Iran is unwinnable, and Brad Young on the weaponization fund!- h1

If you have a podcast and want to monetize it, stress-free, you need the Odyssey Creator Lab. We'll host your podcast for free, and our experienced sales team brings in the advertisers and the revenue. Easy. Apply now at creators.odicy.com and let us show you the money. You are on. You are. And I can hear you. Great, I can't hear myself. You got no audio? Nope. Nope. Could you possibly be plugged into the wrong? I think there's only one over there now, right? Yeah, it's only one over there. There was like a short circuit in or something like that. Is it working now? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Oh, Andrew's heading in for no reason. Is it working now? Is it working now? Is it working now? It's working, Andrew. It's a little short in it. It's time to leave? Just about, just about four hours ago. Yeah, you only got 435. 435. Wait, no, 55. Hmm. I've been seeing this thing, I've been seeing this guy lately. He is advertising something. He's like a consultant. I kind of hate consultants. And his big thing, wheels, maybe you've seen him on TikTok, is don't ever say things like... Do you know what I mean? Or sorry, but can I say one more thing? And his whole thing and I'm just now my TikTok's populating with it is like the nicer you are, the least, the less respectable you are at work. I think there's really a thing that. You mean like the less respect people will have for you? Yes. Oh, I got. You said the nicer you are? The nicer you are. I mean, I think that's true. So I say I think that that generally tracks. If you're too nice, you're perceived as passive. But then if you're too aggressive, you're an ass. So there's probably a nice middle ground there somewhere where you can be neither the ass nor the too passive. I don't know what that is. I haven't found it. Yeah, you're in the opposite side of me. But it sucks to be a too nice person because then you just feel like a schmuck. Like, really? I could just be an a whole? You could just be a jerk? Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a sweet spot between the two that is better. Huh. Because you've got to be assertive, but you also don't want to be just so direct that you're horrible to people. Yeah. Right? Yeah, I learned a lesson really early on. Maybe it was the wrong lesson. But I worked for a law firm just chock full of a hole. Everyone there was worse than the next guy. So mean, so like literally abusive. And I thought, oh, this is what it's like to be a lawyer. This is what you do. This is how you act. And then I had a case with one of the senior partners from one of the biggest defense firms in St. Louis, older guys, probably late 70s at the time. And we traveled together. And we took depositions together. And he was like the nicest gentleman. And like during the proceedings, he was kind to everyone. And he was considerate. And he would still kick your ass because he was a great lawyer. But he never raised his voice. He never got crappy with people.

I remember that, like, had a real impression on me, because I didn't want to be like the people at that firm, but I had no one else to, you know, look at. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was a schmuck, too. Nah, not if he's getting job done, right? I mean, if you're winning cases and making money, why would you be upset about that? Hmm. And that is it, that's a little bit of a different profession, I think, in that your results can speak for themselves. Do you go win? Yep, here's my record. This is my record. But in a lot of places, it's not as defined as that. It's more about how you're perceived than it is just a simple record. I'm sure there are other things where you can be like, look, I sold this many dollars for the year. There are track records, but then there are other jobs where it's just how does the person that does the promoting feel about each person that could get the promotion? You guys don't understand every job, but you've all been working for a while. Would you guess that most jobs it's about what you do or most jobs is about how you're perceived? Boy. It's weird because I've been in this business for so long where a lot of it is immeasurable, right? Where it is about the hiring and who they, you know, whether you fit what they're looking for or not. But... I feel like in my experiences, even outside of radio, that a lot of it is, it is still perception. It is still who do you know and not as much how good you are? But I know it does it. There's no 100%. You know what I mean? Like there are variations, but you see enough of enough people who get positions where you're like, why'd that person get that? Mm-hmm. My experience, and this is painting with a really broad brush. but typically the people at the top, I may not like them. I may not like their decisions, but I can look at them and go, oh, I see. I see why you're there. The people toward the bottom, and I'm not saying this to ingratiate myself, it's really been my experience. People toward the bottom, the rank and file people, to me, tend to be the people that get stuff done. They're the ones who are actually doing the stuff. You need something done. Go to the warehouse. They're going to do it. And the people in the middle, it's real squishy. Like, did we need you? Did we need you to be the manager of these three other managers so that they could manage these people? I don't know. We're a topic to start with. Yeah, I mean, it's fascinating because... Every, I'm sure every business is different. Every job is different based on who the decision makers are. Because they're the ones that set that tone. If the decision maker is entirely about results, well, then none of this matters. If that person is more about vibes, well, then it all matters. And then obviously there are all of the different degrees in between those two.

Did you guys see that Joe Biden says that Joe would have definitely won in 2024 had he been allowed to run? Sure, Jill. I mean, how does she know that? Man, she's just... She doesn't seem like a dumb person. Why is she out there? Because she got a book. She's got a book. I mean, this is it. This is justifying the advance the book company gave. You got to gin up excitement and you got to go out and do interviews and get people talking about it. And all it's getting people to say is please shut up. Yeah. Please shut up. Okay. You're not helping. You're not right. And there's nothing provable about what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. You're making it all just, it felt pretty bad at the time. Yeah. But you're making it feel even worse in retrospect. Like, oh, that really was that bad. You're just flat out coming out now and saying you lied to all of us. Not just you, but you and everyone around the President of the United States at the time was lying to us. That's what you're telling us. And then we're supposed to believe your other assertions when your base claim is, yep, we BSed you. We lied. I thought he was having a stroke. I didn't think he was fine. You know what I wish we had more of? Because I started to say, I'm a little surprised we don't. have more of a revolutionary spirit in the country right now, ironically, the 250th year. But I think it has to be because there are enough people who support Trump and enough people who support the left. And not enough people like me who think they're all bastards. Like, I don't care whether you're covering for someone's dementia. or you are basically a crime family, just, you know, bilking the country for money. We deserve so much better than we've had. I don't know how far back you'd have to go. But I'm a little surprised that we're – and again, what are you going to do? And I'm in a kind of unique situation because every day I read everything and I prepare for a four-hour show. And I know that half of it's unusable because I can't just talk about politics the whole day, even though that's what's everywhere on every screen in the news. You know, it's kind of a tough row to hoe to do a four-hour talk show and not talk a lot about the politics. But – Yeah, I'm a little surprised that we're not pissed her, just overall. Everybody has their own thing going on. Like, I think most people look at what's happening and have maybe a few minutes of being upset, but then they have to move on and take care of their own life. Yeah. So, I mean, I wish we could unite more and demand accountability more, but I also understand that people just don't have the energy. It's... Everything's like expensive and people are struggling and they're just trying to make their own life work. Yeah. Well, I mean, we also don't do our job. Nobody participates. What percentage of Americans vote in midterm elections? It ain't half. What's it? Maybe a third. How many people even show up for presidential elections? Half.

It feels like we stepped in it. Well, yeah, it kind of feels like we've entered an unwinnable war with only losing propositions. It's not a war. Sorry. Well, it is except, except. It's only a war whenever it's easier to say war. But technically it's not a war. We don't have to get approval for this. Everything's fine. Everybody chills. Again, it's one of those things where one second, it's not a war and literally two sentence later's like, these are the two biggest wars and we've only lost 13 people. So when I talk about exhaustion, what is it? There's just so much. That is, there's so many lies and there's so many contradictions that we are waterboarded with on a daily basis. It is actually impossible to keep up. And at a certain point, you just kind of, you do. You start going with the flow. And you just worry about your own life. And it's really sad, but it is impossible to keep track of the lies and the gaslighting. Well, it's, it's almost like we're learning why previous presidents. administrations of both persuasions, right and left, didn't do this. I think we're seeing one of the reasons why, because it ain't simple. And it sounds to me like... realistically, the best they can expect is to go back to sort of the deal that Obama made. Yeah. Only he made it for 400 million and they're talking 20 billion. It's an unwinnable. You're right. It's not a winnable. You're right. It's not a war. It's a situation. We've entered an unwinnable situation where the best thing we can possibly hope for is that things go back to they were before that. And then maybe we don't get the only thing that Americans have gotten out of this so far, which is dead Americans and $5 gas. Yeah, look, I would be super happy to be wrong. I really would. I would love to see this workout and go, hey, I got to hand it to the guy. He pulled this one off. I didn't see it. No, it didn't look winnable. But, you know, and then with like yesterday, and I know he's just being him. which I don't think is an excuse. But like Rachel and I were watching the news together when that came on and Iran had said, hey, we're not going to talk anymore. And Trump's response was, I don't care. Yeah. And we both laughed because what are you going to do? What else are you going to do? I feel like if anyone on the planet should care, it should be the president of the United States, right? But his reflex that he has in the moment is go, I don't care. You guys are stupid anyway. I'm tired of it. It's like, oh, okay. That's great. Sorry for that sad opening, but just like, it's weird. I feel like a barometer for the audience, and sometimes I feel like I'm the wrong instrument because I'm too sensitive or something. But I spend most of my life just being like, what the hell? What is this? I kind of selfishly wish I could go to sleep a little more or be happy that it's a $51,000. Even if you do, it's not going to change the day-to-day cost of living.

You're still paying what you're paying at the grocery store, at the gas pump, whatever. I mean, you can be tuned out to that. We all, I have been. I spend a lot of time just in the sports world not paying much attention to anything, although it was pre-social media. So it was a lot easier. Like there was just, it wasn't in your face unless you turned on the TV. But you do. Oh, sorry about that, Rach. We're really long there. My bad went way too long there on that first kind of rambling, complaining segment. We'll lock it up here. We have attorney Brad Young joining us at the other side of the bottom of the hour break, several stories to talk about and get into some politics again. But with Brad, he's always really good at, you know, setting the stage. Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker. Here's what I've learned in midlife. Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what this new series on For the Love is all about. The sacred yes. It's choosing delight, rest, and pleasure on purpose. Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else. Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to For the Love wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back, guys, DGS and KMOX-134. Attorney Brad Young joins us. Hello, Brad. Hey, Dave. So before we get into your cases, let's talk about the new acting director of national intelligence. And, you know, Badly kept secret. I'm not a fan of Donald Trump and his decisions. But I'm just wondering, I feel like I've been sold a complete bill of goods because I watch a lot of movies. And the people in the CIA and the NSA and the DNI are very special people who have a very special resume and decades of experience and they're in the know. And now we've gone from Tulsi Gabbard, who knew nothing about intelligence. to a guy that was like the housing finance guy? Like, what am I missing? No, you're not missing anything. I will say that Tulsi Gabbard did have some credentials. She had served. She was a longtime member of the House Intelligence Committee. So she had at least a history and a backdrop of having access to national security information and how to process that. So I will at least give her that. But you're right. Historically, traditionally. The director of national security is a person who comes up through the FBI, through the CIA, through the DIA, through all of the alphabet organizations. And Bill Pulte, at this point, I mean, he's a wealthy businessman. He was a private equity executive who basically was serving and continues to serve as the federal housing finance agency director. So my hope is. is that this is going to be an extremely temporary position that he will be filling until someone else can be identified. I think the fear that the Trump administration is we don't want to have that to be vacant because that looks bad in such a critical position. So my hope is that gets filled with a qualified person in the near future.

So in the last couple of days, we've seen Trump take some losses from the courts and from his Republican colleagues. A court ruled that he had to take his name off the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center. So he said, great, it sucks anyway. I'm just going to let it go fallow and we're going to have weeds growing in it. I didn't want to be a part of it anyway, nanner, nanner. And then I guess the Senate Republicans got the message to him that this anti-weaponization bill. is a non-starter, and so he's leaving that behind as well. Yeah, that's right. And if you look at a lot of these Trump things that we've talked about, the left will say, well, see, that shows that Trump doesn't abide by the Constitution and we have a constitutional crisis. I say to the contrary, you could always challenge anything. The question isn't whether something is or isn't legal or constitutional. The question from a, quote, constitutional crisis, unquote, perspective is, what do you do after the court rules against you? So at least so far, the Trump administration, when the court says, hey, look, buddy, you can't do that. They've said that. All presidents have challenged things in court. All presidents have lost. But Trump's got, I think a... worst track record than any president, at least in recent memory, some would say that's a good thing. I wouldn't, but some would say it's a good thing to challenge the establishment. But at least I'm happy from this point that he hasn't done anything to contradict or to ignore court orders. But when it comes to that weaponization fund, Dave, we've talked about this a couple of times in the past. It was blatantly unconstitutional. blatantly violates separation of powers because Congress didn't authorize this. And even the Republicans in the Senate gave that exact same message to the president. Yeah, Brad, I know why it's a bridge too far for us. Why do you think it was a bridge too far for John Thune and the people in the Senate? Well, for lots of reasons. I mean, if you're in the Senate, you're going to be hypersensitive to this idea that appropriations come through the legislature. And this was an appropriation that was just dreamed up by Trump and the DOJ and the IRS to do this. It didn't have any congressional authority. And even if you're a member of Congress, even if you support the president, you're not going to sign off on something that takes away your power. Because at the end of the day, having power as a congressman or as a senator is more important than any party affiliation. And they're not going to go along with anybody taking away their power. Have they not already done that on a number of other issues?

Like they haven't asserted themselves on the tariffs issue. That's only been handled in court. Nobody in Congress did anything about that. Nobody in the Senate said, you can't do this. This is up to us. They didn't put the same pressure on the White House for that as they did other things. They didn't do that for the action in Iran or the action in Venezuela. Well, at this point, that's a fair point, wheels, but let me answer some of that. I'm glad. I'm glad. I feel like I'm more skeptical. I think it's because of November. I think they finally spoke up because they're getting heat from people that they and they don't want to have to argue this. during the November elections in the midterms. Listen, I can't disagree with that at all, at all, okay? Because right now, everything people in Congress are doing, every single thing they're doing now is solely and exclusively focused on November. And them staying in power, which really is the gist of my point, which is everything they do is about staying in power and they don't want their power reduce, whether that's at the ballot box or whether that's as a result. of a court hearing. But I'm glad they did not challenge some of this stuff in court because courts typically don't want to see legal battles between the legislature and the executive branch because then the courts throw up their hands and say, oh, this is a political issue. We're not going to get involved. So like on the tariffs, I'm thrilled that Congress didn't try to file a legal action because it wouldn't have gone anywhere. And yet now because it was challenged the proper way. I think the right outcome has been achieved, which is the president does not have tariff authority. Did Congress legally challenge the fund or did they just make noise about it? Oh, they just made noise. Yeah, so they could have done that with tariffs, but they didn't. Yeah. Well, and I think you did see some members of the Senate. I certainly know Rand Paul was raising a lot of challenges to the tariffs. And Rand Paul, I mean, I really do personally, I see things a lot of the way that Rand Paul does. And he was properly raising that. But if that would have been challenged in court from Congress, probably wouldn't have gone anywhere. So I think we got to the best result, the fastest way possible. Brad, don't you also think there's probably a difference of public perception between like a tariff, which I feel like still most people don't fully understand how those work. It might be easier to pass that over and be like, oh, no, just trust us on this one. It's going to be okay. But then when you hear about a fund that's going to go to people coming out of taxpayer dollars at a time when people are struggling, that is so much harder to defend. Boy, Rachel, you are exactly right. Great point. Because because that whole weaponization fund, it just reeked of political payoffs for the far extremist versions of your party. And anybody could see that. So you're right. It just looks bad. And I'm glad that this is going away. So is, gosh.

What I want to ask is, is Todd Blanche just a bad human? Like, he's a smart guy. He knows what's going on. And he's spearheading this anti-weaponization fund. Is it just loyalty gone amok? Well, there's a great scene. I think it's in the second Thor movie, okay, where Thor is standing up against this enormous rock creature who's yelling and screaming and banging on the ground. Thor hits him with the hammer. He busts into a million pieces. And Thor says, is anybody else going to stand up to me? And everybody starts to bow down. I give you that as an example because he saw Todd Blanche saw exactly what happened to Pam Bondi. If you push back on Trump, then you're on the unemployment line. So I think he's just looking out for his own self-interest here and saying, if I do anything reasonable or middle of the road, you know, every time I'm on your show, I always try to give the actual no-spin version of what's going on. Right now, if the AG does that, he or she is on the unemployment line. I think Todd Blanche knows that. So as I understand it, an anti-Trump group are flying the 8647 flag near the National Mall. And a judge has ruled that they cannot be prevented from that. Well, I see that as being extremely relevant, particularly for James Comey. You know, because James Comey posted 8647, which 86 is a term for, you know, flushing, dumping, getting rid of. And he's at least being prosecuted or trying to be prosecuted by the DOJ for posting 8647 on social media. And this really exemplifies, I think, a fantastic... core principle. We've talked about it before. And that is that hate speech, even if this is hate speech, It's protected speech under the First Amendment unless it leads to a very specific contextual threat of violence. And flying a flag that says 8647 doesn't, in of itself, doesn't incite any riot. It doesn't direct any physical violence. And the court, I think, correctly ruled that that flag can fly, just like the court will eventually exonerate James Comey. Yeah. How quickly do you think this case will be referenced in James Comey's case if that does make it to trial? Well, I don't think it could be referenced because generally speaking, only appellate decisions can be referenced in court cases. So the James Comey case is really ahead of this situation that just came up yesterday. So I don't think it would be directly relevant, but the core principles, Rachel, are identical. And the same.

core principles that led this federal court in D.C. yesterday to uphold the right of somebody to fly this flag. Those exact same core principles will apply in the James Comey case. Can I ask the fact that James Comey did come back later and say, like, I had no idea. What does 86 even mean? Could that hurt him in the course of this case? I mean, would that make him perhaps seem more guilty? Well, in the court of public opinion, it makes him seem foolish. I mean, dude, you were running the FBI and you don't know what 86 means. So it makes him look kind of silly. But listen, there is nothing, Rachel, that he could say or do that would get him in any trouble short of saying, I posted this because I was going to assassinate Donald Trump. Anything short of that, it's not going to make it any worse for him legally. All right. Very good. Thank you, Brad. We appreciate it. My pleasure, guys. The Second World War is the largest event in human history. A 20-part series with Tom Hanks. No part of the globe was untouched. No life unchanged. Experience the ultimate account of... World War II. Every single person had a story. These are the stories that make us who we are. Listen to World War II with Tom Hanks on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Andrew, you know, the show is always the day ahead of the news. Yesterday we had the sweet 16 of chicken. Today's National Rotisserie Chicken Day. Oh, yum. Yesterday I reported that the colonel hated his own gravy. Today it hit the news. He said, my God, that gravy is horrible. It tastes like pure wallpaper paste. I'm going to have to try some of that wallpaper paste. I can't imagine it's that bad. I've had it either that bad. I love it. It's not exactly good, but it's not that bad. Putting the paste on a burger like, uh. Do you think they just get it out of a jar? Like a Chipotle spread? Oh, yeah. I doubt anyone's back there. It's just like the Hormel stuff you buy at the grocery store and then you throw a little pepper on top. No, I think every 14-year-old they hire knows how to make a rue and then they just go from there. Andrew, you missed an interesting conversation yesterday. When Skip was here, we're on break. We didn't have time to do it on the show. But I said that I defer to all of your Star Warsian. expertise. But I've been seeing this narrative on TikTok that Luke Skywalker was a half-ass Jedi, untrained, opposer, if you will. Yeah. And it set off sort of a firestorm with these two. Yeah, he was untrained because there was no one to train him. So he just had to wing it. What about you to? And I think that led to a lot of, like, flaws in his, I can't believe what I'm saying this, led to a lot of, like, flaws in his Jedi capabilities. And maybe that's why we ended up with, you know, Kylo Ren, maybe that's why his second school failed. You know, that's why the Jedi Academy that he set up ended up failing so spectacularly in granting us, you know. Okay, hold on, hold on. Let me rewind for a second. So who trained Obi-1 Canobi? Quigang gin. Okay, who trained him? Yoda. I think it was Jesus Christ the Lord. No, no, listen. But Obi-Wan did complete all of the training and was all done properly, and he screwed it up with Anakin. I don't think what happened after that is the proof of it. The fact that the master, Yoda, said, you do not need more training. Didn't say it that way. He said it in the Yoda way. But no more training do you need or whatever was. I'm going to take Yoda's word. Sorry. That was more Bill Cosby. I'm going to take Yoda's word. Do people call him daddy yoga now that there's baby Yoda? I'm going to call Daddy yoga now. Well, now, hold on. What does Luke have to do with, what does Luke have to do with Obi-Wan Kenobi? Obi-Wan Kenobi didn't do nothing for Luke. Obi-Wan Kenobi gave him a lightsaber and dying. What I'm saying is that that Obi-Wan was... quote unquote, a finished product, right? He went through the whole process, but he still screwed up Anakin. So the fact that Luke screwed things up for Kylo is not the proof that he wasn't ready or that he wasn't a full-on Jedi. It's evidence. It may be, but I would take the expert testimony of one Yoda, Star Law, saying you are ready and you don't need any more training. It's daddy yoga. I can't believe I'm asking this question.

What did Obi-Wan do to screw up Anakin? I don't know that I would say anything. I mean, they rushed the process with Anakin, right? I mean, they pushed him in front and they got him admitted as a Padawan. I don't know why I'm talking like such a nerd. When the council initially thought he wasn't ready for it, shouldn't be done, and obviously, Obi-1 pushed for that. Okay. And helped push for him to do that. I didn't know if he was like emotionally like not there for him or something. Like, you know, he felt like he didn't have anyone to turn to. If you keep apologizing for your takes, but Amy Mark scores text me and says, this is an unbelievable conversation. I'm so here for this. Star Wars nerds unite. No, I think the mere fact that Luke was the only Jedi for. basically his entire life. The only one not in hiding, yeah. I think is evidence that he just had to do his best and people make mistakes. Okay. Good conversation. Yeah, that's good time. Best of the day. Is it time for me to talk? No, we have one more minute. Oh, crap. I think we can keep squeezing some juice out of this Star Wars. You have another take? That's my take. Not really. Vic says Quigon pushed for it, not Obi-Wan. Vic's right. Because at that time, Obi-1 was... Still a Padawan to Quigon. They pushed him to the... I almost said Luke. Kevin's right. They pushed him to the forefront of the Clone Wars because he was the quote unquote the chosen one. And, you know, but they did not, of course, as we know famously, did not grant him the rank of master, which he wanted very badly. So they treated him like a master while not giving him the status and the title of master while still sort of pinning everything on him. And when he felt like he did have no one that he could turn to, who was there for him, Chancellor Palpatine, who of course, as we know, was the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious. So... He, that's how Sidious sort of got in and groomed Anakin. Yep. Into becoming Darth Vader is because he did feel like he didn't really have any, to Rachel's point, he felt like he didn't really have anybody that he could talk to about all these big feelings that he was having. Poor little pissy pants. Go out and kill a bunch of kindergartners. And he did. I know. And he will. Yeah. Suck it up, Buttercup. I think if you get into the mind of a lot of people who kill a bunch of kindergartners, I think you'll find similar. Similar psychological profile. Yeah, let's do it. Three hours. Let's go. I got all the materials. I'll tell Ian and Kurt, the think tank has switched gears today. They can be here. They can be a part of it. They just need to prep a different topic. They have to.

Resolve, Jar Jar Binks, go. And then Ian can just take off from there. Listeners, I want to tell you about a new podcast from Odyssey called Family Lour, where people tell interesting stories about their family history and then we investigate the truth behind them. Family lore is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows.