Western Standard - December 29, 2025


CORY MORGAN SHOW： A Year Like No Other： 2025 Year-Ender


Episode Stats

Length

47 minutes

Words per Minute

191.63075

Word Count

9,055

Sentence Count

758

Misogynist Sentences

9

Hate Speech Sentences

15


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Good day and welcome to the Corey Morgan Show.
00:00:30.080 This will be our last one of 2025.
00:00:33.960 We're doing a Christmas special right now.
00:00:36.640 As you can see, we're looking all festive-like with the snowflakes on the glass wall and
00:00:41.400 a Christmas tree back behind me.
00:00:43.660 And we're just going to wrap up the year going over some of the stuff of the year.
00:00:47.660 And boy, it's been a hell of a year.
00:00:49.360 I mean, think about it.
00:00:50.420 Trudeau was still our prime minister only a year ago.
00:00:53.520 It seems like forever ago.
00:00:54.680 But look how much has happened.
00:00:55.640 We've got a general federal election that, well, was a catastrophe for the Conservative
00:01:01.440 Party.
00:01:01.860 We've got a municipal election in Alberta.
00:01:04.180 We've had all sorts of events in between and going on.
00:01:07.740 And we're heading into another year that looks like it's going to be no less crazy than the
00:01:11.380 last one.
00:01:11.840 And so to wrap it up this year, we're going to speak to some of our reporters and through
00:01:16.880 our news editor and just kind of do a recap of those top stories and the ones that stood
00:01:22.060 out the most this year, just to look back one more time before we start looking forward.
00:01:26.680 So I'll start by turning to our trusty news editor, Dave Naylor, who's in studio.
00:01:30.760 And hey, Merry Christmas.
00:01:32.640 Merry Christmas to you and Jane.
00:01:34.360 Hope the season goes well for you.
00:01:36.780 And your water doesn't shut off.
00:01:38.280 Oh, God, I hope not.
00:01:39.660 It'll be a stinky Christmas if we can't get that consistent.
00:01:43.320 So if I had to come to you in January of this year and I said, I'll bet you $10 Trudeau
00:01:51.800 will be out of office and dating Katy Perry, would you have taken that bet?
00:01:56.880 Probably.
00:01:57.440 You would have been $10 richer.
00:01:58.980 Yeah.
00:01:59.820 And I would have been confident.
00:02:01.200 See, how you lunatic.
00:02:03.180 So what a year, eh?
00:02:04.320 Holy cow.
00:02:04.920 Yeah, the Katy Perry ending is just kind of a bizarre icing on the cake.
00:02:10.220 You know, we just can't lose him from the new Skrull.
00:02:12.880 No.
00:02:13.320 And unfortunately, people seem to want to read about him and, you know.
00:02:18.340 I'd rather him on the gossip pages in pop culture than sitting in any position of authority
00:02:22.860 anymore.
00:02:24.560 Exactly.
00:02:25.500 And have the deep conversations I'm certain they must have.
00:02:28.420 So yeah, the federal election was one of the top stories of the year.
00:02:31.760 A disappointing result for, for Alberta, with Mark Carney being elected.
00:02:38.420 Well, he's got a one seat minority now, I guess.
00:02:41.980 I guess one more floor crosser.
00:02:43.620 He'll have a majority.
00:02:45.660 So we could be stuck with him for, for five years, four more years, I guess.
00:02:52.220 And Pierre Polyev, how close a battle for his political life do you think it's going to be?
00:02:57.980 You know, a lot of people talk about the upcoming review, but those things, I mean, we always
00:03:02.620 hear people try to ramp it up.
00:03:04.880 Well, we have seen reviews go badly for leaders before.
00:03:07.400 I think he's going to do okay, a little lower than other times.
00:03:10.080 His bigger risk is, as it usually is, it's in caucus.
00:03:13.440 So if he loses too many crossing within there, it doesn't matter if the tens of thousands
00:03:17.460 of members support.
00:03:18.320 If you start losing dozens in your own caucus, well, just ask John Rustad how that ends
00:03:22.420 for you, or Alison Redford, or Stockwell Day, or the long list of conservative leaders
00:03:27.500 that get torn down by their own.
00:03:29.300 He's got a tough spot though.
00:03:30.760 He's got to start showing some progress.
00:03:32.760 Yeah, he does.
00:03:33.520 The review is in just next month in Calgary.
00:03:37.000 So that'll be fun.
00:03:38.760 I'm like you.
00:03:40.140 I don't think he's in any serious danger.
00:03:42.200 I would bet he garners 75 to 80% support, which I would think would be enough for him to stay.
00:03:49.680 Yeah, give him a mandate and then just hope that there aren't too many more opportunists.
00:03:54.440 I mean, again, he'll make predictions for 2026.
00:03:56.520 I'm pretty confident there's going to be at least a couple more go over and they're going
00:03:59.360 to get that majority for Kearney.
00:04:02.320 How damaging that knife to the party will be, I guess, is going to be where Repoliova's
00:04:07.860 going to have to hold together.
00:04:08.560 It's not just that review then.
00:04:09.920 How are you going to maintain confidence in people?
00:04:12.520 We'll see.
00:04:12.880 Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the economy is not going to grow in leaps and bounds anymore.
00:04:20.280 It's sputtering.
00:04:21.100 The trade war is hurting.
00:04:23.820 Plants are closing.
00:04:25.080 Mills are closing.
00:04:26.360 Jobs are being lost.
00:04:27.500 So that may sway some things and get the support up for the conservatives again.
00:04:34.520 You'd think.
00:04:34.960 I mean, some of the questions people get to ask is, you know, how bad is it going to get?
00:04:37.320 But, I mean, it looks bleak for those of us who watch these sorts of things.
00:04:41.420 As you said, the manufacturing, you know, the export market, Central Canada's industries
00:04:44.660 are in terrible trouble.
00:04:46.880 And meanwhile, we're neutering our Western Canadian industries because we've, well, we
00:04:51.240 just can't get anything done.
00:04:52.520 We talk and talk and talk and we won't develop our resources.
00:04:56.220 No, but we did get a memorandum of understanding.
00:04:59.660 Oh, yes.
00:05:00.680 That's exciting, eh?
00:05:01.680 Between Prime Minister Carney and Premier Smith, they're going to take small steps towards
00:05:08.320 building a pipeline.
00:05:09.700 I'm not sure it'll ever get built in my lifetime.
00:05:12.100 No, small steps indeed.
00:05:13.480 I mean, the flux capacitor will be invented by then and we'll all be traveling to the
00:05:16.860 future and you won't need oil by the time these guys get one in the ground.
00:05:21.720 There's this posturing, you know, frustrates me.
00:05:24.920 We know that with Liberal governments, any government, if they really want to get something
00:05:27.820 done, they get it done.
00:05:28.980 If he wanted to see that pipe, he'd be saying, we're going to make that.
00:05:31.680 Think, go.
00:05:32.880 But he's just feeding us.
00:05:35.700 Yeah.
00:05:36.080 And Premier Smith this week saying, you know, if we can't go West, we'll go South.
00:05:43.720 Yeah.
00:05:43.980 And, you know, get it out onto the Pacific Northwest coast and for export to Asia.
00:05:49.060 So there are more than one way to skin a cap.
00:05:52.140 Oh, yeah.
00:05:52.860 And she's had quite a year too and has another one to look forward to.
00:05:57.800 The AGM was pretty lively this year in Edmonton for the UCP.
00:06:00.980 Yeah.
00:06:01.820 Well, why don't we delve into independence?
00:06:05.080 That was a big issue in Alberta for the year.
00:06:09.040 We were both at the UCP convention when Jeff Rath stood up and rallied his troops and got
00:06:14.960 a very large standing ovation, probably 80 to 90% of the people there.
00:06:20.560 So, you know, you're the expert on this file.
00:06:24.660 You're a published bestselling author on this file.
00:06:28.820 Momentum seems to be building.
00:06:30.080 And there's no doubt there's going to be a vote.
00:06:32.000 Yes.
00:06:33.200 And, you know, if we're going to take one of those $10 bets or something, like I think
00:06:37.520 it's showing that the Premier Smith's committed to having a referendum held.
00:06:41.920 I don't get the feeling she's on the side of wanting to see a yes vote necessarily, but
00:06:45.440 understands that referendum has to be held.
00:06:48.100 There's just too much pressure.
00:06:49.940 There's got to be a choice given to Albertans.
00:06:51.440 And it gives her a lot of political leverage to play with.
00:06:53.320 I think it's going to be in fall, by the way the scheduling is starting to go with this
00:06:58.540 and petitioning and so on.
00:07:00.840 If nothing changes dramatically, I can't see it winning.
00:07:05.280 But that's a long campaign period of time and a lot of events that could happen to change
00:07:09.860 that altogether.
00:07:11.500 It's stronger than I've ever seen in my life and solid.
00:07:14.520 It's not just, you know, I'm outraged this week, but I calm down next week.
00:07:17.140 This has been holding steady and growing since the last federal election.
00:07:23.320 I mean, there was already a base of it before the last federal election.
00:07:25.980 That just really drove it home to some people.
00:07:27.900 So it's striking as, you know, we're talking before, I've been doing public speaking, you
00:07:33.380 know, meetings as a guest speaker for the Alberta Prosperity Project.
00:07:37.320 And these meetings are getting bigger and bigger, even bad weather, nasty highways, dark
00:07:42.000 nights, people are getting up and coming out to these meetings and they're new people.
00:07:45.820 It's not just the same old faces.
00:07:47.560 So something's building up here and it can't be ignored.
00:07:53.320 So, yeah, I would still make that bet that I don't think there's going to be a positive
00:07:56.980 vote by the fall of, uh, 2026.
00:08:00.080 I hope there is.
00:08:00.700 That's where I sit on things, uh, but I wouldn't rule it out either.
00:08:04.080 I just, uh, things are different than we've ever seen before.
00:08:07.120 Yeah.
00:08:07.440 I think there's probably a solid 35%, uh, that would vote for independence and they're, they're,
00:08:14.100 they're solid, you know?
00:08:15.060 Yeah.
00:08:15.360 But you know, there's 10% there that may be leading one way and maybe leading the other
00:08:19.980 way.
00:08:20.200 But when you get in that ballot box and you're choosing, right, there's a lot of unknowns,
00:08:25.780 a lot of things that have to be explained.
00:08:27.520 Uh, you know, how things are going to run in the independent Alberta.
00:08:32.280 But, uh, yeah, I think, I think it'll top out maximum at 40%.
00:08:36.680 Yeah.
00:08:37.080 We'll see.
00:08:37.520 I mean, it depends on how things go in this next nine months and, and, uh, what kind of
00:08:42.640 campaign is there filling those questions, filling that void.
00:08:45.320 Uh, you know, the Alberta prosperity projects does some great ground organization and everything,
00:08:49.800 but I think they're almost maxing out to try and reach new people.
00:08:53.680 They got to change a little of their messaging, uh, perhaps coming from some of their older
00:08:58.160 people in there.
00:08:59.000 I won't mention any particular names, but if you want to appeal though, to the urban
00:09:04.320 voters that you must appeal to, to win a referendum and the younger voters, uh, you've got to change
00:09:10.620 a little more of that messaging now, just, uh, rampaging around in an ill-filling, uh, suit
00:09:14.660 and cowboy hat in a small town meetings isn't going to get them over the line.
00:09:17.980 Yeah.
00:09:18.060 Um, I think another one of the big issues this year, uh, from all parts of the country has
00:09:23.920 been regarding indigenous, indigenous people and, uh, everything from the, the Kamloops,
00:09:29.880 uh, grave hoax, as you call it, uh, the Cowichan, uh, the decision in BC throwing land ownership,
00:09:38.680 home ownership, uh, uh, up in the air, um, you know, the closing of parks in British Columbia
00:09:46.960 and saying, you know, uh, only aboriginal or indigenous people can go in it, I think it's
00:09:52.820 getting a bit of a backlash and I think we've got some parents in Ontario who are, who are
00:09:59.680 suing school boards over, uh, these endless land acknowledgement, uh, uh, you know, whatever
00:10:07.880 you want to call them tributes or, uh, but I think it's, it's going to be a continuing
00:10:12.680 indigenous affairs is going to be a continuing issue in 2026.
00:10:16.540 Yeah.
00:10:17.540 That's for sure.
00:10:18.540 It's really coming to a head.
00:10:19.540 But large tracts of populated private property, uh, David Evie has taken a bad situation and
00:10:26.340 made it so much worse.
00:10:28.340 Uh, I mean, the, the way they're saying the mixed messaging they're throwing out, they're
00:10:32.480 saying, don't worry, there's nothing to worry about.
00:10:33.980 This is just, you know, it'll be settled.
00:10:35.960 Well, now banks won't finance houses or businesses out there anymore.
00:10:39.140 So then the government says, don't worry, we'll bail you out.
00:10:42.060 Well, wait a minute.
00:10:42.800 If this isn't really happening, why are you dedicating $150 million to buy out these people?
00:10:46.800 Well, and we know when you give away just a little like that, that the claims that are
00:10:52.160 already there are going to explode hot and heavy.
00:10:54.640 And there's a claim over every inch of BC in one place or another, uh, and it's going
00:11:00.300 to get bad.
00:11:01.200 And, you know, when you start taking an area and some idiot judge, and I, I'm sick of
00:11:04.540 idiot judges and there's a lot of them, uh, gives away a portion of an urban area.
00:11:08.240 It says, that's it.
00:11:08.960 There's going to be people are going to say, I'm not leaving my house.
00:11:11.020 You know, it's going to be from those cold dead fingers, sort of, uh, approaches to
00:11:15.040 things that they've, we've, this country has got to sort out that, that.
00:11:20.080 You know, you, you talk about idiot judges.
00:11:21.920 All it takes is one smart judge, you know, to set a precedent ruling or, uh, uh, one or
00:11:27.480 a Supreme court, you know, but you're right, coming to a head and it's got to be dealt
00:11:31.400 with sooner than later.
00:11:32.540 Yeah.
00:11:33.040 Can't keep waiting.
00:11:33.920 It's festered.
00:11:35.000 And, uh, it's certain them, you know, our own Jared Yeager is great for getting out to
00:11:38.700 those conferences and that with that renaming of a bridge to some weird, incomprehensible
00:11:43.380 thing there, but that, that it was really striking when that, uh, you know, somebody
00:11:46.860 had asked a valid question about the Chinese steel used in the bridge and the, the indigenous
00:11:50.540 leader for the area came up and shoved the minister aside and then lectured with a temper
00:11:55.220 tantrum, the reporter and said, we're only here to talk about nice stuff and celebrate
00:11:58.480 stuff about us.
00:11:59.520 You can talk to him another time.
00:12:01.620 Really did highlight the infantilization of the people we've managed to, because she acted
00:12:07.340 like a six year old child having a tantrum.
00:12:09.640 The entitlement and just how these are the people we're supposed to negotiate and reason
00:12:15.040 with, and instead with all this pandering, this is what's been created.
00:12:19.860 So seeing a solution out of this, we're going to, we're in for a heck of a year, I think.
00:12:23.380 Cause even Ebi doesn't know what to do now.
00:12:25.080 He's created this monster.
00:12:27.120 He can't manage it.
00:12:28.620 Talking about things that we would never have predicted at the beginning of the year.
00:12:32.720 How about a nationwide effort to save a flock of ostriches?
00:12:37.520 So yes.
00:12:38.220 Is it a flock of ostriches or herd or gathering?
00:12:41.480 I don't know what the term for ostriches would be.
00:12:44.100 That's a good question.
00:12:44.900 You know, with that much, being in the news that long, we should have, uh.
00:12:47.620 Should have figured that one out.
00:12:48.960 Yeah, gotten that one.
00:12:49.580 You know, you get a murder of crows and so on, but I never really thought of ostriches.
00:12:53.280 So, I mean, that garnered international attention for about a month when the Canadian government, the Food Inspection Agency discerned they would have to slaughter all these poor creatures because one of them had avian flu last year.
00:13:07.820 And even though none of the flock, they've, I guess they got a herd immunity.
00:13:12.740 So we'll call them the herd of ostriches.
00:13:14.700 I guess.
00:13:15.500 That was, you know, nobody was burying their head in the sand on that one.
00:13:19.620 Oh man.
00:13:21.180 End the year with one like that.
00:13:22.920 Yeah.
00:13:23.160 I've been saving that one up all year.
00:13:24.600 Yeah, well, it was a good example of the government being ham-fisted again, you know, with their regulatory agencies, their bureaucratic agencies, so clumsy.
00:13:33.900 I mean, they could have come into this.
00:13:35.420 I understand there's a reason for that.
00:13:36.920 There's a need for it.
00:13:37.680 I mean, if there really was a virulent virus going through there that's going to harm poultry production or other neighboring areas, we do have to manage that.
00:13:46.020 But they just came in guns blazing, it seemed.
00:13:49.020 I mean, to be fair to it, those owners seemed that they were little, they weren't your run of the mill ranchers.
00:13:52.540 They were a little different as well, which makes it difficult to manage.
00:13:56.980 But I just think they did very, made it much worse than they had to, much like their COVID response.
00:14:02.180 They can't come in with reason, they come in with the Truncheans instead.
00:14:05.040 Exactly.
00:14:06.020 And one of our highlights, I always speak for myself and I'm sure I'm speaking for you, is we both got to travel to one of the world's hotspots, Israel, this year.
00:14:14.060 Yeah.
00:14:14.460 Very eye-opening.
00:14:15.620 It was.
00:14:16.240 I mean, yeah, quite a year to go, you know, during the, I guess, not the worst of the conflict, but still an active one and really get to get an eyes on the ground, see the people.
00:14:28.560 You know, it's, it's, it's different to, as you know, when you get there yourself versus what we're reading or seeing on TV.
00:14:34.320 Well, it's, it's a first thing that strikes you is everybody's walking around with a machine gun, right?
00:14:40.000 Even in civilian clothes.
00:14:41.420 It's okay if an army person's carrying one, but it's very striking to see, you know, a man walking along the beachfront in Tel Aviv with his family.
00:14:49.380 And he's got a, you know, an M16 strapped to his back.
00:14:52.740 Well, it's, it's a sad necessity, but it's comforting in the sense too.
00:14:58.280 I mean, the horrific situation we saw on the beach in Australia, if there'd have been, uh, you know, 50 people around with their own firearms at that time, those, those six shooters probably would have only gotten three or four shots off before they were neutralized.
00:15:12.900 Yeah.
00:15:13.380 As opposed to managing to kill 15 people and wound 35 others.
00:15:17.580 But, uh, we, uh, we both got to go to the, uh, the site of the Nova music festival massacre where hundreds of, uh, hundreds of people died.
00:15:27.280 And that's really quite a moving thing.
00:15:29.500 It's just every, it was just crosses with everybody's photo on it.
00:15:33.560 And, uh, you know, they're all young people.
00:15:35.860 To be there and see those pictures.
00:15:37.200 And it still struck me, you know, cause you could see these were just kids.
00:15:40.820 They were just partying.
00:15:41.900 They were really truly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
00:15:44.520 They could have been anybody's daughters or sons or cousins.
00:15:47.580 Not harming anybody and, and to be mercilessly slaughtered and abused as they were by these, these monsters.
00:15:54.900 And that's what they were.
00:15:55.640 They were monsters.
00:15:57.240 Um, I'm glad for the Exigent Foundation for bringing media members out to have a look.
00:16:03.540 They weren't telling us what to write or what to think, but here, have a look for yourself because there's been so much misinformation or,
00:16:08.460 uh, you know, trying to, uh, I don't want to say whitewash even, or just under, you know,
00:16:15.780 trying to set aside how horrific the, uh, actions of October 7th were.
00:16:19.700 We can't let people forget what those guys did to start this whole mess.
00:16:23.240 Even if you're critical of what Israel's doing now, got to understand how this began.
00:16:27.880 Uh, and, uh, we sure saw.
00:16:30.060 Yeah.
00:16:30.700 I got to travel to, uh, the near Oz, but that's where the Bill Bass family was, was kidnapped from.
00:16:38.360 And, uh, there was an old guy there called Shlomo, believe it or not.
00:16:41.940 And, uh, he was taking us around to all the burned out houses and, and we're probably about two kilometers from Gaza and you could see the smoke from the bombings, uh, you know, still rising and, uh, uh, blood still on the, the walls of the houses and stuff like that.
00:17:00.620 What happened that day is, is just beyond description, beyond, you know, what, what, what one human can do to another is just, just, just gross.
00:17:11.500 It, it drives home that, that hard reality.
00:17:14.280 You know, we like to imagine maybe it's only in the movies, maybe it's only, you know, in history books, but to realize that we, people really are, you know, we've lived a nice sheltered life in Canada.
00:17:22.380 It was much of a complaint about the politics and everything else comparatively, uh, the safety and the, the lack of seeing anything like that happen here is, is allowed us to be complacent, but to go firsthand and see, realize that this can still happen today in this modern world.
00:17:35.780 In fact, it is happening.
00:17:37.860 Uh, it just, uh, drives a hard lesson home.
00:17:41.060 Yeah.
00:17:41.500 I remember traveling in Germany and going to the Dachau concentration camp and it was, I thought it was kind of similar, except that Dachau was 80 years ago.
00:17:51.160 Yeah.
00:17:51.620 And this was two years ago.
00:17:54.120 Right.
00:17:54.440 And it was just a really, really does strike home.
00:17:58.320 Yeah.
00:17:58.880 Well, hopefully next year bodes a little better somehow for what's going on.
00:18:02.120 I mean, that was kind of the final part of it too, is just learning how complicated that whole area is.
00:18:06.540 And, and there's no, there's no simple solution to what's happening.
00:18:09.540 No, no, it's, it's, it's a mess.
00:18:11.580 Uh, I was surprised at how cosmopolitan, um, Tel Aviv was.
00:18:17.880 Every, the building going on there is just crazy.
00:18:21.220 So skyscrapers and cranes every corner and, uh, uh, you know, it was, uh, uh, I left with a good impression of Israel, but yeah, there's no, no, no easy answers.
00:18:32.740 No, I mean, that's it.
00:18:33.960 You've got Tel Aviv and it's beautiful and the restaurants and the cafes and the strikingly beautiful people all over the place.
00:18:39.860 But it's such a small area.
00:18:41.300 I mean, you, you go 40 miles in one direction or another and suddenly you're in Palestinian territory and, and it's a war zone.
00:18:47.040 Yeah.
00:18:47.300 So.
00:18:48.420 Well, why don't we bring in Jeremy Borg and see what, uh, stories he wants to talk about this year.
00:18:54.420 You bet.
00:18:55.020 Editing magic.
00:18:55.780 Jeremy Borg is here with us.
00:18:57.320 A newer member of the Western standard family here, but very prolific with lots of stories covered, some big stuff in the relatively short time here already.
00:19:06.380 So welcome back to the show.
00:19:09.480 Is it, I've had you on before.
00:19:10.620 No, you haven't.
00:19:11.300 Oh.
00:19:11.880 Oh, snub.
00:19:12.640 Geez.
00:19:13.500 Yeah.
00:19:14.100 Well, if I had, it wasn't memorable.
00:19:16.380 Sorry about that.
00:19:17.160 Well, it's about time you got on here then.
00:19:19.140 Yeah.
00:19:19.520 Glad to be here.
00:19:21.060 And, uh, well, tell us, you know, what stood out for you in your year, uh, this year with the Western standards.
00:19:27.660 Um, so starting chronologically, I think the first thing we're going to have to talk about is the Jessica Yaniv story.
00:19:35.780 Oh, well.
00:19:36.560 Well, you got some balls.
00:19:37.680 Oh, man.
00:19:38.860 Oh, man.
00:19:39.380 So, uh, it was a harassment case that was brought against Yaniv by Donald Smith, uh, who was then later possibly arrested in BC.
00:19:49.220 I haven't checked up on that.
00:19:50.920 And, uh, I think that's probably my most viral story today, getting like 2 million views on Twitter.
00:19:57.460 For those who don't know, uh, Jessica Yaniv is a very well-known troublemaker in British Columbia.
00:20:03.480 Uh, yeah, sort of the ball waxing.
00:20:06.440 Yeah.
00:20:07.140 She, uh, she sued, like, uh, beauty pageants for not letting her in and sued, uh, spas for, uh, refusing to wax her in malls.
00:20:16.480 Uh, she, she, she, she's special.
00:20:22.800 She, I remember one story I did was she, she kept laying in the bathtub and calling for the fire department to come and help her out.
00:20:29.840 Yeah, it was poor fire, but, uh, I mean, man, it's a tough job to see.
00:20:34.820 Yeah, when that story came across my guess, I knew it was going to be a gooder and, uh, Jeremy did a good job on it.
00:20:40.300 Well, yeah, that, uh, that story led to, uh, in-depth piece that I quite enjoyed writing where I just detailed everything Yaniv has done that put them in the public spotlight.
00:20:50.760 Um, highlights being calling Drea Humphrey the N-word repeatedly, assaulting Kian Bexty, um, allegations, allegations of grooming minors, although that hasn't been substantiated.
00:21:05.760 There is, there's a lot there.
00:21:07.720 In the end of it, she, he, whatever, is a very troubled person.
00:21:12.380 I mean, it's clearly somebody with some, some mental health issues, but I mean, it's, it's just so comical that you, we can't help but report on that dumpster fire.
00:21:21.140 Yeah.
00:21:21.380 Well, what an introduction to the Western Standard family in my first month after, uh, being at Eastman.
00:21:26.120 You should drive politics.
00:21:26.900 No, no.
00:21:27.300 Let's talk about Yaniv.
00:21:28.920 Yeah, no, I was, I was, uh, I walked into work and I, I didn't even know who Yaniv was that day.
00:21:34.100 Uh, I learned a lot.
00:21:35.820 Well, you'll never forget now.
00:21:37.080 No, no, especially not if, uh, someone keeps sending me emails about them.
00:21:43.320 Um, so moving on to number two, uh, this was a recent story, uh, that strikes close to home as an Ontarian.
00:21:52.000 Uh, there were these indigenous chiefs that came to Ottawa to a press conference.
00:21:57.380 And, uh, one of the Northern Ontario chiefs said that the ring of fire development just wasn't going to happen until his community was thriving with perfect water, you know?
00:22:09.340 And, uh, that kind of stood out to me because the mainstream media wasn't reporting on it like that.
00:22:13.800 They were saying indigenous communities complaining about lack of water, lack of resources, but just randomly claiming that a huge industrial project isn't going to happen is just wild to me.
00:22:27.040 And I never saw that before.
00:22:29.540 We see a lot of those, Dave and I were kind of talking about that.
00:22:31.800 Just this whole sense of whether they, they hold the power to veto projects or not, uh, it's gotta be resolved or we're never getting anything done in this country.
00:22:40.440 No, it really is.
00:22:42.300 Um, if, uh, if you can just destroy huge infrastructure projects that are going to help people make money and help this struggling Canadian economy, I think.
00:22:53.100 Then we have to have a real conversation about what the actual role is of indigenous people in our infrastructure projects.
00:23:00.540 They can't just claim to shut things down when they don't like things.
00:23:03.360 Glad you sniffed it out in Ontario because we're here a lot more out in the prairies in BC and so on.
00:23:07.520 We can't forget there's a large indigenous population in Northern Quebec, Ontario, and it's the same problems.
00:23:13.000 Yeah.
00:23:13.980 What's next on your list?
00:23:15.560 What's next on my list?
00:23:16.940 Yes.
00:23:17.440 Jeremy's list.
00:23:18.100 Um, okay.
00:23:20.200 Going a little further, this is sort of a two-parter.
00:23:22.140 We got the, sort of my federal politics coverage.
00:23:25.700 We've got the Don Tremont and Ma sagas.
00:23:29.020 Um, didn't think there were a lot of floor crossers.
00:23:32.040 Uh, the fact that it happened twice in two months is, uh, a little bit crazy.
00:23:36.340 Um, especially learning about the Nova Scotia conservative movement, which is borderline a liberal movement.
00:23:44.580 Uh, just hearing about that drama in federal politics.
00:23:48.100 It was quite entertaining.
00:23:49.700 It, uh, it made my days interesting.
00:23:52.320 Uh, Dave, I know you did a little bit more on Don Tremont than Ma, but, uh, what were your thoughts on that whole thing?
00:23:58.720 Well, they're traitorous turncoats, aren't they?
00:24:01.740 Yeah.
00:24:01.960 They were elected as a conservative.
00:24:04.300 They weren't elected as a liberal.
00:24:05.960 If their, uh, constituents, uh, really wanted a liberal, they would have elected the liberal guy.
00:24:12.000 But they didn't.
00:24:12.920 And they, uh, these guys, uh, stabbed their voters in the back.
00:24:15.900 So, yeah, I've been, uh, it goes around, comes around.
00:24:19.260 I've been talking to some of the constituents, some of the people who worked for him.
00:24:21.880 And the general consensus is that Ma just absolutely stabbed them in the back without any notice.
00:24:27.920 Uh, including the article I wrote today.
00:24:29.680 Uh, I guess would have been a couple days ago when this airs, uh, about Ma saying that he didn't even know he was going to become a liberal until the day of.
00:24:41.300 Which also conflicts with a couple of his prior claims, but.
00:24:44.680 Yeah, it's been in the works for a little while.
00:24:48.840 It just, uh, he's clearly a self-serving individual.
00:24:51.320 That's just how politics go.
00:24:54.140 And, uh, we can clearly see that the Kearney government is engaging in some backroom dealings to manufacture a majority rather than actually getting the votes or calling an election.
00:25:04.220 Yeah, absolutely.
00:25:04.880 Uh, Don Tremont was the same story, although it seemed like the conservative party had a little bit more notice for that one.
00:25:12.680 They had their talking points prepped.
00:25:14.920 They were able to sort of fight back.
00:25:18.340 Whereas Ma was just a complete blindsiding, uh, including that whole Christmas party scandal in the Secret Santa where Jamil Giovanni got snubbed.
00:25:27.720 Uh, which was another funny one.
00:25:29.420 Um, I think, uh, Garnet Janis, an Alberta MP picked up on that story I wrote.
00:25:35.000 Um, that graphic was pretty fun to make.
00:25:37.240 Yeah.
00:25:38.600 Well, right on.
00:25:39.980 Well, you've been off to a good start for the season.
00:25:42.440 As I was saying, Dave, 2026 looks like it's going to be even crazier.
00:25:46.020 So, uh, rest up over the holidays and get ready to cover a bunch more insanity.
00:25:50.800 I think it's going to be landing on your desk and, uh, you know, make sure you send a Christmas card to Jessica for kicking off your Western Standard career so long.
00:25:58.620 I, uh, asked Michelle for one, so I'll have to find the address.
00:26:02.280 Great.
00:26:02.840 So why don't we, uh, bring in David Winnick?
00:26:05.020 Sounds good.
00:26:05.900 All right.
00:26:06.180 Now I got both Daves in the room at the same time.
00:26:08.240 Usually I'm just swapping one Dave or another, you know, I've got my substitute Dave when this Dave isn't available, but we, we have both Daves.
00:26:16.200 Daves, I know.
00:26:16.840 Surprise, surprise.
00:26:17.320 Do not adjust your set.
00:26:19.740 This is not sure what that is.
00:26:22.100 I think this is perfect for the homoerotic Christmas episode of Three's Company, so.
00:26:25.460 I think I used to have shag carpeting in that.
00:26:28.900 That's why I said I'd go at 70's Uncle with this.
00:26:30.460 I like this.
00:26:31.220 Yeah, sure.
00:26:31.840 This is where Uncle Rico gone out.
00:26:33.600 So what is your favorite story of the year?
00:26:35.480 Well, when you asked us to do this, this was kind of a bit of an odd one.
00:26:39.040 I went with three.
00:26:40.620 I didn't really know what to do exactly, if I should go with the one that got the most views, the one I liked, et cetera.
00:26:45.320 So I did a couple.
00:26:46.260 I personally liked the one I did about Eva Chipyuk, who's everyone's favorite Freedom Convoy lawyer, and her bank account's getting canceled by the Royal Bank of Canada for no reason, really.
00:26:56.280 They just kind of canceled them.
00:26:57.220 And then after she asked them why, they said that they flagged it because she did a transaction with Bitcoin, which she didn't exactly believe that was the main reason.
00:27:05.300 No, that was a good story.
00:27:06.480 That got a huge number of page views for us.
00:27:10.240 Yeah, it was a lot of interest.
00:27:11.760 Well, I was looking as well, actually, because it was, if I remember correctly, published on July 23rd, which was one month to the day that I started working here.
00:27:18.880 So I guess I peaked early and I've crashed and burned like the Hindenburg ever since.
00:27:22.180 You've got to find another big one.
00:27:23.520 Come on.
00:27:24.400 I'm working.
00:27:25.140 I'm working.
00:27:25.760 What have you done for me lately is the model of this business.
00:27:29.400 I suppose.
00:27:30.220 I suppose.
00:27:30.800 Yeah.
00:27:33.220 What else you got?
00:27:34.560 Well, I was trying to find one that was a nice one.
00:27:37.940 And there was a story here a while back about a high school football coach known as Taylor Teej Johansson, or Johansson, I believe his name is pronounced, who was in Sylvan Lake.
00:27:48.420 He was coaching football at the local high school, and he got canceled off the football team by the school there because he posted some stuff online about the trans ideology that he didn't agree with.
00:27:59.000 And then our publisher, Derek Fildebrand, did a story on that and broke the story.
00:28:04.400 And then I ran into Teej a couple months later at the, I think it was the Alberta Municipalities Convention, and he had become a town counselor.
00:28:12.480 And he gave credit to the Western Standard for basically giving him exposure.
00:28:16.420 And he ran as a Christian conservative candidate, and he won.
00:28:19.220 So that's a feel-good story for the year.
00:28:21.540 A feel-good story.
00:28:21.720 Yeah, you got somebody elected.
00:28:23.000 Yeah, exactly.
00:28:23.740 Well, I wouldn't say it was me.
00:28:24.640 I give Derek credit to begin with.
00:28:26.240 Obviously, I have to because, you know, reasons why.
00:28:29.000 He signs your paycheck.
00:28:30.160 Well, that's a good follow-up.
00:28:31.080 I knew he was running, actually, and I hadn't really followed up to see if he'd gotten the spot or not.
00:28:35.320 Well, I didn't even know he was running.
00:28:36.620 I just ran into him at the thing and whatnot and talked to him, and he said, oh, yeah, it's like Western Standard.
00:28:41.420 I love you guys.
00:28:42.160 And he absolutely just went on and on and said he was town counselor.
00:28:44.900 Yeah, that's great.
00:28:45.460 He said, who knows, maybe he might run for a mayor one day, he said.
00:28:48.020 So, wait and see.
00:28:49.160 In the area of Sylvan Lake?
00:28:50.720 Yeah.
00:28:52.220 I'd vote for him.
00:28:53.420 Oh, I'd definitely vote for him.
00:28:54.560 Sure, why not?
00:28:56.220 And next?
00:28:56.880 Well, I figured I'll go with three because that's usually the top three thing.
00:29:01.160 This one's kind of, well, this was the amusing one.
00:29:03.540 Everyone's favorite public safety minister, a gun grab, Gary.
00:29:07.260 Now, how do we pronounce this?
00:29:09.300 Manetta Sanguri, I think.
00:29:11.440 Possibly.
00:29:12.280 Yeah, this is the one where he got caught talking to, I think, one of his tenants in his building he owns in Toronto about the whole gun grab program.
00:29:19.480 And basically, he admitted that it was a lot to do with political ideology, not so much actually getting illegal guns and criminals off the streets.
00:29:26.940 And he even told the tenant that if he got arrested because he didn't want to turn in his legally owned firearms, that he would bail them out.
00:29:33.160 There was a whole huge controversy around that.
00:29:35.060 And that was before that the Cape Breton pilot program happened, which was an absolute disaster.
00:29:39.140 I think they eventually confiscated, what was it, 22 out of 200 banned firearms that they knew of in Cape Breton.
00:29:45.880 That they knew of, yeah.
00:29:46.440 And that's, God knows how much money that cost at the end of the day.
00:29:48.520 I think it was like something like $741 million they had budgeted for the whole program.
00:29:53.180 So, that went well.
00:29:55.080 Yeah.
00:29:55.420 It wasn't really a confiscation.
00:29:57.180 They just said, hey, come on, guys, turn them all in.
00:29:59.280 Oh, exactly.
00:29:59.700 They weren't kicking down doors to get those guns.
00:30:01.620 Oh, and I mean, that's about as liberal and receptive an area as you're kind of, well, Cape Breton, actually.
00:30:07.320 They're kind of special.
00:30:07.920 That's a special part of Canada, but.
00:30:10.320 Beautiful, though.
00:30:11.000 It is.
00:30:11.460 It is beautiful.
00:30:12.000 Absolutely.
00:30:12.620 But, you know, they're like the next newfies, that bunch.
00:30:15.780 But, get some hate mail from both on that one.
00:30:20.400 But it's just, if they can't make it succeed in an area there, you know, how on earth when they start hitting the true redneck lands out in the west,
00:30:28.540 are they going to have a hope of getting people, oh, yeah, sure, I'll come right in and turn in my property, you know.
00:30:33.380 Don't hold your breath, you guys.
00:30:34.700 It's got a billion-dollar boondoggle written all over it.
00:30:37.480 Well, they just wanted to outdo Alan Rock and his intent to have a name from the past.
00:30:43.280 There you go.
00:30:44.380 No, I don't think, obviously, it's not going to work.
00:30:47.200 I don't know why they continue with it.
00:30:49.420 Maybe, you know, maybe Carney will get smart and just let it go away.
00:30:52.740 I don't know.
00:30:53.180 That ideology and simple solution to complex problems won't go away, though, on the liberal end.
00:30:57.980 I mean, we saw that in its worst way just recently with, again, the Australian horrible massacre.
00:31:03.760 I mean, the same day, the politicians are coming out saying,
00:31:07.240 this means we need more laws against law-abiding gun owners.
00:31:12.980 You just don't get it.
00:31:15.120 And they won't.
00:31:15.720 These guys are not law-abiding.
00:31:17.700 No.
00:31:18.320 It's funny.
00:31:19.340 Jeez, I wonder if they were registered.
00:31:21.640 Oh.
00:31:21.760 I don't know that.
00:31:24.280 Yeah.
00:31:25.400 I highly doubt it.
00:31:27.220 What's your prediction for 2026?
00:31:29.880 Oh, I usually don't try to do those, Dave, because I'm always wrong.
00:31:32.680 That's why I'm not a betting man.
00:31:34.160 All right.
00:31:34.520 What's your resolution, then?
00:31:36.320 I don't do those, either, because I tend to fall through with those.
00:31:38.700 I'm a pretty boring guy, Dave.
00:31:39.880 What can I say?
00:31:40.540 I was kind of hoping your resolution would be to get a new sport coat.
00:31:43.300 Hey, this is a new sport coat, Dave, I'll say for the record.
00:31:47.560 It's new.
00:31:48.400 Yeah.
00:31:49.320 I know it looks a bit old, but that's the whole charm of it.
00:31:51.420 Like I said, I like this.
00:31:54.800 What?
00:31:57.340 Why don't you send in the very much more fashionable Liam Musher?
00:32:04.120 Fashionable?
00:32:04.820 Well, okay, maybe.
00:32:06.900 I suppose I will, Dave.
00:32:08.240 Thanks for joining us.
00:32:09.180 No problem.
00:32:09.480 Thank you.
00:32:09.940 Thank you.
00:32:10.260 You've got 300.
00:32:13.300 64 more days to shop for your outfit for next year's show.
00:32:16.980 I already have.
00:32:17.780 Okay.
00:32:17.960 Maybe that's one thing I'll have planned.
00:32:19.300 There you go.
00:32:19.880 Right.
00:32:20.480 All right.
00:32:20.960 Thanks, Dave.
00:32:21.460 Thank you, gentlemen.
00:32:22.140 Great.
00:32:22.520 Hello, Leah.
00:32:23.320 Merry Christmas and welcome to the show.
00:32:25.020 Merry Christmas.
00:32:25.800 Thanks for having me.
00:32:26.800 You've been hard at it for some time in the Western Standard office.
00:32:30.200 I know you must have a number of stories under your belt that you want to expand on and what's
00:32:35.880 been happening in this crazy year and what you've been covering.
00:32:38.060 Okay.
00:32:38.460 Yeah, for sure.
00:32:39.200 I got one.
00:32:40.980 It was when I did a breakdown of basically the free speech laws in Europe and relating
00:32:48.140 it back to Bill C-9, which is obviously going through the process of being legislated right
00:32:53.640 now, which is the Combating Hate Act.
00:32:56.460 Yeah, well, basically, I learned that, for example, the UK has had free speech.
00:33:04.160 What's the word for it?
00:33:06.800 Restrictions.
00:33:07.840 Restrictions.
00:33:08.580 Yes.
00:33:09.020 Restrictions.
00:33:10.380 For quite some time, like there was two.
00:33:13.320 There was one in 1988 and there's one in 2003 that was legislated that basically says
00:33:19.280 you're not allowed to comment and any hateful things to people in general.
00:33:25.020 So, I don't know.
00:33:26.180 I just found that very interesting because I think it kind of shows the future of where
00:33:30.360 Canada is going and it's a very slow kind of rule to get there.
00:33:36.740 We had a story this week on a guy in England who was sentenced to a year and a half in jail
00:33:42.060 for two tweets slamming immigration that were viewed by a total of 33 people.
00:33:48.540 And he got 18 months in prison.
00:33:50.580 Well, again, we were speaking earlier of idiot judges, right?
00:33:52.860 Like, I mean, how, especially when you look at 33 views, I mean, you should measure damage
00:33:56.180 at least, even if whatever he said was horrific and hateful.
00:33:59.300 Only 33 people saw it.
00:34:00.980 It's not just this one guy.
00:34:02.420 I mean, they've been emptying prisons out to put tweeters in.
00:34:06.520 It's crazy over there.
00:34:08.060 And, you know, Leah's right.
00:34:09.460 You see it happening over there and you see what the liberals are doing.
00:34:13.180 And, you know, it's a pretty good comparison as to what may come.
00:34:17.860 Well, and some of us who are a little more outspoken than others on X, I'm probably going
00:34:22.480 to get charged because I won't shut the hell up.
00:34:24.020 I'm only going to get worse.
00:34:24.940 Well, you're going to get charged with residential school denialism.
00:34:28.300 Yeah.
00:34:28.460 Well, that's another direction we're going.
00:34:29.800 That NDP private members bill is going through to, uh, uh, and I mean, that's another story
00:34:35.140 that hit too with the ceiling of the, uh, Kamloops residential school files now.
00:34:39.840 So there's been no resolution.
00:34:41.440 They gave them $12 million.
00:34:42.600 It looks like they did nothing but bought new trucks.
00:34:44.500 And, uh, now that people kept asking questions, what are you guys done with the money?
00:34:47.740 The governments decide we're just going to seal the records.
00:34:49.600 No more questions.
00:34:51.360 Okay.
00:34:51.780 And we'll start charging people if you ask questions in the future.
00:34:55.000 That's crazy.
00:34:57.180 So I better get myself a measure for an orange jumpsuit.
00:35:02.400 Okay.
00:35:03.000 Also, uh, the next one I got that I found kind of interesting cause I actually had to go
00:35:08.100 and like basically witness, uh, police, Calgary police cracking down on crime.
00:35:15.340 So I get, got to like walk along with a Sergeant Christian Thorpe.
00:35:20.240 That was his name.
00:35:21.600 And they basically were claiming they were going to, uh, I don't know, stop crime.
00:35:28.780 Um, but what I basically saw was people just talking to the homeless people and telling
00:35:35.480 them to leave, but then they would just go, you know, stand, sit somewhere else.
00:35:40.060 It didn't seem like they were doing that much, but yeah, that was my experience.
00:35:44.780 Yeah.
00:35:45.280 The police, you know, and all over the country kind of do these media opportunities where
00:35:50.140 they look, uh, I think the police chief had, uh, like 200 cops down there or something.
00:35:54.700 I think it's a large number and it works for about three hours and then, uh, well, you
00:36:00.460 know, the meth heads are back on the corner again.
00:36:02.440 As Leah said, I mean, you're only going to move them from one spot for an hour.
00:36:05.080 It's not like you can go tell a homeless man, go home.
00:36:07.140 I mean, all you can say is don't stand on this corner.
00:36:09.640 Okay.
00:36:09.880 Well, I guess I'll go stand on that corner or in that alley or that doorway.
00:36:15.500 It's a big problem, but, uh, it shows, unfortunately, I'm glad you went down in
00:36:19.580 person to see that the impression of doing something, unfortunately is more often
00:36:24.020 important to them than actually doing something, but what are they supposed to
00:36:27.500 do?
00:36:27.620 Arrest them, fill the jails for the, I mean, it's, it's.
00:36:30.360 Yeah.
00:36:31.260 Especially cause we went to the drop-in center as well.
00:36:34.100 And I think the drop-in center can only, uh, the capacity is like a thousand people.
00:36:39.860 And I think 2024 stats said homeless, uh, population in Calgary was like
00:36:45.340 3000 or so, so it could be even more now for, for all we know.
00:36:50.000 So even if everyone is going into the drop-in center, there's still not enough, even
00:36:54.460 with the Salvation Army, I'm pretty sure it's only a few hundred.
00:36:57.340 So, yeah.
00:36:58.540 On what we do need to, I think, and as I imagine you saw evident, we all, anybody who
00:37:02.540 works downtown, the bulk of the people on the street, you know, they didn't fall
00:37:07.060 through the cracks.
00:37:07.660 It's not for lack of jobs.
00:37:08.820 It's not for lack of affordable housing.
00:37:10.160 They're either addicted to something or they have a mental issue, a mental health issue
00:37:13.360 or both, I mean, I've gone on enough columns and so on about it, but we need facilities
00:37:18.860 to house addicts and mentally ill people, not homeless shelters, but our government's
00:37:25.360 not ready to face that yet.
00:37:26.760 Well, they're, they're slowly taking very small steps to that, uh, treatment, uh,
00:37:30.920 treatment, uh, you know, forcing people into treatment, uh, uh, through a court order.
00:37:35.540 And, uh, you know, that's, that's one way we haven't tried it before.
00:37:38.680 So why not give it a go?
00:37:39.740 Well, yeah, well, there's something I put out on X and might've been considered hateful
00:37:42.860 by some, but that got a lot of attention the other week when I was driving and there was
00:37:45.440 a guy shuffling up between the vehicles, terrible, cold weather.
00:37:48.920 His pants are hanging down, his butts hanging out, uh, which you see with lots of, it's because
00:37:54.240 those addicts have lost weight so dramatically.
00:37:56.040 That's where their pants are always falling down.
00:37:57.680 And because his pants had fallen down, it became evident he'd lost, uh, uh, body control.
00:38:02.580 So he'd made a mess of himself.
00:38:04.820 And I treated her just to say, you know, and, and here we have advocates saying, we
00:38:08.540 can't pick a guy who's in a late stage condition like this off the streets and try to force
00:38:13.060 treatment or at least clean them up, force feed, whatever, you know, because they want
00:38:16.960 to maintain their dignity.
00:38:18.260 Like that ship sailed, this poor man, there's no dignity left in him anymore.
00:38:23.100 I think, you know, I'm glad you got out to see at least, you know, in person and then
00:38:26.400 see what the police, that's the point of media.
00:38:27.820 I think, get out there where not other people will and see on the ground, not just
00:38:31.420 what the activists and advocates are going to say, the hard reality, because then maybe
00:38:37.000 the big people are receptive to the hard solutions, which means, yeah, sometimes we
00:38:39.880 got to force people in because nothing else is going to save them.
00:38:44.080 Yeah.
00:38:44.480 And even the drop-in centers don't allow people who are obviously high or whatever
00:38:49.660 to go inside of the centers.
00:38:51.580 So there's also that.
00:38:53.540 And also I think the cops, it's not like they can really do anything as well.
00:38:56.740 No, because it's like the law, so they just enforce the law.
00:39:00.560 Yeah.
00:39:00.960 Yeah.
00:39:01.360 No, their, their hands are tied as, as, uh, Corey said, you can't lock everybody up.
00:39:07.020 No, they might like to one day, some days.
00:39:10.700 It's, it's, it's a mess.
00:39:11.620 It's in every city, but I mean, yeah, credit were due as you brought up.
00:39:14.060 I mean, Jason Kenney started that with, with expanding the treatment facilities and
00:39:18.120 Premier Smith has carried on with that.
00:39:20.480 Talk about that legislation.
00:39:21.640 It'll be interesting to see the numbers come in because some of our overdose numbers,
00:39:24.120 we're kind of starting to come down a little bit once the treatments,
00:39:26.740 this facility's expanded.
00:39:29.020 Uh, hopefully that trend has been continuing because Vancouver's, you know,
00:39:32.460 of course I'm trying the other way and that hasn't worked.
00:39:35.260 And, uh, I think we're still getting, uh, eight people a day dying from fentanyl.
00:39:40.840 That's hopefully, uh, uh, Donald Trump, if he keeps blowing up the boats,
00:39:47.200 we'll, uh, may see a shortage of, uh, fentanyl.
00:39:50.140 A shortage of fentanyl, because like a lot of it's done in China anyways.
00:39:54.580 Right.
00:39:55.720 Yeah.
00:39:56.360 Yeah.
00:39:57.320 I, I hope for the orange man to accomplish something, but I won't hold my breath on
00:40:01.540 too much of it.
00:40:02.200 Yeah.
00:40:02.680 Do you think he's going to invade Venezuela?
00:40:04.700 I don't know.
00:40:05.100 Just like, uh, push the first dib with Panama?
00:40:07.600 I don't know.
00:40:09.540 I mean, predicting anything Donald Trump might do.
00:40:11.920 I mean, boy, you want to ask about pulling out a crystal ball.
00:40:15.380 The only thing I would give a little bit of credit to him for, and I know,
00:40:18.540 you know, again, conservatives get upset with me.
00:40:20.140 I've never been a fan of his though.
00:40:22.120 He's not a hawk.
00:40:23.140 There's never, even in his first administration and in this one,
00:40:25.420 he's never been that eager to send American troops into war zones.
00:40:29.480 That's not been his thing.
00:40:30.640 Obama actually did a lot more actions when he was in than Donald Trump did.
00:40:34.240 So whatever Trump does, he doesn't like sending soldiers into foreign
00:40:37.180 situations, so I would guess it to be unlikely, he would directly go into
00:40:41.380 Venezuela, pressure them, do other things, you know, maybe blockading.
00:40:44.480 But I don't know about putting people on the ground.
00:40:46.360 Yeah.
00:40:46.840 Maduro seems in no hurry to go though, does he?
00:40:49.520 I mean, he's completely surrounded by aircraft carriers now with all their
00:40:53.420 guns pointed at him.
00:40:54.900 And that's when it really goes.
00:40:55.840 They could do it through siege, kind of as they have been.
00:40:59.240 Yeah.
00:41:00.240 Anything else?
00:41:01.320 That's all I got.
00:41:02.280 All right.
00:41:02.500 What about your prediction for next year?
00:41:04.460 Prediction?
00:41:05.260 Something that's going to happen?
00:41:06.560 That's what a prediction means.
00:41:07.880 Yeah.
00:41:09.420 Okay.
00:41:09.920 Just clarifying.
00:41:11.020 Okay.
00:41:11.640 What should I predict?
00:41:13.740 I don't know.
00:41:14.520 Maybe Trump will invade.
00:41:16.720 No, I don't.
00:41:18.380 Yeah.
00:41:19.300 Sorry.
00:41:19.640 I didn't mean to put you on the spotlight.
00:41:21.940 Why not?
00:41:22.500 This is the room to be put on the spot.
00:41:24.160 That's true.
00:41:25.340 Maybe they'll expand the treatment centers, hopefully in the near future.
00:41:29.960 Well, good.
00:41:30.400 It's a positive thing to look forward to.
00:41:32.040 Leah's done some very good work this year on the MAID medically.
00:41:36.260 Oh, yes.
00:41:36.800 It's dying.
00:41:37.840 And she's done numerous stories on it.
00:41:40.640 And that, you know, we kill more people than most countries.
00:41:45.300 And, you know, organ harvesting and all sorts of nastiness like that.
00:41:51.380 So, I think that's going to be a big issue next year.
00:41:53.720 Oh, yeah.
00:41:54.020 In the future.
00:41:54.840 You'll have to stay on top of and follow stories.
00:41:57.380 Especially because I'm pretty sure, didn't they just pause the legislation for mental health to be included?
00:42:02.560 I think it's for 2027.
00:42:04.100 I think they kicked it down the road, yeah.
00:42:05.520 Yeah.
00:42:05.680 It's 2027.
00:42:07.420 So, yeah, it's going to be an important story to keep an eye on and Leah will do it.
00:42:10.680 Right on.
00:42:11.640 Okay.
00:42:12.180 Thanks for checking in.
00:42:13.600 Thanks, guys.
00:42:14.140 And we'll see what you're on in the new year.
00:42:15.580 Sweet.
00:42:16.100 Happy New Year.
00:42:16.960 Happy New Year.
00:42:18.640 All right.
00:42:19.220 Well, and, yeah, trying to get through all those reporters, all those stories.
00:42:22.600 We did overlook, and Jeremy was going to mention it.
00:42:24.520 And there was a massive story from last year that really changed the landscape, the whole Charlie Kirk assassination.
00:42:30.100 Boy, that really caught us all off guard.
00:42:33.660 Yeah.
00:42:34.140 And it sort of came out of nowhere, you know, and it started moving across the internets and whatnot.
00:42:41.040 And the thing that will always stay with me is that horrible video.
00:42:46.060 Yeah.
00:42:46.360 All right.
00:42:46.720 And if you haven't seen it, don't go look for it because it's very graphic.
00:42:52.380 But, yeah, you know, I think it's all a product of the environment down there, though, isn't it?
00:43:00.100 You've got two sides that are completely polarized, you know, the Democrats and the Republicans.
00:43:06.960 And the visceral hatred was going to lead to something like this.
00:43:11.580 It's unfortunate.
00:43:12.560 When you dehumanize your opponent, when you, you know, bring it beyond the politics and you start calling them evil, you start calling them Nazis, you start calling them, you know, communists.
00:43:23.100 It's everything when you get too far out and beyond the pale with somebody unhinged, you know, because it still takes somebody unhinged to ever pick up arms.
00:43:32.100 You know, your average person can get very angry and even extreme, but most won't do that.
00:43:36.360 But that can be that final straw.
00:43:37.840 They think they're doing the world a favor and it's tragic.
00:43:41.540 Yeah, you know, I don't want to say it's going to happen in Canada, not forbid, but, you know, we're a polarized country now, too.
00:43:51.300 We've got two sides completely opposite and, you know, both have nothing good to say about the other.
00:43:57.300 So, you know, all the leaders, when that stuff happens, all the leaders say, we've got to ratchet it down, we've got to ratchet it down.
00:44:06.820 And then, you know, like yesterday, Trump went on an 18-minute speech just blasting Biden, right, and calling him every name in the book.
00:44:15.740 So it didn't, it hasn't ratcheted down at all.
00:44:19.260 So, you know, so it's, it was a tragic, tragic case.
00:44:26.400 And, you know, his wife and kids were there and at the, at the university and his wife has stepped forward to try and fill his shoes.
00:44:36.560 And she's met with a lot of vitriol already.
00:44:39.680 It's crazy, just crazy.
00:44:43.340 Well, if nothing else, you know, end off, you know, where you talked earlier with learning something and Israel was never wanting to see it where it comes to gunfire because we see how awful and terrible it can really get.
00:44:56.160 So, you know, whatever you think, folks, however bad it gets, it gets, don't, don't go that path.
00:45:01.700 No, no, no, no, it's wins.
00:45:03.540 All right.
00:45:04.000 Well, thanks, Steve.
00:45:05.740 Get ready for the new year and a whole pack of new stories.
00:45:08.460 It's been an eventful year and you're, you're off to Arizona in the new year.
00:45:12.800 It's going to be in January and I'm going to do a couple of shows from down there out in the desert and.
00:45:17.160 You and Art Bell.
00:45:18.240 Yes.
00:45:18.720 Yeah.
00:45:18.900 Or the memory of Art Bell.
00:45:20.000 Anyway, in honor of Art Bell, I'll be a little less conspiratorial perhaps, but.
00:45:24.920 Well, it'll be fun for you.
00:45:26.040 Yeah, it should be.
00:45:26.780 Just get away from the snow.
00:45:27.500 Watch out for snakes.
00:45:28.320 Yeah, those rattlers.
00:45:29.020 I'll try to see if I can bring you one back.
00:45:30.120 No, don't do that.
00:45:31.440 All right.
00:45:32.800 All right.
00:45:33.340 And thank everybody else out there, guys.
00:45:35.800 If you haven't subscribed, I got to throw that last plug in.
00:45:38.560 Check it out.
00:45:38.880 Western Standard.
00:45:39.640 News slash subscription.
00:45:41.220 Take it out.
00:45:41.700 $10 a month.
00:45:42.380 $100 for a year.
00:45:44.740 And, you know, help support independent media so we can get that messaging to you for another year.
00:45:50.540 Have a great Christmas.
00:45:51.780 Have a good new year.
00:45:52.820 Let's have a peaceful, productive 2026.
00:45:56.000 I don't mind it being crazy.
00:45:57.180 I don't mind it being lively.
00:45:59.260 Let's have some big radical change.
00:46:01.740 Let's just make sure it's always peaceful.
00:46:03.840 It's not worth getting violent.
00:46:05.280 We can yell at each other.
00:46:06.280 We can insult each other.
00:46:07.200 Berate each other.
00:46:08.240 Just don't shoot at each other or hit each other.
00:46:10.040 By the way, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, all the whole works that cover it all.
00:46:15.880 And we will see you in the new year.
00:46:17.420 We'll see you in the new year.
00:46:21.480 We'll see you in the new year.
00:46:23.680 We'll be right back.
00:46:24.100 We both will see you in the new year.
00:46:25.480 We'll be right back.
00:46:26.540 We'll be right back.
00:46:26.980 Sometimes it'll be up.
00:46:27.640 Let's not get a Меняubers into today.
00:46:30.220 All right.
00:46:31.120 We'll see you in the new year.
00:46:31.640 We'll be right back now.
00:46:32.680 We'll be right back.
00:46:33.140 We'll see you next week.
00:46:33.780 We'll be right back.
00:46:34.720 and we'll be right back.
00:46:35.640 We'll be right back.
00:46:36.140 We'll be right back.
00:46:37.060 We'll be right back.
00:46:37.340 We'll be right back.
00:46:38.000 We'll see you in the new year.
00:46:39.820 innovation.
00:46:40.800 We'll be right back.
00:46:41.860 We'll be right back.
00:46:42.280 We'll nivel together.
00:46:43.500 We'll be right back if wequez.
00:46:45.160 Thank you.