AM Show Hr 1 | Faith, Politics & the Relationships That Matter Most

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thanks for your support of our podcast. Thanks for telling people about it. Thanks for your messages to me through our website, Michaelberry Show.com. I read every one of them. We're here because you're here because you support what we do and you support our sponsors. You know, we call them sponsors because they're not advertisers. There's people who believe in what we do. They want the kind of country that we want. When Ray Breyer has reached out The Pipeyard Inc. He buys and sells pipe on a big level. I said, look, I don't know if we can move any pipe for you, get you some pipe to buy or find you people to buy your pipe. He said, I don't care. I believe in what you do. Well, since then, we've been able to find him pipelines across several states. Listeners, one listener in Georgia called in and said, I'm a Michael Bari Weiss Show listener. You're the pipe guy. I'm calling you. And it was a huge deal. So people that need to buy and sell pipe. Huge amounts of pipe, call Ray Breyers now. 409-788, pipe. He supports our show, and you do too, and I thank you for that. Pipeyard, Inc. 409, 788, pipe. Did you know that most insurance companies will pay for a man to have testosterone replacement if he's below 350? Isn't that interesting? You've probably heard that testosterone will, well, invigorate you. Your wife may enjoy that, or she may want to be left alone, but your wife may enjoy that. You may enjoy that. But there's so much more. Let me tell you. More energy, more strength. You feel better. Synergenics. Go get your blood tested. Our show works because people like-minded who share values support other people like-minded who share values. That means spending your dollars, sending your projects, doing business with, businesses that share your values. Enterprise. Foundry.com. They pour all grades of ductile and gray iron, castings up to 1,000 pounds. They specialize in low to medium volume, great customer service, in-house pattern shop for fast, low-cost tooling, and they're big fans of our show. EnterpriseFoundry.com. It's that time. Lock and load. Lock and load.

is on the air. You know, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity. I'm always so thrilled when I get invited. You know, to the Diwali Festival. I think I've gone two years in a row now. And, you know, also have gotten a chance to speak at some of our local mosques. And I find such wisdom and comfort and inspiration from faith traditions all over the world. And I find that they're all kind of equal pathways to truth. If Christianity points to the truth. I also think other religions of love point to the same truth. I think of different religious traditions as different languages. So you and I could sit here and debate what to call this cup, and you could call it a cup in English, you'd call something else in Spanish and French, but we are all talking about the same reality. I believe Jesus Christ reveals that reality to us, but I also think that other traditions reveal that reality in their own ways with their own symbol structures. And I've learned more about my tradition by learning more about Buddhism and Hinduism and Islam and Judaism. But I'm a trick.

So most Americans, and I'm talking 90, 95%, do not believe that an embryo is a legal person. Now, the embryo is biologically alive. That is certainly true. But being alive and being a person are two different things. And that's an important distinction to making these conversations. So the reason I think you have a lot of pro-choice people who push back against the idea that abortion is immoral is because they believe that it is not. That in these situations, when there is an unwanted pregnancy, it is moral for a woman to be able to control her own body or any one of our neighbors with the uterus to be able to control their own body. I mentioned that my granddad was a Baptist preacher, and when I was real little, he told me that we're supposed to follow Jesus' two commandments, love God and love neighbor. And I believe forcing my religion down the throats of my Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic neighbors is not love. And it's why I fought so hard for the separation of church and state. I was raised to believe. that that boundary in our First Amendment is a sacred boundary. And it doesn't just benefit our democracy, although it certainly does. It also benefits the church. Because when the church gets too cozy with political power, it loses its prophetic voice. And so I hope in the U.S. Senate that I can continue my fight against Christian nationalism because it is fundamentally unchristian. It is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth, his life, his death, and his teachings. Our faith in Jesus should lead us. away from theocracy, away from tyranny, away from Christian nationalism, and toward a multiracial, multicultural democracy.

During the church service, the pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers. Would anyone like to come forward and tell us about your answered prayers? Because God answers prayers. A woman named Susie stood up, proudly walked to the podium, and she said, two months ago, My husband, Phil, had a terrible bicycle accident, and his scrotum was crushed. There was a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation. Phil was unable to hold me or the children, she went on. Every move caused him terrible pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation. And they were able to reconstruct the crushed remnants of Phil Scrotum. Using wire to reinforce and shape it, the men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncontrollably, uncomfortably. Now, she announced in a quivering voice, thank the Lord. Phil is out of the hospital, and the doctors say that with time, His scrotum should recover completely. All the men sighed with relief. The pastor rose and asked if anyone else had something to say. A man stood up and walked slowly to the podium and he said, I'm Phil. The entire congregation held its breath. I just want to tell my wife the word is sternum.

It was his sternum, Ramon. It wasn't. Yeah, it was his sternum. Yeah. What did Snow White do after she sent her film away to be developed? She waited, hoping that someday her prince would come home. See the way that that joke is structured. Prince is P-R-I-N-T-S, but the way you make it plural, it sounds like a prince, which is, which is, what do you mean, what is it was it called? Or, oh, a homonym? Is it a homonym? Yeah, but the way the joke is structured, you see, you think you say prints, and your brain hears, oh, prints, like you've printed the film. But then you realize, wait a second, Snow White was waiting for a prince, like... the son of a king, a young man who is handsome. And suddenly you remember, oh, she's waiting for her prince, which are developed photography. And our brain hears prints, like, you know, a handsome fellow or the guy that played guitar and sang Purple Rain. And at that moment, you realize, and then the music cues, oh, Johnny Carson, oh, here's John. And you go, ha. That was a joke. I don't think Snow White's actually doing anything. I think that was all a setup to use that word as a double entendre. And now I realize, huh, I have to go home and tell my kids that joke. That's clever right there. Yeah. And all that, all that right there, that's just the first segment. There's more to come.

Always the hoops. Filters. Not a billionaire. Obviously. Minimum height. Six feet? No, that is literally inequality of the spine. I can't. 6-1 though. Upgrade to platinum to see who liked you. Fine. For the working people. Oh, it's a match. Braden. Founder Miami. Oh, he's an oligarch. He does crypto. He owns a yacht. Swipe left. We do not reward the billionaire class. We shape the table. No matter what. Oh, he put ally in his bio. Okay, one drink just to hear his side for the movement. The girls all get prettier at closing time when you're listening to The Michael Bari Weiss Show. 53 years ago today, my favorite band and the greatest band. You know, sometimes you can have a favorite band, but they're not the greatest. And you could recognize of a band that they're the greatest, but they're not your favorite, right? Those two, no, I didn't say Led Zeppelin, Ramon. Please do something else. Okay, see, so now you've interrupted my train of thought, is how this works. 53 years ago today, the greatest band of all time. And what also happens to be my favorite band of all time, same band, released their debut album called Pronounced Leonard Skinnerd with the phonetic pronunciation. That album would include, but not be limited to. Tuesday's gone. Simple man. Freebird. Freebird is probably the most requested song, concert song of all time. Now, somewhat ironically, I understand that. I get it. But it turned into that. And so I don't think, you know, supposedly the most played song and highest ASCAP ratings or whatever is, it's a small world after all because it plays on loop at Walt Disney. It doesn't make that fact any less true, does it? So anyway, 53 years ago today, Leonard Skinner. We were playing pickleball yesterday because that's what real men do, Ramon. My buddy, Ike, Claypool, who does not like to be mentioned on the air. So that's like a one and done. I forgot he hates me to mention his name on the air. Like, no, genuinely. I'm not kidding. He hates me to mention his name on the air. He makes a playlist. And so he will make a playlist. So he will include songs in there from different dudes in our group. It's not a mixtape. No. It's a playlist. And he knows I'm a Skittard fan.

And Curtis Lowe plays. And Ike said, you like that, don't you? And I said, yes, I do. I mean, it's a true story. He would go down. There was a black man who played the dobro, and he would sit, and he would do most anything for that guy to keep performing, and him, watch him, and eventually learn to play, and that inspired him as a young man, and he paid a tribute. And race relations were different back then, and race was different. This was an old black man who, you know, sort of down and out, but a great musician who hasn't known this situation. And this little boy admires him for his musical skill. And as he gets older, he writes a song in tribute about a time that is long gone and in a way of life in, you know, in the rural environs of swamp Florida. And, um, It's fantastic. And so I'm reveling in the fact that, oh, it's nice of him to do that. And our friend Josh Patterson said, this is your favorite band. And I said, it is. And he said, well, that's why I put it in there. And I said, oh, it's very nice. Thank you. And Josh Patterson said, Marshall Tucker Carlson Band. And I just sat there thinking, hey, just turned 50 years. How do you? How can you not? Wait. How does that happen that you don't know this is Skinnerd? You know, that just, it really, it, it knocked me down a bit. You know, it was one of those moments that you, you've got a process for a moment. It was 14 years ago today that I rode with Robert Reese to Friendswood, and we visited a Corey Diamonds in Design. Connie Stagner and Billy Stagner in what grew into them being a big show sponsor continuously for 14 years without fail. Supporters at the highest level of Camp Hope, St. Jude. They were big ass guns at the Republic Country Club. My jewelers, my mother. would just revel in Mother's Day and Christmas and her birthday because she knew. And Connie would call her behind my bag and say, all right, Ms. Loretta, what do you want for it? And she'd say, oh, no, no, no, I don't need anything. And she'd say, I know you don't. But if you were to have it, my mother would chuckle. And she was being treated like a queen, and she deserved it. And it was fun. And I always appreciated that. And she knows what my wife wants. at any given time. Well, you know, she likes this particular stone and she does that. But most of all, aside from all the financial transactions and gift giving and all that, they are dear and abiding and wonderful, wonderful friends, and I love them. That's what makes life rich is people that you love, that love you, not on a transactional basis, not because it's your best client or not because it's your boss or not because...

there is something you can gain from it because you love that person and they love you. And AI cannot replace that connection. And computers cannot replace that connection. And transactional relationships cannot replace that connection. When someone, when you genuinely worry when somebody is, is ill or injured, that, you know, they wouldn't be here. And the world would not be as rich without them. When you genuinely care and they care about you, there's nothing like it. There is nothing like it. And we should all strive to build those types of relationships because they matter. That's what makes life worth living before we're gone. A dear friend of mine has a birthday today. I don't know what birthday it is. I know she's probably older than I think she is because she looks very young and she's a beautiful woman and a very good pickleball player. Ramon, and probably the most gracious host you've ever been to a dinner party at, and that is Lisa Holt House. She and my friend Michael Holt House are the best dinner party throwers I've ever known. They will go to such great lengths. She will find out what drink I'm drinking at a particular time, and I will show up, and there will be. a bottle of Blanton's down at the end of the table in front of my seat. And her husband will say, that's not for everybody. That's for Michael today because it's his birthday or whatever else. Yeah. Yeah, I can appreciate a good host. You should try harder. You know what I mean? You should try harder to do things. The WNBA. convened a committee yesterday of owners and former players and managers, and they are trying to figure out what the W in WNBA is wombats, wing nuts, whales, wisteria, they can't figure it out. They had the intention of arriving at a conclusion, a definition as to what a woman was, but in pure Matt Walsh style, they don't know. They left the meeting unclear what a woman was because now you got Ennis and Royce White and the French dude. That French dude is even bigger. And they're going to, we're a woman. Yep, I'm just scratch my butt. We're a woman. Yep. And you can't tell them no. You can't have a test. This is the absurdity. Everybody keeps saying, boy, they got to make this go away. No, they don't. We wouldn't talk about the WNBA about basketball. This is the best thing for them. Trust me. There's a story about a Phyllis Wheatley High School teacher who broke down in tears on Instagram in the middle of a post talking about how on the second day of school, kids are going back to school. By the way, I love your photos and you can send them by email as well. I see them on Facebook. But if you want to send them by email, I've told you over the years, I will never complain about you sending an email to me bragging about your kid. Ever.

And I don't care if your kid's 55. You are a parent. You should be invested in your children. And rooting for their success and enjoying their success, that's one of the great joys of life. I will never think less of you. I will never roll my eyes and go, oh, good. She's bragging on her kid who just hit 20 years of teaching school. She's bragging on her kid who's just named valedictorian. And he's the first white valedictorian at that high school in 12 years because they weren't Indian kids. Oh, good. He's bragging on his son who's been a mechanic for nine years and finally saved up and he's opening his own shop. If you send me an email, you can say it in the first line, you said it's okay to brag on my kids. Absolutely. I will read that email with extra interest. I love when you brag on your kids. And I've been watching the photos that you've been posting of your kids going back to school. And I must say I do so a bit wistfully because I miss those days. I have a great picture of taking Michael T. into a preschool. He was three years old at the time. And we had him in a little, my friend Paul Strugg, who I went to law school with, his wife was an administrator at a little preschool called the Becker School, named for the donor to the school, which was Alan Becker. There's a little bit of a clear channel connection here, iHeart Media Connection. Some of you will remember Clear Channel Entertainment, which before that was SFX, which before that was SFX. Do you remember what it was before it was SFX? It was a concert company. And Alan Becker and Barry Lewis, and there was another fellow, what was his name? He ended up opening Warehouse. over on St. Emmanuel. Remember what I'm talking about starts with L. Leonard. Anyway, Alan Becker had given the money for this little preschool, and it was attached to the temple there. Beth Israel, Beth, you're sure, and Beth. Beth, Emmanuel, what do you know? Wow, yes. Okay. So anyway. We sent him there because my friend's wife was an administrator there, and it was the first day of school. And I went in, I'm not going to lie, I felt like I looked good too because a lot of my photos I don't look good. So it was about me and my son, but I also looked good. I had on khaki slacks. I was an administrator at the time. Remember I was running the stage. I was your boss, if you remember. And I'm walking in, and I've got a dress shirt on and slacks, and I've got Michael T all dressed up for his first day. and someone called my name and I waved at them. And as I waved, it was like a parade. The photo was taken. I'm not sure who took the photo. Anyway, it's a great photo. It's one of my happiest moments. And my wife would, of course, do the photo at the beginning of every year and at the end of every year. And I've been enjoying watching the photos of people taking their kids to school. It's a wonderful moment. It's a tender moment.

And of course, as we know, we all know it intuitively, but you know, you eventually live it, is that it's a really temporal. It's momentary. It's a fleeting, passing fart in the wind in your life. And it'll be gone and they'll grow up. And that's all good and healthy too. But it's a wonderful thing. And I enjoy seeing those. So if you want to send me emails of you in. and your kids on the first day, last day, or anything else, through the website, Michael Bari Weiss Show.com. I do enjoy seeing those. So with it being the second day of school, a teacher at Wheatley High School broke down in tears talking about how he had a senior in his class who simply cannot read and cannot write. And, you know, I think I'm pretty good at knowing what people's reaction is going to be to most things. And I think most people emotionally disconnect. And you, we, I read a book called Habits years ago and it said that we don't think and new about things that we already know because we don't have the energy. We don't, we can't invest in everything new. When we, when we drive to work in the morning, we don't pull up to the stop sign and say, now I'm going to consider is that. An octagon? Is it red? Does it have white lettering? Does that suggest that I should stop? That's not a yield, right? Okay, so I'm going to stop. Should I stop it about here? Okay, the red light is the red. The red says stop. Is that a good idea for it to say stop? I think when it turns, we don't think about stuff like that. Our brain just files that away, and we're constantly processing new information, and it goes back to fight or flight. and hunter-gatherer and self-defense. And so most things we do, we don't have to think about because we don't have the bandwidth to think about them. We're always processing new stimuli coming at, processing new stimuli coming at us. So I think the natural reaction is to go, yeah, there's a bunch of intercity kids with a bunch of dumb-dums is going to end up in prison. Okay, that's fair. It's a fair assessment. It's not necessarily inaccurate. But what does it mean? What if you're Darius Williams, this teacher and you actually give a damn? What if you're looking across from this kid who, yes, happens to be black, but it doesn't matter. It's more common than he would be black in this situation. But you're sitting here looking at these kids and you've watched enough of your kids go off and get killed and kill each other and go to prison. And you're thinking to yourself, wow, this kid never had a chance. Anyway, here's what he said. I'm teaching seniors. These kids are leaving. high school and going to college, hopefully after they finished. We had two paragraphs to read one sentence complete to write. I gave them the sentence stems. I basically completed the sentence for them in the model.

He's a 17 and 18 year old kids. And they couldn't fill in four words. Four words. I gave them the scenario. We annotated together. I gave them the answers before we even had the problem. And they couldn't do it. I don't know. I simply don't know where the problem is. This is only day two. And I have seniors who simply cannot. Read and seniors who cannot write. They cannot write. They can reason. They have the ability to defend their reasoning if it's talking to their homeboy, but applying that to a written text, two paragraphs that they couldn't do it. A young black man. Our young brown men, our young black girls, and our young brown girl. Okay, so who's going to hire that person? What's that? Is it going to be racism if you don't have to see where we're going? It was pace communications, by the way. Pace Entertainment. You have reached the Michael Bari Weiss podcast, and I'm honored to have you here. If I could just take a few seconds to tell you a little bit about our show. how we do it, why we do it. We are big believers in American excellence. We are big believers in old-fashioned culture, treating a woman properly, being respectful to your parents, being attentive parents to our own kids. Those are the values that underpin more than party or anything else, everything that we do. And hopefully you hear that in every show that we put on. And in the process, hopefully we make you laugh a little bit as well. I want to say thanks to our show sponsor, Ray Breyer's, at The Pipeyard Inc. He buys and sells pipe. So if you've got a pipeline that you're abandoning, they'll come and rip it out and sell it. If you need to buy or sell pipe, this is my guy, you will talk to the top guy, and they will buy everything you have and loads of it. Thepipeyard Inc.com. 409-788 pipe. 409-78 pipe. Turns out, at least according to my urologist, that all that talk about taking testosterone is bad for your prostate. That was based on one study that's been debunked. But you know what? Don't trust me. Do your own reading. Cross-reference.

Learn more. Go to fixmylowtie.com. That's synergenics. That's who I use for my testosterone replacement. It makes me energetic. It makes me happy. I lost some belly fat out of it, which was really nice. And yes, it does that too. FixMylowtie.com. Our newest show sponsor here on the podcast, and it is enterprise foundry.com. They pour all grades of ductile and gray iron. Don't you love saying that, Ramon? Castings up to a thousand pounds. Nobody does this on American soil anymore, but they do. They specialize in low to medium volume, in-house pattern shop for fast, low-cost tooling, and they love the Michael Bari Weiss Show, and they share our values, and you want to do business with people like that. EnterpriseFoundry.com.