Podcasts about democracy it

Today we welcome back to our show, intrepid newsman, Ali Velshi. Host of “Velshi” and seemingly the favorite fill-in host of every other MSNBC Prime Time News Show. Velshi also reported live from the frontlines of the George Floyd protests, he was drenched during Hurricane Ian and dodged incoming fire from Russian artillery when he fearlessly reported live from the frontlines in Ukraine. Velshi has been a contributor at CNN, Al Jazeera America, and NBC to name a few. He's also a prolific writer, check out his new book, Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight to save Democracy” It's an excellent read. But today, Ali and I will break down the debate. So, if you want to take the next step in improving your health, go to lumen.me/COHEN to get 15% off your Lumen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

00:00.00 mikebledsoe Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're going to be talking about freedom because you know what it is the fourth of July and we are americans and so of course not only are we totally into the conversation today but we're into it. All the time max and I are both lovers of freedom and in our own ways which is kind of like how freedom works you get to do it your way. So thanks for joining me Dave Max so you are begin this topic with you since I think you and I are both. We've spent a lot of time focusing on this topic. 00:41.30 Max Shank Well thanks for having me once again, it is certainly my favorite topic. It's also what I would like to impart or share with people. Basically when I think about what I would like to share with folks I would like to help them become more free because I don't. 00:54.71 mikebledsoe Hang on. Yeah. 01:00.59 Max Shank I don't I don't I don't want to be your Mama I don't want to be responsible for you and that's the beauty of freedom is there's you are responsible for yourself and this other person is responsible for themself and there's interdependence that comes through agreements. 01:03.23 mikebledsoe I am. 01:19.29 Max Shank Volitional choices and I think that's amazing. That's what allowed us to get everything going. That's what allowed us to do so well basically hands writing and cooperation. Otherwise we would still just be you know lion food pretty much. 01:30.17 mikebledsoe I. 01:37.50 Max Shank You know I'm saying Ah so I I think I would like everyone listening to this to become more free and I think a good way to understand it would be the different types of freedom and then also what's the opposite of freedom and who are the key players and how this all worked. 01:37.97 mikebledsoe Definitely. 01:56.30 mikebledsoe Yeah, um. 01:57.16 Max Shank So if you don't mind I'd I'd love to kick things off. 02:00.43 mikebledsoe Kick things off when you got more to say right now is that what you're saying oh well None I want to mention if you want access to the pre-show you have to go to go over to the bloodso show dot com we'll have a link over there to. 02:03.16 Max Shank Yeah I mean ah yeah I Just I don't want to drone on and on too much. But I think about it like free freedom is a new go for it. 02:20.10 mikebledsoe Sign up. Ah, we're taking it's a donation based thing I hate word donation. It's value for value pay what you want if you find what be what you want look pay what you want to be in there. Whatever you however, much value you find from this show just you know. 02:24.56 Max Shank Um, pay what you want I like that phrase. That's that's a better 1 pay what you want. 02:37.52 Max Shank Well, they can't pay that much. This show is invaluable so pay the intersection of what you value the show and what you can afford. 02:39.37 mikebledsoe Make it make you know pay as much as you possibly can is. 02:50.61 mikebledsoe Ah, yeah, so that keeps us ah, trucking along. And yeah, if you go up there if if you're listening on the day that we post this that link is not going to quite be up yet. But if you're listening in a few days from now I should have that up in the next week so 02:57.20 Max Shank It will have. 03:08.77 mikebledsoe We're Goingnna give some exclusive content there posting some short videos of our pre-show which sometimes I think what's happening in the preshow is more valuable than what's happening here. There's a little more put together. But you miss all the ramblings. That ah happened and in fact, if you go listen to today's pre-show you get to hear max's poem that he wrote this morning. Yeah yeah, so he shared a poem to kick that off. So I just want to mention that first. Ah so I appreciate everyone who's I've had. 03:30.89 Max Shank Oh that's right. 03:44.95 mikebledsoe I've had ah people already reach out in the Dms asking me how the hell do I donate someone asked for venmo accounts I was like hold on I was like hold off we're gonna set something up I want to do this proper from the very beginning. So um, they do like us. 03:47.58 Max Shank Um, oh Wow cool. 03:57.65 Max Shank They like us. They really like us. Thanks everybody. That's so nice I feel validation that I I used to only feel from the affection of a woman I'm sure no other guys out there ah tried to get all their validation from the affection of women right? That's a mistake. 04:02.88 mikebledsoe Yeah. 04:14.70 mikebledsoe Yeah I've never done that I've never done that. Yeah yeah. 04:17.39 Max Shank I mean I think that's only a mistake I've made I don't think anybody else talk about a type of slavery right? you you are your sense of self is ah enslaved by the whims and affection of women that's brutal. 04:31.70 mikebledsoe Yeah, which I mean women are pretty much the whole reason we do anything at the end of the day. So yeah, and you know what if I'm a slave to that then fuck it I'm I'm down. 04:37.70 Max Shank Yo Absolutely for sex and food. 04:46.22 Max Shank Um, yeah, they're they, they they look and feel nice. Don't they totally worth. Ah, ah. 04:50.78 mikebledsoe Totally worth it. Totally worth it. Well um, we we had a little conversation during the pre-show that really lights me up which is ah max brought up the word. No. Which I think is at the center of the freedom conversation and there is the internal experience of saying no and that is ah being willing to disappoint others or not meet the expectations of others when someone asks you to do something or be somewhere. 05:25.62 Max Shank The. 05:27.57 mikebledsoe You say? No I don't want to um and then there's um, and then there's the the lack of violence when you tell somebody? No,. There's the the external experience of freedom which is. The ability to say no and people actually honor that. Yeah. 05:48.43 Max Shank Well, it's drawing a line in the sand right? I'm I'm pretty sure the origin of drawing a line in the sand was basically if you cross this I will fuck you up and that's that's really if we have ah differences. That's how we resolve them. We can do it like you and I are doing right now we can talk it out say no and if that knows not respected The only thing left is physical violence which force is the language of cells and the language of life and ah. Even inorganic stuff like rocks I mean force is really what what moves things along which sounds like a funny phrase. But if you draw solid boundaries. You also won't become resentful. That's a big part of it and the biggest part I think. And it's a really hard concept to understand and I bring it up all the time which is opportunity cost if you neglect to say no when it matters then you will prevent yourself from saying yes to things so the cost of not drawing boundaries. Is that you don't get to use that energy for the things that you really want to say yes to so freedom and focus are both related to the word. No and this is true with your health. It's true with your finances. It's true with friendships. It's. Really really important. Um, so that's a big part of it I would also like to today just thank everybody involved for the freedom experiment that you and I are now enjoying in America I think a lot of us. Ah, it's very easy to forget that this is a pretty new concept in terms of how nations are organized. This is a big big group of people united around the concept of freedom. Probably the biggest None ever actually and. Certainly deteriorated a little bit but before that the only type of freedom there was was probably like nomad nomadic tribes and stuff like that. But you're still going to have some sort of a hierarchy. So this idea that everyone is free to do what they like. The pursuit of happiness is a type of magic really and that code and all those people involved set in motion a series of events that allowed for the greatest possible comparative advantage and specialization. 08:37.41 Max Shank If You are super ambitious about baking muffins and that is all that you want to do you can do that and no one can tell you to do anything otherwise and the cumulative effect of everybody being free to choose out of love what they most want to do. Led to the highest advancement Possible. You're always going to get a much higher passion and performance if the reason or the mission is derived from a place of of love right? so. 09:09.79 mikebledsoe Yeah, wells gone. 09:13.44 Max Shank It it wasn't just the people who thank you? It wasn't just the people who wrote the declaration of independence it was a lot of people before that also a lot of it was actually just because of the book common sense by Thomas Paine ah from what I've read and understand. A lot of the guys who signed the declaration of independence just earlier that year were basically thinking. Yeah, we should get back with England we should. We should get back with them and then common sense came out and it's it's worth a read. It's still good. It was the most widely read book ever at the time it it sold more copies than the literacy rate it was outrageous how popular this book was and so it just goes to show the power of an idea. 09:57.40 mikebledsoe Oh. 10:05.58 Max Shank Ah, so I I thank Thomas Paine I think the people who who risked a lot I mean there was a lot of bloodshed There was a lot of risks being taken and it's like freedom is basically never given right. It's only taken. And so I I guess I really because I don't have a frame I've ever been to war I've done none of fighting like in a ring with the rare scuffle outside in the world but man I have a really deep appreciation for. All of the people involved and it's still right now there are a lot of people involved with preserving this idea that we are free to do as we please and everyone else is free to do as they please because that's that's not how it went right? right? before this experiment. That's not how it went and I think. 10:56.43 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 11:02.51 Max Shank A lot of what happened there was a catalyst for the industry and technology that give us different types of freedom I mean you are free from doing your laundry by hand if you have a. 11:21.48 mikebledsoe But well tech What ah tech comes um I mean I've seen instances where the tech is what preceded the freedom. So for one we can agree on that. 11:21.48 Max Shank A washing machine and a dryer. It's incredible. So all that tech was because of the freedom I believe. 11:34.39 Max Shank Freedom Freedom is a technology. Also I think we can agree. 11:40.81 mikebledsoe Yeah but ah so there's 2 things that really led to ah the the declaration of independence and following that the constitution and ah, what the 2 things that I see that led to that one was the enlightenment period. And that's where guys like John Locke and some other philosophers really laid the groundwork. Um for there was a lot of things happening in Europe and there was these ideas this idea of equal rights was emerging ah in Europe. And it was causing a lot of friction and that's None reason a lot of people came to America was like you know what? I don't want to deal with all this stuff in Europe let's get out of here. Yeah, it's three or four weeks on a boat we might die but fuck it. Let's go and so ah, very bold but the. 12:32.97 Max Shank Bold very bold. 12:37.88 mikebledsoe There were these ideas from the enlightenment period that that took hold and the idea of equal rights is that no one person is more has more rights than somebody else which in the end means that I have no right to tell you how to live your life as long as you're not impeding on my. 12:47.32 Max Shank Oh. 12:57.50 Max Shank Right. 12:57.22 mikebledsoe Right? to do what I want so the idea of negative rights comes into play which never exists before. So if you go to Europe now the it the way the their minds work and a lot of americans it works like this too because the the european mindset is you know. I think you and I as long as we've been alive. It seems like a lot of americans think that europe has it more figured out than we do which is kind of weird. Um, yeah, and so. 13:23.16 Max Shank The grass is greener on the other side. Um, but they don't consider the fact that you pay like a 20% value added tax on like basically everything you know so we have like fractional servitude with these taxations and it's just different place to place right. 13:31.92 mikebledsoe Everything every step of the Way. Ah. Yeah, so the um, ah so the idea of negative rights comes into play and that is ah everybody had the the negative right is I don't have the right to do anything to cause you to do you know. 13:42.27 Max Shank Yeah. 13:57.99 mikebledsoe To stop doing anything you want to do as long as we're not harming each other is basically at the end of the day. That's how negative rights work and this was not a concept that existed prior to about None it was new up into that point everyone believed that the king. 13:59.72 Max Shank And a. 14:17.80 mikebledsoe Or the pope or somebody had been granted this authority from god and this is why Ah, this is why so many almost every country has this official religion that's affiliated with and America was the first one that came along. It was like you know what we're not going to do this whole religious thing. Because we're not going to try to tie up the idea of authority with the government and so um and so this whole thing of negative rights comes along and there was if you read the federalist papers and this is a thing that most americans I think really miss out on is they don't. Get the context of the constitution. They don't have the context for the declaration of independence both are are very important I took constitutional law 1 year and the the none month we spent studying the declaration of independence and I was like what is like they told us at the very beginning. 15:11.48 Max Shank The. 15:16.62 mikebledsoe We're stuck in declaration of independence first because this actually laid the groundwork for the constitution. So first a lot. Yeah, a lot of people are only looking at the constitution with 0 context. So then so you have the context of the declaration of independence so you need to have that context first. 15:22.91 Max Shank It's like the sperm and the egg. 15:35.58 mikebledsoe Most people don't have that and which you know today is the day that you know the the declaration of independence was was made a thing and then um, which was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson I believe and i. 15:42.17 Max Shank Right. As I understand it. Yeah. We don't know for sure of of course. Well you said something big too which is content without context I Think that's one of the biggest traps that people can fall into like it's It's fine to. 15:53.88 mikebledsoe No, there were no cameras. It's not an Instagram it's not on Facebook who knows. 16:10.67 Max Shank Believe you whatever you want to believe but I'm pretty shocked Still you'd think I'd be desensitized to it by now by the by the strength of opinions held based on Absolutely no context whatsoever. It's it's just ah, it's basically just ah, a bird sound. 16:23.36 mikebledsoe Right. 16:29.15 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 16:30.60 Max Shank That is repeated like they hear this combination of sounds and then that comes back out again and it's impossible to take into account all of the variables. But ah, it really is if you want to understand something.. It's so important to have context for. What that is and when that might actually be correct. 16:49.83 mikebledsoe Yeah, so so the context of something like the constitution is really um, a big topic right now because the supreme court whose primary job is to find out if a law is constitutional or not. That's that's about it. 17:05.89 Max Shank Right. 17:09.18 mikebledsoe They don't create laws. They just they make rulings on whether this law is something that could be upheld or not so. 17:15.39 Max Shank And let's get clear real quick. What's the point of having a state and laws in the None place. It's just to protect property rights that's it. It's that part hasn't changed that is that's the core purpose. 17:29.84 mikebledsoe That was but but the. 17:34.56 Max Shank Same with pirates and gangs. It's like basically the guys are like hey we'll offer you protection in exchange for a little bit of your stuff. So It's really like no different than that and when you were talking About. Um. The interplay of negative rights. It. It made me think like okay, well yeah, that's that's the rule is that according to the law. You can't infringe on somebody else's property which is their self and their stuff. 18:09.51 mikebledsoe Include your body. Yeah. 18:12.94 Max Shank Yeah yourself and your stuff and but here's the thing like natural law is anyone can do anything. They want any time. So this whole idea of law is really just about consequences if they catch you and that sounds like a little funny but but that's really that's really all it is. If if they catch you. There are consequences if they don't There are basically no consequences So natural law is anyone or or everyone always does what they want and they can they can kill you they can punch you they can say mean things to you. They can steal your stuff. Doesn't matter the whole reason we would put faith in a higher power is if we believed that they would improve our property rights and decrease friction and decrease assault on our persons and so you have to look at the cost Benefit. Of What you're giving up versus what you're getting and I think it's really, um, certainly has split the crowd because a lot of people would agree that for what we ah give or for what we have taken. The ah return on that investment is very bad and not transparent either. 19:29.55 mikebledsoe Yeah, very bad and and that was actually and that was that was definitely not transparent and that was one of the reasons that you know the the revolutionary war was fought was he's not doing shit for us. He just and just taxing us. 19:41.72 Max Shank Why should we pay the King he's not doing shit for us over here. He's an ocean away fuck that guy. Yeah, right totally imagine. Yeah. 19:49.55 mikebledsoe No protection, not providing enough for what he's taking and so that was one of the things that that motivated them. Um, but so I like to bring up the idea of negative rights because there's no such thing as rights outside of negative rights. There's. Anything. That's not a negative right? is what I would call a wrong and so self logic man I'm I'm sorry so I'm really twisting you up here. The thing is is when I talk to people about this sometimes they do. 20:12.65 Max Shank This is tough logic to follow. Honestly, you got to write it down. 20:21.61 Max Shank Um, the opposite of a negative right is a wrong. 20:30.83 mikebledsoe That's right. 20:31.36 Max Shank I'm pretty I'm pretty sure a negative right is a wrong. But anyway that mathematically. 20:35.16 mikebledsoe No Ah negative. Well the the the reason well negative rights are rights and you have to the reason we have to use the language negative rights when we used to only have to use the word rights is because a lot of politicians have twisted up what rights mean. So people are confused that yeah that they've confused privileges with rights and you have the right to a really easy one to break down is medical Care. You have ah the right to medical care. It's like that's actually not. 20:53.73 Max Shank Oh privileges. 21:12.40 mikebledsoe True now because you have to take it from somebody else. So if if some authority figure comes along and says you have the right to medical care and then there's you walk into the doctor and the doctor says look I really. 21:12.73 Max Shank I see now because you have to take it from somebody. Yeah. 21:31.76 mikebledsoe I Can't afford to serve you right now for whatever reason the doctor doesn't want to do it and then an authority figure comes and says no doctor. This person has medical rights. You have to perform whatever it is on them that doctor that doctor has now become a slave. He's has to. 21:43.78 Max Shank Right? Which is coercion word. 21:51.90 mikebledsoe He has to conduct labor against his will and when I bring this up a lot of times people get really upset with me when I bring up that example because they're like but it would be wrong for the doctor to turn him down like look from an ethical standpoint when a doctor makes his his or her. Ah. Statement of what the hippocratic oath or whatever it is and they make the statement that they're going to. You know, help people who are in need and not turn anyone away. That's that's an ethical thing. 22:18.24 Max Shank Right? That's worth going to look at by the way the hippocratic oath you can look it up is really cool. It's like a really awesome little bit of Linguistic magic. So. 22:29.22 mikebledsoe Yeah, So so what? I'm what I'm getting at is like this whole this whole that you have rights to somebody else's labor cause at the end of the and and the medical thing is really touchy because people people do feel like everyone should have access to this like emotionally, it's like. Oh yeah, everyone should have access to this but the thing is is not everyone has access to this. 22:52.19 Max Shank It's just the image. It's just the image of it that sways people with rhetoric right? it like hospital rooms are scary death is scary. We don't want to face it so we have a scary enough image and then people are like you know what we should ah like steal from the neighbor. 23:02.60 mikebledsoe Yeah. 23:09.48 mikebledsoe Right. 23:10.90 Max Shank For the greater good right? And here's how you cut straight to the core of any issue like this and you know I'm gonna let the I'm gonna let it fly today because fuck it here's the deal every day in the media. There's some new bullshit that is trying to ensnare you. 23:18.57 mikebledsoe Ah, perfect. 23:28.64 Max Shank And enslave your attention and that's already a fucking bad bad thing right? here's the deal though if you want to cut straight to the heart of any issue you ask None question who decides that's it doesn't every everything else take it off the table. Who decides and then you'll figure out what the deal is going on. You just ask who decides and then eventually you go oh so that other guy decides for me. Yeah, no thanks and me saying no, that's that's freedom. But if you want to cut to the heart of. The important issues. What's really important. Ah I don't know if ah if it's important like ah there are so many things that are made to believe to be important. It's make-believe we make believe that these things are important. But the None thing that is important is who decides that's all cut through the bullshit. That's what freedom is is who decides if I can say yes if I can say no, that's freedom if I cannot It's some form of slavery fractional or otherwise simple as that. 24:38.10 mikebledsoe Yeah, totally agree I mean I think we're what ah probably around I'm like a 33% slave I think you're probably closer like a 48% slave because you're in California. 24:51.48 Max Shank Fucking rubbing it in look at him do that to me Jesus Christ wow good god I'll tell you what though I'll tell you I'll tell you. 24:56.30 mikebledsoe Um, just come to Texas already. Um, um, um, not only am my older but I'm less of a slave than you. Um. 25:07.95 Max Shank Oh you're way more of a timela than I am folks for those listening and don't know I have way more ah agency and autonomy over my schedule than Mike here does. But you know you're going to talk about California. Let's talk about it. Imagine. 25:12.83 mikebledsoe If. 25:26.80 Max Shank Being one of those guys who owns a business in California they shut you down and then they don't protect your shop while it gets looted what the fuck are you doing the whole purpose that you're there is like whoa so they they steal none your shit. They don't come to your aid when you need it and they stop you from doing business. It's like the antithesis of freedom. So oh my god look we could talk about this all day but let's let's get back to something practical. 25:55.21 mikebledsoe Um, a. 25:56.47 Max Shank Otherwise I'm just gonna sound like an angry old man I'm only 34 fucking years old for Christ's sakes 26:02.35 mikebledsoe Ah, all right? So ah, we'll get back to some ah something' a little more philosophical that'll help calm me down. So Ah anyways I bring up the the medical freedom because there's a lot of thing or medical rights Because. You got to watch out I want I want people to be aware so when they do come across these conversations when if they do get exposed to something a politician says and they say you have the right to this think about do they have to take something from somebody else to give it to you and if that is the case then it's not a right. 26:18.49 Max Shank And. 26:37.69 mikebledsoe Because you're you were in the end enslaving the other person. So yeah, another one that's popular in California is and I've had this experience because my my ah my fiancee Ashley she. 26:40.44 Max Shank Yeah, you're just getting the loot from their fucking plunder. 26:56.10 mikebledsoe Sold She had tenants in a building and she sold the building and she inherited the building from her grandmother and so she inherits like this commercial building. It's It's like mixed use commercial and residential and these she's like you know. Well if the tenants she's having to like she's learning about all this stuff in real time and going. Okay, the tenants don't make rent because sometimes they're late. She's like it's like can I kick them out because she's also trying to sell the building and if you have tenants not paying Rent. You're trying to sell a building then it's a fucking problem right? so. 27:26.81 Max Shank Totally yeah. 27:31.92 mikebledsoe She goes and talks to the lawyer to find out if she can kick the tenants out and they have to be so many months behind on rent then not only do you not get ah ah, get your money for what you own because that's her property she has to pay the tenants to leave. 27:49.62 Max Shank Oh yeah, oh yeah, right right. 27:51.31 mikebledsoe She has to pay them. It's like the opposite of ah property rights. it's it's crazy so um there's just another I wanted to bring up a None law. We'll we'll call it a statutory law that means it's ah it's an opinion of a group people not actual law that have been put in place. 28:06.72 Max Shank Well, there are so many things like that right? and it's all for the illusion. It's all for the illusion of the greater good. This is the only way you can understand how these things happen you have to imagine 3 neighbors and they all get to vote. 28:10.64 mikebledsoe That Ah, there's so many. 28:25.90 Max Shank And if None neighbors vote to Rob the none then majority rules and that's basically the problem is if enough people you know None people vote to Rob the none that's majority rule. It's also called mob rule. In ah in a different term but it's the same thing so you can yeah but that's what I'm that's exactly what I'm saying a democracy is not a good thing and people don't understand that because if you have the majority vote to Rob the minority I don't think that's like a constructive solution and it builds resentment in the. 28:46.80 mikebledsoe It's also called Democracy It's a pure democracy. Yeah. 29:03.84 Max Shank The group it doesn't allow I mean they're look. We could go off on that tangent for too long, but. 29:06.46 mikebledsoe Well well here's the thing is I think it's worth mentioning I'm glad you brought up democracy because the United States is not a democracy. It's a republic and the reason that it was not a democracy is because the founding fathers fathers were smart enough. The first republic I want to say was Greece. 29:13.54 Max Shank Republic. 29:26.29 mikebledsoe Um, and took a lot of the concepts from Greece in order to create what we have a lot of the same stuff but the idea is you got a lot of people who want to get rid of something ah like the electoral college They think the electoral college is robbing people of their votes and this and that. 29:29.22 Max Shank Um, lot of the same stuff lot of the same stuff big time. 29:43.31 Max Shank And those people live on the coasts and want to make decisions for everybody else I get it like of of course like you know you don't hate the player don't hate the player don't hate the game either. That's just like the the thing we're in like we could have just as easily been born in a feudal system. 29:45.35 mikebledsoe But yeah, yeah, if you're part of the majority. 30:00.43 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 30:01.33 Max Shank Of some kind where we had to like pay to a lord and he could fuck our wife on wedding night and all kinds of shit like that. So like look you got to you got to compare Apple's apples everything's relative but ah things are overall like awesome, but it's largely due to technology. 30:10.94 mikebledsoe Yeah, thank you. 30:20.20 Max Shank And our ability to trade easily and in fact, so you could say ah trade and technology are kind of the the work of the private sector and it's kind of like um, the public sector tries to fuck everything up. Maybe with good intentions by the way I don't know like that Handlin's razor idea of don't attribute to malice what you could attribute to ah incompetence sometimes yes sometimes no probably more people are stupid than evil and no one thinks they're the evil one. They always think the ends justify the means. Um, that's why that's why I'm not surprised when stuff like this happens because if you get a very powerful ambitious person. They can spin a story in their own mind and if they believe that they can improve. The life of 90% by murdering 10 probably they would do that and I and I could understand that it doesn't make it right? but I can totally understand and that's why it's never a good long-term choice to consolidate power into one area. Because you'll get more speed faster decision making so if you have ah an authoritarian or a dictatorship or some sort of ah collectivism where it's like None or None people in charge. You have a single point of failure which is a problem. So if you have an insane guy can like kill. Ah, 0 people with a famine just by accident right? Just by being a fucking retard. Ah like that's killed way more people than religion is just people who think they're smart getting in charge and thinking that they can make all the decisions that. We should all be individually making on our own that's the that's the value that's one of the major values of freedom is that it's like ah a shock absorber that can work in real time you know, supply and demand cost and benefit are made on an individual basis which is relative to. The individual values and it can adjust things much more quickly. You know if the if the Ceo of Target came out tomorrow and said I don't want any like jews blacks or anyone shopping at Target everyone be like holy god damn we don't like that and we would all go to Walmart. Out of our own free choice probably and and that's why it comes back to who decides. So if it's None guy at the top you can get things done a lot faster. You can boom declare war one None word kill that fucker and there's no. 32:48.40 mikebledsoe Yeah. 33:05.52 Max Shank There's no ah diversification of that decision making so you can get things done way faster hey ah clone those people over there and they're like yes, ah yes, dictator man I will I will clone those people over there hey kill those people and and you will so you can get things done way faster. 33:06.54 mikebledsoe Yeah, um. 33:24.48 Max Shank Which can be an advantage in the short term. But ah, you know now you're at the mercy of 1 guy and that's pretty scary stuff. So diversification is a big part of freedom. 33:30.40 mikebledsoe Yeah I don't get back to yeah I agree and I mean that's one of the I say the byproducts of freedom that that actually is in service of the whole over time. Um, so I me go back to. 33:46.91 Max Shank It's also profitable transactions. So if every transaction is done Volitiony then there's always ah, an energetic surplus like I trade you voluntary choice. Yeah volition means voluntary choice. But. 33:52.83 mikebledsoe He say he's volition. He means voluntary so be using such big words. Yeah, ah so ah. 34:04.35 Max Shank Dude, let me use my word a day calendar. Okay I bought the thing. 34:07.33 mikebledsoe So They ah it it being a Republic I mentioned the electoral college but congress the senate the Supreme court. All these things are set up to have checks and balances and everything is based off of the.. Basically the declaration of Independence in the constitution are these these base ah basis of all the laws that are written and most of them are not constitutional that are floating around these days but the whole point was to ah they realized that the average person. Needed to feel like they were involved in some way but they they do not. They shouldn't have like ah I guess an equal voice in how things should ah like be controlled by others because not everyone can see. View and there's there's That's why there's representatives and not everything's just yeah, it's a specialization. 35:00.19 Max Shank Um, it's specialization right? like an Electrician is good with electrical electrical work. A politician is supposed to be good with political work. Of course there are a lot of problems with that. But that's the idea. 35:10.90 mikebledsoe Yeah, and so that's why in my opinion up until this point a republic is the greatest form of government that's going to give somebody the greatest amount of freedom now. Ah you know. Is there something better probably with the with the way technology is moving with the decentralization of governance so things like the decentralized autonomous organizations daws. There are going to be things that we're going to be able to do with decentralized governance. And with Ai that is going to actually be able to make decisions that and ai is going to be able to croc information that no one human being can consider and so with the advancement technology. What I believe is we're going to be stepping into. A greater amount of freedom. Um, and there's also dangers that come with that of course. Ah and so going back. So I just want to make that statement about it being a republic not a democracy so on the news when they go oh this is a danger to our democracy which happens all the fucking time. Ah. Like sometimes youre like some I've had people tell me that I'm like well it's good thing. We're not a democracy and they they're like ah we're this one guy this german guy he yeah that this german guy he was like ah he was arguing with me on Facebook about something some guy went to burning man with. 36:30.79 Max Shank Um, yeah, well there's semantic precision for you right? People don't even know what the word means. 36:45.25 Max Shank Ah, yeah. 36:47.40 mikebledsoe I mean this is years ago and he's like he's like something about democracy this and democracy. Yeah I was like well None off, you need to know that you're living in a country that's not a democracy. We're a republic and he's like what's that have to do with anything um like like you know, ah. 37:00.21 Max Shank Ah. 37:05.75 mikebledsoe The entire basis of your point is is being built around the idea of democracy That's that that doesn't actually exist here. So um. 37:16.43 Max Shank Basically the Republic that was set up with Independence was to try to put as much shit in the way as possible from the government doing anything and and that's and that's the correct choice by the way it's. 37:26.17 mikebledsoe Yeah, if you and the and the constitution was the constitution when you read it was it doesn't grant any rights to anybody it limits the government from impeding upon the rights that every individual has. 37:31.86 Max Shank It's way more stable. 37:40.40 Max Shank Exactly and isn't it Yeah isn't it funny too. We even havent I think it's the ninth one that says ah there are also more rights that we didn't write down. 37:46.15 mikebledsoe And so yeah. 37:58.54 Max Shank Basically, there's there's one like that. It's like you know, free speech and firearms. And honestly, if you have those 2 eventually it'll rebalance. It'll be a little turbulent but the whole like you know troops in peace time and not ah incriminating yourself and all these things that ah go on up. Ah, to that one where it's like Also we this this list is not Complete. We have even more than we wrote down. 38:23.89 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah, hopefully you get the idea and then people didn't but but the thing is yeah um. 38:31.69 Max Shank It's because they traded freedom for security and there's a quote about that people who trade freedom None security will lose both and deserve neither I think that might have been Jefferson I think it might have been Jefferson but maybe ah. 38:41.00 mikebledsoe So Benjamin Franklin I think I put money on franklin yeah, but I mean nonetheless. Um, yeah, that that is what's happened so the other thing I want to hit on which what we were talking about the technology leading to freedom or freedom leading to technology I think. 38:48.40 Max Shank Maybe it was Franklin I don't okay, yeah yeah. 39:06.12 mikebledsoe I think the desire to be free is what does drive a lot of technology but an example so what created so I'm going to go back to the 2 things that created the situation in 76 when the founding fathers go you know what fuck you? we're doing our own thing. Is they had 2 things they had the enlightenment period so they had the philosophy which was the the development of consciousness to the degree in which they they recognized equal rights amongst every human being That's why it was written was it executed that way. Absolutely not. But guess what? we fast forward to today. It's been corrected. Tremendously. Um I think that if anyone were to argue that it's not as good now as it was two hundred years ago they'd be an idiot um and then well I would say as far as. 39:55.52 Max Shank A lot of things are better and some things are worse. But I think Net net is better. 40:01.58 mikebledsoe Say as far as like equal rights like there's not we don't have discrimination. Ah you know discriminatory laws based yeah well you know? yeah you know people of color and women being able to vote and all these types of things. 40:06.17 Max Shank Oh that's a funny one. It's like the bros before hose amendments. You know that one. 40:18.22 Max Shank Well isn't it funny though that we gave recently ah freed slave black men the right to vote long before women like I think that's a funny thing and I I feel that too I mean right now there's a lot of tension. Ah between men and women. 40:19.82 mikebledsoe Um. 40:27.26 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 40:37.49 Max Shank Mostly manufactured. But I think there's a lot more commonality between men of different races than a man and a woman of the same race I don't I don't I don't really think ah I don't think that's it's really more about upbringing but Gosh ah being a man or a woman is like a really. 40:45.51 mikebledsoe I agree. 40:56.77 Max Shank Different thing but having a different but having a different skin color in and of itself is not really a different thing and the only reason I believe that is because I'm not a racist and I cannot be a racist and think that generally black people Run faster. 40:57.76 mikebledsoe It's a very different experience. 41:02.47 mikebledsoe Not in. Um, what. 41:16.84 Max Shank Asians are better at musical instruments and math and they become doctors more regularly I mean can't we all agree that this shit happens and not be racist at the same time seems so easy to me. 41:26.44 mikebledsoe Yeah, easy to you but not to people who were had their amygdala hijacked by the media. But ah, so so the 2 things the enlightenment period that gave rise to the philosophy and the way of thinking of equal rights. 41:33.10 Max Shank Oh. 41:45.59 mikebledsoe And the None thing that made the revolution possible was the decentralization of violence through the invention of the rifle and so hour to the people and so before the rifle came along. 41:53.85 Max Shank Power to the people. 42:02.64 mikebledsoe The amount of training and the cost of Weaponry and armor was too high for the average person to have the rifle comes along you require less training to kill somebody right? You don't need that much training to use a rifle fairly effectively like you can become deadly. 42:09.31 Max Shank Um, ha ha. 42:22.29 mikebledsoe You know in an afternoon of practice and exactly and so and. 42:24.70 Max Shank And totally fuck up some guy who's done martial arts for 40 years with a sword that that changed my whole outlook on martial arts training I remember when I had that realization I was like I got to stop this I got to go start learn how to use a gun I'm not going to let some fucking. Hundred and ten pound asshole shoot me dead after training martial arts for 20 years that's ridiculous so it's it's the great equalizer right. 42:43.83 mikebledsoe No, no, it is a great equalizer I think Smith and Wesson there's a quote from Smith and Wesson from the gun company has said men and women were created equal and. Smith and Wesson keeps it that way or something like that. Yeah yeah, it's like empowering women to carry a gun. You know like oh you, you don't want to have to rely on men for your safety. Well here's here's ah the great equalizer as you say so yeah, the the rifle would pierce the armor that was. 43:03.47 Max Shank Oh That's pretty fun. Right. 43:16.54 Max Shank Down. 43:21.92 mikebledsoe Previously made to deflect swords and and arrows but a bullet you know, traveling at a thousand feet per second you know it it makes it through and so it really changed how warfare was ah conducted and actually what was that Mel Gibson movie with ah. 43:25.13 Max Shank Ah. 43:41.73 mikebledsoe No no the patriot I just saw a clip of it on Instagram and in that movie one of the things that that happened is they ah in a revolutionary war is when guerrilla warfare really started up until that point it was like. 43:41.77 Max Shank Braveheart no the patriot. Yeah. 44:00.50 mikebledsoe I've got my army and we're going to just March up to your army because that's what worked when they had like swords and and arrows and all this shit but like warfare actually didn't ah didn't really ah evolve. 44:03.98 Max Shank Honorable. 44:13.12 Max Shank In many parts of the world in sophisticated warfare. It was like we're going to March in a line at each other and what's funny is in bravehe heartt another Mel Gibson movie it's also all about freedom like he gets disembowlled and he like yells freedom and. 44:18.95 mikebledsoe Um, yeah. 44:26.31 mikebledsoe Yeah. 44:29.89 Max Shank They're like doing sneaky shit and coming around the flank and all that stuff. So it's kind of funny how ah those movies really parallel each other under the same banner of free of freedom. 44:37.58 mikebledsoe Oh for sure for sure. So ah, yeah, just thinking about that and like the scene I saw on Instagram ah, you know I follow ah an Instagram account called zulu fucks. So ah, you know it's a military you know some veterans put that shit together. Some sick fucks and who I enjoy and the ah you know they they have the scene where you know he's killing them with you know, rifles and hatchets and you know that was that was the weapon of his of choice right? He had the the hatchet he could throw and and all that um. 44:58.62 Max Shank Yeah. 45:10.68 Max Shank Right? It's like John wick. It's like murder porn right? for dudes John Wick 3 Keanereves fucks people up for 2 hours 45:14.95 mikebledsoe But yeah, yeah, it is dude I finally watched I watched I've been wanting to watch John Wick for like 10 years and the last time I flew it was on the screen I was like oh fuck I'll watch it now. Um good movie. 45:32.13 Max Shank It's funny. Yeah, yeah. 45:33.74 mikebledsoe Actually I really enjoyed it. Ah so ah, so yeah, the the this decentral ah decentralization of violence through the invention of the rifle really is what allowed. Ah the Americans to get together and be able to. Hold the British back and everyone can fight that did not happen back in the day you were either a trained soldier or you weren't and if you weren't a trained soldier. You weren't fighting. Yeah yeah, mostly farmers. 45:53.17 Max Shank Everyone can fight now I think that's even happening in Ukraine pass out a gun to everybody like. 46:07.57 Max Shank You're probably a farmer. You know you said something really cool there which was that philosophical change and I often have thought about the fact that slavery is largely due to the definition. In the Dao. Ah 1 of the none passages is that ah naming is the origin of all particular things. So when you say there's this philosophical enlightenment shift. What that means is without that adjustment. People will go on believing the same thing that they have been believing. It's just like momentum. There's ideological momentum just like there's physical momentum. So. It's interesting to look back and see how many people were controlled with. With the threat of violence mostly I think of like ah a plantation in the south right? or or you know even before that just using a whip. You know you got maybe None people ah fully commanding None people and all they have is like whips and these people don't even think ah a. They think I'm I'm a slave and this is normal and this is what slaves do this is like a superior man and this is a slave even the code of hamurabi allegedly the oldest text for law which is basically like if you steal something we'll chop off your hand if you poke a guy's eye out. We'll poke your eye out if you rape his daughter you got to marry her and pay the dad fifty Silver shekels that kind of thing but it would it would refer to people as a superior man or an inferior man or a slave and so there were different classes of people and the reason there were different. 47:45.91 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 47:59.12 Max Shank Classes of people was because that they believed and accepted those Classifications. So if you accept the classification of that. Ah, and you're and you don't have an. Imbalanced force kind of bringing it back to physics and Momentum. There's no reason that you would stop doing that. 48:19.20 mikebledsoe Yeah. Um, I just did a quick search for a quote that I saw circulating on on social media which was a quote from Harriet Tubman saying I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves. 48:40.91 Max Shank Oh yeah, that's what I was trying to say but in a worse way I was I was saying it worse. 48:44.65 mikebledsoe Yeah, but then you know of course if I go to one of the things that popped up I Want to do a search on it to be you know to confirm I was correct and there's ah, a politifact. Um. 48:53.14 Max Shank A. Oh yeah, very reliable source. 49:00.73 mikebledsoe That this this is hilarious actually like I never I I rarely ever do this, but it's like I end up on um, http://politifact.com to fact checker right? which is bullshit. Yeah, um. 49:10.18 Max Shank I Want that job that seems easy I Just get to say right. 49:17.63 mikebledsoe So. What's what's funny is like um, there's this explanation of how it was ah it was discredited in the none the none time ah like the the way it starts arguing that it was discredited is because um Facebook said it was debunked. And and fake like and then um, yeah, like their their primary sources and opinion from Facebook um, but ah, you know I don't know there. There is some more references and people. 49:39.34 Max Shank So that's their source is that Facebook said it wasn't real. 49:56.95 mikebledsoe Think that the comment's ridiculous. But of course if you don't know that you're a slave then of course that's going to sound ridiculous. 50:02.52 Max Shank Right? The most effective chains are the ones that you don't notice and you can be a slave to different thing I think addiction is kind of like slavery in a lot of cases. Um you become a slave to that behavior or substance or or person. 50:06.23 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah, yeah. 50:21.28 Max Shank Right? Like a code-dependent relationship like you're just totally totally a slave but you can't get out because you don't know. Ah what that would even look like. 50:29.83 mikebledsoe Yeah, well that that quote makes me think about I remember reading um I took ah by the way I took african american english literature in college. There were 2 white people in the class at the beginning at the beginning of the semester. 50:42.79 Max Shank Seems like a woke flex. 50:49.11 mikebledsoe And then I was the only white person left at the end of the semester. Ah so to the beginning one was left ah I was really curious I was really yeah I was really really curious. Ah I enjoyed the class I thought it was fun. 50:57.52 Max Shank Talk about being a minority. 51:08.16 mikebledsoe I like english lit no matter what like any type of literature. Um I just love it. Ah, but None of the things that I realized in that class because we were reading you know well african american english lit and is that a lot of slaves when they were freed really didn't know what the fuck to do. And the same thing would happen now as if the government took off. You know people are like well what would we do? if there wasn't if nobody was taking care of this this this and this what would we do like we need to have that and and basically what I got from what I had read back then the the general theme that I saw was that. 51:36.60 Max Shank Totally. 51:46.97 mikebledsoe A lot of slaves didn't really want to be freed because they didn't know what to do with the freedom like there was a certain level of comfort and safety and knowing that I do this thing I go to work and I work work I work. However, many hours in the field. And there's going to be a meal for me and there's gonna be a roof over my head and yeah, like some things really Suck. You know if you step out of Line. You might get whipped or whatever it is but what was more scary was the uncertainty of freedom. 52:11.75 Max Shank Right. 52:19.65 Max Shank Um, I think that that's the only thing people fear is unknown. Um, like if you knew for sure that you were going to die on a certain day you wouldn't even fear it you had just accept it as reality. So it's the uncertainty. 52:21.63 mikebledsoe Ends. Mostly. 52:36.99 Max Shank That's why people are more afraid of a shark in the water than a bear on the land because you can't see it right? um. 52:39.75 mikebledsoe I agree I've had the experience of both. Well I had the experience with the shark is like when I surf and I'm on top of the water. There's a I'm a little more like oh my God if something popped up I'd freak out but I've been diving with sharks and I was incredibly calm because I could see them and I was present with them and. 52:46.43 Max Shank Um, yeah for right. In the epic of Gilgamesh. That's the scariest part is he's in a tunnel where you can't see a foot ahead or a foot behind and I think that's the oldest epic novel written down was ah was the epic of Gilgamesh but that was you know he's fighting all these like gods and monsters and shit. 52:58.86 mikebledsoe Ah, yeah, encounter with bear recently and that wasn't so bad. 53:09.97 mikebledsoe Um. 53:18.72 Max Shank Not afraid. It's just when he's in the pitch black tunnel. He can't see what's ahead or what's behind and that's what the fear is really about I Think if you take what you're talking about um as ah as a leader something of a leader myself and often in the past very a very bad leader. 53:24.70 mikebledsoe In 1 53:38.71 Max Shank Ah, a lot of people are are craving direction. They're craving direction they want so they want a director just tell me what to do. 53:44.61 mikebledsoe Yeah, Ashley and I had this conversation yesterday we were talking about marketing. We were talking about marketing I was like like really we we were. We were driving down the road and analyzing billboards and I was and and um because it's a fun exercise for me, but ah. 53:55.72 Max Shank Ah, ah, ah, sounds really fun. 54:04.53 mikebledsoe Yeah, and ah I was like oh they could have said it way better and people would have taken the action they want them to if they would have said it like this and it was simply changing the language ah to tell people exactly what to do instead of telling people what I do like. 54:16.47 Max Shank Right. 54:21.77 mikebledsoe If I want you to work with me I don't tell you what I do I Tell you what you do with me and so. 54:22.94 Max Shank Well and even more you're gonna say here's what you're gonna do here's what it's gonna look like here's how it's gonna feel this is exactly because what you're doing I think of it like. 54:32.24 mikebledsoe Um, yeah, um. 54:40.82 Max Shank You're taking someone from one shore across a river to another one and that other shore across the river is basically like the the pot of gold at the rainbow. It's everything they want and everything you have and what you're doing is you are creating and manifesting. An image that helps them believe and see how they are going to cross that potentially very turbulent river so it's bringing certainty through imagination and having a direct action that is really clear to take. Like call this number now for your free blank is ah is a way better call to action than what I like to do is blah blah blah blah blah it's like whoa. No people do crave that direction I can absolutely understand. Why being ah freed after a life of servitude would be bad. It would be like ah Batman Batman telling Alfred to fuck off basically right and he's like whoa. No I've been I've been serving the batmans. The Bruce Waynes and all that stuff for years I think a similar example is ah. 55:40.95 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 55:50.40 mikebledsoe Well I want to I want to leave I go around. 55:52.85 Max Shank Ah, stay a stay at home mom a stay at home. This is my last example on this thing because like a stay at home mom you're 20 years as part of a functioning family unit and now suddenly you're like I think I'm going to reenter the workforce and that was a lifetime ago so that that uncertainty is. 56:05.98 mikebledsoe Yeah, my mom did that sheet I think she didn't work for 1819 years and then went back in and I think it was a little overwhelming for her at the beginning. But yeah, the yeah yeah. 56:11.51 Max Shank Very pf. 56:17.63 Max Shank What do I What do I Do tell someone tell me what to do and we're trained that way. You know we're crate trained in school obedience school I mean to do what other people tell us to do So it's no surprise that most people fall in line. 56:35.83 mikebledsoe Yeah, and I I bring all this up because um, you know some people are going to hate me for saying it. But like people we weren't joking at the beginning of the show. We were kind of joking we were weren't joking that we're fractional slaves in that if you don't. 56:36.34 Max Shank With that ideology. 56:52.70 Max Shank Yeah. 56:54.82 mikebledsoe If We don't if we don't voluntarily participate with paying taxes and doing some other things and we're going to get beat down with a stick and stuck in a cage. Ah so like so like I think a lot of times. It's hard. For people to hear a statement from a white guy about ah such things. Yeah. 57:17.77 Max Shank Only for racists only for racists if you discount the opinion of a person based on the lack or presence of melanin their skin. You're fucking racist just because someone's black doesn't mean we should think what they have to say matters and just because a guy is white. Doesn't mean that what he says doesn't matter the whole the whole idea of anti-racism is just racism by a different name that that is like a huge ah that's a type of ideological enslavement is thinking that that. Bullshit matters and those are burdens those are chains that you got to wear and like I was saying at the very beginning the news cycle is making you care about so many things that are outside your control and you're just going to get a greater and greater separation. Between your locus of control which is literally just you and then your radius of awareness of what is going on and they're like hey this important thing is happening a million miles away hey this important thing is happening to this ah gay something black. Whatever guy. And I'm not trying to like demean anybody it's just like those things don't matter. That's a person who should have rights just like another person. The idea that they should be different like adjusted up or adjusted down based on None of their features. That's fucking retarded basically like I don't know ben. 58:47.78 mikebledsoe Ah I agree I agree because and because at the end of the day is you? You are one of the few that actually believe in equal rights and anyone who who you know that's that's how I've I've started making a lot of my conversations lately when someone makes. A statement about something that's political I go Oh well, do you believe in equal rights and then I go tell me about like you know do do you have like a definition for equal rights and they never do and then I provide them with a definition and then. 59:16.80 Max Shank And. 59:24.50 mikebledsoe And then usually we can't get very far after that because the definition of equal rights is is so difficult for them to even have a conversation about that because it because it challenges all the ideas it it challenges their ideology because before. They heard equal rights and they that they don't know what equal rights means and then they build a whole ideology that assumes that it's based on equal rights. But then when you go and visit that that um that that thing at the core that everyone thinks they agree on and then you say well let's define it. And now we're we're taking the foundation of what they believe to be the foundation of their ideology and we just fucking take it out from underneath them. It. It gets a little shaky. 01:00:11.20 Max Shank Well, it's it's like is the game Fair I mean I used to do that and I thought it was pretty smart. It I thought it was like fun and kind of sporting to like ah slowly ah help people realize that everything they believe is fucking stupid and doesn't have any basis in reality. But it's not even fun anymore because it's so Common. It's not even difficult. But um, basically it does come I mean who who decides who decides? That's all who decides all of the other stuff So That's why I say it's It's not about so people conflate. 01:00:37.63 mikebledsoe It's so easy to be. You know these days. All you got to believe in equal rights and be weirdo. 01:00:49.91 Max Shank Or as you say there's a collapse distinction between equal opportunity and equal outcome and that's the big mistake because if you're looking to create an equal outcome then by definition the game can't be fair because you're going to be adjusting the rules based on the players. 01:01:05.40 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah, you can't have equal. You can't you can't have equal opportunity and equal outcome. They can't exist at the same time. 01:01:08.77 Max Shank And that it takes us right back to who decides who if I'm a fucking referee in a boxing match and anytime one of the guys gets punched I stop the fight to give him a little rest. That's not a fair game. But I can make the outcome equal right? So basically comes back to who decides Well now the referee gets to decide the fight who would fucking watch that game. It's It's ridiculous and I I think what helps a lot is just to imagine a smaller. 01:01:28.60 mikebledsoe Um, yeah. 01:01:47.25 Max Shank Group of people you know who is the None doing the stealing who is the None being stolen from who's the None profiting from that stealing you know you can easily sort these things out but trying to change someone's mind I think that's mostly an energetic loss unless you're really going to. Dedicate yourself to it. The best thing you can do is to free yourself from this idea that talking about that shit even matters I mean Mike and myself were hoping to illuminate this topic so you and us can all be unburdened. So that we can go do. What's really valuable and value as individual. Ah you know, bottled water at Coachella extremely valuable bottled water at Lake Tahoe Not very valuable. But if you focus on value. And values within yourself. That's good and you're going to get a much better return on your energy. But if you like spend time having these like arguments. It. It just takes away that that joy I mean if you find it fun like for sport. Ah you know, go nuts. But you're not going to. 01:02:55.21 mikebledsoe Yeah, yeah. 01:03:03.18 Max Shank Make a really significant ah change in people's minds unless you're like okay I'm going to like there are people out there like Russell Brand for example he is like basically making a career out of illuminating what's going on in a pretty humorous way. So like. That's why I'm not going to try to do something like that is like he's already handling that plus is not really a good way for me to generate the most value because after freedom and love the best thing is to be generous really like. If you if you already are kind of wealthy. You already know this if you're not very wealthy yet you might understand this but I guarantee for those of you who are like on your way up to being like really wealthy. You're going to buy yourself a bunch of fucking toys. This is what happened to me at least. You're going to go god damn that is not nearly as fun as taking my friends out to lunch and you'll realize that the the generosity is what fuels you to do more things. So love freedom and then sharing that generosity is where it's at. But. If you get tripped up by all this bullshit about like genitals and colors and sexual orientation like is fucking. Tiresome freedom is about who decides and if it's you it's freedom if it's not then it's some slavery and it can be fractional. And I'm not I don't it's not that I don't appreciate what I have I am super appreciative what I have I am grateful every day and like let's not kid ourselves. There are a lot of things that happen that are just fucking stupid and it's okay to to recognize that. 01:04:51.17 mikebledsoe Ah, yeah I think at the core that is just um or what for me is ah, not having any expectation around say changing somebody's mind. It's like I'll engage in the conversation. But I'm not. 01:05:05.95 Max Shank Ooh Yeah, now you're talking. 01:05:08.97 mikebledsoe If I have the expectation there there should They should be thinking like me by the end I'm going to suffer. It's gonna I'm gonna be miserable. It's not going to be fun and the only way I can have fun in these types of conversations is to realize that I'm not going to change their mind and that's okay. 01:05:13

Deposed Head of State of Burma  Sentenced for 4 Years?,   Pres. Biden Holds Two- hour Video Talk w/ Vladimir Putin, The Global Summit for DemocracyRetired US Diplomat to 5 different nations  David Hunter shares his knowledge, passion, interest, and experience. 1)  Deposed Head of State of Burma  Sentenced for 4 Years?:  After being ousted by a Military Coup in Burma (Myamar) last February,  Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty in secret trial of charges of 'vote rigging' and 'inciting demonstrations'. The US Secretary of State just responded  "The military regime's unjust conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi and repression of democratically-elected officials are further affronts to democracy and rule of law in Burma” .  What is going on?2)  Pres. Biden Holds Two- hour Video Talk w/ Vladimir Putin:  The top subject is Ukraine.  US intelligence reports that Russia is massing over 175,000 troops on it's border, including calling up reserves, in what looks like a planned invasion of Ukraine.  Biden warned there will be a strong US and international response if Putin's troops invade their neighboring country.  What can he do?3) The Global Summit for Democracy: It's being held at end of this week with over 100 countries invited and is hosted by Pres. Biden.  What are some of the programs he is promoting to strengthen Democracy around the world?

Episode HighlightsRep. Bass on Our Interconnected World“All of our lives changed dramatically last year, on the entire planet. Why? Because the planet earth is very small with communications and travel the way it is. And our health, our wellbeing, our prosperity, is completely linked to people around the world. And using COVID is the perfect example of how we’re all linked. This virus, we will not overcome this virus until we overcome it as a planet. So for example, there’s vaccines that are available now. I’m very excited about that. But we’re also learning about new strains. Until you stamp COVID out in the world, you can’t just stamp it out in the United States because the new strains will continue to mutate. So, using what we’re going through now is a perfect example to explain why we are completely connected and our health, wellbeing, and prosperity is connected and depends on the health, prosperity, and wellbeing of other countries as well.”Rep. Bass on the Responsibility of Living in a Democracy“It is definitely when there’s things that you complain about in government, it really is everyone’s responsibility, and part of our American culture is we vote and then we go home. I would just ask you, as an elected official, vote and stay involved with your elected officials please. Because it’s our collective responsibility to make sure that our system works.”

Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings died a year ago tomorrow. He invested time in his final months, amid painful health challenges and tough confrontations between Congress and President Trump … to write a memoir called, “We’re Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of our Democracy” It weaves his personal story with accounts of some public battles. His widow and partner, Maya Rockeymore Cummings, says we can hear in the memoir what her late husband would be telling America in anticipation of this year's election.

The Stand Up with Pete Book Club welcomed Historian and Author Kenneth C Davis on the night of Wednesday October 14 for a chat about his new book Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy It's a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators. What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders―strongmen―capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history―Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein―Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become. Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril. We also had a chat amongst ourselves about the latest news and danced at the end as we always do. I am so happy that we have built this community together. If you haven't signed up for a paid subscription please do now!  How To Vote In The 2020 Election In Every State. Everything you need to know about mail-in and early in-person voting in every state in the age of COVID-19, including the first day you can cast your ballot in the 2020 election. (FiveThirtyEight / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)* *Aggregated by What The Fuck Just Happened Today? Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page PLEASE SIGN UP FOR A PAID SUBSCRIPTION 

Is democracy doomed? Actually, let’s take one step back: what came to your mind when you read the word ‘democracy’? It’s one of those words that on first glance seems easy enough to define but can trip you up as you get deeper in parsing it. Luckily, filmmaker Astra Taylor has a new documentary out conveniently titled “What is Democracy?” It’s a movie that traffics less in trying to answer the title’s question and more in figuring out the right questions to ask about this big flawed experiment. Questions about who truly has the power in a democratic society, how the concept has changed over time, and how a person who lost by three million votes became President of the United States. Email us at WITHpod@gmail.com Tweet using #WITHpod Read more at nbcnews.com/whyisthishappening RELATED READING: The People’s Platform Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone

Today's episode features a little more about Corey Robin, including the argument addressed on the show that criticisms of Clarence Thomas's competence are a racist echo of similar claims made against Thurgood Marshall.  Find out why Andrew made the mistake he did in Episode 242, and also why Andrew still stands behind his answer to that question. We begin with Robin, winding our way from his blog posts to the jurisprudence of two of Andrew's heroes, Laurence Tribe and Ronald Dworkin!  Ultimately, you'll learn why Andrew continues to defend the proposition that attacks on Thomas's competence are not inherently racist. After that, it's time for some behind-the-scenes news about Attorney General nominee William Barr just in time for his confirmation hearings.  What company does he keep when it comes to interpreting the Founding Fathers?  Listen and find out!  (Hint:  this isn't good.) Finally, it's time for the answer to Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #108 regarding real property.  As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE! Appearances None!  If you'd like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links We first discussed Robin in Episode 242 as part of a listener question.  You can click here to read his Tweet criticizing us for engaging in "tribalism" and playing identity politics. We discuss two Robin blog posts in depth:  (a) "Everything is in the Hands of Heaven Except the Fear of Heaven", and (b) "The Scandal of Democracy" It was, in fact, Elena Kagan who said "we're all textualists now" in 2015. Click here to check out Tribe's 2008 book, The Invisible Constitution, which openly contests originalism (and directly engages Scalia in particular). You should also check out the Ronald Dworkin speech that was turned into an article in the Fordham Law Review. This is the 2001 Keith Whittington law review article that credits Robin with an assist.  This is Whittington's page at the Federalist Society. We engage with this tweet from Robin listing four supposed examples of intellectual laziness leveled against Thurgood Marshall. Some Thurgood Marshall links:  (a) his confirmation as reported by the New York Times; and (b) this lovely retrospective on Thomas's career penned by Juan Williams for the Washington Post. Finally, you can read some more stuff on Clarence Thomas:  (a) the 2014 rates of agreement among Supreme Court justices; and (b) this anecdote reported by attorney Matt Howell. If you have HeinOnline, you can read the Mark Tushnet law review article in the Georgetown Law Review we discuss on the show.  (Otherwise, you're stuck reading the first page only.) Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ Don't forget the OA Facebook Community! For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki And email us at openarguments@gmail.com  

Show notes (index at bottom) Korean American community leader John Lim from the KCCD/MyKoreanStory.org series on "Sa-I-Gu." Go to www.saigue429.org. Also, how Chinese Takeouts in Philadelphia are being discriminated against in another story that involves Asians and African Americans pitted against one another. Councilman David Oh details how what started with home invasions has progressed into harassment by police. Oh, a Korean American, says he gets guidance from the brutal death of his cousin in Philadelphia in 1958. Beaten by black youths, In Ho Oh died, but his family rejected revenge in favor of forgiveness. And it's the third year after the murder of my cousin, Stephen Guillermo. http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-trumps-100-days-la-riots-cousins-death-asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-david-da.html   Emil Guillermo: Trump's 100 vs. real anniversaries: the LA riots, a cousin's death, and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; PODCAST: Will Dao get a tax cut? And more... April 27, 2017 4:44 PM   I guess Dr. David Dao didn't want to drag it out.   He didn't need 100 days. Neither did United. CEO Oscar Munoz continues his apology tour in the media with a new report that heralds changes in service, including an increase in fees from $1,350 to $10,000 for bumped passengers. Dao's settlement amount hasn't been disclosed. Frankly, I would have dragged it out in the media, what with court delays and every story accompanied by the shrieking doctor being treated like a sack of rice. So, good for United. But not necessarily good for the consumer, because now the pressure is off of United to live up to its word. For now, we're left to wonder if Dow will benefit from that Trump Tax plan.   TRUMP'S 100 The obsession over Trump's 100 days is natural. It's a round number check-up, the first benchmark we have to contemplate the big question: Did America make a mistake electing Donald Trump?   But most of us knew the answer on Nov. 9. And there is no political "morning-after-pill."   So more than an arbitrary thing, the 100-day window lets everyone give the victor the benefit of the doubt and show us he's legit.  With 100 days, it's even rigged in favor of the president. Mind you, the "honeymoon" phase is when the president's capital is said to be at its highest (largely because he hasn't screwed up yet). Rightfully then, we can expect the "100 days" to give us a good sense of the absolute best an incoming president can do.   In other words, it's never going to be any better. This is it.    Which makes it troublesome that as we approach the 100th day, the best we can say is, "Can we get an annulment?"   No, here's what can be said. Trump knows how to be a boss. He just doesn't know how to be president.   He knows closely-held family businesses and is all too willing to appoint inexperienced family members to influential positions. Democracy? It's an alien notion to Trump. LIke his towers, he likes to be the big bully, above it all. With three immigration executive orders held up in federal court (two on travel bans, one on sanctuary cities), it's clear he doesn't know the limit of his reach.   His tax cuts are like his public payout for your silence. Raising the standard deduction for individuals may put a few hundred bucks in your pocket. But it's nothing compared to the corporate tax cut. And according to Trump, it's all made up by growing the economy at 3 percent.   It's a variation of "trickle down" economics. Over the last 30 years, we've already learned that "trickle down" theories don't work well in practice. Cutting taxes on the rich so they reinvest in jobs and it all magically trickles down throughout the economy is a nice fantasy. But it doesn't work (not if companies merely use cash to buy back shares and pay the top execs). The plan enriches the 1 percent and practically guarantees the growth of budget deficits, putting the country in the red--if the fantasy doesn't come true.   Couple all that with Trump's huge military budget, and his 100 day penchant for using missiles in Syria and Afghanistan like he's trying to outdo Kim Jong Un, and you see where this could all be heading.    It's not the middle class, let alone America first.   The tax cut is bad policy. Don't let Trump buy your silence. It's not like a money back guarantee. Besides, your vote in our democracy is worth way more than that.   Resist. Insist on tax fairness. Trump said in his campaign he'd raise taxes on the rich. Make him live up to that. Either that, or it's just another Trump lie. A typical flip-flop like we've seen in the first 100 days.   From China, to trade, to NATO, to his bad appointments, to his aggressive military stands without Congressional approval, the president has done more in 100 days to discredit himself than to reassure us in his presidency.   Hence, my grade for Trump:  F. And that doesn't stand for Filipino.   And if you still believe, like Trump, that the 100 day marker really doesn't matter, well, it does mean this.    America still has a healthy sentence remaining for which there is no parole.    You can mark it on the wall with chalk, but it's better simply to act up and resist.    After April 29th, we've got 1,360 days left.   That includes the lost days if Trump's politicking results in a government shutdown. What can you expect from Trump but the best kind of gridlock we've ever seen?   IN LOS ANGELES, ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY: 25 years, or 9,125 days later In Korean, the phrase being used is "sa-i-gu," or 4-2-9, the date most Korean Americans will never forget. If you were in Los Angeles, you were at ground zero. They call it a riot. They call it an uprising. There was plenty to be upset about. The Rodney King verdict--which acquitted four police officers caught on videotape beating King--was the flashpoint. But it also allowed a community to vent about everything else, including the case of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed by a South Korean store owner. Soon Ja Du, the liquor store owner, was convicted of manslaughter, fined, given five years 'probation, but no prison time-- even though the jury suggested Du get 16 years. That, combined with the King verdict, is said to have triggered six days of unrest. It left 55 dead, 2,000 injured, 11,000 arrested.   And it was the Korean American community that bore the brunt of the outrage.   On the AALDEF podcast, I play a clip from the Korean Churches for Community Development's (KCCD) partnership with KoreanAmericanStory.org.    The first story is from John Lim, who was the president of the Korean American Bar Association in 1992. He says Korean Americans, by virtue of their businesses, were misperceived by the media and the public as reaping economic benefit from the African American community and "not giving back."  Because of that, Lim says Korean Americans were unfairly victimized during the riots. They were harshly treated in the aftermath when liquor licenses were taken away, and families not compensated. Lim doesn't see why a struggling Korean American community, most of them newly arrived post-1965, should have been blamed for the hundreds of years of social injustice endured by African Americans in society.   The KCCD Commemorative service is one of many to be held this weekend in Los Angeles at the Oriental Mission Church, at USC, and UCLA.    Listen to Lim on our podcast: coming soon!   IN DEFENSE OF TAKEOUTS, and In Ho Oh I've named our podcast "Emil Amok's Takeout," and that means we have a soft spot in our heart for Chinese takeouts.    In Philadelphia, takeouts are under siege by overzealous cops who often ticket them unfairly for being open after 11 p.m.   I talk with Philadelphia councilman David Oh about the situation. Are Chinese takeouts no different than the Korean liquor store owners of Los Angeles? Oh talks about that. And he tells his own personal story of his cousin beaten to death in 1958 in Philadelphia. It was a Korean/African American story that was felt from Philadelphia to Seoul. The story of In Ho Oh has become a motivating factor for David Oh in the modern racial disputes he sees. It teaches him to seek the high road--by rejecting revenge and offering forgiveness.   As you'll hear in the interview, it didn't take the family 100 days in 1958 to show its compassion   MY COUSIN STEPHEN--1,095 DAYS LATER  Finally, on the podcast, Oh speaking about forgiveness makes he consider my own cousin's murder. Stephen Guillermo was gunned down May 3, 2014 when he entered the wrong apartment by mistake. The resident, an African immigrant, was armed and shot him with a single bullet. I've written about it here. The murderer was known, was arrested, and then released. The DA wouldn't touch the case. My cousin remains a victim, with no real resolution or sense of justice.   But a story like In Ho Oh's offers some comfort and guidance as we approach May 3rd, 1,095 days after Stephen's murder.   In these key anniversaries, we remember as we approach Asian Pacific American Heritage Month how easy it is to slip into an unwitting divide-and-conquer mindset. No one wins, if we take the bait and fight each other.    After hundreds of days, in these painful instances where the poor are pitted against the poor, maybe our best options always come down to this: forgiveness, understanding, and empathy.   *     *     * Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator. Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page. The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies. SHOW LOG :30 Hello 1:45 Prevue on LA Riots 2:30 Prevue of Takeout Discrimination 4:00 Dr. Dao Settles with United 6:30 More on Trump's 100 days and the tax plan 11:56 25 years after the LA Riots, on 4-29 Sa-I-Gu 14:40 John Lim from KoreanAmericanStory.org, and their Sa-I-Gu project 28:46 Chinese Takeouts discriminated in Philly Philadelphia David Oh intro 30:06 David Oh talks about how the situation began. 1:01:00 Oh's cousin, In Ho Oh 1:04:00 Act of Forgiveness 1:06:00 Stephen Guillermo 1:12:30 Wrap up on Stephen  Contact: http://www.aaldef.org/blog http://www.twitter.com/emilamok http://www.amok.com Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout