48.280 for Liz and Michael,

00:15:49.760 have you decided

00:15:50.480 how to approach Santa

00:15:51.640 with your kids?

00:15:52.840 Yes,

00:15:53.260 I am very pro-Santa.

00:15:55.360 I'm on Team Santa.

00:15:56.740 I'm so pro-Santa

00:15:57.920 that I'm not only

00:15:59.060 going to teach

00:15:59.680 about the jolly old elf

00:16:00.900 Saint Nicholas

00:16:01.420 who comes down

00:16:02.120 the chimney with toys.

00:16:03.640 I'm going to teach

00:16:04.620 about Saint Nicholas

00:16:06.080 the bishop

00:16:07.340 who,

00:16:08.740 according to legend

00:16:09.480 at the Council of Nicaea,

00:16:11.100 punched the heretic Arius 0.98

00:16:12.560 in the face 0.97

00:16:13.260 because he was so sick

00:16:14.540 of hearing his heresy

00:16:16.100 and wanted to shake

00:16:17.060 the man back to his senses.

00:16:18.780 Now,

00:16:18.960 the story itself

00:16:19.620 may not have actually occurred,

00:16:21.580 but I love the legend

00:16:22.600 of Santa Claus

00:16:23.340 showing up

00:16:24.040 to give presents

00:16:25.200 to kids 1.00

00:16:25.720 and punch heretics 1.00

00:16:26.640 when he just ran 1.00

00:16:28.320 out of presents.

00:16:29.100 Yes,

00:16:29.360 that won't be confusing

00:16:30.360 at all

00:16:31.000 to your child,

00:16:32.700 the reality

00:16:33.160 and the fantasy.

00:16:34.680 My favorite legend,

00:16:35.840 by the way,

00:16:36.120 before we even get into this,

00:16:37.020 the real Saint Nick,

00:16:38.360 do you know the reason

00:16:39.040 why we decorate

00:16:39.760 our Christmas tree

00:16:40.380 with like gold balls,

00:16:41.580 gold ornaments?

00:16:42.500 Because there was a man,

00:16:43.960 an impoverished man

00:16:44.960 in Saint Nicholas' town

00:16:46.020 who had three daughters.

00:16:47.080 He was unable to pay

00:16:47.840 for their dowry,

00:16:48.600 so they were going

00:16:49.020 to remain unmarried,

00:16:50.040 but he was so impoverished

00:16:51.440 that he couldn't pay

00:16:52.340 for their food.

00:16:53.240 He couldn't sustain them

00:16:54.100 because they were going

00:16:54.900 to be unmarried.

00:16:55.600 He was going to have

00:16:56.100 to sell them 1.00

00:16:56.580 into sex slavery, 1.00

00:16:57.560 into prostitution. 0.99

00:16:58.620 Saint Nicholas threw

00:16:59.420 three bags of gold

00:17:00.500 through his window,

00:17:01.780 landed on their shoes

00:17:02.900 and stockings on the hearth,

00:17:04.080 and that's where

00:17:04.720 the tradition not only

00:17:05.560 of shoes and stockings

00:17:06.520 on the hearth,

00:17:07.080 but also why we decorate

00:17:08.740 our Christmas trees

00:17:09.400 with gold balls.

00:17:10.180 That's what I'm going

00:17:10.900 to teach Lady Baby. 1.00

00:17:11.780 That is the most badass story,

00:17:14.000 the coolest.

00:17:14.860 I mean,

00:17:15.100 that is cooler 0.98

00:17:15.820 than a fat elf

00:17:17.100 coming down the chimney,

00:17:17.800 right?

00:17:18.100 So we're talking

00:17:18.980 about insurrectionists

00:17:20.360 and rioters

00:17:21.120 and pagans 0.99

00:17:21.600 and now sex slavery. 0.99

00:17:23.060 Senator,

00:17:23.520 what was your approach

00:17:24.740 with your daughters

00:17:25.880 when it comes

00:17:26.680 to Santa Claus?

00:17:27.280 Yeah,

00:17:27.820 I got to say,

00:17:28.840 you guys are really

00:17:29.660 going,

00:17:30.220 keeping it light

00:17:31.120 and cheery.

00:17:32.640 You've got Saint Nick

00:17:34.140 the brawler,

00:17:35.640 like, 0.94

00:17:36.100 punching some heretic 0.99

00:17:37.520 or something.

00:17:38.080 I didn't quite follow it.

00:17:39.520 And then you've got

00:17:40.880 the, like,

00:17:41.860 rescued from sex slavery

00:17:44.260 by flinging bags of gold.

00:17:47.400 I'm feeling very

00:17:48.440 historically illiterate 0.64

00:17:49.480 because I confess

00:17:50.540 I know nothing

00:17:51.140 about either one

00:17:51.840 of those stories.

00:17:53.380 But I will,

00:17:55.360 I can go a little bit lighter.

00:17:57.180 So we did Santa

00:17:58.140 with our girls.

00:17:58.860 They're now 11 and 13.

00:18:00.180 I'm pretty sure

00:18:00.820 they are beyond

00:18:02.760 the Santa stage

00:18:03.580 at this point.

00:18:05.040 But I used to,

00:18:06.480 Heidi would have me,

00:18:07.540 so every Christmas Eve

00:18:08.580 after the girls

00:18:09.200 went to bed,

00:18:10.620 she'd send me outside

00:18:11.760 and we have these bells.

00:18:13.960 And I'd, like,

00:18:14.540 go outside their windows

00:18:15.720 and ring the bells

00:18:17.000 to be the bells

00:18:19.080 on Santa's sleigh

00:18:20.220 landing on the roof.

00:18:21.200 And it was just enough

00:18:22.200 that they could hear it

00:18:23.340 and be excited.

00:18:26.380 That's great.

00:18:26.620 It never really worked.

00:18:27.340 I did it every year,

00:18:28.220 but it didn't quite

00:18:29.460 have the effect

00:18:30.280 that we envisioned.

00:18:32.520 We also own a Santa suit.

00:18:34.600 I've never dressed

00:18:35.480 in the Santa suit.

00:18:36.200 We put my dad

00:18:36.840 in the Santa suit.

00:18:37.600 So that's a grandfatherly task.

00:18:40.900 And just to give you

00:18:42.660 a sense of where it goes,

00:18:44.540 we're now post-Santa.

00:18:47.560 There was not some big reveal.

00:18:49.900 There was no year

00:18:50.700 where it's like,

00:18:51.300 aha,

00:18:51.600 it just sort of faded

00:18:53.480 as they got older.

00:18:55.020 But now both girls

00:18:56.160 put together a PowerPoint

00:18:57.440 of what they want

00:18:58.340 for Christmas

00:18:58.880 that they present to us

00:19:00.360 with rankings

00:19:02.920 and why they want it.

00:19:05.220 And they stand

00:19:05.980 and do a presentation.

00:19:07.160 Here's why it's a good idea.

00:19:09.020 Here's why this makes sense.

00:19:10.500 And here's a link

00:19:11.520 to the specific one I want.

00:19:13.440 And so they, like,

00:19:14.780 send you the Amazon link

00:19:16.780 for their presents.

00:19:18.100 Both girls do the presentation now 0.98

00:19:20.420 every year before Christmas.

00:19:22.020 It sounds like they're

00:19:22.620 a chip off the old block.

00:19:24.640 You and Heidi

00:19:25.200 have taught them well.

00:19:26.740 That's impressive.

00:19:27.240 So I used to,

00:19:28.020 when I was eight years old, Liz,

00:19:30.880 so I would type up

00:19:32.160 my Christmas list

00:19:33.440 on my parents'

00:19:34.980 IBM Selectric typewriter

00:19:36.720 because I'd go over

00:19:37.600 to their office

00:19:39.780 where they had

00:19:40.220 a small business.

00:19:41.220 And I would type up

00:19:42.420 a Christmas list

00:19:43.400 and rank things.

00:19:46.000 And I'd rank them

00:19:47.220 one, two, three,

00:19:48.620 and four stars

00:19:49.400 just with asterisks

00:19:50.340 because, you know,

00:19:50.820 that's all you had.

00:19:52.600 And, you know,

00:19:55.020 I would have

00:19:55.500 different things I wanted.

00:19:56.900 I wanted a TV set.

00:19:58.260 I wanted a stereo.

00:19:59.660 I wanted a shotgun.

00:20:00.960 I had all these different things

00:20:02.020 that I specified.

00:20:03.300 And one of the funnier

00:20:04.620 things I specified,

00:20:05.580 I guess this was after eight.

00:20:06.600 This was probably like 11,

00:20:08.820 where I had been working

00:20:10.200 for several years

00:20:11.460 in my parents'

00:20:12.700 small business.

00:20:14.460 And my parents had a rule

00:20:16.060 that I had to save

00:20:17.160 50% of what I earned.

00:20:20.980 That I could only

00:20:21.920 spend half of it,

00:20:23.480 that I had to save

00:20:24.100 half of it.

00:20:24.720 And so I had been working.

00:20:25.720 They were paying me

00:20:26.340 a dollar an hour.

00:20:28.460 And the first thing

00:20:29.500 I bought was a York's stereo.

00:20:31.580 It was $137.

00:20:33.780 And what I remembered

00:20:34.860 is that it had

00:20:35.660 all four media.

00:20:37.200 It had a record player.

00:20:38.320 It had a radio.

00:20:39.020 It had a cassette.

00:20:39.700 It had an eight track.

00:20:41.500 And I bought it.

00:20:42.800 It was 137 hours,

00:20:44.120 but it was times two

00:20:45.200 because I could only

00:20:45.940 spend half of it.

00:20:48.140 And as my savings

00:20:49.920 added up,

00:20:50.660 because I started working,

00:20:51.840 I mean,

00:20:51.960 they hired me

00:20:52.440 when I was eight.

00:20:53.520 And as my savings

00:20:54.620 added up,

00:20:55.260 I had, you know,

00:20:56.160 $800, $900 in savings.

00:20:57.640 And I bought gold with it.

00:21:00.120 I bought a gold Krugerrand,

00:21:02.880 you know,

00:21:03.120 the South African money.

00:21:04.420 Look,

00:21:04.540 one of our sponsors

00:21:05.360 sells gold.

00:21:06.200 So there you go.

00:21:06.820 I was on point

00:21:08.360 with our sponsors

00:21:11.740 when I was a 10-year-old,

00:21:13.960 11-year-old kid.

00:21:15.480 But that next year

00:21:17.100 on the Christmas list,

00:21:20.140 like number nine

00:21:21.300 on the list

00:21:22.140 of what I wanted

00:21:23.460 was

00:21:24.580 some Krugerrands.

00:21:27.660 And my mother to this day

00:21:29.240 still finds hysterical

00:21:30.600 the adjective some.

00:21:32.500 Just, you know,

00:21:33.420 throw some gold coins

00:21:34.840 my way.

00:21:35.480 Like, like what kind

00:21:36.340 of 11-year-old

00:21:37.700 asked for some Krugerrands?

00:21:39.840 But I'm like,

00:21:40.180 I bought one.

00:21:41.040 Why?

00:21:41.380 I did not get some

00:21:42.720 or any Krugerrands

00:21:44.020 for Christmas.

00:21:45.160 And even more funny,

00:21:46.520 it was like two stars.

00:21:47.540 It wasn't nearly as cool

00:21:48.540 as like a TV

00:21:50.240 or whatever else

00:21:50.980 I was asking for that year.

00:21:52.300 You know,

00:21:52.740 this is the left's

00:21:55.080 caricature

00:21:56.300 of what 11-year-old

00:21:57.880 Ted Cruz was doing.

00:21:59.260 Little 11-year-old

00:22:00.080 Ted Cruz

00:22:00.640 investing in gold.

00:22:02.040 The conservative's

00:22:03.360 conservative

00:22:03.840 from a young age.

00:22:04.940 I mean,

00:22:05.260 it's hardly,

00:22:05.800 it's hard to even know

00:22:06.680 how to respond

00:22:07.700 to this story.

00:22:08.640 It's such a delightful mix

00:22:10.120 of hilarious and nerdy.

00:22:11.920 It is,

00:22:12.440 it does sound like 0.75

00:22:13.260 your daughters are a chip 0.96

00:22:14.160 off the old block though.

00:22:15.200 I mean,

00:22:15.420 they're ranking

00:22:15.960 their Christmas presents,

00:22:17.320 arguing in front of you.

00:22:18.580 What, what,

00:22:19.080 what could basically

00:22:19.940 set them up

00:22:20.500 for better present success

00:22:21.680 on Christmas morning?

00:22:22.540 I honestly,

00:22:23.320 I honestly don't know

00:22:24.100 if there is anything.

00:22:24.980 However,

00:22:25.580 in the spirit of Christmas,

00:22:26.420 we do have more gifts

00:22:27.680 for our wonderful

00:22:28.760 Verdict fans.

00:22:29.980 This time,

00:22:30.720 head over to YouTube.

00:22:31.900 15 people

00:22:34.040 picked at random

00:22:35.000 who leave comments

00:22:36.140 on this episode,

00:22:37.540 that is episode 100,

00:22:39.300 will get a free box

00:22:40.680 of signed merch

00:22:41.420 from the Verdict merch store.

00:22:42.740 The only thing

00:22:43.460 that I regret

00:22:43.960 to inform you

00:22:44.620 is that it won't

00:22:45.360 contain gold coins.

00:22:47.500 Other than that,

00:22:48.060 it will contain

00:22:48.720 really cool merch

00:22:49.620 signed by yours truly,

00:22:51.620 by Michael,

00:22:52.500 by Senator Cruz.

00:22:53.260 15 random people

00:22:55.320 who leave comments

00:22:56.200 on this episode,

00:22:57.020 episode 100,

00:22:57.960 will get a free box

00:22:58.740 of signed merch

00:22:59.420 from the Verdict merch store

00:23:00.960 shop, that is.

00:23:02.340 Of course,

00:23:03.160 the URL,

00:23:03.800 if you want to see

00:23:04.300 what is in the merch shop,

00:23:06.340 you can go to

00:23:07.000 verdictwithtedcruise.com

00:23:08.800 slash shop.

00:23:10.220 That's pretty cool, Michael.

00:23:11.240 That is extremely cool.

00:23:12.580 So, Liz,

00:23:13.180 let me ask,

00:23:14.080 let's go under the hood.

00:23:16.480 So, YouTube,

00:23:17.960 we have, what,

00:23:18.500 about 210,000 subscribers

00:23:20.260 on YouTube,

00:23:21.000 which means

00:23:22.680 I also have

00:23:23.260 in my office

00:23:23.880 the really cool

00:23:24.880 like silver,

00:23:26.520 you know,

00:23:27.560 album thing.

00:23:29.300 I don't even know

00:23:29.620 what you call it,

00:23:30.220 but the thing they get you

00:23:31.080 when you get

00:23:31.400 100,000 subscribers,

00:23:32.580 so we've got 210,000.

00:23:34.320 The silver play button.

00:23:35.680 That's a big deal

00:23:36.680 for the YouTuber community.

00:23:37.980 The silver play button

00:23:39.140 and there's,

00:23:40.180 what's the million one?

00:23:41.260 What is it, gold?

00:23:42.460 Gold.

00:23:42.940 You get the gold.

00:23:43.620 All right,

00:23:43.860 so we got to get

00:23:45.120 to the gold.

00:23:45.700 We're 210,000,

00:23:46.620 so we'll get there,

00:23:47.340 but we're not there yet.

00:23:48.320 You can put that

00:23:48.900 on your Christmas list

00:23:49.760 this year.

00:23:50.300 All right,

00:23:50.540 there we go.

00:23:51.340 Now, that's number one

00:23:52.900 on my Christmas list,

00:23:54.420 but I guess

00:23:55.620 the comments

00:23:57.220 like feed the algorithm,

00:23:59.560 so, you know,

00:24:00.220 you've got a bunch

00:24:00.860 of commie leftists

00:24:01.760 in Silicon Valley

00:24:02.640 that if they had their way,

00:24:03.900 we would have zero viewers,

00:24:06.120 but when you comment,

00:24:08.060 somehow they're mildly obliged

00:24:10.020 like more people see it

00:24:11.240 and it spreads it

00:24:12.040 and I don't understand

00:24:12.960 the pixie dust

00:24:14.440 from Santa's elves

00:24:15.460 caused more people

00:24:16.660 to watch Verdict,

00:24:17.420 so make your comments

00:24:19.100 and say things

00:24:20.320 that are interesting

00:24:21.020 and fun

00:24:21.680 and 15 of you

00:24:23.260 will get merch

00:24:25.900 signed by us.

00:24:27.540 Exactly,

00:24:28.100 so you're both

00:24:28.700 fighting back

00:24:29.280 against big tech,

00:24:30.220 making sure that we

00:24:31.080 make the most

00:24:31.840 of the algorithms

00:24:33.060 that we face

00:24:33.900 and you get merch

00:24:34.920 from Verdict.

00:24:35.500 What could make

00:24:36.100 for a better Christmas

00:24:36.940 than that?

00:24:37.860 Again,

00:24:38.220 our YouTube channel

00:24:39.020 is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:24:40.300 Head on over there.

00:24:42.160 Be one of the 15 people.

00:24:43.360 I mean,

00:24:43.620 that's a pretty good

00:24:44.500 odd there.

00:24:46.040 All right,

00:24:46.520 are you ready

00:24:46.820 for the next question?

00:24:47.700 The next question

00:24:48.420 is about family tradition.

00:24:50.840 So obviously,

00:24:51.600 Senator,

00:24:51.880 it's a tradition

00:24:52.380 in your family

00:24:52.800 to rank the Christmas

00:24:53.740 presents to give them ratings,

00:24:55.640 but Real Truth Cactus

00:24:56.880 wants to know,

00:24:58.280 and she says,

00:24:58.800 this is for everyone,

00:24:59.480 what is your family's

00:25:00.260 favorite Christmas

00:25:01.320 tradition or memory?

00:25:03.420 And so,

00:25:03.760 Senator,

00:25:03.980 let's start with you.

00:25:04.920 You know,

00:25:05.120 to be honest,

00:25:05.580 my favorite thing

00:25:06.340 about Christmas

00:25:06.940 is just being with family.

00:25:08.700 It's like Thanksgiving,

00:25:09.920 Christmas,

00:25:10.260 my two favorite holidays

00:25:11.340 because we get

00:25:12.780 our whole extended

00:25:13.580 family together.

00:25:14.560 When I was a kid,

00:25:15.500 we would always,

00:25:16.100 we'd drive up to Dallas

00:25:17.240 and my grandparents,

00:25:19.260 my abuelo and abuela,

00:25:20.220 they lived up in Dallas

00:25:21.360 and they lived

00:25:22.180 with my Tia Sonia,

00:25:23.180 my father's kid sister.

00:25:25.560 And my cousin,

00:25:26.820 Bebe,

00:25:27.240 who's Tia Sonia's daughter,

00:25:28.440 she lived up there.

00:25:29.240 Bebe's five years older

00:25:30.140 than I am

00:25:30.600 and we were like

00:25:31.160 brother and sister.

00:25:32.820 And we would all

00:25:33.800 get together

00:25:34.520 and you got a,

00:25:35.300 you know,

00:25:35.700 big Cuban household

00:25:37.000 and we'd have food

00:25:38.580 and there'd be

00:25:40.040 lots of yelling.

00:25:40.920 I've joked,

00:25:41.480 if a Cuban can't yell, 0.97

00:25:42.460 can they speak?

00:25:43.180 And I think the answer

00:25:43.760 is no.

00:25:44.300 Like,

00:25:44.460 like there's no way,

00:25:46.080 if you had like

00:25:47.520 eight or ten Cuban men

00:25:48.840 in a room,

00:25:49.860 they're all screaming

00:25:51.400 in Spanish

00:25:52.200 at the top of their lungs

00:25:53.380 because it apparently,

00:25:54.320 they don't,

00:25:54.960 they can't modulate volume.

00:25:57.440 We play dominoes

00:25:58.800 every Christmas.

00:25:59.740 The dominoes games

00:26:00.820 are vigorous,

00:26:03.700 they're in your face,

00:26:04.700 they're competitive.

00:26:05.420 My father will always

00:26:08.380 get out the Bible 0.97

00:26:09.320 at the Christmas table

00:26:11.780 and read,

00:26:12.740 read the story

00:26:13.880 of Christ's birth

00:26:14.840 and,

00:26:16.100 you know,

00:26:16.740 that's,

00:26:17.900 I've done that

00:26:18.980 on the couple of times

00:26:19.880 my dad hasn't been

00:26:20.880 at our house

00:26:21.460 but to be honest,

00:26:22.320 again,

00:26:23.180 look,

00:26:23.540 even though I,

00:26:24.240 I turn,

00:26:25.520 turn 51

00:26:26.420 in a week,

00:26:28.360 you know,

00:26:28.800 dad is still dad

00:26:29.900 and so,

00:26:30.480 so,

00:26:30.760 so that's,

00:26:31.340 that's his responsibility.

00:26:34.040 We also go do

00:26:34.880 a lot of movies

00:26:35.540 so,

00:26:37.080 ours is a movie

00:26:38.780 going household,

00:26:40.040 you know,

00:26:40.840 verdict,

00:26:42.160 listeners know

00:26:42.980 that I'm a movie buff

00:26:43.920 but I got it honestly,

00:26:45.680 I got it from my parents,

00:26:46.720 my parents,

00:26:47.340 both my parents

00:26:48.280 love movies.

00:26:50.180 My dad actually

00:26:51.700 learned English

00:26:52.840 when he came from Cuba

00:26:54.040 in 1957

00:26:54.940 and he came

00:26:55.840 to Austin,

00:26:57.100 he was a freshman

00:26:58.520 at UT

00:26:59.040 and he couldn't

00:27:00.820 speak English.

00:27:01.620 He had gotten in

00:27:02.620 but he had this

00:27:04.320 enormous incentive

00:27:05.260 to learn English

00:27:05.980 because his classes

00:27:06.860 weren't English

00:27:07.600 and if he didn't

00:27:09.020 learn English quickly

00:27:10.040 he would flunk

00:27:10.660 out of UT

00:27:11.160 and if he flunked

00:27:11.860 out of UT

00:27:12.300 they would cancel

00:27:13.660 his student visa

00:27:14.340 and if they canceled

00:27:15.000 his student visa

00:27:15.700 they'd send him

00:27:16.260 back to Cuba

00:27:16.820 and if he went

00:27:17.240 back to Cuba 1.00

00:27:17.860 they'd kill him. 0.98

00:27:19.200 So he had this 0.75

00:27:20.100 intense incentive

00:27:21.660 learn English quick

00:27:23.060 so you don't flunk

00:27:23.760 out of school

00:27:24.300 and one of the things

00:27:25.760 he used to do

00:27:26.740 so he'd do two things

00:27:28.400 number one

00:27:28.960 he took Spanish 101

00:27:30.380 and he reverse

00:27:32.340 engineered it

00:27:33.040 so when the professor

00:27:34.280 said milk is leche

00:27:35.840 he'd go oh leche

00:27:37.080 is milk

00:27:37.440 and he'd just like

00:27:38.020 try to do everything

00:27:38.820 backwards and see

00:27:39.580 if he could learn

00:27:40.380 but the other thing

00:27:41.980 he would do

00:27:42.520 is he'd go to the movies

00:27:43.500 and he'd see the same

00:27:45.520 movie three times

00:27:46.480 in a row

00:27:47.000 and the human brain

00:27:49.060 is amazing

00:27:50.000 so the first

00:27:50.720 you know

00:27:51.200 few times he did it

00:27:52.100 he didn't understand

00:27:52.620 any of it

00:27:53.260 but it starts to

00:27:54.820 you start seeing

00:27:55.580 how people interact

00:27:56.500 and the context

00:27:57.220 and the cues

00:27:57.960 and so he loves movies

00:28:00.060 so I'll

00:28:00.640 over Christmas break

00:28:01.580 I'll see several movies

00:28:02.780 I like the theater

00:28:03.900 I like being

00:28:05.240 you know

00:28:05.960 in the sound

00:28:06.740 and I get

00:28:07.320 popcorn and candy

00:28:08.820 and hot dogs

00:28:09.640 and

00:28:09.920 and

00:28:10.860 take the kids 0.86

00:28:12.440 and so movies

00:28:13.620 dominoes

00:28:14.660 and

00:28:15.620 and playing my nephew

00:28:16.820 Diego

00:28:17.280 one-on-one hoops

00:28:18.340 and we play

00:28:19.180 vigorous

00:28:20.920 aggressive

00:28:21.880 brutal

00:28:23.100 fouling 0.93

00:28:24.840 bloody

00:28:25.500 bruising

00:28:26.800 taunting

00:28:27.780 hoops

00:28:28.820 much like

00:28:29.320 our dominoes

00:28:30.000 games

00:28:30.300 our dominoes

00:28:31.000 games

00:28:31.260 are taunting

00:28:31.860 our hoops

00:28:32.320 games

00:28:32.660 are taunting

00:28:33.200 it's

00:28:33.620 it's a

00:28:34.260 it is a family

00:28:35.940 with a lot of fun

00:28:36.980 and and and a lot

00:28:38.120 of good natured

00:28:38.900 grief all around

00:28:39.740 it's not

00:28:40.500 it sounds amazing

00:28:41.340 I mean I can

00:28:41.880 I can almost

00:28:42.460 feel the atmosphere

00:28:43.720 being there

00:28:44.480 and I think

00:28:45.200 I think you said

00:28:45.720 it correctly

00:28:46.140 I mean not to

00:28:46.580 sound cheesy

00:28:47.060 not to sound trite

00:28:47.800 it is about

00:28:48.620 being with family

00:28:49.400 and all of the

00:28:50.120 the little quirks

00:28:51.100 and idiosyncrasies

00:28:52.080 of being with the

00:28:52.780 ones that you love

00:28:53.500 Michael

00:28:54.080 what what what is

00:28:55.320 what is your family do

00:28:56.240 what is your favorite

00:28:57.060 memory either

00:28:57.680 either current

00:28:58.220 or past

00:28:58.760 I'll give you a great

00:29:00.460 memory I mean we

00:29:01.200 have a zillion

00:29:02.080 traditions and

00:29:03.140 memories around

00:29:04.140 Christmas

00:29:04.820 Christmas very

00:29:05.560 important not

00:29:06.700 just for the

00:29:07.180 Catholics but 0.99

00:29:07.820 specifically the

00:29:08.560 Italian Catholics

00:29:09.460 they make a big

00:29:10.040 deal especially

00:29:10.780 about Christmas

00:29:11.240 Eve so there

00:29:12.440 was one year

00:29:13.080 give you a sense

00:29:13.920 of how politically

00:29:14.600 incorrect my

00:29:15.340 family is there

00:29:16.240 was one year I

00:29:17.000 really wanted for

00:29:17.960 Christmas a

00:29:19.020 sitar you know

00:29:20.180 like the big

00:29:20.840 Indian instrument

00:29:22.260 George hair I

00:29:23.300 don't know I

00:29:23.540 heard George

00:29:23.920 Harrison played

00:29:24.420 it or something

00:29:24.780 so I really

00:29:25.340 wanted a sitar we

00:29:26.300 found it at some

00:29:26.880 hippie shop in

00:29:28.220 way down in

00:29:29.160 southern New

00:29:29.660 Jersey my

00:29:30.520 mother knew I

00:29:31.060 really wanted it

00:29:31.700 we didn't have a

00:29:32.220 ton of money but

00:29:32.980 my grandmother

00:29:33.500 agreed to buy it

00:29:34.480 if my mother would

00:29:35.100 drive down four and

00:29:36.040 a half hours pick

00:29:36.820 it up drive back

00:29:37.780 four and a half

00:29:38.320 hours bring it to

00:29:39.060 her I had no clue

00:29:40.360 that this was

00:29:40.840 happening at all

00:29:41.560 and it's in my

00:29:42.680 grandmother's house

00:29:43.300 we go there huge

00:29:44.560 meal lots of people

00:29:45.960 all screaming Italians 1.00

00:29:47.500 as is often the case

00:29:48.720 in an Italian

00:29:49.800 household younger

00:29:51.120 people drink a

00:29:52.080 little bit of wine

00:29:52.760 at Christmas so

00:29:53.580 there's 13 14

00:29:54.800 year old Michael

00:29:55.540 I'm having you

00:29:56.540 know a glass or

00:29:57.280 two of wine I'm

00:29:58.140 just feeling great

00:29:59.020 and my grandmother

00:30:00.240 emerges my little

00:30:01.540 Sicilian grandmother

00:30:02.600 emerges wearing a

00:30:04.620 full Indian

00:30:05.520 sari that she had

00:30:06.980 picked up on a

00:30:07.680 trip in the 70s

00:30:08.780 she's got a dot in

00:30:10.060 the middle of her

00:30:10.540 head she would be 0.97

00:30:11.140 canceled if there

00:30:12.020 were photos of this

00:30:13.320 incident and presents

00:30:14.680 me with this sitar

00:30:15.860 we would all be

00:30:16.800 canceled if there

00:30:17.500 were any evidence

00:30:18.340 of this but it it

00:30:19.700 did really bring

00:30:20.320 together so many

00:30:21.080 aspects the the

00:30:23.140 wild family everyone

00:30:25.220 being together even

00:30:26.600 the gifts that there

00:30:27.380 was so much thought

00:30:28.080 put into this gift

00:30:28.960 and of course I got

00:30:30.100 a real kick out of

00:30:31.440 the abject political

00:30:32.680 correctness that's

00:30:33.740 something about those

00:30:35.040 conservative Italian

00:30:35.920 families so do you

00:30:37.460 still have the sitar

00:30:38.580 and can you play it

00:30:39.280 on the podcast I

00:30:40.620 absolutely have the

00:30:42.020 sitar I actually just

00:30:43.080 ordered strings for it

00:30:44.440 senator and it maybe

00:30:45.820 that maybe that's going

00:30:46.940 to be the 200th

00:30:47.800 episode spectacular is

00:30:49.940 we'll just start

00:30:50.560 playing some Ravi

00:30:51.800 Shank cartoon we can

00:30:52.940 have belly dancing

00:30:53.620 who knows who knows

00:30:54.720 people have to

00:30:55.200 subscribe to get us

00:30:56.340 that far I was going

00:30:57.500 to ask the exact same

00:30:58.220 question it's hard to

00:30:58.960 even know what to do

00:30:59.720 with the two of you

00:31:00.400 these are so they're 0.98

00:31:02.400 so nerdy so dorky but

00:31:03.820 maybe maybe I found my

00:31:05.020 people because one of

00:31:05.920 my favorite Christmas

00:31:06.720 memories is when I

00:31:08.200 was about 11 or 12 I

00:31:09.780 asked for a unicycle

00:31:10.900 for Christmas my

00:31:12.100 parents got me a

00:31:13.100 unicycle I taught

00:31:13.840 myself how to ride it

00:31:14.900 I then taught my

00:31:15.760 sisters how to ride

00:31:16.780 it and we would ride

00:31:17.560 in parades right our

00:31:18.440 unicycles and parades

00:31:19.440 calling ourselves the

00:31:21.200 three one wheelers

00:31:22.200 because who can

00:31:22.800 resist who can resist

00:31:24.380 a bad pun such as

00:31:25.760 that yes yes I see

00:31:27.500 your face Michael I

00:31:28.280 can see that listen

00:31:29.160 it was it was a great

00:31:30.380 time it was a great

00:31:31.200 time my childhood

00:31:32.040 so Liz did you have

00:31:33.760 the did you have the

00:31:34.740 short short unicycles

00:31:36.240 or the tall ones or

00:31:37.080 both I'm the short

00:31:38.780 one so it it's

00:31:40.340 probably about four

00:31:41.520 feet three or four

00:31:42.440 feet so you're pretty

00:31:43.560 much off the ground

00:31:44.220 but it wasn't the

00:31:44.940 giraffe unicycles I

00:31:45.820 did I did to be fair I

00:31:47.160 did ask for one of

00:31:48.020 those but that was a

00:31:48.780 bridge too far even

00:31:49.620 for my mom to you

00:31:50.780 know put me up 20

00:31:51.780 feet on one wheel

00:31:52.680 so just just the

00:31:55.080 regular I could ride

00:31:55.860 backwards though that

00:31:56.680 was kind of that was

00:31:57.460 kind of my trick that I

00:31:58.280 liked to do nice I the

00:32:00.880 last time I went to my

00:32:01.640 parents I did think

00:32:02.420 about trying it again

00:32:03.320 but being that was a

00:32:04.960 little bit postpartum I

00:32:06.040 thought maybe I

00:32:06.560 shouldn't get up on the

00:32:07.320 top of that and try a

00:32:08.220 trick that I'd learned

00:32:08.880 20 years ago yeah I'm

00:32:11.020 feeling really lame

00:32:12.060 before I was feeling

00:32:13.280 like historically 0.78

00:32:14.140 ignorant now I'm 0.96

00:32:15.780 feeling untalented as 0.99

00:32:17.240 well because we're

00:32:18.120 going to have a

00:32:18.540 subsequent episode

00:32:19.460 where Michael's

00:32:20.600 playing the sitar

00:32:21.480 you're riding a

00:32:22.240 unicycle and I'm

00:32:23.400 sitting here threatening

00:32:24.220 to sue people like I

00:32:25.920 senator well you were

00:32:28.220 wasting all of that

00:32:29.540 time at Harvard Law

00:32:30.700 School learning

00:32:31.240 constitutional law you

00:32:32.660 could have been doing

00:32:33.300 something productive

00:32:34.140 like learning an

00:32:35.580 ancient Indian guitar

00:32:36.640 or or riding the

00:32:37.920 unicycle I mean these

00:32:38.900 are the regrets that

00:32:39.940 that people have in

00:32:40.900 their lives

00:32:41.260 indeed misspent youth

00:32:44.140 this question by the

00:32:45.040 way was asked by real

00:32:45.840 truth cactus and I

00:32:46.660 want to give credit

00:32:47.200 where credit to our

00:32:47.840 next giveaway our

00:32:48.880 next Christmas gift was

00:32:50.240 this was real truth

00:32:51.400 cactus's idea so we

00:32:53.220 can thank her for this

00:32:53.940 and this is really

00:32:54.480 funny so if we get to

00:32:56.020 50,000 reviews on

00:32:57.660 Apple podcasts by our

00:32:59.280 anniversary date that

00:33:00.280 inaugural the date of

00:33:01.320 the inaugural episode

00:33:02.100 January 21st 50,000

00:33:04.120 reviews on Apple

00:33:04.740 podcasts we will let

00:33:05.900 the fans pick what we

00:33:07.940 do next year now these

00:33:10.100 are the options you

00:33:10.940 ready for these

00:33:11.380 options real truth

00:33:12.280 cactus just hit the

00:33:13.680 nail on the head with

00:33:14.220 this one senator the 0.72

00:33:16.600 senator wears a Braves

00:33:17.780 jersey for an entire

00:33:19.140 episode that's option

00:33:20.820 number one option

00:33:22.360 number two is the

00:33:23.680 senator and Michael

00:33:24.680 arm wrestle option

00:33:27.140 three is the cactus

00:33:28.740 makes a guest

00:33:29.800 appearance on the show

00:33:31.260 right here on the pod

00:33:32.320 or for Michael roasts

00:33:35.200 Princeton and the

00:33:36.780 senator roasts Yale in

00:33:38.040 a throwdown episode if

00:33:39.720 we get to 50,000

00:33:41.020 reviews on Apple

00:33:41.740 podcast by January

00:33:42.680 21st people I beg of

00:33:45.040 you I mean as you can

00:33:45.900 see this would be a

00:33:46.660 very enjoyable episode

00:33:47.700 for me and for you if

00:33:49.280 not for Michael and the

00:33:50.320 senator let's do this

00:33:52.020 please let's do this

00:33:53.620 well I will say on on

00:33:55.480 the fourth one of

00:33:56.440 roasting Yale versus

00:33:57.500 Princeton I I kind of

00:33:58.920 feel like taking candy

00:34:00.000 from a baby that that's

00:34:01.000 not really fair it it is

00:34:03.020 a horribly skewed

00:34:04.800 playing field

00:34:05.700 senator I I would I

00:34:08.840 would have to resist

00:34:09.800 that I would have to

00:34:10.720 to fight you on that

00:34:11.680 question except that a

00:34:13.200 few years ago there

00:34:14.640 was a case of a Yale

00:34:15.520 student screaming at the

00:34:16.800 top of her lungs that 0.51

00:34:17.700 Yale is not an

00:34:18.460 intellectual place it is

00:34:19.940 a place of comfort and

00:34:21.020 home and the university

00:34:22.560 sided with her so it's

00:34:23.800 going to I hope it's not

00:34:24.620 number four I'm going to

00:34:25.620 be it's going to be an

00:34:26.480 uphill battle so Michael

00:34:27.460 when you say fight did

00:34:28.580 you mean arm wrestle well

00:34:30.080 that might be an uphill

00:34:30.800 battle to I'm you know I

00:34:32.720 don't know we'll see how

00:34:33.680 that shakes out you've you've

00:34:35.080 got youth but but but but

00:34:38.160 you know I may have a

00:34:39.240 few pounds on you

00:34:40.000 Michael so so we'll see

00:34:41.260 how that how that shakes

00:34:43.540 out I I will say on the

00:34:45.740 first suggestion of the

00:34:46.820 Braves jersey oddly enough

00:34:49.640 bizarrely enough I have

00:34:54.060 worn a Braves jersey

00:34:55.220 precisely once in my life

00:34:58.280 so 50 almost 51 years of

00:35:00.300 life I've worn a Braves

00:35:01.420 jersey once and the day on

00:35:03.940 which I wore the Braves

00:35:04.900 jersey was today and

00:35:08.160 so in the World Series I

00:35:10.740 had a wager with John

00:35:12.040 Ossoff newly elected

00:35:13.980 senator from Georgia on

00:35:15.140 the World Series I

00:35:16.660 actually went and proposed

00:35:18.600 it to John when the World

00:35:19.580 Series started said look

00:35:20.560 let's have a wager the

00:35:22.340 loser has to buy food for

00:35:24.720 the staff of the other and 1.00

00:35:27.240 wear the jersey of the

00:35:29.660 winning team and I pointed

00:35:32.580 out that I had done the

00:35:33.660 same thing with with

00:35:34.740 Kamala Harris and she she

00:35:37.980 had to show up at an

00:35:39.160 Astros jersey which was

00:35:40.240 awesome and then I did the

00:35:41.820 same thing with Tim Kaine

00:35:43.020 when when the Nationals

00:35:44.300 beat beat the Astros and I

00:35:46.520 had to painfully don a

00:35:47.980 Nationals jersey it's very

00:35:49.820 funny Ossoff was fine with

00:35:51.620 the food but he was really

00:35:52.580 nervous he's like well if I

00:35:54.140 wear an Astros jersey that

00:35:55.240 that that could like cost me

00:35:57.120 several points at the polls

00:35:58.300 right and I'm like well

00:35:59.620 that's a plus too but I was

00:36:02.940 like come on man like you 0.97

00:36:04.700 know Kamala did it you know 0.87

00:36:06.660 so so I will say I did it

00:36:08.480 today but but I did it

00:36:12.580 under protest that's that you

00:36:19.640 know yeah you might have been

00:36:20.500 following the letter of the

00:36:21.600 law senator but that seems to

00:36:23.440 violate the spirit of the law

00:36:24.680 if you're wearing the Astros

00:36:25.740 hat so I didn't actually wear

00:36:28.140 the Astros hat I just wore the

00:36:29.900 jersey but I brought in

00:36:31.180 Kreitz's barbecue I flew in

00:36:33.400 barbecue from Texas all the

00:36:36.340 way up here and fed all of

00:36:38.280 the the Ossoff staffers and

00:36:41.080 wore the jersey so so if that

00:36:42.840 that wins the thing I might

00:36:44.720 might have to wear this hat

00:36:45.980 too but but I did wear a

00:36:48.560 jersey today to pay up on my

00:36:51.140 wager a man of his word and

00:36:54.320 this kind of coincidence you

00:36:55.820 can't design because I did not

00:36:57.620 even come into this episode

00:36:58.580 knowing that fact and nor did

00:37:00.760 real truth cactus to my

00:37:01.900 knowledge by the way just just

00:37:03.120 to remind everyone how the

00:37:04.180 mechanics of this work go

00:37:05.660 over to Apple podcasts leave a

00:37:08.000 five-star review write a

00:37:09.820 comment telling us of course

00:37:11.100 how glorious the the show is

00:37:13.460 get us up to 50,000 views and

00:37:16.420 then once this happens go over

00:37:18.800 to verdict plus that's verdict

00:37:20.360 with Ted Cruz dot com slash plus

00:37:22.080 and vote in the poll to see

00:37:23.560 exactly what you would like to

00:37:25.100 see happen would you like to

00:37:26.180 see the senator in a Braves

00:37:27.640 jersey would you like to see

00:37:28.600 an arm wrestling match between

00:37:30.040 Michael and the senator would

00:37:31.320 you like the cactus to make a

00:37:32.580 guest appearance on the show

00:37:33.440 or would you like a mutual

00:37:34.960 roast Michael roasting

00:37:36.280 Princeton and the senator

00:37:37.420 roasting Yale those are the

00:37:39.120 options this seems like a

00:37:40.820 pretty good a pretty good

00:37:41.660 Christmas episode Michael

00:37:42.720 so Liz let me let me jump in

00:37:44.640 on two things number one

00:37:47.660 okay so the goal is to get to

00:37:49.640 to 50,000 reviews on on Apple

00:37:52.200 podcasts and it's the same

00:37:53.460 thing because it's part of

00:37:54.440 their magical algorithm or

00:37:57.380 algae rhythm as they said the

00:37:58.960 terrible remake of Space Jam

00:38:00.360 but so we got to get to 50,000

00:38:06.160 by January 2021 where are we

00:38:08.440 now are we close we can do it

00:38:10.720 let's say that it's it's doable

00:38:12.520 we can do it if we if we commit

00:38:14.580 we're at about 35,000 over the

00:38:17.460 course of the last almost two

00:38:19.640 years but listen with this kind

00:38:21.080 of incentive we can get this done

00:38:23.120 I for one really really want to

00:38:25.140 see an arm wrestling match so I

00:38:26.900 highly encourage everyone who's

00:38:28.320 watching and listening to this

00:38:29.360 episode please go rate give us a

00:38:32.120 five-star rating on Apple podcasts

00:38:33.640 please write a comment please then

00:38:35.780 choose and this is my bias I know

00:38:37.740 that I'm I'm creating bias in this

00:38:39.520 poll please choose the arm

00:38:40.380 wrestling match oh and by the way

00:38:42.340 Liz I will say on verdict plus if

00:38:46.260 you're disagreeable and contrary and

00:38:49.360 you don't like any of the four

00:38:50.480 choices provide a fifth we're

00:38:53.440 spontaneous we're flexible if you

00:38:55.380 got an idea that you think is is a

00:38:57.460 better one than that throw it out

00:38:59.560 there and if a bunch of folks on

00:39:00.860 verdict plus like it and and and if

00:39:02.820 it does not entail Michael and the

00:39:05.540 nude then then we'll consider it

00:39:07.360 and thank you so I appreciate that I

00:39:11.560 was actually going to suggest it I

00:39:13.060 don't you know listen I'm a free

00:39:14.040 spirit I'm hip I'm cool but yes

00:39:16.040 please everyone submit your

00:39:17.940 suggestions it's funny it occurs to me

00:39:19.580 that we began the show today with me

00:39:21.460 complaining about how we have too

00:39:22.640 many ads and now we've had a bunch of

00:39:24.440 ads but they're not ads for anything

00:39:26.780 other really than than offering a

00:39:28.460 bunch of free stuff as a note of

00:39:30.460 gratitude to all of you seriously we're

00:39:32.220 so so grateful to all of the

00:39:34.240 listeners who have been with us for

00:39:35.720 100 episodes we really really

00:39:38.180 appreciate it we wish everyone a very

00:39:40.660 merry Christmas from me from Liz from

00:39:43.640 Senator Cruz most importantly from the

00:39:45.800 cactus so really thank you all we will

00:39:48.440 see you next time I'm Michael Knowles

00:39:50.280 this is verdict with Ted Cruz

00:39:52.100 so I tried to get the great and

00:40:02.840 powerful Jay Hay to draw a cactus on

00:40:05.020 the vestiboard for this little this

00:40:07.700 little bit that we're doing but he

00:40:09.500 could not produce so let me just tell

00:40:10.980 you we have a 20% off sale on the

00:40:13.800 verdict merch store right now you can

00:40:15.360 get one of those sweet sweet cactus

00:40:17.440 hats I would put one on for you to

00:40:19.460 model it but I'm a little vain of my

00:40:20.900 hair today I think I'm having a pretty

00:40:21.880 good hair day so I didn't want to mess

00:40:22.980 it up but go over to verdict with

00:40:24.640 Ted Cruz dot com slash shop and if you

00:40:27.280 use the promo code Santa then you will

00:40:29.060 get 20% off the entire shop between now

00:40:32.920 and Christmas 20% off that's a really

00:40:34.740 good deal we have t-shirts we have

00:40:37.280 cactus merch we have hats we have all

00:40:39.560 kinds of cool stuff over there between

00:40:41.280 now and Christmas you get the great

00:40:42.560 deal 20% off if you use the promo code

00:40:44.980 Santa then I don't know in the

00:40:47.440 meantime maybe the great and powerful

00:40:48.960 Jay Hay will figure out how to put a

00:40:50.240 t-shirt or a cactus on the vestiboard

00:40:52.140 but while he's figuring that out I

00:40:54.160 invite you join us verdict with Ted

00:40:55.780 Cruz dot com slash shop to buy really

00:40:58.640 cool merch you get 20% off if you use

00:41:00.640 the promo code Santa at checkout

00:41:02.300 that's actually pretty good this episode

00:41:12.000 of verdict with Ted Cruz is being

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00:41:24.580 jobs freedom and security pack plans to

00:41:27.260 donate to conservative candidates running

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - December 23, 2021

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